The TN Child Marriage Bill Tells Me Once Again Everything I Need to Know About the GOP

Marriage, in its ideal form, is the promise between two adults, who are ready, willing, and able to make what is hopefully a lifetime commitment. But the reality is that it is often used as a form of barter (with the woman being the thing being bartered) or a way of silencing an accusation of rape or pedophilia.

Last week, a bill was being passed through the Tennessee statehouse that would have opened the door for a grownup to marry a child. As of this weekend, it was amended to ensure that the couple saying their vows are at least eighteen. The only reason why the minimum age was added was because of a lot of people who made a lot of noise.

These people claim to represent “family values”. But their image of “family values” is rooted in the past. By attempting to control the lives of Americans via the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ (i.e. the Don’t Say Gay law) legislation, they are again showing their true colors. They don’t care about the people of this country. They only care about catering to their base and the archaic ideas do not represent where this nation is going.

By holding onto what was, the GOP is holding us back. I firmly believe that we cannot let them do so. The only way to stop them is to vote them out and make sure that we have representatives in government who are doing the job we are paying them to do.

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Rat in the Kitchen Review

Reality competition shows are the norm these days. It takes a creative mind to create a concept that will keep the viewers coming back week after week.

Rat in the Kitchen is the newest program on the TBS schedule. Hosted by actress/comedienne Natasha Leggero and judged by chef Ludo Lefebvre, six chefs compete for a cash prize. The twist is that one of them is deliberately sabotaging their fellow contestant’s dishes. If the group is able to guess who is doing who the rat is, they win the money in their collective bank. But if this person is able to successfully remain unnoticed until the end of the episode, they walk away with a full wallet.

I had fun watching this show. The question is more than who will make the best dish. The guessing game of who the rat is kept me engaged and watching until the closing credits rolled.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Rat in the Kitchen airs on TBS on Thursday night at 9PM.

Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism Book Review

Every social movement, for all of the good things it creates, has its own flaws. It is through these imperfections that allow both the movement as a whole and the organizations that make it up to improve upon its ideals.

Since its inception in the late 19th century, the feminist movement has opened the door and broken down barriers that in the past, kept women in virtual slavery. The long-running issue that exists is that the image of a feminist is of a middle or upper-middle-class Caucasian woman. Women of color, disabled women, immigrant women, etc, are often marginalized. Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism was published in 2018. Edited by June Eric-Udorie with essays by writers such as Britt Bennett and Nicole Dennis-Benn, the book explores the different facets of feminism that are still not given their due.

I really enjoyed this book. Every woman (and everyone else by extension) who believes in the feminist principles should read it at least once. It is a reminder that for all of the good the movement has done, there is still internal rejigging that needs to be done in order to have our words match our deeds.

Do I recommend it? Yes.