The Honey Badger

There's just too much happening in Washington to pick a satisfying subject to write about this week.  You can't ignore Pruitt's declaration that human's aren't the leading cause for global warming.  You also can't ignore the train-wreck which is Paul Ryan's healthcare catastrophe...and the "fixes" that conservatives and ultra-conservatives are suggesting.  Specifically, ultra conservatives don't want the inclusion of prenatal care to influence insurance premiums for insured males.  Apparently, those idiots didn't slide out of their mother's wombs and instead were hatched from eggs that weren't fertilized, but instead, blessed by the virgin mother.  I so wish these conservatives would start listening to the Pope and act upon traditional Christian values...the way Christ intended!

But I digress.

No, today I wanted to bring to your attention the fact that my son and I are actively competing in/following on twitter #2017MMM: Mammal March Madness.  Every year, for the last five years, expert scientists from Ivy League institutions of higher education have a little fun right around the time of the NCAA tournament.  Instead of basketball teams (which is sooooo played out), you fill out a bracket, designed by the experts, of which mammal will conquer, survive, outsmart, which other mammal.  It's fairly simple.  And then, each night, the experts tweet the results, round by round.

Which brings me to the Honey Badger.  This year, in the 16 teams of the Desert Mammal conference, the Honey Badger has, rightfully so, succeeded at netting the first seed.  Why?  Because, if you don't know, the honey badger don't give a shit.  My son came to this conclusion on his own (without expletives) as he and I watched the YouTube video of two badgers taking on and surviving a small pride of lionesses, 6 in all.  And, while gashed pretty badly, it limped away before it became a meal.  My son, rightfully, chose this one to go all the way, and time will tell if the scientific experts agree.  Results are regularly posted to the tournament's home-page alone with a schedule of when the "battles" take place.

I can't help but think that, we, you and I, need to be more like the Honey Badger through this administration.  We need to take what we want.  Are the Feds and the cheeto-in-chief taking away programs that we deem valuable?  We need to lick our wounds, and pony up so that those less fortunate than us, can still be able to get the care and support they need.  My hope is that, in addition to cutting programs, Agent Orange also cuts my taxes enough that I can throw those reclaimed funds back into those institutions that need it most.  Hell, why wait.  Here's a couple of non-profits I believe in that aren't on the radar, but need the funding in order to either preserve the environment, or preserve our humanity.  Check out their pages on giving and share this post in hopes that others believe what you and I do, that as proverbial honey badgers, we need to give a shit.

http://theraptortrust.org/

http://aidsresource.org/

http://jakesride.org/