An Agreeable Aimlessness...

Yes. This morning: post-vacation. 

After a couple days of lounging by the pool. Not our pool. Exquisite. Plus a  few long, rambling walks. Good meals. Music. We rediscovered "The Piano Man." We hadn't seen him during the covid-lockdown years. So happy he made it thru and we made it too, to hear him play his keyboard near our favorite willow tree on the lakefront by the pond. We caught some ABBA, some Queen, "Yesterday," and my absolute favorite Elton John song, "Daniel." I got a little tear in my eye hearing that one.

A couple days of not having to go anywhere, if we didn't want to go anywhere, and we really didn't. You might think aimless, yes, a bit aimless, but it was an agreeable aimlessness.  This morning there are things to do, places to be. Back to being "Woke:" ALIVE, AWARE, AWAKE. Summer-time Woke-ness. Living is Easy in the moment.

Spiritual Sponges...

We had a quiet day yesterday. We found a secret garden, a sanctuary, and spent a long afternoon in a quiet, sunny vibe; healing and restorative. We both (my companion and I), know the world is filled with sadness and pain, we are both quite empathetic, shattering world events weigh heavy on our spirits, it is sometimes hard to take it all in, and at that same time, there is beauty and wonder everywhere. We soak it all up. Spiritual Sponges. It is a dance, a balancing act, and a full-time discipline to not get overwhelmed, plowed under, or carried away. There is so much to process. We are all in the same boat. Floating in the ether. It is enough to blow our minds, daily.

Maybe Silence?

Sunday. Maybe silence is the only good response to unimaginable events? So much suffering and trouble in the world. It all so badly reflects on all of us. Sadness and loss, a very deep well with seemingly no bottom. How to keep our heads together? How not to lose heart? I type words. Life does go on. Everything counts. All the good, all the bad. Being Silent Witness to it all is cold comfort. A new day beckons. Silence.

A Children's Crusade?

You hope the outrage and pain can be transformed into political action. Maybe a "Children's Crusade?" The inaction and abdication of responsibility maintained by the GOP in the face of relentless mass slaughter is maddening and disheartening. 

We are failing the Children. 

Concerned Citizens and Parents need to unite and rise up. This is a political fight that can and must be won. USA, we need 60 or more Democratic Senators. We need Representatives willing to face the music, roll up their sleeves and legislate. Folks need to vote with their hearts on the their sleeves.

There are no good arguments against sensible gun control. No one needs to own an AR-15 or similar weapons. Those types of weapons must be banned and confiscated. We must make it really, really hard for people to get a gun. It is a major task, but one worth taking on. 

Sensible. Common Sense. Responsible. 

The majority of Americans are aligned on this issue. The GOP and the NRA are obstructors to gun sanity. It is no longer tolerable. All of their arguments fail. 

A change of consciousness can happen in an instant. That time is now. Concerted action is required. This problem can be fixed. No doubt. We need to see clearly, to take action. We owe it to the Children and to ourselves.

Of Course We Can Stop It!

Yes. Cartoon by Barry Blitt.  The GOP has blood on their hands. No doubt.

I'm not sure if I am a proponent of Existentialism, (a philosophy that... centers on the subjective experience of thinking, feeling, and acting), some days, probably so, but, for sure, I really do take this quote from Jean-Paul Sartre to heart:

"Our responsibility is much greater than we might have supposed, because it involves all mankind."

Horrific events perpetrated by my fellow Human Beings seem to me to implicate my whole fucking species. The details of the latest mass school shooting are just too disturbing and soul-sucking to dwell upon. But the cold hard facts reflect upon all of us in the USA. We are the only advanced nation on the planet that allows this type of mass shooting with military grade weapons to continue to plague us.

A deep, dark, black-hole of nihilism. Some weird compulsion for death and destruction. Yes, it's like a virus in the Human Being tool-kit, USA version.

Some cynics throw their hands up and say nothing can be done.

Some hardcore creeps say we just need more guns.

Some folks bury their heads in their Bibles want to petition their God to intervene.

How about instead some common sense, can-do action? For instance: "Universal background checks, ban or restrict large magazines, require liability insurance, allow gun manufacturers to be sued for damages, ban assault rifles, require safety training and permits, don’t sell guns to people under 21." - Colin Peters

The Idiocy of our Gun Laws...

Yikes. If we as a Species are faced with Man-Made Horrors, are we smart enough to mend our ways, to roll up our sleeves, and try "fix" things?  Reflecting on the History of Humanity, the answer is pretty much not encouraging.

As a Species we don't seem all that smart. Sure there are smart Humans amongst us. And most of the innovation, invention & creativity comes from a small subset of the great, over-populated Human Herd.

Our permanent record is definitely a mixed bag. Murder, Rape, Dismemberment, Torture, War, Genocide,  Bad Blood, Bad acts, Unimaginable Horror. That's one side of the equation.

Kindness, Love, Beauty, Heart, Grace, Intelligence, Creativity.  You know, there are few positive qualities in our kit-bag, but we are complicated messes.

USA is a "Gunaholic Culture." The Idiocy of our Gun Laws betrays a will-full blindness, & madness. It's probably not possible to fix Human Beings, we are not Clockwork Oranges. But of course, we can fix the Gun Problem. Even the 2nd Amendment contains the phrase: "Well-Regulated." 

There is no reason, except for a nihilistic Death Wish to allow Americans to own Military-Grade Weapons. Complete Fucking Idiocy too. OK. Maybe we aren't that smart. But we at least have to try to do better. To throw our hands up and declare that there's nothing to do is just an abdication of responsibility.  Blood on our hands. All of us.

Gun Sickness...

Another school shooting. It's heartbreaking. No doubt. And the political stalemate to actually do anything to try to prevent these tragedies is soul-sucking & brain-numbing.

We have a Human Being problem. Flawed Humans capable of anything, armed with too many guns, guns of every type, military-grade, weapons of mass destruction, so easily available to anyone & everyone in the USA.

This is a Mental Health issue, and a Gun Law issue. Wrapped up together. The compulsion to own guns is a sickness. Anyone arming themselves is suspect. Let's assume, for good reason that they are not right in the head.

Yes. Of course, guns should be banned. It should be really, really, really hard for a citizen to get a gun. Maybe it should be impossible. And if you are a Human Being stocking up on weapons, you really need to have your head examined. Gun Sickness.

Rainbows...

From Killing Eve: "She's a rainbow in beige boots."

My partner and I can relate. We too sometimes feel like rainbows in a beige world, which has not always been peaches and cream for us. If you are radiating a wide-color-spectrum, you are always visible, and vulnerable to others in the Human Herd.  Standing out has it's hazards. There are many folks vying to swat us down. Sometimes, it would be easier to fit in, to belong, to not make waves, and just get along. 

Often, for us, that is not possible. Probably good that we have found each other, we can radiate together. It really helps when we have a r&r show. Performing together onstage, radiating the full spectrum. But it takes energy, and we can't always modulate or control it. Sometimes there is more out-going than in-coming. Energy management is a tricky thing.

Sometimes a really good show, means a "broken rainbow" the next day. Then it's all about shades of gray, of black and white, a spectrum of monochrome. Silence, long meditations, good meals, couch time are then required. 

We do our best to recharge, refresh, reconstitute. Get ready to radiate another day.

Beware the Noise...

Yes. Someone talking about "the Future," or "God," or what's gonna happen next, are really just exposing their own doubts, fears, prejudices, worries. 

We have the moment. We live in it. Getting beyond the moment is pretty much aimless speculation. Noise. Beware the noise.

Survival & Joy...

I know, survival first. We all need food, shelter, clothing, a safe harbor, an education, a way and a means to navigate the world. Then, if we are lucky, we get to try to maximize joy (see previous post). There are no promises, and we are all victims of circumstances beyond our control. We all have to contend with what we have to contend with; some of us face ceaseless bleakness, gloom, death and destruction. Some of us get to bathe in a happy light. Most of us, maybe all of us, must live and die with a bit of both. Death hovers over everything.  That's just way the Universe rolls.

William Blake said it best: 

"Every Night & every Morn
Some to Misery are Born
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to Endless Night"

You hope to experience sweet delight, often.... and, yes... a you hope everyone else can experience sweet delight too.

Hedonism of Joy!

Hedonism, for some reason, (let's blame the Puritans, the Bible-Thumpers, the Doomsday Folks & Gloomy Gus folks?), sort of gets a bad name, like, pursuing pleasure and happiness above all else, is somehow, bad, or sinful, or silly, or not worthy of a serious Human Being.

Maybe there is an error in the thought-process? What of a simple, disciplined, common, ordinary, grounded, soulful hedonism? A way of life dedicated to maximizing joy, pleasure, happiness, without engaging in risky, soul-nullifying behaviors? What of a Hedonism of Goodness? A Hedonism of Gentle Kindness?

Think of Joseph Campbell's great advice: Follow Your Bliss!

You may ask, Why be good? Why be kind? Why be gentle? Well, that is simple, it feels good, and makes others feel good. And the more of us  in the world who feel good, the better the world will be for all. Goodness is not a zero-sum game. Be fruitful and multiply the joy.

Buddha told us: Life is Suffering.

Jesus showed us Suffering was Transcendent.

I say, they were wrong. A Hedonism of Joy. That's the ticket, baby!

Stray Lines...

I'm going to paraphrase, just to test my powers of recollection. I was reading a little article about Ludwig Wittgenstein (greatest Philosopher of the 20th Century? Yikes, that's top billing!).  

Little Ludwig was a handful.  There are a few stray lines that resonate with me this a.m. For instance, (again, I am paraphrasing): 

To live in the moment is to live in the Eternal.

The Happy Human Being experiences a different world than the Unhappy Human Being.

What we know is dwarfed by what we don't know.

We should be silent about things we don't know.

Joy. It is the only way to live.

Okay, that's my morning take on Little Ludwig. Take what you need and leave the rest...

Like the Rain...

Happiness is like the Rain, Love too. We want to be Rainmakers, we can try to conjure, command, enforce our will, but just like Happiness & Love, Rain just descends upon us when it does, unbidden. We are powerless in the face of the really, really important things. We can lean, we can hope, we can simplify and try to accentuate the positive, we can do our best to be Alive, Aware, Awake. And then, we are left with conspiring forces swirling out there, beyond us. 

Crystalline Consciousness...

Funny, seeing clearly does pay off. You know, best to try to cultivate "crystalline consciousness." Be clear in thought and intention. Visualize.

This morning the thought-bubble in my head: The Overlords amongst us, those with all the Power & Money, Fame & Celebrity, are basically Pretenders & Frauds. Human Beings, flawed, contradictory, no better than any one else hanging out on the street-corner. Turns out lots of rich, powerful, well-known folks are pretty much clueless idiots. It may be that Power, Money & Celebrity are all crutches, truly obstacles and impediments to being well-rounded Human Beings. 

We all get it wrong. God is not Love. LOVE IS GOD. What's needed? Humility. Silence. Common Decency and Kindness. Small acts of being Small, ordinary. Just a Human with no B.S. - nothing to sell, nothing to prove, not worried about competing, stacking up, or about being judged by some weird, counter-human standard.

The a.m. soundtrack - Son Volt's "The Search" (2007) - Sounds amazing this morning. Revelatory. Inspiring. What a fabulous band. A band and a record a bit under the radar. This record is magnificent. And truly an artistic & humanistic statement worthy of attention. "It's the search, not the find..." - Jay Farrar

The Bright Shiny Beast...

The Bright Shiny Beast. It's multi-headed. Multi-armed. Multi-legged. It's always on. It's always got something bright and shiny to share. It takes up all the oxygen. It fills all the silence. It takes up enormous time and space. It is abundant, it is legion. Everlasting.  The Bright Shiny Beast is not your friend. You think the Bright Shiny Beast is a giving creature, but it is taking, always, always taking. You are just compost, fuel, beverage. You will be Consumed. Taken apart cell by cell. Vaporized. Crushed into tiny, invisible molecules. You will probably go willingly, maybe even with a smile on your face. That's the big joke at the end of the road. Ha! The joke is on us... all of us... the Bright Shiny Beast rules the roost! It will destroy everything, and keep destroying well after we are all gone.  The Bright Shiny Beast. All hail!

Living & Dying in the USA...

Living in the USA...

Living with Bibles, Guns, Guns, Guns & more Guns...

Living with RACISM & White Supremacy, and other forms of Mental Illness...

Living with inequality, and stupidity, and HATE...

Sure, most of us are kind and decent, we just want to make it thru to the next day, live our lives, with joy, love and laughs, but we are surrounded by a very Hateful, Conspiracy-Minded Minority, spoon-fed the daily-hate by Cable TV (FOX), and Internet liars, hucksters, and a rancid, performative group of GOP-ers, who rile a rabid mob that is LOUD, Proud, Armed and deeply, ill...

A scourge across the land.

Gluttons of Data...

Too much information. 

Overload. 

Yikes. Pretty sure the Human Brain just can't process the constant data flow of a global, 24/7, multitudinous platform. We are armed with too much technology. The tentacles, the connections are ubiquitous, snaking across the globe with a gazillion tiny fibrous strings. Over-stuffed, over-saturated, overwhelmed.  We are gluttons of data. We are drowning, suffocating, sinking from the weight of  too too much.

The Bench...

Yesterday afternoon. One of our favorite rituals. 

Sitting on a bench, looking out at Lake Michigan. A vast expanse of water, sometimes calm, sometimes stormy. It looks like an ocean, but it's only a lake. A large one. The beaches aren't officially open yet, but the beaches are teeming with life; young kids, old folks, teenagers, mothers, fathers stomping around in big, droopy shorts. The water is cold, ice cold. There are a few brave souls wading into the water, and finally diving into the waves. Most come scurrying back out, shivering.

There is also a path, a very popular byway. Bikes, skateboards, rollerbladers, baby strollers, wagons. Human Beings of all shapes and sizes, walking, talking, running, laughing, listening to their headphones.

We sit on the bench and just let the passing scene roll over us like an ever-changing wave. We sip our cold beverages. We speak of the world and everything in it. Our conversation is framed by long stretches of silent witnessing. Sometimes it's best to just observe, to sit quietly and take in the sights and sounds. 

A big, bold, blue sky above us. Wispy white clouds like cotton dotting the blue. Just a day. In the life. On the bench.

A Solid Afternoon of Destruction...

Does everyone have a special skill?

I ask, because I think I have one. What would it be? Destroying things. Taking things apart. Breaking things. Clearing out debris. Knocking down things.

I'm not so good on the building things side of the equation. You know, building solid, tangible things? I failed "Shop" in High School. I kept planing and planing and finally the little wooden box I was making was so misshapen, ill-formed, and frankly ridiculous, that I tossed it in the garbage bin, said I lost it, and got an "F" because I couldn't face the humiliation of such a badly made thing. 

I have a bad sense of proportion. Materials never seem to fit, or match up. I take something apart, put it back together, and I always end up with spare screws, springs, washers.

Anyway, back to my special skill. 

It was on full display yesterday. I worked the garden plot. I hacked, and chopped, and uprooted, and dug and scraped, and clipped, and used all my muscle to transform an over-grown jungle of dead and weedy land. I sweated, I bled, ended up with a bandage on my hand,  just a scraped knuckle, my head was spinning like a top in the heat. Oh yeah, and the best tool in my hands, new set of garden clippers? I broke them.

Still, it felt good. I mean, it was all quite exhilarating. It is good to be good at something. Destruction. A clearing in the dirt. Dead branches cut down and stacked. A job well-done. A solid afternoon of destruction. Success!

Uncommon Day...

Suddenly "Summer." 

Funny. Lots of sun and warm temps in the Heartland the last few days, when we have had a long slog of  months of very little sun, and very little warmth. It is amazing how much the weather outside can influence the weather inside.

Everything is blooming here. Flowers proudly standing up. Leafy trees tossing in the air. Nature pushes it's way into our little citified enclave. Yesterday I was riding my bicycle down the avenue when I looked to my left and saw two female Deer trotting across green-carpeted lawns heading over to munch on some leafy green bushes.

I called my friend on my cell phone to come over to check it out. We watched these two amazing creatures as they grazed. So otherworldly. It was a bit astonishing & enchanting. This primal wildness, beautiful and graceful in the midst of tamed land. We could see they were thirsty. A neighbor brought a sliver bowl of water. The deer trotted into a sheltered backyard. I placed the bowl on the ground, hoping they would discover it. We watched for a bit, and then, well, we figured they knew what they were doing and we trekked on home.

Kind of transformed the day. It was good day, an uncommon day. Hushed. Beautiful. Enchanting.

Being to Being...

Beings are Beings. 

I am of the Human variety. I spend lots of time with the Bird and Dog variety. I learn a lot by hanging with other types of Beings. Seems to me Birds and Dogs are pretty honest. I mean, hard to tell all that is going on in their worlds; Birds & Dogs have powerful means of perception, very different than I do. I don't know how they see, how they use their noses, what kind of calculations are swirling in their heads. Probably very different from my perceptions and noodle-ings. But of course, just as valid and powerful in navigating reality.

We have pretty clear, and straight-forward relationships. We all give each other lots of undivided attention. We tend to lock-in on the same wavelengths whether we are sitting in the sun room meditating, listening to music, having lunch (Birds), or out walking on the path (Dogs).

We meet Being to Being. We learn to respect each other, to trust each other. We are all seem very pleased to be together. There is a noticeable enthusiasm (giddy chirping, tail-wagging, jumping and playing),  when we meet and greet.

You know, attention, affirmation, food and treats are the currencies of our relationships. I primarily extend the hand, and they accept what I offer with what seems to be joy, pleasure, happiness, contentment, loyalty, dedication.

All this is in contrast with the Human to Human thing. In that realm? Lies, evasions, bad blood, false narratives, guilt, suffering, button-pushing. It is amazing how hypocritical Human Beings can be. And how cruel, how full of righteousness, anger and shit.

Seems counter to well-lived Life. Counter to Being Real. Human Beings will Lie themselves to the grave. Strange Beings, for sure. 

We Humans should take some lessons from all of the other Beings co-existing with us.  No doubt, we are a complicated, confused and contradictory species. Looks like we are really Fucked Up. And we are Fucking Up the Life-Supporting, Interconnected, Web-of-Life that exists on this spinning Blue Planet.

We can do better. The CLOCK IS TICKING!!!

Simplify!

Another thing...

Simplify! 

In all ways. So much dreck we can eliminate from our day to day. Living in the moment helps. Mindfulness is the watchword.

Know your history, but, remember you can't live in, or change, the past. Maybe you can change how you think about past events. Draw up new lessons. "Take what you need, you can leave the rest."

Expect a future, but don't put a lot of energy there. One step forward, one step at a time. Be kind to yourself and others. Be ready to improvise (see previous post),  and always be willing to recalculate your route in the face of the obstacles of reality. 

Fretting is no good. Fretting/Worrying is a Glitch in the wetware/software. Not worth the energy to fret about the past, or the future. Fretting in the moment is off-target too!

As the Dali Lama once said: "Kindness is my Religion." You can simplify all those holy texts down to adopting a simple code of kindness, with a dollop of a devil may care attitude: "damn the torpedos!"

That's good. Simple too. Simply, perfectly, good.

Yes, indeed. Simplify!

Yes... And...

Long-form improvisation. How long? A lifetime. You have to keep the game going. Morph. Evolve. Keep saying "Yes... and..."

Useful...

Ha! I think it is useful to have a Nemesis. 

Why? Helps you clarify who you are, who you aren't, what you are for, what you are against. It also illustrates that not everyone is on your side. There are people and forces that must contend with, people and forces to navigate around and thru. The world is an amazing place, but it's not all for you. So many competing interests and forces.  And enemies? There is that Biblical hard bit of advice: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

I don't know, that is a tough cookie to crumble. But maybe we can love what our enemies teach us? You know, lessons? They show us what not to do, what not to be. Maybe we can use them as mirrors, to see our own flaws, inconsistencies, dark moods, and bad acts? Point us the way to do and think better?

T&T

TRUTH AND TRANSPARENCY

TRANSPARENCY AND TRUTH

Not a bad code* to live by. It should be the goal of every conversation, every relationship. We should demand it from every institution, every company, every organization, every government. 

Clean. Simple.  Simple-minded? Maybe, but worth fighting for...

*It helps to live by a code of honor. Keep it open-ended. You know, like, be aware, alive, awake at all times. Lean to the light. Tell the truth. Be transparent. Be open-minded and open-hearted. And, for sure damn the torpedoes, the slings and arrows, the nay-sayers and soul-eaters.

Regulate and Criminalize...

Life. Right?!

Not to get too Icky, but what about all that sperm? Those little fancy-tailed sperm critters that all those young boys and men of all ages shoot off in unlikely places?   

Do we need to regulate and criminalize the random, unnecessary shooting off of sperm? 

Bad Faith Juju...

I am not a lawyer. But I am fascinated by the Law and how it is wielded to protect the powerful and subjugate the weak. I am also fascinated by language, and it's many uses for both good and evil.

The draft opinion by the White Christian Ayatollah Black-Robed Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito, striking down Roe v Wade (see previous two posts),  is based on this slim reed: “the inescapable conclusion is that the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation’s history and traditions”.

By the same logic you could take away reproductive rights from Women, Ban Gay Rights, Trans-Rights, Voting by Black Folks, Voting by Women, Marriage Between Races, you know, you could basically take down the Progressive Movement that has been unfolding over the last 100 years or so by the roots.

It is a dastardly bad-faith opinion. Seems Alito is saying that the only rights that are "real" are the rights of Privileged White Men. Everyone else is subject to their whims and dictates.

Gob-smacking. Bad Juju.  Bad Karma.  I do hope this will wake up the forces of progressivism. We can take nothing for granted. Vote. Organize. As Bob Marley once sang: "GET UP, STAND UP, STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS..."

Witch Trials Coming Next!

Okay. So maybe that black-robed White, Christian Ayatollah who decided that only white men have any rights at least rendered a legally sound opinion when striking down the rights of Women to have autonomy over their own bodies?

Hmmm.... well... er... not... so... much...

And you know, this is a wider attack on any sense of privacy, and personal rights...

1st from Adam Serwer:  "Alito’s Plan to Repeal the 20th Century"

"If you are an American with a young daughter, she will grow up in a world without the right to choose when and where she gives birth, and in which nothing restrains a state from declaring her womb its property, with all the invasive authorities that implies."

“This draft does the same thing: It envisions a notion of federalism so weak, so toothless, so bereft of substance that the federal government has no legitimate role in protecting women from states imposing forced births upon them.”

"Aside from rights specifically mentioned in the text of the Constitution, Alito argues, only those rights “deeply rooted in the nation’s history in tradition” deserve its protections. This is as arbitrary as it is lawless. Alito is saying there is no freedom from state coercion that conservatives cannot strip away if conservatives find that freedom personally distasteful. The rights of heterosexual married couples to obtain contraception, or of LGBTQ people to be free from discrimination, are obvious targets. But other rights that Americans now take for granted could easily be excluded by this capricious reasoning."

2nd from Laura Bassett:

"In Leaked Abortion Decision, Justice Alito Relies on Jurist Who Supported Marital Rape, Executed 'Witches'"

YIKES! Witch Trials!??!? 

"Also among Hale’s greatest hits: sentencing two women to death for witchcraft at a time when “the more enlightened” people of the 17th century had already begun to doubt the existence of witchcraft—an opinion the Salem, Massachusetts, judges relied on in their notoriously deadly witch trials. (According to The Boston Globe, 25 people were killed during those trials: “All 19 who were executed through a hanging died at Proctor’s Ledge. Five others died in jail, and one was crushed to death.”)

It’s quite fitting that Alito would cite this guy’s opinion on abortion in deciding to revoke the right from the American people, nearly a half century after Roe legalized the health procedure in 1973. The reason Roe was needed in the first place is that American women were dying from unsafe, so-called “back-alley” abortions.

As many have pointed out: The movement to ban abortion is not about and has never been about protecting fetuses. It started as a way to galvanize conservative voters in support of racial segregation—to motivate misogynistic people who really only care about punishing women to also turn out in support of the entire right-wing agenda." - Laura Bassett in Jezebel

Tyranny of the Minority...

It looks like the White Christian Ayatollahs of the Right sitting on the blatantly partisan and supremely corrupt Supreme Court have decided that Women are just passive, biological receptacles for Men to do with as they please. This does not bode well for anyone who thinks they have rights that conflict with the views of the Ayatollahs. 

This will/should not stand.  Check out this "Brief History of Abortion Law in America:"  "Abortion is as old as antiquity. As long as people have been having sex, there have been women having abortions. The American debate over whether a woman should have the right to end her pregnancy is a relatively new phenomenon. Indeed, for America’s first century, abortion wasn’t even banned in a single US state."

The USA is not a Christian nation. It is not a Theocracy. The right-wing minority should not be tyrannizing the rest of us with their retrograde religious hokum. This decision also spells trouble for other "rights" that many of us have taken for granted. The Ayatollahs of the Right are coming for you! WTF.

Time to organize, to march, to vote like every vote and every election matters, because you know, our Democracy, our Freedom and our expectations of Equality for All, and our Very Lives depend on it.

What About Dat?!

Then there is  WHATABOUTISM: "a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving the argument." 

We Tricky Monkeys love to play the "what about game;" it is a scourge, it is maddening, it makes hash of sensible arguments. It is employed across the globe. Sometimes you just can't get past it. It's a deal-killer, brain-numbing, a great tool in the fabulous disinformation dystopia.

Sometimes the only thing to do is walk away.  WHATABOUTISM is a dead, black hole for any kind of sensible discussion. Cooler heads must refuse to play.

Smart > Smarter, Stupid > Stupider...

The best thing I've read describing the Internet: The Internet makes Smart People Smarter, and Stupid People Stupider. 

Maybe there aren't as many Stupid People as it appears. You know, they are the ones who talk the loudest, and with the most force. Often Stupid dominates the conversation. The Internet gives Stupid People the ability to feed off other Stupid People. 

It's a problem...