The Elephant Won

I have not commented on the November 4, 2024 election, and I'm not going to comment on it now, except to note that Kamala Harris lost. Her opponent took all the swing states and won the election. He won the popular vote by 1.7%, when you combine Harris's numbers with "other" votes, so the winner does not have the mandate he thinks he does. Still, he will claim it. All winners do.

And that's all I have to say about that, except to note that a pile of elephant excrement is a really, really big pile.

Untitled

 

VOTING TUESDAY

Today is a significant day. It's election day, November 5, 2024, and it's the anniversary of the "Flood of '85," a major event for my community wherein a large portion of many small towns were wiped out by a natural disaster of magnificent proportions on that long-ago election day.

Today is also the day I let it all go, I hope. I hope I write this out here and never think of it again. I hope I am wrong about so many things.

My mother never voted. She's been dead for 24 years, and of all the things I know about her, this one bothers me the most. It bothered me the day she told me she had never voted - and in thinking back, I realized I'd never once gone with her to the polls or seen her show much interest in politics - and it bothers me still, on this day when I have voted to save the life of my nieces (one by marriage), my great niece, and young women unknown to me, should any of them find themselves in need of gynecological care that some states are denying women. I voted to ensure that young women I love do not have fewer rights than I did at their age. I voted to ensure that they could get or keep credit cards, purchase and own property, and not become property.

I have always voted. I have never missed an election, except the one in 1985 when everything flooded, and I couldn't get to the polls. Fortunately, that wasn't a big election year. I know for some folks who suffered from flooding earlier in October, voting might be difficult today. I hope that those people are doing better and that those who want to vote have been able to do that. I hope they get to do the one thing that every citizen of this nation should do.

My mother never voted because she didn't want to serve on a jury, she said. At one time, the jury pools were pulled from the voter rolls, although they've long stopped doing this. But that was her reason. She didn't do her civic duty because she didn't want to do her other civic duty as a citizen of this nation.

I consider serving on a jury to be an honor, and an obligation as part of my role of living in the United States. I've been called a few times but always sent home - journalists aren't people lawyers want on juries. They generally look for people who don't know how to think. I know this because I worked for lawyers once upon a time, too.

My love of country and desire to pay it forward comes from . . . I'm not sure where. Books, maybe? My teachers? My education? It surely did not come from my mother, who never voted.

The other day, someone made fun of me because I am afraid. Because as a woman, I have always been afraid, and I have often been mocked for that by men who do not understand what it is to be a woman in a nation that makes women second class citizens even now, even when we still have some rights but do not have them in the U.S. Constitution. There is no equality for women written into the laws of this land. There are band-aids and coverlets, but there is no law that says men and women are equal in the eyes of the law.

I have been abused by men. Before I met my husband, I was abused by many men. I won't go into the details of that, but suffice it to say, I have no reason to trust anyone who is male, except for my husband, who has proven to me time and again that he is trustworthy. But even he has that male privilege thing going on.

Even he doesn't really understand my fears.

My recent fears have been because I have been personally threatened by people in my community. As a news writer for 40 years, I am fairly well known here, though hopefully not so much now since I'm not writing for newspapers anymore. For 35 years I wrote without fear of repercussions because I believed strongly in the law and in the power of the Fourth Estate. I believed in revealing truth to power, that democracy dies in darkness, that shedding the light on what government officials were doing was the right and honorable thing to do.

And then 2016 came and it all went to hell. Suddenly the media was the "the enemy of the people." Two years ago, I made my first call to the local sheriff's office to report a threat to my life. I've made several calls to the local sheriff's office since.

Some people may laugh about this. Who is going to hurt me, the person making fun of me said. Give me names. I gave no names because I could hear the ridicule in his voice. I ended the conversation.

But we have a candidate running for the presidency, the most honorable office of this land, who just days ago said this:

"The former president, speaking at a rally here about the efforts the Secret Service has taken to protect him after two apparent assassination attempts against him, began pointing out the panes of ballistic glass surrounding him at the outdoor venue.

“All we really have over here is the fake news, right? And to get me somebody would have to shoot through the fake news,” [he] said. “And I don’t mind that so much.”

He doesn't mind if the "fake news" media are shot. He basically invited someone to go out and do that. He is a former president, after all. People follow his directions. They fight like hell for him.

While I know there are some who say, "Oh, they're talking about the mainstream media as 'the enemy of the people,' not people like you who write for little publications," not everybody thinks that way.

There are people who think any media is now "the enemy of the people."

And that's why I have had death threats. And why other media people I know have had death threats. They've escalated mightily since 2016.

A hate group on social media found out I was concerned about threats to the local supervisors back in the summer. For that, I got put on a "list" to be given to God knows who. And then there's just the fact that I've been writing about the local government for years, though I think this blog has put me more in harm's way than news writing ever did. On this blog, I think people can see more of who I really am. And they see that I am a strong woman - I've had to be, to survive - and nobody likes a strong woman.

A few years ago, some men went before the local government and asked the county leaders to recognize their "militia." This was a loosely organized group of people who wanted to be soldiers without being in the military, I guess. The leaders here said no, we don't need that, we have a sheriff's office and the state police. However, leaders in an adjoining county said, "yes."

I am 99% certain we have people here locally in a militia; I think it has since combined with the adjoining county but I'm not 100% sure of that. I haven't looked into it because I don't want to be associated with any such thing.

I have watched as a certain candidate recently used the colors of black and gold at one of his revivalist rallies in Michigan. Do you know who else uses black and gold? The Proud Boys. You know who they are? They're a white supremacist hate group. They led the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

If a certain candidate wins or loses, I have no doubt that he will call upon his "militias" to do damage. Either they will go after state government officials, or they will go after federal ones, but I am expecting these people to be ordered to do damage, one way or the other, by taking down the "swamp" or by taking out the "others."

It seems likely they will also go after people on "lists" created by hate groups on social media.

Maybe they will go after bloggers who have not been happy with the former guy. Maybe they will go after anyone who has ever said anything disloyal to the former guy.

Maybe it's all in my imagination, and nothing at all will happen.

Thirty-nine years ago, I did not vote because of a flood. My mother never voted. I think young woman stand to lose their rights if a certain candidate wins this election. I think I stand a chance to sustain grave injury, if not to my physical person, then to my psyche. 

I'm not sure how this all ties in together, to be honest. But here it is. I wanted to lay it all out there before this day is done.

My mother never voted. I missed one vote because of a flood. My life has been threatened. I voted to save the lives of young women.

Does any of that matter? Should it?

What is one life, anyway? What are a few lives?

There are billions of people, after all. Everyone is expendable (see Covid response).

I voted like my life depends on it.

Because I think it does.

Silent Running

 

Hate Crime Update

Update:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--

SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN SPORTS COMPLEX SPRAY PAINTING VANDALISM

FINCASTLE, VA – The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating incidents of vandalism and threats to harm. The investigation was initiated on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

On April 27, 2024, Deputies responded to a report of graffiti vandalism at the entrance to Greenfield Elementary School and the Botetourt County Sports Complex. Deputies found numerous words spray painted on the roadway stating, “F**K AMERICA” and “BOTETORT F**KS ITS CITIZENS”. 

At approximately 6:26 a.m., on June 14, 2024, deputies again responded to another report of graffiti vandalism at the entrance to Greenfield Elementary School and the Botetourt County Sports Complex.

Deputies observed threatening statements of violence directed toward the Board of Supervisors spray painted on the roadway and other statements expressing discontent with government.

On June 25, 2024, information was obtained by detectives identifying a suspect in these incidents. Preliminary investigation suggests the suspect had become increasingly vocal and more focused on carrying out acts of violence. The suspect has been taken into custody and the investigation is ongoing.

Currently the suspect is not being identified due to the ongoing investigation. There is no immediate threat to the public and more details will be released as the investigation allows.

“As a member of your Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, I am immensely relieved that the potential crisis at our government facility was successfully prevented by the incredible work of our Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office,” said Botetourt County Board of Supervisors Chair Steve Clinton. “Ensuring the safety and security of our employees and citizens is our highest priority, and this incident has underscored the critical importance of our vigilance and preparedness. While I am relieved, I am also saddened that such an incident could have potentially occurred in Botetourt County. I extend my sincere appreciation to our Sheriff’s Department, whose quick and effective actions made all the difference.”

“While I support our citizens right to peacefully protest decisions made by our government, and the constitution protects those rights, it does not and cannot condone or tolerate acts of violence, “said Sheriff Matt Ward.

Anyone who may have information related to the case or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Mioduszewski at 540-928-2252.

   

-This information is based on a preliminary and ongoing investigation, which continues to evolve as detectives interview witnesses, review physical and electronic records, and analyze forensic evidence. The Department’s understanding of the facts and circumstances may change as additional evidence is collected and analyzed-

###

The Hatred Among Us

In about 3 hours, the county Board of Supervisors meets to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The tax rate will be lowered at least 6 cents, but because of the real estate reassessment, which takes place here every 4 years, most people's tax payments will increase.

I do not ever recall worrying that one of my Board of Supervisors members may not come out of a meeting alive, but today I worry about that. This is because someone threatened them, publicly, with graffiti on the road not far from me.

Also, because I have asked, I know they have received death threats and other threats from the general public via emails from spoof accounts as well as threats via phone calls. People have threatened not just the supervisors, but also their families.

Much of this is being stoked by social media commentary. These are people who want a Christo-fascist nation. They want to tell other people what they can and can't do with their land, what they can read, what type of sex they can have, who they can marry, where they can live. They hate women, even if they are women, and they hate minorities. They seem to be terrified of change of any kind and scared of life. They constantly denounce the true Republicans in the county and call them various names (the worst apparently being "liberal" or "Democrat"). Real Republicans are like Mitt Romney or even George H. W. Bush. Even Richard Nixon was more of a true conservative than some of the folks I see on social media. These people are so far to the right of a true Republican that they are nothing more than Nazis.

They are trying to take over with threats and mob rule. And, I fear, with violence.

Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico

This morning the news comes with the word that Mexico has elected a female president.

More than 100 countries, including the United States, have never been led by a woman.

We're supposed to be the leader in the free world, but that's just poppycock. We're so far behind the times in true freedom and liberty that it's a joke. We have lots of freedoms to do things, but not freedoms from things. Like the freedom to go to the movie theater and know we won't get shot in our seat. Or the freedom to be rid of advertisements we don't want. Or spam phone calls. Stuff like that.

I love my country, but the bass ackwards mindset of its citizens in among the more perplexing and aggravating things about it.

My state has never had a female governor. Other states have, but not mine.

My local Board of Supervisors has had females on it, and currently has one of five. Shouldn't that be more like three of two, when women make up half of the citizenry?

We have a female vice president and that scares a lot of people. Oh no, she might become president! She might do some good in the world! Horrors.

Crickey.

The Mailbox

My mailbox

Like many folks here in Virginia, we've had trouble with mail delivery.

Some days we don't get it. Sometimes it is here by noon. Other times it shows up sometime after 5 p.m.

Lately we've been very hit or miss with the mail, but not enough to concern me. I have switched most of my important stuff to online notices out of necessity, since the mail has become rather unreliable. The mail is like newspapers in that they are doing themselves in with their own efforts at downsizing. Video killed the radio star, indeed.

My two senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have been vocal about reversing any changes to USPS that have affected the reliability of mail delivery. They've been trying to have improvement since 2020.

They don't seem to be having much of an effect on the quality of the mail service.

Yesterday, our neighbor called the local post office to find out why he wasn't getting mail. The postmaster told him that all of us in this area have mailboxes that are too low. She was going to hold the mail until this was fixed.

His response was to ask why we weren't notified so we could fix the problem prior to her holding the mail. According to him, she grew very irate with him, and they exchanged words. She did, however, tell him he had until the middle of June to fix the problem and if it wasn't fixed, she would stop his mail delivery again.

Then he went out and started measuring mailboxes. My husband found him measuring ours when he came in for his dinner.

Rural mailboxes apparently should be between 41" and 45" high. Ours is 36" high, which is what it has been since we installed it in 1987. Maybe that was the required height back then.

The USPS has these new van things, courtesy of expenditures of Postmaster General DeJoy. They sit up higher than a car. I am assuming this is why the height of mailboxes suddenly matter.

It does seem like my neighbor asked a logical question. This is the post office, after all. How hard would it have been to slip a postcard in the mailbox that said, "Your mailbox must be 41" to 45" high. If it is not fixed by X date, delivery will cease."

My husband was quite upset about this last night. He is in the middle of trying to cut, rake, and bale hay, which is very time consuming and labor intensive. He doesn't need anything else on his mind right now.

After dinner, I looked up various pages on the USPS website, such as missing mail, delayed mail, and rural delivery. There was nothing about mailbox height on those pages. Finally, I typed in "how high should my mailbox be" in Google, and way down on the results page was a USPS page about mailbox height.

But before I found that, because I could not easily find anything about mailbox height on the USPS website, I had dashed off a quick note to my two state senators. One of the things I learned when I was a journalist was not to wait. So, I didn't.

My husband rose early this morning and was at Lowes when they opened so he could buy what he needed to raise our mailbox.

At lunchtime, he called the local post office to find out about this problem for himself and to ask for one of those time extensions. He found the postmaster to be pleasant, helpful, and very willing to give him a month to fix the issue. She said the notices had gone out in March, but when at least seven different families around us say they received no notice, I am inclined to think said notice did not go out.

The postmaster was so nice that almost as soon as my husband hung up, she called right back to say that our mail was being delivered today and nothing would be held.

My husband was amused, and he looked at me. "Do you think those emails you sent out last night had anything to do with that?" he asked. "Somebody's said something to her. She sure has a different attitude from what the neighbor said."

I shrugged. "No way to know."

But it wouldn't be the first time I've dropped a line and made a change.

Never underestimate the power of a well-placed word.

Update: I understand several of the neighbors have gone into the post office and had words with the postmaster. It should be clear to her by now that this area did not receive whatever notification she thinks she sent out.

A Sad Day

Yesterday, the former president presented himself to a jail in Georgia to have his fingerprinting and his mug shot taken.

It's been all over the news.

This is his fourth indictment since he left office. While I strongly believe he tried to stay in office illegally and, at the least, incited a riot, I find it sad that this is now what the world sees of America.

The world sees that we are a bunch of haters who elected someone who is a grifter, a con man, and a not-nice person by any stretch of the imagination. 

Hopefully, though, the world also sees that we are a nation of laws, and if one breaks those laws, then one is tried, and justice is served.

I take no joy in knowing that (a) this is the type of person so many people adore and want to follow, for reasons that continue to elude me and (b) that our government and our national reputation has been so wounded by this person and his ilk.

I have always believed in the power of the government to better the lives of its citizens. I have believed it can happen at the local level, and I believe it can happen at the state and federal levels. But the people in charge also must believe that.

The former guy believed, as best I could tell, that the government should only help him. I certainly didn't see much come out of his administration that helped me. Even the monetary loans during the pandemic were giveaways of federal funding to those who didn't need it, for the most part. Maybe they helped out somebody somewhere.

While seeing our country diminished makes me sad, I think it is important that the former guy be charged with conspiring to defraud the American people out of their choice for president. It is how we move forward from this and defend democracy and maintain the rule of law. I do not see this as a failure of the legal system, nor do I see these charges as political. I see them as necessary if the republic is to continue to function under the U.S. Constitution.

If these charges had not been brought, then the U.S. Constitution may as well be, as the former guy has suggested, tossed out the window. I would be less confident in the judicial system had charges never been brought, and even now I have concerns about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and what role it will ultimately play in all of this. Because you know eventually, that is where some, if not all, of these indictments will end up if the former guy is found guilty. Maybe even if he is found innocent, I don't know.

I look for calmer days sometime in my lifetime. Preferably they would be ones where I don't have to look at the mug shot of a former president.

Roy G Biv

"How will the kids learn their colors?" That was my husband's reaction as we watched a local news story about a parent who objected to a rainbow motif in a classroom.

He, like me, remembers learning our colors via the rainbow and the familiar acronym of Roy G Biv. That's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, for the uninitiated.

 Bing generated image.

Fascism has come to the Roanoke Valley dressed up as "concern for the children," as book banners and school patrols go after what they consider items and persons who "groom" or "indoctrinate" children, ostensibly trying to "turn" young people into homosexuals or transgenders or whomever it is these folks are afraid of.

Ban one book, and where does it end? Is the next one to go some beloved story like Little Women, which is, after all, about strong young girls (and we can't have that). Remove one rainbow, and the next thing to go will be unicorns and leprechauns, I suppose. And why do these people - some of whom do not even have children - get to say what can and can't be happening in a library, a classroom, or any other place? And if they're so hellbent on protecting children, where were they when some were murdered this weekend by gunfire in Florida? Are they protesting for gun control? No. They seem pretty content with letting a child bleed out in the street.

We watched the first two hours of FDR on the History channel last night, and I highly recommend it. We are taping the remainder of the series and will watch it before the week runs out, I expect.

It really brings home the issue of fascism, which I consider any effort to ban a book to be, so I will end with this rather long quote that I am borrowing from Heather Cox Richardson, who borrowed it from an Army pamphlet from 1945. I looked up the original but it's easier to copy and paste. Yes, I can be lazy.

Keep this in mind and then determine who is really a Democrat, a Republican, and a Fascist. I know what I think. I think the people who keep calling Republicans Rinos are really the fascists. Real Republicans know better and are trying to keep our Republic strong. Anyway, this is worth the read:

Fascism, the U.S. government document explained, “is government by the few and for the few. The objective is seizure and control of the economic, political, social, and cultural life of the state.” “The people run democratic governments, but fascist governments run the people.”

“The basic principles of democracy stand in the way of their desires; hence—democracy must go! Anyone who is not a member of their inner gang has to do what he’s told. They permit no civil liberties, no equality before the law.” “Fascism treats women as mere breeders. ‘Children, kitchen, and the church,’ was the Nazi slogan for women,” the pamphlet said.

Fascists “make their own rules and change them when they choose…. They maintain themselves in power by use of force combined with propaganda based on primitive ideas of ‘blood’ and ‘race,’ by skillful manipulation of fear and hate, and by false promise of security. The propaganda glorifies war and insists it is smart and ‘realistic’ to be pitiless and violent.”

Fascists understood that “the fundamental principle of democracy—faith in the common sense of the common people—was the direct opposite of the fascist principle of rule by the elite few,” it explained, “[s]o they fought democracy…. They played political, religious, social, and economic groups against each other and seized power while these groups struggled.”

Americans should not be fooled into thinking that fascism could not come to America, the pamphlet warned; after all, “[w]e once laughed Hitler off as a harmless little clown with a funny mustache.” And indeed, the U.S. had experienced “sorry instances of mob sadism, lynchings, vigilantism, terror, and suppression of civil liberties. We have had our hooded gangs, Black Legions, Silver Shirts, and racial and religious bigots. All of them, in the name of Americanism, have used undemocratic methods and doctrines which…can be properly identified as ‘fascist.’”

The War Department thought it was important for Americans to understand the tactics fascists would use to take power in the United States. They would try to gain power “under the guise of ‘super-patriotism’ and ‘super-Americanism.’” And they would use three techniques:

First, they would pit religious, racial, and economic groups against one another to break down national unity. Part of that effort to divide and conquer would be a “well-planned ‘hate campaign’ against minority races, religions, and other groups.”

Second, they would deny any need for international cooperation, because that would fly in the face of their insistence that their supporters were better than everyone else. “In place of international cooperation, the fascists seek to substitute a perverted sort of ultra-nationalism which tells their people that they are the only people in the world who count. With this goes hatred and suspicion toward the people of all other nations.”

Third, fascists would insist that “the world has but two choices—either fascism or communism, and they label as ‘communists’ everyone who refuses to support them.” (Emphasis mine)

It is “vitally important” to learn to spot native fascists, the government said, “even though they adopt names and slogans with popular appeal, drape themselves with the American flag, and attempt to carry out their program in the name of the democracy they are trying to destroy.”

The only way to stop the rise of fascism in the United States, the document said, “is by making our democracy work and by actively cooperating to preserve world peace and security.” In the midst of the insecurity of the modern world, the hatred at the root of fascism “fulfills a triple mission.” By dividing people, it weakens democracy. “By getting men to hate rather than to think,” it prevents them “from seeking the real cause and a democratic solution to the problem.” By falsely promising prosperity, it lures people to embrace its security.        -- Heather Cox Richardson

Which do you want to be? The book burner or the book saver? The person who admires rainbows or the one who denigrates them because of their own personal insecurities and hang-ups? Just who do the children need to be saved from? 

I really have to wonder.

 

Why News Media Should Unite for the Greater Good

Way back when in the old days of journalism, the local media fed off of one another. I could see when the local TV station, for example, had read the weekly paper I wrote for, because they'd pick up a story I wrote and make it their own.

While I enjoyed the thrill of breaking a story and "beating the competition," I never enjoyed or endorsed the competitive nature of the media beyond that point. Once I had the "scoop," I was happy to share.

However, other reporters for the "big paper" seldom talked to me, and the TV outlets were even worse. Generally, they acted as if I was not there. Occasionally, a reporter would be friendly, and I never hesitated to offer up background or whatever another writer needed for a story if asked.

But I was seldom asked. I know journalists are supposed to work the room themselves, find their own resources, and do their own follow-up, but I have found that it never hurts to talk to a colleague to get another perspective or to have background information I may not otherwise find. Nothing says I have to use their information. It's like reading Wikipedia - a good place to start but then you go on to do the rest of the research.

Journalists generally attended multiple meetings and saw a project or whatever from various angles, more so than the average person. I appreciated their point of view and their knowledge. I wasn't trying to steal from them, or them from me. But I did want accurate and complete information to pass on to my readers. It helped to know how a project went from point A to point B.

This has never been a thing, having media work together. With democracy on the line, I would argue that now is the time for that to happen. It is time for a national narrative that ignores the dollar bills and instead promotes the will of the majority and the good of the people.

Otherwise, we're going to end up with fascism and the destruction of the Constitution, and the end of our republic and the demise of democracy.

With newspaper readership declining and opinionated "entertainment news" all over the TV, perhaps it is time for a paradigm shift, emphasizing the numerous benefits of collaboration among newspapers, TV stations, and other news media outlets. This, hopefully, would enhance journalistic integrity, accuracy, and the overall impact of news reporting.

Collaboration does not imply compromising individual identities or perspectives but rather harnessing the collective strength of the news industry to fulfill its critical role in society. It's not called The Fourth Estate for nothing.

Collaboration would foster an environment that promotes journalistic integrity. By working together on a story, news media outlets could pool resources, share information, and conduct comprehensive investigations. Such cooperation could reduce the risk of biased or incomplete reporting and enhances fact-checking processes. Moreover, by collaborating, journalists would hold one another accountable and maintain higher ethical standards. Collective scrutiny would ensure that journalists strive for accuracy and objectivity, safeguarding the public's trust in the media. If news media outlets prioritized collaboration, they would send a powerful message about their commitment to the truth and the fundamental principles of journalism. This is especially important now, when so many news outlets are underfunded and understaffed.

Multiple media sources

Coordinated efforts among news media outlets would have the potential to amplify the impact of important stories and increase public awareness. By sharing research, sources, and perspectives, media organizations would be able to construct a more comprehensive narrative, bringing greater attention to crucial issues. This is essentially what the TV media, and some print media, did to ensure the election of #45 and the loss of Hillary Clinton in 2016. He received way more attention (for ratings) and free press than she did.

Collaborative reporting would allow for a deeper exploration of complex topics, reaching a broader audience and inspiring meaningful conversations. Additionally, when multiple news media outlets present a unified front on critical matters, public trust would be reinforced, further emphasizing the significance of the reported stories. By working together, news media could create a collective voice that is louder, more influential, and capable of effecting positive change in society. There would always be dissenters who would see such collaboration as some kind of conspiracy.

In an era where misinformation and disinformation run rampant, collaboration among news media outlets should be indispensable. By sharing resources, cross-referencing facts, and aligning narratives, media organizations could more effectively counter the spread of false information. Collaborative fact-checking initiatives might help distinguish reliable sources from unreliable ones, empowering the public to make informed decisions. Furthermore, joint efforts could expose disinformation campaigns and highlight their deceptive tactics. By presenting a united front against misinformation, news media outlets could collectively protect the integrity of the information ecosystem, fortify public trust, and prevent the erosion of democracy.

Collaboration allows news media outlets to overcome resource limitations, particularly in an era of shrinking newsrooms and financial constraints. By pooling together their expertise, skills, and equipment, media organizations could undertake ambitious investigations and in-depth reporting that might otherwise be unfeasible. Shared resources enable the efficient allocation of limited budgets and personnel, ensuring the coverage of essential stories that may not receive adequate attention otherwise. Collaboration could also facilitate knowledge exchange, fostering professional growth, and expanding the collective capacity of the news industry.

By prioritizing collaboration, news media could enhance journalistic integrity, amplify the impact of stories, combat misinformation, and overcome resource limitations. Collective efforts would send a powerful message about the commitment to truth, while fostering public awareness and trust in most arenas.  Ultimately, by working together, news media outlets could inspire positive change, promote informed citizenship, and uphold the fundamental values of journalism.

It's a shame I fear we're too far gone for this to even be considered by other media.

*ChatGPT assisted with this essay.*

They Are Offended by This?

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

By Benjamin Alire Saenz

Copyright 2012

Read by Lin-Manuel Miranda

8 hrs 8 minutes

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)

This book has been challenged in my local library. I have a list of 13 books that have been deemed inappropriate by the fascist Nazis who want to ban books. This was one of them.

This is the story of Ari and Dante, who meet when they are 15 years old. Dante teaches Ari how to swim. The book is very forward in examining feelings and relationships. The book is told from Ari's point of view, and he has many emotions, particularly pertaining to his parents and his absent and unspoken of older brother.

He is quite introspective and examines everything in detail. He and Dante become best friends and this relationship becomes stronger after Ari saves Dante's life. 

At first, I thought the problem with the book was that the boys are Mexican, or Mexican-American. This was something Ari also examined - how does being thought of as Mexican fit in when you live in the United States but are of Mexican descent. I liked the cultural aspect of the book and how it showed a view of this from a non-white perspective.

The book touches on some homosexuality issues somewhere after the first half (so 4 hours into the book) when Dante admits he has feelings for boys. But both young men have mixed emotions about sex and sexuality. At various times both are attracted to girls. As the book progresses, it is obvious Dante loves Ari, but Ari does not feel the same way until he grows up a good bit and has discussions with his parents.

Remember the relationship between Raj and Howard in The Big Bang Theory? That's basically what we have revealed in this book. There are no explicit sex scenes. The young men kiss. That is it. Not even a feel-up or a squeeze.

The book is also very well written.

It works both ways and it's a slippery slope when you start banning books. The Bible is offensive to some people. So is Christian literature.

Both are in the library. Should they be removed?

I don't know how we ended up with so much stupid in this country, but here we are.

At least I read the book so I would know what these people find offensive. Me? I find book banning offensive. And book banners are certainly not Christian by my definition of the word. (They said in the meeting that they were Christians and found this book and others offensive. That's not my inference, it is what was said.)

If you don't want to read a book, or have your child read a book, then don't check it out. It's as easy as the way I never have my TV turned to FAUX news. No one has the right to tell someone else they can or cannot read a book. (Or must have a baby, but that's another topic though along a similar line of thought.)

People apparently need more to do. And they need to mind their own business.

Biden Announces

Today, exactly 4 years to the day he announced in 2019, President Joe Biden announced he will run for the office again. 

Biden has a long history of public service, including serving as Vice President under Barack Obama and as a Senator from Delaware for 36 years. This experience has given him perspective on the challenges facing the country and the skills to navigate the complex political landscape in Washington.

Biden has also been a strong advocate for working-class Americans throughout his career, which I find attractive.

Here are some of his achievements as president to date:

- He passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that provided direct payments, unemployment support, vaccine funding, rental assistance, and more to millions of Americans.

- He rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

- He signed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that will improve roads, bridges, airports, public transit, broadband, water, and energy systems across the nation.

- He ended the US military involvement in Afghanistan after 20 years of war and evacuated more than 120,000 people from the country.

- He restored US leadership and diplomacy on the global stage by rejoining the World Health Organization, the Iran nuclear deal, and other international agreements and organizations.

- He expanded health care access and affordability by reopening enrollment for Obamacare, lowering prescription drug prices, and supporting Medicare expansion.

- He advanced racial justice and voting rights by creating a task force on policing reform, reversing some of the former guy's immigration policies, nominating a diverse cabinet and judiciary, and supporting legislation to protect voting access.

President Joe Biden (photo from whitehouse.gov)

Generally, Biden's platform and efforts as president reflect a commitment to economic justice. Whether or not this has been successful could be debated. I don't know how inflation is going to hurt him. As Bill Clinton said, "It's the economy," and that's always difficult to determine. People may be making more money today, but they are spending more, too, and that is the part that sticks with you. That bill at the grocery store hurts.

One of the most significant issues for me with Biden is his age. While age alone should not disqualify a candidate, it is a legitimate concern given the demands of the presidency and the need for a leader who can keep up with the pace of the job. That said, should the former guy win the Republican nomination, he won't be a spring chicken, either, as he would be 76 years old in 2024. 

I like the "Dark Brandon" side of Biden; he can be firm when he has to be. I appreciate his efforts to draw attention to the crazy MAGA people and differentiate them from those who still call themselves Republicans but no longer fit what that party has become. (I think the MAGA people call them RINOs but to me that's backwards.) The Republicans of today are not my father's party. Those people had some sense. Today, not so much.

Biden also has a folksy side that I have enjoyed watching. It may not be the most attractive thing about him, and he does make gaffes, but we all do. The only thing is everything he says and does is under a zillion microscopes, while the rest of us can slide on by. Or some of us can, anyway.

Personally, I would like to see a Democratic challenger who is younger in years. I'm afraid in the current climate, the reality is that this person would have to be a straight, white male, and while I am loathing myself for writing that, I also know that in order to keep what little freedoms we have remaining, this is not the time to push a far-left agenda. We are too far along the road to an authoritarian transition of government, and I for one do not wish to live in a regime run by police and militia vigilantes. Nor do I want a theocratic state, medical restrictions, or to lose my right to vote, all of which I think are possible if we continue to follow the path of a state like Florida, as an example.

In order to pull in the moderate vote, I think the Democrats need to find this younger person, and soon. Unfortunately, other than Gavin Newsome, the governor of California, there aren't many names that pop into my head at the moment.

I will vote for whomever the Democratic Party nominates, as I always have, but I am not convinced Biden is the person to keep the country going. A younger version of him would be ideal. I just don't know who that might be.

(This post was written with input from both chatGPT and Bing AI)

The Craven, the Crazies, and the Rest of Us

Over the weekend, an Oklahoma newspaper with no online presence printed this as its front page of its weekend edition:

You can hear Rachel Maddow discuss this at this link, if you want.

I have written local journalism for 39 years. My first article was published in 1984. I've written for nearly all of the local publications, including many that no longer exist, and for statewide magazines. I estimated once that I've published over 2 million words in multiple publications.

My editor at The Fincastle Herald always told me if I didn't have someone angry at me, I wasn't doing my job.

Suffice to say, I did my job. Over the years, I have been threatened by various and sundry people, including a sheriff in nearby county. He stopped me as I was entering the courtroom to listen to a board meeting. "How do I know that's water you have in there?" he demanded, nodding toward my ever-present water bottle.

I took a drink and held it out to him. "You're welcome to the rest of it. It's just water."

"I could haul you in right now for having liquor and who'd know different?" he said. He banged his hand against his pistol on his thigh for emphasis.

"Everybody knows I don't drink alcohol," I replied, and I walked past him to my seat. I could feel him glaring at the back of my head.

Later that same night, I nearly wrecked my car on the way home as I drove over Caldwell Mountain and the tire went flat. In the shine of a flashlight, I discovered my tire had been slashed with a knife.

Yes, someone in the next county over had tried to kill me. Caldwell Mountain is a dangerous drive, over twisting, winding roads. My car could have gone off the pavement and down the mountainside, not to be found for possibly years.

That happened about 25 years ago. So, while this is nothing new, the rhetoric now has been taken to a whole other level.

It was not unusual for me to receive phone calls from people complaining about stories I wrote. "I didn't say that" was the usual complaint. I carried a tape recorder and I'd play it back to them, if I had to.

They backed down then.

Sometimes, though, the complaint was not that I wrote what they said, but that I didn't write what they said.

Sometimes people simply sound so stupid to me that I paraphrase or leave it out completely if it's not relevant to the main part of the article. It is my job to tell a story that is truthful, but that doesn't mean I have to use ignorant, racist, homophobic, fascist, or antisemitic language. Paraphrasing is allowed.

But some people want their words - no matter how ignorant they sound - in print. They want their opinions, word for word, stated. That's how sure they are that they're right. That's how sure they are that their closed-minded world view is the one that should rule the day.

So it was that last week I found myself listening to someone rant about how I hadn't printed exactly what this person had said at a supervisors meeting. 

The person threatened me. I hung up on this person, and I called the police and reported the phone call. I also blocked the number.

Twenty years ago, I would not have done that. I'd have ignored the call. But these are different times, and people feel mean and emboldened, and being a bully is now in fashion. 

I was taken aback by the phone call because it was literally over nothing, as far as I was concerned.

These are the times we live in. People feel emboldened in their fascism and narrow-minded thoughts. They have no room in their brains for open-minded thinking. My way or the highway, as my parents used to tell me.

However, we are all adults, not children in need of being sent to our rooms. And if someone can't have an adult conversation with me that doesn't involve threats, screaming, or insults, then that is not someone I care to talk with.

And as for the report above, it just shows how low people can be. To call these people snakes would be an injustice to snakes. The people in the article/photo above are lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut. They're so low, there is no bottom for them.

I hope they all lose their jobs.

On My Mind

Hospital Liability

A story I read in Sunday's paper disturbed me. A 51-year-old man, who had been in the hospital for 9 days being treated for pneumonia, checked himself out of the hospital. No one made sure he had a ride, or someone waiting to pick him up.

Hospital personnel just let him go.

They found him dead just below the grounds of the hospital. Apparently, he tried to walk out. Maybe he was still ill, maybe he had dementia, maybe he was still drugged up and not thinking clearly.

I don't know the whole story, and as a journalist I learned long ago not to judge, but on its face, it seems the hospital potentially has liability here. Shouldn't they ensure their patients have a ride - at least a cab or Uber - before they let them waltz out the door?

Or are we so callous as a society that it doesn't matter if someone walks out of the hospital and dies a few steps from its grounds?

Searching For Bad Guys

Last night, instead of contacting media, the local sheriff posted a video on Facebook that his deputies were searching an area of our community known as Timber Ridge for a fellow who'd been seen with a rifle. He counted off a list of charges the man was wanted for - having a weapon after being convicted as a felon, assault, etc. - and proceeded to say the problem was domestic violence and the person they were pursuing was of no danger to the public.

If there was no danger to the public, then why was half of the county's police force out looking for this fellow?

Why just post this on Facebook, and let the media find out about it that way? Or is Facebook the new media? I don't know. I don't get my news from there. I still read a newspaper.

And where's the promised update? This is not that far from me as the crow flies, nor is it far from people I know and care about. So there's a guy with a gun running around but he isn't a threat but the sheriff is searching for him. As far as I know, he's still at large almost 24 hours later.

Does that make any sense?

Banana Republic

From Georgia (the southern states are so messed up) comes this little ditty: a submitted bill that would allow the party in power to remove prosecutors they don't like.

What is going on in Georgia? The former guy and/or some of his friends is looking at an indictment for possibly illegally involving himself in the 2020 Georgia election.

When we remove officials on party-line whims, when the goals of a new law are strictly to satisfy something so one person or set of persons can benefit at the expense of others, then we've lost the rule of law. 

I believe strongly in the rule of law. I believe in the justice system. I also know it is a human construct, and that on its face makes it corruptible. Having come to the conclusion in recent years that we have no better angels, that most people, in fact, want their devils to come out and play, because it's actually more difficult to be a nice person than it is to be an asshole, I conclude that we, the USA, are doomed.

We've been a banana Republic run by yellow-belly sapsuckers since 2000. I was never an Obama fan, as he didn't live up to his potential. The president who won in 2000 won in what I considered an illegal election, and was given the seat by the Supreme Court, so if one wants to tout election issues, it needs to go back twenty years, not two. The former guy is just Hitler in a blue suit and a red tie. Some of the crap he spewed at this weekend's CPAC meeting was despicable. Does he think he is Jesus Christ? Sheesh. Biden is trying, but he's not what we need right now, and frankly, all politicians at the moment seem corrupt and bedraggled. None of them are shining examples of good government. They all have baggage, though I know everybody does.

Mind Your Own Business

I acknowledge it's everyone's right to do what they want about masks and vaccines, though I think it is irresponsible not to be vaccinated. I'm not talking about just Covid, I'm talking about other things, too, like chicken pox, measles, tetanus, hepatitis, polio., etc.

Vaccines have saved many, many lives.

Today I was the only person in the grocery store with a mask on. And you know what? I don't care. I don't care if people think I may be sick, I don't care if they want to make fun of me, I don't care what they think in the least. Because you know what I think? It doesn't matter what I think.

I don't go up to people and tell them what I think of them. I mind my own business, and I expect others to do the same.

By the way, I have a note I carry with me at all times from my doctor. Do you know what it says? It says I have been instructed to wear a mask when I am out in public at all times. Do you know why? Because I have health issues. I've been a walking illness since I was born. Modern medicine may have saved my life, but some days I don't know what for.

Register to Write?

From the land that is constantly giving us "Florida man" and the finger to Disney, comes a new proclamation: a proposed bill in the state legislature that, "would require bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his Cabinet or state legislators to register with the state."

The NBC story goes on to say it pertains to paid bloggers and not to websites of news organizations. 

No one pays me to write in my blog. I have Google Ads on the sidebar, but apparently not everyone sees them. They earn less than 1 cent a month, so I know few people ever hit them. I should take them off the blog, but I like to see the ads for the stuff I'm interested in, like guitars. I look at guitars a lot so I generally see ads for those. I can't click on the ad because that's against the rules, but I can drool over the expensive Gibsons that come up.

This proposed bill is so anti-First Amendment that I don't even know where to start. I thought it was anti-First Amendment when my locality made me get a business license to write, but it was easier to pay the small fee and get the license than to argue about it.

Forcing paid bloggers to register with some government agency is just one step away from forcing every blogger to register, paid or not. Do you want to register your blog with the government? 

I sure don't.

Playing Catch-Up

January is a horrid month, and I'm glad it's over. February isn't much better, but at least by now I have finished getting the paperwork together for the taxes and have that pain out of the way.

I have been remiss in my blog, though. I don't generally go two days and not write something. I couldn't think of anything to write yesterday that didn't make me tired when I thought about it, so I wrote nothing.

But today I'm not creatively tired, I am ready to write something.

So here goes.

Books

So far this year, I've read A Trick of the Light, by Louise Penny, which was one of the books in her series I skipped by accident, The Recovery Agent, by Janet Evanovich, which is a reworked version of a more competent Stephanie Plum with her ex-husband in Lula's role, Unf#ck Your Brain, by Dr. Faith Harper, a self-help book, Into the Glades, by Laura Sebastian, which is a young adult fantasy, and The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri. 

The last book is an adult fantasy book, and like many of the fantasies I read, it takes on a political tone and examines the role of the feminine in power. The magic in the book was intriguing in that is a feminine magic - control of the Earth's soil and plants, along with another type of magic that involves telling the future. No fire wizards or things like that, although fire plays a big role in this story, wielded as a manly power. Swords and not guns. My only complaint was multiple points of views; I occasionally forgot who was talking and had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see whose name was on it. I recommend it if you prefer your books to have strong female characters and can imagine bucking the patriarchy one day.

The book I am currently reading is called Born with Teeth, by Kate Mulgrew. It is an autobiography (not a memoir), and I decided to read it because I try to read nonfiction and fiction alike. The last autobiography I read was Sally Field's. I prefer to read autobiographies or memoir of women, but dang if every woman who writes a memoir hasn't been raped at some point. I know that statistically something like 1 in every 3 women has been raped or a victim of incest or something, but I am not so sure that every single female in this world hasn't been manhandled at the crotch by some guy at some point. Mulgrew was robbed and raped not on a casting couch, but as she tried to fumble her way into her New York apartment with her hands full of grocery bags.

We do a poor job of raising men, if every woman is considered fair game. And apparently, we are.

The State of the Union

I did not watch The State of the Union address last night. I consider that political theater on the part of both sides. I have read varying synopses of is, and as best I can tell, some of the crazier Republicans acted like children and Dark Brandon handed them their ass on an environmentally friendly clay platter.

Since I read about the political scene almost every day, I know the state of the union without the drama and theater. I also buy groceries and gas, and listen to people, and read stuff from both sides of the aisle. The truth and the facts are in the middle. Sorting them out is a yeoman's task.

Contrary to popular belief, neither side represents me. I suspect a lot of people feel like that.

And that's all I have to say about that.

TV

I don't watch much TV, but I started a show on ABC called Alaska Daily that I want to recommend. It stars Hillary Swank and is about a newsroom in Anchorage. Very realistic and good acting. There are only six episodes available so far, but the show returns February 23. You can watch it on the ABC app.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? taped its last show last week. Since my husband and I are probably the only people left who watch the show, this is not unforeseen, but we enjoyed the interplay between the comedians. Also, it was on the CW, and I understand that channel is undergoing a revamp. The only other show I watched on that channel was Stargirl, and it's been cancelled. It had a good ending, though.

We've been watching the new version of Night Court with Melissa Rauch, but I can't decide if I like it or not. La Brae also returned on Tuesday nights. I like this show but have a feeling it's veering off into a direction that I may not like. 

On Thursdays, my husband watches Swamp People and tapes BattleBots. I read during Swamp People; once you've seen a few alligators killed, I don't need to see anymore. I like BattleBots because no one is getting hurt, you're just seeing robots fly to pieces. Too bad real-world problems can't be solved like that.

Life in General

We have re-rented the little house my mother left me, and I have high hopes for my new tenant. My husband on Saturday, on his way over there to finish some projects - every time someone leaves the house, we must spend money and time trying to fix things, replacing light bulbs, unstopping sinks, etc. - and swerved to miss a deer. He took out the mirror on his truck.

My leg is still swollen and tender, but it is no longer throbbing and purple, so it is getting better. I am unclear as to what I have - varicose veins, I think - or how to deal with it, other than stay off of my leg for a long while until things settle down. It is not my back, it's not a Charlie Horse, it's something in my veins. The fact that I am fat doesn't help, even if I did lose 15 pounds back in 2020. I need to lose a lot more.

The bird feeder is a great source of fun. We have lots of cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, etc. there, especially in the mornings. I like watching the birds. I haven't been taking pictures of them because it has been wet and damp, and like the Wicked Witch of the West, I melt in the rain.

I also still haven't found the green comet. The moon has been full, so there's a lot of light, and it may be that even though this is a rural area, there's simply too much light pollution around me now to see it. Or I just can't find it. I found Mars. I found Polaris. I found all the markers I was supposed to find, but no green comet.

The weather has warmed, and the rain has stopped. I may have to go sit outside a spell. I suspect an early spring.