16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)

My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days.

I've come across so many things today that I would have posted to Facebook, if I were not weaning myself from Facebook. Here's some info that's stopped me in my tracks:

1. The National Rifle Association is declaring bancruptcy, now that NY is investigating the alleged $64 million (in the last three years alone!) embezzlement by leaders of the "nonprofit." The *Federal* Government should investigate the allegations against this organization before permitting Texas to enable the organization to respawn under less scrutiny. Here's a link to pertinent info: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-15/national-rifle-association-files-bankruptcy-citing-n-y-politics.

2. My brother texted me this link to an editorial in the Martinsville Bulletin: https://martinsvillebulletin.com/our-view-please-submit-your-resignation-rep-good/article_f2afa215-b9c0-580a-a04f-f5a791420c66.html. The article is from my childhood hometown paper- my mom still lives in Martinsville. I spent my weekends and many summer weeks at a horse farm in Danville from 8-28 years old (my husband asked me to marry him there, after my mom and I attended the last adult camp before Mrs Wiseman- grandmother to all- truly retired).

My conclusions are that 1) we need to get rid of corporate donations and reduce financial 'campaign' contributions to citizen donations, with a cap; and 2) we have to eliminate bureaucratic gerrymandering - if a computer can be used to create Bitcoin currency, it can be used to draw voting districts across the country, which should be under federal jurisdiction, not state. 

3. Another article from my childhood hometown newspaper (the Martinsville Bulletin), which prompted me to call my mom and make sure she's still taking the Covid epidemic seriously: https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/covid-19-claims-henry-county-resident-amid-new-outbreak-and-statewide-daily-record/article_806a14f2-5814-11eb-aabe-23c3fefdd894.html.

[Things only got worse: https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/martinsville-region-covid-19-coronavirus-daily-update-from-state-nation-and-world-jan-17/collection_bc4f839e-58dc-11eb-a6d1-4fc6a0b07bf8.html.]

4. My 17YO texted me this link from The Jerusalem Post regarding the existence of a real-life Galactic Federation, by which the former Israeli space security chief says Israel and the U.S. have been communicating with aliens for years: https://www.jpost.com/omg/former-israeli-space-security-chief-says-aliens-exist-humanity-not-ready-651405.

For more on this, see also: https://www.fox5dc.com/news/former-israeli-space-chief-says-us-in-contact-with-galactic-federation-of-aliens-and-trump-knows.amp ...

As well as Forbes's entertaining twist: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2020/12/08/2020-looks-to-be-ending-with-a-bang-with-the-reveal-of-the-umm-galactic-federation/?sh=1d21f81b13d7

4. And then there's this incredibly interesting story/interview that I heard on wUNC yesterday, regarding the promising (and historic) use of "psychedelics" to treat depression and anxiety: https://www.wunc.org/post/great-power-and-great-responsibility-using-psychedelic-medicine.

The pot continues to stir, friends. Let's hope a phase change is coming.