Backyard and Beyond

We rarely celebrate the cultivated fruits of the planet here, but these peppers ready for roasting are as emblematic of the harvest season as anything. From the left: Serrano, poblano, and cayenne from the local farmer’s market.

I roast, peel and seed, and then freeze these to use as needed. Which, since they’re in the freezer, is often.

Some peppers in the “wild” of a sidewalk tree pit on a very skanky block between the cemetery and the train yard. Folks dump all sorts of things here, so, personally, the camera lens is the closest I’m getting to consuming anything growing here.

Here’s a little something I wrote about peppers for JSTOR Daily.
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“The polls do look reassuring, but the fact that a referendum on autocracy is a squeaker will never be lost on me.” ~ Anand Giridharadas
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Republicans are now literally trying to stop the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive after Tuesday. They know they aren’t going to win the popular vote, again. 8th Circuit ruled last night 2-1 ruling to stop counting mailed ballots after 8pm Tuesday night in Minnesota. Both vote-suppressing judges are Republicans, the newest was rated unqualified by ABA but rammed through by McConnell. They’re completely ready to override states, governors, majority of voters in those states (“states’ rights” is only for the racist shit, evidently).

Democrats tend to vote by mail more than Republicans, so chances are good that early returns will be jumped on as a Trump victory before full counts. Then they’ll try to throttle democracy and stop counting. They’re not fooling, they’re operating in open view.

This assault on democracy is absolutely unprecedented. It isn’t remotely “bipartisan,” it isn’t “both sides do it.”

Battleground staters: Minnesota, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, etc., it’s now utterly imperative to vote in person.