Tag: politics | Kimberussell.com

Catchup

Oct 07 2018

So hey, it’s been a while. Haven’t felt like blogging. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

(Clockwise from top left.)

In light of recent current events on this dark timeline where we now have Supreme Court Justice Ragey McPrepbro — and conservatism aside because at times I have voted Republican, is this the most sterling candidate he could come up with? — I signed up with Postcards to Voters and am writing til my hand cramps up. So you didn’t think President Trump would be a big deal and now you’re seeing the light? Vote. Vote right down that ticket, Governor down to town council.

I made lemon thyme salad dressing today with some of the thyme from my garden. Remy approves.

I also planted garlic. If the 80-degree October weather continues, I’ll have some this fall. Climate change, amirite?

And my manager rudely left for another company, so I sent an encouraging text on his first day. I’m nice like that.

Tuesday is show us your books day. I have 24 hours to get that post together.

(If I had a dollar for each time a man told me not to worry about Trump…)

Families Belong Together – Philadelphia

Jul 03 2018

When in the course of human events, you realize that current, government-sanctioned practices fly SQUARELY in the face of your idea that everyone should be Safe, Loved, and Warm, you get off your ass and go hollering.

Which is how I found myself in Philadelphia on Saturday for the Philadelphia Families Belong Together rally. Because I can’t be in this only for myself.

I took the train in. It was full of people of all ages, with crafty signs and optimistic smiles. It was one of the better commutes I had!

I met SMD from Life According to Steph, her husband MFD, and their friend Debbie. Local bloggers rule.

The crowd was impressive, given:
> Many locals leave the Philadelphia area the week of July 4th
> And many tourists arrive in the city the week of July 4th
> It was 95 degrees. Not it *felt* 95 degrees. It was a literal 95 degrees.

The speakers really shone. The organizers selected speakers of all ages and backgrounds, and they all spoke passionately about their experiences being immigrants, and of being incarcerated and having their loved ones incarcerated. There was laughter, tears, cursing, poetry, and songs.

Of course, the signs were amazing.

Instead of making a sign, I downloaded mine from the ACLU’s resource page, and printed 4 out at FedEx Office. Four 11×17, color, double-sided posters cost $23. I gave three away. Money well spent, IMO.

I stayed until the end of the rally and then headed home. Hot, tired, but pleased that I lent my (very horse) voice to the public outcry.

Other Safe, Loved, and Warm updates:

Postcards: After a few weeks off (I needed more stamps) I’m back into the postcard game. I plan on spending part of my July 4th writing them out.

Town Hall Meeting: I haven’t gone yet. I’m afraid I’ll be the only spectator there, which is silly. I’ll get there.

Resistbot: I’m in it about once a week now, down from every day. If you’re looking for a very easy entry into making your voice heard, try this!

My Resist Kit

Mar 27 2018

I mentioned before the steps that I am taking to become more involved. Two of those actions were phone calls and writing postcards. Here’s where I’m at…

I’m still using the Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience to guide my actions. I can’t recommend this list enough. Not only does it have action items without the usual screaming sky-is-falling hype you see on Twitter, it contains a multitude of links to the stories behind the issues, which I appreciate. It comes out on Sundays. I love it so much I toss her money on Patreon monthly.

I received this cloth portolio and the peace pin from the lovely Kristen when I was her bridesmaid. The pins are from Seattle.

Mondays I usually work from home, so that’s when I make my phone calls so I don’t bother my cubicle neighbors. I HAAAAATE phone calls. Once I aged out of the on-the-phone-for-five-hours days of my youth, I moved immediately into being fine never speaking on the phone again. Unfortunately, I live in a world where voice matters, so phone calls it is. If I’m contacting my reps about more than one issue a week, I make a phone call and use Resistbot.

On Fridays we drink fancy coffee and write postcards!

I was writing postcards wherever and whenever, which resulted in postcards scattered around the house, misplaced stamps, and cards not getting mailed. For the last FOUR YEARS holy crap time is whizzing by I go to a fancy coffee place on Friday mornings for breakfast before work. Turns out, it’s the perfect place to crank out the postcards! It’s not hard to get through at least 6 of them in a sitting. Plus, my office building has mail drop in the lobby so that’s less to carry home.

I received this cloth portfolio as a bridesmaid gift from Kristen WAYYYY back in 2011. It fits everything I need — postcards, pen, action list, and postcard stamps. The pins from Seattle give it a bit of an edge. Now I can toss my supplies in my bag without worrying about stamps peeling loose and self-adhering to my wallet. (It happened.)

My Resist Kit!

I still need to hit up a city council meeting because someday I feel like I’ll need/want to speak at one, and I want to know what they’re like before that happens.

I've been blogging for over 16 years and I'm apparently one of the few over-40 female bloggers who haven't sold out to THE MAN yet; hence this blog remains quirky, homespun and unprofitable. No big.

~~Wife. Dog lover. Slob.~~ I live in Southern New Jersey with my husband WM, and our dogs Ollie and Murphy. I work a fun (really!) office job in Philadelphia. So if you're looking for a childless, slightly round, marginally boring GenX woman's blog to follow, you've come to the right place! :)

Kimberly's bookshelf: read

The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

Welp, that ended abruptly. The version I have includes additional short stories, which I thought were part of the book, so when this story ended, I thought the second half of the book would be the others' responses to ... the events that...

tagged: fiction, women, and own-ebook

We Should All Be Feminists

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

So very good. Beautifully written, and really hits home. It was refreshing to read about feminism in a viewpoint other than that of my white, middle-aged, ladyfriends. :) Every middleschooler should be issued a copy of it. It was supe...

tagged: nonfiction, borrowed-from-library, and women

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly

tagged: nonfiction, history, and women

Tag - politics