Dinner: Mushroom Ragu

 

Mid Term Blue Wave Senate: THE SOUTH

 The South, according to Mrs. Spore, consists of 10 states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.  In this cycle of elections, ALL ten states have elections.  Four states have open seats (NC, AL, LA, and TX), two states (SC and FL) are hosting elections with appointed Senators seeking their first elected terms, and the rest (GA, MS, TN, and AR) have incumbents seeking re-election.  As a region, the median age of the likely new cadre of Senators will be one of the youngest in the country, setting up the possibility of a new power-base as seniority accrues.  

My choices are my fantasy, but they are not based on a lack of information or polling.  When the dust settles, if this Blue Wave manifests itself, this election may come to be known as the "re-Purple-ing" of America bringing a Democratic voice to regions with a recent history of Republican hegemony.

KEY

North Carolina's Senior Senator is only in his first term.  He's a Trump Accolite who previously served in the House of Representatives.  Roy Cooper will be the first Democrat to win a Republican seat on Election night.  Cooper has been a moderate Governor of the State guiding its choices down the middle of the road to the best of his abilities.  North Carolina will become a Purple state with his victory.

Tim Scott, the Senior Senator of South Carolina was initially elevated to the seat as an appointment after the Republican elected Senator Jim DeMint resigned in disgrace.  In 2013, he was officially elected to the Senate. In his second term, Scott is the longest serving African American Senator in the history of this nation.  Dr. Annie Andrews will be the first Democratic candidate to win a seat in the Senate from South Carolina since Democratic Senators were staunch segregationists.  It would be a new beginning for Democrats in the state.

Georgia is either an outlier with two Democratic Senators or a harbinger of a changing South.  This election may give us some real insight into which it is.  While Jon Ossoff is the Senior Senator, both he and Junior Senator Raphael Warnock were first elected in the same year.  With this year's victory, both well have been reelected giving the idea that they are somehow a fluke no credence.  

Florida's Senior Senator is a former Healthcare executive who has done everything within his power to support the raping of American by the Pharmacuetical/Healthcare Industrial Complexes.  He could care less about the poor or needy.  Should she win, and I grant you, my including Angie Nixon in this post is my most aspirational stretch for a 2026 mid-term win.  She would be the polar opposite to Scott.  Black, a woman, raised in a lower-middle class setting and a passion for a government that supports and empowers the common folks.

Senior Senator Katie Britt is in her first term.  Besides her love of Jesus I really don't know what else makes her happy.  The RNC has used her to motivate women to support the party, which may be her greatest contribution as a Senator to this point.  The election of Barry Moore will maintain Republican uninimity for representation from Alabama.  Moore is currently a member of the House delegation from Alabama.

Senior Senator Roger Wicker is one of the last remaining members of the first Republican wave in the Senate back in oughts.  He is an old school politician who would prefer to spend his time legislating than kissing a sycophantic President's bulbous ass.  I sometimes feel sorry for him--he's trapped in a world of Trumpian vitriol and mean-spiritedness.  Colom winning is another fantasy pic, but one with more than a spot of Karma should it come to pass.  He was nominated for a Federal Judgeship under Biden with what was thought to be both Wicker and present incumbent Hyde-Smith's acquaintance.  Then old Cindy got wind that Colom believes Transfolks are actually people, too.  Sorry Roger, Cindy pulled her blue card and left him high and dry...

Tennessee's Junior Senator Hagerty is coasting to re-election.  It will be his second term.  A legislator of no consequence.  It's Senior Senator Marsha Blackburn, on the other hand, is well versed at stealing all of the oxygen out of any room she enters.  A real firebrand on the Judiciary Committee in particular; however, she is also running for and expected to win the Governorship of Tennessee.  There will be a special election before the dust settles on this one.

Arkansas Senior Senator John Boozman is another milktoast legislator.  I can't think of a single thing he's sponsored in his 14 years in the Senate.  He's got to be thanking his lucky stars that he's not up for re-election this cycle.  As Chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee, he'd be up Shit Creek to have to defend this administrations farming policies!  The Junior Senator is up for re-election.  Senator Tom Cotton entered the Senate with a little group of other recent Iraq War Veterans.  While it's been long assumed that Arkansas was a safe seat for Republicans, it's also one that has seen obscene amounts of spending to ensure that it is so.

Senior Senator John Kennedy is another thoughback to a more genteel time in the Senate--it's easy to picture him dressed in a white Sear's Sucker Suite hold a mint julep in one hand while dabbed beads of sweat off of his brow with a proper kerchief in the other.  I love to watch him in action.  He delights himself with his own clever little zingers during committee cross examinations of appointees.  The soon-to-be Junior Senator came to this race in one of the most bizarre of manners.  The wife of a House candidate who was elected in 2018 and then widowed when he died of Covid-19!  She won election the seat, and then was christened by Trump to this seat after Trump cursed the former incumbent, leading to his loss in the primary.  Whew!  But unlike other freshman Republican, Letlow is sharp and driven.  I feel like only a fool would underestimate her potential.

Texas' Senior Senator is Ted Cruz.  Its soon to be Junior Senator is James Talarico.  Talarico will do what Democrats have been unable to do since June 13, 1993, put a Democrat's butt in a seat set aside for a Democrat from the state of Texas.

Index Time

By Demographic Category

GENDER 5 out of 20; 25; current score 25

RACE 4 out of 20 - 20; current score 10

RELIGION 1 out of 20 - 5; current score 5

DISABILITY 0 out of 20 - 0.0; current score 0.0

Diversity Index becomes 50.0 as compared to the current index of 40.0

By region so far:

New England - 8.3

Mid-Atlantic - 25.0

Midwest - 45.8

The South - 50.0

Average Age will go from 64 to 57.

Midterm Blue Wave Senate: MIDWEST

 Midwest as defined by my fifth grade teacher way back when!  This third installment continues my look at the U. S. Senate now and post election day (November 3) with a tilt toward the coming Blue Wave and my hopes for a Democratic majority in the end.  The Midwest was once a reliably Democratic stronghold, which in the past 20 years has morphed into Red and purple battle ground states.  The transformation has accompanied a general loss of blue collar labor intensive factory jobs without a viable collective plan for replacement and renewal.  

There are four Senate seats in play.  One of the most interesting pits an appointed Republican against a former longtime incumbent seeking a return to the Senate in Ohio.  The other three: Kentucky, Illinois, and Michigan are all open seats.  Of these, Illinois is certainly going to the incumbent party (Democrats), and Kentucky will do the same for the Republicans.  New blood, old ideologies.  This leaves us with Michigan where a bold choice in the primary could send the first openly Muslim Senator to Congress (Abdul El-Sayed).  In my estimation, only Kentucky goes for a Republican, while Illinois, Michigan and Ohio send Democrats to the 119th Congress, second term.  Ohio represents a second pick-up for the Democrats, joining New England's Maine.

Wisconsin, once a liberal bastion and Democratic stranghold has become the epitome of the magical "Purple" Swing State.  The Senior Senator is Ron Johnson who honestly stands for little more than what's best for Ron Johnson.  In recent years, he's been non-existent, until his vote is needed to push forward some Fascist legislation from the Trump administration.  The Yin to his Yang is the Junior Senator, Tammy Baldwin.  The first openly Lesbian Senator, she is the quintessential progressive pushing the boundaries of human rights and gender equality.  There's something for everyone in Wisconsin.

Illinois Senior Senator in this Congress is Dick Durbin (one of my absolute favorite Senators, so smart, so quick-witted, he should have been the Senate Leader over schumer, a mon avis) who is not running for re-election.  This makes Senator Tammy Duckworth the new Senior Senator and an excellent Senator is she.  An Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs in combat, she is a fearless warrior for Veterans, Women, Citizens of Color and the Disability Community.  The presumed freshman Junior Senator will be Juliana Stratton who currently serves as Illinois Lieutenant Governor.  She brings to 3 the number of African American women in the Senate for a new record.  

Kentucky's new Senior Senator will be Rand Paul.  One of the truly idiocycratic members of the Senate, Paul is a force of one.  Though he votes most of the time with his party, he is not above taking an illogical, ill-informed stance on a hill that no one else is ready to die on.  He's an odd ball.  Andy Barr will most likely be the newly elected Junior Senator.  Barr is a Trump loyalist who is currently serving in the House of Representatives.

Indiana's Senators are both in their first terms and together represent one of the youngest cohorts in the Senate.  Both vote straight party line which is to say they vote for whatever Trump wants.  And like the majority of Republicans, their Demographic profiles read: Male, White, Christian, with Physical Disability.

When it comes to the battle for control of the Senate, Ohio is one of the many pivotal races.  The mishigas of political storms railing the atmosphere of this state is fodder for reality TV.  The Senior Senator's daughter is married to a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and she has alleged marital and child abuse against him.  Her father, the Senior Senator Bernie Moreno, has declared him unfit to serve and now his seat is a toss-up and probable defeat for the Republicans.  The Junior Senator was appointed by the Governor to fill Vice President J.D. Vance's term, and now he must be formally elected to keep his seat.  Sherrod Brown was one of the most populous oriented Democratic Senators with a tenure of 18 years, when he was narrowly defeated by Senator Moreno in 2023.  Are you still with me?  The incumbent Junior Senator, Jon Husted, spent too much time extolling the economic benefits of Data Centers...Waa waa waaaaa.  Now, Sherrod Brown is using this fortunate misstep of Husted to draw a clear populous distinction between the two.  A distinction that is making a difference in the polls.  Ergo, Brown should win a fourth term in the Senate.

Michigan's Senior Senator is in her first term having won her seat by defeating the same Trump ally who once again is in a contest wit

h the Democratic candidate, Abdul El-Sayed.  The best thing the Republican can offer up against El-Sayed are racist, islamophobic accusations, while the candidate clearly comes across as the very model of the American Dream come to life.  This is one of the most interesting Senatorial races on the docket for this class.  I believe that his character and his passion will overcome the bigotry that President Trump and his tenure have roiled up across Michigan and the nation.  

Index Time:  

By Demographic category

GENDER 4 out of 12 - 33; current score 25 (illustrated by the map)

RACE 3 out of 12 - 25; current score 8.3

RELIGION 3 out of 12 - 25; current score 16.7

DISABILITY 1 out of 12 - 8.3; current score 8.3

Diversity Index becomes 45.8 as compared to current index of 29.2  The higher the index, the greater the diversity.  To recap.

New England    -   8.3 

Mid-Atlantic    -  25.0

Midwest        - 45.8

Average age will go from 64 to 58.  

Midterm Blue Wave Senate: MID-ATLANTIC

 The next stop on my Midterm Senate fantasy tour is the Mid-Atlantic region comprised of seven states: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.  The same set of demographics as before: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Religion, Disability and Age.  All of which will form the basis for a diversity index score.  Of the seven states there are only Senate races in 4: New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, and Virginia.  In all cases popular incumbents have wide leads.  The result is likely to be zero change from the status quo.  The states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are served by two Democratic Senators.  The state of West Virginia is served by two Republican Senators.  This leaves Pennsylvania as an odd bird among states with split representation.

New York's Senior Senator holds the top position for the Democratic Party in the Senate.  Chuck Schumer is an old school politician who has been a member of Congress since 1993.  After nine terms Representing New York City in various districts: 16th, 10th, and 9th District, he ran for Senate in 1998 and defeated Republican firebrand, Al D'Amato.  Venerable hand-shaker/deal-maker, Schumer was elected to the role of Leader of the Senate in 2017.  The Junior Senator was elected to the seat previously held by former First Lady, Hillary Clinton.  In 2019, Kirsten Gillibrand ran in a crowded field for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.  She began her candidacy in March of 2019, and dropped out in August.  She has been particularly passionate about the fare treatment of our military veterans.

Pennsylvania is one of only three states with a divided Senatorial delegation.  The Senior Senator, John Fetter was elected as a maverick in a race against a Trump loyalist and TV Commentator.  The win was the only one Democrats managed to eke out of a Trump windfall year.  His tenure has been marked by recovery from a stroke, opposition to many progressive Democratic ideals, and finally a AWOL status regarding participation in Senate business.  Dave McCorkmick was elected the following year defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent by a narrow margin.  But a win is ALWAYS a win. 

New Jersey's Senior Senator also participated in the Presidential Campaign of 2019.  And like Gillibrand, Corey Booker failed to make the cut.  He is known as an exuberant and even at times excitable present on the floor of the Senate.  His New Jersey partner and Junior Senator was just elected to the seat during the 2024 campaign.  Andy Kim is the only member of the Senate from a Korean ethnic background.  Together they form one of the youngest Senatorial Delegations.

Chris Coons is the Senior Senator from the state of Delaware.  Affiable character on the Senate floor.  You often see him roaming from one group of Senators to another to partake in chit chat.  The Junior Senator, Lisa Blunt Rochester is one of two African American Senators, both of whom were just elected to office in November of 2024.

Maryland is my home!  And I love both of my Senators.  Chris Van Hollen was first elected in 2016.  He's focused on the work of the Department of State, Immmigration Issues, and Constituency Services.  He's also the least wealthy of all the Senators with a net worth that is lower than my own.  Electing Angela Alsobrooks in 2024 was one of my favorite votes.  She is whip smart and brings a perspective to the Senate that it desperately needs.  I'm expecting great things from her.

Virginia's delegation is one of the longest serving duos.  Senior Senator Mark Warner is cruising to re-election.  A businessman with a long reputation of working across the aisle when in the minority.  He is problem solver and a great asset to the Senate.  Junior Senator Tim Kane briefly came to national attention when Hillary Clinton chose him as her running mate in 2015.  Tim is a genial guy who also works across the aisle to craft bi-partisan legislation.

West Virginia was one of the most Blue states for over a century.  One of its most favored "sons" was Senator Robert Byrd who is also the longest serving Senator in the history of the Senate.  When he retired in 2010 after over 51 years of tenure, the current Senior Senator, Shelly Capito was elected breaking the Blue bubble.  She started out as a moderate Republican, and grew with the party to be a mostly "yes" vote to Trump's whims.  I liked her until I learned how many of her own relatives she's managed to get into positions of state and local offices.  The West Virginia bubble turned red in 2022 when Jim Justice was elected.  Junior Senator Jim Justice came to the Senate hot off the Governor's office, and he is the wealthiest person in the Senate with a net worth of about $675,000,000.00.   Money was obtained through the mining of coal and income obtained from the Greenbrier Estate in southern West Virginia.

Index Time:  

By Demographic category

GENDER 4 out of 14 - 29; current score 29 (illustrated by the map)

RACE 4 out of 14 - 29; current score 29

RELIGION 1 out of 14 - 7; current score 7

DISABILITY 0 out of 14 - 0; current score 0

Diversity Index remains at 25.0 as compared to New England's of 8.3

Average age will remain 63.     

Mid-tern Blue Wave Senate: NEW ENGLAND

 My personal fantasy of the United States Senate reflecting the much talked about pending Blue Wave coming in the mid-term elections on November 3, 2026  I'm also looking at the current members of the Senate, and considering a handful of key demographics.  These included: Gender, Race, Religion, and Disability.  I will use these markers to create a diversity index score and then use that score to compare the present Senate with the new Senate, with the current body by region.

In fifth grade we studied the regions of the United States and I have always leaned on the definition of regional clusters which I learned sitting in Mrs. Spores class back in my little hometown in Michigan.  You may feel free to disagree.

NEW ENGLAND

Comprised of 6 states and 12 Senators.  All 12 caucus with the Democrats, though both Vermont (Bernie Sanders) and Maine Angus King) have an independent Senator. There are three races on the ballot from this region in 2026.  One is sure HOLD for the Democrats (Ed Markey) in Massachusetts.  One is a competative open seat in New Hampshire that has found its way onto most pundents TOSS-UP list, but I believe it will reamain Democratic and elect Chris Pappas.  The final one is a vulnerable moderate Republican--one of only two left in the Senate.  Defeating an incumbent is no easy task; however, I think that Democtratic candidate Troy Jackson, can pull this off in Maine.  Maine being one of the first states to report results, the direction of this race will set the stage for the way election eve and the days to come will go.

Maine's Senior Senator, Angus King, is one of only two independents in the Senate.  Calm, Cool, never gets riled up and rarely steps out from behind the curtain.  At 82, it's time for him to retire and leave this seat open in 2030.  Troy Jackson is the unlikely "everyman" to step and salvage the mess after the Democrats' first choice could not out-run his own "everyman" foibles.  

Maggie Hassan is New Hampshire's Senior Senator.  She is sharp witted and ready to fight for the American people's rights as delineated under the auspices of our U.S. Constitution.  I really like her, and full disclosure, she's my top choice to replace Chuck Schumer of NY as Leader of the Senate.  Chris is currently a member of the New Hampshire delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.  He has served 4 terms beginning with an election victory in 2018.  When he's elected, he will be one of the youngest members of the U.S. Senate.  He will also be the first openly gay male candidate to win a seat in this august and somewhat stodgy body. 

Vermont's Senior Senator is one of the most recognizable names in Democratic politics not only in the United States, but around the world.  His next election is also in 2030, and in spite of his inscrutable passion for all things progressive, it's time for him to pass on the batton, too.  Peter Welch is the Junior senator.  He quiet, behind the scenes and well over shadowed by Sanders, Like Sander's his road to the Senate was paved by many years of service as Vermont's only member of the House of Representatives.

Massachusetts Senior Senator, Elizabeth Warren, is another high profile player in the Senate.  Her passion for economic equality and fiscal turpetude have been the focus of much of her legislative work.  A solid Senator to have.  Ed Markey, at 80, easily rebuffed a much younger insurgent candidate in the primary to earn the opportunity for a second term in the Senate.  He's a shoe in win re-election.  

No campaigns in Rhode Island this year and a set of incumbents who really are a sort of odd couple.  Senior Senator Jack Reed is a quiet, if engaged Senator who rarely makes a speech on the floor of the Senate.  When he does, it's nearly always for a cause affecting our Armed Forces and/or Veterans.  Rather milktoast, a mon avis.  Junior Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is another one of my favorites.  He's a bulldog with bone when it comes to the current Republican regime in the White House.  He regularly visits the floor of the Senate to speak passionately in behalf of fiscal malfeasonce in the Republican party and among its many wealthy supporters and benefactors.  I love this guy.

Senior Senator Richard Blumenthal is another behind the scenes guy--a sort of survivor from the glory days under President Obama.  Up for re-election in 2030, it would be a good time to open up another seat for some fresh blood.  Junior Senator Chris Murphy is very vocal and often plays tag-team with a clutch of younger members of the Senate to stand-up against Republican legislation they feel will have harmful consequences to the American people.  Chris also comes across as having higher political aspirations.  Don't be surprised if you see him run for President in what is sure to be a crowded field at the start.  When he fails to make the grade, I'm equally as certain that his name will be on whomever wins the primary's short list for running mate.  He's a great Senator.  I would be happy to support his run for "higher" office in either role.  

Index Time:  

By Demographic category

GENDER 2 out of 12 - 17; current score 33 (illustrated by the map)

RACE 0 out of 12 - 0; current score 0

RELIGION 2 out of 12 - 17; current score 17

DISABILITY 0 out of 12 - 0; current score 0

Diversity Index drops from 10.4 down to 8.3

Average age will drop by 4 years from 75.2 down to 71.2  

Folger Shakespeare Theatre: Measure for Measure

 "Measure For Measure" is an oddball play.  It's a little like Shakespeare's Frankenstein move, a little bit of this from this play, a little bit of that from this other one over here, etc.  Perhaps, in part, because it is so unpredictable with moments where you are asking yourself is this a comedy or is it a tragedy, I find myself more engaged in the give and take.

With a cast of this exceptional quality, the effort is also rewarded!  The ensemble was led with great sincerity and energy by Renea S. Brown as Isabella, the sister who will do just about anything (and does) in order to obtain a pardon for her brother's life.  Her skill at bringing every word out of her mouth to life really anchored the entire production.  Her brother's been convicted of a crime moral turpitude and is sentenced to death.  Meanwhile, there's a Duke who ups and leaves the city in the charge of his relatives, then disappears.  But he hasn't gone anywhere, he's just disguised as an Abbot.  He's sussing out corruption in the kingdom.  And there is plenty to be found.  The Duke was played with a boyish impishness  by Nathan Darrow.  His roguish good looks aided the presentation.  Other shout outs go to Lee Osorio as the Duke's corrupt cousin, Angelo.  Jonathan Feuer who plays the city's ne'er-do-well wannabe, Lucio --funniest lines/moments in the play go to him.  What also set Feuer apart was his complete mastery of the physical gesture: a turn of his head, a movement of his hand or even a finger to punctuate a line.  And finally to Chinai Routte who played Mistress Overdone/Francisca the town's 'overdone' madame--another source of much humor.  

This is the second time I've seen "Measure For Measure" performed on stage.  In spite of the excellent cast, the oddities of the characterizations (not as they were acted) as they were written persist and bloom primarily in the character of the Duke, who at times is inexplicably cruel to Isabella, whom he secretly loves.  It's capricious and brings us to one of the most odd endings.  Almost like a reprise of "As You Like It"'s mass marriage celebration, but with bizarre, unsettling twists like a post-nuptial promise to execute one of the grooms and then an odd pardon with the punishment transferring to the marriage itself...  The roller coaster ride is just too jerky for me, but I guess Shakespeare did alright by himself in the long run...

Isabella's (Renea S. Brown) first attempt to change Angelo's (Lee Osorio) mind regarding his decree to execute her brother, Claudio

A plea that eventually leads to a liaison between the two, then Angelo betrays his promise to free Claudio post-tryst.

Three of the town's "up-standing" citizens discussing the Duke's sudden disappearance at the pending state of affairs under the joint leadership of Angelo and Escalus.  L-R: Froth (John Sygar), Lucio (Jonathan Feuer), and Elbow (Ryan Sellers)

Mistress Overdone (Chinai Routte) with her side-kick in mischief, Pompey (Ahmad Kamal)

Isabella meets the mysterious friar (Nathan Darrow), a.k.a. the Duke in disguise, at the prison while visiting her brother.

A subsequent meeting, this time involving Lucio, as the "Friar" continues to explore the depth and scope of the corruption in the city.

Isabella speaks to the Duke (Nathan Darrow) upon his return as Escalus (Holly Twyford) looks on.

In the final moments, members of the ensemble come together to have their "truths" revealed before the Duke who begins the sorted process of adjudicating all the wrongs and rewarding all the good eggs.  L-R: Monk (Ryan Sellers), the Duke (Nathan Darrow), Angelo (Lee Osorio), Escalus (Holly Twyford), Marianna--Angelo's estranged betrothed (Renee Elizabeth Wilson) and the Provost (Sean Fri)

A final scene where the Duke proposes matrimony to Isabella and she renounces her religious vows to accept.  L-R: Marianna, Angelo, the Duke, Isabella, the Provost, Claudio (Jaben Early) and Juliet (Maryanne Henderson).  In the performance I saw, the role of Claudio was played by James Stringer, Jr. Jaben Early's understudy.