Be Part of the Solution: Stand UP, Speak OUT!

Here in the USA the news reporters are talking about the “national anxiety” level most nights, kind of in addition to the weather report.

It’s torture to listen to the daily news now. We suffer not only from high anxiety, but also from Trump fatigue. You cannot escape it. He’s managed to turn our lives upside down.

Many people choose not to watch news because it stresses us out. I completely understand that perspective, but myself, I HAVE to watch. I HAVE to know what the hell is going on so that I am prepared and ready as things get worse – and unfortunately the situation with our current fake President will get worse; he will continue his path of destruction and stoke more and more hate. We must be prepared and we must continue to band together and fight against this corrupt administration and take our country back. It will take decades to heal and repair the damage done, but we must do it regardless of the discomfort and pain we will experience.

My girlfriend asks me what she can do. She’s a super busy woman, raising a special needs child and running her own practice. It’s difficult for her to find the time to take care of everything she must do as it is. So, for her and others who may have little time I am going to lay out a few things they CAN do that will require minimal time and effort, but will make an impact and keep the wheels of Democracy turning for the future of our Republic.

Join (and financially support as you are able) one, or three groups fighting for causes that you believe in. Whether it be voicing your opinion on women’s reproductive rights by supporting your local Planned Parenthood – or one in a state or locality where it is badly needed.

Some you may want to consider are:

Planned Parenthood Action Fund. From the White House to the Supreme Court, our basic rights are at risk. Defend reproductive health and rights wherever they’re under attack. Defending Women’s Rights. Women’s Health & Rights. Act. No Matter What. Fighting Extremist Laws. Types: Birth Control, Health Care Equality, Voting Rights. Link

Human Rights Campaign. The Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. Visit them and join at HRC.org

DLCC – Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee We elect local Democrats to statehouses across America.

Stand Up America – a grassroots group of millions of US citizens fighting the Trump agenda that is destroying America. Here’s the link. StandUpAmerica

GLSEN – Supporting youth in the LGBT community. This link will take you to their Safe Space kit,

Planned Parenthood – Official Site Planned Parenthood Federation of America is a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care in the United States and globally.

Democratic National Committee – find your local office and volunteer, write letters, send emails and texts to your representatives. They provide many templates and ideas.

Moms Demand Action working to end gun violence. This is a FAVORITE of mine, dear to my heart. Join this group, please! They are holding “August Recess Rally” around the country on August 18th – in hundreds of cities in all 50 states. They are the strongest anti-gun organization right now. The group started after the Sandyhook murders. Even if you don’t go to their rallies, at least you will know what’s happening with common sense gun reform around the country.

What else can we each do to help our country fight corruption, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia and to make America the safe, loving, receptive space for all of us???

Local elections are important to YOU and government STARTS at the local level.

Get to know your local representatives, Congressmen/women, Sentators, county reps, Mayors, Govenors, and those with political clout in your own state, county and city. Your state, county and town/city NEED you and WANT to hear your voice! If you don’t like how things are done where you live – change it! Become a candidate, join a campaign, volunteer, write and email your reps, get to KNOW their stances/positions on the issues like reproductive rights, gun reform, immigration, jobs, climate change, preservation of our national parks, and corporate welfare programs. Without our voices telling them what we want they are left to their own devices -which is NEVER good!!!

Yard signs, bumper stickers, posters in the workplace, etc. are all good things to do as well. Use your social media accounts to let us know you are concerned; you care and you are mad as hell that things have gotten to this point. You don’t have to post political stuff all the time like I do quite often, but maybe put a VoteBlue2020 hashtag on some posts, use interesting backgrounds that you can often get from the above sites. Be creative.

So, my “list” is just a smattering of what is out there. I will update this as time goes on, but I wanted to get this post up and hopefully help some of you get more involved without too much stress. The above are all good, solid organizations working for the good of America and all of us. Even if you don’t have a lot of time once you check out a site, sign up for their alerts and for them to send you information to keep you up to date on the important issues you can pick and choose what is feasible for you to do and become part of the solution to ending the insanity here in the USA.

Not everyone is cut out to follow and participate in politics like I am. And some of us, like me, are FURIOUS with the destruction taking place with Trump and his cronies in office. I don’t expect everyone to be as involved as I am, but you should KNOW the basics of what’s happening – before it’s too late. And you MUST vote!!! Always be aware of when and where your polling place IN YOUR AREA!!! Register to vote, if you are not already registered. And if you are a woman, did you know that if EVERY woman in America voted we could RULE this country EASILY. That’s a FACT.

Basically, just be a little bit more aware. Try not to stress yourself out, but don’t be complacent either. Do what you are ABLE to do and know that that’s enough. Leave the harder stuff for those of us who are crazy enough and have enough time on our hands to DO the footwork and the harder things. We are all in this together. Support each other, love each other and know that we CAN change things. Be a pebble in the pond…cause ripples that may just turn into gigantic waves!

Vote Democratic in the 2020 election. #VOTEBlue2020 !!!

I do hope that this resonates with you and helps those looking to become more involved. I’m always looking for more good suggestions / actions. So, if you want drop me a line at MainelyButch@yahoo.com or OneAngryAmerican2019@yahoo.com I would love to hear from other politically active women and about your local hot-button issues.

Peace ~ and remember…ALWAYS BE KIND! ~ MainelyButch aka Ang

Honest Blogging…what’s my take?

Fandango once again has piqued my interest with a post of his. It’s about how honest one is in their blog posts. The question is posed as follows:

How honest are you to your blog and as such, to your readership? Do you think you can be too honest, too open?

I feel like I have been very truthful and as honest as I can be with my blogs and to my readers. I try to convey what is happening in my life at the moment of the blog and sometimes my blogs are about recurring issues that I deal with; health issues, dog stuff, flirtations and even love. I’ve also written about my experiences with addiction, recovery, relapse and the more negative sides of my life. I’ve never proclaimed to be any sort of saint in my actions or on my life journey. I know I’ve fucked up, back tracked, and had to regroup my brain more than a few times over my 57 years. But life seems to happen in chapters, as I have discussed before, and I am always truthful to the current chapter that I am going through. My opinions and views on things will definitely change, everyone’s do. It’s just part of life and the result of one gaining more knowledge or experience that will change an opinion. Sometimes it’s just something that changes with time.

Currently I am in a really awesome chapter of my life. My 50’s have been some discovery years for sure. A decade of settling in fully to my authentic self and understanding that I am enough and that I DO matter in peoples’ lives. I have a place in this world, a vision and goals. Being brutally honest with my written word is one of those things that I intend to remain true to until the day I stop blogging…at which time I will be being pronounced dead, cuz I plan on blogging to the end.

As part of an older Butch crowd now I have more of a concern for those coming into their own at younger ages. They have to have good, solid role models and examples to learn from. I try to remember that. I may not be the best example of how to be, but I can definitely present some examples of how not to be, and advice on how to avoid perilous situations.

This blog was started back in 2009. Prior to then I blogged mostly on AOL’s former platform. When I quit there I sat and printed out ALL of those old blogs. While those are interesting because they reflect a much younger me as well as a much different me, they are integral to who I am today. It’s interesting to read through some of the really old stuff and try to imagine where my thoughts were at that time and why.

There are some topics in those old, printed blogs and even here on my Butch Perspectives blog that I want to revisit with today’s opinion vs. how I thought when I originally wrote about the topic. I am also going to do this with some of my old video vlogs on Youtube that are so far out-dated that I just have to update them and most likely remove the older stuff. It’s hard to know whether to leave the videos up or not. Right now I am planning to decide one video at a time.

It’s incredible how we continue to grow, learn and change throughout our lives. It’s really a non-stop process of self-preservation. We roll with the punches and adapt depending on what we are faced with or what is happening around us in the world. Attitudes come and go, change and revert. It’s not surprising that so many of us are in medically induced states of mind these days. Anti-depressants are our friends.

So, yes, I feel like I have been authentic and honest in my blogging – at least to the point that I am able to be. Sure, there are things in my head that I will never write about; incidents that are either too painful for me or others to recall in writing, or things that are just best left buried in the back of the darker part of my mind. Again, self-preservation rears it’s head.

Summer time in Texas….August oven!

I am currently in Texas with my girl and having a great time. I love being with her, every minute together we build memories that sustain us when we are apart. She has brought a light into my life that burns bright in my heart, warming my soul. She sparks passion in me that I thought long gone and it feels fucking amazing. I just want to wrap her in my love and protect her from the harshness of the world, but I do not want to ever restrict her from experiencing life in her own ways. Our relationship is very solid from both sides I believe and that is something very unique in my world. Never have I met such a woman like her that is so true to her word and to herself and with me before. I will guard that with everything I have in me.

Texas is hot as fuck. I mean, damn, people here that can function in this kind of super oppressive heat amaze me. We have basically kept outside activity to a minimum, playing in the backyard with the kiddo after dinner when it’s cooler, sitting in the two foot deep kiddie pool laughing and joking around. We’ve gone out sight-seeing and it was basically stopping and taking photos of cool stuff, then jumping right back into the air conditioned car or going into a cool building. Today we went into the Blue Bird Circle Shop in Houston. It is a women’s organization with incredible history of philanthropy and of supporting research and care for Rett patients. And wow, what an incredible shop! It’s all consigned thrift, very high quality and fun stuff. I made a small purchase of a set of special little bunny figures with little dainty butterflies on them, they’re adorable and my Mom collects bunnies, so they’re a gift for her.

Me and the Doc…

My girl’s daughter has Rett, a genetic disorder that affects fine motor skills – speech, hand use, walking, muscle tone and eating. It’s not something easy at all to deal with, but the kid is thriving and is very smart – which makes it doubly frustrating for her and her mother because the child knows what she wants and wants to say, or ask for, but they haven’t quite got the communication down between them. The Bean, which is what we call the little girl, is growing and is now over 4 yrs old and she’s got a LOT to say! You can do a lot of communicating with her by asking yes or no questions and she has developed an eye-contact or head turn to indicate her answer. It’s a start, and it’s not perfect, but I have much hope and optimism that good things are coming down the road – very soon – to help Bean and other little girls like her. There are new treatments being developed every day in the scientific community and we are just waiting for access to them here in the USA.

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I love the kid to pieces. She’s got a stellar smile and is really funny sometimes! She loves to laugh and be silly, and when she’s not in agreement with something I say she gives me the most stern “eye-brow” crunch or side-eye look to let me know! It’s kind of cute, and really amazing that she’s so on target with her reactions, so you KNOW she’s understands perfectly what you’re saying!

Bean loves music especially and today I got her a Rocktopus (a FisherPrice toy) that has like 15 instrument capsules that you rotate into it’s various tentacles, I will include a picture so you get the gist of what it looks like. Anyway, Bean LOVES the musical beast. And it helps her improve her hand use and the hand / eye coordination. She just has to think about her movement much harder than what comes so automatically to you or I. She’s doing really well with it though, I’ve seen marked improvement over the last year.

Rocktopus by Fisher Price
2019 Toy of The Year Award

We did a ton of sightseeing in Houston yesterday…I will post those pictures in the next blog…later today, so watch your feeds!!

Peace! ~ MB