Here’s an op-ed by Thomas Friedman reminding us that the fight for gun control needs to move beyond social media, and needs to be bigger than marches and protests.
The NRA has a comfortable seat at the table and uses republican lawmakers as puppets.
We can scream gun control until we are blue in the face in person and on social media, but nothing changes until we elect lawmakers that haven’t been purchased by the NRA.
On guard. The revolution is nigh. Cows are dramatically escaping slaughter houses and navigating upon treacherous waters to find their way to safety. Humanity be forewarned. The revolution is ahoof.
Vegan baking can sometimes be a mystery. This is a recipe from an awesome cookbook, The Joy of Vegan Baking, that kind of demystifies the mysterious mystery. I brought this to a party recently and the hosts could not believe it was vegan. It’s a little cliche in that it uses tofu, but don’t let that fool you. This cake will absolutely satisfy and is well worth the effort. Give it a try, and if you’re non-vegan, this will make you wonder what’s really over the rainbow.
And I strongly recommend you check out this book. I’ve tried several recipes and every single one has been a winner. Tonight I made the German Apple Cake – really, really good!
Ingredients
Instructions
Bon Appétit
It’s official, as of yesterday around 11PM, my Facebook account has been deleted. Deleting wasn’t easy from either an emotional or technical perspective.
There is a lot of investment in having a semi-active account. The time one takes to read, post, comment, like–it all adds up and becomes part of a routine.
And what makes the decision to delete even more difficult is the thought of loosing access to some of your contacts forever.
But we have to separate the platform from the purpose. As a contact book it was adequate – but there are certainly better ones available. As a communication platform though it lost its way and its utility has run its course. There are much healthier ways to communicate without getting caught up in the noise.
Ultimately, the time I had invested in Facebook is greater than the return I felt I was receiving–and I don’t see that balance shifting now or in the foreseeable future. I’ve made the decision to move on. My good friends will support me and I’ll support them. I’m OK with cutting the chord with people I barely know. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again down the line and we and we can start over.
The thing with Facebook– if you delete and aren’t careful, your footprints will remain. I did my best in covering up those up, but I know that there are a few crumbs for it to feast off of.
Before I hit the delete button, I made sure to unlike everything, delete all of my photos, and remove the tag on every photo I was tagged in. I also ran a script to undo my entire history – this part took a while, and I don’t think I covered it all because I became a bit impatient. After all that, I then visited the delete my account page.
Done.
No longer do I have to worry about algorithm changes or any of the negativity involved just by participating on the platform.
As for the crumbs I left behind last night for the monster to eat, I hope it chokes on them. I would never wish death upon anybody, but a corporation isn’t a person, and with that perspective, saying good-bye is so much easier.
Facebook needs people to survive–people don’t need Facebook.
This is a tired topic. And for the president to tweet this:
So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2018
It’s an insult to our intelligence considering he made it easier for those with mental disability to own a gun.
Maybe its time we realize that the fight for gun-control in its current state is impossible to win. Screaming on social media and at the current congress isn’t going to work. Our government has been bought and it might be time to carve a new path.
Remember bump stops–they are still legal.
There has to be a better way of addressing this sort of domestic terrorism. I don’t know the solution. But if you have any ideas, get them out there.
Maybe the solution is as easy as not electing politicians with high NRA ratings. As long as they are in charge, nothing is going to change.
I have a 13 year old daughter who has both an Instagram and Snapchat account. On both platforms, and on others she has signed up for, she has been solicited for nude photos from friends and strangers.
It’s easy to block somebody or tell them to, “fuck off,” but that’s not the right thing to do, nor does it make the pain go away.
Did you know that a child asking another child for a nude photo is considered a very serious crime? And did you know that if convicted, a child can have a sex offender label attached to their record? I didn’t until I did some digging and called the Delaware County sheriff’s office and was redirected to the internet crime division, or the CID.
To investigate, the CID must comb through the phone of the victim. Once they investigate, they can prosecute, and ultimately, the child soliciting photos will be charged with a sex crime.
I don’t really think kids understand that their behavior on these devices are considered a real crime.
I know that in my daughter’s school, Springton Lakes in Media, PA, they receive internet awareness training in school, and training on how to use their school issued Chromebooks. But asking for nudes, and what to do when asked for nudes isn’t covered.
Students should know where to go when solicited for nudes and not be made to feel helpless. Being a child with a device is difficult enough.
I contacted the school asking her counselor if an assembly can be arranged with the CID. I feel as if they are pushing me off on this. These aren’t their devices that are being used. But the thing is, these are their students. They have a responsibility to educate here and provide a safe zone for learning.
Remember the just say no campaign? Officers would walk into school with their drug sniffing dogs and show us drugs and scare the hell out kids with horror stories. I remember one story an officer told about a guy who did so much cocaine that they burned a hole through the nostril bridge inside his nose. This person was able to put their finger up their right nostril, and the finger tip would come out their left nostril.
The CID offers a similar assembly. They can go into schools and talk to children about these crimes. I don’t think they could tell such a cool nostril story, but they can get the point across about the sex offender label.
I want the school’s attention on this. These are their students committing these crimes, and the victim’s are their students as well. If I don’t hear something positive from them, next step for me is to pen something for the local papers or get in front of the PTG. Children asking their classmates for nude photos needs to stop.
If your child is solicited for nudes, and you live in Delaware County, PA, call the CID and report the crime. Their number is: 610.891.4717. If you don’t live in DelCo, call your local sheriff’s office and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.