Vote!

I’ve spent way too much time reading Twitter, hoping for puppies and kittens, babies and creativity, only to become immersed in political dialogue. To be fair, there is profound kindness in the twittersphere: people reaching out for reassurance, condolences or just a virtual hand to hold.

Many of the Twitter thoughts these days lead up to tomorrow: November 6 is Election Day here in the United States. I urge everyone to vote. Even if my beliefs and knowledge are different from yours, I want you to vote.

When you don’t vote you choose to silence yourself. However, your voice matters, not just online but on the ballot as well.

On Fear

Bob Woodward‘s Fear, a best-seller from the moment of its release last week, is a hard book to read.

It should be easy: the cast of characters is as familiar as family if you follow any form of current events. The problem is that as I read the book, I am reviewing the past couple of years’ history while simultaneously living with the updates.

Will Grocery IDs Become A Thing?

What started as the funniest news tidbit of the week has given me the creeps:

Trump said at a rally in Tampa, Florida that you need to show identification to buy groceries. (We have to show proof of age to buy  alcoholic beverages.) My reaction was the usual eyeroll, followed by mild horror: Any regime that would confiscate children is not above restricting access to food.

Be The Media. Be There For The Kids

There are were only two newsy personalities I follow(ed): the late Anthony Bourdain and Rachel Maddow. Maddow breaks down the political news of the day on cable TV’s MSNBC, an unabashedly progressive network.

Back in the day she used to mix cocktails once a week at the end of her show. She is funny and smart and presents the facts, however hard and complicated, in a way that makes them understandable. She connects the dots. Last week she broke down and cried when she tried to read the late-breaking report that the ICE opened prisons for babies and toddlers. That was too much even for Rachel.

Pro Publica Reports From The Chain Link Fence

In case anybody is ambivalent about the confiscating of children coming over the United States’ southern border, taking them from their parents and warehousing them in kiddie prisons:

https://youtu.be/PoncXfYBAVI

 

 

Holding On To My Power: International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day 2017!

Women’s Day is not widely celebrated in the United States. However, 2017 dawned with the inauguration of an American leader who bragged that he can grab vaginas, ogle near-naked  teenage beauty pageant contestants, publicly humiliate a Miss Universe.

We have been asked to wear red in solidarity, something I probably would have done anyway. I like red tones.  But the uniform wearing of red reminds me of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Scarlet Letter, neither of which presented good lives for fertile women.

Introducing: The American Constitution

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

That’s the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It’s straightforward and apparently so important, our forefathers made it the first one.

Not Being Silent: The March on New York City

About 399,999 protesters and I shut down Midtown.

I attended the Women’s March on New York City with a friend and the Center for the Women of New York. We assembled in a midtown hotel lobby where I bought a commemorative pin and sash from the Center; they need the money and I wanted a memento that I can use again. I helped myself to complimentary coffee as added fuel.

The Light At The End…

I’ve been trying to write a sweet post about decorating with light for the past week. But the inauguration had me too sad for pretty word pictures.

I wanted to show how I used a combination of tealight candles, battery-operated candles and battery-operated Christmas lights to transform the dark end of my living room. I wrapped bright lights around the top of my decorative lighthouse and I like it so much, it will stay that way all year long. It seemed appropriate to create my own personal beacon.  Light is safety; it prevents bumps and bruises.  Light shows what things really look like; a truly lit object will show its details and flaws. 

The Rise of the Snowflakes

There is a pattern in social media political discourse: abrasive comments using “snowflake and “safe space” as pejorative terms in an attempt to weaken opponents.