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The Weekly Readlines February 16
From the Editor’s Desk:
Photo: the late Sylvia Rivera
The beauty of battle scars
You may know by now that the ‘T’ was removed from LGBT on the Stonewall Monument’s web page (surely they will rescind its designation altogether soon). I met Sylvia Rivera before her death. I interviewed her. We attended the same church, MCC New York, whose pastor, Rev. Pat Bumgardner, married me and my husband. Sylvia was the trans activist who was at Stonewall, along with others. She was a bottle-thrower and a fire starter. The idea that our progress, now under attack, happened without transgender people is a lie, and the hope some of us have that we’ll be spared without the ‘T’ is delusional. They are coming for us all, even if it’s one letter at a time. Throwing anyone under the bus will only get you crushed by the wheels.
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
In this continuing nightmare …
Trump Cabinet picks continued to be confirmed, one horrible nominee at a time.
The Trump administration continued to do Putin’s bidding, much to the delight of the Kremlin.
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The Twist Podcast #286: Kennedy Center DOA, Apocalyptic Fun Facts, and a New Rick Rose Interview
Join Mark and Rick as we throw a rose on the grave of the Kennedy Center, serve up some fun facts about the apocalypse, and listen to Rick’s interview with Sowan Weaver.
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The Weekly Readlines February 8
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
And just like that … the Kennedy Center gets knifed
We will be Hungary very soon at this rate. Trump claims he has fired most of the board of the Kennedy Center and is naming himself Chairman. None of this is legal, of course. Most of what they are doing it not legal, but in this new grotesque version of America, will we finally accept that ‘legal’ doesn’t mean anything to Trump and the architects of Project 2025? Nothing at all! I am weary of reading that ‘it’s not legal’ as if that is any reassurance. The rule of law is for suckers. It seems my late father fought in Germany for absolutely nothing.
LGBTQ
Impact Of Mass Deportations On LGBT People – Williams Institute – UCLA
The Hidden History Of Trans Health Care – Mother Jones
‘I Worry For Myself.’ Hundreds Debate Adding Abortion And LGBTQ Rights To CT Constitution
U.S. AND BEYOND
US Immigration Is Gaming Google To Create A Mirage Of Mass Deportations – The Guardian
Elon Musk’s Assault On US Government Prompts Muted Republican Disquiet – The Guardian
Trump Appears To Support Ending US Education Department And Says He Will ‘Wind Down’ Usaid
‘Am I Now A Walking Target?’ The Canadians Boycotting Travel To The United States Because Of Trump
Argentines March In Defence Of Diversity, Blasting Milei’s Anti-Woke Diatribes – France 24
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The First In-Person Workshop of 2025
And yet, he persisted
This is the space at Bucks on Bridge Coffee Shop in Lambertville where I can now do in-person workshops! The collective Soupcon took it over and I joined. This is going to be a busy and exciting year for me. This was today’s 2 hour guided autobiography introductory workshop. They liked me (they really liked me)! But seriously, I learn so much from doing this, and it’s a privilege to have people share their lives in this process.
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Savvy Senior: Driving with Dementia and Knowing When to Stop
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
When should someone with dementia stop driving? My 83-year-old father has some dementia issues but still drives himself around town pretty well.
Concerned Daughter
Dear Concerned,
Most doctors agree that people with moderate to severe dementia should never get behind the wheel, but in the early stages of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, driving performance should be the determining factor of when to stop driving, not the disease itself.
With that said, it’s also important to realize that as your dad’s driving skills deteriorate over time from the disease, he might not recognize he has a problem. So, it’s very important that you work closely with his doctor to monitor his driving and help him stop when it is no longer safe for him to drive. Here are some additional tips that can help you.
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Updated Workshop Schedule Through May
All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 Hours
Register at the links belowNEW FOR 2025!
IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN LAMBERTVILLE
NEW HOPE ADULT WRITERS GROUP
CLINTON ADULT WRITERS GROUPFRIDAY FEBRUARY 7
Guided Autobiography 2-Hour Complimentary Introduction (free)
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Soupcon at Bucks on Bridge
25 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ
Please specify the workshop or group in your subject line!
RSVP (LIMIT 8)EVERY 2ND AND 4TH TUESDAY
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: New Hope Free Library
93 W. Ferry Street, New Hope, PA
Please specify the workshop or group in your subject line!
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Mark McNease On Topic Substack Teaser
The following is just a tapas plate from my Mark McNease On Topic Substack. Every Monday musings you can subscribe to HERE. It’s free!
First, a big hello to new subscriber Steve! We encountered each other on Bluesky. Steve is a very nice addition to the Tree House. At this rate I’ll have to get a contractor in soon and expand the place. Anyone know a good elf?
From the Editor’s Desk
I wonder if this should be called ‘From the Trenches,’ considering what’s happening to the country.
When is a friend not a friend?
Something I struggle with is the sense of betrayal and mistrust I now feel toward anyone I know who voted for Trump. There are people in my life who made that choice, and yet I know them as ‘good’ people who don’t display any malice. And yet … and yet … I feel like a Jew may have felt in 1933 wondering who among my neighbors and friends would protect me, and who among them would direct the Gestapo to my door.
I won’t ask them, but I can’t shake the feeling that I already know. It’s one of the many reasons I left Facebook: my life, our life, is precious and I won’t put it on display for anyone who isn’t appalled that Black history and experience is being erased from our federal government. Spanish-speaking Americans, and their language, are now of no consequence to the regime. Women’s reproductive freedom is something we once imagined. And LGBTQ lives no longer matter in any way.
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The Weekly Readlines February 2
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK:
America, we hardly knew ye. It’s been less than two weeks and already Trump and Project 2025 have taken a jackhammer to the country’s foundations. It’s a tragi-comedy in two acts: his first and second terms, and it’s not even intermission yet! But as horrible as it all is, remember that people have gone through worse. 400 years of slavery. Native genocide. AIDS. It’s why I cannot allow myself to shed tears only to have them savored by MAGA. We remain undefeated and unbowed.
Some Spectacular Lowlights
US Federal Websites Scrub Vaccine Data And LGBT References
Transgender People Removed From State Department Travel Page – Los Angeles Blade
CDC Researchers Ordered to Retract Papers Submitted to All Journals – MedPage Today
NOTE: “In the order, CDC researchers were instructed to remove references to or mentions of a list of forbidden terms: “Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” according to an email sent to CDC employees (see below).”
Take a quick breather and keep reading for more news …
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Following the first major plane crash in 16 years, Trump blamed “DEI,” Biden, woke-whatever, and Pete Buttigieg, whom he seems to think is still the Secretary of Transportation. He also responded to a question about visiting the crash site by saying, “What site? The water? You want me to go swimming?” Comforting words for the families of the deceased.
We learned that RFK Jr. enjoyed putting baby chickens and live mice in a blender to feed his hawks. Tuberculosis made a comeback in Kansas.
Leaked DoD memo shows halting of all non-white / Christian observances, including Holocaust Remembrance Day. (Nothing says “Never again” like erasing the Holocaust.)
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Dave Hughes: Should You Take That Early Retirement Package?
Reprinted with permission from RetireFabulous.com
By Dave Hughes
RetireFabulously.comMy former employer (a large household name corporation) recently announced their intention to reduce their workforce by 15%. To accomplish that, they are offering eligible employees a generous early retirement package.
So far, four of my friends who still work there are taking it. Another friend who is 56 and was planning to work at least into his 60s, is thinking about it.
I was in the same situation over 11 years ago. I was 56 at the time (almost 57) and planned to work another 3½ years. But the company offered a generous package and after running the numbers and contemplating at great length, I decided to do it.
I’ve never regretted my choice.
Admittedly, I would have benefitted from another 3½ years of salary. I became a wedding officiant for five years to earn supplemental income until I started taking Social Security at 62.
But I was ready to end my career. Fortunately, I already had a clear picture of what I wanted to do with my life after I retired. If you’ve read some of the articles on this website or my books, you know that I firmly believe this is one of the keys to a happy, fulfilling retirement.
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The Twist Podcast #285: Coup Coup Cachoo, WTF Just Happened, and Another Rick Rose Interview
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a bloodless coup! Join Mark and Rick during these darkest of times for some fun facts, frivolity, and a Big Middle Finger to the fascists. Also a great Rick Rose interview with Sean Bode.
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It’s Alive! ‘Fatal Mistake: A Harry Hell Novella’ Audiobook Free and Fierce, Narrated by Wondervox
CHAPTERS 1-10
CHAPTERS 11 – 20
CHAPTERS 21 – 32
NOTE: This audiobook was made using a synthetic male voice (AI). If you don’t like that or it troubles you, skip it! No professional audiobook narrators were harmed in the production of this audiobook, since I can’t afford to hire them anymore. This is for people who enjoy the story regardless, and for me because … writing is hard work.
Narration provided by Wondervox.
I am so excited to bring one of my favorite stories to life for your listening pleasure… a novella, actually, that had an incredibly long gestation in the recesses of my imagination. I’d put it off as an audio option because the voice technology I use wasn’t quite good enough. Now I think it sounds terrific. Yes, it’s AI/synthetic voice. I would never pretend otherwise. So fasten your headphones, and let’s get this dark, dark party started.
About Fatal Mistake: A Harry Hell Novella
Buy the eBook Direct and Save!The year is closer than you think. The world has collapsed under the weight of its own insatiable needs, leaving shattered cities where those who still have anything fight to keep it that way, and those who don’t are a constant threat. It’s a danger that must be contained through a tightly controlled society where everyone is observed and everything is kept in its place. Harry Hellerman and his twin brother, Elliot, enter this world three minutes apart. By the time they’re teenagers, they’ve been surrendered to Control to be molded into the perfect assassins. A boy named Harry Hellerman enters, and a man named Harry Hell emerges: a killing machine of the highest order.
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Clinton (NJ) Library Writers Group Begins
Actually, we can
(Photo: Clinton, NJ, library writers’ group)
Among the many talismans spread around my work (sacred) space is a simple wooden block with the words, ‘Actually I Can’ on it. It’s been a reminder every day that life isn’t over till they put a small hand mirror under your nose to make sure you’re dead. Until then, as Saul Bellow said (and Anne Sexton quoted in her Pulitzer Prize winning book of poetry ‘Live or Die’), “Live or die, but don’t poison everything.”
I’m living as fully as I can. The photo is the Clinton New Jersey Library adult writers group I just started facilitating last night. I don’t call them students. I prefer ‘participants’ for everything I’m doing. I even said last night, “I’m not a teacher. I’m a facilitator.” I want to facilitate other people’s creativity and desire to express themselves. That’s what I hope to be and do. This past year (2024) the universe showed me a different road to take if I was willing to let go of some of the baked-in ideas I had about who I am and what I can do.
I love to teach (I’ll allow myself to use the word in this context). I love sharing my 50+ years of experience and skill. And I love being good at it! My favorite part of book readings was the conversation with the audience afterward. People kept telling me I had a talent for talking to people, that I become animated and enthused speaking about writing, and they were right.
It invigorates me. It challenges me. It humbles me (as much as I’m willing to be humbled), and it reminds me that I have something to offer even now.
Let go, let goodness, and don’t be afraid of being someone new … that person, with those talents and gifts, was there all along.
