Project 2025 Family Planning

Dear you,

Christian Nationalism and "the end of democracy", as promised by a CPAC speaker recently, are very here and now. The fans of this Project 2025 dystopia are the absolute worst. Their god is the justification for every fucking nightmare policy they dream up. A year or so ago, I would have said dream on. The majority of Americans are too sane and too mindful of religious truths to put up with your antics.  But here we are now; the new American theocrats are increasing in number.  And power.  A center of their new plan for all of us is the emphasis on family. (Not a new thing, but typical of conservative backlash game plans.)That family is defined by them, of course. And kids, kids, kids must be produced! (See again Speak Johnson and his theory that every American female should be compelled to produce at least one child/worker.)The choice to be solo in this retro-conservative era now must be explained. People ask, why don't you have children?

I reply with the facts: "I'm a different kind of animal. I like to live on my own and I really don't like children." These declarations are often received with wide-eyed horror. I've seen people cross themselves and take a step back. Apparently I am a very bad girl. So, what do they want to hear?  What can be said to shut them the fuck up?  Well, as I often do, I consulted the fabulous comedy of The Onion for options, something to make me laugh and stop me from doom-scrolling about theocratic future. See their piece from 2021, "What to Say When Someone Asks Why You Don't Have Kids."  Suggested responses:

"I lost them in poker."

"I left those annoying little shits in Palm Beach."

"The Bible says that anyone who has children will die in a blimp accident."

"I accidentally spilled the IVF dish."

Stop there, cue "Sweet Home, Alabama."  We all know what went down this week. Some random judge (guided by god, naturally) declared that frozen embryos are children. Hence, now many medical pros do not want to mess with IVF and do hard time because of a dish drop. This makes no sense, if they want kids, kids, kids, why would they try to shut down one way to produce them?  It's all so idiotic and so very Alabama.  Back to The Onion and their version of this breaking news headline:  "Alabama Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Burritos Are Children."

If that is the case, Taco Bell better lawyer up.

The truth is, satire aside, we all better lawyer up.  The godly-family-planners are coming for everything, especially the "bad" girls.

Good luck!

Love,

Childless and I don't give a damn Joyce

Resilience Is Required

Dear you,

Keeping it concise today. Thinking about resilience. . .

After the New York decision dropped telling Donald he now owes 300-something million to pay for his lies, the Orange One threw a televised tantrum on the steps of his deplorable mansion.  Notable: his body language. The man was totally cracked out, jazz handing at the speed of light. You know that thing he does, fingers spread like an 80's video dancer. A gesticulating frenzy meant to express potency, outrage, something like that. A frenzy meant to distract us from this fact: he hacked the system, BUT the system in this case demonstrated resilience.  Resilience is needed now more than ever. See Bruce Schneier's A Hacker's Mind - How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules, and How to Bend Them Back:

"Resilience is an important concept, one that applies to everything from the human body to the planetary ecosystem, from organizational systems to computer systems. It's the ability of a system to recover from perturbations, including hacks." 

Thank you Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Engoron.

The system is resilient. For now . . . 

Love,

Joyce

Keeping It Light!

Dear you,

Keep it light, that is one of my new "to do" items as we roll into February.  Not easy to do, but there are random things that prompt a smile, an exhalation, a hope-restored for the moment feeling.  Some bits from my recent day tripping:

One - Still looking for the perfect real estate broker to sell this condo and get me out and away (destination still unknown, stay tuned), I Googled with search terms like 'liberal real estate agents in my area' and 'Panhandle realtors with a sense of humor'.  Diving in deeper and deeper into some pretty vague search results, I clicked on a link featuring the photo copied above. I love that. Wonder if this dude can help me out here. He's probably too busy since the 2024  election predictions are scaring the hell out of Americans who reject this Trump is Jesus thing. If Canada looked good in 2016, imagine its appeal now.  Thanks for keeping it light, Mr. Cook.

Two - I got change back from a cash transaction at the local liquor store. On exit, while fumbling around with my purse plus vodka-in-bag plus car keys, I dropped a quarter to the ground.  It fell face up and revealed an image I have never noticed before, Wilma Mankiller!  A native American honored on the coinage of the invaders, but my oh my, what a fabulous name. And what a fabulous reason to research this woman instead of Googling realtors. Ah, enlightenment.

Three - Dusting the south bedroom, I saw fingerprints on the TV screen.  Even my cat can't be blamed for that.  I stood there stumped and then remembered.  During the NFL playoffs, I was placing my fingers on the first down marks highlighted in yellow on our screens.  I did this whenever I was cheering for a team, hoping my magical screen touching would work in their favor.  That may be more loony than light, but whatever.

Four - Continuing my radio as soundtrack life, I am still in enjoyment mode.  However, sometimes keeping it light with smooth jazz is more like dozing off with snooze jazz.  A day or so ago I heard a cover of Jackson's "Rock With You" that moves at a glacial pace.  More like I want to "Nap With You." But still smile-worthy.

Five - Then there was this morning's news compliments of MSNBC, thank you, that a DC appeals court rejected Donald Trump's demented claim about presidential immunity.  Now it's in the hands of SCOTUS. Maybe, just maybe . . .

Six - Finally, I sighted a doe and fawn on the edge of our Point Washington forest last Friday, perhaps too near the interstate, but still, they were alive. And oh so beautiful.

End list. 

Begin again with light in mind.

Love,

Joyce