“Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” — John Lewis
Doomscrolling refers to the compulsive and often anxiety-inducing practice of obsessively scrolling through social media or news feeds, particularly for negative or distressing content, with the expectation that the news will be bad.
I stopped watching mainstream news the morning that the fake election results were announced. I’ll never believe that muckrat and the orange POS along with a foreign entity did NOT alter the results. I’m convinced that Kamala Harris should be president.
Instead of watching the news, I’ve participated in a few protests. While the Hands Off rally on Saturday in downtown San Diego is predicted to be HUGE, the Tesla Takedown Day in my little city wasn’t as big as some others around the country, but we were passionate and devoted to showing up to make a difference.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
As the wonderful John Lewis also said, “Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society”.
This showroom is in an obscure business park with not too much traffic, but we were united in our passion to DO SOMETHING to save democracy and this country. Unlike other events in the area, this was peaceful. No one shot us with BB guns, none of the people at Tesla came out to intimidate us, and there were no shouting matches on either side.
However, if you count the cars that honked in solidarity as they drove by, it was a resounding success.
I’m not so sure next week’s event will be as tranquil or serene, but it’s definitely going to be exciting.
We don’t want Greenland or Canada; we want our Social Security (NOT an entitlement), health care, education, our data private, muckrat deported, the other one in prison, and PEACE.
Oh, and make sure to tell muckrat and his cronies that no one PAID us to attend; we’re participating to SAVE DEMOCRACY from people like HIM.
Have you ever fainted? I don’t mean like those fainting goats (also referred to as stiffy goats) who don’t really faint — they suffer from a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, which causes their muscles to stiffen and often fall over when startled or excited — but they don’t lose consciousness, which is the hallmark of true syncope.
And by the way, it’s kind of abusive to startle those poor goats and laugh when they fall over…it’s really not funny, even though Honey Badger was…
Back to MY story. I can’t even recall the last time I fainted, but it happened a couple days ago.
Here’s the scenario…
I was on the sofa watching an older British medical drama called Peak Practice and fell asleep for a few minutes. When I awakened, I jumped up and ran downstairs to draw the curtains and make sure the house was locked up and secure for the night.
As I pulled the drapes closed, I started to feel hot, kind of nauseous and lightheaded, all very clear signals that one should heed, but as I usually do, I ignored every single sign and continued until I became so dizzy that I felt I should go to the sofa on the other side of the room and sit down.
But I didn’t get there in time.
I must have lost consciousness momentarily because the next thing I recall is being down on the floor near the fireplace. A lamp had been knocked over as well as a table with one of my favorite plants, Rattlesnake (Goeppertia insignis). The pot was smashed and there was dirt all over the rug.
I lay there for a few seconds as it was actually quite peaceful in a weird way, and began to triage myself for any major injuries.
Luckily for me, there was no damage except for some gnarly bruising where I hit the fireplace.
This would have been a different story if it had been my head on the bricks, that’s for sure.
I was upset with myself for not paying attention to the warning signs and even more so for the mess on the carpet.
Fainting spells/syncope — are a sudden and brief loss of consciousness caused by a temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain.
When I felt sufficiently recovered to sit and stand without a recurrence of any dizziness, I ran upstairs to check my pupils which were normal; round, reactive, and equal. My heart rate was strong and steady, not tachy or weak.
Here’s the best part…
Crazy person that I am, the next thing I did was drag the vacuum downstairs to clean up the dirt because I knew that the longer it stayed on the light gray carpet, the more likely it would stain, which would really stress me out. I picked up the fallen lamp and the broken pot, and sucked up the dirt. I ran back upstairs for a rag, bowl of water, and carpet cleaner, and started scrubbing.
When I figured I had done enough (damage AND cleaning), I went to bed.
The next morning I felt fine and I can only assume I experienced an isolated syncope episode and it’s nothing to worry about. Maybe I was dehydrated, maybe my potassium levels were off, maybe I stood up too quickly, maybe I had fallen asleep in a weird position, maybe someone was playing around with a voodoo doll and some dark arts– I have no idea.
Today my body is pretty sore and the bruises are blooming. I’m drinking a lot of water because dehydration was the most likely culprit. Also, I realize that it might be prudent for me to slow down just a bit and cease running up and down stairs, because that never seems to end well for me, like last year’s split leg catastrophe…https://enchantedseashells.com/2024/01/21/tales-of-the-er/
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson, right?
From emergencyphysicians.org, here’s what to do:
If you feel faint, either lie down or sit down immediately. If you sit down, bend forward with your head between your knees to help get the blood flowing to your brain. Wait until you feel better before trying to stand up. If someone else faints, position the person on his or her back and elevate the legs above the heart, if possible. Check for signs of breathing. Loosen belts or restrictive clothing. If the person doesn’t regain consciousness within a minute, call 911.
“Spring has returned. The earth is like a child that knows poems.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
I woke up at dawn to watch the arrival of the sun and the sky was spectacular! The birds are singing and my resident hawks are nest building. All around me, I see evidence of rebirth.
You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.” – Pablo Neruda
This year’s Spring Equinox on March 20 corresponds with Venus retrograde, Mercury retrograde, eclipse season, and Neptune’s entry into Aries for the first time in nearly 165 years.
“Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the rhythm of the year, from his unison with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and the equinox!” — D. H. Lawrence
The vernal equinox marks the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun crosses the celestial equator, resulting in equal day and night hours.
This event symbolizes rejuvenation, new beginnings, and spiritual awakening — the perfect opportunity to embrace change and harmony between light and dark.
“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature; the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” — Rachel Carson
Many pagans today celebrate the spring equinox as ‘Ostara’, which is a Latin variation of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn, spring, fertility, and rebirth — Oestra (or Eostre) with roots in Germanic cultures.
New ideas are calling out to us. The animal world is buzzing with new life. This month is about trying new things out: What excites you right now? What are you interested in? What are you drawn toward?
Just like we plant seeds in the ground to watch them grow and eventually harvest fruit, flowers, or vegetables, which seeds will we plant in our minds and hearts? What will we manifest? What will WE grow?
Image curated from Pinterest. Credit to the artist.
We are living in sad and scary times. Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote the poem “Pity the Nation” in 2007, drawing inspiration from Khalil Gibran’s original work of the same title, published in 1933. Their words are a reminder about the cycles of history.
We’ve been warned.
PITY THE NATION
Pity the nation whose people are sheep And whose shepherds mislead them Pity the nation whose leaders are liars Whose sages are silenced And whose bigots haunt the airwaves Pity the nation that raises not its voice Except to praise conquerers And acclaim the bully as hero And aims to rule the world By force and by torture Pity the nation that knows No other language but its own And no other culture but its own Pity the nation whose breath is money And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed Pity the nation oh pity the people who allow their rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away My country, tears of thee Sweet land of liberty! Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 2007
PITY THE NATION By Khalil Gibran, 1933
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
Everyone I know is deeply ashamed of this country and very sorry because however it occurred, the orange POS and his puppet master Muckrat are in charge of destroying democracy and our relationships with our allies.
I learned that my greatgrandmother emigrated to the United States though Ellis Island from Kviv, Ukraine, so I feel like Ukranians are my people, too.
Did you see this horribly hostile attack of President Zelenskyy by the sofa-lover Vance, the orange POS, and Hegseth, (who’s supposed to be the Secretary of Defense but I don’t acknowledge him, either)?
It’s absolutely abhorrent! We support Ukraine 1000%
VANCE: Have you said thank you once? ZELENSKYY: You think if you speak very loudly— TRUMP: He’s not speaking loudly. You’ve done a lot of talking. You’re not winning this. ZELENSKYY: Mr. Trump, you are increasing the volume of your voice, but not the logic of your argument. Ukraine is still standing. We are still fighting. HEGSETH: Look, we have to be realistic. America can’t fund this war forever. ZELENSKYY: Realistic? Like when your Defense Secretary Hasgeth refusing to even say Russia invaded Ukraine? You couldn’t admit the truth, and now you want to lecture me on reality? HEGSETH: This is about diplomacy. We need a negotiated settlement. ZELENSKYY: Diplomacy? Putin broke every ceasefire, every treaty, every promise. What kind of deal do you think he wants? One where Ukraine still exists? TRUMP: You don’t have the leverage. You don’t have the cards. ZELENSKYY: Because you keep taking them away—blocking aid, repeating Putin’s lies, pretending this war is already lost. VANCE: You should be grateful. The U.S. has given you a lot. ZELENSKYY: Grateful? My people are dying while you sit here demanding I smile and shake hands with my enemy? Gratitude will come when Russia is defeated. HEGSETH: But Ukraine needs to be realistic. There are limits to what America can provide. ZELENSKYY: And are there limits to what Russia can take? Or do you just let them redraw borders by force? TRUMP: It’s going to be very hard to do business like this, Volodymyr. ZELENSKYY: Ukraine is not a business deal. We do not trade away our sovereignty. We fight for it. VANCE: But for how long? What’s the endgame? ZELENSKYY: For us, there is no exit. We win, or we cease to exist. The only question is whether America stands with us.
I really hope we all have clear skies tonight so we can witness this special celestial event of an extremely rare seven planet parade. Our next opportunity won’t be until 2040!
Today is a powerful and magical day. Let’s focus on being positive and visualize our most desired outcomes.
Sending love and light and don’t forget to look UP!
That orange POS and his puppet master, Muckrat, are doing their level best to destroy America.
Not only have they fired thousands of government employees, in 2020 his administration delisted the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Some Federal protections for gray wolves were restored across much of the United States a couple years later, but a new threat to decimate the entire wolf population is real.
Regarding the environment and according to Defenders of Wildlife, President Biden took sweeping, historic action to permanently protect more than 625 million acres of United States ocean waters — and the wildlife living there — from the threat of offshore drilling.
Now the target of a Trump administration executive order to reverse course, coastal protections will be fought out in the courts, Congress and through engagement with the American public. At stake are protections for the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean in Alaska. Wildlife is caught in the balance.
You might think that’s bad enough, but this is chilling... Have you heard of the SAVE Act?
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would require all Americans to prove their citizenship status by presenting documentation—in person—when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. Specifically, the legislation would require the vast majority of Americans to rely on a passport or birth certificate to prove their citizenship. While this may sound easy for many Americans, the reality is that more than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
Because documentation would need to be presented in person, the legislation would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail; end voter registration drives nationwide; and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on. Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, including more than 60 million people who live in rural areas.
Additionally, driver’s licenses—including REAL IDs—as well military or tribal IDs would not be sufficient forms of documentation to prove citizenship under the legislation.
In short, the SAVE Act is disastrous legislation. The flawed leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has declared that passing the legislation is one of their top priorities for the 119th Congress.
These are the actions of the amoral architects of destruction. The people who have now seized power are determined to throw the United States into mayhem.
Are you scared yet?
P.S. By the way, it will always be the Gulf of Mexico and Mt. Denali. We all know that those stupid decisions were just smokescreens for the real damage to our constitution, right?
UPDATE: Haha, I know that the Philadelphia Eagles won! I didn’t watch it but I’m happy that the appearance of that orange POS caused the Chiefs to lose!
This is probably the first year since 1980 that I won’t watch the Super Bowl.
I don’t care about the commercials, especially not the ones about DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) from Muskrat, the half-time show, nor the actual game.
The Kansas City Chief’s quarterback Mahomes is incredibly unlikeable, as is his magatrumploving wife.
Travis Kelce is OK and the Taylor Swift connection is interesting, but that’s not enough to get me excited about the game.
During the regular and post season, I believe referee favoritism and the officials’ bias made some terrible and questionable calls in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs that caused the other teams to lose.
That’s totally unfair.
Some believe it’s a full-blown NFL conspiracy to boost TV ratings with the presence of Mahomes and Taylor Swift. Others think it’s the subtle bias that allows star players to get favorable whistles.
Another benefit to NOT watching the Super Bowl is not having to listen to the nasal whinging of plastic man and maga Tom Brady — NOT a fan.
Whatever. I won’t watch, but I hope the Eagles win.
P.S. Getting back to reality, we’re fully immersed in a constitutional crisis along with the death of democracy, which I feel is more important than the distraction of a possibly rigged sporting event.
When things are as bad as they appear to be here in the US, and with growing anxiety every day, sometimes all we can do is breathe and reach for the light wherever we can.
Light is the thing we seek Within the darkest of day, let it show us the way.
Little words by Athey Thompson “Reaching for that Star” by Florian Ceglarek
It’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore that absolute shitshow that’s going on in this country since that orange POS and his puppet master muskrat defrauded the election in November.
And yes, I truly believe that his “winning” was not the will of the people; with muskrat’s help and maybe aided by a foreign government, there is a growing fear that the vote was tampered with.
I can’t imagine what the rest of the world thinks about us. The deteriorating relationships with our friends in Canada and Mexico is hard to believe, but it’s all real.
We are living a worst case scenario.
While all this is going on, yesterday my local congressman posted smiling pics of himself in my city having a cup of coffee at a local place like democracy isn’t burning to the ground. Talk about not reading the room! You should have seen all the comments telling him to get back to DC and DO SOMETHING to stop this madness.
As much as I try to stay away from watching the news and becoming overwhelmed with dread, THIS can’t be ignored, no matter how hard I try:
From the BBC (as I no longer trust most US based news sources):
The Trump administration has given Elon Musk’s deputies access to the federal payments system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars in government funds every year, US media report.
[From Enchanted Seashells: To clarify, this includes Social Security payments, social security numbers, and banking information for those who get direct deposit.]
Reports suggest members of Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – which is not a government department, but a team within the administration – have been granted access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.
Two officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were reportedly placed on leave after a standoff with Doge members over access.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 