Hands Off!

All the small protests around Tesla dealerships and Congressional offices made me happy left me elated.  

Elated is a crossword puzzle standard and I have been this many days old before using it.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity; I will not abuse the privilege.

A three and a half hour lunch with the Cruise Club today allowed us to vent and wonder and kvetch to our hearts' content.  He is so dangerous.  How can they forget 1930's Germany?  What is wrong with Congress/Democrats (but not Mark Kelly)/people in our lives/the world in general?

We all received an email announcing the nationwide Hands Off! events happening Saturday.  Someone asked what it was protesting; I said everything. The official recruiting poster included in the email made our conversation public.  Just look at all those things that are wrong.

There are events all over the country.  

We half-joked about my track record at outdoor political events and eventually moved on to travel and classes we're taking (Yes, I did that course on Zoom when I was in Antarctica...... I love these women!) but the idea was germinating in my head so I went back to the website where I found this:

A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.

There's a Know Your Rights: Hands Off Rally Prep Zoom session at 8pmET tonight presented by the ACLU.  I hope it's a we didn't start it defense rather than the naive hope that it will be enough to calm the waters, should they begin to boil.  

I read further down the announcement and got to this gem: Wear White as a symbol of peace! Now, I'm seriously questioning my cynicism.  Maybe I should hone in on my inner 18 year old, protesting the government taking my friends to fight a far-away war against people who'd never harmed them.  We were passionate and we showed up, believing that our presence made a difference.  

At this point, since I'm already making those three phone calls a day every weekday, showing up is all I can do.  If I'm going to say I am a part of the Resistance, I have to show up.

If it's a giant group in the park, I'll be along an edge, hopefully on a bench.  If we are spread out along the roadway as we have been at the smaller events I'll be standing a little bit away from the curb, eyes on the cars as they drive by, waving my upgraded sign.

I will adhere to the promises I made - I will be vigilant and aware of my surroundings

I hope that I leave elated overjoyed.

Where To Shop

I need a watering can.  Not a fancy decorated metal can with a filter in the nozzle, just an ordinary plastic watering can that I can use to supplement the irrigation when the winds blow and the temperatures heat up.  I also need a new garden hose.

Normally, in the olden days, before DEI and FFOTUS, I'd stop by Home Depot or Lowes or Target or Amazon and the problem would be solved.  But now, with corporations beholden only to stockholders and businesses capitulating to the whims of a deranged agenda, I'm voting with my dollars.  

I haven't been in Target since they caved and removed the Gay Pride display from the front of my local store.  Home Depot and Lowes lost me when they caved on DEI.  Jeff Bezos doesn't need any more of my cash; weaning myself from Amazon is difficult but doable.

I went to Ace Hardware but they had nothing that fit the bill.  I went to the nursery, but didn't want to spend $40 on a fancy can or over $100 on a contractor's grade hose.  

It's a quandary that has yet to be resolved.  But there are other places to shop for most things, and I had two lovely experiences with that this week.  

The first was the wording from Costco, when activist shareholders wanted them to remove DEI from the workplace.  The board said it "has considered this proposal and believes our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary."

I don't have to feel guilty about rotisserie chicken or roses or my garden supplies if they have them.

The second was walking into Dicks Sporting Goods on Monday to buy SIR the sneakers he wants for his birthday.  I was greeted with a big, colorful poster standing in the entryway.  There were many words but the intent was clear - the world is made up of a variety of people and you are all welcome here.

\I felt very good about spending those birthday dollars.

Acting on principle is difficult.  It probably doesn't matter in the case of one woman in Arizona deciding not to go to Target.  But foot traffic is down and so are their profits, so I'm obviously not the only one using my spending to make a point.

If only I could find what I need where I want to buy it.  

Something Is Not Right

I had to complete the paperwork for GRIN.  It was due in February but time got away from me.  There's no financial penalty for a late filing so I wasn't anxious when I opened the on-line link and began to click on boxes.

Names, addresses, titles were all current and required no action.  There were questions that had to be addressed, and that's when I realized that FFOTUS could not be on my Board of Directors.  

Has any person (a) Who is currently an officer, director, trustee, incorporator, or (b) who controls or holds over twenty percent of the issued and outstanding common shares or twenty percent of any other proprietary, beneficial or membership interest in the corporation, served in any such capacity or held a twenty percent interest in any other corporation (not the one filing this Certificate) on the bankruptcy or receivership of the other corporation?

Convicted of a felony, the essential elements of which consisted of fraud, misrepresentation, theft by false pretenses or restraint of trade or monopoly in any state or federal jurisdiction within the five year period immediately preceding the signing of this certificate?

Convicted of felony involving a transaction in securities, consumer fraud or antitrust in any state or federal jurisdiction within the five year period immediately preceding the signing of this certificate?

The Secretary of Defense has hired his brother, brought his wife to a classified briefing with a foreign dignitary, and texted battle plans over an unsecured phone line.  The Secretary of Health is presiding over a measles outbreak of alarming proportions by prescribing Vitamin A and Cod Liver Oil.  The CDC and NIH are stopping research in mid-stream.  Getting paid but not allowed to work, furloughed federal employees are bleeding the government of money that is unearned.  Saguaro National Monument (down the road from me) has no staff on Mondays.  

I know all of that.  Still, filling out that form and thinking about FFOTUS kind of solidified it all in my head.  

Like Miss Clavell said, something is not right. 

Luckily for Madeline, Miss Clavell saves the day.

Would that she could do the same for us.

 

April Fools

St. John's didn't lose in the first round. 

Your brackets are intact.  

You care about the outcome of the Final Four. 

That's what came to mind when I began to think about this post and my mind began to wander towards the dark side. 

The results of those thoughts are below the stars. Skip it if you just can't handle FFOTUS right now.  I won't be offended. 

I understand. 

*****

Tariffs will be paid by somebody else. 

The stock market isn't important. 

FFOTUS can serve a third term. 

Climate change is a hoax. 

Libraries and museums are worthy of funding. 

Social Security and Medicare and feeding children are priorities. 

We have a functioning democracy.