No words necessary.
Day: December 1, 2017
The Sparkle in Her Eyes
“Did you see that?” Alec asked his buddy Sam.
“See what?” Sam asked, looking around, trying to figure out what Alec had seen.
“Her eyes,” Alec answered.
“Who’s eyes?”
“That girl standing over there, bro,” Alec said, pointing toward a tall redhead.
“What about her eyes?” Sam asked.
“Seriously, bro?” Alec looked at his friend in disbelief. “You didn’t see the sparkle in that girl’s eyes?”
“Dude,” Sam said, “I think you’ve had enough weed for the night.”
“What are you talking about, bro? I’m barely buzzed.”
“It’s the Fourth of July, dude.” Sam said. “We’re out here watching a giant fireworks show. If you look into my eyes you’re gonna see the reflection of these dope fireworks, too.
“Oh right,” said Alec. “I can see the sparkle in your eyes, Sam. That’s freakin’ awesome, bro.”
This is a twofer Written for Rachel Poli’s Time To Write sentence starter prompt, and for today’s one-word prompt, “sparkle.”
Friday Fictioneers — Fixer Upper
“I’ve got something to show you that I think you can work with,” the realtor said. “It’s right at your budget, but it needs a little TLC.”
“I’m actually a pretty handy guy,” Gary said.
“No you’re not,” Ingrid, his wife, said. Turning to the realtor, she added, “He can’t even screw in a lightbulb.”
They pulled up to the house and got out of the car. Gary and Ingrid stared at the structure in disbelief.
“It’s what we call a handyman’s special,” the realtor said. “It really has great potential.”
Ingrid whispered to Gary, “Don’t even think about it.”
(100 words)
Written for this week’s Friday Fictioneers prompt from Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Photo credit: What’s His Name.
What Does This Have To Do With Tax Reform?
Everyone knows that the Republicans in Congress are desperately trying to push through a draconian tax bill that would heartlessly increase taxes for middle and low income Americans while providing massive tax reductions for large corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
But did you know that they have included a very troubling clause in their tax plan? There is a curious provision hiding among massive corporate tax breaks and the other items on the GOP’s tax plan wish list. This mysterious provision would permit families to open 529 educational savings accounts for “unborn children.” In other words, it would enable people to create college savings plans for fetuses. I’m not making that up.
In what has long been the holy grail of the anti-abortion movement, this provision would, through the proposed tax code, lay the foundation for “personhood,” which is the belief that life begins at conception. In effect, it would grant legal rights to a zygote, an embryo, or a fetus in the womb. This would potentially establish a legal basis that conservatives could use to argue to outlaw abortions entirely.
Republicans are hiding this highly unpopular provision deep within their proposed tax bill, where they hope no one will ever find it. If it does go mostly unnoticed and makes it into the final bill, conservatives will have successfully established a new, legal definition of when life begins, one that goes against legal precedent, science, and public opinion.
So yes, secreted deep within the bowels of the GOP tax plan is a provision to accomplish something that conservatives have been unable to accomplish since Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision issued in 1973 by the US Supreme Court on the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions.
On the federal level, such attempts have always failed. But if this Republican tax bill passes Congress and is signed into law by Donald Trump, which he no doubt will do, Roe v. Wade will become meaningless and the conservatives and the religious right will have finally succeeded in essentially making abortion murder.
Tell me again what this has to do with tax reform?
This, That, and the Other 