A Weird and Changing Presidential Race

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024

A Weird and Changing Presidential Race

Biden and Harris at 2020 primary campaign debates

Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday. The first snarky question I heard was “How did they get Jill to agree to that?” Right now, some people are getting up in arms at the suggestion that the woman in the equation is against that simply because she wants to live in the White House for another four years and that she truly dislikes Harris. I’d argue that the question assumes Jill is in charge. Aren’t strong, feminists supposed to be in charge? Of course a question like that also assumes that given Biden’s obvious problems, which many of us have seen for four freaking years, Jill has no regard for the health and well-being of her husband. Anyway, I digress. This announcement significantly changes the tenor and character of the 2024 race. And I don’t just mean because there’s going to be a new Democratic candidate.

July 9, 2024July 9, 2024

1968 All Over Again?

Person dressed as Statue of Liberty holding American flag

The 2024 Democratic Convention will be held in Chicago in August. And it’s shaping up to be a doozy of a show. Everyone on the left – media, DNC, governors, House reps, Senators – have been sounding the “please don’t run” horn to Biden. The only people not joining in the newly arising chorus are the White House staff and Biden aides. Oh, and Everybody-Must-Call-Me-DOCTOR Jill, of course. (I have a Ph.D., and yes, I told my students that they would be calling me Dr. Jones or Prof. Jones. I most emphatically did not tell the rest of the world to call me that. That’s a level of insecurity even I don’t possess.)

July 2, 2024July 3, 2024

From the River to the Sea?

“From the river to the sea…” is a phrase chanted and screamed by the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic fools running around college campuses and elsewhere protesting everything in the name of their “humanitarian” cause. In case you can’t tell, I think the people screaming this phrase are at best useful idiots and at worst truly evil Nazis. Let’s unpack this phrase and some of the history and current context behind it.

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024

Back Into Politics

As some of you may have read, I’ve separated my fiction writing from my political writing. I know that not everyone likes both and that some despise one or the other. Therefore, I will make sure that nobody is subjected to writing they don’t like and separate the topics. If you like my fiction writing, you can find that over on my substack page, Professor Ornery Dragon’s Substack. If you like my political writing, then you can just sit back, relax, and keep reading. If you like both, well then, thank you! And you’ll have to flip back and forth between the sites… sorry!

June 10, 2024June 10, 2024

Garden Peace

Red bench with blue arms and legs, sitting against a fence covered in climbing vines.

Willow stepped back and gazed around at the back garden. It was starting to come together. There were flowers and other ornamental plants around the edges, and climbing roses at the two corners of the fence. The arch over the path leading into the woods behind the house would soon hold morning glories. She forgot the specific variety, but the nice guy at the nursery had said it was a native to the area, so that’s what she’d gone with.

June 4, 2024June 4, 2024

Unexpected Date Night

Late sunset view across water to low mountains.

“Mama! Mama! Loh-en’s toys!” Melia’s high, piping voice soared above the general din of the marketplace.

“I know sweetie. We’ll stop by and visit with Loren after we do our shopping, okay? We just need a couple more things for dinner.” Serena did her best to keep the exasperation and fatigue out of her voice. Normally, market days with Melia were a fun outing, with lots of exploring, questions, and sneaking in educational bits (well, those were fun for Serena). Today, however, Serena was exhausted from too little sleep, worry over Jake who was two days overdue with no word, and the usual, ongoing stress provided by the university with its never-ending requests for forms, details, and justifications.

May 27, 2024May 27, 2024

Discoveries

Willow pulled the book out from the back of the old bookcase. The ongoing rainstorm meant she’d spent today inside instead of finishing up the work in the garden. The old library, with its treasure trove of books, had practically demanded she spend some time going through its shelves.

May 20, 2024May 20, 2024

Time is Relative

This week for the More Odds Than Ends prompt challenge I got the following challenge from AC Young: Time travel is dangerous. If you accidentally prevent your own birth… It struck me that this would make a great 50-word story challenge in the same vein as the Postcard books Raconteur Press published last year.

May 14, 2024May 14, 2024

What Now?

“So you’re home at last. About dang time.”

Gavin looked around for the source of the comment. He spotted a small, furry creature, about the size of a cat, sitting on the edge of a weathered pot holding a fake palm tree. His neighbor, Mrs. Colfax liked to fill the shared front walkway between their apartments with a variety of fake tropical plants. She claimed it made her feel like she was on vacation. As long as she kept bringing over cookies and cupcakes, Gavin wasn’t going to argue with her.

May 6, 2024May 6, 2024

Injured

Willow stood at the edge of her garden, staring at the new arrival. Rocky stood behind her, clutching her leg. While he had promised that he and his clan would not allow any harm to come to Will while she lived in Hidden Shores, she really couldn’t blame him for hiding right now. Even with a clearly injured leg, the wolf standing where the back of the garden met the tree line was still very large and very scary.