Waiting

For those of you who are no doubt curious about the fate of the outdoor thermometer (see last post) - she is gone.  Something bad happened to the outdoor sensor and so, it has gone to the great landfill in the sky.  We got a new one, which I actually like better.  It's easier to read, and thus far has not indicated that we're having a heat wave of epic proportions.  It took over night for the base unit and the sensor to pair (sitting close together), but they did. 

Things are pretty slow here.  Still waiting to be immunized, waiting for the two weeks to be up, just waiting.  The closer we get to the end of this, the more cranky I am getting.  

We saw this coming down Ajo.  It's a giant digging tool of some sort.  The bucket has its own flat bed pulled by the tractor trailer at the back of the line of traffic.  There are mines around here that are still being worked.

We're had systems moving through, bringing wind but no rain.  The skies have been fairly interesting.

Finally, last night it rained most of the night.  Today it's cold (52 and windy).  We're supposed to be hiking but so far no one has shown much interest in getting dressed and going out.  This morning there was a light dusting of snow on Golden Gate and Bren.  That's Bren, below.

It would appear that it's the season of  love for the rabbits.  These two were across the street.

I think the one on the right is the pursuer.

The sky at noon today.  There is still a lot of unsettled air.

One of the things that gave us pause about buying a house in Arizona was the wing-nut politics.  It's a red state, but it was trending purple.  The AZ state house has their hair on fire about this and it must be stopped. They have about two dozen voter suppression bills in work.  They are targeting mail in and early voting, which the state has been doing for ten years and is very popular with both parties.

...the state Senate approved a bill that would require voters to submit identification paperwork with their mailed-in ballots. Instead of the state's current system of matching signatures on ballot envelopes with voters' signatures on file, those voting by mail would need to provide affidavits with their date of birth and driver's license, state ID or tribal ID card number -- or would need to include their voter registration number and a copy of a utility bill. The same forms of identification are already required for in-person votes in Arizona. That bill hasn't yet been scheduled for a House committee vote.

Did I miss something?  Isn't the ballot supposed to be secret?  If I have to send in a utility bill (which I don't have, due to on-line bill pay) it has my name and address on it, and they'll be keeping those pieces of paper.  If you vote in person, the identification documents are returned to you.  No I don't feel good about this!  Any of those identification methods reveal the identity of the voter. 

The following is from Joe Kavanaugh, a republican from Fountain Hills.

"There's a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans," Kavanagh said. "Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they're willing to risk fraud. Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don't mind putting security measures in that won't let everybody vote -- but everybody shouldn't be voting."

He pointed to Democrats' emphasis on registering voters and pursuing those who have not returned ballots -- tactics that Republicans have successfully implemented in other swing states -- and said doing so means that "you can greatly influence the outcome of the election if one side pays people to actively and aggressively go out and retrieve those ballots."

"Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they're totally uninformed on the issues," Kavanagh said. "Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well."

They're saying the quiet part out loud again.  They've said it in front of the Supreme Court and now they're saying it again.  They only want white republicans to vote, and the rest of us can just stay home.  We're as bad as Georgia when it comes to voter suppression. 

The above is from a CNN article.  It's been well reported in the last couple of days.

There has still been no condemnation of Paul Gosar, noted white supremacist by anyone in the GOP.  His siblings are calling for him to be expelled from the House of Representatives because of his heinous beliefs.

Other than that, we're in wait state.