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Mark McNease On Topic (Substack)
Subscribe to Mark McNease On Topic HERE
Tis the season for stockings full of crap
Who doesn’t want to end the year with a Trump-ordered impeachment of President Biden, the man who kicked his ass once and will kick it again?
Who doesn’t want to see Ukraine abandoned in the manger while Jesus, Mary, and the Republican House head off for selfies and sleigh bells?
Who doesn’t look forward to a continuation of all-Trump-all-the-time media coverage of the only man whose obituary I long every day to read?
Who takes comfort in knowing even monsters die?
Me! Me! Me!
Can we stop calling them ‘Supreme’?
Unsurprising, to say the least. The Republican justices (for that’s what they are, not “conservative”) are political hacks through and through. They lie and deceive and live lavish, kingly lives bought and paid for. We can’t do anything about their unaccountable power at this point, but we can stop pretending they deserve the least bit of respect, no matter how they decide. America is so broken, in so many ways. It all appears to have been a very long-lasting fiction that is now threadbare and exposed as the corrupt-from-to-to-bottom smoke and mirrors it always was.
From Dahlia Lithwick in Slate:
“With each new peek behind the curtain, this fantasy becomes more difficult to buy into, even for those desperate to believe. It turns out that the justices—at least five of them on the right—are functionally indistinguishable from cynical partisan lawmakers making deals in the Senate cloakroom. It turns out that abortion rights vanished in America because five conservatives barely tried to hide the fact that they could do that, simply because they could do that. And it turns out that they’re increasingly bad at covering their tracks.”
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The Twist Podcast #247: Eggnog and Impeachment, Listeners’ Favorite Things about Christmas, and an Interview with Equality Florida’s Carlos Guillermo Smith
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we add Congress to the naughty list, hear listeners’ favorite things about Christmas, and enjoy an interview excerpt with Carlos Guillermo Smith, Senior Policy Advisor with Equality Florida.
Click to hear the full interview with Carlos Guillermo Smith.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Carlos Guillermo Smith, Senior Policy Advisor for Equality Florida. Carlos was also a member of the Florida legislature for six years (D), and has extensive experience as an advocate for LGBTQ people in a state where anti-LGBTQ legislation has taken hold. I spoke with Carlos about life on the ground for LGBTQ people, how the laws are shaping reality for us and our allies, and what is being done to resist the forces working against us. Fasten your headphones for an engrossing conversation.
A graduate of the University of Central Florida, Carlos Guillermo Smith first joined Equality Florida in 2011 as a public policy fellow and returned in early 2015 as government affairs manager. Carlos previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2011-2012 as the chief of staff to former Democratic Representative Scott Randolph as well as one of Florida’s first openly gay state representatives Joe Saunders from 2012-2014. A twice-elected former chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party himself and longtime LGBT progressive activist, Carlos made history in November 2016 when he was elected to the Florida House as our state’s first openly LGBT Latino lawmaker. [Equality Florida]
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New Promo Image
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Cover Reveal for ‘Hell to Pay: A House in the Woods (1 and 2)
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New Banner: Mark / M.A. McNease
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The Twist Podcast #246: Taylor Triumphant, Christmas Listicles, and An Interview with Lila Szyryj, Miss Wisconsin 2023
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we congratulate Time’s Person of the Year Taylor Swift, share some listener voice messages, consider the worst Christmas songs ever, and listen in to Rick’s interview with Lila Szyryj, Miss Wisconsin 2023.
The Twist Podcast is brought to you by Queer We Are where you’ll find a podcast, newsletter, merch and more in the Queer We Are shop.
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2023 MadeMark Publishing
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Now You Can Leave a Voice Message for Me!
Now you can leave a voice message for me – author, podcaster, publisher. Just CLICK HERE and record, it’s that simple.
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Video Trailer for ‘A House in the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due’
I have so much fun making these! A House in the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due, is now available widely. You can get it on Amazon HERE.
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My Interview by Dawn Barclay of Mystery Writers of America (NY Chapter), On Staying Motivated
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The Twist Podcast #245: Thanksgiving Thicket, Tuberville’s Tantrum, and An Interview Small Plate with Author Dave Hughes
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we chat up Thanksgiving, ponder the damage done to military families by Senator Tommy Tuberville, and enjoy an excerpt from Mark’s One Thing or Another Podcast interview with author Dave Hughes. News, views, and more Twist listicles.
The Twist Podcast is brought to you by Queer We Are where you’ll find a podcast, newsletter, merch and more in the Queer We Are shop.
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2023 MadeMark Publishing
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One Thing or Another: Age Is Not Just a Number
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Mark McNease
Welcome back to the One Thing or Another column: A lighthearted look at life, aging, and the absurdities of it all.
“Age is just a number!” How many times have we heard this uttered with grating cheer, as if getting older was just a figment of someone else’s imagination. To this way of thinking, I’m not really real, I’m a number-defying sprite whose bones, sinews, and brain aren’t in their mid-60s, but somewhere preferable, perhaps 40. I have the luxury of pretending to be any age but the one I am. I’ve always cringed when I heard this, and I always will.
Age is not just a number. Age is empirical. Age is a measurement—how many times the Earth has traveled around the sun, with me on the bridge watching it all speed by. Age is the number of years my knees have carried my fluctuating weight, and how many mornings my eyes have opened to a new day. Age is the truth, and I’m not someone who wants to hide from it with platitudes, euphemisms, and make-believe.
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The Twist Podcast #244: House Speaker Squeaker, Belize Please, and an Interview with Rob Pero, Founder of Canndigenous
Rob Pero, Founder of Canndigenous
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we strap back into the hotseat after a few weeks off. We chat about the House Speaker Follies, Rick’s upcoming trip to Belize, and enjoy an interview with Rob Pero, Found of Canndigenous, a Native-owned CBD company dedicated to helping the indigenous community it supports.
Rob Pero is a serial entrepreneur, savvy marketer, and proud member of the Bad River Tribe. Like preceding generations of Ojibwe people, his core values are rooted in love for family, support for community, respect for the natural world, and a commitment to doing everything, as the Ojibwe say, ‘in a good way’.
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MadeMark Publishing Now on Shopify – That’s Me!
You have to start somewhere. My eBooks will all be on Shopify soon. And I’ll be using my storefront for much more. Stay tuned!