RantWoman lifts up many Friends who have found freedom among Friends to be fully who they are. RantWoman especially wants to lift up two people in her orbit.
Here, slightly edited are comments RantWoman posted elewhere.
Remember last year? Some of RantWoman's social media was filled with complaints that transgender people were trying to steal Easter because Transgender Day of Visibility fell on or near Easter. Here are two people especially to lift up, whether it's Easter or not.
Julia P. memorable for favoring Value village formal wear for daytime events. Julia and her friend Maria are both deaf-blind and have many stories about interpreter challenges. They now live somewhere in CA.
Mateo Hayes Hansen of Bellingham who passed away recently. RantWoman has known Mateo since before he transitioned so RantWoman has to keep checking herself to avoid deadnaming him. Mateo was a special ed teacher. He lost vision in mid-life and for a time was not in contact with Friends in places where he had previously worshipped. RantWoman never had the impression that he was interested in either blindness consumer group in spite of his tireless encouragement to RantWoman to keep speaking up about ableism and patience with other Friends struggling with vision loss.
For RantWoman it is remarkable that the article mentions nothing about Mateo's blindness even though he and his guide dog Batik and RantWoman did a presentation one time for the children's class at our Quaker meeting. Children sometimes are much more interested in guide dogs than in the humans who come with them. Enough said?
Mateo served on the board of Western Friend, wrote at least one book of historical fiction about Quaker history and is remembered for many insights.
RantWoman will link further information when a memorial minute is published.
RantWoman is NOT a deep scholar of the US Supreme Court or of first amendment freedom of speech issues. RantWoman is not letting that deter from a couple comments about the Supreme Court announcing its ruling overturning the part of the CO law that bans conversion therapy as practiced against people struggling with their sexuality and / or gender identity.
Will RantWoman follow Justice Sotomayor's persistent recommendation to READ THE OPINIONS? Maybe.
Does RantWoman concur with what has been reported about Justice Jackson's view? YES, the kind of speech that the CO law is trying to bar absolutely is harmful.
But as long as the court is going to hang its opnion on freedom of speech issues, speaking out loudly and clearly and embracing people for who they are becomes even more essential than before.
Who Knew? Marilyn Manson has covered this Johny cash song God's Gonna Cut You Down several times.
Tell me it's weird to make this the earworm of the week for holy week. Guess what! COPE!
This song is dedicated to the Secretary of #WarCrimes, to his pastor who is being even more Rah-rah violence, and to Pope Leo attempted to spank the warmongers.
RantWoman is willing to, but NOT linger long, in the place where the good pastor's words refer to some kind of spiritual transformation. On account of allof MAGA who are metaphor-challenged though, Yuck. Way to win converts bro.
And the Center on Conscience and War is right there in social media saying, basically, "if this galvanizes you, we can help you file a conscientious objector claim.
RantWoman knows almost nothing about current conscientious objection realities but thanks her social media streams for bringing this connection in this time of....
Sal Mercogliano is BY FAR the most reliable and concise source of info about Global shipping RantWoman has found. YouTube first delivered a one of Sal's video when there was a boat headed up the West Coast drawing protests because it supposedly was carrying weapons to Israel for the Gaza war. RantWoman and wondered about the shipping route and formed the opinion, thanks to Sal, that claims about arms shipments should be looked at more carefully. RantWoman has not chased down further info about that particular vessel.
There is PLENTY of other news. This video in a nutshell
--Sal dissects the latest claims from President #StableGenius about the number of ships actually making progress around the Strait of Hormuz. The answer, not as many as the President claims and, RantWoman imagines, the lies are intended to calm the oil markets at least temporarily.
--In this video Sal doesn't mention the humanitarian crisis he has documented elsewhere of all the vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf and running out of supplies. Measures to address the needs of the stranded crews, to RantWoman seem like an obvious easy first step to create a greater sense of safe navigation than currently exists. Addressing this humanitarian matter could POSSIBLY also ease a little bit a sense of global outrage as poorer countries try to absorb all the disruptions in world energy markets. Pricing will probably still be a mess but at least someone is looking out for all the crews on all these internationally flagged and crewed vessels.
--Sal says "send in the US military." It's not clear to RantWoman, send in who to do what? Sal is not required to be a politician. That said, SOME mention of getting Congressional buy-in seems HIGHLY on point.
--Longer term, RantWoman hesitates about appearing rhetorically aligned with the #AmericaFirst crowd. Nevertheless, 1. Why should it be the US alone trying to enforce anything anywhere? 2. The US has PLENTY we could be doing with our tax dollars if we weren't draining the Treasury to the tund of #2Billion / day.
-SO much uncertainty, which is triply irritating since President #StableGenius is busy cancelling renewable energy projects every way he can, doing everything he can to cancel anything that would make the US less dependent on oil and gas.
--Short comment about loosening sanctions, the UK monitoring the Russian shadow fleet, and Ukraine continuing to attack Russian oil trade infrastructure.
RantWoman will go off separately about the Secretary of #WarCrimes and a certain recent prayer session.
RantWoman is picking some thematic clumps of videos. with some commentary
The Department of DEFENSE wants $200 billion dollars for its war of choice. Meanwhile aircraft carriers are sitting ducks and the USS Gerald R Ford is already so overstressed by a long deployment that there are memes of it sinking even though the flames in question are a laundry fire. The F-35 heat signature has been identified so more planes can be hit. And million-dollar interceptors can be disable with $20,000 drones.
If it were up to RantWoman, RantWoman would want $10 for diplomacy and social programs for every $1 of defense spending. RantWoman is also not commenting about general threads about "if only we had this or that military capability..." when Iran is doing TONS of damage with $20,000 drones. There is also the whole question of what is the US doing in the first place and are bombs the best way to do it?
So give the Pentagon MORE money? How about hard nope. Spend $10 dollars on depomacy for every dollar fed to ....
Rhetorical note: Secretary of DEFENSE Pete Hegseth has proclaimed himself the Secretary of WAR without any involvement by Congress, the body that would be tasked with renaming a Cabinet level agency. RantWoman will either be using the hashtag #SecDef or, based on interpretation of multiple media statements, the Secretary of War CRIMES. RantWoman would desperately prefer that the label not be needed, but that is only one reality of a situation that is horrific on so many levels.
Various pieces specifically about weapons and logistics issues
"Here in S Korea we have to figure out how to deal with the clown show."
President #StableGenius asks SOUTH Korea to help set up a meeting with N Korean dictator and North Korea fires missiles.
Why ask for military assistance by social media?
Korea evacuates citizens from 4 countries.
Trump wants mine sweeping help from Japan despite Constitutional prohibitions against action outside national waters, can only help after the war is over.
David Sachs says "good time for the US to declare victory and get out."
China doesn't know what (the President) wants out of meeting with Xi. US executives not sure whether invited.
KC -135's: SIX crashed or damaged. Claim that the KC-135 that went down collided with a second KC-`25. Was this because of jamming or signal disruption?
Attack on Kharg Island frequently bombed during Iran/Iraq war.
Nance spouting "lived experience."
Militarized Island. Unclear impact on oil facilities.
Chatting about military hardware and Improved Hawk missiles and sales with money used to fund the Contras.
90 impact points NOT 90 targets.
Most of Kharg Island goes to China. If oil targets get hit, DHinese demand will drive gas prices even higher.
People don't hang around on bases. They go to Mom's house."
US escort under GHW Bush but US flag increases insurance, makes a target. So pay small fee to small counties to use their flag.
Previous escort experience: madness
In short demonstration attack and shoot selves in foot if plan to occupy.
President #StableGenius called this "The greatest bombardment in the history of the Middle east."
Geography of oil fields and multiple countries' oil facilities.
LOTS of small boat trade and action.
"The Iranians are no longer fighting a military war. They are fighting an economic war." and lots of back and forth "If you hit this, we will hit that." Goal is to put pressure on US and US allies. Goal: get the US out.
Burden of pressure on the world to STOP TRUMP.
Economic warfare (increased gas prices) is working.
Iran to Gulf neighbors: these are US targets. You host them.
Using remote control wooden boats.
Marine Expeditionary units. Either in Cuba or near Japan. If planning had happened, MAYBE prepared.
Have to go from Philipines back to Japan to get desert camo. Will take almost 2 days to get to Iran, If actually get there, Iran has plenty of ways to defend. Or things get very hot very fast.
Nance: are they serious? Would they have prepared differently? OR is this all propaganda???
If actually get "boots on the ground" very dangerous.
Jacob: "During war, misreading your opponent can have disastrous consequences and I see no evidence that (the President) understands that."
Text of the plenary description because RantWoman has not even responded to a question about physical accessibility, let alone flown into sufficient rage about WHY TEXT IN GRAPHICS ARE AN ACCESSIBILITY PROBLEM
(The Good news: the registration form gives LOTS of ways to make needs known)
Panelists
Sarah June Welker, Center for Development in Central America
Joe Snyder, Guatemala Friends Scholarship Program
Even Welkin, Friends World Committee on Consultation Section of the Americas
Friday, March 6, 2026
#Iran #India #NavalBlockade
The US Secretary of DEFENSE is so busy puffing his chest that he can't see the forest for a handful of the trees.
RantWoman with absolutely no background in Weapons Speak, the mlibrary of military hardward and national security jargon, has been wondering how long it would take someone to notice the vulnerability of aircraft carriers.
Drone attacks on LNG tankers cause explosions without the same environmental risk as oil spills from oil tankers.
US torpedoes UNARMED Iranian ship that had been invited to Indian military exercises. Law of war requires rescue of shipwrecked sailors. The US did not. Instead, Sri Lanka rescued sailors from this strike and another Iranian ship.
The US is not respecting any international laws anymore.
Comments on the President comparing Iran to Venezuela.
"This is a LOT to process."
The Iran cost ticker.
Put money for Ukraine into any supplemental for Iran?
Did (US voters) vote for US taxpayers to eat the risk of any ships getting attacked in the straits of Hormuz?
Reference to Russian military blogger frank perspective
And for some particularly stark economic pronostication
Mention of royalist claims that the IRGC attacked the Girls' school but that seems unlikely because of timing and sequence of different strikes and stated intent by US and Israel to destroy Iranian navy.
RantWoman snark:
--"Oh no. Those civilians right next to military targets!" "everybody" does it and accuses everyone else of targeting civilians.
--Does anyone seriously think that the pedophile president really cares about the needs and challenges of Iranian women? And dear #GOP congresswomen, RantWoman is asking YOU.
Interests: Digital Inclusion, Languages and language access, walkability, accessibility, disaster preparedness.
When in doubt, laugh about something!
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com
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