By-the-Wind Sailors and a short rant

Hello Friends,

We were at the beach in Encinitas, California over Memorial Day weekend, and were fascinated to find lots of these sea creatures pretty much all over the beach. They are called Valella or more commopnly by-the-wind sailors. According to a quick online search, ... "Besides their sail, a striking feature of Velella is their blue pigmentation. In fact, most animals that live on the surface of the water (Snails, jellies, fish) have blue pigmentation. It may serve different purposes for different organisms, but is like a combination of camouflage and protection from the suns rays. Dried animals on the beach lose their pigmentation and look bleached white." I shot this with a Panasonic Lumix GX7 with 3D lens, with frame sides surrounding my subject. The width of this image is approximately two inches.

Here's my rant. I'll keep it short and simple. True to the time tested playbook of wanna-be authoritarians, politicians in several republican controlled states are turning their efforts and wrath on a small and highly vulnerable minority, specifically trans-gender people. Under the guise of maintaining the "christian values" our country was founded on, and claiming it's to protect children, hundreds of new laws have been enacted to restrict the rights and access to medical care of those who for whatever reason don't feel right in their birth gender and choose to live their lives as they see themselves.

Lacking the will to actually work to improve the lives and safety of their constituents, republicans in these states see it in their best interest to rattle up their base in a ridiculous and shameful war on non-conformity to gender norms. The USA I grew up in and want so much to believe in was based on personal freedoms, and if someone born a male sees himself/herself to be a woman, or visa versa, that's a freedom they should be entitled to, and one that no one else is harmed by or should be threatened by.

We must not and can not keep silent and expect our freedoms to take care of themselves in the current climate of war on trans, gays, women's right to choose, immigrants, blacks, jews, and other minorities. If the republican party has any legitimacy to lead and rule in this country, it's time for their leaders to step up move away from these stupid, hateful and harmful policies. I won't be holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

Regards,

Barry Rothstein

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