Thursday Thirteen

Today, I'm simply going down my Facebook feed and respond to posts that are there, except I'm doing it here. I generally do not react to things on Facebook as it is problematic and I don't like to argue. But sometimes I need to get this stuff off my chest.

1. First up, a headline that religious organizations received $7.3 billion in the loans/funding money the federal legislature handed out back when the pandemic struck. My take? They don't pay taxes, they shouldn't be receiving tax-money hand outs. I have always thought churches should be taxed, and my stance on that has not changed.

2. Next, a story from one of my local stations that says the Secretary of Education "slams" school districts  that plan limited openings, rejecting part-time openings of school districts. My district is one of those that has, at least for the moment, planned a limited opening. My take? I think each district should decide how it wants to handle things depending on the circumstances and the numbers of viral load, etc., which means the planning may have to change mid-semester if the viral overload quickly shoots up. I see this as a public health crisis, not a minor inconvenience that is causing someone to cry over an election. I prefer live children to dead ones, and with the cases here locally skewing downward in age, with those 11-20 suddenly being the ones who have coronavirus, it makes sense to try to keep physical distance efforts at a maximum, not a minimum.

3. A friend has posted a tweet from #45. He indicates South Dakota has a border with California and misuses the word "there." (It should be "their border.") My take? Well, the man is no stable genius. If you have to say you are one, you probably aren't. (Do they not have spelling and grammar check on Twitter? I don't use it so I don't know.) He also congratulates people for not wearing masks. Is he trying to kill us all? *Update: I have since learned this tweet was false and #45 did not actually tweet this.*

4. A quote from a friend about moving forward in small steps. Good advice. Sometimes that is what it takes to get through a day. Take it second by second if you have to. Sometimes I do. Actually, most days I do.

5. Another quote from a friend: "Many years ago, Golda Meir, the former Israeli Prime Minister, once quoted the following:  "One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the future".  No truer words were ever spoken! God Bless America!"  My take? I presume this is about the removal of Confederate statues and changing the names of buildings to remove Confederate legacy. I say it's about time. The south lost and should have gotten over it about 155 years ago. Removing names does not remove history. We have history books, museums, and family stories galore to keep the "legacy" alive if someone must. Also, why can't God bless the whole world?

6. A fellow blogger and Facebook friends writes: "On alleged bounties, White House targets leakers, not Russia - Two weeks after Americans learned about Russia allegedly putting bounties on the heads of American troops, the White House is taking action. Team #45, however, isn't targeting Russia; it's targeting leakers . . . confronted with allegations that Moscow put bounties on the heads of American troops, the White House is eager, not to punish Russia, but to punish U.S. officials who helped expose the controversy. nbc" - My take? Sounds like something this administration would do. Talk about gaslighting and deflecting. Sheesh.

7. A friend posted "Lowes donated $25 million to help minority businesses reopen. Home Depot donated $7 million to Trump. Go to Lowes." Hmm. My take? I looked it up. Lowes did make that donation. However, the Home Depot donation was years ago, and while Home Depot gives more to Republicans than Democrats, it makes contributions to both parties. I still generally go to Lowes, though. I like it better. So this is slightly misleading.

8. A post about the bubonic plague returning. My take? It's never left. There have always been cases of it hither and yon. I've read about it recurring for years. This year is no different. It just feels like it because of all the other shit that's happening around us.

9. A post from a friend who says she isn't risking her life to go anywhere - except to vote if she must, and she'll wear a hazmat suit if she has to. My take? Good for her. We should all be able to vote by mail if we want to. We receive our driver's licenses and other government-issued items by mail, I don't see why we can't vote by mail. I trust my voter registrar and those who work for them - I know them personally. Distrust in others seems inbred in some people, though. Those folks would call Jesus Christ a liar if he stood right in front of them, brown skin and all. The military votes by mail. If they can do it, I don't see why the rest of us can't.

10. A headline post that says "The White House is hoping Americans will "grow numb" to the Covid-19 Death Toll."  My take? I am keeping score. I will not grow numb to the numbers. I am watching the numbers rise in my little county and I am pretty sure that until they start dropping again, I will not have a haircut, go to the dentist, or leave home without a mask. I think the government officials are guilty of mass murder, frankly, for their total bungling of this. And yes, that includes #45, his adult family members (since they are all "working" for the people at his command or whatever, I have never seen so much nepotism in all of my life), and the vice president.

11. A post about how all the flights in a certain airline are haunted. My take? This is hilarious and probably the best thing I've read so far today.

12. A story from the New York Times about the Supreme Court allowing employers to "opt out" of paying for birth control. My take: I wonder if they can "opt out" of paying for Viagra? I personally see it as part of women's health care and it should be available and paid for with health insurance. After all, no woman asked to be born a woman and it's not our fault we're the ones who carry the babies. Yet men sure love to penalize us for that. Dickheads.

13. A story about a comet that's visible on the low horizon in the early morning hours. My take? Yay comets!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 664th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.