Vicki Lane's Blog, page 7

So Busy--A Josie Update

Look at all the young turkeys we saw when Meema was bringing me home from school on Monday! They came from our pasture on their way to our neighbors who feed them.
I love third grade! We are learning about oceans and multiplication and a little division. Then on Tuesdays I have gymnastics and on Thursdays there is soccer practice. And a game on Saturdays.
Soccer is lots of fun. Last week I kicked the ball really hard and one of my team mates got it and scored a goal. Yay!

When we got home, I decided to do some art. I did a picture of bees and then I decided to draw a roller coaster with people riding on it. I also drew a hot dog stand but it is not finished so when I went home, I took my art kit with me.
Now that I am older, I walk down the road to my house (once my mom or dad is home) all by myself. Unless it's raining, then someone gives me a ride.   
                                      


Also I surprised Meema by making my cream cheese and honey sandwich all by myself except that Grumpy got the honey down from a high shelf.
And I taught Meema to play a guessing game where we wore funny headbands but she didn't take a picture of that. Maybe next time.




 

Butterfly Bush

 

Politically Correct?

 It is chilling, not to say confusing, to hear Charlie Kirk lauded as a proponent of free speech and meaningful dialogue while at the same time people are being fired, suspended, and/or harassed for exercising their free speech to say negative things about the late influencer (who himself had so much negative to say about women, people of color, and the LGBT community.)

Indeed, when Brian Kilmeade, a commentator on Fox suggested solving the problem of mentally ill homeless people by lethal injection, he was only reprimanded. Meanwhile, Matthew Dowd at MSNBC was fired for saying that Kirk was a very divisive and  polarizing figure" and pointing out the dangerous combination of political toxicity and gun culture in America.

Alas, the right is coming for everyone's free speech. Teachers, firefighters, and military personnel are among those terminated for speaking ill of the right-wing's new saint. The GOP government is scanning the internet in search of adverse comments by those they can fire, deport, or refuse entrance.

And self-appointed social media warriors are threatening to make lists of and dox those with whom they disagree.

I don't have a job to be fired from nor a business that could suffer. I think I have to keep on speaking my mind--just like Charlie did.

For a fuller account of this free speech ban, check out this excellent article in The Guardian. HERE

                                          

A New Day

 

Dear Sirs

Dear Senators Tillis and Budd and Representative Edwards,
Please explain to me why the GOP continues to block the release of the complete and UNREDACTED Epstein Files if they and their wealthy donors have nothing to hide.
Explain to me why US Seals killed North Korean fishermen in the course of a botched mission.
Explain to me why a Venezuelan boat suspected of carrying drugs was attacked with the loss of all aboard. 
Explain to me why ICE continues to wear masks and act like out of control bounty hunters.
Explain to me how the loss of a Hyudai plant in Georgia, loss of soybean sales to China, loss of crops rotting for lack of people to harvest them is good for the country.
Explain to me why the military is being sent to Democrat run cities with lower crime rates than many GOP controlled cities.
Explain to me why you support a president who has no interest in unifying our country but revels in fanning the flames of division.


 

Take a Deep Breath

I am fortunate to live surrounded by such beauty. When the evil that is abroad in the world becomes almost overwhelming, I can look out at the trees that surround us and feel peace.
Tomorrow I'll write my congressmen.

 

An Epitaph

 

"I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other god-given rights."

Quoting Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot to death yesterday. I wonder if his wife and children agree it was worth it.

Charlie also thought that the Civil Rights Act was "a huge mistake," that "Jewish money" was ruining American culture, and that, according to the Bible, gay people should be executed.

Of course political murder is terrible and wrong, but, recalling that Charlie said "I think empathy is a made-up New Age term that does a lot of damage," I'll save my New Age empathy for all the school children killed, wounded, or traumatized in school shootings, including the ones affected by the shooting yesterday at Evergreen High School in Colorado.

Morning Joy

 

A Portrait

                                                      

Or as Cory the photographer said, " an overly proper portrait of a completely improper dog."

Too right. When I opened Cory's email, herself was, at the moment, relaxing on the dining table in the sun, working on her tan.

Cory is a friend of many years.  He has some amazing photos available for viewing on Flickr and on Instagram.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sodiumbenzoateand follow @corybarlowphoto on Instagram
For a selection of Cory's photographic endeavors.

And There Was Soccer

Josie has been signed for youth league soccer and she's excited about it. The first practice got rained out, but she was in the game on Saturday, despite not knowing much about it. 
Her dad played youth league and was on the high school team, and they spent a little time kicking the ball around the morning of the game. 

I wasn't there--these are Claui's pictures -- but I think Josie is the tall one in a gray shirt with a pony tail (foreground above; the middle gray shirt below.)
I suspect there were other first-timers;  no matter, our girl had a great time!