Collimator
Collimator's JournalArticle at Bored Panda site: 100 Anti-Capitalism Memes
Has some real winners. I wish I could post some of the images here to entice folks, but the regular copy and paste method doesn't seem to work here and I'm too lacking in tech know how to work out how to do it.
Here is the link to the article, however.
HuffPo Article on MTG's Comments on "Candidate Quality" Yielded Some Interesting Responses
According to the HuffPost website, Marjorie Taylor Greene sent out a Tweet discussing the poor quality of the GOP candidates during this election round. As one might imagine, this inspired a lot of snappy responses in the Twitterverse.
I don't follow Twitter, but my favorite Tweet noted in the HuffPo article was this one:
Elizabeth-
"Remember when you said "Jewish space lasers" are what causes wildfires? That meat not "grown in PEACH TREE dishes will cause electric bot shocks in the bodies of the vaccinated? You know NOTHING about candidate quality, you absolute pinecone."
I especially enjoyed the "absolute pinecone" comment, because it's clever but not a gendered insult. And it doesn't attack Ms. Greene on the basis of physical attributes that are not within her control.
My thoughts were running along those lines when I brought up the comments screen to the article and encountered this nugget:
Kevin Higgenboom-
"Liberals routinely show the world it is OK to insult people by calling them gay, and it is OK to value women based on their appearance. This is flat-out wrong."
A part of me really, really wanted to respond to that poster, but I didn't want to register on yet another comment board so, instead, I share this talking point with my fellow DU'ers.
"Yes, sir. It is wrong. It's wrong when liberals do it and it's wrong when Donald Trump does it on a regular basis. This is a man who insulted a woman's appearance as a defense against a rape charge. "She's not my type", he said. So, basically, that means that the former president feels that a woman's looks determine her "rape-ability?" That's beyond "flat-out wrong" to outright abominable. And Donald Trump isn't the first right-leaning person whom I have heard express such a position. And while I have read far too many Democrats cast snark upon Ms. Greene by commenting on her looks, I have never heard one of them stoop to the "not pretty enough to rape" level.
From HuffPo: "Musk Appears To Threaten Advertisers Wary Of His Twitter Takeover"
Oh, that makes so much sense. Buy a company, make a whole bunch of unsettling decisions, then threaten people who buy ads from you because they prefer a platform with stability.
You know, I have almost no money and no business experience, but even I can see how absurd a strategy that is.
Thoughts on poverty and the alternatives
This is an interesting article titled, "Does anyone have to be poor?" and it related to a few posts that I encountered on one of the threads. (Can't find the thread in question. Sorry.)
Among its many thoughtful points, I am quoting a paragraph on the value of the expanded child tax credit. I live with a cynical person who works with a poorer segment of the population, and she believes that the parents receiving the credit were just spending it on drugs and booze. There is evidence to suggest otherwise.
"Another line of evidence is the expanded child tax credit passed in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan. It was a short-lived benefit, since Congress shamefully allowed it to expire. But while it was in effect, it reduced the child poverty rate in the U.S. by almost one-third. It kept 3.7 million children out of poverty. Survey data shows that 91% of beneficiaries spent the money on basic needs like food, clothing, rent and school supplies."
The thread(s) discussing the Florida governor's stunt of flying immigrants to Martha's Vineyard mentioned a cost in the millions. It really makes you wonder about how we manage to find money for certain project/services/products etc., and then claim that we can't fund services to help people in need.
Thinking about moving to North Carolina . . .
. . .from Baltimore County, Maryland.
My main motivation is money. I am on the typical limited Social Security budget.
I have friends who are in Edenton and they love the idea of my moving there, which is a wonderful feeling. Yay! Somebody wants me! (I'm not close to my family, one of whom not only believes that Hillary Clinton had someone murdered, but whispered about it in his kitchen, as if she was going to get him, too. But, since I was there, I guess he figured that I was a potential assassin? I'm not, actually, which is why you shouldn't fear welcoming me to NC.) But the thought of relocating given my age and bare-bones resources is very scary, of course.
I checked out Edenton's Chamber of Commerce website and it sounds lovely. But who in their right mind would put out a website that announces, "Our Town Sucks. Don't come here"?
Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. And don't be afraid to play Devil's Advocate. This is a big decision and I need to see matters clearly.
Thank you!
On the whole "Nobody wants to work" comment. . .
Full disclosure here, I did not hit the link to read further on this little piece of click bait.
"An Influencer and OnlyFans Star Is Facing Backlash After Saying 'Nobody Wants To Work These Days'
'It seems like nobody wants to work these days,' said Tara Lynn, a Tik Toker and OnlyFans model, in a recent video. . ."
Now, with only an older person's cursory understanding of Tik Tok and OnlyFans to speak from, I would like share a few thoughts on Ms. Lynn as well as one of the Kardashians who advised women to "get off their asses" and another one who once said something along the lines of, "We all [the Kardashian family] work hard every day!"
The kind of work that people are "rebelling against" (for lack of a better term) involves either standing or sitting and being either pushed and strained or bored and strained (from repetitive motions) for many hours at a stretch while dealing with demanding, often unreasonable supervisors or customers and having to hold back from any normal human responses. And this sort of work, more often than not, does not pay a living wage.
This is the sort of work those sorts of people don't want to do, either, if they were being honest or had an ounce of self-awareness. These people have instead managed to monetize either their looks or their various opinions ranging from vapid to outrageous. They spend their days sitting in front of a camera in situations where they have a great deal of control.
I'm not prepared to say whether or not what they do qualifies as "work", but it is a far cry from the options that are available to the people that they are criticizing. Life can be difficult even for the pretty and rich and well-placed, I know. But the people making those sorts of sweeping comments about others not only have not walked in the shoes of the ordinary wage-slave in our current socio-economic system, they clearly don't want to.
They make their own living by seeking our attention. Most people work their asses off while being ignored unless they make a mistake and the boss or some customer with a grievance decides to treat them as a lesser being.
People are willing to work these days. They just want to be treated as, you know, people. And they want to be paid well enough to live like people and not animals in utilitarian kennels.
Sharing this here because it is thought-provoking and moving.
However, it doesn't move me to outrage.
Even though outrage is a perfectly valid response to so much that is happening around us, it is exhausting.
It's good to get off the "Outrage Treadmill" which raises our physical responses but doesn't get us anywhere.
So, this personal essay is from OnlySky, a website dedicated to secular values and it is written by an emotionally eloquent doctor.
The title makes reference to something called a "Code Lavender", but it doesn't deal with Gay Rights. It does deal with being fully human, which is what Gay Rights is really all about.
Let us now pause and reflect along with Dr. Eve Makoff. The Night I Called Code Lavender.
"Unacknowledged and unaddressed, grief threatens your integrity. Whether you are one to explode or implode, the potential damage to your psyche, to your body, or to your relationships is enormous."
As someone whose mental fortitude was shattered after a short time helping scared, suffering people sign up for Medicaid, my hat is off to Dr. Makoff and others like her.
Who all here has heard of Ammon Bundy?
I have only a peripheral knowledge of this guy and his antics, but this gem discusses his latest efforts in Right-Wing Religious Affrontery.
Ammon Bundy: Lying for Jesus, yet again.
A Little Girl Gets A Doll That Looks Like Her
Should be the simplest thing in the world, right?
Well, this child was filled with joy at receiving a doll with natural hair and her happiness warmed my heart. But it's also sad that this isn't just an everyday thing that parents and children of all colors can take for granted.
Excerpt from the article below, which ought to be re-printed in the "Journal of Duh", as in "duh,yes" we need toys that showcase ALL of us as as beautiful. Even growing up as a brown-eyed, brown-haired White child, I was vaguely confused by all the blond, blue-eyed baby dolls out there. Everybody talked about how much I looked like my family, so I knew that my baby dolls should look like me, but they didn't and it bothered me.
Of course, adoption is also a reality for many children and that conversation is worth having. I also don't think that it's a bad thing for a child to have a multicultural collection of dolls. But for a Black child growing up in this country, the value of having a doll that reflects herself back accurately is critical.
"After doing some research, I learned that toys influence how kids think, act and see themselves. When little girls can’t find dolls that look like them, it negatively impacts their self-esteem. So that’s why I created the Curlfriends (Zoe, Gaïana and Marisol): the first Healthy Roots Dolls and the first dolls with natural hair that you can wash and style. We call it their curl power."
Sharing a link that leads to some interesting reading.
You know how you sometimes click on something on the internet which leads you to content that includes more links and before you know it you've left the rabbit hole and discovered an entire rabbits' warren?
Well, this rabbit hole journey should lead to more sanity and clarity, not less.
OnlySky is a website devoted to secular conversations and values. I recommend it. It's a fairly recent resource, and they are still working out some bugs, but they have a lot to offer.
One recent article is this nice descriptive list of some important secular reading. 10 Eye-Opening Secular Books For a New Perspective.
Of course, by providing such links to these resources and reading, I run the danger of engaging in proselytizing. And as a non-believer, I certainly don't want to do that! 
So, be forewarned, you may be exposed to ideas, concepts, viewpoints and information. Please gird your loins appropriately.
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Gender: FemaleHometown: Bawlmer, Murlind
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Current location: Trump Household
Member since: Wed Dec 6, 2017, 11:45 PM
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