Secret Door to the Left

In Episode 35 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances are back to unpack deconstruction of religion!

Deconstruction works through fundamental faith-based questions and examining the lessons learned throughout one’s faith journey. Alicia reflects on what she has learned in her deconstruction therapy sessions and questions Christianity with Frances.

How do you feel about organized religion? Are you in a state of deconstruction? Let us know your thoughts!

You can comment, email, or message Alicia and Frances to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by Mikayla Elias for @crybabyaudiotn 

Suggested resources:

Exvie & Atheist: An Exvangelical Subgroup

Raising Children UnFundamentalist Facebook Group

Exvangelical Facebook Group

https://www.bartdehrman.com/

Richard Dawkins

What Is Faith Deconstruction? — The Sophia Society

In Episode 34 behind the Secret Door, we catch up with Frances and Alicia and discuss all the recent laws that went into effect in Texas on 9/1/2021.

The duo kick off with discourse about Greg Abbott’s mask mandate policies in schools and how that’s impacting their own kids. Is the Delta variant impacting your area hard? Texas certainly is handling their outbreaks with, you guessed it, Ivermectin. Good news—perhaps more Conservatives coming out about getting the vaccine will push vaccination rates in the right direction!

As of September 1st, open carry gun laws have been passed. Second Amendment organizations have pressured these particular laws to go through, causing stress on law enforcement and civilians.

The 6-week abortion bans have also passed through Texas legislature, barring any pregnant person the opportunity to terminate a pregnancy after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Alicia and Frances discourse on the complexities of this hot-button issue.

What are your thoughts on Darwinism? Are you prepared for the gun-slinging wild west of Texas policies? Tell us your thoughts on abortions and legislature surrounding them.

You can comment, email, or message Alicia and Frances to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by Mikayla Elias for @crybabyaudiotn 

In Episode 33 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances cover prepping for all kinds of situations.

After spending a few minutes catching up with each other and discussing the finer points of minivan life, the pair start with a discussion on Rand Paul’s accusations against Dr. Fauci and the “dangers” of vaccines. With more conservative influencers speaking up about getting the vaccine, the tides may be turning in the race for herd immunity. But we won’t hold our breath.

Next up is a discussion on the January 6th Commission. Nancy Pelosi has put together a group of representatives in order to assess the insurrection on January 6th, and she shut down radical conservatives trying to derail the commission. However, this means that she will have limited conservative representation. Will Trump zealots therefore respect their findings?

Then, Frances takes the lead on an in-depth discussion of Prepping - what it is, why it’s needed, and how to do it. Natural disasters and infrastructure failures prompt planning thoughts. Frances shares her thoughts on rational prepping versus extremist prepping and Alicia discusses her day-to-day prep and her dream prep for when the shit goes down. The two then take a deep dive on prepper culture!

Come birding with Alicia and Frances and talk prep for the end of all things! What did you learn from Scouting? Are you concerned with the way your representatives are handling disaster infrastructure? Do you have special terms for the apocalypse?

You can comment, email, or message Alicia and Frances to share your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by Mikayla Elias for @crybabyaudiotn

In Episode 32 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances will be discussing Greg Abbott’s legislature updates and concerns regarding border security.

Alicia and Frances kick off our episode discussing the shortages happening in our supply chain with the initial wave of reopening after quarantine. On their trips, the two noticed shortages in business labor, which has been popping up across the country. People are switching industries at swift rates. As a result, businesses like restaurants have been short-staffed and overwhelmed by demand.

Next on the docket, the two dive into the most impactful of Abbott’s most recent legislature decisions. He vetoed over 20 bills while passing bills that allow for homeless people to be arrested rather than asked to relocate. Abbott also vetoed House Bill 686, which would have brought about more access to rehabilitation for youth criminals.

Educational rights were also at stake in this session. Abbott vetoed another bill that would provide broadband access to rural areas of Texas on the basis that it would increase taxes. This kind of access to the internet would particularly help children with schoolwork. He vetoed another educational bill that would have allowed schools to teach about child abuse and domestic violence.

Texas is looking to pass some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. This bill would close polls at 1pm and restrict early and 24-hour voting under the guise of eliminating voter fraud. State Democrats effectively killed the bill by walking out during the voting session. A special session is upcoming in the next few weeks.

“Constitutional carry” House Bill 1927 is being passed, which lessens restrictions on carrying firearms. Law enforcement has expressed disillusionment with this bill, and Alicia and Frances speculate on the impact this will have on communities and individuals.

A few weeks ago, Abbott announced he would continue to work on building up the border wall. He plans to use $250 million of disaster relief funds to work on the project. The rest is to be crowdfunded, and $450,000 has been raised thus far. So much for Mexico paying for that wall!

What do you think about the border wall? Have you also been feeling political fatigue? Have you been clotheslined by a sea turtle?

You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Sources:

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/21/texas-greg-abbott-veto/

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/16/texas-constitutional-carry-greg-abbott/

Alicia’s Tik Tok Recommendations:

@jegaysus  

@stage_door_johnny 

@kristen.cook 

@jenniferfulwiler 

Episode edited/mixed by Mikayla Elias for @crybabyaudiotn

In Episode 31 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances will be discussing the latest in politics and their lives once again after a short hiatus.

The most recent news to hit the floor is the conviction of Derek Chauvin who was found guilty on all four counts for the death of George Floyd. Based on this verdict, there is a strong sense from many that perhaps police officers should have more training. There also is a belief that perhaps during a mental crisis the police should not be called but instead proper professionals of the mental health industry.

The debate between police funding and outsourcing to other systems to improve how situations are handled is still ongoing. Also, many do have to remember that police face danger every day, and they are often called hurtful things in their shifts, particularly at nighttime. Either way, there could perhaps be more done to divide things better to help people and the police. Alicia and Frances will both hit different points of view on what perhaps could be done.

The next piece of news is the presentation by the White House for the American Jobs Plan. The White House has brought forth the issue with the United States not being able to get back to where were economically before the pandemic, and their idea is to rebuild a new economy during this time of transition. The idea is to fix all major highways, bridges, transit systems, and airports. This includes rebuild if necessary and upgrades as needed. They also want to update the water systems, electric grids, and high-speed broadband systems. Essentially, they believe all Americans should have availability to these necessities.

Alicia also brings up their plans for childcare and the schools to better serve more people in need of these services. The White House also plans to create jobs, raise wages, and create benefits for essential home care workers. These issues hit very close to Alicia due to her current standing in life, and she has thoughts on it that should be heard by her listeners.

Alicia and Frances will also talk about the professionalism of Biden and his lack of tweeting in comparison to our former president. While others may have issues with Biden’s lack of social media presence, many find it a nice refreshing peace of mind.

And of course, Alicia will let us know the latest on what news platforms have tried to make false accusations and claims that they then have to fix in later statements. Find out what news platforms are still untrustworthy and give yourself a good laugh while hearing their poor journalism mistakes.

Tune into the show to find out more about what’s going on in the country, France’s thoughts on the police perspective, and Alicia’s latest tv obsessions.

What do you think about the Chauvin trial? Has Biden’s presidency been a nice break for you too? Do you know what the American Jobs Plan proposal is?

You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by @erynbird22

In Episode 30 behind the Secret Door,  Alicia and Frances will discuss the most recent events from Texas’s Governor Abbott and how it could potentially affect the country. In Abbott’s first proclamation, he has declared that the mask mandate has been lifted. Small businesses have the right to ask for customers to wear masks, but any government or federal property will not require people to wear masks indoors. This comes just days after the CDC said that anyone outside who is vaccinated does not have to wear a mask. On Abbott’s second proclamation, starting in late June all those on unemployment will no longer be receiving the additional COVID compensation. He claims that there are plenty of jobs out there, and that on average they are willing to pay at least $15 per hour. As this affects Alicia and her family directly, she had some concerns about this because her husband has still not been able to find a job. The blue-collar jobs have come back and done well, but the question is when will the white-collar jobs be available again. Overall, Abbott will be taking away the additional supplement given by the government in order to encourage more on unemployment to take the available blue-collar jobs that are potentially paying less. Finally, there has been a ruling in Texas that will take effect in September of 2021. Abbott has signed the bill that will prohibit abortions as early as six weeks. It will also allow any private citizen to sue abortion providers and others. This passing comes just after the Supreme Court decided to hear Mississippi’s abortion case for 15 weeks. It seems that with Texas’s new ruling and the Supreme Court’s case, there is potential for Roe vs. Wade to be overturned in the future. Tune into the show to find out more about what’s currently going on in Texas, France’s thoughts on abortion, and Alicia’s concerns about the new unemployment ruling. What do you think will happen with the new abortion ruling? Do you think the COVID numbers will rise again? Do you think it is fair to take away the COVID government aid so soon? You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas. You can reach Alicia and Frances at: Secret Door to the Left on Facebook @secretdoorttl on Instagram @SecretDoorTTL on Twitter [email protected] Sources: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/18/texas-heartbeat-bill-abortions-law/ https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-federal-pandemic-related-unemployment-benefits/285-5da28e3e-dfe1-4ee1-9d4a-bdc8bd3271fa https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-order-prohibiting-government-entities-from-mandating-masks Episode edited/mixed by @erynbird22

In Episode 29 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances discuss Biden’s American Jobs Plan, a.ka. his infrastructure bill.

Frances and Alicia first spend time catching up with each other and sharing how they spent their Easter.  Frances is busy at work with the exploding real estate market in the Houston area and Alicia is pulling her hair out with her 2 toddlers.

Then they dive into the details of the American Jobs Plan.  $115 billion to revamp highways and roads?  $111 billion for clean drinking water?  $213 billion to build and retrofit more than 2 million homes? Universal broadband? $400 billion to expand access to home- or community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities? $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools? End federal tax breaks for fossil fuel companies?  $50 billion to improve resilience to climate change, including by protecting electric grids (!!), food systems, urban infrastructure and hospitals in communities most vulnerable to flooding and other severe weather events? $35 billion toward clean-energy technology?  Sounds good to them!!!  Paying for it….that’s another issue.  Frances and Alicia discuss Biden’s proposed plan to pay for his bill including tax hikes on corporations.  Of course, Republicans don’t want to raise taxes on their biggest donors and are arguing that the bill is less than 5% infrastructure - the rest is a pie-in-the-sky liberal wish list.  So, getting the bill through Congress is going to be a big task for Biden.

So what do you think of the infrastructure bill? Do you like what is included?  Think it has any chance of passing? Or are the Republicans going to sabotage it?

You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/03/31/what-is-in-biden-infrastructure-plan/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/04/07/yellen-corporate-tax-infrastructure/?utm_campaign=wp_evening_edition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_evening&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F31c3342%2F606e1d559d2fda1dfb461c42%2F59b6a3d29bbc0f706bb937ff%2F8%2F56%2F606e1d559d2fda1dfb461c42

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/05/gop-claim-that-only-5-7-percent-bidens-plan-is-real-infrastructure/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-biden-push-limits-infrastructure-definition

In Episode 28 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances take a break from politics and discuss the latest in pop culture and talk about what’s going on in their lives. They also cover the infamous Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview.

Pepe Le Pew is being removed from the next installment of Space Jam and any other future projects by Warner Brothers. Alicia discusses how Pepe helped normalize rape culture, while Frances remains skeptical that this is true.  

Disney has also chosen to make a decision in witness to their former cartoons’ captions and narratives. They will  be removing access to “Dumbo”, “Peter Pan”, “Swiss Family Robinson”, & “The Artistocats” from children-only profiles. If an adult logs into an adult profile, then the movies will be available, but a warning will be presented. The idea is to still allow access to the movies to audiences, but it allows parents the opportunities to teach their kids why certain parts of the movie are inappropriate.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has decided to stop publishing six books including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo.” It portrays people in ways that are hurtful and inconsiderate. As Alicia’s former co-worker explains, the images of the Asian community in “Mulberry Street” were portrayed in a way that is rude and inaccurate for that time. This includes out of date wardrobe, coloring of yellow skin, and long hair. All choices that were not realistic for the time when it was printed in the 1930s, thus providing proof to the stereotype and harmfulness of the book. Dr. Seuss Enterprises will continue to publish all the other books and will only stop publication for the six that were deemed inappropriate.  Of course, Alicia's sweet little church ladies (SLCL's) on FB had a lot to say about this.  Tune in to find out their take as well. 

Finally, in the interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left a lot to be discussed on Twitter and on Secret Door to the Left. Harry hinted to racist comments from his father, Prince Charles. The main concern was what color Archie would be when he was born. Meghan unfortunately not only dealt with racism within the family, but she also experienced brutality from the press in the UK. While she was pregnant with Archie, she evidently experienced suicidal thoughts and warned Harry that she should get help in order to prevent anything bad from happening. Unfortunately, she was not given the help she needed. Ultimately, the lack of help from the family, cruelty from the press, and racism that lead Harry and Meghan to decide to come to America. As always, Alicia and Frances have their thoughts on what happened.

TikTok recommendations for this week include: @thejeffreymarsh, @worldsokaitest, @killersundy, and @bhambluedot.

What do you think about the most recent victims of cancel culture? What did Alicia and Frances miss this week in pop culture? Do you think Meghan and Harry feel safer now?

You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by @erynbird22

In Episode 27 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances will take a break from their discussion about Biden’s first 100 days in office. In this episode, they will be talking about the snowstorm that caused power outages, water outages, deaths, and the lifted mask mandate order.

Texas faced a winter storm during mid-February that caused unprecedented property damage to millions of homes. Many were without water, without power, and experienced burst pipes. The overall cost of the storm could be between $195 and $295 billion in total damages; this includes the lost income that occurred during the storm due to many businesses closing their doors.

Part of Texas’s issue is that the power grid is not centralized with the rest of the country. It is not properly regulated, and the first signs of major issues began back in 2011 when many lost power due to similar cold weather related issues. In some parts of the state, including the panhandle of Texas, they decided to reevaluate their power grid and join the national grids. However, many areas were either not affected or still refused to address the issue. 

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz decided that when he lost power to take a trip to Cancun with his family to avoid the storm. One of his wife’s friends then posted saying that he had planned this trip with his wife after he had just released a statement saying he went because his kids “wanted to go.” In return, he then had a poorly set up photo op that showed him putting a singular case of water into a woman’s car, in an empty parking lot. Needless to say, Alicia will be doing everything in her power to get Cruz voted out of office in 2024.

Finally, when asked about the astronomical bills and power outages people were experiencing, the lieutenant governor explained that it was the people’s faults for not looking at the fine print. While there is some truth to that statement, many people were experiencing bills that were a thousand times more expensive because instead of being charged 8 cents per watt they were charged 900 cents per watt. Frances argues that the current deregulated state of Texas’s power companies need to be regulated in order to avoid this kind of predatory practice.

After the governor blamed the outages on the Green New Deal and more false accusations, he then released a statement explaining that the mask mandate would be lifted, and Texas could go back to normal starting on March 10th. This was announced after finding out that Texas still has one of the highest per capita rates of COVID in the country.

Tune into the show to find out more about what Texas experienced during the snowstorm, France’s interesting doomsday prepping father, and Alicia’s unsettling argument with her parents.

What happened to you during the snowstorm? What do you think about the lifted mask mandate? Do you think you can trust your country/government at all?

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]

Episode edited/mixed by @erynbird22

In Episode 26 behind the Secret Door, Alicia and Frances continue their mini-series on President Biden’s first 100 days in office.  This week they tackle his plan to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr.

Frances leads the discussion on this one detailing the pros and cons of raising the national minimum wage.  Alicia plays the part of the bleeding heart liberal and argues that it is needed.

Tune in to hear them battle this one out and then share your opinion on this topic.  Are you a small business owner?  How would it affect your business if a $15 minimum wage was implemented?  Do you think the minimum wage in an area should be adjusted to the local cost of living?  Do you think it should remain $7.25?  Let them know your thoughts.

You can comment, email, or message them to share with them your opinions and ideas.

You can reach Alicia and Frances at:

Secret Door to the Left on Facebook

@secretdoorttl on Instagram

@SecretDoorTTL on Twitter

[email protected]