A Movement Based on Hope

There's excitement in the air over Kamala Harris's campaign. With Biden stepping back and Harris stepping up, word is that young voters who were going to sit out the campaign are now opting to vote, and many want to volunteer to help get Democrats elected. The Salt Lake County Democratic Party is hosting an event to help get people engaged.

I am incredibly thankful to Biden for wanting to fight the attack on civil liberties all the way to the end, and he is not finished yet. Even though getting COVID-19 may have put the final straw on the campaign, he is going to push for something that we've been needing at the United States Supreme Court--he is pushing for a constitutional amendment for term limits. I would definitely be in support of term limits of ten to twenty years. Less than that, and we lose the power of precedent. Longer than that, and we have certain viewpoints dominate the conversation for more than a generation. In order to have justice, we seed some stability, but we also need to be able to adapt as we learn more.

I am incredibly concerned because several very important case involving trans rights are making their way to the Supreme Court, and some of the states want to remove some of the environmental regulations around carbon and pollution. This court is liable to give them what they want, when we are dealing with record-breaking heat waves, which are due in part, if not wholly, to carbon being released into the atmosphere.

As a result of the weather, we didn't go kayaking this weekend due to the storms up on our kayaking location on Saturday, and smoke in the area on Sunday. Instead, I’m planning on doing some laps at the pool instead.

Getting a DD-214 updated for transgender Navy veterans is both simple and complex. In working toward updating my own, it is apparently simple if you know who to work with. The complex part is figuring out who to work with and what paperwork they need. Following a guideline online, I emailed the Board of Naval Corrections, and was informed that they only get involved if all other administrative processes have been exhausted. Seeing no email address, I mailed the form to the address provided in April, and hearing no reply, called the phone number in the email address.

That phone number got me someone on the other end of the line that listened to my story, created a case number, and after doing extensive research, provided an email address and the form(s) I needed to fill out and send with my name change order. The next morning I got a call from My Navy Career Center, with someone who sent me and email that included the instructions, that I could respond to. Which I did. The form, just a simple request for my DD-214, with my court order attached. My application will be processed "in the order in which it was received." The roofers installed the fascia and soffit this week, and I submitted the change photos to the insurance company. The gutters will be installed this coming week. I considered filing a claim for the driveway work that they required, but I found out that is considered normal wear and tear, unless I can point to a specific seismic event.

I finished watching Battlestar Galactica this week, caught up with Undone, and watched the movies Come Away, and Monolith. I've started watching Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell, and put the book on which it's based on my reading list.

I finished reading Moon Witch, Spider King, by Marlon James. In one scene, the archer and the Sadogo follow the Tracker into the Darklands. Sadogo, an ogo, only grunts when the Leopard asks why he is following the archer. As the sky turns dark, the Leopard watches them disappear. In a later scene, the ghost Jakwu is silenced by Sogolon’s savage words. Sogolon is trying not to think about loss, when she hears word that they may be closing in on the lightning bird. The House of Records burns down, and Sogolon considers that the Tracker may be caught in the blaze. All around, the townsfolk cry. By drum, word comes that the lightning bird is not constrained by a witch, and he is said to be incredibly handsome.

I also read The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan. In one scene while playing dodgeball, Percy tries to get the attention of the coach. No one seems to realize that younger kids were dealing with genuine "man-eating blood-thirsty monsters. The coach simply mutters in response, “Play nice.”

Later, on board a zombie cruise liner, Percy convinces Annabeth and Tyson that they approach Luke and the others who are running the cruiser liner either together or not at all. Percy’s half-brother, Tyson, votes to not approach at all. Once he decides to come along, Tyson, a young cyclops, easily carries all three of the duffle bags that they had brought with them courtesy of Hermes.

We entered an interesting part of our D&D campaign. Everyone is now dual class, ten levels of each. That means my 10th level dwarf cleric is now also a tenth level druid, with a golden dragon arm courtesy of Bahamut, the dragon king, with the ability to cure plague with Bahamut’s assistance. My character also now has, and can read, the tome of Bahamut.

In summary, life can be mysterious, magical, and quite a bit of a challenge; but hope comes when we work together to make this world a better place.