It's different when it happens near to you, in a town that's only had 3 homicides in the last 10 years, when it's a young father with his wife and 3 year old daughter. It means instead of sleeping I plan scenarios. My rules do not allow killing or hurting people, but it does allow ridicule and humiliation. My scenarios usually involve animal tranquilizers, sometimes delivered by old ladies with dart guns built into their walkers, more often delivered by drones, always drones. Once tranquilized, they can be stripped of their guns and all that ridiculous army gear; their truck keys can be tossed into bushes or a gutter, maybe some sugar applied to gas tanks, maybe a couple of flat tires. They can be tied to each other with their own zip ties and their cell phones can be used to post their photos online. Then the team disappears into the neighborhood, and the intersection blockers let the real police through. Other scenarios involve glitter, glue, whistles, and dead skunks.

Maybe all elections should have to happen in a 3 week period. By the time the counties had elected their delegates it was clear that Troy Jackson was the winner and the other candidates dropped out and pledged him their support. So the convention on Saturday will probably nominate on the first ballot. The Platner people became the Jackson people and made sure their delegates got in. Jackson is good at winning in red districts and I think he will beat Collins in November.

Things have moved fast since Platner dropped out of the senate race; next weekend the counties meet to select delegates to a convention scheduled for July 25. I applied to be a delegate, an obligation that would last less than a month. I would vote for Troy Jackson whose platform is pretty much identical to Platner's. He has a long legislative history and can win the north. I'm glad Platner dropped out, but he is still a hero to me; he created an energetic progressive movement that will not be silenced. Waldo County will get only 15 of the 600 delegates to the convention. Here are the rules:

The nomination itself will be decided through elimination rounds rather than a single vote or a ranked-choice voting system. At the convention, every certified candidate appears on the first ballot. Each one gets a brief, formal moment before the balloting begins: a two-minute nominating speech from a supporter, followed by five minutes of remarks from the candidate. Then, the five candidates with the most votes advance to a second round. After that, each round eliminates only the last-place finisher, continuing until one candidate wins a majority. Vote totals are public, but it’s a secret ballot.

Here's a good shady spot for a phone call. The Zone. We maintain our lake buffer as sort of organic chaos, hosta mixed in with wild plants, and a winding path to the dock. Eden in the midst of a crazy world. In the summer, the weekends are over scheduled as people pack events in. Next Sunday I will go to the caucus, but I'll miss the float-in concert where the lake association (for the first time ever) will put a blues duo on the big island, and I'll miss the end of the film festival.