%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
Writing about what I have been reading and encountering in the media. |
|
WELCOME TO MY BLOG! I comment on things I am reading, thinking about, encountering in media, and spiritual issues. I hope you will find something interesting. PS. I love feedback... |
| Another School Shooting: Uvalde, Texas, 5/24/22. "We must acknowledge reality. This must not be a normal thing in the USA or anywhere. There is this relentless thing that guns are sacred. This is idolatry. There is not a reason in the world to own this type of gun except to do shootings like this. I live in hope. I know human beings have the capacity to do better. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'the arc of a moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.' But it requires people to make the arc bend."Jon Meacham, Presidential Historian, in an interview on MSNBC, the Eleventh Hour, 10:30 PM 5/25/22. On the heels of shootings in Buffalo at a grocery store and California where a gunman went after Chinese Christians at worship, an 18-year-old shot his grandmother and then went to the elementary school his grandmother had worked at in 2020, in the school district he had attended and shot 2 teachers and 17 fourth graders to death wounding 19 others. This happened in a state that responded to previous mass shootings by removing almost all restrictions on gun ownership. A candidate for Governor, Beto O'Rourk, confronted Governor Abbott about these laws he signed and told him until you do something to stop this, the blood is on your hands. None of this will be news to most who read this. I don't know about you, but I am so disgusted. I am embarrassed to say I am American. We say we are a democracy, but a minority has hijacked the Congress and is interfering with its functioning. Even though 90% of Americans support some form of gun control, we don't have it. We are told this is the doing of the NRA. They do contribute a lot to the problem. However, Congress, the Republican portion of the Senate specifically, is unwilling to even debate the problem let alone vote it up or down. The rest of the "western" world is shaking their heads and thinking we are crazy. A friend in England asked me once if I wasn't afraid to travel as I might get shot. We deserve that view of our homeland. I wonder if "crazy" might be an accurate description of the USA today. Directly after listening to Jon Meacham, I heard a commercial for medication to control bi=polar depression. It sounded like how I feel: "a dark fog." However, I am not suffering from bipolar depression. I just want the government to start governing. I simply want a few restrictions that will protect us from angry 18-year-olds who are impulsive. I want people to quit saying mental health workers, can control this mass shooting behavior. We cannot. We are not magicians. We can only change what the client wants to change. There is no way around that fact. We need laws and law enforcement to keep AR15 arms out of the hands of those who would shoot their grandmother in the face, then kill a classroom full of 4th graders and their teachers. |
| My friend, Bruce Carr, a fellow poet, has passed away. He had been ill for a long time. His illness required specialized care unavailable locally and so none of us had seen him for some time. Of course, COVID contributed to that. I doubt you ever heard of him. But now you will. Bruce was a native of Mountain View, Missouri. I met him when I joined the Mountain View Poetry Society. Bruce liked to lead and had a strong influence on the poetry society for many years. He was very good at helping us critique our own work. He was energetic and creative. He also provided leadership at the Yellow House Community Arts Center in West Plains, Missouri, and organized a number of poetry readings in the area. Bruce also studied photography and showed a special interest in photographing flowers. He loved music and participated by playing a ceramic hand drum. In general, he was creative and followed a different drummer in everything he did. He supported himself as a restaurant kitchen manager and cook. Of course, with that level of creativity, some of his endeavors did not work out so well and his loyal friends saw him through those times. He had loyal friends because of his generosity and loyalty to them. In the end, his illness took him from us long before his death. I am sad to say goodbye to Bruce but glad he is no longer stuck in a body that just didn't work anymore. Safe travels, Bruce. I hope you are greeted at the pearly gates by an angel driving a ragtop car and playing your favorite music on the radio as they drive you to the creative corner of heaven. |
| I am having a lot of trouble watching the news between the machinations of the Republican Party and Supreme Court and the Russian war on Ukraine, I am horrified. The Supreme Court has never before removed a recognized and existing Constitutional right. Furthermore, the current court is setting this decision up to be a precedent to remove other rights including affirmative action, birth control, and choice of marital partner. They are setting it up to take away voting rights of women and people of color. This could lead to removing property rights as well. It is rule by the minority. The most conservative 6 members of the court were appointed by Presidents who were elected by the electoral college after not receiving the majority of the popular vote. Just focusing on the abortion issue, the government has placed itself in the exam room with a woman and her physician. This is not a legitimate government function. For decades the Republicans have fought against universal healthcare on the grounds that the government has no right to regulate healthcare. The nominees to the Court who are working to strike down Roe v. Wade lied to Congress to get on the court. They are lying to us about how the Constitution works and they are doing so fully aware that they are lying. How do I know they are aware? Because they asserted loyalty to traditional views of the Constitution in their confirmation hearings. About Ukraine, I am so sad for the citizens that are displaced, being held captive, being tortured, and murdered so Putin can exert power just because he wants to. I feel sad for the Russians who are losing soldiers without even knowing the truth of the action. I am grateful that we are supporting the Ukrainians but equally horrified that we are in the middle of something so very wrong. Even more troublesome is my awareness that our government is headed for a Putin style of authoritarianism. I could go on and on, but this is enough for now. Thank you for reading. |
| Holmberg, Charlie N., Star Father,(Star Mother book 2), narrated by Karen Chilton, Audible, 2022. For reasons I don't understand, I love this author's work. The book is fantasy. A mortal woman falls in love with a god, the sun, and goes on a quest to become immortal so she can be with him forever. The quest presents her with both helpers and grave dangers. There are several "godlings" and other humans involved and the protagonist has a loyal cousin who supports her flawlessly. This is totally frivolous reading and I enjoyed it as much as I have all of her books. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
