Our founders never intended this.

I'm eating breakfast ahead of work, and they just showed photos on the news of some of those who were gunned down in the school in Nashville yesterday.  One of the photos really got to me.  It was of a little girl.  Her life is over now.  She was just trying to go to school.  She should have had the right to be safe in school.  Aren't Americans supposed to have the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"  Since when does the liberty part eclipse the life part?  And doesn't liberty include the liberty to go out in public without the very real possibility of being gunned down?  Why should any citizen have the ability to own a weapon of mass murder, a military style assault rifle, capable of mowing down hundreds of people in moments?  Our founders never, ever foresaw or intended that when they penned our awesome constitution.  You will not find any such "right" in that document.  But shouldn't that little girl have had the right to go to school without being gunned down?  Shouldn't we all have the right to go to church, synagogue, mosque, the grocery store, the mall, outdoor events, dance clubs, the list goes on and on and on, without fear and reality of being gunned down?

The vast majority of the American people are for a federal assault weapons ban.  Yet since more of our elected representatives are apparently in the pocket of the NRA than actually want to uphold their oath to represent us, we do not have one, nor does one seem to be on the horizon.  So the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is now infused with fear and grief, and drills for our nation's children in school on what to do if someone starts shooting.  What a perverse future, this present day is, of what our founders intended for us.

Red Tide

I'm so scared of Red Tide. And I ain't talking about what's washing up on some nearby beaches right now, here in Florida. I'm talking about Republicans or, as I call that party and most of the people who comprise it, repugs. I'm not into name calling but they deserve it. If the repug fits, get called it. They are repugnant, and not even worthy of the energy it would take to add in that last syllable, "nant", hence: repugs. Been calling them that for many years now and they just keep earning it anew. But I digress: they are taking over my state! And I'm scared, no joke.

When I moved to Florida 29 years ago, it was purple. There was a Democratic governor. I had to move here due to a physical challenge that I won't bore you with but the bottom line of which was/is that I have to live somewhere subtropical or tropical, period. That kind of narrows down one's options if one is an American and one loves one's home country and wants to stay in same. Couldn't go to California (where, as it happens, I was born, even though I'm a northeastern, mid-Atlantic girl to the core, and my parents were, too--they just happened to be in CA when they had me, but they moved back east when I was a tender little infant of 5 months old) because it's too arid for said sitch, and also the housing was way too expensive there for me at the time (and now). Hawaii seemed similarly impractical. But Florida? I could stay basically on the east coast, I could be near my beloved Atlantic, and it really doesn't get more humid than Florida, and I was all about the dew point at that time. So I set about the business of STUDYING everything I could (which was a LOT harder back then, pre-everyone-having-the-net: it was 1992, people, when I made the decision to move) about Florida. I went to the library (remember the library?). I wrote to Chambers of Commerce and had them send me stuff. I narrowed my city choices down to three, none of which were St. Pete, but, awesomely, the cosmos guided me here and, once I set foot in St. Pete (which was only ever supposed to be where I was staying on my reconnaissance mission in July of 1993, while I drove around to the three cities I was considering moving too--St. Pete was just supposed to be base camp for that, it wasn't on my radar at all), I fell in love instantly with this city. INSTANTLY.

I still looked at the other three contenders but, looking back, I think I actually knew right away: it was going to be St. Pete. And, luckily, St. Pete was pretty liberal, especially compared to some other areas of the state, so good: St. Pete. And I felt, as a girl from a solidly Blue state, and a solidly Blue set of parents, and a solidly and wildly, deeply Blue upbringing, comfortable with the fact that I was moving to the--gasp--south. Because, it's okay, I'm going to St. Pete. And look, the Governor is a Democrat. And... it's going to be okay. Well, that was before 2000. Which I can't even TALK about--2000, that is--to this day. I'm serious, no can do, still too traumatized, but if you know what I'm talking about simply by the 4 numerical digits "2000", then bless you and, if you know, you know. If you don't know, watch the first 15-ish minutes of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and call me in the morning. And, actually, if you have never watched Fahrenheit 9/11, you need to do so immediately, or right after you read the rest of this. I feel like that is when Florida started, no pun intended, going south on me.

Fast forward to now and we have a bunch of repugs MOVING HERE SPECIFICALLY DUE TO DESANTIS BEING GOVERNOR. It's a thing. A real, tangible thing. It started during the pandemic, with people who didn't want to wear masks or get vaccinated. And now we had a news story here the other day about a biiiiiiiig DeSantis rally, with lines of people waiting to see him, and one excited woman who was interviewed said, ecstatically, "I moved here for DeSantis! I moved here because I want to be in a free state!"

A free state? We're not free! We're not allowed to say "gay", let alone be anywhere on the LGBPTQIA+ spectrum. We're not allowed to have "climate change" in government documents, or teachers' unions, or to teach the actual history of the US of A. Girls and adult women aren't free to have agency over their own bodies and health care decisions. Companies, like cruise lines, aren't free to do what is best for their businesses by mandating vaccines to board their ships. I don't feel safe going to church, synagogue, the grocery store, events, etc., because people are walking around with semi-automatic weapons. This isn't a "free" state. You are not free to be yourself, to teach the truth, to form unions. DeSantis is also trying to take over the curricula of state colleges. So is this freedom or fascism?

This Red Tide is terrifying. I moved to a purple state which has, seemingly slowly at first, but now ever exponentially faster, become ruby, ruby red. When I sit in traffic on the way to and from work, or anywhere--bumper to bumper traffic, which *never* used to be the case, even just a few years ago here in St. Pete--I keep thinking of that woman on the news a few days ago: "I moved here for Governor DeSantis! I moved here to be in a free state!"

I guess one girl's "freedom" is another girl's "fascism". Potato, potato. This girl is scared. And now DeSantis is clearly running for President. This "freedom" could be coming soon, to every state of the union. Unless we stand up to it. Silence is not an option.

Fascism Is In The Air, Democracy Is In Our Hands

I watched the news this morning and was horrified by clips of 45 at CPAC.  The following statement isn't a news flash, as it was when I first started shouting it from the cyber rooftop back during the 2016 presidential primary season, but his particular combo platter of being a sociopath and being, frankly, an excellent con artist, is extremely, extremely dangerous.  He has zero hesitation and every intention and ability to harness hate and fear for his own ends.  He has zero hesitation to weaponize his followers to start a civil war, just to keep him out of jail and to get him back into power.  At which point, we would go from a democracy to a fascist country.

I don't think it is likely that he will get his party's nomination again. But either way--if he gets the nomination, or if he doesn't--he is going to weaponize his followers.  He's already started, if you listen to his words of last night.  He said "I'm your retribution".  Picture January 6th on a national scale.  45 is on the march again.  He's nothing without his followers, but he's got them.  He knows exactly how to press their racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, hate-triggered buttons.  He's an expert at Othering.

Look to history and just before Hitler came to power people didn't take him seriously.  We need to take 45 seriously.  Our only defense against him and the hate he harnesses and unleashes is our own power to vote, and our power of peaceful, creative, non-violent resistance, with our constitution as our foundation.  This is no time to sit anything out.  As a favorite quote of mine, by one William K. Wolfrum, says:

"The road to fascism is lined with people telling you to stop overreacting."

Imagining a Post-Fossil-Fuel World

It's an exquisitely beautiful Spring day here in St. Petersburg, as I sit here on my lunch break, working from home today, with all my windows open and a wonderful, warm, refreshing breeze (well, refreshing except for all the oak pollen infusing it and everything here, but I digress...) jazzing me up.  I can hear the not so far off, yet just far enough off, roar of the Indy cars as they practice for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix this weekend.  I've always been a passionate environmentalist and climate change activist, and vociferously anti-fossil fuel.  Yet I must cop to loving that fossil-fuel-induced sound, and getting such a rush from it somehow!

I dream of a world in which homes and businesses and cars are powered by renewable, clean energy sources like (and mainly) solar and wind.  Yet I think there should be an exception for Indy car sporting events, just a few times per year, so that future generations can feel this rush of adrenaline and excitement too, yet think to themselves "oh, so this is what gas-powered cars were like--wow, I'm glad we don't have that exhaust polluting our air, ruining our health, wrecking our ozone layer and causing climate change anymore.  This is fun and a cool throwback and nod to history and the combustible engine, but I'm glad that, when the race is over, we can drive home in our solar-powered cars, to our solar-powered homes, breathing clean, delicious and wonderful air always."