Just Between Me & Him

 Psalm 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud.

He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many people will see this and worship Him.

Then they will trust the Lord."

"Lord, I need *something*, but I don't know what. I'm just gonna ask you to give me what *You* think I need, because right now I don't have a clue."

You can pray that kind of prayer --I do it quite often. It doesn't mean everything's on fire and you don't have a hose or anything, sometimes it just means you feel like you zigged where you should have zagged, and you just want to get back on track, where you belong.

I think He listens to those prayers, probably gets them more often than you think He does. And probably from people you wouldn't think pray them...

The Conservative Feminist Perspective: A Balancing Act of Values

In today’s socio-political landscape, navigating between conservatism and feminism presents unique challenges, particularly for those holding pro-life views. While mainstream feminism often aligns itself with progressive ideologies, conservative feminists reject the notion that the empowerment of women is inextricably tied to liberal policies. This ideological divergence becomes especially clear when critiquing politicos whose recent comments inadvertently suggest that the true beneficiaries of abortion are not women, but men. For conservative feminists, this stance highlights the hypocrisy of a movement that claims to champion women’s rights while overlooking the economic and societal exploitation that legalized abortion enables.

The disconnect between image and substance within the Democratic Party is another point of critique. Figures like Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey often gain more attention for their appearance or celebrity status than for the content of their political rhetoric. The fixation on aesthetics over policy creates a superficial allure that distracts from the underlying problems plaguing the party. Whether I'm questioning Harris’s competence with satirical jabs about her water bottle contents or noting that Oprah’s purple outfit was the most memorable aspect of her appearance, these critiques reflect frustration with how style frequently eclipses substance in contemporary politics.

For those like myself who reject both the Democratic platform and Trumpism, the middle ground is a lonely yet principled stance. The Clintons serve as emblematic of why many conservative feminists have distanced themselves from both major parties. Their brand of politics, perceived as self-serving and morally bankrupt, epitomizes the corruption that conservative feminists aim to avoid. Yet, the reluctance to embrace Trumpism reflects a rejection of populism and a desire for a conservative movement grounded in intellectual consistency, ethical principles, and policy over personality.

Ben Shapiro’s commentary resonates strongly in these circles because of his ability to articulate conservative values with precision and clarity. His discussions often highlight the contradictions within the liberal feminist agenda, especially when it comes to issues like free speech, gender ideology, and religious freedom. Engaging with his content allows for a reaffirmation of a conservative worldview that sees feminism as compatible with traditional values, provided that it remains rooted in truth and moral clarity rather than the shifting sands of political trends.

In a polarized environment, the conservative feminist perspective carves out a space where both women’s dignity and conservative principles coexist. By refusing to be pigeonholed into either mainstream feminism or partisan populism, conservative feminists champion a vision of womanhood that prioritizes integrity, moral responsibility, and a commitment to the defense of life and liberty for all.

Angry Rant on What We Do to Creators

 How tacky can people be? Apparently, pretty tacky.

It's no secret that things are tough all over, financially speaking.

But to go to Etsy or Ravelry or wherever and *encourage* people to not pay for patterns, *and* to do it b/c the crochet designer is *nice enough* to post tutorials about her work on YouTube (which I happen to know isn't easy just doing a video where you blithely talk into a phone cam, let alone put in the work to create actual tutorials) is what I would call the height of entitlement!

No artist owes you free stuff or free work hours (craft items can take *many* hours to complete, let alone create the design for and work out instructions for, etc.) which art creators have to put in in order to make what we buy from them. Those that are nice enough to add value to what they sell by making teaching videos or blog posts should most definitely be supported if one can.

And it should go without saying that *encouraging* others not to buy requires a special kind of nasty that seems to only be found among the very privileged. As a former retail worker, guess who I saw most often stealing and attempting to steal (expensive, non-essential stuff?)

It wasn't angry bands of teenagers of color, looting at a BLM riot. It was polished, comfortable looking white ladies (probably the kind that go to Harris/Walts rallies) whose cars and clothing betrayed the fact that their monthly salaries were likely more than I'd make in a year. The kind of "customers" I have grown to revile. 

Karens.

This type of entitlement and larcenous attitude toward creative workers isn't limited to fiber artists. Since I've been on the internet for almost 30 years now, I've seen all kinds of artists, writers, and creators get taken advantage of in a myriad of ways.

If you are a creative, be vigilant and don't let people mess you over!

And those of us who are patrons of the arts, do let's be gracious, and mindful of the blood, sweat, and tears artists put into their work!

Journaling

 Today was reading a book on journaling and was taken with how "privilege" oriented it was, if that's the word I'm looking for.

"Make a list of 50 things you're glad you did in life." presupposes that everyone has that many things that they even did in life, let alone 50 that they're proud/happy about. Because things like illness, depression, and other people controlling my life, I don't have a lot of "achievements" to point to.

Grateful for: The fact that my life doesn't equal how many "achievements" I rack up.

After the Past Couple of Weeks

What with the events of the past two weeks, I feel that this will be the year I go harder (or rather, more unmoving) on being politically conservative.

X & Threads followers, hang on, or jump off as you will, I care not.

And Even though I'm enjoying the RNC, I still won't be voting for Trump, but I'll be voting straight Constitutionalist, which I've been registered as since 2016, when I threw my hands up and rage-quit the Democrats (No moar Clintons!!!) Mainly, I am feeling a growing distaste (more so than usual) for the left-wing media.

I feel like I also need to tone down my own rhetoric, as I'm getting really disgusted w/that of the left wing, and maybe I should try to be a good example? A soft answer turns away wrath? That's in the Bible -- which has really got to be my moral compass as time marches on.

I have to say I am really repulsed by a lot of stuff being thrown around. Over on Threads they're applauding Musk taking X to Texas, in a "don't let the door hit you on the way out!" kind of way. They think everyone in X is a Nazi, good job, liberals.

I come back over to X and find people sniping at Pence like he pulled the trigger on Saturday -- that's not being a good Republican, that's just being kind of trailer trashy.

Well, anyway, those are my current thoughts.

About last night...

The feeling I'm having from last night is very similar to the one I had back in 2016, when I got angry w/Hillary, or whoever was working for her, refusing to let all votes be counted in the primary against Bernie.

I was a Bernie bro, back then, thinking I would always be a lifelong Democrat as I had been since I was first able to vote in the 1980s. That was how my family voted, and it seemed right at the time. I wasn't so much enamored with the socialism aspect of Bernie, I just liked his way of being (still kinda do, actually.)

But seeing the corruption, the dirty dealing and the "Oh just shut up and go with it." of Hillary's people that year, it felt as if scales were falling off my eyes, and I even realized Bernie was kinda weak too (and a commie!), the way he just fell in line.

Even though I will NEVER be a Trump supporter, over time I couldn't disagree with his idea about "fake news." The mainstream media, I started realizing, were going at things as though they had an agenda , perhaps only brought on by Trump's pettiness, but it became obvious to me, they really didn't like him, and were seemingly starting to say to  themselves, "Hey, we're not without options here, we control the narrative, we're how most people find out what's going on in the world..."

It's the whole system of how "the truth gets told." For many years now, we just WATCH these panels of "expert pundits" spout their opinions, accepting them as the gospel truth, accepting the ones spouting off w/o questioning why we should trust them, etc.

This is what comes from people not wanting to read books, or get familiar with things like history or the Constitution, or even seeking out people who *have* done those things & are willing to share & educate about what they know.

Or learn things like Critical Thinking, where you start realizing things like, "news *commentary* is actually NOT the news, it's just someone's *opinion* about the news", and, "that station constantly running *different aspects* of *just one story* for hours on end isn't actually keeping me informed."

I really think that for awhile now, that's what's been happening. And I feel a little bit the way I did when I stopped being a Democrat, even though I would never vote for Trump. 

We'll all be *incensed* over this for a couple of days. Then we'll go back to consuming media. Then it'll get worse.

Something That's NOT About Trump...

I didn't have it on my bingo card for June that people were once again gonna be trying to cancel Adam Driver (if that's not what's happening, I apologize, not my intent to harm anyone in the rat fandom.)

I think (and this may be because a lot of us rats are on the younger side(not me I'm gonna be 58 this month)) people have trouble accepting everyone, and being a little gatekeep-ey about things.

It's not for me to tell everyone what to think, and there are a lot of things in this fandom I won't talk with other fans about because there are issues I'm pretty sure I would disagree with others on. You can look at my profile and tweets (if you've the stomach for that) and see that I have a lot of strong opinions that not every rat shares.

But you also won't see me "correcting" fellow fans or the like, because I know we're such a big group there are lots of different kinds of people in it, and people have a right to be who they are, and think what they want.

I almost didn't become an Adam Driver fan b/c I was pissed that he killed Han Solo. I was in the hospital when I saw it, they were having movie night in the community room and I actually stood up in my wheelchair and threw popcorn at the screen & started yelling.

But now this whole thing of who he's worked with in the past and who he might be working with in the future has people in a tailspin?

I know I made a joke about "don't hurt our precious pookie bear". And there are people in Hollywood that I also don't care for or agree with. But to let it affect who I *do* enjoy? 

Maybe I'm telling everyone what to think, but I just felt like saying, go easy on each other over this, it's just Twitter, it's just movies, a guy can work with people who are abusers or have wrong ideas (sometimes people with wrong ideas just misunderstand stuff, it doesn't make them evil.) without it affecting how great they are.

Unless he does something like murder his family, which I don't see happening (maybe if they get in the way of his *cereal* consumption, or take away his rotisserie chicken?) Adam Driver is pretty unproblematic to me.

I'll be a Driver rat till I die. Not that everyone else has to be, but go easy on each other. There's no reason to chop each other up over things.