Printable Postcards: In Opposition to the Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett

More postcards, this time in opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

Here are a few links of note:

Also included are postcards that are, I realize, screaming into the void.  But sometimes that void, especially if it’s an ethical void, needs to be screamed into.  Or at, really.

Printable Postcards: Peaceful Transfer of Power and Threats to Voting

In response to Trump’s unwillingness to commit to relinquishing power if he’s defeated in November, ABC News reports that

In a remarkable move, the Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to a peaceful transition of power in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s refusal to do so if he loses the election.

Which is all very well and good, but I’m left wondering what something like that means when we’re still seeing attacks on the USPS and on early voting (see my last post for an example, or this story from The Texas Tribune regarding Harris County’s blocked attempt to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters in the county, which includes Houston).

I’d written these postcards earlier in the day, so they don’t cite the above action by the Senate, but given that the threats to voting still exist and Trump’s continued stance on transferring power, I don’t think they’ve been rendered irrelevant by the Senate’s action today.  Printing instructions on the linked page.

Texas GOP Sues Republican Governor over Expanded Early Voting

The Republican Party in Texas is going after its own to try to stop Gov. Abbott from ensuring safer in-person voting.  From The Texas Tribune:

In July, Abbott added six days to the early voting period, moving the start date up to Oct. 13 from Oct. 19, citing the coronavirus pandemic. In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday with the state Supreme Court, Abbott’s intraparty critics say the move defied election law that requires early voting to start on the 17th day before the election.

It is the latest legal challenge to Abbott’s emergency powers, which he has wielded aggressively in dealing with the pandemic.

Add this one as yet another attempt by the GOP to curtail access to voting….

Printable Postcards: Follow the Precedent You Set, GOP

First, if you haven’t read Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead, and we’re the ones going to hell over at Pervert Justice, I recommend that you do.

Second, I’ve written a couple postcards that I’ll mail out to my Republican senators tomorrow.  They’re up at my website: http://www.tdwalker.net/postcards/  If you’d like to use them as is, please do.  Or update them as you’d like.  Printing instructions are included on the linked page.

Contact information for senators can be found here: https://www.senate.gov/general/contacting.htm   Usually, I just send postal mail to their local offices, since it arrives sooner.

I’m off to make a couple phone calls to their offices now.

FtB Fundraiser: Creativity Coaching Session Auction

As part of FtB’s September fundraising efforts, I’m auctioning off a half-hour creative coaching session via Zoom. What’s that, you might ask? Here’s the idea: if you’re having trouble with a creative issue, say determining your short- and long-term creative goals, finding more time to work on your projects, or figuring out which projects you want to work on, I’m here to help.

Okay, that sounds good. But who are you, you might also ask?

Hi, I’m T.D. Walker. And I’ve had a lot of creative problems. Problems like, oh, determining my short- and long-term creative goals, finding time to write, and figuring out which projects I want to work on. And even bigger ones, like not writing poetry, my main genre, for eight years…. So, I’ve been there, and I’ve done that. What helped me get past my blocks was taking a long, hard look at my free time, getting together with other writers to talk craft, and figuring out ways to bribe encourage myself to sit down and write. Which worked, I’m happy to report.  Talking about ways to make things work with other creatives was a big part of that.

Here’s what I’ve done, in third person, as you do:

T.D. Walker is the author of the poetry collections Small Waiting Objects (CW Books 2019) and Maps of a Hollowed World (Another New Calligraphy 2020). Her science fiction poems and stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Apricity, The Future Fire, Web Conjunctions,The Cascadia Subduction Zone, Abyss & Apex, Kaleidotrope, and elsewhere.  She curates Short Waves / Short Poems. After completing graduate work in English Literature, Walker began her career as a software developer.  She draws on both her grounding in literary studies and her experience as a computer programmer in writing poetry and fiction.

So that’s me.

Basically, I’m open to helping you with anything in the realm of solving creative issues. That said, I can’t, for multiple reasons, critique your writing or other creative work, tell you whether I think your book/painting/taxidermy armadillo will sell, or participate in anything unethical or illegal. But if you’re a creative of any sort and you’d like to talk out a challenge you’re facing with an objective third party, I’m here!

If you’re interested in chatting with a published author about anything creative, you can put in a bid in the comments.  Or you can place an anonymous bid by emailing me at [email protected]. The winner will be the highest bid as of Sunday September 27th at 11:59pm CST.  (That’s Monday, September 28th 4:59am UTC.)  The winning bidder will submit payment to FtB’s PayPal account and then contact me to set up the session.

Please note: I have set a minimum bid of $30, which is pretty good for this type of thing. Plus, it’s for a good cause!  Have any questions?  Please feel free to contact me or leave a note in the comment.  Thanks!