6-Pack Abs? Dressed to the 9s Finery?

Daily writing prompt

What details of your life could you pay more attention to?

View all responses

Preface: My headline’s purpose is to make light of superficial image makeovers; to point out how, against the backdrop of our mucked up world, such folly deserves less of our attention. As for what deserves more of our attention, let the blog begin…

`

Hmm, I might take, more seriously, that prompt ordered, detailed, Be-All-That-I-Can-Be self-appraisal were it not for the flip side of that coin; the all too real, precarious nature of 21st century life… correction… 21st century existence. Stated more bluntly…

Other than, someday, leaving behind a good looking corpse (inclusive of six pack abs tricked out with dressed to the nines finery), WTF would be the point?

Factoring in my turn of the century, legitimate gripes, the time is ripe for us, the justifiably pissed off electorate, to be top prioritizing the ballot box ousters of mucked up leaders / (f)lawmakers; and more to the point, begin empowering their successors; namely, the dedicated, humane humans who actually give a damn about warding off…

• Global Warming’s looming on the horizon climatic catastrophe
• Loser Trump’s re-installation, coup take-2 and vengeance tour
• Loser Putin’s use of nukes to blow up Ukraine & inflate his ego

I mean, how good looking can a corpse wind up when it’s…

• torn limb from limb by some force-50 tornado
• disfigured by the rolled out tanks’ tread marks
• little more than a heap of radioactive cremains

And that unholy trinity of end humanity issues represents only the tip of the iceberg… um… well… if there are any of ’em still floating about the (way too) high seas. Beyond that…

We must never back burner full-bodied legislation that could, once and for all, conquer poverty, hunger, homelessness, child labor, human trafficking, police brutality, racial-gender-income inequity, LGBTQ+ discrimination, ageism, ableism, sexism and every other negative ism known to human-un-kind.

In effect, my essay has just amended the daily prompt…

From: What details of your life could you pay more attention to?
To: What details of OUR lives MUST WE pay more attention to?

And if enough of our so-called leaders could be prompted by that amended version, it’d be entirely possible that, at long last, we’d be dealing with life’s most vital details on the grand scale, so much so, that by the time we’d wind up revisiting the individual level, nigh on all of our societal ills will have already cured themselves. At that point it’d be high time to…

• Pop the bubbly’s corks!
• Triumphantly hoist our glasses skyward!
• Propose a communal toast to our healthy global society!

`

`

`

Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Doubtful Thomas

Daily writing prompt

How are you feeling right now?

View all responses

Summed up in one word… DOUBTFUL.

In several more words… it’s the incivility; the widespread mean demeanor (particularly of a hyperpartisan nature) (especially Stateside), that’s got me wondering how much longer human-unkind can survive.

My following, nowhere near complete rundown of recent history zeros in on the substandard socioeconomic and sociopolitical conditions; all of which account for my misgivings. Check it out…

• leaders let inflation go hog wild to indulge their price gouger / piggy, big biz pals
• (f)lawmakers bestow massive tax breaks upon obscenely wealthy m/billionaires
• meanwhile the poorest of the poor folks, with nary a loophole, get taxed to death
• chickenhawks absolutely approve of Russia’s unwarranted war against Ukraine
• routine incidents of sociopaths shooting up schools, churches, grocery stores, etc.
• bigoted, brutal, judge-jury-executioner cops profile, maim and murder minorities
• rampant discrimination re women, people of color, LGBTQ+ (plus untold others)
• extreme U.S. Supreme Court justices flat-out deny women their bodily autonomy
• meddling misogynists insist pregnant individuals birth / rear their rapists’ babies
• domestic terrorists’ January 6th attack of the U.S. Capitol; all on behalf of Trump
• Trumpers shed tears for their heroes; aka the convicted / jailed Capitol attackers
• Trump will likely get-off scot-free re Jan 6th & his theft of Top Secret documents
• outwitted nitwits aim to reelect the twice impeached quadruply indicted Trump
• (mis)leaders/(f)lawmakers are still hotly denying global warming/climate change
• during the pandemic’s deadliest stretches, misfits had flat-out refused to mask-up

Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Alabaster Bastards: Quick Limerick

Subtitle: Black & White & Orange All-Over

`

The orange face paint; Kluxer Trump opts to plaster
Belies his bent; for robes / skin; alabaster
He loves to root for; validate
His cultists’ deep-rooted hate
and hellscape; where blacks serve; each white master

`

`

`

Be humans Vaxxed OR Unvaxxed, We
can still shed and spread the batcrap
crazy contagious coronavirus which,
in turn, spawns new variants; which,
in turn, could, eventually, render the
available vaccines worthless; which,
in turn, will drag out the pandemic’s
needless suffering, illness and death!

HENCE… this easy as pie, cover your
nose and pie-hole/hole-up heads-up:

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

An Unexpected UnFollowing

`

Several days ago, some unpleasant circumstances surfaced, resulting in my unfollowing a WP website.

That was unexpected, too, considering how, in the short time I’d been aware of these latter-day nomads, I had [1] thoroughly enjoyed virtually camping out / exploring the Canadian wilderness “alongside” them and [2] wound up totally impressed by their breath of fresh air writing style and breathtaking photography; all of which had made their travel-blog the next best thing to actually being there.

Alas, only to have my feel good buzz abruptly drowned out by the deafening cacophony of oppression’s clanging, rattling chains.

The problem surfaced… when they began [1] blogging about paying visits to the U.S. southern states and [2] literally paying descendants of Confederate generals / soldiers (traitors ALL to America) to take them on guided tours of plantations and mansions dripping with slaves’ blood, sweat and tears.

There can be little doubt, that indecent docents have always been hellbent on wrongfully perpetrating / perpetuating / presenting / promoting America’s absolutely indefensible racist history; obviously inclusive of the brutal beatings, whippings and lynchings of enslaved blacks.

We ARE speaking of the unspeakable… the very hatred which still seethes and surfaces in the here and now; on a nearly daily basis; i.e., each and every time, each and every rocks in the head, stone beneath sternum, out on patrol, out of control cop [1] profiles and pulls over black motorists, [2] brutally beats and tases them, and, in the tragic end, [3] whips out his/her service revolver to, in cold blood, slaughter their black detainees… correction… the blacks they enslave; all over what is nearly always tantamount to a minor driving infraction (e.g., expired license plate tabs).

While I don’t actually believe… that I’ve severed ties with bigoted bloggers, it is their naiveté that’s most bothersome. Fleshing that out, it’s their apparent belief that one can hobnob with bigots sans getting their own hands stained blood red.

`

While it is true that “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it”, it’s worth pointing out that revisionist history does not teach anybody anything worthwhile!

`

And more to the point… there are not many, IF ANY, down south docents’ tours, which correctly dress down / strip off the white hoods and robes to fully expose knuckle dragging Klansmen, who’ve bloodied the pages of American History; who, in words and deeds, continue to do the same within each new day’s breaking news (aka, history in the making).

Since it’s unlikely that these travel-bloggers will ever read this post, I can only hope that they’ve not gone completely noseblind to the stench of America’s racist past and present; that, somehow, they’ll self-realize how…

The best, and oft ONLY way… to effectively shut up bigoted history revisionists is to make damned sure they take a hit in their damned wallets. All people of good conscience will flat-out boycott their (mis)guided tours and NEVER, EVER buy into any of their alternate reality published SHIT!

For what it’s worth… I do hope that when these nomads plan future travels, they do realize that there are plenty of savory destinations to pick and choose from; populated by decent people far more worthy of their spent travel dollars.

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

A Definition for the Word “Woman”?

`

“On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to fill the upcoming vacancy by Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement on January 27, 2022 at the age of 83.”

Wikipedia [Read More Here]

During last week’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings, numerous Republican thespians, cast… correction… miscast in the role of legitimate legislators* posed questions to Ketanji Brown Jackson, which had little to no relevance to either verifying her stellar qualifications or evaluating her, essentially, flawless character. These bad actors’ actual intent was to raise the curtain on their political theatre, and in the process…

a. repurpose KBJ as their prop / property
b, vent deplorable male white supremacy
c. both bore / browbeat a person of color
d. all of the above

(btw, If you chose “d” go to the head of the class.)

* btw, I’ve granted them anonymity because they’ve already embarrassed themselves enough already. Beyond that, by and large, they’re all cookie cutter interchangeable; i.e., to know one grotesque Trumper Republican is to know ‘em all.

Of course, seeing how, at the very least, you do need one specific sample re their repulsive rhetoric, check out the following actual “Q” and “A”…

Senator (who identifies as a woman): “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?”
Ketanji Brown Jackson: “I’m not a biologist.”

While her “A” proved to be professionalism at its very finest, were anyone to ever pose such a “Q” to this layperson, check out my “A”…

CommonSenseTom: “Why not directly ask each human who identifies as such a being?”

My point being that each individual, who identifies as being a woman, likely harbors a uniquely personal definition; thereby making it absolutely none of my business (especially since I’m a man). I’d never have the audacity to assign, to anyone, the far too limiting / restrictive parameters; e.g., those typically presented within male sexist authored, plumbing only textbooks.

And, for that matter, seeing how ONLY one’s own primary care physician and other medical specialists should be allowed that privilege, that means that all laypersons, especially politicians and media political pundits, must BUTT OUT and STAY OUT, STAT!

Beyond that, with America now being a scant four years away from its 250th birthday, there’s no time like the present for We the New Millennium’s People to revise the following passage FROM THIS:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Founding Fathers / authors of America’s Declaration of Independence

TO THIS:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness; regardless of the contents of their private ‘drawers.”

18th Century Founding Fathers + 21st Century CommonSenseTom (Paine)

Granted, there’s probably a far more delicate, decorous way to express an underwear reference, but, hey, it’s the heartfelt, heady spirit of inclusiveness that really matters, right?

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

McConnell shows us who he/his GOP is

`

When a reporter held Senator Mitch McConnell / his Trumper-Republican Party (GOP) accountable for lynching the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; asked him what he had to say to the people of color who he/they had just screwed over (AGAIN), get a load of what that sagging, swaggering with white privilege, Klansman Kentuckian had to say…

“Well the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell • January 19, 2022 [View Twitter Clip]

Well, Mister Mitch, what’s actually misplaced, here, is your brain. Hmm, on second thought, seeing how “misplaced” implies that you just might be able to find your mind, someday, let’s amend that to read:

What’s actually LOST, here, is your mind.

Additionally, in response to Mitch’s bogus claims of it being easy to cast ballots, at least for now, that may be true for WHITE voters. However, IF… correction… WHEN his fascist peers eventually get their way (and when do fascists not get their way, huh?) even Caucasians will wind up screwed over!

And, that all duly noted, let’s move on to the multitude of responses to accurately assess that ass, Mister Mitch, for, in essence, having said that African American voters are not Americans.

Let’s have Ol’ McConnell try these three on for size…

The Good Fit:

Mitch’s Freudian Slip Is Showing

The Better Fit:

Tired, has been, Mitch, digging in on his white supremacyst (<–not a typo) roots, riding atop his high white horse, donning his spooky, white robe and white hood costume, has trotted out / Trump-eted / spoken his “mind”.

The Very Best Fit:

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Maya Angelou • 12:01 PM · Jun 12, 2015 Tweet [View Twitter Post]

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Fortune Cookie Blog: Oceans of Tears

What a crying shame it is, that there are never supply chain breakdowns;
no shortages when it comes down to the worldwide distribution of hatred;
the root of all evil; the relentless driving force behind bloody warfare, gun
violence, police brutality, terrorist attacks, insurrection, vile acts of torture,
enslavement, homophobia, fascism, racism, casteism, sexism and ageism.
Let’s make this New Year the moment we start drying our oceans of tears.

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Happy New Year… If You Want It

`

There’s an especially soul-searching song, which gets frequently aired and streamed during each year-ending holiday season; aptly titled Happy Xmas.

In the time it takes for a scant, human inhalation and exhalation, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the teamed Harlem Community / Children’s Choirs present the problem and offer up the (conditional) solution; all neatly, lyrically summed up within these scant seven words:

“War is over if you want it.” [full lyrics here]

John Lennon / Yoko Ono • c1971

As we know, all too well… wars, are not necessarily of the literal “rockets red glare”, “bombs bursting in air”, shoot ‘em out variety.

In words and deeds, such confrontations wind up “duking it out” as shouting matches taking place on metaphorical battlefields, alas, regrettably of human-UN-kind’s own making.

Let’s briefly flush and flesh them out…

• Microbially: Humanity v. Corona-V
• Ideologically: Progressives v. MAGA Maniacs
• Environmentally: Cool Ecologists v. Hot Headed Deniers
• Socioeconomically: Dirt Poor Impoverished v. Obscenely Wealthy
• Racially/Culturally: People of Color v. White Supremacysts (not a typo)

This distills down to… whether or not humanity gets conquered. Without a concerted cooperative spirit, We WILL lose that war; what few “survivors” that may still exist becoming an endangered species, heading towards extinction. However, the dismal doomsday scenario need not play out IF:

• Microbially: We stop fighting each other; let science referee us.
• Ideologically: We tell Trumpers to shove Fascism up their asses.
• Environmentally: We all concur it’s high time to clean up our act.
• Socioeconomically: We finally put an end to class war / casteism.
• Racially/Culturally: We evaluate others only as being good or bad

If that’s not a sufficiently convincing presentation… doubters must ask themselves:

• Microbially: Do you really want to be conquered by a mindless microbe?
• Ideologically: Does a Fascist’s asphyxiating choke hold really turn you on?
• Environmentally: Do you really wanna get blown away by freakish storms?
• Socioeconomically: Who are you to deny any human being a decent life?
• Racially/Culturally: Can you not grasp how, deep down, we’re all the same?

You may have noticed the liberal usage of the word We. That’s because We is Key to establishing the very cooperative spirit necessary to motivate people.

To encourage humanity to take that first baby step upon the high road to a grown-up, civil society.

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Nothing’s Left: Poetic Acrostic

`

`

`

Society’s frayed fabric; integrity bereft
Unravels and strands; its warp and weft
Fevers of covid and climate; exhibit heft
Freaky white elephant trumpets; lies ‘bout ballot theft
Eager confederates dredge, hyper-partisan cleft
Repress the free press; free elections; until nothing’s left

`

`

The acrostic’s message spells out / sums up the net effect on folks
who get oppressed by a stick-figure leader in a threadbare society

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`

Old Genesis Begets Odd Genesis?

`

Since January 1960, one dozen men have taken the Presidential Oath of Office and, once ensconced within the White House, they’ve all unpacked plenty of baggage; the type not necessarily quantifiable by calipers and scales.

Yep, character flaws did surface, ranging from Ho-Hum harmless to OMG grotesque. And owing to this phenomenon, far too often their work output suffered. Even the best intentioned of them (e.g. John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama) found it tough to advance agendas designed to work towards the betterment of society.

With each successive (oft regressive) regime change came the accompanying, ever lengthening laundry list of woes as will soon become evident below.

As a student, whose public school and college education heavily focused on higher mathematics and the sciences, I could not help but notice how, with each successive line of typed text, there was a resultant curve effect; reminiscent of plotted data on the graph’s X and Y axes; it’s downward slope eerily similar of those frequently accompanying studies that map out sociopolitical / socioeconomic ruin.

BTW, while this curve does “plot out” well on my homepage, as of my posting time, it’s uncertain that it’ll appear similarly offsite. Anyway, a mere “homeward bound” click can easily remedy whatever issues that may arise. That said, check this out…

`

Friday, Nov 22, 1963’s Kennedy assassination begat
Johnson’s insincere Kennedy impression, which begat
Nixon’s Watergate burglary/coverup scandal, which begat
Ford’s asinine, unpardonable pardon of Nixon, which begat
Carter’s well-meaning yet yawner administration, which begat
Reagan’s casteism, union busting, trickle down plot, which begat
Bush’s aping Reagan and sustaining his dense policies, which begat
Clinton’s adultery/satyriasis driven Lewinsky sex scandal, which begat
Bush’s 9/11 that begat 1984, two wars, torture and econ ruin, which begat
Obama’s rivals roadblocking his tries to birth believable change, which begat
Trump’s racism, sexism, covid bungling, tanked economy, & coup, which begat
Biden’s goals to end gridlock/covid-19; rebuild USA & go green; if unmet, to beget
?????????????

`

`

`

Stay Publicly / Properly Masked!
Stay Safe at Home!
Stay Healthy!

-30-

`

`

`

`

`

`

`