I find myself so entirely overwhelmed by the day to day news that I’m having a hard time zeroing in. Sometimes when I’m writing a topic will jump out at me, clear as day, but right now? Right now it seems like everything’s important so I’m giving in to a somewhat scattershot post. So be it.

‘Rona times had some random perks — an overdue pause in a nonstop schedule, fur baby bonding, a marked improvement in my cooking skills even. But after making it through a year of news filled with super-spreader events, hospitalization stats, and death rates it never occurred to me a return to quote/unquote normal would mean a return to gun violence headlines. It should have, but it didn’t. Over 200 mass shootings have occurred so far in 2021 and I just can’t process how after a year of relatively NO mass shootings how so many people are willing to shrug and meh this stuff back into the mainstream.

I’m not sure people are adequately concerned about the political shenanigans going on. I know we’re all exhausted from four years on the Tilt-a-Whirl, Biden’s administration is valiantly trying to stem covid transmission, and we’re still neck deep in “it’s a hoax!” nonsense BUT THERE IS SOME BAD SHIT GOING DOWN. As of March 24 lawmakers introduced 361 bills with restrictive voting provisions in 47 states. Five of those bills have already been signed into law while at least 55 bills in 24 states are moving through their legislatures.¹ And that’s not even dealing with states taking away the final say on election results and giving it to conservative run houses to decide.

Also Roe v. Wade, people, Roe v. Wade. How are more people not panicking about the relentless chipping away at women’s healthcare rights in America? It’s past time we normalized body ownership. I have ownership of my own body, nobody else, and any decisions made regarding this body are between my healthcare provider and me. Period. Surgical procedures, medical treatments, even the status of my uterus are absolutely not up for discussion with the general public or my government. PERIOD.

Can we talk about those anti-choice arguments? Because some of them don’t actually seem all that “pro life” to me. So she’s not old enough/experienced enough/responsible enough to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term but is old enough/experienced enough/responsible enough enough to raise a child. A fertilized egg is protected life but the egg never made it out of the fallopian tube so now she has to risk dying from internal bleeding. And you’re really okay with telling a pregnant rape or incest victim they’re required to carry a baby to term? Really??

Texas just signed into law a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected which, for the unfamiliar among us, can be two weeks after you miss your period. TWO WEEKS. Catch a college student during finals and they might not even notice. You know what I haven’t seen making it’s way through Texas state legislature? Bills requiring men who impregnate women to begin financially supporting the six week fetus, a move to sterilize men who impregnate unwilling partners, healthcare options for said fetus, or housing/food allowance for a fetus these legislators claim is so precious.

Gotta say, a state that passes a fetal heartbeat law arguing against pre-birth “murder” the same day the government executes a man has some balls.

Plus there’s that New York City special grand jury convened for the interminably long investigation into financial finagling by the Trump Organization, the former president, and his family. Wah wah waaaaaahhhhhhh.

Are you catching any of the daily briefings on CSPAN? Okay, full disclosure, I’m not a CSPAN geek — not that there’s anything wrong with that — I’m catching clips on twitter. But Jen Psaki is owning that room and I’m here for it. Oh, also kind of awesome that Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made history yesterday as the second Black woman as well as the first openly gay woman to brief from the White House podium. Get it!

And that’s it, my brain shut off as quickly as it opened up. Weird stuff these days. Add your thoughts in the comments or share some of the news that’s keeping you up at night. 💛

1 – Waldman, Michael, et al. “State Voting Bills Tracker 2021.” Brennan Center for Justice, 25 May 2021, http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-voting-bills-tracker-2021.