A digitally altered vintage Valentine card, starring a handsome green mantis. He’s engaging the attention of a little brown and yellow bug. It could be an earwig, or maybe some kind of beetle larva. We may never know, but it doesn’t matter. These 2 friendly bugs are surrounded by red hearts of various sizes and some orange and yellow flowers befitting a bright and cheery sentiment that reads,” Can we have a TOWN HALL? I promise I won’t BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!

I started doing #MantisMonday last month, then got a little sidetracked by…stuff. But here’s the intersection of insects and political engagement: I made a Valentine card for @congresstran.bsky.social.
It has a mantis on it, and today it’s doing double duty.
#ValentinesForDemocracy

My final Valentine for the evening is a handsome green mantis, engaging the attention of another little brown and yellow bug. It could be an earwig, or maybe some kind of beetle larva. We may never know, but it doesn’t matter. These 2 friendly bugs are surrounded by red hearts of various sizes, and some orange and yellow flowers befitting a bright and cheery sentiment that reads, “Can we have a TOWN HALL? I promise, I won’t BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!”

Last call folks. I’m closing with a bug theme, because I’m still a BugLady at heart. And I found a vintage Valentine with a praying mantis. I couldn’t resist. Please share, print, and wish your members of Congress a happy Valentine’s Day for me.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

It’s a monkey, with a decidedly familiar face. His fur is mostly brown, and he’s wearing a cute little red shirt and a green bow tie. And a M*G* hat (Are people gonna block me now if I say that word?) It’s the special, black “not-see” version of that hat, and Mr. Monkey wants to be sure everyone notices it. So there’s really nothing valentiney about this image, except it does have a red heart up at the top, so that’s where I stuck the following text: “Don’t let Elon MONKEY AROUND With our Government!”

Gotta have one with this guy.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

This is not a vintage Valentine, but I’m throwing it in here. It’s a cartoony pig making a kissy face. He’s dressed like a certain president, including an ill-fitting dark blue suit, white shirt, and a long red tie. The pig also has a strangely orangish-brownish face, and an unruly yellowish mop of something vaguely resembling hair on his head. There is a red Valentine heart floating above the pig in the upper left corner. The heart has a cringy-face, and appears to be uncomfortable to be near that pig. In fact, the text on this card says, “Don’t KISS UP To that PIG”

Please save this image, print it, and give it to your Senator or Congress Person this Valentine’s Day.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

A white couple sit close together on a green sofa. So close together, their heads are touching. They’re supposed to be elderly. They both have white hair, but they’ve been drawn so “cutely” they look like kids who are pretending to be old people. The woman has on a long black skirt. The man wears black pants. Both of them are wearing tops with black stripes. Makes them look like either old-time referees or maybe servers from an old times ice cream parlor. Anyway, they both look like they’re trying to see the big red Valentine heart hanging up behind them. Inside the heart, clearly what’s on their mind: “Gee, VALENTINE, Are we gonna LOSE our SOCIAL SECURITY and MEDICARE?”

Gee, this Valentine has a similar layout as the one right before this.😬 If you’re reading all these, thank you. Please feel free to use and share them.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

A forlorn little boy in what might be a sailor suit (the hat, at least, reminds me of Donald Duck.) He sits on a park bench, his hands clasped together in a contemplative manner. He looks upward. A tear rolls down his cheek. On either side of him 2 little birdies gaze up at him with empathy. Oh, and behind the boy on the park bench with the 2 birds is a big red Valentine heart. The heart reads, GEE! VALENTINE and on the green grass beneath the boy’s feet, the rest of the text reads, “I’m so WORRIED about our country. Can I count on you to FIGHT for our DEMOCRACY “

2 thoughts here:
I’m pretty sure I’m posting these wrong. I mean there must be a better way than one at a time, and I’m not sure they’ll end up in an actual thread. If so, I’m sorry.

“Gee” was a pretty popular idiom back in the day, apparently.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

Even the teddy bear in this picture was white! I was able to make him brown. So it’s a little brown teddy with a red bow and he’s reading a yellow book. The obligatory red Valentine heart in the drawing says “I Love to Read”. The bear is sitting atop a stack of books, and printed over the respective spines it reads, PLEASE DON’T BAN BOOKS!

#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

Here we have a cute little yellow duckling holding a notepad and a blue pencil that is as tall as he is. The notepad has a red heart on it, and the text reads, “You’re FIRST on my LIST, Valentine. Say you’ll put THE PEOPLE first.

#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

This illustration is of a little White girl with blond hair. She has on a blue plaid skirt and a ruffly white blouse. She’s sitting in a chair. In front of her is a small table with a black rotary telephone, of which the little girl holds the receiver near her ear.

#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

For this card, a little boy with fair skin and dark hair is laying on his tummy, propped up on his elbows and smiling as he listens to music on the little record player in front of him. His little brown and white dog is beside him, also smiling. Over the boy’s shoulder is the obligatory Valentine heart. The text reads: “Valentine, I’m going on the RECORD to say I LOVE OUR DEMOCRACY. How about YOU?

I looked at LOTS of vintage valentines online the last couple of days. I will say that the vast majority of children depicted in these valentines were white. Non-white kids were shown in cringy racist stereotypes common in those days, and I didn’t use them.
#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

Here’s a sweet little skunk. He’s holding a little red Valentine heart, and also standing in front of a bigger red heart that reads, “Fascism STINKS” in white lettering that I highlighted with wavy “stink lines”.

#ValentinesForDemocracy
#Indivisible

A vintage Valentine card with an illustration of a gray tabby cat popping out of an old-timey light blue high button boot. A red heart and some pink flowers, because it’s a Valentine card. Text reads, “I would LOVE to see YOU give Elon Musk the BOOT!”

I altered a bunch of vintage Valentines with timely messages to print out and deliver if you’re going to visit your Rep or Senator’s office this week. My friends liked them, so I’m going to share them here. 🧵
#Indivisible
#ValentinesForDemocracy