We often hear right-winged politicians and pundits wring their hands about declining birth rates — but rarely do they speak honestly about the conditions that make people want to have kids. If you’re serious about supporting family growth, especially for women, here’s where to begin:

1. Protect reproductive rights and health.
Full autonomy over when and how to have children is foundational. Without it, everything else is coercion, not support.

2. Eliminate the gender pay gap across all industries.
Economic equality is essential to long-term security and planning. Women are less likely to start or grow families when penalized financially for their gender.

3. Reintroduce truly merit-based hiring and promotion practices that support women.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs aren’t “handouts” — they level a field that’s long been slanted.

4. End workplace discrimination against mothers and pregnant people.
Protect against being passed over, penalized, or pushed out for having or wanting children.

5. Offer extended paid parental leave.
Caring for a newborn shouldn’t come with financial ruin or forced career setbacks.

6. Provide universal healthcare.
The costs of pregnancy, birth, and raising a child shouldn’t depend on your job or your bank account.

7. Provide universal childcare.
Childcare should be accessible, affordable, and high quality, not a luxury or a crisis waiting to happen.

8. Expand social safety nets to protect families from poverty.
Child tax credits, food access, and income guarantees relieve the pressure that deters many from starting families.

9. Tax billionaires appropriately and regulate cost-of-living drivers.
Broad economic stability comes from reining in unchecked wealth hoarding and market manipulation.

10. Ban private equity ownership of single-family homes.
Let people buy homes to live in, not to extract rent from struggling families.

11. Build affordable, family-friendly housing with community infrastructure.
Zoning laws, co-housing models, and neighborhood design should support multigenerational living and long-term stability.

12. Normalize and support diverse family structures.
Families don’t all look the same — single parents, queer families, and chosen families deserve equal rights and respect.

13. Protect LGBTQ+ marriage and adoption rights.
Denying people the right to form families undermines the very thing you’re claiming to promote.

14. Study women’s health with the same depth as men’s.
Invest in understanding and addressing the medical realities of pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum health, and hormonal changes.

15. Shift culture away from grind/hustle norms and hyper-individualism.
Family-building thrives in cultures that value rest, connection, and collective care — not just productivity.

16. Encourage (actually demand) men to show up differently.
Men who want children need to stop embodying selfish, patriarchal entitlement. Be emotionally mature, supportive, and share the load — at home and in life.

17. Stop listening to male influencers (like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson) archaic opinions about women.
Their worldview is toxic, regressive, and deeply anti-family — despite what they claim.

18. Mind your own business.
Whether someone wants no kids, one kid, or five — it’s their choice. Support freedom, not control.

Supporting the leader of a failed coup attempt and coordinated insurrection, who openly tried to circumvent the peaceful transition of democratically elected power, in the name of supporting free speech, is like supporting child abusers in the name of parenting style choices, supporting poverty in the name of nutritional options, and supporting suicide as a self-help mechanism.

Do not forget what happened — Who. Why. How.

The entire world saw it — the lead up to January 6th, 2021 in Washington, DC, the day of, and the events after (still occurring).

Never forget.

They (the entire cultural world of Trumpism, A.K.A. the King Joffrey Fanclub) do not get to claim patriotism or constitutional fidelity, as a form of celebration for Elon Musk’s recent privatization acquisition of Twitter, or any other deranged perversions of such concepts. The fact that privatizing a mega data corp is the opposite of pro-rights/democracy/freedom is a whole other topic to be tabled for now.

Focus.

The same people who tried to steal the 2020 Presidential election (willing to implore illegal political maneuvering and resort to violence upon the American people) also had the gall to call their effort “stop the steal.” It was fueled by a totally unhinged and manic mob of QAnon believers, at the direction of 45.

So when it comes to censorship or Twitter bans, do not let these same people muddy the waters with false equivalences.

This is not an “agree to disagree,” or left v. right political matter. It’s a defining line against the rise of Authoritarian Fascism in the USA. The real version of it — Not the pretend Cosplay-target-victim version of it they like to assume by being banned on a social media platform for overtly violating policy (inciting violence and knowingly spreading dangerously false information).

Violent threats are not protected by free speech. Social media platforms, while publicly accessible, are not actually public forums. The end.

I have posted this image (see above) a few times over the last year. For me, it implies so much, and if not totally accurate, it is more or less a reasonable guide of navigating the lanes of global conspiracy.

So, since no one asked me to, I am going to share my own “theory,” to link the tip and the base of this pyramid, pertaining to the cultural phenomena currently taking place about “conspiracies.” 🙃

Okay, first bear with me a minute as we attach to an initial premise for context – Starting in the grounded realm of actually verified “conspiratorial” things, that did happen in the world of “deep state” operations…

I am increasingly leaning towards the idea that development of studies done with MK-Ultra, and similarly known declassified programs, may be behind people’s totally detached views about conspiracy theories, now (ie QAnon, etc.).

We know that approximately 50–70 years ago, they (US Govt. and other world powers) were making large advancements with manipulating human psychology, in ways to produce desired responses, often in a non-voluntary or subconscious way for the participants. They used a lot of methods to conduct and improve these experiments/studies, most famously through administering psychedelic drugs (LSD) while pressing on personal trauma buttons for the individual participant (playing up on their fears and insecurities while they were tripping and vulnerable). But what’s less discussed is they also deeply experimented with use of other stimulation, like color, light, sound, frequency, smell, imagery, keyword “trigger” phrasing, physical environmental factors, etc.

Our own government was effective, at least to some degree, at implanting, and also extracting, messages and concepts, to and from people, without participants consent or knowledge, many decades ago. That’s not a conspiracy, it’s a documented fact of history.

It’s also believed the USSR (Russia) was always ahead of the US in the development and ambition of these processes, and psyop’s (psychological operations) in general. Meaning, other places outside of the US may have had even deeper knowledge of these practices.

Sooooo, it naturally begs the curiosity to wonder – where have these methods evolved to now? Who implores them tactically, domestically, or abroad, and in the public and/or private sectors? 🤔 Who, or what, has understanding, access, and active usage of these techniques now? It’s fair to presume it’s probably more entities than decades before, right? And they’re probably waaaaayyyy further along, now, right? What’s been declassified from the past, has to be leaps behind from what’s secret now – At least that’s how I see it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

“Brainwashing,” or rather re-programming a person, without their full awareness of so, is indeed a very realistic methodology, rooted in real science, and actually known programs of verified historical record (again, ie MK-Ultra).

For me, what’s most fascinating, and equally terrifying, about what’s happening now, surrounding QAnon and similar ideologies (sovereignism, the Illuminati, false flag mass shootings with crises actors, etc.), isn’t the people with obvious mental health issues who are all in, but the people families, friends, and co-workers seem to have semi-recently lost to these ideas, who previously don’t fit the profile of someone to become unhinged in such a pronounced and rapid way — A way that makes them unnecessarily combative when challenged, and dismissive of very objective statements of shared reality, if it contradicts their elaborate and endlessly growing narrative.

There are a lot of people we collectively deem as “smart,” or at least as previously rational, who apparently have totally turned off their critical thinking abilities regarding simple and obvious things (* like the extremely grand delusion Trump is a person who cares about helping humanity as his primary political motive, and he has carefully planned over decades to expose the “Satanic deep state”, despite mounds of objective evidence he is simply a self serving narcissistic grifter, who actually welcomes and openly associates with corruption).

Additionally, many of these people are fully convicted to assert it’s actually us who have lost our minds. You can’t even have a “normal” discussion with them, asking basic questions, poking little holes in their train of thought. They have a deflection for everything, no matter how straightforward or logically fair you approach them. For them, up is not up, fire is not hot, we’ve been duped, and they know the truth.

So many formerly reasonable people have become impenetrable walls of blatant contradiction, fallacy, false equivalences – totally shut off to the concept of scrutinizing their own beliefs with the same rigor they demand we have for ours.

It’s truly astonishing the exact same person who says question everything and trust nothing, especially if “mainstream,” is entirely willing to accept the most outlandish alternative explanations of virtually anything/everything, without any real evidence of so, while hardly applying any intellectual resistance, at all. And when this is brought to their attention, the “research, evidence, and proof” they submit is wildly speculative, loosely formed, deeply circumstantial, non-sequitur, and often tied to sources that cannot cite or tie back to anything even semi-credible. Sometimes these smoking gun links they have built their new identity around, are obviously bot/troll farm productions. 🤯

IT IS PROFOUNDLY BIZARRE, and sincerely alarming.

It seems to transcend the standard explanations of why people embrace conspiracy theory (*peep this John Oliver segment about so). It seems to be a deeper personal identification and commitment, than what is reasonably justifiable.

For clarity, I am not a blanket shunner of conspiracy theory, by any means. I too am an active seeker of deeper explanations for how and why the world is the way it is. I am open to radical and “crazy” ideas to explore. I have invested a lot time and energy to try to find out what’s really going on. I get it, conceptually. I don’t think it’s weird or wrong, in basic function. I fully believe we should question everything in order to understand it. But that view also requires perspective, grounded context, and intellectual discipline, or it’s a waste of life — frankly dangerous to the fabric of society and personal wellness/mental health.

That said, and maybe it is just me, but something feels different about this cultural obsession currently taking place with conspiracy. I think the pyramid graphic I used, provides a possible explanation and link as to why.

Sooooo, in conclusion, here’s my own “grand reveal” (lol, damn it‍) – I think it’s entirely possible, and maybe even probable, that thought altering stimulation (images, words, sounds, colors, etc.), is being used in some of these videos and documents (links) that exist “down the rabbit hole.” I think they may go beyond simply appealing to people’s own confirmation bias and fear, initially and strategically using broad stroke truths about corruption to lure people in, and may also be instilling deeply subconscious cognitive dissonance patterns (“mind control”), to circumvent rational and critical thought responses, as an intentional form of emotional/neurological programming.

You feel me, or nah? Maybe I am the crazy one.

Who is doing it? Why they’re doing it? Idk. I have broader ideas about so, based in the general notion to muddy the waters of exposing really insidious scandals that do exist, and destabilizing institutional trust.

But yeah… I don’t think this wild premise I’ve laid out is too far off, simply because of how far gone otherwise “normal” and “smart” people have become, and the known history of these methods. It doesn’t make sense to me at face value, people just need answers and to feel important, for this circumstance. I don’t think those motives push this many people so far off the ledge of plausible analysis, with such zealotry about obviously ridiculous things (then again, religion, I digress).

The context about the advancements of MK-Ultra type capability, does make sense to me, to explain what is happening now. It seems at bare minimum, things like QAnon are some type of psyop.

Ironically, I too cannot cite much real evidence of so, only contextual speculation. And even more ironic, if true, even if only partially so, the people most obsessed with exposing grand conspiracies, would themselves be active subjects and participants in the most grand conspiracy to date. < head explodes >

Okay, have a nice day. Please do something tangible related to wellness for yourself and others. 🙏🏼💖

I am an information addict, in the age of information.

My insatiable “pursuit of truth,” knowledge seeking, and desire for new information often creates an inner restlessness that can do me as much harm as good.

This is compounded because I am also a self-described bleeding heart, professional community builder, and generally cannot help but to sincerely give a fuck, nonstop, about a wide array of issues — from sports to politics, music to the education system, fashion to the environment. Both nature and nurture (but mostly nature) have provided me this enduring drive and deep need to seek out and know, but also to truly care. I am interested in many things, but also I want the world to do/be/get better, always.

I think many people can relate to feeling this way. Possibly it is like-attracting-like, but I often come across people who seem to share this same inherent gift/curse, that doesn’t turn off.

How effective I am at “knowing” is subject to opinion and probably relative to topic, but also not the point of this contemplative exercise. No, no, I am not here to discuss my own hubris (which could honestly use some deflation). What concerns me as I write this, is holistic wellness, stemming from mental health, and the associated priorities, knowing I will never know-it-all, or even as much as I’d like to.

What knowledge is there to seek with my mind, if my health is no good; or my feelings are bad? What does my pursuit do for my overall quality of life?

I cannot resign to an ignorance is bliss philosophy either, not because I don’t think it’s real, but rather because I don’t know how to (* unless drunk or on drugs, but that doesn’t count, also, sorry Mom).

The Ever Humming Buzz of the New World

The amount of stimulus and noise pollution we are bombarded with in this post Wi-Fi world can be nauseating (oh, the cruel irony for an information addict given world wide web access, yet equally concerned with personal quality of life, while possessing deep empathy for others, in these highly volatile times).

Being well-informed with credible information is overwhelming AF. Aside from the process of simply inputting information, it is increasingly difficult to decipher “truth.” We find ourselves perpetually sorting through what lives in a tangled web of sensationalism, ratings chasing, click bait, conspiracy theory, actual conspiracy, cover-ups, “fake news,” falsely asserted “fake news,” objective observation, simple journalistic fact reporting, non-partisan fact checking, data, data suppression, evidence, opinions, profound wisdom, and total bullshit.

Damn, I need a deep breath after typing that. ← Insert the old (real) gun emoji to the right of the dead pan face, then the scrunched up face, followed by a shrug, because being deathly dramatic and casually dismissive at the same time is super 2020.

It isn’t very challenging to determine what to skeptically distrust, as the majority of media has an obviously slanted agenda. But finding things we can and do trust, at face value, is like fostering the most difficult but rewarding relationship of all time. It’s exhausting, however we cannot break up with it’s unrivaled fulfillment. Hence the gift/curse.

Add in our own projections, subconscious filters, confirmation bias, the echo chamber of self curated social networks, and trying to be reasonably fair and mostly objective, without also going a little crazy, seems damn near impossible. When the dots can connect down whichever path we choose, as our contextual information expands, living inside our heads is hard. Hella, hella, hella hard… like a perfectly mixed deep 808 bass kick on the largest and loudest sound system, HARD.

That all said, I want to live a well balanced life, without adorning a tinfoil cap, AND still being thoroughly well-informed. I want to know the “truth,” as best I can, AND also feel free energetically, with authentic happiness.

Yes, I aim high — another gift/curse.

So Now What?

Beyond the basic philosophy to not be a selfish asshole, striving to always give more than I take, the closest thing I have to a belief system is a willingness to re-examine my beliefs, and adapt them, when and if presented with newer, better, more complete information, in context. No matter how difficult that my be, it’s necessary fidelity. Also, as habit, I try to ask myself, “Does this help or hurt me?”

Which brings me to time.

We often hear health and happiness are the most truly valuable resources we have in life, but I would argue the most valuable resource we have is time. Time — Nothing matters without time to experience it, not even health or happiness. Knowledge may be power, but time is the undefeated grand champion in the war of self, and we fight little battles with ourselves, all the time.

So as a truth seeker and obsessive wonderer, the question must be posed — What do I do, to not only be thoroughly well-informed, but to best enhance the quality of my time?

We cannot give, what we do not have. An information addict like myself, must recognize my ability to effectively process information, is directly connected to be my greater well-being.

I could go on here with a list of suggestions full of obvious things for us all; eat clean, exercise daily, go outside more, unplug from technology for extended periods, have good sex, sleep properly, meditate regularly, find things that make us laugh, stay connected with the people we love, actively practice gratitude, etc. etc. etc., but that is advice best left for experts on wellness, and is a topic well covered with thousands of existing articles. I simply wanted to raise the priority discussion, and remind myself, and others like me, about why we must balance staying informed, with quality of life.

We will never know everything. That is okay.

Life is truly a subjective experience. We have choices in every moment. The narrative in our minds dictates our own experience and choices. How we translate that narrative into action and shared reality, becomes what we do, as well as how most others will commonly perceive us, based on the impact and impression we leave upon them. But ultimately, our time is inescapably limited.

So, how do you, I, we, choose to use it best… our time?