Women are Half of Humanity

This is a comment I made on an article by Arthur Magida.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/might-5-ex-presidents-prevent-trump-making-us-unrecognizable-2020

A bit of nit-picking of an otherwise well-written piece. If the author were to state "these are times that try the human soul" rather than "these are times that try men's (and women's) souls," he would avoid putting women in parentheses as if we are an afterthought. I believe that the author does not think of women as an afterthought, given his biography."

Most of us learned the old, sexist literary rules of always referring to an unspecified person as "him" and using phrases such as "the spirit of man" to describe all people. 

Personally, I took hits to my grade because I refused to do that. These rules come from a time when women were seen as lesser and, in fact, thought not to have souls.

When making a direct quote, I don't change the wording as I am attributing the quote to the person who initially wrote it. However, when it comes to my own writing, I am human but I am not a man. I refer to the human spirit, to humanity (as opposed to mankind, unless I am speaking only of men.) 

It is past time to recognize that humanity encompasses more than "man". 

As I said, other than that, the author is spot on. 

Lord Dampnut and his cabinet of crooks present a terrible threat to everything the U.S. stands for, and to the safety of the entire world.

~Sly Has Spoken~

Copyright juliahenze +123RF.com 

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 22: Sad State of Affairs

There once was the worst politician

Who obtained the highest position

T'was a sad state of affairs

Instead of making repairs

To destroy everything was his mission

~Sly~

Notes:

The NaPoWriMo prompt for today was to write a Georgic.

This is not a Georgic.

It is a limerick.

Nonetheless, it was inspired by that prompt.

Cross-posted to:

Sly Fawkes

Sly's Free Speech Space

Copyright juliahenze +123RF.com 

Sly Says: Tell Disney to Dump Trump

Why would a company that makes wonderful films that delight both children and adults and depict women as determined heroines want to associate themselves with a horrific misogynist and racist such as Donald Trump? I am ashamed and saddened to discover Disney's association with this reprehensible individual who is ruining our country.

Sign the petition and tell Disney to drop their association with Trump's companies.

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-disney-drop-trumps-business-council-and-stop-collaborating-with-trump?source=direct_link&

Thank you,

Sly

copyright juliahenze@123rf.com

Sly Works Devil Vagina Magic

OOOGY BOOGY!!!

Apparently, also OOOGY BOOGY!!!

Aw, and here I thought the Satanic Panics were a thing of the past. 

They're still here, but back in the day when I was young, dinosaurs and rock musicians were their target. Now it's women. Evil, evil women.
Well, actually these types have always targeted women. But for a while their focus shifted just a little to dinosaurs and rock music.

Here's a quote from the article by Christian Dem in NYC.

"The religious right was none too pleased at the Women’s March. That was no surprise. But the vehemence of their reaction was staggering, even to this longtime religious right watcher. Apparently, standing up for women being respected and not objectified is a sign that you’re under the influence of either witchcraft or demons. How is that possible? Well, according to one religious right luminary, ANY opposition to the Donald is a sign you’re being influenced by the devil."

Click the link for more fun!

According to the mindset of these asshats, I was doing the devil's work back when I was a youngun in the 1980s and played that devil rock and roll music. 

Then, to make matters even more diabolical, I went to one of those musical devil ceremonies, and when a certain short man dressed in a schoolboy suit came out onstage, I shouted "WORK IT, ANGUS!" in hopes of making him drop trou. My evil devil magic worked, I tell you, because halfway through the show, he obeyed my command.

It looked a little bit something like this

I often sit in my Feminazi lair doing the devil's work to this very day, standing up for equality AND listening to devil music. Because we women, with our devil vagina magic, can multitask! And sadly, it appears that there will always be idiots to fight.

~Sly Has Spoken~

Image by juliahenze@123rf.com

Sly's Devil Vagina Magic Part Deux:

Trivia Time!

This is the Australian cover for the Highway to Hell album, which was Banned in the U.S. because apparently we have too many bible thumpers here who don't understand hyperbole and would have peed their pants if they saw this.

Here are some shockingly unscary out-takes from the photo shoot for the album cover. Because, surprisingly enough, these fellows were not actually particularly scary people.

Here is a shockingly tender photo of Angus Young being surprisingly not evil and gently guiding and caring for his very sick older brother. Because, shockingly enough, as Angus himself once said, while he may sometimes wear black underwear, he doesn't actually do blood sacrifices, and the real Satan is intolerance.

Sly realizes that she's gone off on a bit of a tangent and is now referring to herself in third person, but there is, in fact, a method to the madness. We have here in this snarky mini-history written by Sly proof that hate, intolerance, and extremism are a bad idea in any era and we really should examine these ideas, ridicule them, and put a stop to them.

Peace,

Sly

Come On, Sly, Give the Rump A Chance--Please?

Tell me again how I'm supposed to be okay with having this in a key government position

The first election I voted in was Reagan vs. Mondale. I voted for Mondale.

I've had people tell me I'm being an "alarmist" and being "unfair" to The Rump, that I'm being "disrespectful" and need to "give him a chance."

I've been around for a lot of years and I have never felt this concerned before. Frustrated, yes. Worried, sure. After all, there was the Cold War and there was Reagan and his "Star Wars" plan. But I never compared Reagan to Hitler.

I never saw reason to compare either of the Bushes to Hitler either.

Surely one would think I might have reason for thinking as i do about The Rump, for disrespecting him so utterly, for feeling that comparisons to Hitler are apt. But nope, I'm just a silly little neophyte with and overactive imagination. These people can keep telling themselves that about the dissenters while The Rump and his lackeys destroy this country.

~Sly Has Spoken~

Copyright juliahenze@123rf.com

Sly Says: Become the Avalanche

Marty Walsh, Mayor of Boston

Here's the thing with the whole "you have to accept Trump as your president. You have to give the new administration a chance" bit.

I didn't vote for either of the Bushes. I accepted both of them as President. I wasn't afraid of either of them, although I was critical of certain of their decisions.

I accepted Ronald Reagan as president. I was very critical of his decisions. I was afraid that he might make a stupid decision that would end us up in a nuclear exchange. I still didn't despise him to the core.

I never thought that Reagan or either of the Bushes were inherently evil. I thought that there were ways in which they were misguided. I didn't think that joking about Reagan's Alzheimer's disease was funny.

I don't know if Trump is "evil" per se, but he is not a good person. He is a con man. However, I also don't think he's actually in charge. I think he's a puppet, and I think that those who are pulling his strings are very, very bad people.

You know how they say that one bad apple spoils the barrel. Well, there are a lot of bad apples in the barrel right now. If we don't get them out, they are going to destroy our country.

I do not accept Donald Trump as my President, and I do not accept this new administration.

If that makes me a "special snowflake," then I'm proud to be a special snowflake alongside people like Marty Walsh, the Mayor of Boston, who is resisting the bad decisions made by the new regime because they are harmful to the people of his city.

When enough special snowflakes resist, we can become an avalanche.

Let's be the avalanche.

~Sly~

Copyright: juliahenze / 123RF Stock Photo

Sly Says: Wake Up, People!

Image by Shepherd Fairey

For anyone still believing that everything is fine, that people like me are just being overly dramatic and/or unpatriotic, who still think that we need to give this new regime a chance, well, don't take my word for it. Just look at what has happened in the space of a week since tRump and his cabinet of deplorables took over.

Those who study authoritarian regimes suggest keeping a list of abnormal events after a demagogue is elected, as a way to remind yourself that this isn't normal and to keep from being overwhelmed into acceptance by the onslaught of attacks on our rights.

Here is a list below. We are 4 days in.

As the author says, "when you see all of this in one list, it is easy to get overwhelmed, at first-- it is also easy to see a pattern and to finally, finally recognize that none of this is normal, nor is it ok."

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy.

* On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen.

* On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations.

* On January 20th, 2017, roughly 230 protestors were arrested in DC and face unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers, journalists, and medics.

* On January 20th, 2017, a member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical condition.

* On January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press.

* On January 21st, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest audience of any in history, “period.”

* On January 22nd, 2017, White House advisor Kellyann Conway defended Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts” on national television news.

* On January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back.

* On January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a medical option.

* On January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China.

* On January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote.

* On January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in.

* On January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote.

* On January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and will hang in the White House press room. The photo is of the 2009 inauguration of 44th President Barack Obama, and is curiously dated January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history.

* On January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants and contracts.

* On January 24th, 2017, the USDA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted by the White House.

* On January 24th, 2017, HR7, a bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote.

* On January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human Service nominee Tom Price characterized federal guidelines on transgender equality as “absurd.”

* On January 24th, 2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that would legalize hitting and killing protestors with cars if they are on roadways.

* On January 24th, 2017, it was discovered that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of clients and sources. 

~Compiled by Amy Siskind~

Shared by:

Copyright: juliahenze / 123RF Stock Photo

Sly Says: So I'm an Alarmist, Eh?

And so it begins my friends...
In Case You Missed It
The Senate voted 51 to 48:
1. To end coverage for preexisting conditions, veterans benefits, and aid to rural hospitals.
2. To remove discrimination protection for women in healthcare.
3. Against the provision allowing children to remain on their parent's insurance till the age of 26.
4. To cut off funding for the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
5. Against ACA contraceptive coverage and maternity care provision.
6. To direct committees to send budget legislation to de-fund and repeal the Affordable Care Act.
For those who get health insurance through work, no pre-existing conditions. Lifetime caps for coverage are back for everyone.
Real actions are being taken that will affect more than just the 20-30 million people who will lose their health care coverage and the 3 million people who will lose their jobs.
Despite their assertions of this being an action to "repeal and replace," no viable alternative plan has been proposed.
As of this moment, no replacement exists.

Send letters. Tell how you or someone you care about will be hurt by these changes.

The White House has turned off its public comments site and they all ignore email. Need postage? Let me know. I bought a bunch of stamps today, so I can help if postage stamps are not in your budget.

Apparently, Speaker Ryan has had his phones cut off because of the volume of calls, so here is his mailing address:
1233 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Fax: (202) 225-3393

I'd also urge you to find out which way your state's senators voted and give them a piece of your mind (positive or negative), and then keep this in mind when elections come around again.

COPY AND PASTE THIS. EVERYWHERE!

~Sly~

Copyright Juliahenze@123rf.com

Sly Says: Melania Trump, the First Victim

Pity and do not ridicule Melania Trump. In her narcissistic husband's eyes, she's just another one of his possessions. I don't think she really wants to be part of this. Much as he's wretched and deserving of all criticism levied at him, I think she needs to be left out of the attacks. For those who say "why doesn't she just leave?" it really isn't that easy to "just leave." Once a person has been gaslighted for a long time, they come to doubt their own thoughts and feel that perhaps either things aren't "that bad" and they're just being "dramatic" or they fear that things could get worse if they leave.

We need to keep our criticisms confined to those who can actually do things that ruin our lives. That means the Rump. His adult children aren't immune from criticism, although I'm uncomfortable with attacks on Ivanka which insinuate that she's somehow a willing partner in his creepy behavior towards her. Laughing it off is not the same as willingness.

Barron should definitely not be attacked. As a minor, he really has no say. His actions at the inauguration were those of a child who was bored and uncomfortable with what was going on.

The Rump's elder sons seem to be real chips off the old block. I have no respect for anyone who pays for canned trophy hunts to prove their "manhood." And lest we forget, there was the infamous comparison of Syrian refugees to Skittles. Raise the rotten produce and launch, as far as those two are concerned.

There really doesn't seem to be that much to say about Tiffany. She doesn't have any influence.

The Rump is the one we need to focus on. Pictures of Melania from when she was a model are a non-issue. The woman went from one abusive man (her father) to another (The Rump.) She's suffering enough. Let's focus our criticisms on him, not her.

~Sly~

Copyright Juliahenze@123rf.com

Sly Fawkes Opinionated Opinions

Welcome to Sly Fawkes, where the members of Team Netherworld express our sociopolitical opinions. We are politically and religiously liberal. If you are too, you're gonna love us. If not, probably not so much.

We are U.S. based, but we welcome friends from all over the world. You are welcome to share your views on our politics, because what our nation does affects the world. 

You are welcome to commiserate and to (politely) debate.

We are all about positive change.

The current government scares the hell out of us, frankly. They have made America safe for hate and bigotry again. We've got the Clown in Chief, his more intelligent and far scarier second in command, and a whole cabinet full of monsters to make the Queen Xenomorph seem cuddly and lovable. 

I'm Cie, your hostess with the leastest. The leastest money and the leastest hope for the next four years, that is. I'll probably be doing most of the talking, but you'll meet some of my writing sisters and misters along the way. I never liked talking about politics and, until this year, only shared my opinion here and there. I was in no way, for instance, a fan of Mitt Romney, but I didn't talk about him that much.

I talk about what's happening now because...

Yes, I genuinely believe things are that serious.

We can't all be on the front lines, and there are some people whose opinions you won't be able to change. Don't let that get you down. We can keep working for the greater good together.

An organization which I am a part of (although I identify as an agnostic) and which I believe does wonderful work is Faithful America. They are a Christian organization on the front lines of the fight to stop the twisted version of Christianity which wants to turn the United States into a theocracy. Check them out. See what they're about. If you're in agreement with their views, join me in supporting them.

Some people feel that a person like me dislikes Christians or politically conservative viewpoints. I don't dislike people who identify as Christian, and I don't dislike people who identify as conservative. What we have in the White House right now, however, is not conservative, it's reactionary. It's pro-theocracy, anti-choice, and, in my opinion, a toxic Good Ole Boys club. 

Those of us who believe in something better need to fight against that.

I had been expressing my views on my philosophy and spirituality blog, but they were becoming too contentious. I want that blog to be there for discussions of such issues as metaphysics, philosophy and religion. The political discussions were making it a bit too much of a toxic waste dump.

However, I don't want to think of this blog as a toxic waste dump. I want to think of it as a cleaning crew. We expose the bad and try to turn it to good.

Let's do this!

The Real Cie

Crew Leader