Charlotte's Web Thoughts

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I am available for speaking engagements .] Good morning, folks! It’s that time again. Here are five positive things that’ll hopefully make you smile, make you laugh, and make you think. And in case...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I am available for speaking engagements .] Today, millions of California voters will go to the polls and decide who will be the successor to Senator Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I am available for speaking engagements .] Folks, I’m starting a new feature on my blog. Every Monday morning, I’ll be sending you five items that I hope will start your week off right, give you a s...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I am available for speaking engagements .] Yesterday was a bit of high political drama as President Biden and Donald Trump simultaneously paid visits to the southern border in Texas, 266 miles away...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I am available for speaking engagements .] I’m afraid the rumor is true: Taylor Alison Swift, the 34 year-old singer-songwriter who was recently named TIME ’s Person of the Year and won her fourth A...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] Yesterday, I watched host Kristin Welker get absolutely steamrolled by Rep. Elise Stefanik on “Meet the Press” in what was certainly one of the most embarrassing interviews I’ve ever seen on a Sunday talk s...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] Friends, as I write this, the country is savoring every second of these last 72 hours of the traditional holiday break. The next twelve months are widely expected to be history-shaping and globally pivotal...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] This morning, Pope Francis formally approved new guidance that allows priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, an enormous step forward in welcoming LGBTQ familie...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] Yesterday, obscure singer-songwriter Taylor Swift got her big break and was honored as TIME Magazine ’s Person of the Year. This is the second time she’s been recognized with the title, along with being par...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] Brantley never suffered as much in service to theater as I did this week during the one-hour production of Ms. Smith’s 1st Grade Thanksgiving Class Play, which premiered to a lukewarm reception this morning...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] I know it’s asking a lot, but remember way back when Matt Gaetz filed a motion-to-vacate against then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy? That was a little over three weeks ago, and in that time, House Republicans have...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com .] For the past three weeks, in the midst of the murder of innocent civilians by the terrorist group Hamas, I have been astonished to witness a new wrinkle in our social fabric: it is has quickly become simult...

Today is my birthday. I officially turned 37 very early this morning. There is not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for how far I’ve come in life, and every year, on my birthday, I can’t help but reflect on the kid in Central Texas who dreamed big things. When I was 13, there was nothing I wanted more than to participate in one of those programs where young people travel to D.C., meet Members o...

Tomorrow is my 37th birthday, and oddly enough, it feels like both a decade and a week since my last birthday. I spent my 36th birthday flying cross-country to a conference in San Francisco whilst simultaneously raising money for Running Start’s HBCU Summit, one of my favorite non-profits. Much to my astonishment, by the time I landed in the early evening, y’all had raised more than $20k for young...

It shouldn’t need to be said, but here we are. In the past 72 hours, it’s been incredibly disturbing to watch the attempted justification or rationalization for the terrorist group Hamas brutally murdering more than 900 people in Israel and taking 150 hostage in a coordinated attack that targeted civilians. At best, it’s not that they so much condone the murder of civilians, such apologists claim,...

Early this morning, the terrorist group Hamas launched the broadest attack on Israel in five decades, murdering at least 250 Israeli civilians, wounding thousands, taking many hostage, including children, on a Jewish holiday and on Shabbat, it would seem intentionally so, all of which amounts to what many experts are calling Israel’s 9/11. Today’s coordinated attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas i...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] This afternoon, Kevin McCarthy became the first Speaker of the House to be ousted from that position following a motion to vacate that was filed last night by Rep. Matt...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] I don’t remember the first time I saw Vivek Ramaswamy in one of the countless cable news hits he’s done since the announcement of his presidential campaign just over six...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription , shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] On Monday, a photo of the Illinois State Fair Butter Cow — that is, a cow presented as “sculpted out of butter” — went viral after the shocking revelation that it’s a wi...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] In a matter of hours, England’s women’s national football team—known affectionately as “The Lionesses”—will compete against Spain in the first World Cup Final that England has seen in nearly six decades. For those unawa...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] About ten days ago, Oliver Anthony, a farmer and former factory worker in Virginia, uploaded a casual performance video of his new song “Rich Men North of Richmond” to YouTube. As of this morning, it’s been viewed nearl...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] I often feel old these days, though I know I’m not. I’m only 36, but don’t try telling my body that. My back is often sore. My joints move like caramel popcorn being squeezed. I’ve reached the point in my life—probably...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] This past May, country star Jason Aldean released a new song called “Try That in a Small Town,” which has lyrics that are—there’s really no nice way to say this—corny as hell. I’ve been listening to country music all my...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] There are two highly anticipated films being released this week. One of them is about an iconic and controversial public figure from the 20th century, their influence on how we perceive ourselves and each other, and how...

[This blog will always be free to read, but it’s also how I pay my bills. So, if you like what you read, please consider a paid subscription . And yes, I do speaking engagements .] You may have heard about the organization Moms for Liberty. It was founded in early 2021 with the initial purpose of advocating against COVID-era protections in schools, like vaccines and mask mandates. Over the past tw...