tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91129258203209446112024-03-16T01:07:56.279-06:00Hot Chicks Dig Smart MenJaniecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.comBlogger3052125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-87111227208550317332022-08-11T08:00:00.001-06:002022-08-11T13:20:35.651-06:00Saving those who cannot save themselves<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-F7rN-oUBx9sJId9Jpe-EKCP7R_VoAcv4UwkSjLwNaxV-Yrrf3QVOYi5N536npKut_HyK55hnBe4DSXa0T6sS-ZpcffedyvdTzljruSy45h5hgyXSI19wm8ziecBtn5Suxc6TB7VbJoE5OpRBR7YNZqJnFEbwJth_vWNjLUI0WQirSZykrUMek5_/s720/Belle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-F7rN-oUBx9sJId9Jpe-EKCP7R_VoAcv4UwkSjLwNaxV-Yrrf3QVOYi5N536npKut_HyK55hnBe4DSXa0T6sS-ZpcffedyvdTzljruSy45h5hgyXSI19wm8ziecBtn5Suxc6TB7VbJoE5OpRBR7YNZqJnFEbwJth_vWNjLUI0WQirSZykrUMek5_/w400-h300/Belle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My favorite picture of Moe, cosplaying Belle from Beauty and the Beast<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>As most of my readers know, I lost my daughter to suicide in 2013. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It's been nine long years since we lost her, and I'm as sorrowful today as I was the day she died. </span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Moe died of uncontrolled mental illness. She experienced severe depression, and was under a doctor's care for her condition. But we lost her anyway, leaving a Moe-shaped hole in my heart that nothing is able to fill.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Every day I mourn her loss in this world, and I would give everything to have her here with us again. But I can't have that, so instead I choose to perform service projects in her memory such as being a good ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and donating money to institutions she cared about, like our local library foundation.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">And I also support AFSP's mission in helping people who are at risk overcome their lack of hope and help those who have been affected by suicide.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">This is the sixth year I've been up to participating in this event personally, but this will be the ninth year the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">Maureen's Marchers </span>team is hitting the road in my baby girl's name on the annual <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Out of the Darkness Denver Metro Walk. </strong>The money raised in this event will go to fighting suicide and supporting AFSP's goal to reduce the suicide rate 20% by 2025.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">The danger of suicide is especially high within the LGBTQ+ community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 24 and the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 14. Among youth who identify as sexual minorities, the likelihood of death by suicide has been estimated to be two to seven times greater than the likelihood of death by suicide among heterosexual youth. These kids need help, and it's up to us to provide it in any way we can.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Please help us honor our lost, beloved Moe-Moe and consider donating to the AFSP by clicking the "<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Donate</strong>" button on this page. All donations are 100% tax deductible and benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), funding research, education, advocacy, and support for those affected by suicide. The AFSP is a Charity Navigator 4 star charity, and they spend 83.1% of their total budget on program expenses.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">"When you are sorrowful look again at your own heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." ~ Khalil Gibron</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: avenirnextltpro-regular, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://supporting.afsp.org/participant/MaureensMarchers" target="_blank">DONATE</a></b></span></p><br />Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-86464703314687639132022-05-01T08:00:00.049-06:002022-05-01T09:49:44.243-06:00The value of conservatives<p><a href="https://steady.substack.com/p/theres-nothing-conservative-about?s=r" target="_blank">This was in my inbox this morning</a>, and gave me some food for thought. </p><p>As I continue to sort my thoughts regarding the schism in our country, I have come to realize that I don't - and never have had - a personal issue with conservatives when the word is used to describe the pre-Reagan Republican Party. I no longer agree with their platform, but I consider them the loyal opposition, and understand they're worthy of a place at the table. There is value in balancing the desire and need for change with the cautiousness of conservatism in a democratic republic. I used to <i>be</i> a Republican, after all.</p><p>There are still a few public servants out there who fall into this category, although they're few and far between these days. Mitt Romney. Liz Chaney. Susan Collins. Lisa Murkowski. The GOP calls them "RINOs," Republican in Name Only, and they're right - they <i>are </i>RINOs. Instead, let's call these Congresspeople <i>conservatives,</i> while the rest of the GOP can keep the moniker "Republican."</p><p>Because in today's political climate, to be a "Republican" politician is to work to undo our democracy through any means necessary to achieve Republican goals and to support the ultra-rich, disregarding the will of the vast majority of Americans. And if you stand by, see what's happening and do nothing, then you forfeit any claim you might have had to public service and patriotism, and you <i>certainly </i>forfeit any claim to the word "conservative." </p><p>There are those who consider Islam, or liberalism, or progressives, or the boogie-man <i>de jour</i> an existential threat to our country and way of life. But I think it's those who would support autocracy who pose the biggest threat. Autocracy and authoritarianism are the exact opposite of how Americans are supposed to govern ourselves, and supporting it is the most unAmerican thing a citizen can do. </p><p>January 6th was an insurrection, an attempted coup, and those who planned and executed it should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, regardless of who they are and what positions they may have held or hold today. And those who passively supported it should never be allowed to influence our government again, in any capacity. Let them pay for their cowardice by becoming pariahs in the present and excoriated in the history books of the future. </p><div data-block="true" data-editor="3n543" data-offset-key="fi4ss-0-0" style="background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-11097100496398118492022-04-30T08:00:00.028-06:002022-04-30T08:01:34.756-06:00More on Lashes<p>As you all know, I recently tried lash extensions in an effort to reduce my beauty requirements during our upcoming trip to Italy. This experiment was NOT a success, so my friend Cindy, a master aesthetician, recommended Le Grande Lash serum to see if I could get those suckers to grow, and here's my status report.</p><p>Before: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b81ZUBgUZuHE3WmcevPnoBk_fieBzAwd7w1EqaNTsrGpgZnSPvo1YSAwMLRtGgpHNLy8AfqUTt4yhZMXQHUvZrWn8yjBdgOkl97Ty-GRL73DSn3FQi1dvSXcVCblFlr4bQ1Ge-kkHWKSho4m5aXE1rEormdy9Vb2znrAlAv5IzAdPEl5pYc6L-_j/s2316/IMG_7129-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="2316" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b81ZUBgUZuHE3WmcevPnoBk_fieBzAwd7w1EqaNTsrGpgZnSPvo1YSAwMLRtGgpHNLy8AfqUTt4yhZMXQHUvZrWn8yjBdgOkl97Ty-GRL73DSn3FQi1dvSXcVCblFlr4bQ1Ge-kkHWKSho4m5aXE1rEormdy9Vb2znrAlAv5IzAdPEl5pYc6L-_j/w640-h157/IMG_7129-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>After:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Tqf1gZToCFm2v3CUh6gVL207WZUXN4ftw6Bz0fCha3RPOEUh_5fUNlNE2GFNdQitXhn0whlqbJOCBMQLIwQEQXCVOirpZy7Ni4ek_U9Q0YTEjihK_Uap-8TuaUjgtxKYEI9WBQ7G_5bOLeNN0fI6VGOK_eYrGYueGMhtFt-evkjhyDBiiE4dmk2D/s2266/IMG_7738.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="2266" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Tqf1gZToCFm2v3CUh6gVL207WZUXN4ftw6Bz0fCha3RPOEUh_5fUNlNE2GFNdQitXhn0whlqbJOCBMQLIwQEQXCVOirpZy7Ni4ek_U9Q0YTEjihK_Uap-8TuaUjgtxKYEI9WBQ7G_5bOLeNN0fI6VGOK_eYrGYueGMhtFt-evkjhyDBiiE4dmk2D/w640-h190/IMG_7738.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqe35sgb9VreoJcMdFW4TbRTMVvmv-BoIOamFSCjxiannwv9Q5gmvgosnxQl7-N7AopbpLwZHrJYlxygJgLvqtOcRzbIHy2_4V6FqZ0OdZY5rrDLFzA5CLw0OHojhRKwdntypz1zwSspEH7XInywDMwPiBzQ59riy2VUi4AsRY7Q09n4d_KmTeAOs/s2216/IMG_7740.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="2216" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzqe35sgb9VreoJcMdFW4TbRTMVvmv-BoIOamFSCjxiannwv9Q5gmvgosnxQl7-N7AopbpLwZHrJYlxygJgLvqtOcRzbIHy2_4V6FqZ0OdZY5rrDLFzA5CLw0OHojhRKwdntypz1zwSspEH7XInywDMwPiBzQ59riy2VUi4AsRY7Q09n4d_KmTeAOs/w640-h172/IMG_7740.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After, with makeup:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Aq_U8mMWkLVlzI0EqmpHX6788Ch4SnH8Q38W5dR4d9PQnjENEkMkIpsm0Ee5NOUZ8fz360TqNbi62VdEKmVT4sXwIX5cB5-eqAHSI8mkBYka8amZYHf0DRVQmXFyyrnKNTfU1BehZmGPtfNp6Hzi_dfMiBsUj5f0FWHF8fZsvqQhrt5KVCSdNGNt/s2316/IMG_7742.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="2316" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Aq_U8mMWkLVlzI0EqmpHX6788Ch4SnH8Q38W5dR4d9PQnjENEkMkIpsm0Ee5NOUZ8fz360TqNbi62VdEKmVT4sXwIX5cB5-eqAHSI8mkBYka8amZYHf0DRVQmXFyyrnKNTfU1BehZmGPtfNp6Hzi_dfMiBsUj5f0FWHF8fZsvqQhrt5KVCSdNGNt/w640-h162/IMG_7742.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm going to call this a success, especially because I really don't want my lashes to be any longer with mascara than they are now. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjES8mtnFJDI-MsoB9AnRLhnS1-xbOnqgMFfSS6bmUXzysq1gIKXBqCieLleRxOm565TWT_lLyNPR3nwhFKhcnxpyWZwOeHB3sJkSCwWyjOEbFlTHn7m66HfMA54qjPzqXYZ7YyFfAZbZhre2_ZO_GCuYy7-cIXFaz9MPE5krXSZl6tDCJWf9quXkyt/s1588/il_1588xN.3077549394_lfjq.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="1588" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjES8mtnFJDI-MsoB9AnRLhnS1-xbOnqgMFfSS6bmUXzysq1gIKXBqCieLleRxOm565TWT_lLyNPR3nwhFKhcnxpyWZwOeHB3sJkSCwWyjOEbFlTHn7m66HfMA54qjPzqXYZ7YyFfAZbZhre2_ZO_GCuYy7-cIXFaz9MPE5krXSZl6tDCJWf9quXkyt/w400-h361/il_1588xN.3077549394_lfjq.jpg.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is not a look I believe I can pull off at my current age. I do wear glasses, after all, and I live in a high-wind area. What if I took flight?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I think I'm going to stick with the Le Grande Lash product from now on, and my trusted and true Blinc mascara. <i>Ciao, Baby!</i> </div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-67321679079319466392022-03-10T08:00:00.004-07:002022-03-10T15:07:08.725-07:00On Gas Prices and Partisan Politics<div><br /></div><div>I'm getting pretty tired of hearing all the bitching about high gas prices. Not because people are bitching, though - higher gas prices are a burden for folks who don't make a ton of money. I've been in that economic bracket, and it sucks, big time, <i>especially </i>when wages haven't kept up with inflations since what? The late 70's?</div><div><br /></div><div>No, I'm tired of it because (AS USUAL) it's become a partisan talking point which ignores all the facts in service to party talking points. So I did some research, and here are the results. Take it, leave it, stick your fingers in your ears and sing "Lalalalala" all day, I don't care. But the next time this silliness comes up, I'm referring the purveyor to this blog post.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The price of gasoline is not controlled by the President - ANY President, regardless of party. If it was, the United States really <i>would</i> be a socialist nation, because private enterprise would all be nationalized and operated by the government. But our government doesn't have that power, regardless of the way the right flings the word "socialist" around without actually knowing what it means. </li><li>According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the top five sources of U.S. petroleum imports were from: </li><ul><li>Canada - 52%</li><li>Mexico - 11%</li><li>Russia - 7%</li><li>Saudi Arabia - 7%</li><li>Colombia: 4%</li></ul><li>According tot he U.S. Energy Information Administration, the top five sources of U.S. crude oil imports by share of total crude oil imports in 2020 were:</li><ul><li>Canada - 61%</li><li>Mexico - 11%</li><li>Saudi Arabia - 8%</li><li>Colombia - 4%</li><li>Iraq - 3%</li></ul><li>Based on these facts, it seems pretty evident that the bad guy in this scenario is - surprise, surprise - BIG OIL. Consider:</li><ul><li>Exxon, Shell, BP, and Chevron have their highest profits in seven years, over <b>$75B</b>. Yes, that's billion with a "B."</li><li>Exxon, Chevron, and Conoco are using 40% of these massive profits to execute stock buybacks instead of lowering gas prices. </li><li>These companies are laughing all the way to bank (or the Cayman Islands, same-same) while Americans struggle to fill their tanks. This is what they've always done, and will continue to do, because they're rewarded for this behavior beyond the dreams of avarice. </li></ul><li>The Keystone Pipeline is not a factor in gas prices, regardless of what Tucker the Entertainer tells you. </li><ul><li>The Keystone Pipeline is complete. It currently carries 540K barrels of oil per day.</li><li>The Keystone Pipeline only carries "tar sands oil," not crude oil, which isn't used to make gasoline. </li><li>The Keystone Pipeline is owned by a Canadian company and comes from Canada. This makes it an import. </li><li>The extension of this pipeline (Keystone XL) has been cancelled by the private Canadian company who owns the pipeline. The US government did not force them to do this, they examined the cost-benefit analysis and made a decision base on profitability, which is what private companies <i>do</i>. If we lived in a socialist state, then the president could take control of these lands and nationalize oil production/distribution. But again, we don't, so you can't blame the President (regardless of political party) for failing to do so. Unless socialism suddenly isn't destroying America, in which case the Right has some explaining to do.</li></ul></ul><div>I'm in no way saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not had an impact on oil prices. But in this case, I don't think it's an entirely a case of "supply and demand." I think it's a case of "Oil executives can never have enough money, regardless of how much they get." </div></div><div><br /></div><div>But as usual, mass media and partisan talking-heads and politicians are trying to make it out like it's Biden's fault, or Trump's fault, or anyone's fault except our own corrupt system. Imagine what we could accomplish if we started holding the right people accountable. Just imagine. </div><div>_________</div><div><br /></div><div>ETA: My friend Alex reminds me that this "we should be energy independent!" trope is going around again. Except we don't WANT to be energy independent because we still want to drive huge, low-MPG vehicles, and support fossil fuels, and fail to support renewables. If we want energy independence, then we have to actually, you know, DO something about it beyond bitching. </div><div><div data-block="true" data-editor="4ntp0" data-offset-key="eb7bk-0-0" style="background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"></div></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-51987441764169271542022-03-02T08:00:00.015-07:002022-03-02T14:49:49.218-07:00Thoughts on the State of the Union<p>I got up early this morning to watch the recording of last night's State of the Union address.</p><p>As a general rule, I tend to think SOTU addresses are performative, both for the President and the current "loyal" opposition. In many ways, I just wish Presidents would just write a memo. The SOTU is required under the Constitution, but it's not required that it be given in person. Phoning it in would be less dramatic, however, and that's really half the point, these days.*</p><p>It's no secret that as a general rule, I like President Biden. I think he's a committed, dedicated person of good character, and has the best interest of ordinary Americans in mind. I don't agree with everything he does or says, because the only President where that would be the case would be me, and I have zero intention of ever getting involved in political service again. </p><p>So onto the speech itself. </p><p><u>Russia and Ukraine</u> </p><p>The President rightly called out the multilateral action being taken by the Western world in support of Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues. After the last administration shredded our standing with our traditional allies, the President's accomplishments in healing those rifts should be front and center in the list of his accomplishments. Democracy matters, and countries that violate international law should absolutely be held accountable. Go, Uncle Joe. </p><p><u>COVID-19</u></p><p>The President called out our new "normal" in terms of the pandemic. I think the best thing that can be said of the pandemic is that from now on we're going to have to treat COVID the same way we treat the flu. A new vaccination every season, some people are going to get it no matter what, and yes, a certain number of people are going to die every year of this disease. I appreciated that he asked EVERYONE to stop considering pandemic response as a political talking point. It's a reality, and will continue to be present in our lives the same way all human disease is present. So let's stop treating it like it's a political issue. It's not. It's a public health issue, and should be treated as such by all concerned. </p><p><i>"</i><u>Defunding" the Police</u></p><p>Since Biden was never in favor of defunding the police (Faux News talking points aside), I think it was smart of him to touch on this specifically and reiterate that the solution is not to defund the police, but to offer other solutions to the problems faced by police forces all over the country. Like funding more human services resources so that the police are out there dealing with crime, rather than dealing with the mentally ill, people who are neurodiverse, etc. </p><p><u>Social Programs</u></p><p>It seems certain that the whole "Build Back Better" thing is a dead duck. Instead, the President is focusing on other social programs such as voting, innovation, etc. Here's where things get sticky, at least in my opinion. All of the things the President wants to do are <i>wildly </i>popular with American voters. But none of them are being brought to the Senate for a vote because of Republican filibusters. I guess they figure that if they're not actually called upon to vote, then they can't be held accountable for the fact that their party opposes tons of legislation their constituents want? They're not really fooling anyone who's actually, you know, paying attention, but since so many Americans <i>don't </i>pay attention, it's probably working. </p><p><u>Republicans</u></p><p>Ah, Majorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebart, you are the freeze-dried whackaloons that just keep on giving. Both of them DRAMATICALLY turned their backs on the Cabinet as they entered the chamber, and as usual, Lauren Boebart just couldn't keep her pie hole shut. Her outburst in the middle of the President's remarks regarding cancer in members of the armed forces was completely off-topic, non-sensical, and - of course - unseemly. What is it about SOTU addresses and Republican outbursts? Republican Representatives - keeping it klassy, one SOTU address at a time. </p><p><u>Inflation and the Economy</u></p><p>The President tried to address inflation, but the fact of the matter is that he can't control inflation, just like no other President before him could. I've never held the President accountable for the economy, for the most part. I didn't hold former President Trump accountable for the COVID economy, and I don't credit former President Clinton for the booming economy during hi Presidency.</p><p>However, it's no lie that our economy has grown 5.7% in the last year, the largest growth in the last 40 years. It's no lie that our unemployment numbers have dropped in the last year. It's no lie that inflation is steady and growing. And it's no lie that the deficit will drop by over 50% at the end of this year, while the deficit went up precipitously under the former administration. I also agree with the economists who note that the American Rescue Bill has helped the economy tremendously. It's also worth noting that this Bill passed without a single Republican vote. Which didn't stop Republicans from going home and telling their constituents how great the Bill was, re-elect me, why don't you. Because of course it didn't.</p><p>I agree with the issues the President called out as things we can accomplish as a nation if we just end the partisan bickering and get to work: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The opioid crisis</li><li>Giving mental health services the same resources as physical health services</li><li>Support our veterans</li><li>Cancer research</li></ul><p></p><p>I have a hard time believing Republicans can't agree to these initiatives, but since 2015 they've catered to the lowest common denominator, and it doesn't seem they can stop stooping lower and lower in order to reaffirm their position as the sycophants of former President Trump's cult of personality. So they'll probably oppose any measures related to these issues, as well, because they can't be valuable if a DEMOCRAT proposes them. </p><p>I also find it extremely interesting that based on CBS's poll of voters, <b>78% approved</b> of the President's SOTU address. So I consider this a win for Uncle Joe. </p><p>______</p><p>*Now get off my lawn. </p><p><br /></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-17503273787022791922022-01-06T08:00:00.053-07:002022-01-06T09:31:41.620-07:00Lash Extensions Review<p> </p><p>This year, the Fam intends to go to Italy for a well-deserved overseas vacation.* In order to have a maintenance free beauty experience, I thought getting lash extensions and a wash and wear haircut would be indicated. I haven't moved on the haircut yet - my regular stylist is out on maternity leave and I don't trust anyone else to cut my hair that short, but I thought I'd give the lash extensions a whirl to see if they'd suit. </p><p>The short answer: No. No, they don't. </p><p>Here are my lashes prior to the lash extension application:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzfxt0A4TSVk8uYMNCitXwz3G86U1ShTEVBhVvGTS1ybRZ5O4RIOn61iOvvv3gnuMHfxy33AA3PfFn4bSUmYFQqSCh0tPwR4APYJDlYO_V5POpeOLfY7LyGlhH0zSEZvexNo8-V-vjhtBREXhd8oXlOpT9_ajnM7Aug7wdTYKvlcka_mg6CNJerMex=s2316" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="2316" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzfxt0A4TSVk8uYMNCitXwz3G86U1ShTEVBhVvGTS1ybRZ5O4RIOn61iOvvv3gnuMHfxy33AA3PfFn4bSUmYFQqSCh0tPwR4APYJDlYO_V5POpeOLfY7LyGlhH0zSEZvexNo8-V-vjhtBREXhd8oXlOpT9_ajnM7Aug7wdTYKvlcka_mg6CNJerMex=w400-h98" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Here are my lashes immediately following the first lash extension application:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqWTZ2S0WEsJ0d0dE-Fcacn_fmBnL3RbXXQK6O5EwCc8-1JpoNpuWEseYWjeze-12Au1471c0BVzUgnyX0HOHYgbyOjseuhFn8bwpvWP9FrbfER6fKx3hp_d8LZvP0gNb8HEVN1h4L-t9-gO4NE8c5cxWm-5r0y7rAxeaPz2z-7h3GwbF5ta-54rkU=s1861" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1861" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqWTZ2S0WEsJ0d0dE-Fcacn_fmBnL3RbXXQK6O5EwCc8-1JpoNpuWEseYWjeze-12Au1471c0BVzUgnyX0HOHYgbyOjseuhFn8bwpvWP9FrbfER6fKx3hp_d8LZvP0gNb8HEVN1h4L-t9-gO4NE8c5cxWm-5r0y7rAxeaPz2z-7h3GwbF5ta-54rkU=w400-h150" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>And here are my lashes two weeks after my first fill:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-_uceUlD9Su895Db5NiNB027QNpGS4hkxBTNIOMTcks6wrNpRIMxvKjrsV2Q5k9tWeclGtUjRSt6ammzLx7rUaMB-uXr-2h9-hh6lNaOi7rd3gEJqQPvfU_ShT6KVzlBWXZnql0Zl81BP1lpWPl_Jml3Om2OcY8HjAzklvPr_td5jMT6J-W-smqW0=s2485" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="2485" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-_uceUlD9Su895Db5NiNB027QNpGS4hkxBTNIOMTcks6wrNpRIMxvKjrsV2Q5k9tWeclGtUjRSt6ammzLx7rUaMB-uXr-2h9-hh6lNaOi7rd3gEJqQPvfU_ShT6KVzlBWXZnql0Zl81BP1lpWPl_Jml3Om2OcY8HjAzklvPr_td5jMT6J-W-smqW0=w400-h140" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>As you can see, my left eye held up pretty well. This is about what I'd expect after two weeks, as I had anticipated a need for fills twice a month or so. </p><p>My right eye, however, was a fricken disaster. The lashes on my right eye started falling off almost immediately, and continued to fall off at an accelerated pace compared to my left eye. I adhered to every recommendation the esthetician gave me including not getting them wet for 24-48 hours after application, a special washing formula with a custom brush, only brushing them out with a clean spoolie when they were dry, wearing a sleep mask since I sleep on my right side and friction with my pillow might have caused the surgical glue to come loose. Nothing changed this outcome. </p><p>Since the left eye was in good shape at the end of the two week period after both the initial application and the refill, I don't fault the esthetician for this outcome. Clearly she did a good job based on the results on my left eye. My right eye is just a PITA when it comes to this service.</p><p>So I'll be letting the remaining lashes fall off naturally, and stick to my tried and true Blinc mascara from now on. Lash extensions are expensive, and unlike permanent makeup, it's an ongoing, monthly expense to maintain them, plus requiring two trips a month to the lash studio. Applying mascara daily takes one minute, and I only have to buy new mascara four times a year. </p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-22164954716604243972022-01-02T08:00:00.203-07:002022-01-02T10:17:25.401-07:00Thoughts for a New Year<p> </p><p>And so, 2022 begins, much like 2021 began.</p><p>2021 wasn't ALL bad. For most of 2021, I took better care of my body. I got to spend time with my Sistahs and their incomparable Fellas. No one I know personally lost their life to COVID or complications from COVID. The Smart Man started a new job, which he genuinely likes. I got promoted and received a raise. I saw my niece marry the love of her life, a splendid young man who sees the light in her, just as I do. My Mommy continues to enjoy good health and still lives independently. The Smart Son is settled into his career, and doing well. </p><p>U.S. economic output jumped 7% in the last three months of 2021. Overall growth for 2021 was ~6%, and is predicted to grow another ~4% in 2022, the highest growth the U.S. has seen in decades. America's economy improved more in Biden's first 12 months in office than any president during the last 50 years, largely due to Democrats' American Rescue Plan. Democrats have also earmarked $1.2 trillion for long delayed and much needed infrastructure investment.*</p><p>But let's be honest: 2021 wasn't really a <i>good year, </i>either<i>.</i> We're still dealing with the Omicron variant of COVID. Over 5.5 million people have died of coronavirus so far. Trump Republicans (which seems like ALL Republicans these days, the cowardly fuckers) continue to politicize vaccines and masks, ensuring more Americans will die unnecessarily of this disease. Additional Americans will die because there will be no hospital bed for them, as ICU wards continue to fill up with unvaccinated COVID patients. </p><p>We've watched the Republican party lose their collective shit and whatever pretense they once had of living in a fact-based world. We had an insurrection in our capital, which retRumplicans have basically denied, and over the last year, we've continued to be exposed to the Big Lie. Much of the country believes the Big Lie, and take pride in their complete lack of critical thinking skills on this topic. </p><p>How can I, as an individual, live a happy and meaningful life while watching the fall of the country I spent so many years defending? How can I come to terms with those who refuse to vaccinate and mask for the common good, because "freedom" or selfishness or "you're not going to tell ME what to do?" How can I help prevent our nation's fall while the far right continues to use such an effective fascist strategy to cement their power and disenfranchise all who don't agree with them? </p><p>This has been on my mind of late. No one knows how long the pandemic will last, especially with the virus evolving so quickly, and worldwide vaccination hovering at less than 50% of the population. "Waiting until it's over" no longer seems like a viable option. I don't know that life will ever return to a pre-pandemic state, and I feel that I need to find a new normal, a new way to live in this new world. My depression has been going through peaks and valleys this year, and caring for my mental health is now something which requires a new strategy. </p><p>It's very tempting to isolate myself, ignore the latest shenanigans of the retRumplicans, surround myself with like-minded people who I know will do whatever's necessary not to spread disease. But that's clearly not the answer. As a citizen dedicated to the rule of law, I have an obligation to try and save that which I've fought for. As a human being who cares about our species, I have an obligation to try and do whatever I can to help humans move past this pandemic, whether those humans chose to support the common good or not. </p><p>It's a conundrum. At the very least, I think I'm justified in deciding to spend time only with those who have chosen to get vaccinated and follow the CDC's recommendations regarding masks. I don't want to get sick, or worse, make the high-risk people in my life sick, because of someone else's political beliefs. I will continue to follow the science, regardless of how politicians try to make the science a matter of political opinion rather than a fact-based thing. </p><p>As for our country, I will continue to vote my conscience, I will continue to call out bullshit wherever I find it, and I will continue to stand up to the bullies who would shape our nation into an oligarchy to serve their own purposes and quest for money and power. I will continue to support politicians who live in a fact-based world and at least behave like they care about other human beings.</p><p>But is that enough to find peace of mind in this new world? My mind constantly spins on what I can do to make the rest of my life meaningful, and happy, and to help build a world where the Smart Son can live without fear. It doesn't feel like enough. I don't know if anything I do will ever be enough. I fear I'm losing hope, which would be the worst possible outcome. </p><p>So my focus for 2022 will be "hope." Hope for a world where the common good is a priority for the majority of humans. Hope for a country on the brink. Hope for myself and my family, that we may find meaning and joy in a changed world. </p><p>Just...hope.</p><p>_________</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">*I say "Democrats" because these measures passed without a single retRumplican vote, even though those duplicitous bastards claimed credit for them to their constituents. All the retRumplicans have done is complain about the cost, conveniently forgetting that the freeze-dried whackaloon they choose to follow presided over the third largest increase in National Debt in our country's history, right behind George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, both of whom were paying for wars. Hypocritical, lying motherfuckers, the lot of them.</span> </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-3000672985306585692021-12-22T08:00:00.104-07:002021-12-22T10:17:27.645-07:00The Whackadoo Lauren Boebert<p> </p><p>So. Lauren Boebert. Congresswoman for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. Gun rights advocate. Restaurateur. The recipient of a GED in 2020. Also dangerous, too stupid to breathe, hypocritical, and radical. </p><p>I have to ask, 3rd Congressional District voters - what the fuck were you <i>thinking?</i></p><p>From a recent public speaking event: </p><p></p><blockquote>I am tired of having Godless people who hate America run this country! You and I are going to take this country back!</blockquote><p></p><p>Let's unpack, shall we?</p><p>I am a godless person. I don't believe in any gods, and am basically completely irreligious. And yet, as an Atheist, I strongly disapprove of rhetoric that encourages violence against other humans, religious or not. Not so Boebert, who believes Muslims make baby Jesus cry and should be eliminated, by a bullet if necessary. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Danger score: 9</p><p>Stupidity score: 7</p><p>Hypocrisy score: 11</p><p>Radical score: 9</p></blockquote><p>Apparently I also hate America, along with other liberal Americans. If only there was something I could do to prove how much this country means to me, and how strongly I believe in the Constitution...perhaps something like serving the United States in uniform for half my adult life. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Danger score: 5</p><p>Stupidity score: 11</p><p>Hypocrisy score: 9</p><p>Radical score: 7</p></blockquote><p>Boebert also believes that someone has stolen the country and made off with it like a thief in the night. I wonder who she thinks these thieves could be? I wonder. Could they be people who think that working a 40 hour work week means you shouldn't live in poverty? Or people who believe lobbyists should not be permitted to bribe our representatives? Or maybe it's people who want to ensure children aren't shot to death for the crime of going to school. Could it be people who think a progressive tax rate with no loopholes for profitable corporations or ka-billionaires is the right thing to do? Oh! I know! It's people who think the punishment for being poor shouldn't be a death sentence because you can't afford health care! And I'm also going to take an abductive leap, here, and include "everyone who's not white, Christian, CIS, straight, and inexplicably believes they're entitled to equal treatment under the law" to that list. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Danger score: 7</p><p>Stupidity score: 6</p><p>Hypocrisy score: 10</p><p>Radical score: 11</p></blockquote><p>Again, I have to ask - 3rd Congressional District voters, what the fuck were you <i>thinking?</i></p><p>Whoever runs against Boebert - in both the primaries and the general, if she runs - will be receiving some of my hard earned dough to beat this whackadoo. She's a national embarrassment, and the sooner she's relegated to the obscurity she so richly deserves, the better. </p><p><br /></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-62557224882457457472021-12-06T10:00:00.011-07:002021-12-06T11:19:41.402-07:00Anger, Grief, Regret, and the Pursuit of Peace<p><br /></p><p>In 2011, my biological sister chose to end our relationship without telling me why, and we haven’t spoken since. </p><p>This is not something I’ve previously written about. Partly because my anger has kept me from organizing my thoughts in a meaningful way, and partly because parts of this story aren’t mine to tell. But after years of therapy and introspection I feel like I’m ready to write about the parts of the story that are mine, in order to try and reach some level of peace. </p><p>For years after she cut me off, I was incredibly angry and hurt. I felt betrayed and used, and came up with explanation after explanation as to why she had disappeared from my life, each more reprehensible than the last. I was so angry and hurt I never reached out to her, nor would I permit any family member to do so on my behalf. </p><p>This went on until we lost my daughter Moe to suicide in 2013. I was so destroyed by this loss the best I could do was to to ask an extended family member to notify her of Moe’s death before the note Moe wrote to her and her husband arrived via the mail. While I felt no obligation to let my sister intrude on my grief, I thought being notified just by the note would be unkind in the extreme. She chose not to reach out to me at that time, and to be honest, I was relieved. I literally had no emotional labor left for anyone else - I barely had the emotional energy to continue living.</p><p>Instead, a week following Moe’s death my brother-in-law chose to text every member of the extended family to tell us that he hoped we all burned in hell. No exceptions, not for people who had been nothing but kind to them, not for those who had not taken sides in the estrangement, not even for my son, who as a child I had allowed to build a relationship with them, just as I had with Moe. What precipitated this choice? I don’t know. I have no idea what Moe wrote to them prior to her death. It was critically, vitally important to me that I abide absolutely by Moe’s wishes after her death, so after the coroner's office reviewed everything Moe left at the scene of her death I simply mailed the note to my sister and her husband, exactly as Moe had asked. After those text messages were sent, I gave up all hope of ever having my sister as a part of my life again, and my anger burned anew. I considered such an unkind act at a time when every member of our family was torn down by grief to be unforgivable, regardless of the motivation. To be honest, I still feel that way. </p><p>A number of years later, I found out that her husband had passed away. I found out long after the fact, almost incidentally. Again I chose not to reach out to her, even though I suspected how difficult his death must have been for her. How could it not be? They spent their entire adult lives together. But I was still so angry and hurt not only by the initial severing of the relationship, but by her continued silence following my daughter’s death, that I could not bring myself to do so. She and her husband had made it abundantly, hatefully clear that neither I nor any member of the extended family was to contact them, ever again. So I didn't.</p><p>And yet, I grieve. I grieve for my lost relationship with her, and the years we’ve lost, and will continue to lose. I regret what I did to precipitate this break, not even knowing what that was. I regret not having the opportunity to make amends for that hurt. I regret that we were not able grieve together for the child we both loved so dearly. And I grieve that I see no way forward from here. </p><p>I’m not the same person I was eleven years ago. How could I be, after losing my only sibling, and then my Gram, and then my only daughter, and then an Auntie I loved like a daughter, and then my beloved mother-in-law? I don't think my sister is the same person either, after her own pain and suffering. </p><p>But how do you mend such deep pain? How can you let go of the anger and hurt and start anew? Is it even possible? I don’t know. For over a decade, my anger has been a festering burn in my heart, bringing me nothing but grief and regret. It brings me to tears of rage, it steals my sleep and my peace of mind. Until today, I’ve not expressed that anger in any meaningful way except to my therapist and those who know me best, because what difference would it make? My anger won’t change the outcome, and I believed that expressing it would just bring more drama into my life when all I want is peace. </p><p>And now, I've finally reached a point where I'm ready to make room for my grief in addition to my anger. My own journey in working through my feelings won't change anyone's perspective but my own, but I do believe it will help me in my quest for peace. And that's reason enough to write about it, I think. </p><p>She’s still my sister. I still love her. I still want her to have a happy and healthy life, even though she's decided I can't be a part of it. My hurt and anger wouldn’t be so deep and abiding if I didn’t still care about her, still miss her presence in my life. </p><p>No one is the villain in their own story. It’s taken me ten years of therapy and self work to admit that while I've always considered myself the injured party in this story, she almost certainly feels the same. Does she also have regrets? Does she miss me at all, as I miss her? I have no way of knowing. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to hear from me, and I’ve respected that wish, initially because of my anger, and later because even though I hate the decision she made, she’s a grown woman with agency who commands her own destiny. She has the right to determine who will be part of her life and who won't, just as I do. </p><p>But I'll still grieve for this lost relationship, and probably will for the rest of my life. I'll regret that she found it necessary to sever our connection, whatever the reason. I'll continue to work through my anger, grief, and regret, to try and reach a point of peace and acceptance. Because these are the only things I can do. </p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-48582922946490171432021-09-10T08:00:00.008-06:002021-09-10T11:25:42.724-06:00Magpie Designs<p> Are you looking for a reasonably priced, meaningful gift for someone in your life? </p><p>(Begin shameless self-promotion)</p><p>How about a custom, hand-inlaid ring in the materials of your choice? I'm introducing my new side-gig, <a href="https://www.magpiedesignsco.com" target="_blank">Magpie Designs</a>. I'm making such rings for sale, as well as making them for my friends, family, and as incentive gifts for those who donate $500 or more to my favorite charity, the <a href="https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=2412252" target="_blank">American Foundation for Suicide Prevention</a>. </p><p>Here are some examples of my work:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd5OhcECk_fxXIeA0ZHLTPq318gB_uvKeEB7CoP5k7IwkULfQRPuysY9P6WfcxPLrog_DLTnqTXxoFIvrGsRpoxw3VNvBpVoyg0k02tmkA0msF6PtEgyyY4x9_pS3ee0EnqbOU9Sp2Tk/s2048/IMG_6886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd5OhcECk_fxXIeA0ZHLTPq318gB_uvKeEB7CoP5k7IwkULfQRPuysY9P6WfcxPLrog_DLTnqTXxoFIvrGsRpoxw3VNvBpVoyg0k02tmkA0msF6PtEgyyY4x9_pS3ee0EnqbOU9Sp2Tk/w400-h400/IMG_6886.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Forged in Dragon Flames"<br />Crimson Opal and Dragon Scale Opal in Black Ceramic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBxwjfz_rw2lD5LLAqnzH4HClY5-pliN6qtQHXDTo9QNVP-3PhTovl5iukljRfHa7jmsx42E82cWATrOVl1KBCNoZQ2WlXRvZGEISHbeqW2JkfBdUbrIv6IwQpw55w9nW9U8QN39SFBM/s2048/IMG_6632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBxwjfz_rw2lD5LLAqnzH4HClY5-pliN6qtQHXDTo9QNVP-3PhTovl5iukljRfHa7jmsx42E82cWATrOVl1KBCNoZQ2WlXRvZGEISHbeqW2JkfBdUbrIv6IwQpw55w9nW9U8QN39SFBM/w400-h400/IMG_6632.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Waterloo Sunset"<br />Fire Burl Dichrolam in Stainless Steel<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpf9LZp-C3BHzu__kRQwW7S9sFG8Tgr87CSC_a8b8IQabCJCH-CZoQt-Ase2ejUaQ5kiWfiyxDdp1hZ5sA1sUt_C3wWc2TW3SDWgom2JX9Nuh6i1sCZNBpzQeQVTSuBh76ZujTAvFH68/s2048/IMG_6636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpf9LZp-C3BHzu__kRQwW7S9sFG8Tgr87CSC_a8b8IQabCJCH-CZoQt-Ase2ejUaQ5kiWfiyxDdp1hZ5sA1sUt_C3wWc2TW3SDWgom2JX9Nuh6i1sCZNBpzQeQVTSuBh76ZujTAvFH68/w400-h400/IMG_6636.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Delirious Nebula"<br />Deep Space Opal in Cobalt Chromium</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3W8-Co_H7F_habJbwPQFg3z13paJpb3rKWRMONQ_6g9JLdAZh7zT0CxL3PFUgXE9W6KzBc6CwnSMG0NtaQ_zbXQYTSuTiywlXTthrqcDvxn4I_M6_F6gRNarSKptKt9a43NMPApmNbM/s2048/IMG_6634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3W8-Co_H7F_habJbwPQFg3z13paJpb3rKWRMONQ_6g9JLdAZh7zT0CxL3PFUgXE9W6KzBc6CwnSMG0NtaQ_zbXQYTSuTiywlXTthrqcDvxn4I_M6_F6gRNarSKptKt9a43NMPApmNbM/w400-h400/IMG_6634.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tiger Bones"<br />Tiger's Eye in Black Ceramic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAxlzwcECoxHJgJZnQKXgquulpe8UIRnrZDxS138h1_-A0BUT3tinOJaIqhFY366U-HKQZcdkhh28Yh-rr7v932_zh7_QoYFOtr44vvXDTX2oJSYoBmxDjCVfJPwbBikk1OZ-D4Qd9Hk/s2048/IMG_6758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAxlzwcECoxHJgJZnQKXgquulpe8UIRnrZDxS138h1_-A0BUT3tinOJaIqhFY366U-HKQZcdkhh28Yh-rr7v932_zh7_QoYFOtr44vvXDTX2oJSYoBmxDjCVfJPwbBikk1OZ-D4Qd9Hk/w400-h400/IMG_6758.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It Might as Well be Spring"<br />Forest Green, Wasabi Green and Black Polymer Clay in Cobalt Chromium</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Each of these pieces represents different techniques and materials, and is named for a song that represents the vision I had for the ring. </p><p>If you're interested in commissioning a ring for yourself or someone else in your life, visit <a href="https://www.magpiedesignsco.com" target="_blank">Magpie Designs</a> and see what I have on offer. I'll be taking orders for guaranteed delivery by Christmas through November 1st, best effort after that. Thanks for considering my creations!</p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-7145703531338184062021-07-31T08:00:00.042-06:002021-07-31T08:00:00.373-06:00On the 8th anniversary of your death<p> Today is the 8th anniversary of your death. In some ways, it feels like I've been bearing this burden of grief forever - it's part of my life, and carrying it is my "normal," whatever the hell that means. </p><p>But in other ways, it feels like I learned the news of your death just yesterday, and my grief is still a raw, blistering thing that lays upon my heart like an anvil. </p><p>I'm doing better this year than last, since last year was simply unbearable for a variety of reasons. But it always hurts, and will continue to hurt, for the rest of my life. As the analogy goes, grief comes in waves. Sometimes I can catch it and ride it to shore, and other times it wipes me out, leaving me tumbling through the sea like a piece of flotsam during a storm. </p><p>Regardless of whether it's a terrible year or a bearable year, I will always, always love you, each and every day of my life. I will always, always honor your life and work to make the world a better place in your name. I love you, baby girl. </p><p>________</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09a07GRM7jgGQZhWI9PAPV65g1VYuYOZpFFTCyopNYle4YCt3mK0n6jAg8PKRn9gA3MLWuQRLQNv2auSsFNomz8FGMN8OD-vZdWwpXs1xjBXbFKa6G4fTu26P-5tkyKGAnXE9y2m94Oo/s2048/Champion+Print.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09a07GRM7jgGQZhWI9PAPV65g1VYuYOZpFFTCyopNYle4YCt3mK0n6jAg8PKRn9gA3MLWuQRLQNv2auSsFNomz8FGMN8OD-vZdWwpXs1xjBXbFKa6G4fTu26P-5tkyKGAnXE9y2m94Oo/w259-h400/Champion+Print.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><br />July 31, 2013 was the worst day of my life. It was the worst day of my life because that was the day the Police Department came to our home to tell us our precious daughter Moe had died of suicide at the age of 22. </span></div><div class="fr-img-space-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="fr-img-space-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Moe died of uncontrolled mental illness. She experienced severe depression, and was under a doctor's care for her condition. But we lost her anyway, leaving a Moe-shaped hole in my heart that nothing will ever be able to fill. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Every day I mourn her loss in this world, and I would give everything to have her here with us again. But I can't do that, so instead I choose to perform service projects in her memory such as being a good ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and donating money to institutions she cared about, like our local library foundation. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And I also support AFSP's mission in helping people who are at risk overcome their lack of hope and help those who have been affected by suicide. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />This is the fifth year I've been up to participating in this event personally, but this will be the eighth year the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic;">Maureen's Marchers </span>team is hitting the road in my baby girl's name on the annual <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Out of the Darkness Denver Metro Walk. </span>The money raised in this event will go to fighting suicide and supporting AFSP's goal to reduce the suicide rate 20% by 2025. This goal is especially challenging in our current situation, where people are still feeling isolated, anxious and uncertain of what the future will bring. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The danger of suicide is especially high within the LGBTQ+ community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 24 and the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 14. Among youth who identify as sexual minorities, the likelihood of death by suicide has been estimated to be two to seven times greater than the likelihood of death by suicide among heterosexual youth. These kids need help, and it's up to us to provide it in any way we can. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Please help us honor our lost, beloved Moe-Moe and consider <a href="https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=2412252" target="_blank">donating to the AFSP.</a> All donations are 100% tax deductible and benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), funding research, education, advocacy, and support for those affected by suicide. The AFSP is a <a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6745" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #396dff; transition: all 0.5s ease;" target="_blank">Charity Navigator 4 star charity</a>, and they spend 83.1% of their total budget on program expenses. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />"When you are sorrowful look again at your own heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." ~ Khalil Gibron</span></div><div class="fr-img-space-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="fr-img-space-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you for your support!</span></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-9924582790551709462021-07-29T08:00:00.115-06:002021-07-29T13:22:16.703-06:00So Exhausting<p> </p><p>Yesterday while reading the news, I discovered that the CDC has changed its guidance regarding masks due to a large uptick in COVID infections across the country. In areas where the Delta variant is running amok, they now recommend even vaccinated people where masks indoors where there are many people present. </p><p>I also read that resentment of people who refuse to get vaccinated is growing - even among Republicans - as we continue to struggle to move past the pandemic.</p><p>Then I read this morning that even vaccinated people, i.e., yours truly, may be carrying a significant viral load of the Delta variant, even while asymptomatic. </p><p>What this means to me is that I am now a danger to those around me who are not vaccinated. It means it's possible I've already had COVID, masquerading as summer allergies. It means I have a responsibility to society to prevent spreading this illness to those who either refuse to get vaccinated, or those who cannot get vaccinated.</p><p>And I have Feelings about this. </p><p>Mostly I just find the whole thing exhausting. It was very easy to get out of the habit of masking up when going out in public, with the exception of air travel. It was a delight to start socializing with folks outside our "cell."* It was a pleasure to get back to the gym for strength training without having to wear a mask. And now we have to go back. </p><p>I want to be clear about something - I am absolutely willing to go back to mask wearing for the sake of those among us who are immunocompromised, or can't take the vaccine for other medical reasons. As a member of, you know, <i>humanity</i>, I have an obligation to do so. It's a minor inconvenience, after all, and doing so costs me nothing and may save someone's life. Go, saving someone's life. </p><p>But I have to admit that doing so for the sake of the knuckleheads who refuse to get vaccinated because "freedom" or "you can't make me, neener-neener-neener" or "it's all a radical liberal plot" sticks in my craw just a little. </p><p>I absolutely believe in agency when it comes to health and safety. You want to ride your motorcycle down the interstate at 100mph without a helmet? Fine. There's a reason ER personnel call such folks "organ donors," but whatever - it's your noggin. You want to forego a seatbelt because in 1 out of a 1,000 accidents being thrown from the car results in the person not dying? You do you, boo. Clearly you flunked statistics, but again - whatevs. </p><p>But vaccination is different. An individual's decision not to get vaccinated does not affect just them. It affects <i>all </i>of us, in every community. It decreases herd immunity. It puts stress on our health care system. It increases the probability of folks who cannot be vaccinated getting sick and dying. It puts the burden of the health of the willfully unvaccinated on the shoulders of those who committed to the idea of the common good and herd immunity. And while I'm having some trouble mustering up sympathy for new COVID cases among the willfully unvaccinated, those who <i>cannot </i>get vaccines should not be subjected to additional risk because I (or anyone else, for that matter) refuses to wear a mask because they don't understand science, or "freedom," or they get their medical advice from unqualified, partisan politicians, or they just don't give a shit about anyone else as long as <i>they're </i>not inconvenienced. </p><p>I don't believe vaccines should be mandated on a public level.** Such an edict would contradict my core values. But I do think the unvaccinated should be made to reduce their public life for the sake of public health. Don't want to be excluded from a cruise or an airplane or a public event? Then get vaccinated. Don't want to get vaccinated because you're a putz? Then restrict your public movements. </p><p>It really is that simple for me. And I find the politicalization of vaccines and science to be disgusting, immoral, and shameful. </p><p>You'll see me on the other side (of my mask, that is). </p><p>________</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">*We only socialize with people who are 100% vaccinated. We still have high risk people in our lives, and even before the CDC changed its guidance, we were taking no chances with their health and well-being. If that offends you or hurts your feelings, sorry-not-sorry. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">**I'm a-okay with vaccine mandates for certain professions such as healthcare workers. As a veteran, I fully understand the need to give up some control of my medical care for the sake of the group, and while I understand such things may stick in the craw, it is my belief that doing so is a public good from a Kantian point of view. </span></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-16249213182461250442021-04-17T08:00:00.065-06:002021-04-17T11:07:57.816-06:00Self-Care Saturday<p> </p><p>Last year after the lock-downs started, the Smart Man and I gained the dreaded "COVID-19." Since we weren't exactly slender to start with, this soon became a problem from a health and fitness perspective. </p><p>So in May of 2020, we endeavored to lose some weight. The Smart Man had already been slowly losing for the previous year, but we both got serious in May, and we were pretty disciplined in our program. </p><p>Since May, I have lost 68 pounds, and overall, the Smart Man has lost 40 pounds. Since sizes these days are so inconsistent and vanity driven, I'll say that this translates into a six size reduction in my clothes based on the Levi's brand. I was going to try and lose five more pounds as a stretch goal, but I'm incredibly tired of dieting, so I'm sticking with the original goal - a 22.3 BMI, right in the middle of the healthy range.</p><p>We're pretty proud of ourselves for this accomplishment, but really - now the tough work begins. I've always been able to lose weight when I decide I need to do so. It's the <i>maintenance </i>that kills me. This cycle of yo-yo dieting isn't good for me for a variety of reasons, so the next year will require a lot of vigilance on my part to ensure I remain within the weight/size range I've set for myself. I'll check back in at this time next year, and hopefully I'll look exactly the same. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfceRZNXSpVOOQUZD9PHJOk_9nAYJ41LDUc-dUHkToB6xl_baLojjODI0Z_y3jckNSRUlXktYHFX9CRJp0NNDPeWBBcOJCAvzAr1Iw05b2u69Ykw37oCdC6PUZziC58AadD2BpvktlkRs/s1162/Screen+Shot+2021-04-17+at+10.52.53+AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="464" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfceRZNXSpVOOQUZD9PHJOk_9nAYJ41LDUc-dUHkToB6xl_baLojjODI0Z_y3jckNSRUlXktYHFX9CRJp0NNDPeWBBcOJCAvzAr1Iw05b2u69Ykw37oCdC6PUZziC58AadD2BpvktlkRs/w256-h640/Screen+Shot+2021-04-17+at+10.52.53+AM.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before. (Sorry for the crappy picture - it's not like I really wanted to photograph myself when I looked like this.)<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1WNm4SYxDbMiZz-a2HtO-JXEKYAxwkxdm92m4UBNxkwspiWap1lP4Js3RxlDW2gJN2ECiVepDahnLKTVUWujl16WtbgYt4K0Hlrx66MeHqslyzerGjAclciJENIwzBs9WHpWyJSaiqs/s2048/image0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1WNm4SYxDbMiZz-a2HtO-JXEKYAxwkxdm92m4UBNxkwspiWap1lP4Js3RxlDW2gJN2ECiVepDahnLKTVUWujl16WtbgYt4K0Hlrx66MeHqslyzerGjAclciJENIwzBs9WHpWyJSaiqs/w480-h640/image0.jpeg" title="After" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-30081251284660655122021-03-27T09:00:00.001-06:002021-03-27T09:40:47.569-06:00Ramona the Feminist<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;">Today is a very sad day for me, as Beverly Cleary, whose books helped make me a lifelong bibliophile, has passed away at the age of 104. </span></span></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="1am2p" data-offset-key="d7ihu-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7ihu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-offset-key="4iifh-0-0">Like my friend </span><span class="diy96o5h" data-offset-key="4iifh-1-0" end="22" spellcheck="false" start="15" style="background-color: var(--text-highlight);">Carolyn</span><span data-offset-key="4iifh-2-0">, I found Beverly Cleary's Ramona books utterly relatable. I was a younger sister, and my sister would often tease me and called me a "pest" in the same way Beezus would tease Ramona. It bothered me at the time, but now that I have the perspective of age, I realize now how large a compliment it was, even though she didn't mean it that way. </span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="1am2p" data-offset-key="5nske-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5nske-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5nske-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="1am2p" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ramona was unapologetically <b>RAMONA,</b> and that is a splendid thing to be, indeed. As Carolyn notes, she took up space in the world when girls and women were expected to shrink their true selves to accommodate the egos of men and societal norms. Not Ramona, who had a very large heart and cared for others, while simultaneously trying to find her worth in the world. She knew she had value, but the circumstances of her age, gender, birth order, and social norms combined to label her Ramona-ness as something to be criticized, suppressed, devalued. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><i>Ramona the Pest </i>was published in 1968, when I was three years old. The expectations for girls were evolving, but the toxic social norm of deferring to boys and men because girls were "less than" was in full force, and continues to this day, to a somewhat lesser degree. </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">For me, the lesson of Ramona was that it was <i>right </i>to become frustrated and upset when I was being disrespected based on my gender, my age, and the expectations of others. As I grew, I lost that lesson for a long time, and trying to twist myself into something I wasn't for the comfort and benefit of others made me deeply angry and resentful. But Ramona stayed with me, quietly reminding me that my feelings were valid and worthy of consideration and I should not sacrifice my well-being in service to the patriarchy. The result? Now that I'm older, I still rage against the machine but I am more content in my efforts, knowing the goal of egalitarianism is not an aberration but a desire for society to be its best self, without marginalization and suppression of the other. My goal is morally defensible, and utterly correct. </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">The real feminist in this story is Beverly Cleary. And she expressed the essence of feminism - the right to be who you will and make the choices that define you - through Ramona. Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Brash, Ramona the Egalitarian, Ramona the Brave, Ramona the Feminist. </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">Thank you, Beverly Cleary, for writing stories about ordinary kids with ordinary problems, who nevertheless dream of greatness. Thank you for influencing generations of girls in a positive way, giving them permission to be who they are, and to view themselves through the lens of self-determination. You will be missed in this world, but Ramona - and all your characters - will live on. </div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIE7uMIquaRhmRfzJaLdYEdY-KRRb7NRksZ_UMZDvSx0n3Sj162RusoJlMBBZM342vXOEvawTzDgEG-3f6jZMvICJCwCDhzKwj5htk_EvHbg_40hstFY7LB8GTekHGLRtdxtDsQjaqmJY/s2048/Beverly+Cleary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIE7uMIquaRhmRfzJaLdYEdY-KRRb7NRksZ_UMZDvSx0n3Sj162RusoJlMBBZM342vXOEvawTzDgEG-3f6jZMvICJCwCDhzKwj5htk_EvHbg_40hstFY7LB8GTekHGLRtdxtDsQjaqmJY/w400-h400/Beverly+Cleary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Achievement unlocked: Creating lifelong readers.</div><br /><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p82e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><br /></div></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-16776711615456310562021-03-15T13:00:00.006-06:002021-03-15T15:15:47.430-06:00Beware the Ides of March<p> </p><p>Today has been kind of a strange day. </p><p>As many of you know, today is the birthday of my twin children, Moe and the Smart Son. Since we lost Moe to suicide in 2013, this day has been a tough one for me, and given how tough her death anniversary was for me in 2020, I really had no reason to anticipate this day would be anything other than a bloody train wreck. </p><p>But it isn't. The first thing I thought of when I woke up was the fact that it was the <i>Smart Son's </i>birthday and I needed to transfer some birthday bucks to his PayPal account. Not the twins' birthday, just the birth of my surviving child. In fact, I didn't even think of Moe's birthday until Sister Stacey sent me a text early this morning letting me know she was thinking about me, and it still took me a second to realize what in the Sam Hill she was talking about. </p><p>I'm not sure how I feel about this. </p><p>On the one hand, I have guilt that Moe wasn't the first thing I thought of this morning. I do still think about her daily, but she's no longer the <i>first thing </i>I think about as soon as I wake up. And when I compare my almost-non-reaction today to my emotional reaction in years past, it almost seems as if her presence (and absence) in my life is no longer as important to me as it once was. </p><p>On the other hand, moving forward with my life (and taking part in other people's lives as they move on, as well) is the natural order of things, I suppose. Should I be happy that I can think of her with love and gratitude without also experiencing heart-wrenching grief? I honestly don't know. Losing her, especially to mental illness and suicide, is without exception the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. </p><p>Is the fact that my strength in managing my grief is increasing a sign of healing and hope? Or is it a sign that my grief reactions are changing because she's not as important to me now that there're some years between her death and now? </p><p>I wish I knew.</p><p>Moe would have been 30 years old today. I miss you, Pumpkin. </p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-1994349445620346832021-01-19T08:00:00.065-07:002021-01-19T08:00:03.763-07:00On the state of the Republic and my uneasy heart<p>The last two weeks have left me angry, sad, afraid, and completely scattered. I have so many thoughts and feelings about the events of January 6th and its aftermath, my mind is skipping from thought to thought, and my emotions are all over the place. I need to get a handle on these things, since I'm jumpy and on edge, and it's interfering with my work and my relationships. So here are my thoughts and fears, my rage and concerns, my grief and reactions, in no particular order. </p><p>________</p><p><b>Lipstick on a Pig</b></p><p>Let's not mince words and refer to the group who invaded the Capital building as "rioters" or "protesters." They weren't. The correct word is <i>insurrectionists</i>. And just in case you need a refresher, here's the relevant Title: </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">§2383. Rebellion or insurrection</span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.</span></p></blockquote><p>In the case of these particular insurrectionists, they were attempting to prevent the United States Congress and the Vice President of the United States from following the Constitution and executing their duty under the law in certifying the electoral vote. <i>Insurrectionists</i>. </p><p>Language matters. Using "soft" language to describe the events of the 6th deescalates the seriousness of the crimes committed in the Capital building, including the murder of a Capital Police Officer who was killed for doing his duty.</p><p>________</p><p><b>This is why we can't have nice things</b></p><p>While my rage has diffused somewhat since the 6th, it has only gone from "apoplectic with rage" to "rage." The people who chose to breach the barriers of the Capital, and those who gave aid or comfort to those people, are fucking traitors to the Constitution and the nation it created. They claim to be patriots, and try to romanticize their bullshit by comparing themselves to the American revolutionaries who precipitated the birth of our nation, but they are wrong, spectacularly wrong, on both counts. Patriots don't attempt to hunt down and kill our political leaders because a legal and fair election didn't go their way. The American revolutionaries of our history rebelled against the Crown because they believed they were being treated unfairly and wanted a say in their government. Do you see the difference? The insurrectionists of January 6th <i>do </i>have a say in our government. They just didn't get the outcome they wanted - in other words, they <i>lost</i>. And in their mind, that means they're justified in throwing a temper tantrum of epic proportion, attempting a coup against the legally elected government of the United States. Traitorous motherfuckers, the lot of them, and all of them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and given the maximum sentences. </p><p>And I'm also going to indulge in some "I told you so." On <a href="http://www.hotchicksdigsmartmen.com/2016/11/i-have-all-feelings.html" target="_blank">November 15, 2016</a>, I wrote:</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">To those 47% of you that voted for Trump, I have to say - this is <i>your </i>dumpster fire. He has shown the country and the world who he is, again and again and again. But you wouldn't believe him. So when he continues to be who he is, I don't want to hear about how "you didn't know." <i>Of course </i>you knew. You just didn't care because he appealed to your baser instincts and you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.869999885559082px;"></span><p></p><p>You knew. You didn't care. And so you own this criminal piece of shit administration, this insurrection, this four years of lies, corruption, bad behavior, and mishandling of the epidemic. I hope you enjoy being on the wrong side of history. And if you voted for this reprobate <i>twice? </i>I don't even know how to respond to such an incredible display of poor judgement and White supremacy. </p><p>________</p><p><b>Accountability: It's not just for the "low-class" anymore</b></p><p>So tRump finally became the bestest President in history by getting his ass impeached not once but twice. He's winning!</p><p>Actually, he's really <i>not. </i>He's a big fat loser and the walls are closing around him because he finally went too far even for Vice President Pence and Majority Leader McConnell. He miscalculated his ability to act with impunity, and now he and his ill-begotten children are going to pay, and pay, and pay. Whether he wins or loses, he'll pay with the humiliation of another Senate trial. He's already paying with a loss of allies, advisors and champions. He'll pay as investigators continue to dig into what exactly happened on the 6th. He'll pay when the state and city of New York and the state of Georgia indict him. He'll pay when he has to declare bankruptcy (again!) due to his lost relationships with other businesses. His retRumplican sycophants will pay with a loss of political contributions for their complicity in enabling him. His shitty, entitled kids will pay with the loss of their social standing and reputation (like they needed any help on that score). And you know what? Fuck him. Fuck him and all his smug, criminal family. I have no sympathy for these immoral Marie Antoinette wannabes - they deserve far worse than what's going to happen to them. Nothing would please me more than for every damn one of them to disappear into the obscurity they so richly deserve. <i>After </i>their legal and financial troubles are widely reported, scrutinized, and commented upon, I mean. </p><p>________</p><p><b>IDOR got your tongue?*</b></p><p>I find it funny (in a "Can you believe this shit?" way rather than a "funny haha" way) that the insurrectionists were So. Fucking. S<i>tupid. </i>I mean seriously - they filmed themselves going into the Capitol building, they took pictures and filmed themselves <i>actually committing their crimes, </i>and then promptly posted all this to social media where any old body could see it and use it to identify them as insurrectionists. Way to out yourself, genius! </p><p>Did they think this was a game, and their goal was to be "seen" being a big, bad tough guy on social media and the news? Wrong answer, idiot. The FBI, the Capital Police, the Metro Police and the Secret Service aren't laughing. At all. And now you're shocked - shocked you say! - to discover that your group is being rounded up and arrested for your part in this travesty? Get the fuck out of here. Your misanalysis of the situation does not excuse your acts. </p><p>And to add insult to their injury, these dumbasses had previously flocked to a social media platform that marketed themselves as a private, secure, unmoderated platform championing unfettered free speech. Here was a place where the right-wing extremists could exalt in their hate and also plan their misdeeds without interference from the "liberal media." However, Parler didn't hire the best or the brightest or even the minimally competent to architect their platform. Which led to the platform having such a basic, giant security hole in its software that you could launch a Saturn V through it. And people did. Prior to AWS shutting down their servers, hackers waltzed on in and scraped every bit of data they could find, including all the messages, photos, and videos on the site, which included the metadata associated with each object. For those who don't work in technology, this means the people who have archived Parler's data now have a treasure trove of information that will help law enforcement identify and analyze the ringleaders of the insurrection. Parler's technical team made it easy for them, and you can rest assured that ALL of this data is now public, right down the GPS coordinates of where the posts were made. You can even find out what your neighbors have been posting, if you're so inclined.</p><p>I could make a "stupid is as stupid does" or "we deserve a better class of insurrectionist" joke here, but it seems like shooting fish in a barrel. </p><p>________</p><p><b>Dishonor before Death</b></p><p>I have a special kind of hate in my heart* for the veterans who chose sedition on the 6th. These are the same hypocrites who are constantly parading around their veteran status with grand announcements about how their "oath never expires" and then turn around and join the "Oath Keepers" or "The 3%ers," or other extreme militias/hate groups who participate in domestic terrorism. Make no mistake - these people have absolutely betrayed their oath, no ifs, ands, or buts. Their oath was to defend the Constitution, and here they were, shaming their service by attempting to stop the Constitutionally mandated duty of Congress and the Vice President. I am ashamed of them, and ashamed that their previous "service" lumps them in the same category as me and the other honorable, patriotic veterans of my acquaintance. They even wanted to <i>kill their own Vice President </i>for the heinous crime of following the Constitution in the execution of his duties<i>. </i>Yeah, you're keeping your oath, all right, you piece of shit. </p><p>________</p><p><b>Business first</b></p><p>I have mixed emotions about the way Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, AWS and others have basically shut down the social media presence of extreme and far right activists, including retRumplicans. I understand exactly why they did it, of course. These companies currently occupy four slots in the Fortune 50, and the one who didn't make that cut - Twitter - is extremely powerful in this context because tRump relied on it so heavily to stoke his populist flames. But let's be honest, here. They're in business to make money, regardless of what their PR folks would have you believe. Their fiduciary responsibility is to their shareholders, not some nebulous ideal of protecting democracy or whatever. And having the federal government in an uproar and forcing citizens to become even more uncertain about the future of our nation is <i>not good for business. </i>A stable society that respects the rule of law is a much better business environment than chaos and insurrection. The second these companies started to consider tRump and his ilk a liability rather than an asset to their business plans, they made a business decision and dumped him and his hard-core supporters like a hot rock. </p><p>On the one hand, speech encouraging violence and sedition <i>should </i>be banned by private companies. But then it raises the question of who gets to decide? Big Tech executives? Why are they empowered to do so? What makes them more qualified to determine what crosses the line and what doesn't? How would I feel if the current "banning" bias was against liberal thought and opinion rather than conservative? These companies represent a huge market share in the areas where they do business, and I'm not sure I want private corporations to have this much power over political discourse. </p><p>Yes, yes, the 1st Amendment does not apply to corporations, only the government. I took a college level civics class, unlike actual retRumplican politicians who have presumably passed the Bar. But this is not the 18th Century, and I'm not sure our Founders had an instant information society driven by private industry in mind when they wrote the Bill of Rights. In this specific case, I'm starting to think some measure of government regulation over these issues might be in order, or at least worth discussing. I miss the Fairness Doctrine. </p><p>________</p><p><b>Worn out, worn down</b></p><p>I've spent the last four years on a slow boil from a politics perspective, wondering when this nightmare would end. And the answer appears to be "Not in my lifetime." Anonymous sources have been telling reputable media outlets for weeks that the reTrumplicans in Congress knew full well the election wasn't "rigged" or "stolen." But they continued to support this nonsense because tRump's base and their base have significant overlap, and it's more important to them to get reelected than to be honorable people and fulfill their oaths to the Constitution. </p><p>And I don't really see any way to bridge this gap. Almost half of American voters chose White supremacy over character in November, in spite of all the evidence that proved tRump to be dishonest, misleading, incompetent, stupid, ego-driven, entitled, and generally a person of poor character. They were convinced by a con man that creating an egalitarian society is actually an abrogation of the rights of White people. He brought to the surface and stoked the idea that the Blacks and the browns and the wimmin were coming for their guns, their money, their place in society, their privilege. </p><p>Well, that last item IS actually true. </p><p>It makes me throw up in my mouth that these selfsame "patriots" who only wanted to ensure the election was "free and fair" are calling for national unity now that their tRump has come home to roost. You're four years too late and 74 Electoral College votes too short, you corrupt, dishonorable wretches. <i>This </i>is your legacy now -- an armed insurrection inside the Capital building, enabled and tacitly approved by you, in service to your ego and your ambition. </p><p>So I'm sad and exhausted. I'm sad about what tRump's manipulations, lies, authoritarianism and fascist tendencies have done to people I know and care about. I'm exhausted by a political system that allows the minority to dictate policy to the majority based on shenanigans and greed. I'm sad about the no-end-in-sight polarization of our political parties which will probably continue until well after I'm gone. And I'm exhausted by my own cynicism about the country I swore to protect with my life. </p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">________</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">*"IDOR" stands for insecure direct object reference, the security hole that hackers used to scrape Parler data from their servers. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">**My intense feelings surrounding this small group bothers me. Hate is a vile emotion, and poisons people from the inside. I have work to do in order to get a handle on this. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-45563403279109560702021-01-04T08:00:00.093-07:002021-01-04T12:51:26.335-07:00Belief<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I gained 3.8 pounds over the holiday based on my weekly averages, which is how I measure such things. I expect they'll come off pretty quickly (like this week), and then the hardest work begins: Losing the last 20 pounds. I believe I can do both these things in the 14 week timeframe I have set for myself. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated to the office of President on January 20th regardless of what tRump and RetRumplicans want or do. I also believe this is absolutely the correct and legal course of action, because the accusations of RetRumplicans have absolutely no merit. They have presented no legally </span>admissible<span style="font-family: inherit;"> evidence to any court of law (including SCOTUS) which </span>proves<span style="font-family: inherit;"> their assertions of voter fraud in any state. Their strategy has been to follow the tactic of "If you say it often enough, it becomes true, regardless of the facts." And that strategy is <i>working, </i>and has been working for the last four decades, which makes me fear for the long-term future of the Republic. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe I will no longer engage in conversation or commentary, or invest emotional or intellectual labor regarding the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Conspiracy Theory de Jour, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">regardless of who </span>brought<span style="font-family: inherit;"> it up, what their political opinions are, who they </span>support, or the motivation behind the bull-pucky. Bring me provable facts, or get thee gone is the new mantra. I have to thank my pal Juan for this one. Sensible advice at any time. </p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">________</p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe Mitch McConnell is the single greatest threat to the Republic since the Civil War. Thanks, Kentucky!</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe the key to my mental health in 2021 is being honest with myself and others about gratitude, mindfulness, and letting things go. Then I must make emotional and intellectual decisions based on this honesty. I think I can more easily make gratitude a habit compared to the other two, but I have some work to do in all three focus areas. For me, the hardest part is achieving "forgiveness" along with "letting go." I'm afraid that's going to take a while. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe tRump's </span>blatant<span style="font-family: inherit;"> attempt to fix the election in Georgia is a clear violation of the law. I also believe he won't experience any consequences for his criminal behavior, because at this point in our Republic's history, NO ONE is held accountable if they have enough power and/or money. NO ONE. It's all just political theater to appease the base rather than a true application of the law and justice. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe I need to continue to invest in my health after I achieve my goal weight, including an appropriate maintenance diet and regular exercise. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will be taking the COVID vaccine one it becomes available to low risk individuals, because I believe in the power of science and the results of vaccines in saving populations from deadly disease (see: Polio, Small Pox, et al). </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe I am deeply afraid for the law enforcement officers who will be trying to keep the peace on Wednesday in our nation's capital. It's going to be a long and dangerous day for these folks, and unlike the violent whackadoos who choose to be there, these professionals have no choice. Stay safe, y'all. Seriously.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe I have never admired our judicial branch of government more. Throughout these election shenanigans, they have, without exception, upheld the law as they </span>understand<span style="font-family: inherit;"> it with integrity and courage regardless of who appointed them. The judicial is our last line of defense, and their integrity has, in many ways, saved the Republic. </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe 2021 will be a year where I spend more time and money on </span>charitable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> acts/agencies. </span>Charitable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> giving has always been a part of our budget, but this year I want to get more personally involved, for a </span>variety<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of reasons ranging from mental health to a way of </span>paying rent on the bit of earth I occupy. </p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-60302929569104765132021-01-01T08:00:00.181-07:002021-01-01T09:06:05.971-07:00My Reasons for Gratitude, 2020<div>This has been a tough year for gratitude. Between politics, the pandemic and the deaths of people I've long admired or who mean the world to people I care about deeply, I've found myself despairing for the future more than once. And yet, gratitude during such times is more critically important than when things are easy. </div><div><br /></div><div>So here's my 2020 gratitude list, and while I had to dig for things to be grateful for, it behooves me and my mental health to meditate on these things, now more than ever. </div><div>________</div><br />
This year the Smart Man and I decided we really needed to accept our status as middle aged people and take better care of our bodies through nutrition and exercise. While we haven't met all of our health goals, we've come a long way this year, and I'm grateful to have the means to join a gym and buy fresh, healthy food to eat.<div>________<br />
<br />
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our livelihoods were not negatively impacted by the shelter in place and social distancing orders. We both work for companies that supply telecommunications infrastructure. and we work from home even during healthy times, so we really weren't affected economically by the crisis. I know many, many people were not as fortunate, and I'm grateful to be a member of the former group, and to have the means to help those in the second group.</div><div>________<br /><div><br /></div><div>This year was tough from a mental health perspective, so I decided to start counseling to see if I could achieve some level of peace with my life's circumstances and the world around me. I'm grateful to have this opportunity due to the fact that we have excellent insurance and the ability to save for co-pays without sacrificing our quality of life. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>This year has been especially difficult for those who work in the healthcare industry, especially those individuals who have cared for COVID patients 24x7. Your dedication to duty, compassion, and fortitude is not unnoticed, and I'm incredibly grateful for you in all that you do. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bonus gratitude: These folks keep coming back, day after day, month after month, in spite of the fact that a significant percentage of the population deride them for the scientific knowledge, accuse them of lying and killing people when a patient dies from COVID, and show such an extreme refusal of the scientific facts of the pandemic that healthcare workers feel unvalued, depressed, and despondent. I see you, healthcare workers - your work and generosity of spirit humble me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you've done, and will continue to do in this most terrible of times. </div><div>________<br />
<br />
I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to once again act as an election judge for my county during the November general election. This year I was assigned as an assistant poll manager, and this work brought home to me how very important is the <i>process </i>of representative democracy. I live in a county where my political views are in the minority, and yet it is always a privilege to ensure people get to exercise their franchise in a legal, non-exclusionary way, regardless of their political beliefs, ethnicity, income level, or any other characteristic that is not their status as a citizen of the United States.<div><br /></div><div>Bonus gratitude: Colorado citizens volunteered in record numbers to act as election judges in this election cycle, including many volunteers in the 16-35 age group. As citizens of a representative democracy, we will ever get the government we deserve by exercising our franchise in whatever way our consciouses dictate. Knowing so many Coloradans understand this fundamental truth makes my heart happy. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm grateful that our country has reached a point where we will elect a BIPOC woman to the Office of the Vice President. When Kamala Harris took the stage to give her victory speech wearing a white suit, I wept with pride and joy at her accomplishment, and reflected with gratitude on all the women who paved the road she walks on. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm grateful to live in a state whose population voted to enact a state-wide Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program to ensure Coloradans who experience personal or family medical issues will continue to receive a partial salary when they're off work. This program is expensive - .9% of a worker's wages, matched by their employers - but Coloradans passed it with a margin of almost 15%. This was a mandate on supporting the well-being of others, and I'm so grateful to live in a state that cares about such things. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm grateful that in spite of the obstacles put before him and the lack of collaboration from the previous president, President-Elect Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th, 2021. He was not a perfect candidate by any stretch, but he was a smart and civil candidate, with the character needed to heal our great national divide. If I wasn't an atheist, I would pray for his success. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm grateful for the vaccines that are becoming available for those in our population who are at the greatest risk. Science is an amazing thing, and vaccines are the single greatest achievement of humanity in the history of the world. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>As ever, I am grateful to the friends and family who lift me up when I stumble, catch me when I try to fall, look out for my physical and mental wellbeing, and can be counted upon to show in word and deed they are kind, considerate, generous, moral people of good character. I'm so lucky to have all of you in my life, now more than ever. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm grateful that the dumpster fire of 2020 is over, and look with hope and optimism to the new year and a opportunity to do more and be more of the person I want to become, unencumbered by a deadly pandemic or the poison of the last election cycle. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-39947927623739479702020-12-09T08:00:00.055-07:002020-12-09T08:00:05.144-07:00By the Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA42z4VhTzlnidYib6WNsWPp1V6awnrYC0dy5wCsBUy26InqpII8jzgSwnTI22edd3wiPQMyKxIHHdpIdnDF47JsabY1rfpQYFpjRJOLLCc4iS0J8aCZhhMC6ruHfUel8rTeAxp2lhF_c/s1152/Screen+Shot+2020-12-08+at+4.37.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA42z4VhTzlnidYib6WNsWPp1V6awnrYC0dy5wCsBUy26InqpII8jzgSwnTI22edd3wiPQMyKxIHHdpIdnDF47JsabY1rfpQYFpjRJOLLCc4iS0J8aCZhhMC6ruHfUel8rTeAxp2lhF_c/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-12-08+at+4.37.21+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The Colorado Secretary of State certified Colorado's 2020 General Election results yesterday, and then published the statistics regarding how Coloradans turned out:</p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Total voter turnout: 3,291,548 </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mail ballots: 3,092,903 <br />In-person ballots: 198,645</span></p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Democratic: 1,020,321 <br />Republican: 941,313 <br />Unaffiliated: 1,276,834 <br />Other: 53,080</span></p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Female: 1,683,598 <br />Male: 1,554,730 <br />Unknown: 53,220</span></p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you're a visual learner, the SOS office also has a handy </span>document with all <a href="The official breakdown of voter turnout is as follows: Total voter turnout: 3,291,548 Mail ballots: 3,092,903 In-person ballots: 198,645 Democratic: 1,020,321 Republican: 941,313 Unaffiliated: 1,276,834 Other: 53,080 Female: 1,683,598 Male: 1,554,730 Unknown: 53,220" target="_blank">kinds of charts</a> and additional detail on the statistical values above. </p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;">Things I find interesting: </p><p align="left" style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;"></p><ul><li>This election had the largest voter turnout in Colorado history. Hurray! We give a damn!</li><li>According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/voter-turnout/" target="_blank">WashPo</a>, Colorado's voter turnout was fourth in the nation at 75.5%. Only Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin turned out more voters as a share of the voting eligible populations. That's a record, but that still means 25% of eligible voters in Colorado didn't turn out to vote either via drop off ballot or in person. Boo! 25% of us don't give a damn! (Mandatory voting, anyone?)</li><li>In my own county, the voter turnout was higher than the Colorado average. Douglas knows how to encourage citizens to vote, and then makes it easy for them to do so.*</li><li>Unaffiliated voters had the largest number of votes cast, and we're also the largest percentage of active registered voters at 40.9%, 10+ points above both the Democrats (29.95%) or the Republicans (27.31%). People are tired of the two-party system here in Colorado, and I think this trend holds nationwide. This makes my heart happy. </li><li>More women than men voted in the 2020 General Election, in every age category. Please don't tell me you need me to explain why this was the case. </li><li>Younger people (18-34) represented 26.8% of the votes cast and the 25-34 age range returned more ballots than any other cohort. This also makes my heart happy. I'm sick to death of old, white, rich, CIS-gender, straight men having almost exclusive control over the decision-making process for our country. </li></ul><div>So that's the Colorado 2020 General Election by the numbers. I can't wait for the Inauguration, and after that, a return to normalcy. (ARE YOU LISTENING, FOURTH ESTATE? ONCE PRESIDENT ELECT BIDEN TAKES OFFICE, PLEASE DISCONTINUE THE NON-STOP COVERAGE OF THE LYING LIAR OF LIES DIAPER-BABY WHO CURRENTLY OCCUPIES THE WHITE HOUSE. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>I'M BEGGING YOU. </b></div><div>______________________</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*NOTE: Colorado's drop off/mail in ballot program is considered the Gold Standard for this type of process. Not so coincidentally, it was first deployed in Douglas County under the leadership of County Clerk Merlin Klotz. After the new process was deployed, Douglas County ended up with the highest voter participation rates of any County in the nation. So the SOS decided that they needed to get them some of THAT, and therein lies history. Please note that Mr. Klotz is a Republican in a largely Republican county. Election integrity isn't a Republican thing or a Democratic thing, or an unaffiliated thing. It's a Democracy thing, so sit down and STFU about imaginary voter fraud. There is no evidence that it's true, all the cases have been tossed into the dumpster fire that is the tRump Presidency by responsible Judges, and the Loser's attempts to coerce election officials into disenfranchising their entire populations have fallen on deaf ears. IT'S NOT TRUE. And as the Georgia Secretary of State, an elected Republican official says, </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(48, 48, 48);">"Truth matters, especially around election administration." I remember a time when the Republican Party as a whole actually believed that, and I hope they throw tRump into the dustbin of history and return to their pre-Reagan </span></span><span style="color: #303030;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(48, 48, 48);">intellectual</span></span><span style="color: #303030; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(48, 48, 48);"> roots. But leave the racism with tRump, please. </span></span></span></div><p></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-9896405780642645882020-11-16T08:00:00.144-07:002020-11-16T09:37:13.360-07:00Really? Let it go, you guys<p>You'd think by the title of this post I'll be talking about tRump and his pathetic refusal to admit his loss and proceed with the peaceful transfer of power to President-Elect Biden. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. I'm past being shocked or even surprised by that misanthrope's behavior, and so will probably never write about it again. He lives for attention to stroke his ego and massive inferiority complex, so like Mary MacGregor in <i>Rob Roy</i>, "I will think on you no more."</p><p>No, this post is about the counter-protesters in Washington, DC over the weekend. </p><p>I read that approximately 300 counter-protesters showed up to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/11/14/million-maga-march-dc-protests/" target="_blank">MAGA March on Saturday, and - surprise, surprise - violence ensued</a>. </p><p>Here's the deal, liberals. This "Million Man MAGA March" or whatever they called it consisted of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/11/14/trump-rally-washington-dc-million-maga-march-updates/6283411002/" target="_blank">tens of thousands</a> of die-hard, incendiary, violent tRump acolytes. These were the true believers, the Proud Boys lunatics, the frothing at the mouth hero-worshiping cultists that consider tRump the second coming, the racist non-critical-thinking brain-washed followers, the believe anything he says enablers. There certainly wasn't a million of them, but the ones that were there were convinced the election was "rigged" and "stolen," lack of evidence to the contrary. They believe the lies and the spurious claims without question or analysis, and here's the thing: <i style="font-weight: bold;">You will never change their minds, no matter what you do, no matter what evidence you present, no matter how many election legal challenges are thrown out of court, no matter what happens. You will never, ever change their minds. </i>The most you can hope for is some publicity for your cause, and even that's a double-edged sword, as shown by the coverage of the altercations. </p><p>Why, exactly, was it necessary to personally confront these people as they railed against reality? To rub in the fact that Biden will be our next President come January 20th? To try and <i>force </i>them to admit their hero is, in fact, a big fat loser? To gloat? What possible good would come of that strategy, especially if you incited violence? </p><p>Here's the thing. If you think tRump was a classless, lying asshat of a President, and his supporters don't know how to act, why are you yourself acting in such a way that echoes his cult members' behavior? </p><p>From where I sit, the time has come to try and rebuild. As I said in my post-election blog post, I have hope for a Biden presidency. I think bridging the division in our country is the one of the primary tasks of the next four years, and I think liberals have an obligation to lead in this. It's up to us to behave fairly, respectfully, and compromise with the loyal opposition. I'm not talking about the tRumpism cult of personality members - they will never try to find common ground with people they oppose. I'm talking about the individual citizens who voted for tRump for what they believe are economic reasons, or policy reasons, or single-issue voter reasons. I'm talking about the reasonable conservatives who held their noses and voted for tRump because they couldn't bear to vote for a Democrat. I'm talking about those who continue to be misled by tRump's lies, and may be convinced he was nothing but a grifting demagogue if presented with the evidence. Why are you deliberately antagonizing these people by inciting violence against people who are "on tRump's side" on national television? </p><p>You're not helping the cause. You're hurting it. If you have ANY expectation of tRump voters accepting defeat graciously and moving on to focus on governance, then you have to be gracious winners. </p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-7905136543313566302020-11-09T08:00:00.053-07:002020-11-09T08:00:06.587-07:00Thinky Thoughts about the Election<p>I have thoughts and feelings about the election because of course I do. It's been hard for me to describe my feelings in an articulate way, so as is my custom, I've come to HCDSM to write in order to clarify my thoughts and get a handle on my feelings. This is how I calm the bagful of cats that resides in my brain. </p><p>Please note: I am not looking for a debate, or for trolls to come and inundate my space with their whataboutism and all lives matter obtuseness and her emails and conspiracy theories and other general fuckery. Questions or comments posed in good faith will be answered in the same way; shittiness in the guise of a question will be met by the Shovel of Doom.™</p><p>________</p><p>When CNN called Pennsylvania for Biden/Harris, I cannot express my relief. It literally felt like I had dropped a weight I'd been carrying around for so long I'd forgotten it was there, and then I cried, more than once, in both relief and joy. And if I, a middle aged, CIS, straight, white woman who is a member of the 10% felt that way, I cannot even <i>imagine </i>how BIPOC felt. Well, actually I can, as expressed by the (normally) articulate and thoughtful Van Jones of CNN:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c2ScxGsB-ks" width="560"></iframe><br /></p><p>________</p><p>Kamala. Madame Vice-President Elect Harris. </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">I’ve worked in male dominated fields my entire life. And when Kamala Harris took the stage to introduce President-Elect Biden in her white suit, I wept. She's my age, and she's the first woman elected to the Office of the Vice President. Women still have so much work to do to achieve equity in this society, but she broke a pretty big glass ceiling, Nothing but respect, Madame Vice-President Elect. </span></span></p><p>How I wish Moe had lived to see this day. </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">________</span></p><p>I am still registered as unaffiliated. There has been nothing in the last four years (or in this election cycle) that has convinced me to change my mind on this score. Just because I'm a liberal doesn't mean I'm a Democrat, and I have some serious issues with the way the DNC has constructed their platform and selected their candidates. I also have some issues with the current Speaker of the House, who decided it was better to deprive the American people of the relief they so desperately needed in the Time of Covid so she could score points against a President she hates. She failed in her duties to her constituents because of an emotional, partisan response, and that's just not okay. Get your shit together, Nancy - you lost some credibility with that move, and you'll have to work pretty hard to get it back. </p><p>________ </p><p>Speaking of losing credibility, after the last four years, I am absolutely <i>furious </i>with the GOP. I have voted for Republicans in the past, even after I left the party, but right now, that seems like a pipe dream. After the entire GOP tacitly accepted tRump's constant violations of the law, his racist policies, his hateful rhetoric, his bloody <i>incompetence, </i>I will never again vote for a Republican who was in office during tRump's administration unless there is documented proof that they showed some moral fortitude in trying to stop tRump's egregious behavior. A short list, to be sure. The list of Republican candidates I'll consider will get longer as time and attrition removes the cowards from office, but for now, <i>fuck you, you line-towing, immoral, party first lickspittles. </i>When push came to shove and the time came for you to prove that your constituents, the rule of law, and the concept of character is what mattered to you, you failed in the worst way imaginable. You are without honor and courage, and your oath to the ideals you swore to uphold have been suborned by your own ambition and greed. <i>Fuck you. </i>Character matters, and you proved, over and over again in the last four years, that your character is fundamentally flawed. </p><p>________</p><p>I am shocked and saddened that the margin of the Biden/Harris win wasn't higher, but really - I shouldn't be. If the tRump presidency has shown us anything of value in the last four years, it's the flashlight it's shone on the deep, dark corners of <a href="https://eand.co/americas-problem-is-that-white-people-want-it-to-be-a-failed-state-bac24202f32f" target="_blank">American white supremacy</a>. From a statistical, systemic perspective, there is only one way to interpret the data: white America as a group is racist AF, and white people who try to vote thoughtfully, who try to vote only after educating ourselves with reputable sources, who try to vote with empathy for the well-being of others, are far fewer than we'd like to believe. The data doesn't lie, and the bottom line really is that if you choose to vote for a mean-spirited, racist, bigoted bully, then you're supporting mean-spiritedness, racism, bigotry and bullying as cultural norms for our country. At the very least this constitutes passive racism in my mind. To the tune of 70 million Americans. Angels and ministers of grace, defend us.</p><p>________</p><p>There is so much work to be done. The destruction of our historical and current system of white supremacy will probably take generations. But this is positive work; work that proactively makes our society better and more equitable; work that is rooted in love and empathy, and supports the well-being of all of our citizens. </p><p>The anticipation and commitment to this work is invigorating and positive in a way that the work of the last four years wasn't. For the last four years I've written countless letters to my Congressional representative and Senators and I've made donation after donation to organizations and groups who support fairness and equity in public life. I've marched and I've railed. But that was work that felt like sticking my finger in the dike - I only wanted to stem the tide, to keep things from getting worse before an electoral solution could be found. </p><p>The work of my lifetime will be incredibly difficult, and so, so worth it. After we decompress for a bit, we will start working on a plan to be more proactive in our contributions. We need to research how to be better allies to BIPOC communities, and then act on those findings. We need to help police our own cohort, and call out racism and white supremacy when we see it. No more "passes" based on age or region, no more remaining silent in order to keep the peace. I have benefitted from the white supremacy of our country every day of my life, whether I asked for it or not. I owe it to BIPOC communities to use some of that privilege to support the equity of those who have been denied what was freely given to me based solely on the color of my skin and my socioeconomic status. </p><p><i>________</i></p><p>Because I live in an extremely conservative district, my U.S. Congressional Representative, my State Senator, my State Representative, and my local officials are all Republicans. There's nothing I can do to change this except to try and vote them out, year after year, until a) a Democrat wins; b) a Republican comes along who isn't a complete, lying douchecanoe; or c) I choose to leave the District. I'll continue to fight the good fight, but I've resigned myself to this truth, for good or for ill. </p><p>________</p><p>In spite of my Republican local representation, I'm proud to be a Coloradan today: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We now have two Democratic Senators, sending a message that Colorado as a whole will not stand for moral cowardice in the upper house. </li><li>Biden/Harris won our state by 13 points, and our state has gone blue in the last four Presidential elections. Based on our demographics, this will probably continue to be the case as the state becomes more and more liberal. </li><li>We repealed the Gallagher Amendment. Gallagher is an extremely complex issue, but the bottom line is that Coloradans agreed to pay more in personal property taxes so that non-industrial communities would have sufficient tax dollars to support fundamental services such as public education, fire and police, and hospital services. Will urban homeowners pay more so that other members of our Colorado community will have a reliable tax base for essential services? Yes. Yes, we will. And good for us.</li><li>Colorado voted against a ban on late-term abortions by 18 points. Colorado routinely slaps down anti-choice legislation, and in this case the terms were especially egregious - only one exception was included, and that was to save the woman's life if she was in immediate danger. So if you're carrying a fetus that is absolutely nonviable, you get to carry it to term whether you want to or not, and then watch your baby die immediately after birth with no hope whatsoever that they'll live. There may be some couples that make this choice for their own reasons, but it should still be a <i>choice. </i></li><li>Colorado passed a proposition to create a state-run Paid Medical and Family Leave program by 15 points. This one made my heart sing. This is a REALLY expensive program - .9% of workers' salary plus matching funds by most employers - and it passed with a significant mandate. So Coloradans as a whole voted to significantly increase their state tax so that members of our community won't become homeless or have to declare bankruptcy as a result of an illness or injury, and will also have a chance to receive paid family leave when a new child joins the household. Our household will have to revise our budget in order to accommodate this additional expense, as will most Coloradans, but we agreed to do it anyway, because we care about the well-being of others. </li></ul><div>Of course there were other initiatives which passed (or didn't) that I don't agree with, such as approval of Colorado joining the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact" target="_blank">National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC)</a>. Sometimes I think that both parties are pretty short sighted when it comes to this type of legislation. Just because such a compact would benefit the Democrats at this time in our history doesn't mean this will always be the case. States are not blue or red forever (as the tRump campaign is discovering), and when deciding on these issues, you have to remember it's a double-edged sword. </div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm so, so glad that his dark chapter in American history is almost over, and I hope for a better future. I hope President Elect Biden and Vice President Elect Harris will be able to convince both parties to work in a non-partisan way to better our country and stop the incredibly hateful rhetoric. I hope they're able to restore America's place on the international stage, and work towards making us a respected ally once again. I hope that America will evolve into a country where BIPOC communities don't have to fear for their lives simply because of the color of their skin. I hope we, as a country, can bury the hatchet with our fellow countrymen and women, and try to work together civilly and without hate, rancor, and bigotry. I hope our Armed Forces are used wisely and thoughtfully when such becomes necessary. I hope respect for the rule of law becomes not only popular again, but expected in all our public servants. I hope we find a way to embrace a value system where character is what defines a person, not money, or race, or religion, or who you know. I hope we grow into a country who protects and cares for ALL its citizens, and understands that basic human rights such as having enough to eat and basic medical care is a standard for a modern civilization, and can be easily achieved if we value it enough. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxrK21amC9Q" width="560"></iframe></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-26731435902968870232020-10-28T08:00:00.004-06:002020-11-04T09:23:06.688-07:00Politics - A Civil Discourse<p><span style="font-family: inherit; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">DISCLOSURE: Please note the title of this post. CIVIL discourse. If you are so emotionally hooked that you cannot discuss candidates and policy without resorting to name calling, personal attacks and other incivility, please do not engage. I will be summarily deleting comments that I consider uncivil, regardless of who posts them, nor will I tolerate any "whataboutism," "Fake News," or other <a href="https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/logic_in_argumentative_writing/fallacies.html" target="_blank">logical fallacies</a>. You don't have to keep it clean (have you met me?) but arguments must be well-thought out and defensible with facts and references from <i><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/berlinschoolofcreativeleadership/2017/02/01/10-journalism-brands-where-you-will-find-real-facts-rather-than-alternative-facts/#77833174e9b5" target="_blank">reputable sources</a></i>. So if you want to engage in poo-flinging monkey fights, please redirect yourself to Reddit, that seething den of scum and villainy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">The other day, a 45 supporter on Facebook asked a question. He said he didn't understand why anyone would vote for Vice President Biden, and he wanted to know why people would make that choice. Understandably, he </span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, .SFNSText-Regular, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">wanted answers other than "He's not Trump."</span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been thinking about this question since then, because I think it's a good one. While most elections end up being a contest between a bad choice and a worse choice, I have always tried to select the candidate who most closely aligns with the ideals and ideas I find most important. But since 45 came into office, I have found that I have been less likely to try and find commonality between me and my selected candidate. This is especially true of 45, since I hold him in such contempt, but after the last four years, my antipathy has spread to the entire GOP. </span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Such knee-jerk reactions are part of what has made American politics so divisive, personal, and nasty. And I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I want to articulate the reasons why I think Vice President Biden is a better candidate than the current resident of the White House. Buckle up - this is going to be a long one. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">CAVEAT I: I am a tax and spend liberal. For those of you keeping track at home, this means that if the American people want a specific service from the government, then <i>we must pay for it, </i>i.e., taxes must be raised to cover the cost of the program. I'm okay with paying more taxes for more services for the general population, and yes, I also believe in a progressive tax rate. It's obscene that there are people in the United States who suffer from food insecurity and homelessness while our wealthiest citizens are rich beyond the dreams of avarice. I pay my taxes each year if not gladly, then at least with the satisfaction of knowing I'm doing my part to enhance the standard of living for everyone in my community, not just myself. YMMV.</span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The American healthcare system. </b>The <a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries" target="_blank">United States</a> spends more on health care than any comparable country - a whopping 17% of GDP, compared to an average of 8.6% for other relatively wealthy countries. And yet, measurements of life expectancy, infant mortality, and unmanaged diabetes show the United States lagging significantly behind other relatively wealthy countries. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a variety of reasons for these outcomes, but it seems apparent to me the main issue is that America's political machine is far more interested in healthcare for profit than in healthcare for people, and this is not okay with me. In a country as wealthy as ours, <i>everyone</i> within our borders should have access to basic healthcare. No one should have to choose between getting life saving medication or feeding their kids, no one should lose their house and have to declare bankruptcy because of a catastrophic illness or injury, and no one should be left to die because they couldn't afford to seek care. <i>We can afford this. </i>We just choose not to. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I personally do not think Biden's healthcare plan goes far enough, I believe it is a step in the right direction. A public option for all should be available if people need it in order to get care, and Biden's current plan is comprehensive enough to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/22/926372475/comparing-bidens-and-trump-s-different-visions-for-health-care" target="_blank">increase the number of people</a> who will be covered. We can argue for years about the best methodology to accomplish this goal, but we can't, because I really haven't seen a comprehensive healthcare plan of any sort, good OR bad, from the current Administration. They've had four years to create one. The fact that they've done nothing regarding this critical issue (except try to repeal current protections, I mean) tells me something about their priorities, and I don't like what I see.</span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Foreign policy. </b>Like it or not, the United States is a part of the global economy, and our economic health is tied directly to our trading partners. Additionally, the United States' standing as a leader of the free world is largely dependent on our relationships with like-minded countries. By acting in concert with our allies, the U.S. is capable of effecting global change for the better. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vice President Biden is a master at establishing, maintaining, and deepening these relationships. During his tenures as a <a href="https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/joe-biden" target="_blank">Senator and then the Vice-President</a>, he spent many years working with the leaders of foreign governments, and has earned the respect of other wealthy (and other not so wealthy) democracies/republics by doing the necessary diplomatic work to establish his credibility. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whether or not you agree or disagree with the current Administration's foreign policy, everyone can see that our <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-09-15/international-image-of-us-hits-historic-lows-over-coronavirus-response" target="_blank">standing on the global stage has diminished</a> in the last four years. The free world no longer looks to the United States for leadership and consensus. They roll their eyes when our chief executive enters the room or tries to speak. Instead they look to Germany, led by Angela Merkle in Europe and New Zealand, led by Jacinda Ardern on the Pacific Rim. We have spent the last 80 years establishing ourselves as one of the last remaining superpowers, and sadly, it doesn't take long for that social capital to deteriorate. I believe Vice President Biden can repair our relationships, establish new ones, and hold global bad actors accountable when necessary.</span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I trust science and the scientific method.</b> If anything has highlighted the difference between the candidates in this race, it's their vastly different attitude regarding science and scientific experts. There is consensus among credible scientists that <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/" target="_blank">climate change is real</a>, that it is caused by human technology, and that there will be catastrophic results if we don't work to alleviate the effects, especially in low-lying areas. But that is not what the current administration believes, based on their withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, while climate change and environmentalism is a part of Vice President Biden's platform. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The most obvious example of declining scientific advice, of course, is the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our current administration has ignored advice from recognized experts in favor of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/36-times-trump-said-the-coronavirus-would-go-away/2020/04/30/d2593312-9593-4ec2-aff7-72c1438fca0e_video.html" target="_blank">magical thinking</a>, and has shaped their policies accordingly. The administration couldn't have been in better hands during this crisis, having <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov/director/awards" target="_blank">Dr. Anthony Fauci </a>as their primary advisor, who has served as the Director of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. And yet, the current administration continues to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-slaps-down-trump-us-wrong-direction-covid-2020-10" target="_blank">spread falsehoods and half-truths, and enacted policy</a> that has resulted in the U.S. having the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-maps-and-cases/" target="_blank">largest COVID infection rate and death rate</a> per capita in the world, <i>and that includes third world countries. </i></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on his published platform, I believe Vice President Biden will handle this ongoing crisis in a much more effective manner, because he doesn't think he knows more than a recognized expert whose life's work has been the research and treatment of infectious diseases, and he won't pander to those who think their high school diploma or bachelor's degree makes them a qualified epidemiologist and/or infectious disease specialist.</span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I believe in the rule of law, the dignity of the Oval Office, and our social norms. </b>Vice President Biden believes in these things, too. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Character matters.</b> While I am fully aware that the vast majority of politicians in this country equivocate or mislead the population during their tenures, <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/person/donald-trump/" target="_blank">the last four years</a> have been absolutely extraordinary in this regard. Based on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/13/president-trump-has-made-more-than-20000-false-or-misleading-claims/" target="_blank">number of verifiable falsehoods</a> 45 has uttered since entering the White House, it does not appear that he can speak on ANY subject without throwing in 10 (or 20) superfluous lies. 45 is a chronic, constant liar. I'm not going to speculate on why this is the case because I really don't give a damn why he lies. The bottom line is that he can't be trusted on any subject, and I require at least a minimal level of honesty from the U.S. President. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does Biden also periodically lie? Yes. Yes, he does. He's a politician. But his lies are <i>periodic</i>, and at this point in our country's political life, I think that's the best we can hope for. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will not accept <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/5/16/11683122/donald-trump-misogynist-sexist" target="_blank">misogyny</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/trump-racism-comments/588067/" target="_blank">racism</a>, <a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/the-list-of-trumps-unprecedented-steps-for-the-lgbtq-community" target="_blank">bigotry</a>, <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Trump-s-monikers-promote-bullying-15354557.php" target="_blank">bullying</a> of the weak or <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-s-worst-offense-mocking-disabled-reporter-poll-finds-n627736" target="_blank">disabled</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/30/918483794/from-debate-stage-trump-declines-to-denounce-white-supremacy" target="_blank">white</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/us/politics/trump-debate-white-supremacy.html" target="_blank">supremacy</a>, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/10/21/trump-sexual-assault-allegations-share-similar-patterns-19-women/5279155002/" target="_blank">sexual misconduct</a>, or <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889" target="_blank">incitements to violence</a> from a candidate hoping to occupy the highest office in the land. While I concede that Vice President Biden is not a person of <u>unerring</u> character, it is my opinion, based on 45's own words, that Biden is miles and miles above 45 in this regard. This may not matter to you provided he delivers on issues you think are more important, and that's your privilege. Just as it's my privilege to eliminate 45 from my consideration based on these character flaws. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Intellectual honesty, curiosity, competence, and a desire to serve. </b>To be frank, I don't think <i>anyone </i>is "qualified" to be the President of the United States when they begin their first term. It's a job like no other, and the weight of responsibility has prematurely aged every president in history. But there are personality traits that can predict whether or not an individual may be a good or a poor president. In an ideal world, I want a President who is smarter than me. Better educated than me. Has intellectual curiosity about the world. Has shown sustained competence in their chosen field. And I want a President whose impetus to run is to serve the people. Not serve themselves, not seek immunity from prosecution for their misdeeds. not to engage in nepotism, not to make themselves rich by violating the emollients clause. I believe Vice President Biden wants to be President for the right reasons. </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My political values are rooted in the Constitution I swore to protect and defend with my life.</b> This means any candidate I choose to endorse must also have values rooted in our Constitution. I'm especially devoted to the 1st Amendment, </span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">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.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">As an Atheist, my own moral code is dictated by philosophical paradigms I have personally chosen that are outside of (but not necessarily contrary to) Christian teachings. The Constitution guarantees my right to reject religion, and when politicians try to force their non-secular belief systems down my throat via executive orders and judicial appointments, I consider it a violation of the 1st </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Amendment. </span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The 4th Estate is the </span><i style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;">only </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">commercial enterprise specifically called out anywhere in our </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Constitution</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> for special consideration under the law. That's because the founders understood that the government required watching, and it required watching by institutions who could not be silenced by the very people they were holding accountable. </span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I believe Vice President Biden shares these values. I believe 45 does not, as characterized by his constant <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/25/927564446/how-donald-trumps-presidency-has-changed-the-media" target="_blank">berating of reputable news outlets</a>, his cries of "Fake News" and "Alternative Facts," and his absolute obsession with his own press and inability to take responsibility for anything that has occurred on his watch. </span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>I could go on,</b> but I won't. I think that's quite enough for one post, and to tell the truth, I'm really, really tired of politics. For good or for ill, I want this election cycle to be <b>over.</b> </span></span></p>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-12178286203422623312020-10-08T08:00:00.015-06:002020-10-08T08:16:19.370-06:00Everything you wanted to know about the Colorado 2020 General Election but were afraid to ask<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYyNSXJsrdHKY7B_hj8ZItOlKKuIyW_Wr6IUzJIrqkZqtUqUhJS1-_EVWgOQNCX2xvCMwHfwMENVDNvMpqGypI3eENtUJqxx-XLZYsvDei8LqkLv3BWzJH16RmCWOt-hsDuV0kYMn2aw/s600/I+Voted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYyNSXJsrdHKY7B_hj8ZItOlKKuIyW_Wr6IUzJIrqkZqtUqUhJS1-_EVWgOQNCX2xvCMwHfwMENVDNvMpqGypI3eENtUJqxx-XLZYsvDei8LqkLv3BWzJH16RmCWOt-hsDuV0kYMn2aw/s320/I+Voted.jpg" /></a></div><br />So. It's an election year. And this year is like no other, for a variety of reasons. <p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As is my custom, I volunteered to act as an Election Judge for the election, and I've just finished my mandatory training from Douglas County on election rules, process, etc. Since so many people know I volunteer to do this, I end up getting a lot questions about it, and I want to answer them all. So here's my list of FAQs, which will be updated as additional questions come in. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">DISCLAIMER: The final arbiter of what's legal and what's not in Colorado is the Colorado Secretary of State, or if that fails, the Courts. Neither Douglas County nor the Secretary of State endorse this FAQ, and as such, I'll be providing links to the appropriate government offices as appropriate, in addition to my laywoman's perspective. I am not an election law attorney, nor do I play one on T.V. For complete details on election law and rules, see the Secretary of State's website. You can find everything you need to know there, from acceptable forms of ID, to sample ballots, to </span>accessibility<span style="font-family: inherit;"> arrangements. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: Are there enough Election Judges to man polling places this year due to COVID-19? Are extra precautions being taken for the purpose of sanitation?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: Yes. According to the election volunteer coordinator, Colorado residents volunteered in droves to be election judges this year, at the rate of about four applicants for every one position, and all election judges have been trained in the appropriate sanitation requirements. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: Are Election Judges just picked willy-nilly?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: No. Election Judges must be screened, including a background investigation, before they can be sworn in. Additionally. Election Judges are selected based on experience and political affiliation. In Colorado, each polling place must have a balance between Republicans, Democrats, and Independent Judges. Ballot boxes are sealed by two individuals who cannot be of the same political affiliation, and the polling place must be manned at all times by at least two individuals who cannot be of the same affiliation. Ballots are moved from collection boxes to the election office in the same way. In the Navy, we called this "Two Person Integrity." You can identify your poll workers by the color of lanyard they wear. Red for Republican, Blue for Democrat, White for Independent, tan and teal for watchers/observers, and yellow for election staff. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: Will I receive a ballot in the mail?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: Yes. If you are registered to vote in the State of Colorado, you will receive a ballot in the mail. Colorado sets the gold standard for mail-in voting, and every voter will receive a ballot in the mail by default. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: What if my ballot doesn't arrive when my County says it should and I'm getting nervous?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: You can go to <a href="https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/home.xhtml">Go Vote Colorado</a> and sign up for BallotTrax, or you can look it up by clicking the "Find my Registration" link. If the system shows that your ballot was supposedly delivered but it wasn't, you can call your local election office to find out how to get a replacement ballot. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: With all the shenanigans surrounding the Post Office, I don't want to drop my ballot in the mail. Is there another way to make sure it gets to the election office on time?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: Yes! Most election offices have ballot drop boxes throughout their county where you can drop off your ballot. These boxes are sealed and locked, and under 24 hour surveillance. They're emptied every day (sometimes several times a day, depending on how close to the election we are). And if all else fails, every polling place will have drop off boxes where you can put your ballot in the box. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: What if I don't want to vote at home, but instead want to go to a polling place, vote in a booth, and put my paper ballot in a ballot box?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: You are absolutely able to do so - that's why we have Election Judges. Simply look for an open polling place in your County, and go there for early voting or on Election Day. But here's the rub: DO NOT MAIL THE BALLOT YOU RECEIVED IN THE MAIL AND THEN TRY TO GO VOTE IN PERSON. Seriously, don't. The District Attorney calls that "Voter Fraud," and you will be receiving a call from them later down the road. More on that later. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: Will there be crowds at the polling place?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: Election authorities do in fact believe that polling places will be crowded on Election Day. T<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;">his is the case for a variety of reasons, including COVID restrictions such as reduced polling locations and staff, fewer voting booths, limiting the number of voters inside the polling station, etc. If you want to vote in person, please plan accordingly, and know that as long as you’re in line by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, you WILL be able to vote.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: What if I don't want to wait?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">A: Well, early </span></span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">vot</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;">ing is the shizzle! There will be polling places in Douglas County open from October 19-31, and again on November 2nd. Different polling places will be opening in phases 1, 2, and 3 here in Douglas County. Process and procedure will be the same whether you vote early or on Election Day, and we’ll even be open one Saturday (October 31st). If you need to find the schedules for your county, check your County Clerk’s election information page, or check the <a href="https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/home.xhtml" target="_blank">Colorado Go Vote page under "Manage my Registration."</a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Q: Why are the Election Judges taking so long to move </span></span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">voters through the process?</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">A: </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;">Because both parties have communicated that lawsuits will be forthcoming post-election regardless of outcome, process will be strictly observed at every polling station. Please be patient with the election judges as they try to ensure everything is above-board for every voter. We’ll be doing the best we can, moving as fast as we can, and election judges are there to support the PROCESS, not a political party. All we care about is that EVERYONE gets a chance to vote, legally. So try to keep your temper with the volunteers. No one likes to be yelled at, especially when they’re trying to perform a public service. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Q: What if I'm not registered and I still </span></span><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">want to vote?</span></span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;">A: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re not registered to vote, you can register AND vote in the general election at any polling place up to and including on Election Day. Go you! </span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Q: How do I know there won't be voter fraud?</span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A: Ah, the question of the hour. If you want to know how voter fraud is prevented here in Douglas County, you can start by watching an excellent video called "<a href="https://www.douglas.co.us/elections/election-video-gallery/" target="_blank">The Life of a Ballot</a>" on the Douglas County Votes web page. However, I often get questions along the lines of "But how do you know if someone tries to vote twice?" The answer is both simple and complex. </span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Every ballot issued by the County Clerk has a bar code associated with it, and that bar code is associated with a Colorado Voter ID number. So when you get your ballot in the mail, that ballot is yours and yours alone to use. Once you fill it out and drop it off, it is scanned in at election headquarters (see the video linked above), and the scanning of that bar code makes a change in the Secretary of State's voter database showing that you (and your voter ID) have <i>voted. </i></span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Which leaves a few scenarios:</span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you come to the polling place to vote after your original ballot is scanned in and your voter ID shows that you've already voted, you'll be informed that the County Clerk's office has already received a completed ballot for your voter ID. If you insist that the ballot was returned by someone other than you, you will be permitted to vote a provisional ballot, and when that ballot (also assigned to your voter ID) is put into the system, an investigation will be conducted to determine what actually happened. If election officials suspect that someone did in fact return your ballot without your consent, the matter is turned over to the District Attorney's office for action. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you come to the polling place before your drop off ballot is scanned in (say, during early voting), the Secretary of State's database will reflect that you have </span><i style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">not voted. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">In that case, the election judge will have no way of knowing if you mailed it or not, and the ballot you cast in person will be the first and only ballot that is counted. When the mail ballot is received at election headquarters, an investigation is launched by the District Attorney to determine what happened, because turning in two ballots, whether you meant to or not, is voter fraud. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you vote in person at a polling place to cast your ballot and then on the way home drop your mail-in ballot at a collection box, again, the database will determine that you attempted to vote twice and an investigation will be launched. </span></li></ol><p></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And you want to know what makes all this work? The Secretary of State's software and associated database (called SCORE) is directly connected to every polling place in Colorado, on a secure connection, in real-time. So when an Election Judge prints out your in-person ballot for you, the change in your status from <i>not voted </i>to <i>voted </i>happens at once and is then reflected in every polling place, state-wide. </span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And the policy of the Election Office (at least in Douglas </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">County) is to turn over every suspected case of voter fraud to the District Attorney. Every. Single. One. Because it's not the Election Office's job to determine intent and degree of illegality. It's the DA's. </span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">__________</span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Q: Does the County Clerk expect there to be shenanigans at the polling places?</span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A: Not necessarily "expect," but all the Election Judges have been trained on what to do in case there are any:</span></span></span></p><p style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">ctivities such as poll watching and observers are being managed as they always have - coordinated between the political parties and the Secretary of State’s office. Watchers are pre-designated, and they will be obtaining a Certificate of Appointment and Oath of Watcher in order to be permitted in the polling place for this purpose. Observers are appointed by the Federal government or the Secretary of State. So folks who think they can just stroll in and make sure everything is being done “correctly” will be invited to leave, by law enforcement if necessary. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Electioneering within 100 feet will not be tolerated. So leave your political t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc. at home, and keep your political opinions to yourself while you’re in the polling place. Again, this is a bi-partisan law, and have been in place for many, many years. Nothing new here, just the enforcement of exiting rules and norms. </span></li></ol><p></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; orphans: 2; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Q: Does the Secretary of State anticipate violence at the polling places, and have contingency plans been made?</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A: No, and yes. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And lastly, make sure you VOTE, regardless of how and where you choose to do so. Now more than ever, exercising your franchise is probably one of the most important things you’ll do this year.</span></span></div></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-19494137887648430382020-09-27T08:00:00.036-06:002020-09-27T08:00:02.034-06:00Maureen's Marchers, Walking the Good Walk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQbh0auDSvoASnyLpthdsJfGdM9jNYBhs0YDwo5rleYImgfh7HfbNf7CqC2SkqTtmkylsSVaTJszOjD7AYBs9lKZlhYoytLnMS0t4a5JkmZNi97XUc83avGVyV14wvy5JN0lIXkTHJXQ/s933/Moe+Grand+Canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQbh0auDSvoASnyLpthdsJfGdM9jNYBhs0YDwo5rleYImgfh7HfbNf7CqC2SkqTtmkylsSVaTJszOjD7AYBs9lKZlhYoytLnMS0t4a5JkmZNi97XUc83avGVyV14wvy5JN0lIXkTHJXQ/s320/Moe+Grand+Canyon.jpg" /></a></div><br />Had the pandemic not occurred, today would have been the day our American Foundation for Suicide Prevention fundraising team, <i>Maureen's Marchers,</i> would have been at Coors Field for this annual event. But 2020 had other plans since it was evidently sent by Cthulhu to test American mettle. <p></p><p>Yet, I still try to follow Mr. Rogers' advice, and look for the helpers. And nowhere are the helpers more evident than when our fundraising team seeks donations for suicide prevention. </p><p>For the second year in a row, I am the number one fundraiser for the Denver Metro Walk (this year called an "Experience") on the day of the walk, and <i>Maureen's Marchers</i> is the the number one fundraising team by respectable margins. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAi8QF3qa4LJKBsCJVfAECC9AkiSaCIOjP9fLnD1qxpGyeYjxMjl1jEtvK7gxG2PJdiMxFkhRCmqvEGDz-t2VYnlDJ295zx5YzJsWxQNHQoFr3-P4c5FtvdEGxEWp584zoYcaKVAaKa8/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-09-26+at+8.18.12+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="2048" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAi8QF3qa4LJKBsCJVfAECC9AkiSaCIOjP9fLnD1qxpGyeYjxMjl1jEtvK7gxG2PJdiMxFkhRCmqvEGDz-t2VYnlDJ295zx5YzJsWxQNHQoFr3-P4c5FtvdEGxEWp584zoYcaKVAaKa8/w640-h339/Screen+Shot+2020-09-26+at+8.18.12+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWNp4TbuCqaf15EF2Qjy_ofoJsbH2aClUCauhu20j_RMhEAZkGJJOHl55XHNXAD6nDOFH6xvYGBuyF6T-feGOq90rFsCNvdgWsdlp3aHp1bzy5RITcoE0s6YSXhkOJfz9hPmLr_UoG28/s1596/Screen+Shot+2020-09-26+at+8.15.36+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1596" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWNp4TbuCqaf15EF2Qjy_ofoJsbH2aClUCauhu20j_RMhEAZkGJJOHl55XHNXAD6nDOFH6xvYGBuyF6T-feGOq90rFsCNvdgWsdlp3aHp1bzy5RITcoE0s6YSXhkOJfz9hPmLr_UoG28/w640-h317/Screen+Shot+2020-09-26+at+8.15.36+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>This year has been especially difficult since so many folks are out of work and have little to spare. Which makes the donations we did receive that much more meaningful. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you to ALL our donors, especially the anonymous donors who we are not able to thank directly. Your willingness to continue to support this cause means the world to us, as we try to turn this unimaginable tragedy into something worthwhile. Love to you all. </div><div>______</div><div><br /></div><div>The donation pages will be active for a couple of months following the event, so if you choose to donate even after today, you can do so <a href="https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2324132" target="_blank">here</a>. <br /><p><br /></p></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-46305346520154516372020-09-21T08:00:00.011-06:002020-09-21T08:00:07.043-06:00Stalky Stalking Stalkers<p>As many of you may know, this year was the first time in my life that I chose to donate money to political campaigns in support of the candidates I want to win. I haven't done it in the past for a variety of reasons, including:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I don't think "campaign contributions" belong in politics. I believe the government should provide a set amount of money to each candidate for the duration fo their campaign, and that should be it. No Citizen's United bullshit, no big money donors, no billionaire self-funded dipshits buying the election, no buying the candidate's ear. If they win, each candidate should have an equal obligation to every constituent in their area of responsibility, and no one should have to pay for that obligation through political contributions. I'm such a dreamer. </li><li>I knew, I <i>knew,</i> that if I chose to donate in spite of my misgivings, the campaigns in question would become Stalky McStalkersons, inundating me constantly with requests for more money, in spite of the fact that I already know how much (and when) I'll be making additional donations to the campaigns I care about. </li></ul><div>But I believe this election cycle is the most important one of my lifetime, and I strongly feel the Republic is in jeopardy. So rather than tacitly agreeing to live in a Banana Republic where our fearless leader (or his whackadoodle son) wears a funny hat for the rest of my life, I sucked it up and made modest contributions to several candidates of my choice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Crap on a cracker, I was SO RIGHT. </div><div><br /></div><div>As an experiment, I started keeping track of how often the campaigns I contributed to contacted me to beg for more money. These statistics are from September 11 through September 18th, and for what should be obvious reasons (have you met me?) only include Democratic candidates. But there is no doubt in my military mind that the Republicans are doing exactly the same thing to their own donors. </div><div></div><p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; width: 232px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 109pt;" width="145"></col><col style="width: 65pt;" width="87"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td class="xl63" height="21" style="border-color: windowtext; border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt 0.5pt 0.5pt 1pt; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 109pt;" width="145"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amy McGrath</span></td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-width: 1pt; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">9</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td class="xl65" height="21" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: none solid solid; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mark Kelly</span></td><td align="right" class="xl66" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">12</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td class="xl65" height="21" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: none solid solid; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">John Hickenlooper</span></td><td align="right" class="xl66" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 0.5pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">29</td></tr><tr height="23" style="height: 17pt;"><td class="xl67" height="23" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 0.5pt; border-style: none solid solid; font-size: 12pt; height: 17pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Biden/Harris</span></td><td align="right" class="xl68" style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-style: none solid solid none; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">29</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As you can see, Hick and Biden/Harris campaigns are the Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner in the Stalky McStalkerson Sweepstakes, with a whopping 29 communications in just a seven day period.* For those who are math-challenged, that's a little over four communications a day, every day. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWT_jaLl-_Rjpyvk7A14uHAisufA7h4NuB9TUbueWazAgLMDzcZwKqEvz2p5SfBa1I33FRIldCYb80sS5d1YxKx0gzaz2m5Q-FLy0SQE78Jp4dh2uJX3deXPXam82l9iYH7yWBy68KBl8/s640/disturbing-peeping-tom-prank-toy-halloween-640x534.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWT_jaLl-_Rjpyvk7A14uHAisufA7h4NuB9TUbueWazAgLMDzcZwKqEvz2p5SfBa1I33FRIldCYb80sS5d1YxKx0gzaz2m5Q-FLy0SQE78Jp4dh2uJX3deXPXam82l9iYH7yWBy68KBl8/s320/disturbing-peeping-tom-prank-toy-halloween-640x534.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br />And politicians wonder why people of good conscience don't want to donate to their campaigns. BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT REPRESENTATIVES OF ACTBLUE OR ACTRED OR WHATEVER PEERING IN THEIR WINDOWS AT NIGHT TO SEE WHEN YOU'LL DONATE AGAIN, THAT'S WHY.</div><div><br /></div><div>________</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: These values do not include phone calls, because I just don't answer calls from numbers that are not in my contact list. I also only received one SMS from each candidate because I opted out after the first ones, which to their credit, they respected. So the ACTUAL number of attempts would be far higher were this a scientific poll with a control group. Which it's not. </span></div>Janiecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.com2