Dwain Northey (Gen X)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/naacp-travel-advisory-florida-says-state-hostile-to-black-americans/
Remember the good old days when there were only travel advisories and or ban for, what some would call, third word countries? Well now because of the vile vitriol of one Governor Ron DeSantis the state of Florida, a vacation destination, has received a travel advisory by the NAACP.
The wannabe future President has made the climate so venomous in Florida the anyone who is a part of any minority group does not feel safe in the state. Black, Brown, LGTBQ+, these are all groups that are under attack in the Sunshine State. The majority Republican legislature and their fearful leader has passed laws that make almost everything a jailable offence and the fact that the state has very loose gun laws and a stand your ground law makes it more dangerous than being a blonde female in central America.
Florida residents are able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, means that anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida can carry a concealed gun in public without any training or background check. This with their ridiculous stand your ground law, ‘Florida’s “Stand-Your-Ground” law was passed in 2005. The law allows those who feel a reasonable threat of death or bodily injury to “meet force with force” rather than retreat. Similar “Castle Doctrine” laws assert that a person does not need to retreat if their home is attacked.’ Makes it really sketchy to go there.
This in top of the don’t say gay rule and the new trans ruling that just passed.
“Florida lawmakers have no shame. This discriminatory bill is extraordinarily desperate and extreme in a year full of extreme, discriminatory legislation. It is a cruel effort to stigmatize, marginalize and erase the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth. Let me be clear: gender-affirming care saves lives. Every mainstream American medical and mental health organization – representing millions of providers in the United States – call for age-appropriate, gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.
“These politicians have no place inserting themselves in conversations between doctors, parents, and transgender youth about gender-affirming care. And at the same time that Florida lawmakers crow about protecting parental rights they make an extra-constitutional attempt to strip parents of – you guessed it! – their parental rights. The Human Rights Campaign strongly condemns this bill and will continue to fight for LGBTQ+ youth and their families who deserve better from their elected leaders.”
This law makes it possible for anyone to just accuse someone of gender affirming care to have their child taken from them this would include someone traveling from out of state. This alone justifies a travel ban to the Magic Kingdom for families.
Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned DeSantis holy war with Disney, the largest employer in the state. I really hope the Mouse eats this ass holes lunch.
Well that’s enough bitching, thanks again for suffering though my rant.
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Thought of the day.
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wing it
Don’t follow a recipe, something sounds good and I wing it.
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Honest Answer
Excited (?)
Dwain Northey (Gen X)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excited
There are numerous synonyms for excited and I have been pondering every possible permutation of the word trying to answer the question posted today. I can honestly say that I haven’t felt at all that particular emotion, if that’s what excitement is, in a very long time. So long in fact that it is hard for me to even remember ever being excited.
The truth is that something that most of us may have felt excitement or elation for in the past may now be a sour memory. I am sure we all have our own personal examples. So, I can’t sincerely answer the question… can say that I am not depressed, no need to worry about that. Do I need counseling, well probably.
At this moment in time, I am in the words of ‘Pink Floyd’ Comfortably Numb.
Song by Pink Floyd
Hello? (Hello? Hello? Hello?)
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone home?
Come on now
I hear you’re feeling down
Well I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again
Relax
I’ll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I’ve got that feeling once again
I can’t explain you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numbI have become comfortably numb
Okay (okay, okay, okay)
Just a little pinprick
There’ll be no more, ah
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it’s working, good
That’ll keep you going through the show
Come on it’s time to goThere is no pain you are receding
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numbHope I didn’t bum anyone out.
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Gleaming City on the Hill
Dwain Northey (Gen X)
The euphoric vison of the perfect future utopia I am afraid to say is not something that I can envision. The dystopian hellscape of Mad Max or Blade Runner I don’t see either but the path that humanity is on the dystopian predictions are a more likely scenario if we don’t collectively come to our senses.
The ideal city of the future would be one of abundance not scarcity, homelessness would not be a problem because instead of destroying previously used centers of commerce, i.e. shopping malls, would be converted into low cost if not free housing for those in need. These converted malls would provide shelter and the innumerable restaurants that discard food everyday would provide that, what was to be discarded, food to these centers that already have a food court because that was something that the mall already had.
There would still be Capitalism but those that have would not have millions of times more than every other citizen. There are currently countries that mandate that the CEO of a corporation can only make a certain percentage greater than the median salary in the company. For instance, if the median employee of a corporation makes $100k annually the CEO can’t be paid more than $1 million dollars annually… that is one thousand times the amount of others in the company. Yes, that still makes the COE rich. Currently there are a handful of people on the planet that control 75% or more of the monetary wealth worldwide, that is obscene considering the number living in abject poverty.
There will never be the perfect city of the future we can strive for better and there has to be equity of everyone. I get it this a dream that many have had, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandi, John Lennon… hopefully one day we will wake up and make it a reality.
Imagine (John Lennon)
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only skyImagine all the people
Livin’ for today
AhImagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, tooImagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
YouYou may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as oneImagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of manImagine all the people
Sharing all the world
YouYou may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as oneThanks again for suffering through my rant.
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What’s in a Name?
Dwain means “dark” or “swarthy,” and is an alternative version of Duane and Dwayne, with Duane originally being an Irish surname. This boy’s name comes from the Irish word dubh, which means “black.” With Dwain, you can pay homage to any Irish heritage with a name that feels both familiar as well as unusual.
Yes, I have heard the joke Dwain the bathtub I’m Drowning… Ha Ha
The Anglo-Saxon name Northey comes from the family having resided in the north, or were people who lived to the north of a main settlement. Northey is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are a variety of types of local surnames, some of which include: topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree.
Early Origins of the Northey family
The surname Northey was first found in Sussex where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the census rolls taken by the ancient Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.
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Motivation?
What motivates you?
That’s an open ended question. I read motivational books, currently 5am Club, and am part of a book club that talks about the current motivational book we are all reading. Mostly I am driving by the things that we are all driven by, paying the bills, keeping a roof over my head, keeping my 18 year old in line and motivated to get his life on the right track.
It’s all a game and focusing on getting through today and not stressing over what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow is all we can do.
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Random information
What are your top ten favorite movies?
This again feels like a password fishing exercise…. So I choosing not to go into it.
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Random Thoughts
What do you enjoy most about writing?
I enjoy writing because it gives license to the screaming voices in my head. There are times that I hear something that is just so insanely ridiculous that I just have to start typing and to argue every angle just to prove to myself that I am not stupid or insane.
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Why It’s OK To Use “They” as a Singular Pronoun
Dwain Northey (Gen X)
Stole this but thought it was important to share’
Pronouns have become a hot topic in both linguistic and cultural circles. Masculine pronouns used to be the default for any mixed-gender or unknown singular usage, but times, they are a-changing.
In comes “they.” Old-fashioned grammarians might hold onto the edict that “they” isn’t appropriate when referring to a singular person, but we’re here to tell you that it’s A-OK to use “they” anytime you need a gender-neutral pronoun.
The Argument About “They”
You have some options when it comes to pronoun choice. “He” and “she” have long been the favorites for referring to individual people, while “they” has prominence as a plural pronoun to reference groups of people.
However, this hasn’t always been the case. The Oxford English Dictionary has evidence of a singular “they/their/them” in use as early as 1375 in a medieval romance, William and the Werewolf.
In fact, the singular pronouns “they/their/them,” although not common, were used until the 18th century. That was when grammar scholars started to argue about whether or not “they/their/them” could describe a singular antecedent. They failed to remember “you,” which functioned as a singular pronoun but had been a plural pronoun at first. In fact, “you” lost its billing to “thou,” “thee,” and “thy.” Yet again, another instance of the modern being not-so-modern after all.
In any case, the use of the singular “they/their/them” began to decrease by the late 18th century, as more and more grammarians fought against their common usage.
Acceptance of a Gender-Neutral Pronoun
English is a living language — one that is constantly shifting and changing based on what is happening in our culture. The conversation around gender is constantly evolving, too. That’s how we find ourselves looking at “they/their/them” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun again. Many non-binary individuals prefer the encompassing and gender-neutral pronouns “they/their/them” to describe themselves.
In 2015, the singular “they/their/them” was added to The Washington Post style guide. And in 2017, the Chicago Manual of Style added commentary about the use of a singular “they/their/them,” stating that it was more comfortable with the use of “they/their/them” in informal English over formal writing. Also in 2017, The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook weighed in on a singular “they,” deeming it acceptable. The Modern Language Association followed suit soon after and added it to the MLA Style Manual.
Today, many style guides accept the singular “they,” and the Oxford English Dictionary — perhaps the most definitive dictionary — also stands behind it. Some grammarians still don’t accept its use for the singular, but this doesn’t mean that the use of it is grammatically incorrect. Instead, it’s just another example of language rules taking some time to catch up to the ways that the language is being used.
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Speaking Truth
Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void 
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