In Today’s Journal
* My Much-Expanded Quote of the Day
* Back to Writing
* Of Interest
My Much-Expanded Quote of the Day
Welp, what almost always happens has happened again. The incumbent president’s political party has lost control of the Congress. (Yawn, stretch.)
I suspect we can all agree that there’s at least one bright spot across party lines: Finally the oversized postcards and spam-folder-bound emails have waned (and will soon stop) for two whole years.
The citizens (probably et al) have spoken by either voting or not voting. Now we enter two years of revenge instead of governance.
But (another spot of good news) there shouldn’t be any violent rioting this time around—well, at least outside of Congress, oddly enough, on the part of the winners—so there’s that.
Just so you know, I don’t have a dog in this particular hunt. I’m only stating facts and a few personal predictions.
At last (at least when they aren’t milling and serving subpoenas), Congress can get away from thinking about the $40 trillion national debt, violent urban crime, and an entire generation of children struggling to read or do math.
Not that Congress did much about any of those things over the past two years. Or, come to think of it, over the past several decades, no matter who was in charge.
But now instead they can focus again on truly important matters, like issuing those subpoenas I mentioned above and holding ‘hearings’ and—with any luck at all—a few impeachments and certainly lots and lots and lots of ‘canceling’.
As a fiction writer, I’m tickled pink about canceling and other forms of censorship. Aren’t you?
Congress can also finally get back to deciding issues like which bathroom a transgender student should use and ensuring that biological-male athletes are ‘fairly’ allowed to compete on biological-female sports teams. You know, despite the obvious (but canceled) height, weight, and strength advantages that exist when you’re actually on the field, floor, or wrestling mat.
They can also get back to mandating that words like ‘accountability’ and ‘obesity’ are unkind, and to promoting and enacting ‘Good Ideas’ like defunding the police.
With any luck, they’ll declare the Immigration & Naturalization Service a terrorist organization who unreasonably harasses those nice people-smugglers, drug mules, and gun runners on our southern border. Not to mention easing up on the gentlemen and gentle ladies in the cartels down in Mexico who are, after all, only trying to eke out a living.
Oh, and maybe the new Congress will decide once and for all that being required to show voter ID before you cast a ballot is somehow blatantly racist (although obtaining the ID in the first place somehow is not).
I especially look forward to the natural extension of that decision, during which our Congress might correct another long-standing bias: Until now, pre-adults, by having to show ID at a liquor store, are being denied their right to get as blitzed as the next guy. I think we can all agree, that’s just wrong.
But whatever.
At least in the United States we have a kind of automatic justice. Or maybe it’s instant karma. In this country, for better or worse, we all—with either our vote or our apathy—create the world we’re living in.
Then we put up with it. Hey, good for us. I’m totally on board with that, especially that whole ‘put up with it’ part. Seems accountability eventually lands on all of us whether we voted for it or not.
As I told a friend a few days ago in response to a comment,
“What saves my sanity is the absolutely minuscule effect we and all our stupid human tricks have even on our own solar system, much less on anything beyond that.”
Hey, lucky universe.
Back to Writing
Ahh! What a relief!
For the foreseeable future, I’ll be focusing on finishing the recast of The Wes Crowley Saga: Author’s Cut. I suspect that’ll take me through at least the end of the year. That’s the one thing I want desperately to finish before my personal clock stops ticking.
So for awhile I’ll be posting less to TNDJ. To some of you, “Sorry about that.” To others, “You’re welcome.”
I’ll definitely continue to share some of the fiction-writing-related realizations that sneak up on me during that process for the few folks out there who want them. And of course I’ll keep reporting on the Bradbury Challenge (each Sunday beginning this week).
But goodness knows I have ample distractions.
For example, yesterday, smack in the middle of recasting part of the saga, I was overcome by the urge to write my autobiography.
At first, I thought Oh crap…. I neither need nor want another project right now.
But I succumbed to the siren song.
The good news is, the autobiography is finished! It’s very short, at least as autobiographies generally run, at only 46 words, including the title. Well, 49 if you include the copyright notice.
So apart from the silliness in Washington DC being settled and people being thrilled or annoyed or just plain bored with the business-as-usual results, that was another great relief.
I am blessed.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
WinsomeIdeas Need an author site but don’t want to bother with it? Take a look at this site. They’re helping me with my own author site. They’re based in Nigeria, but from what I could tell there wasn’t a Nigerian prince in sight.
raenest This is a payment portal, similar to PayPal but not as limited. Something to look into. It’s the best way I found to pay WinsomeIdeas.