6 days after Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, a Prague paper published these “10 Commandments”: ‘When a Soviet soldier comes to you, YOU: 1. Don’t know 2. Don’t care 3. Don’t tell 4. Don’t have 5. Don’t know how to 6. Don’t give 7. Can’t do 8. Don’t sell 9. Don’t show 10. Do nothing’

TACO never fails.

How am I doing? Well in 2017 The West Wing was my comfort show, and now it’s Veep. Go protest tomorrow!

And ALSO featuring: A lovely magical realism short story by @mrlwwrites.bsky.social Queer flash fiction by @leoastrum.bsky.social Optimistic sci-fi by @element115.bsky.social Reprint cozy fantasy by @rajivmote.bsky.social A novelette about longing, wonder and nature by @clhellisen.bsky.social

The oil industry buys off Congress. No action on climate. The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns. Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care. The list goes on and on. Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.

My latest bit of flash fiction just went up at Wild Umbrella Literary Journal: www.thewildumbrella.com/post/over-th...

Tinned fish and drag shows: I can understand if it’s not your first choice, but until you’ve experienced a good one, I don’t think you get to have an opinion on the matter. Also, if you try to take them from me I will be stabbing your hand with a sardine fork.

Another fun side effect of our hellish timeline: I started crying while reading The Lorax to my kid.

One thing I learned from the pandemic was that efficient systems aren’t very resilient, and resilient systems aren’t very efficient. Given the choice between an efficient government and a resilient one, I choose resilient every day.

I’m no political expert, but as the parent of a toddler…did the President skip his nap?

"Most editors have second jobs, family lives, and their own creative projects. Also, many are busy preparing for the end-times by burying bags of rice in the fields, scavenging for copper, or selling their bodies for ammunition."

Some quotes:

Elon Musk is orchestrating a coup of the US government. In the past 48 hours he’s gained access to a vast range of sensitive information of millions of citizens, businesses, and foreign development projects. This is as serious as it gets, and it puts the entire world in danger. FireElon.org

mobilize.us/s/gmNauD In case you’re looking for a way to act:

I have called my congressional representatives every day since January 20th. Every time I've called, it's been about a different issue. Do I think I'm changing their minds? Hell no. Am I willing to be silent about denouncing transphobia, Nazi salutes, anti-vaxxers, or mass deportations? Hell no.

Excited to have my latest piece of flash fiction published in Short Circuit #16! You can find it, and a lot of other fantastic writing, here: short-edition.com/en/contest/s...