Day: May 2, 2022

The Handmaid’s Tale Becomes Real

Fandango35 Comments

According to an historically unprecedented leak of a draft opinion, the Supreme Court justices privately voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade case that has guaranteed the right to abortion for nearly a half-century.

This initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito was circulated inside the Court. It’s a total repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights, as well as of a subsequent 1992 decision — Planned Parenthood v. Casey — that largely maintained the right.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito wrote in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” the leaked opinion says.

Fandango’s opinion: If this draft opinion holds and abortion is declared illegal in the United States, the government will essentially be taking control of women’s reproductive rights, including forcing women who become pregnant, including as a result of rape or incest, to give birth. We are witnessing the American democracy evolving into a conservative Christian theocracy and are ushering in a real-life American Handmaid’s Tale. And, no, I’m not joking.

Share Your World — 05/02/2022

Fandango9 Comments

For this week’s Share Your World prompt, Melanie is offering us questions that other bloggers have posed. This should be interesting.

From Tena Carr:

What constitutes a sandwich in your opinion? Is it only the standard two slices of bread, filling (including spreads or meats and cheeses and veggies), put together in a stack?

I’m pretty liberal when it comes to what I call a sandwich. For example, I call an Oreo cookie a sandwich. So is a hot dog and a hamburger. And, of course, an ice cream sandwich. But generally I would define a sandwich as something between two slices of bread.

From Marilyn Armstrong:

Are ‘strong’ and ‘tough’ in regard to character the same thing or different? Please explain your reasoning for either side you pick.

The two words can often be considered synonymous, but I generally think of strong as a physical characteristic, whereas tough is more of a characteristic of being sturdy and resilient.

Just because someone has great muscular strength, they may not be tough. They may crumble when circumstances become too challenging. Conversely, someone with no great muscular strength may be very tough when it comes to dealing with stressful, difficult situations.

From Paula Light:

What’s your opinion on RSVPs? Obviously, formal occasions require them, but what about invitations to dinner/movies and the like? If a friend invites you to something, are you obligated to reply? What if you say yes and change your mind? How much notice is enough? Is it okay to simply no-show to a casual social event you’ve already agreed to?

Other than for formal occasions, unless someone specifically requests that you respond by phone, text, or email, I don’t see the need for a formal RSVP. But if you are invited to do something with friends and you verbally agree, it’s rude to simply not show.

From Sadje:

Do you think Hell has walls?

As someone who doesn’t believe in hell, my answer is no. That said, being locked in a prison in solitary confinement between four walls would, to me, be like being in hell.

From Jim Adams:

  • What would you name your boat if you had one? Unsinkable.
  • What will finally break the internet? Elon Musk.
  • If you had to change your name, what would your new name be, and why would you choose that name? “Danfango.” Because why not?
  • What are some things that sound like compliments but are actually insults? Anything that comes from the mouth of Donald Trump.
  • If you could know the absolute and total truth to one question, what question would you ask? Does God exist? Wait, I already know the answer: No.

From Marilyn Armstrong:

How many bloggers are trying to balance the likelihood that WordPress will hike prices against the near certainty that their computers are ready to roll over and die?

I don’t know, but I do know that WordPress will be hiking prices (as they’ve already announced their intention to do so). And I do know that my six-year-old Dell laptop is soon going to roll over and die and I need to decide whether or not to buy a new one before it actually does so.

From Cyranny;

What’s the most impressive, or oddest thing you’ve ever fixed with duct tape (or something similar)?

I just used duct tape to secure the cover to my outdoor lighting system control panel in my garage that I accidentally broke with the top of my recycling bin.

Blogging Insights — Interaction

Fandango12 Comments

After a month long hiatus, Dr. Tanya is back with her weekly Blogging Insights prompts. She provides us with a quote about blogging or writing and asks us to express our opinion about said quote.

This week’s quote is from Michael Arrington at TechCrunch.

“I believe the term ‘blog’ means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume.”

I agree with what Mr. Arrington said. A blog is much more than journaling, be it online or on paper. What makes blogging unique is the interaction with other bloggers and the sense of community such interactions generate. It’s like that old saying about a tree falling in the forest and whether or not it makes a sound if no one is around to hear it.

To me, the whole idea of blogging is to figuratively make a sound and to have people “hear” it. Otherwise, why blog at all?

I’ve had this blog for almost five years, and in total, I’ve been blogging for around 17 years. Were it not for the interactions with other bloggers, I would probably not still be blogging.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #167

Fandango15 Comments

Welcome to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenging bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

The photograph below is from Pexels.com.

For the visually challenged writer, the photo is of an elderly lady with a look of concentration on her face. Her arms are stretched out in front of her and she’s holding a camera in her hands attempting to take a photo with it.

If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post. I hope it will generate some great posts.

Please create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Anybody

Fandango19 Comments
FOWC

It’s May 2, 2022. Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “anybody.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. Show them some love.