Still Hurts, But Enough Time’s Passed For Me To Get Out This Bit Of Catharsis. I Miss My Kitty.

Let's keep going.

Ben, think about your daughter.

Think about her as a teenager. And she comes to you. "Daddy, I need your help. I'm pregnant. And it was an adult you know."

Or think about her as woman, happily married and she tells you that you will be a grandfather. But several months in, the fetus isn’t viable. "Daddy, I need your help, the doctors won't do anything until I'm the one dying." As she's left in pain for hours or days as her body rejects the fetus without medical support.

And the only response you have is, "I did this to you too."

Or like a hypocritical coward you run her to a state that protected her body autonomy because you made yourself rich bamboozling people into your toxic rhetoric. At the end, your daughter still suffered your actions.

For you, and for me

My parents talked about how Reagan is the source of a lot of the current strife. In comparison, my SO's parents think he was the best president. You can guess how the last few years have been. I don't know how to fix this besides the majority pushing for things to change.

It's overwhelming being a parent now and knowing there are too many battles to fight at the same time.

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.

Artist: Liberal Jane

https://bsky.app/profile/liberaljane.bsky.social/post/3lg4d36dhtc23

By kuuranen

Fred Rogers Acceptance Speech - 1997

not to enforce gender roles but a computer should NOT fucking have apps okay. if I wanted an app I'd go on my phone my laptop is for Programs. I mean this.

The whole #barbenheimer thing is peak crap of the internet. It's just another oddball cringe trend that people got swept up in because it was weird but when you look back at it, probably be more embarrassing than a fond memory.

I watched the Oppenheimer film. I think it was well casted and the story peaked further interest in the real history of events. I heard people cried at the end of Barbie, but I felt like going through Oppenheimer felt way more emotional. Living through atrocities that people put each other through is maddening and frustrating. Especially if you are helpless against it. And I know people will argue history on how at the time of WW2, they were faced with few choices. But that is one message of the film, it's all about the choices people make and how they impact others.

I lived through 9/11 and I knew my choice was not to do any invasion in the Middle East. Knowing the history of those wars seemed pretty clear to me that the war on terror was not going to make any benefit for the community at home. We now have 20 years of history put into that fiasco. Will this be a lesson learned. No because people just want to pretend it didn't happen. We may not have had a bombing event of that scale again but lives still have been lost to war since.

I'll just give it some more time when media looks to monetize that history some more and see those memes make the rounds. Yikes.

Soul Train was such a bad ass show. That's the only other show I'd watch after cartoons were over on Saturday.