Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Thu, Mar 22 2007
Blooper on my last post
I have been under the influence of allergy medicine this week, and I see that it has affected my ability to put more than three words together in a sentence. And so, my kind readers, I apologize for the heading of that last post, which should have read:
Be careful who you vote for or you might vote yourself out of a vote next time
The disturbing part is that I didn't even notice the error in the process of reading the heading aloud. Allergies may be hazardous to your health, not to mention your writing career, your peace of mind and your home life. My spouse has been tearing about on an organizational high lately, while I've been scraping by with a minimum of house tidying.
The lawns are a mess in California after the winter wet season (such as it was). I went outside to the back yard a few minutes ago and nearly tripped over a healthy Storksbill specimen that would have completely thrilled California naturalists on a field trip, but which prompted me to grab a short-handled shovel out of the tool cabinet. I used the shovel to give the spiky-looking beast a few jabs at its fat roots and left it to wither while the burr clover and other invasive plants continued to wave to me in the afternoon breeze. They can schmooze all they want to, but the battle is on.
posted at: 13:25 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I have been under the influence of allergy medicine this week, and I see that it has affected my ability to put more than three words together in a sentence. And so, my kind readers, I apologize for the heading of that last post, which should have read:
Be careful who you vote for or you might vote yourself out of a vote next time
The disturbing part is that I didn't even notice the error in the process of reading the heading aloud. Allergies may be hazardous to your health, not to mention your writing career, your peace of mind and your home life. My spouse has been tearing about on an organizational high lately, while I've been scraping by with a minimum of house tidying.
The lawns are a mess in California after the winter wet season (such as it was). I went outside to the back yard a few minutes ago and nearly tripped over a healthy Storksbill specimen that would have completely thrilled California naturalists on a field trip, but which prompted me to grab a short-handled shovel out of the tool cabinet. I used the shovel to give the spiky-looking beast a few jabs at its fat roots and left it to wither while the burr clover and other invasive plants continued to wave to me in the afternoon breeze. They can schmooze all they want to, but the battle is on.
posted at: 13:25 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Be careful who you vote or you might vote yourself out of a vote next time
I suppose we'll see this kind of thing from time to time, now that security-conscious lawmakers rush to placate those who think that proper paperwork is the best way to a more secure country. I grew up in one of the Missouri areas mentioned in the news article, and I can tell you that forcing Mennonites to have photographs on a driver's license is the last thing that Missourians (and the rest of us) should be worried about.
The violent, intrusive actions of fanatics on our planet seem to motivate society as a whole to force otherwise law-abiding citizens into a state of criminality, when all most of these folks want to do is follow their personal religious beliefs and make an honest living. The last people we should be mistreating in the name of security will be some of the ones hurt the most. Society's rules are increasingly produced by legislators who have been voted in by both liberal and conservative voters, many of whom have allowed themselves to be convinced that a set of rules will protect their life and property in the event of a crisis. We can't blame this kind of behavior on suicide bombers or extremist Muslim thought. If we say we want freedom in this country then we bear some personal responsibility to elect those who reflect that ideology. If we look the other way when the Mennonites suffer because they don't fit the majority mold then we shouldn't be surprised one day when we find our own freedoms restricted by moral choices that put us outside a majority we used to feel comfortable being part of.
posted at: 08:00 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
I suppose we'll see this kind of thing from time to time, now that security-conscious lawmakers rush to placate those who think that proper paperwork is the best way to a more secure country. I grew up in one of the Missouri areas mentioned in the news article, and I can tell you that forcing Mennonites to have photographs on a driver's license is the last thing that Missourians (and the rest of us) should be worried about.
The violent, intrusive actions of fanatics on our planet seem to motivate society as a whole to force otherwise law-abiding citizens into a state of criminality, when all most of these folks want to do is follow their personal religious beliefs and make an honest living. The last people we should be mistreating in the name of security will be some of the ones hurt the most. Society's rules are increasingly produced by legislators who have been voted in by both liberal and conservative voters, many of whom have allowed themselves to be convinced that a set of rules will protect their life and property in the event of a crisis. We can't blame this kind of behavior on suicide bombers or extremist Muslim thought. If we say we want freedom in this country then we bear some personal responsibility to elect those who reflect that ideology. If we look the other way when the Mennonites suffer because they don't fit the majority mold then we shouldn't be surprised one day when we find our own freedoms restricted by moral choices that put us outside a majority we used to feel comfortable being part of.
posted at: 08:00 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
