political – Sillyfrog's Blog

Simply 6- Minutes 5/23/23- Current Events

Posted on 05/23/202305/23/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

We must make-up a story in only six minutes using the photo below as inspiration.

I was busy making my granddaughter toast as a news report played on the TV in the background.

“Today, the NAACP has advised all ‘people of color’ to avoid travel to Florida. They explained that Govenor DeSantis was outwardly unfriendly to minorities because of his ‘ push back’ on CRT in Florida classrooms.
A spokesperson further claims that the atmosphere there could be overtly hostile, even dangerous, for ‘people of color’!”

My application of Nutella to her toast became inadvertently hostile, when I heard that, producing a tear in the bread. I couldn’t help but comment.

” The use of fear as a political weapon is out-of-control. Getting what you want by misrepresenting the truth to scare people is ubiquitous these days! Do you know what ubiquitous means, Dear? It means something can be found everywhere.”

“Look Grandma! Even Goldie is trying to scare us to get attention! It IS everywhere.”

https://christinebialczak.com/2023/05/23/simply-6-minutes-welcome-to-the-challenge-05-23-2023/

Book Reviews

Kid’s Book Review- The Shadow Children Series

Posted on 04/27/202304/27/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

I’ve finished this first book in a gripping series suggested for 8–13-year olds.

<THIS IS NOT A SERIES I WOULD RECOMMEND TO CHILDREN>

Although the topic was compelling to me, it would be criminal to suggest it to kids younger than 18.
If you care about childhood innocence, then please accept this as a warning.

It doesn’t delve into the usual topics that cause alarm. I even liked its well-written thought-provoking topic.

It is a 1984-ish fiction about a futuristic totalitarian government imposing terribly intrusive and cruel policies on the population. So far (I’ve ordered the next 2 books.) it is somewhat stomach turning in its plausibility.

It’s not a good or proper thing to frighten kids for any reason, IMHO. That goes for all the climate crisis stuff too. It’s clearly a pollutant to innocence and peace-of-mind. Children are powerless in affecting change but more importantly understanding complex problems.
By intentionally imposing “adult” topics on kids, you’re committing a deliberate theft of children’s childhoods for some adult political selfish service later on.

I DO suggest that adults read the series. There’s quite a bit of a warning in it that adults might want to consider.

Triolet-Clapping for Congress

Posted on 04/19/202304/19/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

If only funding could cure problems and ills
Our children would be excelling in schools.
Printing money helps no one while Congress gets thrills.
If only funding could cure problems and ills.

Big Pharma sells shots and delicious new pills,
While clapping seals keep voting for fools.
If only funding could cure problems and ills
Our children would be excelling in schools.

In my humble opinion..., Unanswered Questions

Unanswered Question: Am I supposed to be ashamed of being political?

Posted on 02/17/202302/17/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

Let’s face it. Most people are well-intentioned.
And many well-intentioned people ask themselves hard questions on a regular basis such as “Should I do or say something?” or “Am I being considerate enough of others?”.

Well, this ‘soul searching’ is good, and IMHO, we are wise to keep those things in mind. So, for me, the number of my opinion posts that ‘lean’ into politics made me ask myself, “Am I supposed to be ashamed of being political?”.

We know that people are ‘sensitive’ about political topics so perhaps I should keep that volume down a bit because there are obviously many other things to discuss, right?

Gardening, family, Nature, Pop culture, celebrities, sports, my future plans, etc. came to mind. What a surprise! Every one of those topics, and every other one that I ‘grabbed’ at, had a political thread if discussed to any level past ‘small talk’.

Don’t believe me?

Gardening and Nature get straight to Climate Change and the economy.
Family? Many (to most) of us have members with ‘gender issues’, have kids in *public education, have members with ‘drug’ and/or ‘medical’ concerns and have members who are experiencing a ‘financial’ pinch.
Pop culture? We know how quickly that goes political!
Sports? This too has been ‘tainted’ so much that a former football junkie like me hasn’t watched a game in 6 years.
Future plans? Don’t those things almost entirely depend on the political ‘management’ of our country?!

Are you seeing the same trend that I am?
It wasn’t me who did that.
I’ll leave the investigation of “Who did that?” for another thread.

Then I asked myself another question once I made that ‘everything’s political’ discovery. So, is keeping an ‘eye’ on politics a ‘bad thing’?

My answer is basically “No” (It can be overdone on a personal level.). It’s becoming abundantly clear that if a country doesn’t have a base-line cultural value system it’s in trouble. If many things actually have a thread of ‘politics’ (as I have revealed) then having healthy political systems are one of the MOST important things and the citizenry has to pursue a consensus for everyone’s sake.

Last question, “But what about everyone’s sensitive feelings about politics, shouldn’t I protect them?”

Brace yourself…
That’s a great big “Nope”. Staying silent (or being silenced) is not an option in a “free society” if you want to keep it.

I still don’t know if I’m supposed to be ashamed of “being political” according to some modern etiquette plan?
What I DO know is my own value system won’t let me even consider complying with that idea.

* Whether you agree with “woke” school policies or not, the point of this post is “everything is political”. Talking about schooling leads to “woke” policies quickly.

Random Word Stories, Writing Prompts

Wordle # 585- The Sunday Whirl- Lesson on Personal Safety

Posted on 01/02/2023 by Susan St.Pierre

boat* preserve* speak* resist* oil* fire* drive* fly* shoot* matter* close* right*

Nope! We weren’t going on a boat again. The kids got seasick the last time and learned nothing more than how to vomit over the railing without falling in.
We hadn’t saved enough money to fly anywhere so trapsing the Nature’s Wonders Club of 8-year-olds through our own local natural wonders seemed the best decision. One of the parents offered to drive us to the base of the trail leading to our famous woodland peak which was the tallest in our state.
I would carry a concealed handgun which I’d thoroughly oiled and loaded in private. It was likely I wouldn’t need to shoot it but having it was the wisest thing to do. Some of the parents may have objected but speaking to them about the value of guns in the wild was out of the question. Naive and ignorant of many topics concerning Nature and pro-active safety, discussing my decision would have complicated the matter and brought political resistance into play. Bears and ‘bad guys’ aren’t usually political, but they are, on occasion, more dangerous than those who are.

Now we are at a crime scene! Lights, rescue crews, and State Police surround my huddled, yet safe, group of 6. Professionals worked to preserve the drug evidence and are done with the questioning. We’d had a great time telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows by the overnight fire, but on our way back in the morning, two men surprised us on the trail. They were most certainly drug smugglers who didn’t want any witnesses. My handgun saved us from certain death by wounding one and detaining the other. The kids had gotten more than a Nature training but a real-life lesson about not allowing strangers to get too close and that carrying a gun can be the right choice. Not one parent has complained about me carrying a gun since.

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2023/01/01/wordle-585/

Writing Prompts

RDP Friday-Waxy- 2/18/22 -Always Buy Locally

Posted on 02/18/202202/18/2022 by Susan St.Pierre

Welcome to RDP Friday- I’ve chosen a soft and simple word for you to have fun with-

Today’s RDP is WAXY.

The candle vendor at the Farmer’s Market gave off odd ‘vibes’. She smiled too much, and her words were ‘waxy’ and insincere.

“These candles were made in my own kitchen by my grandmother.”

“They are lovely. Those pressed flowers decorating those jars, did you collect them yourself?”

“Oh, my grandchildren collected each one! It’s important to give children chores, don’t you agree?”

“Definitely.”

“We have goat milk soaps across the way at my daughter’s table too. They’re going fast! We didn’t raise the price even though inflation is after us all. What a terrible state of affairs. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes.”

“I have some ideas to change horrible policies in our schools and bring back prosperity to our town. Here’s my card, I’m running for the Planning and Zoning Board. We need new ideas, don’t you agree?”

Now her mannequin appearance and speech all made sense! She was a politician. She went on to tell me that she’d moved her family from the Capital City hoping to enact changes in ‘backward’ areas.
Ugh! I knew I smelled a condescending ‘Progressive Cancer’ carrier. Our town was becoming overrun with them these days.

After accepting her card and purchasing a pricy candle, I returned to my car. When I laid the candle on the seat, I noticed a tiny label. It read, Product of China.
I tossed the business card immediately in my trash and all I could do was sigh.
“Figures.”

RDP Friday-WAXY

In my humble opinion...

The Blind Eye

Posted on 01/10/201401/10/2014 by Susan St.Pierre

It occurred to me this morning that being an apologist is a frustrating endeavor. In fact, I didn’t know the meaning of apologist, until my mother labeled me one, and I had to look it up.

apol·o·gist

noun \ə-ˈpä-lə-jist\

: a person who defends or supports something (such as a religion, cause, or organization) that is being criticized or attacked by other people

I’m often making arguments on Facebook about political issues. Seems many of our country’s core values and institutions have been under fire these days. Mostly, I endeavor to use humor and “tongue-in-cheek” phrases to point things out but, once in a while, I just say it.

I don’t consider that I am anti anything. I am pro on lots of things, though. It’s no coincidence, in my mind, that protect, starts with pro.

I’m not going to alienate, or bore you, with my causes. I want to point out that there’s a recurring theme that arises in the comments from others whom, insist upon, defining me as an alarmist.

My status, today, reads:

That moment when you perceive a “train wreck” event on the horizon…shout a warning… and are told you are paranoid. It’s befuddling, at the least, because you want to avoid the tragedy and also hope, on another level, that it can’t happen. Makes a lot of sense, to me now, why no one wants to talk about our national debt and the bankruptcy of our country.

This is the trouble with sounding alarms about difficult subjects. The people, one wants to “wake up”, often don’t want to know AND the ones, pointing things out, really hope they are not true.

Now I ask you, the reader, how will any of our “issues” be resolved if we let those who have a “blind eye”, when it comes to trouble, shut us up or call our ideas (dismissively) paranoid?

Seems to me, the labeling of arguments, people, even sources, as wrong, is at the core of everything stagnating our country’s progress. Fear of labels has brought discussion and brotherhood to a standstill!

Our media, in my opinion, is the biggest troublemaker in all of this. The second biggest, are the busy, “sound bite”, consumers of the news.

My alarm today is a “wake-up call” in order to protect and produce active problem-solving which will foster our country’s progress.