Jesmyluk

     Censorship has been around for as long as humans have been around, it ebbs and flows in an unrelenting stream throughout time and when used judiciously by trained professionals does serve a useful purpose, offering protection from harmful things to those who either cannot or do not know how to protect themselves. This country is currently experiencing an inordinate amount of censorship in American public libraries. This current flow of censorship has been filled with vitriol, and harassment, in the form of book challenges/book banning, proposals of harsh laws that call for punishing librarians and libraries, and outlawing story hours for preschoolers led by drag queens. The books most likely to be banned are those that are written by or for people of color or people in the LGBTQIA+ community, in other words, the most marginalized members of society among us. The amount of higher education required to obtain a degree in library sciences is considerable. To become a li...

I was born in rural Michigan. My mother had been raised Catholic & when she married my biological father she converted to Methodism.  So I was baptized into the Methodist church as a baby.  Obviously, I have no memory of this.  About 3 years later, my biological father left my mother for another woman.  He fought for 2 years to get custody of my 2 older siblings & myself.  It was decided there would be a 6-month split.  He would get us for 6 months, leaving my mother with one weekend a month to spend with us, & then it would be reversed.  She would get us for 6 months, leaving him with one weekend a month.  He went first but before that first 6-month split was completed all 3 of us had been kicked back to mom, he wanted nothing to do with us.  I never saw him or heard from him again.  Nice guy, right? Leaving my mom to raise 3 kids on her own in rural Michigan.  I don't know what his demons were & frankly I don't car...

Before I get into this remember I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am a registered Independent bleeding heart liberal.  Every time a conservative says something akin to the phrase "progress for the sake of progress is a bad thing" or "things were better the way they were before Roe v Wade," I think of the scene towards the beginning of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, (yeah, I'm a geek, deal with it) where Umbridge is introducing herself to the students & staff &, although very thinly veiled, lets everyone know that the Minister of Magic, (: ie the government) are monitoring & soon will take over at Hogwarts.  For the benefit of the students of course.  That's who they really care about.  Never mind that Umbridge actually hates kids.  Mostly because she can't control them.  At least not without torturing them first.  At this time in history, GOP members ARE the Umbridges in the US.  With Mitch McConnell channeling ...

Photo found on the web is from Atlanta Journal-Constitution  I hope they don't mind I'm using it in this post.   Okay, I admit it, I have been pretty angry the last couple of months.  Not with my immediate family, or with life in general. Don't get me wrong 2020 was an exhausting, trying year but I haven't been depressed, I promise.  Just fed up with all the lies & deliberate misinformation coming from the White House, the Trump Administration,  his GOP supporters, & the millions of manipulated & misled Trump supporters, in the general public, via social media. This includes members of our extended family & friends. I still do not understand the cult of Trump.  I do not understand why his followers treat him as if he is their savior. He's just a man.  And an incredibly bad man at that.  An excellent con-artist but that's it. And he was a terrible leader/example of the free world, democracy, & our republic.   Tech...

I stepped back from social media before the holidays because I really didn't want to see or hear about people in my own realm going on trips to see family or friends during the holidays this year.  Normally, I love seeing pictures & hearing those stories from family & friends but this year with the pandemic I believe it is dangerous & selfish, harsh as that may sound, to travel.  All the traveling that is happening is frustrating to our family who has been on lockdown for the last 9 months, doing as the experts have asked.  We keep hoping people will put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of themselves but they keep disappointing us. Parties & get-togethers are more important than trying to slow the spread & save lives.  The more we all work together for a concerted effort to slow the spread of the virus; giving the vaccines a chance & the hospitals, Drs, nurses, & so forth a chance to breathe while trying to care for those who get d...