From July 03…

… aligns with The Matter With Things by McGilchrist…

thinking has, of course, changed a great deal relative to the ancient one, the two have had one key feature in common: i.e. they are both generally ‘blinkered’ by the notion that theories give true knowledge about ‘reality as it is’. (David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order)

… i’ve no direct experience with this, but if mothering and nurturing are the same thing, then we can all be mothers…

Even feminist theorists who have emphasized the need for men to share equally in child-rearing are reluctant to cease attaching special value to mothering. (bell hooks, Feminist Theory)

… yup…

For the skilful propagandist knows that while you must start with a plausible analysis, you must not keep on analyzing, because the tedium of real political accomplishment will soon destroy interest. So the propagandist exhausts the interest in reality by a tolerably plausible beginning, and then stokes up energy for a long voyage by brandishing a passport to heaven. (Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion)

… yes!…

In her notes, she coins new words: ‘womanman’ and ‘manwoman’ and observes: ‘Many who fight in this drama are dressed in the wrong clothing. Many female costumes conceal a man. Many male costumes conceal the woman.’ (Jennifer Higgie, The Other Side)

… i need to read more poetry…

This is why poetry (which arose historically before prose) is so vital to an understanding of the world. Its new conjunctions, its metaphors, its tone, its musical aspects, are all – like music, for most of us – appreciated by the right hemisphere. (Iain McGilchrist, The Matter With Things)

Why does the attractive woman anchor smile pleasantly all the way through a segment on the implications of the SCOTUS immunity decision. Seems like a grave situation to me. Smiling charmingly makes it seem like fluff… it isn’t. It’s deadly serious.

I have been an author in two iterations of this program. This time I am the featured artist. Very excited.

If women who work against militarism continue to imply, however directly or indirectly, that there is an inherent predisposition in women to oppose war, they risk reinforcing the very biological determinism that is the philosophical foundation of notions of male supremacy. They also run the risk of covering up the reality that masses of women in the United States are not anti-imperialist, are not against militarism, and do not oppose the use of violence as a form of social control. Until these women change their values, they must be seen as clinging, like their male counterparts, to a perspective on human relationships that embraces social domination in all its various forms, and they must be held accountable for their actions. (bell hooks, Feminist Theory)

… that family member’s response to me…

It seems the best we can do for now is agree to disagree. The one thing we likely can agree on is that we want this country to be strong and the best that it can possibly be for our citizens. For what it’s worth, I’m less interested in the party in office, more in upholding the constitution and honesty in our leadership. We have to do better.

… a response to a family member’s pro Trump comment on my FB page…

Much as I would like to have a conversation with you about our choices, I don’t know how we do it in a way that will be meaningful and satisfying to us both. You are terrified by the thought of Biden being elected. I am terrified of a Trump presidency. I don’t love the choices we have but I am very clear that Trump should never be allowed back in the Oval office. It sounds like you feel the opposite. So we are at an impasse unless we find another angle to approach it from and I don’t know what that is.

Word Are Deeds: Rebecca Solnit the Power of Speech to Shape the Future ‹ Literary Hub

When the soul wants to experience something she throws out an image in front of her and steps into it. –Meister Eckhart

We make something more likely, more widely believed, by saying and repeating it. Our rhetoric encourages or discourages. Which is why sports teams chant a version of “I believe we will win.” A whole sector of the progressive/left/whatever, however, seems to be eternally chanting “I believe we will lose.” This is not something sports teams do, incidentally. —Rebecca Solnit

… i have begun to spend more time with the women i know… we get coffee, go for walks, chat about each other’s past, present and hopes for the future… i feel that my feminine shift has admitted me to the space of feminine friendships… i’ve rarely had friends like this before… men or women…

Joe Biden or Kamala Harris: Which Risk Is the Better Risk? – Mother Jones

A sober assessment of a bad situation. I agree with everything David Corn says in this opinion piece.

Whatever happens, there is no perfect or even close-to-perfect avenue for the Democrats. It ends up being a question of which risk you want to live with: Biden further showing decline; Harris poorly campaigning; or the convention becoming a circus that spits out a not-well-known candidate with his or her own faults.

You know the break your heart commercials for the ASPCA? I think we need similar commercials featuring Lady Liberty.

Rehearsing a litany of whats wrong with Biden and the Dems encourages those around you to stay home or vote third party. I don’t know who the right candidate is, but, If you care about democracy, drop the negativity and tell as many people as you can that voting democratic is the only option.

July 1, 2024 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

While sexism teaches women to be sex objects for men, it is also manifest when women who have repudiated this role feel contemptuous and superior in relation to those women who have not. Sexism leads women to devalue parenting work while inflating the value of jobs and careers. (bell hooks, Feminist Theory)

Feminist movement to end sexist oppression affirms family life by its insistence that the purpose of family structure is not to reinforce patterns of domination in the interest of the state. By challenging Western philosophical beliefs that impress on our consciousness a concept of family life that is essentially destructive, feminism would liberate family so that it could be an affirming, positive kinship structure with no oppressive dimensions based on sex differentiation, sexual preference, etc. (bell hooks, Feminist Theory)

July 1, 2024 - by Heather Cox Richardson

Dark times…

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her.

Trying to figure out what the author of this sign is trying to say… any suggestions?

My wife and I got our nails done today. I like having painted nails almost as much as I like wearing lipstick. Family nail care, priceless.

… the present moment is all about understanding what is at stake… if you do, the choice is clear… for those of us who support democracy, our job is to help people who don’t understand, understand… and then join them in supporting whoever becomes the nominee of the democratic party…

An interaction with my wife this morning has led me to realize that a lot of us are in pain and/or deeply afraid after last night’s debate. Please be kind to yourselves and others in this raw moment.

I think we should feel very sober, and a little afraid, at the power of human credulity, the capacity of human minds to be gripped by theory, by faith. (Peter Ells, Panpsychism)