The one thing you have to give to the GOP, they are well organized, and their messages no matter how toxic are specific and consistent. They have spent the past fifty years building towards this pivotal point in time. Half the states are controlled by maniac legislatures and governors intent on rolling their states back to the days of Jim Crow and women’s subjection, never mind more than half their constituents disagree with their policies. Those at the top both elected and not, are ramping it up every single day on every single media outlet. Make no mistake, they are winning the war of words with soundbites meant to inflame, intended to sow fear and fury, they are winning.

Before we proceed, let’s take a close look at what we are really talking about. For those who love this nation, who believe the words penned by Thomas Jefferson in the…

“Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless.”

Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, On Life and Essays on Religion

My life’s journey crossed significant bridges to become a college student, a military soldier, a husband, and a father.

I committed to a 25-year career that led me to my retirement bridge, crossing my abyss of excitement, fears, unknown possibilities, and imaginative opportunities of an uncharted world.

Other than consuming self-help retirement novels, I had no one individual who inspired or shaped my idea of retirement. I had ideas to conquer my bucket list of items, and I did. I settled into a permanent base camp of perpetual warmth and living near water to fulfill a dream.

As I nomadically travel around the US, I often reminisce about my ancestors and elder relatives who have died, never considering travel, let alone retirement, to enjoy outdoor leisure opportunities or hobbies beyond their careers of blue-collar work.
Oh, I’m sure they dreamed of retirement, but they live…

“The extremists have gone off the rails and chosen to endorse violence as ‘legitimate political discourse.’”

U.S. Rep Colin Allred, on a Republican Party resolution that downplays the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill as “legitimate political discourse”

“Throwing plastic into the sea is criminal. It kills biodiversity; it kills the Earth; it kills everything.”

Pope Francis, during an interview on Italy’s RAI

He added: “Looking after creation is an education (process) in which we must engage.”  He also cited a song by Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos in which a boy asks his father why “the river no longer sings” and the father responds that “we finished it off”.

Francis also reiterated some key themes of his papacy, condemning excessive spending on armaments, defending the rights of migrants, and condemning ideological rigidity by conservatives in the Church.

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [‘hard-core pornography’], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio, 1964

You know the old puzzle: if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it make a sound? Using that logic, if a book is published, and no one finds its content offensive, is it obscene?

Obscenity seems to be subjective. Right-wing extremists certainly feel that way, as they have (once again) assumed the role of moral overseer and decided they have the authority to determine what books are and are not appropriate for others to read. To we writers…

After the success of the book and film Hidden Figures which generated much deserved recognition for NASA employees Katherine Jonson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, the book with the eye catching title of Hidden Genius: Frank Mann, the Black Engineer Behind Howard Hughes came to our attention.  It is the story of Frank Calvin Mann, as told by H. T. Bryer.

Rest in Peace John McCain

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ps://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/25/obituaries/john-mccain-dead.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-john-mccain-independent-voice-gop-establishment-dies-81-n790971

Bravery, Courage, Combat Veteran, American Hero.

Our political views were different but I salute with utmost respect.

Take your eternal rest soldier. Your suffering is over.

Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

Spring is finally here! Well, it has arrived in some parts of the U.S., it has certainly been missed here in Arkansas.

To sow a seed, in gardening terms is to get a seed ready to plant for something to grow. In spiritual terms, to sow a seed, means to give or do something for the purpose of growth.

There are 3 Ways I plan to Sow a Seed This Season:

Stewardship for my community, family and friends.

Self Care for me and my mental and physical wellness.

Surround myself with positive people and things.

If you’d like to see me chat more about sowing a seed, check out my video below:

What Seeds Are You Sowing This Season?

“The way to make something good is to make it well.  If the ingredients are extra good (truffles, vivid prose, fascinating characters) that’s a help. But it’s what you do with them that counts. With the most ordinary ingredients (potatoes, everyday language, commonplace characters) – and care and skill in using them – you can make something extremely good.”

“If your manuscript doesn’t follow the rules of what’s currently trendy, the rules of what’s supposed to be salable, the rule some great authority laid down, you’re supposed to make it do so. Most such rules are hogwash, and even sound ones may not apply to your story. What’s the use of a great recipe for soufflé if you’re making blintzes? The important thing is to know what it is you’re making, where your story is going, so that you use only the advice that genuinely helps you get there. The hell…