The “Green Smoothie” Option

I wish we lived in a country where the “healthier” political choice was more well known.

The following video is just of 1-minute and 40-seconds duration, but it does a great (and humorous) job at exposing and refuting the common fallacies about the Green Party in the 2024 presidential election.

Related Off-site Links:
Jill Stein for President 2024 – The official website of the Green Party presidential ticket of Jill Stein and Butch Ware.
Meet The Anti-Genocide Candidate Running For President – Dr. Jill Stein – The Kim Iversen Show (September 16, 2024).
Jill Stein’s Surge Triggers The Breakfast Club and AOC – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, September 14, 2024).
Attack Them! The Breakfast Club Play Their Political Role – Black Liberation Media (September 13, 2024).
Interview: Dr. Jill Stein on AOC’s Instagram Attack, Green Party Challenges and Victories, and More – Glenn Greenwald (System Update with Glenn Greenwald, September 10, 2024).
Piers Morgan Smears Jill Stein and She Pushes Back – Kit Cabello (Hard Lens Media, September 10, 2024).
Green Party VP Nominee Butch Ware Roasts AOC After “Predatory” Tirade: “You’re Finished” – Kaitlyn Kennedy (TAG24, September 3, 2024).
Call the Greens an “Independent Party,” Not “Third Party”: Jill Stein – Rich Johnson (NewsNation, August 31, 2024).
Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
War Parties, the Peace Candidate, and the November Election – Jeffrey D. Sachs (Other News, April 23, 2024).
Challenging the Duopoly: Jill Stein on Why She’s Running for U.S. President as Green Party Candidate – Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson (Geopolitical Economy Report, April 20, 2024).
The Anti-Genocide Presidential Candidate – Dr. Jill Stein – Omar Akhter (The Olive Tree Podcast, April 8, 2024).
The Problem with “The Lesser of Two Evils” – Zachary Ludwick (The Uproar, November 2, 2020).
Ralph Nader: The U.S. Political and Media System Is Designed to Obstruct and Silence Third-Party Candidates – Democracy Now! (May 10, 2016).
No, Ralph Nader Did Not Hand the 2000 Presidential Election to George W. Bush – Anthony Fisker (Reason, August 3, 2016).
Did Third-Party Candidates Cost Hillary Clinton the Election? – Byron Tau (The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2016).
Can They Count? – Blaming Third-Party Voters for Trump’s Win Isn’t Just Bad Politics. It’s Bad Math – Jonah Walters (Jacobin, November 29, 2016).
Looking for Someone to Blame? It’s Not Third Parties – Jill Stein (The Guardian, November 15, 2016).
The Fallacy of the Spoiler: Why the Machine Elites Fear Democracy – Richard Moser (CounterPunch, June 6, 2016).

UPDATES: Why Muslims Should Vote for the Green Party with Dr Jill Stein – Muhammad Jalal (The Thinking Muslim, October 27, 2024).
Jill Stein Dominates Third Party Debate – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, October 26, 2024).
Post Debate Interview with Jill Stein – The Kim Iversen Show (October 24, 2024).
MSNBC Panics Over Third Party Candidates – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, October 20, 2024).
Why Muslims Should Vote for the Green Party with Dr Jill Stein – Muhammad Jalal (The Thinking Muslim, October 27, 2024).
Yes, They’re Really Voting for Jill Stein – Aymann Ismail (Slate, October 30, 2024).
Is Voting Third Party a Vote for Trump? – An Interview with Jill Stein – Let’s Just Talk with Hammi (October 31, 2024).
“Democrats Pretend to Be the Lesser Evil”: Jill Stein on the U.S. Election – Malika Bilal (The Take, November 1, 2024).
U.S. Elections: Why We Must Be Radical – An Interview with Professor Butch Ware – Muhammad Jalal (The Thinking Muslim, November 1, 2024).
How Much of the 2024 Presidential Vote Did Jill Stein Receive? – Jeff Arnold (NewsNation, November 6, 2024).
Jill Stein and Butch Ware’s First Post-Election Interview – The Katie Halper Show (November 19. 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
• Butch Ware: Quote of the Day – September 12, 2024
• Butch Ware: “I’m Not Here as a Spoiler”
• Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate Butch Ware in Minneapolis
• Demolishing the False Narrative About Jill Stein and the 2016 Election
• Nick Cruse: “‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ Is the Privileged Position”
• “The Next Step Is a Green Step”: Cornel West Endorses Jill Stein (2016)
• Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein: Is a “Historic Collaboration” in the Making? (2016)
• Politics 101
• Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
• Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
• “It’s a Systematic Slaughter That We’re Funding”
• Chris Hedges on the End of the American Empire
• Breaking Down Kamala Harris’s DNC Speech on Gaza
• Progressive Perspectives On an American Coronation
• Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
• Hope Over Fear: Voting Green

Something to Think About . . .

In related news, the The Washington Blade reports:

A hashtag used by the far-right fascist group, Proud Boys has been hijacked by gay men to the delight of thousands of people on social media.

The male-only organization, which is affiliated with white supremacists, gained notoriety last Tuesday after Donald Trump refused to condemn them in the first presidential debate. [NOTE: Trump later denounced the group and “all white Supremacists.”]

Now gay men around the world have taken over the hashtag #ProudBoys to make it trend for different reasons.

Related Off-site Links:
Asked to Condemn White Supremacists, Trump Tells Proud Boys Hate Group to “Stand By” – James Rainey and Melissa Gomez (Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2020).
Trump's Proud Boys Debate Shoutout Energized the Entire Far Right. The Damage Is Done – Cynthia Miller-Idriss (USA Today, October 2, 2020).
The Proud Boys Are a Far-Right Gang. Trump Boosted Them on National TV – Shannon E Reid and Matthew Valasik (The Guardian, October 3, 2020).
In Debate Aftermath, Trump Denounces “All White Supremacists” Including Proud Boys – Al Jazeera (October 2, 2020).
Twitter Users Take Over Proud Boys Hashtag With Photos of LGBTQ Love – April Siese (CBS News, October 4, 2020).

A Means to the End (of the Trump Presidency)

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Eight Leading Progressive Voices on Why They're Voting for Biden
• Branko Marcetic on the DNC: “Progressive Symbolism and Empty Rhetoric in Place of Real Political Vision”
• My Summer of Supporting Progressive Down-Ballot Candidates
• Progressive Perspectives on the Biden-Harris Ticket
• Ricardo Levins Morales on the “Deepest Political Fault Line” Separating Democrats Ilhan Omar and Antone Melton-Meaux
• “We Have an Emergency On Our Hands”: Marianne Williamson On the “Freefall” of American Democracy
• The “Freefall” Continues
• Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: Quote of the Day – June 9, 2020
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 2, 2020
• Progressive Perspectives on Bernie Sanders' Suspension of His Presidential Campaign
• Deep Gratitude
• Something to Think About – March 23, 2020
• “A Beautiful Message, So Full of Greatness”
• Marianne Williamson: “Anything That Will Help People Thrive, I’m Interested In”
• Beto, Biden and Buttigieg: “Empty Suits and Poll-Tested Brands”
• Progressive Perspectives on Joe Biden's Presidential Bid

Related Off-site Link:
Why Biden Must Win: It Is Not About Democracy, It’s About Fascism – Richard Falk (RichardFalk.org via Common Dreams, October 13, 2020).

Memes of the Times

There’s no point trying to be solemn for solemnity’s sake. Even in the darkest, most trying and difficult moments, I believe if something is funny, you have to laugh. Seize the opportunity to escape the situation, even if for a few seconds, and welcome the release.

– Aimee Foster

With every state in the U.S. now relaxing to some degree their “stay-in-place” orders, first put into effect back in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it seems a good time to look back at some of the funny memes (and a couple of serious ones) of the past few months.

And finally, here’s Dark Shadows’ Grayson Hall delivering our “every quarantine mood” . . .





Related Off-site Links:
Why It’s Essential to Find Humor During Your Darkest Hours – Aimee Foster (Tiny Buddha, 2015).
Escape Our Current Hell With These (Good) Coronavirus Jokes – Chris Murphy (Vulture May 8, 2020).
How ‘Karen’ Became a Coronavirus Villain – Kaitlyn Tiffany (The Atlantic, May 6, 2020).
What 11 Artists Have Created During Quarantine – Gay Gassmann (Architectural Digest, May 19, 2020).
Opposing Social Distancing Isn’t About Freedom – Tim Wise (Medium, May 19, 2020).
U.S. Lockdown Protests May Have Spread Virus Widely, Cellphone Data Suggests – Jason Wilson (The Guardian, May 18, 2020).
Here’s How Most Americans Really Feel About Wearing Face Masks – Ariel Edwards-Levy (The Huffington Post, May 20, 2020).
Tired of Being Home Most of the Time, Americans in Reopened States Weigh the Risks of Going Out – Christina Maxouris, Eliott C. McLaughlin, and Steve Almasy (CNN, May 20, 2020).

UPDATES: Four Concepts to Assess Your Personal Risk as the U.S. Reopens – Leana S. Wen (The Washington Post, May 21, 2020).
Poll: Minnesotans Support Stay-at-Home Restrictions as Fear of the Virus Persists – Briana Bierschbach and Jessie Van Berkel (Star Tribune, May 23, 2020).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Hope and Beauty in the Midst of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic
• A Prayer in Times of a Pandemic
• An Infectious Disease Specialist Weighs-in on Covid-19
• Marianne Williamson: In the Midst of This “Heartbreaking” Pandemic, It's Okay to Be Heartbroken
• The Calm Before the Storm
• In the Midst of Crisis, Learning Resistance and Vision-Seeking from the Indigenous and African-American Experience
• The Crisis Is Not About the Virus
• Examining the Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Something to Think About – April 22, 2020
• Marianne Williamson: “This Is a Time of Transformation”
• “You're All Kings and Queens”
• The Lancet Weighs-in on the Trump Administration's “Incoherent” Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Something to Think (and Chuckle) About . . .

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• The Sexuality of Jesus
• Jesus Was a Sissy
• Jesus and Homosexuality
• The Bible and Homosexuality
• The "Disciple Jesus Loved" as a Role Model for LGBT Christians
• John, the Beloved Disciple
• Remembering the Beloved Disciple: "We Love His Love for the Lovely One"
• Revisiting a Groovy Jesus (and a Dysfunctional Theology)
• Jesus and the Centurion (Part 1)
• Jesus and the Centurion (Part 2)
• The "Wild Gaiety" of Jesus' Moral Teaching
• Why Jesus Is My Man

Something to Think (and Chuckle) About . . .

– Source

Related Off-site Links:
NBA Star Steph Curry Calls Trump an "Ass" – Jennifer Calfas (The Hill, February 8, 2017).
Top Ten Reasons Trump is an Asshole – IndieCentrist (Daily Kos, July 18, 2016).
The Internet Is Losing Its Mind Over a Photo of Justin Trudeau's Ass – Daily Hive, February 24, 2017).
To No One's Surprise, People Love Justin Trudeau's Butt – Chloe Bryan (Mashable, February 24, 2017).
Donald Trump's Strange Handshake Style and How Justin Trudeau Beat It – David Fanner (The Guardian, February 13, 2017).
Trump Wastes Little Time Breaking His Key Promises In a Cruel Budget – Steve Benen (MSNBC, May 23, 2017).
Stop Swooning Over Justin Trudeau. The Man Is a Disaster for the Planet – Bill McKibben (The Guardian, April 17, 2017).
Justin Trudeau Navigates World of Trump and Brexit: "Globalisation Isn't Working for Ordinary People" – Ashifa Kassam and Laurence Mathieu-Léger (The Guardian, December 15, 2016).
Justin Trudeau Is Not Your Friend – Jordy Cummings (Jacobin, September 9, 2016).

UPDATE: Stop Running From the Truth: Justin Trudeau Is Playing Us With His PR Stunts – Ashifa Kassam (The Guardian, May 26, 2017).

Of Dandelions . . . and Dandy Lions

.

Related Off-site Links:
Let Dandelions Grow. Bees, Beetles and Birds Need Them – Kate Bradbury (The Guardian, May 12, 2015).
Stop the Dandelion Madness! Making Peace with Dandelions and Bees – Laurie Neverman (Common Sense Homesteading, April 19, 2016).
16 Benefits You Didn’t Know About Using Dandelions – Debra Maslowski (DIY Natural, May 19, 2014).
3 Delicious Summer Recipes for This Powerful Flower – Nick Polizzi (The Sacred Science, July 5, 2017).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Prayer of the Week – July 28, 2013
• Green Destiny
• Spring: "Truly the Season for Joy and Hope"
• The Enkindled Spring
• Celebrating the Return of Spring
• Springtime by the Creek
• Let the Greening Begin . . .

Judy to the Rescue

I don't know about you, but I need a laugh – or at least a chuckle – tonight!

And so here for your amusement (and mine) is "Judy to the Rescue," courtesy of those ever-so talented Punchy Players!





For more comic relief at The Wild Reed, see:
• Now Here's a Canny Idea!
• Let's Hear a Big 'Woo' for The Saturday Show
• One Out of Ten
• A Humorous Look at Internalized Homophobia
• Did Ya Hear About Our John?

Quote of the Day

[I don’t use Twitter or other social media] because I’ve got to have time in my own head. . . . I’m very anxious about too much of this [social media stuff] going on because what people need is time to cruise . . . to sit in a train not doing anything but just staring out the window. But if everyone is listening to stuff or writing stuff or seeing stuff, you become a reactive person, not a proactive person. You don’t have time to think of your own thoughts. All you do is react to other people’s thoughts. . . . If you think of a show like Downton Abbey, you see the downstairs where there’s a kind of row of bells and [when one jingles] they all go, “Oh, that would be the green drawing room,” and up they get and run. That’s all it is when you have a mobile phone. [It rings and you go] “Oh, I’d better answer that.” Why be servants? I don’t use [a mobile phone]. I’ve got one because sometimes [in London] you have to park with a mobile phone. They won’t even take money. What’s happening!? So I’ve learned how to do the mobile phone for that but [otherwise] I don’t use one. [The downside to this:] Eddie Izzard took my number and he phoned me and it was a really sweet call. But I didn’t find it for three months until I parked the car!

– Joanna Lumley
The Jonathan Ross Show
April 27, 2013

To watch Jonathan Ross’ interview with actress, comedienne, author, and activist Joanna Lumley in its entirety, click here.


Related Off-site Links:
Disconnected in a Technology-Connected World – Malysa Stratton Louk (Digital Journal, April 14, 2012).
Social Networking: Failure to Connect – Tom Meltzer (The Guardian, August 6, 2010).
Is Staying Connected Making You Disconnected? – Kelly Jubic (Mark It with a Red Pen, February 4, 2013).
Social Networking Alienation – Inge Van Eetveldt (EzineArticles.com, June 12, 2013).
Why I Had to Quit Facebook – Monique Minahan (Elephant Journal, May 24, 2013).
How to Quit Facebook: 4 Steps and 7 Reasons – Lesya Li (HavingTime.com, June 2013).
Going Unsocial: How to Disconnect from Social Media – Michael Miller (Que, July 23, 2012).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Joanna Lumley on “Our Greatest Gift”
Let the Games Begin