not history again

Ted Cruz is a dangerous Senator he is as dangerous and devious as another, Senator Joe McCarthy. Ted Cruz relies on theatrical antics the kind his preacher father Raphael uses, holding a book high above his head, pretending that he has read all of that book then prancing around the stage acting as if all he is doing, he is doing for the welfare of the masses; when in fact as most snake oil salesmen do, he is just filling his own pockets with the profits. 

Joe McCarthy supposed there were more ignorant souls around then intelligent. Playing on recent fears of a “Red” takeover, and wanting more notoriety, Senator McCarthy was sharp enough to insight the fear of the masses, use lots of hyperbole, create enough doubt that even some of the sane might consider it and rush forward. Joe never answered any questions but was always on the attack on the offensive with even more. Joe McCarthy was able to bog down any and all government activities, almost stop any individual thought, deny freedom of speech and create an atmosphere of paranoia, distrust and we vs they. The intelligent at first thought this man was a clown and remained silent. The smart learned a lesson from Senator McCarthy unless you nip the lie in the bud it will be a formidable bloom never with a sweet fragrance and always with so many thorns it is hard to grab onto and yank out of its roots. 

Ted Cruz, is using fear to his advantage. He is smart enough to understand that a lemming like population is at the ready to blame their lack of success on others and they need enemies to feel good about themselves. Ted Cruz uses religion to never unite a population but to divide always insisting his God is the good God and if you don’t believe in his God you become an enemy of all those who believe as he does. He uses a select understanding of facts pretending they portend the truth. Read one passage, one chapter on verse from a Bible or the other book Jesus wrote the US Constitution and that will suffice for proving a point. The folks he preaches to never like to read for themselves but prefer someone claiming to either speak for God or the Founding Fathers to do so for them. Ted likes to make enemies, never of course his enemies, nope he is too shrewd for that, they are your enemies and I will fight them for you. Someone has to save Murica for you and Ted is the man to do that. It seems that just like Joe McCarthy, Ted Cruz is never asked to answer for his mistruth's but given too much credit as if all he says is true.

In America it seems we NEVER want to learn from history. The Negro was separate but equal, the Gay should befall the same fate. The Iraq War was a criminal endeavor, but now we call upon the same criminals who created that war to finish it for us. We interned a Japanese population during WWII and now we want to criminalize kids born in America. We had a devious, self serving, self promoting anarchist Senator who wanted to divide and conquer named McCarthy, and now we embrace his ghost named Cruz. Oh my oh my!

15 minutes of a fool

Ann Coulter:”No American whose great-grandfather was born here is watching soccer”. “Any growing interest in soccer can only be a sign of the nation’s moral decay,” Coulter writes before listing all of the reasons why she thinks soccer sucks. The fading right-wing troll blames soccer's increasing popularity on immigrants and the liberal media (Salon)

Ann is a troubled American, she is a reality star whose 15 minutes of fame is ending and she is mad as hell about that. Ann used to be the go to gal from the right wing/we hate everyone/Jesus was the first president of Murica/fact has no place in our present; but meaner spirited women like Laura Ingram, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann have stolen her crown. So Ann, never one to worry about morals or values,just the value of her paycheck likes to deliver the most inane, insecure idiot comments one might imagine. Ann is a dumb person but smart enough to know that there are even dumber people around her who love to loathe, harken in the hate, and have little need for honest or truth. Ann is scary enough because she understands that the socially inept, the bigots, the use God as a crutch for their own human frailties, crowd of Christian jihadists, xenophobes, need fodder upon which to feed their hate and disdain for Murica.

Ann is a sad sack, but what is sadder is the fact that the voices to tell her to just go away are mute and minor. Ann is like a morally corrupt Vampire, she sucks the anarchist blood from willing mortals who usually think they are listening to God permitting them hate. Ann is a troubled American who has NO IDEA of how or why this nation was founded. 15 more minutes of fame Annie, Hon, what a horrible waste of time. 

SHUT UP

“You now see situations with bakers and florists and photographers who are being forced to provide services for same-sex weddings or get fined, lose their business,” Santorum said during the appearance on the American Family Association’s “Focal Point” radio program on Monday. “In the case of Colorado, there was a Colorado case recently where someone had to go to a re-education camp if you will. And the amazing thing is that in Colorado gay marriage isn’t even legal!” (Huff Post)

There has to come a time when you have to shout at the top of your lungs,”JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU IGNORANT FOOL”. There has to come a time when it is not just the homosexuals, but other American demographics who have to stand together and instead of laughing at or pointing fingers to, finally say “NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU PRETEND TO BE AN AMERICAN, YOU BY NO MEANS UNDERSTAND THE FIRST THING ABOUT DEMOCRACY. How much longer can we, NO will we permit the bigot, the homophobe/the racist/the Christian Jihadist/the moron to rewrite our American history and distort every possible fact. It is beyond reason to think that one segment of the population of America does not deserve the equal rights of every other American. No more separate water fountains/no riding in the back of the bus/ no more less pay/no more lack of service, just because I am black a female or Gay.

There has to come a time when ALL of us, the ones who actually care about equality, freedom, civil rights freedom from religious oppression stand together and call out the men and women who lack self esteem, think their God is is so weak as to cower by democratic freedoms or just so fucking hateful as to lie about the rights of American citizens. I DO NOT have an agenda, I DO NOT have the magical powers to turn a boy or girl Gay, I DO NOT hate your God, I DO believe in equality for all I ONLY want a fair share of everything you seem to BE entitled to. Rick Santorum you are the top of the iceberg for the most hateful, deceitful, lowest hanging bitter fruit of Americana. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SHAMEFUL example of being Christian and more so being an American. JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!

case against 8

“The battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of everyman”, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Last night Joe and I holding hands, he eating a combination of graham crackers, cream cheese and Kool Whip, me chomping on a freshly cut fruit salad of course with Kool Whip, with our puppy Chance curled up in-between us, we watched the HBO documentary, ‘The Case Against 8’ sitting on the sofa in our Bruno-Buncher home. I had tissue at the ready and bawled brazenly, Joe at first sobbed in a silent heave-ho then permitted the emotions to cause any and all havoc they so desired. My husband, his husband with our marriage bands permanently wrapped around our left hand on the prescribed wedding finger sat mesmerized watching a piece of history which had happened in our most recent life time and an event which specifically, directly, and forever changed the course of our lives.

Two brave couples before us, said enough is enough, love is love and two brave attorneys added this IS America and it is only enough when it is legal. Joe and I watched as dreams turned into hope, hope into reality and reality so permanent. We watched as arguments filled with bias, bogus and bull shit were thrown about all with the purpose of denial of equality, freedom and choice. All the arguments were muttered and murmured by people who spoke of God from their mouths but not from their soul, men and women who never read the entire Constitution, yet somehow knew what the Founding Fathers meant to say, and individuals so afraid of their own weaknesses, desires, and dreadful lives as to deny anyone else from celebrating joy and jubilation. 

There are horizons always ahead, and we are told to find them we must face forward. But before any route can be established you need to understand from which path you just emerged. There have been detours, road blocks infrastructure too dangerous to travel in our lives and without fortitude one might actually stop moving. Two couples, two attorneys would not let their feet freeze because it was their head and hearts that were really causing the momentum. They had more to lose by permitting the status quo to be their compass and whole lot more to gain by letting their love lead the way. Joe and I said “I do” when the world around around was chanting “no you don’t”. We knew that no matter what, our love was resilient, but we now know that no one no matter how small, mean, hypocritical, or hateful can diminish the power of that love. We are and will be in control of that.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said: “The battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of everyman”, with battle against Prop 8 and the defeat of DOMA it seems some have chosen the side of good to triumph. To be triumphant your hearts must must be beating big, bold, and brighter. Joe and I watched the Case Against 8 sitting on the sofa in the Bruno-Buncher home and nothing could have been better! It was like running marathon but with a whole lot of tissues as we crossed the finish line.

go away bobby

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday night accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education and said that a rebellion is brewing in the U.S. with people ready for "a hostile takeover" of the nation's capital. "I am tired of the left. They say they're for tolerance, they say they respect diversity. The reality is this: They respect everybody unless you happen to disagree with them," he said. "The left is trying to silence us and I'm tired of it, I won't take it anymore.” (Huff Post)

Dear Bobby, The real world, you know the place you call home, Louisiana, the United States is not the land of Duck Dynasty millionaires. Racist, homophobic slander or hypocritical religious banter choosing select passages from a Bible is not how this nation was established nor is it the purpose of country whose foundations are based on pursuit of happiness for all. Now, I know you want to run for president and tying yourself up with the T-Publicans you feel that you must muster up hate, loathing, fiction, hyperbole and lies to win that nomination. You feel kind of left out of the wacko world of the Cruz’s Paul’s,and Santorum’s where fire and brimstone win the hearts of an illiterate uniformed, ignorant population, so now you gotta tighten your balls and recite some really bat shit nonsense to act as if you were a contender, I suppose one of the boys! I wonder, Bobby, does anyone ever place a mirror in front of you and let you look at the fool you’ve become?

Religious liberty, Bobby, means religious liberty for all. This has never been a one religion fits all nation and in fact if you cared to really read history books, not the kind found in the mansion of Grandpa Duck Dynasty, but in a real library or university, you will find that no established religion was part of something called the US Constitution. I know all of you T-Publicans carry that paperback version of the Constitution next to your assault rifle holster, but have you read it? You see Bobby the left DOES in fact respect diversity; this respect from the left entitles ALL Americans no matter, race, creed, nationality, gender, or religious affiliation or non religious affiliation to be free. No one is silencing you Bobby, but you and your Jihadist Christian Fascists would rather have it your way or as you say provoke a “hostile takeover”. Speaking of hostile takeovers Bobby it seems your Duck Dynasty loving boys have already started doing so by passing voter retraction laws, outrageous gerrymandering and disenfranchisement of minorities. The funny thing Bobby about a democracy is that if you don’t like who happens to be the boss at the next election you vote them out. NO BOBBY not with that stupid Second Amendment solution. Oh Bobby, Bobby, Bobby just when one might think T-Publicans could not get any more stupid, fascist, dumber or full of shit, you decide to come on the scene with literarily all fund loaded when all you will end up doing is shooting yourself in the ass. Go away Bobby, please go away!

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday night accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education and said that a rebellion is brewing in the U.S. with people ready for "a hostile takeover" of the nation's capital. "I am tired of the left. They say they're for tolerance, they say they respect diversity. The reality is this: They respect everybody unless you happen to disagree with them," he said. "The left is trying to silence us and I'm tired of it, I won't take it anymore.” (Huff Post)

Dear Bobby, The real world, you know the place you call home, Louisiana, the United States is not the land of Duck Dynasty millionaires. Racist, homophobic slander or hypocritical religious banter choosing select passages from a Bible is not how this nation was established nor is it the purpose of country whose foundations are based on pursuit of happiness for all. Now, I know you want to run for president and tying yourself up with the T-Publicans you feel that you must muster up hate, loathing, fiction, hyperbole and lies to win that nomination. You feel kind of left out of the wacko world of the Cruz’s Paul’s,and Santorum’s where fire and brimstone win the hearts of an illiterate uniformed, ignorant population, so now you gotta tighten your balls and recite some really bat shit nonsense to act as if you were a contender, I suppose one of the boys! I wonder, Bobby, does anyone ever place a mirror in front of you and let you look at the fool you’ve become?

Religious liberty, Bobby, means religious liberty for all. This has never been a one religion fits all nation and in fact if you cared to really read history books, not the kind found in the mansion of Grandpa Duck Dynasty, but in a real library or university, you will find that no established religion was part of something called the US Constitution. I know all of you T-Publicans carry that paperback version of the Constitution next to your assault rifle holster, but have you read it? You see Bobby the left DOES in fact respect diversity; this respect from the left entitles ALL Americans no matter, race, creed, nationality, gender, or religious affiliation or non religious affiliation to be free. No one is silencing you Bobby, but you and your Jihadist Christian Fascists would rather have it your way or as you say provoke a “hostile takeover”. Speaking of hostile takeovers Bobby it seems your Duck Dynasty loving boys have already started doing so by passing voter retraction laws, outrageous gerrymandering and disenfranchisement of minorities. The funny thing Bobby about a democracy is that if you don’t like who happens to be the boss at the next election you vote them out. NO BOBBY not with that stupid Second Amendment solution. Oh Bobby, Bobby, Bobby just when one might think T-Publicans could not get any more stupid, fascist, dumber or full of shit, you decide to come on the scene with literarily all guns loaded when all you will end up doing is shooting yourself in the ass. Go away Bobby, please go away!

The Farmers Market

It is Sunday, I live in West Hollywood, the day is sunny, high in the low 70’s, the sky is cloudless and about 2 minutes and 25 seconds from my front door, just down the street on Melrose Place (so not at all like the Place from the TV show) is a Farmer’s Market. What is not to like! Tossing on a tank top(of course one that might be a tad too tight) a pair of tennis shoes(I grew up in Pittsburgh and all sports shoes were referred to as tennis shoes not sneakers),comfortable shorts (but again never too loose), my environmentally friendly cloth bag (in LA plastic bags are taboo), my Target sun glasses (Joe insists that we should spend some money on good sunglasses, but somehow I can’t get myself to do so) and I head out to support the local economy. I usually try to hit the Farmer’s Market around 8 am, when they open, as all of the produce is fresh and plentiful and most importantly there are few people in my way. Today, however I slept in and took way too much time to get to my destination. OMG!

Melrose Place is closed to traffic and the vendors are on both sides of the street about 2 years ago, the selection of vendors seemed to expand and now you can still purchase produce but about two thirds of the booths have nothing to with fruits and vegetables and a whole lot to do with nice skin a firm body, power sleeping, high fashion, homemade jewelry, wigs and how to become a best selling model). You know you are in a fancy schmancy neighborhood because prior to arriving at the entrance for the Market is a coffee boutique (use the word artisan or boutique and money loses its meaning) where you can purchase their house blend with no frills for $7.00 (everything else coffee wise goes up in price by $2 a shot). I have learned that arriving at the Market after 9 am is a dangerous action. It seems that baby strollers, the kind that can accommodate three babies but usually contain one infant abound. Mom or Dad is on the phone so he or she has little desire to watch where they are steering their Cadillac of strollers and often time bump into you.(More often then not they are pissed that you interrupted their phone call and intentionally wanted to jar the baby). Then there are the dogs on leashes (There is a huge sign at the entrance right next to the boutique coffee shop that says DOGS NOT PERMITTED DUE TO HEALTH HAZARDS) long enough for Dog Parent (In LA the word master is shunned and Mommy, Daddy or parent preferred), to be on one side of the street while the doggie is sniffing the butt of another dog on the opposite side. If you are intent on actually looking at the produce, witnessing a very hard to see leash is the last thing on your mind that is until your trip on it and fall. Perturbed that Doggie Mommy or Daddy must now tend to their Dog Child, no apologies are exchanged just rolling of the eyes and a passive aggressive sigh which when muttered sounds like go to hell. Lastly there are the 3 and 4 year old offspring of the Hipsters. While sipping their $7 to$10 cup of boutique coffee talking about last nights restaurant or next week’s trip away from the kids, not a single eye is focused on the Toddlers who finally being permitted to be a kid (no language, computer, math classes, no soccer, gymnastics, tennis lessons) are playing outside and a fierce game of tag you are it. Forgetting who is being tagged, usually some sticky hand has found a leg of a stranger or worse a rambunctious body either falls upon you or like the doggie leashes you trip over them. Chaos, crying ensues and Litigation attorneys circle you like ants at a picnic.

If you look at the demographics of the Farmer’s Market on Melrose Place,(even if you were an alien just landing on Earth) you wold know these people are supposedly very educated, very cool, and very wealthy. But if you then emerged yourself into the demographic by becoming a part of that crowd, you might come to some very troubling conclusions, so counter intuitive to what your eyes first told your brain. They say things happen in three’s, well today whoever THEY are hit the nail on the head. There are samples of the fruit to taste before you purchase any, but for hair extension, jewelry ridden mommy it would be no sample for her kids. She instead reached her hand, past my arm and an elderly older mans\’s waist and grabbed at strawberries to be sold. She told Jeffie (not Jeffry) to taste them too. Jeffie pushed past the older man nearly toppling him over and grabbed at three different strawberries never quite sure which one he wanted. The older man looked at the mother and said, stop him those are for sale. Mommy dearest looked at the man and said without missing a beat, his hands are clean. Man on his cell phone yelling at Allan, apparently on the other end of the phone was pissed about not getting the babe at the bar last night because Allan cock blocked him. Holding the phone in one hand, a stalk of celery and three tomatoes in the other hand doing a circus like juggling act, man on the phone pushes past two women placing his produce to the woman behind the table saying I am in a hurry here! Two women not happy with this tried to move his hand away. Man on the phone who had been cock blocked last night says, touch me again and I will sue you! Third incident (Ain’t three always a charm). A man is in a wheel chair he has his cloth bags neatly resting on each handle, all he wants to do is roll over to the peaches and grab a few purchase them and most likely move on. Mommy and Daddy each have a stroller right in front of the peaches. Man on the wheel chair says excuse me may I just get a few of those peaches. Both parents look at the man as they both are blocking the peaches and say as if rehearsed, the baby’s are learning about fruits just be patient.

I did not stay much longer, an am now pissed that I didn’t buy all that was on my shopping list. I had to exit this Farmer’s Market, really as quickly as I could. On the way back to my street in front a very expensive interior decorating store where chaises start at $4500 was a very disheveled woman with a sign saying I am hungry. I gave her one of my bags of plums and reached into my pocket for some money. Before I could grab a dollar or two another man about 10 feet away comes rushing toward me, he too on a wheelchair shouting at me, don’t feed her don’t give her money she gets a government check. As he approaches me he then shouts to me, I am the one who needs the food and money. I told him to share the fruit with her and that they both could debate how the money is split. As I walked away I was called a son of a bitch and Gay (I knew those shorts were a bit too tight) I then walked the remaining 1 minute and 15 seconds to my home and swore if I don not wake up before 8 on Sunday i will never ever go to the farmers market again!

monsters in America

Somehow self prescribed men of God never quite get it right when it comes to defining freedom. They often times quote scripture (of course scripture from their own personal selection of Bible) to emote that God has always been particular as to whom it should to enjoy freedom. Then to mystify the masses who are self taught to hate by the generations before them, the self proclaimed messengers of God become mediums who have channeled the wishes and wants of the Founding Fathers of this nation. Pontificating from stacks of soap boxes kept afloat by hatred and lies, these procurers of bigotry insist that history should be ignored, except for the annotated parts they have chosen which always seem to prove a very shallow point.

Fox News host Mike Huckabee on Thursday compared the effort to prevent LGBT people from having equal marriage rights to fighting against Nazi Germany. (Huff Post) The Grand Pastor Pu-bah Huckabee like so many of his ill educated faux Patriots (he loves to scare the pants off of self described true Americans, like the FOX News entertainers, the we love Palin grizzlies, the Rush Limbaugh blow hards) Huckabee is the man who  by inciting those scary words Nazi/America/Hitler/ and of course Obama thinks he has won the argument about almost anything.Mr Holier than thou went on to say “Nothing threatens your personal liberty more than the notion that you would bow your knee to the court system apart from the ultimate rule of the Constitution,” “And all of the branches of government, all of which are not there to tell you what you cannot do, but to guarantee the freedoms that you are always empowered to have.”(Huff Post) This crusader for a Jesus unrecognizable by most Christians is always A-Feared-for his life and of course his freedoms. According to the I am the PR firm for J. Christ and Co. freedom should never ring true in the USA for anyone not like me. Freedom has always been a select gem, not everyone should get to wear it and of course flaunt it. This snake oil salesman of a preacher cites states rights as a true sign of American democracy, the same kind of states rights which did not want women to vote, have integrated couples  marry and of course slavery to be abolished.

And yet Mike Huckabee is considered a contender in the ill conceived list of T-Publican candidates for president. And yet flocks of sheep praise this man for seeming so astute in how Jesus discovered America, had a few brews with the boys who wrote the US Constitution, and of course the history of the Nazi’s. And yet as the great denier of freedom, Huckabee lies, fabricating his homophobic rant and is still considered a voice worth listening to. There is need to worry about a man like this who speaks to the most unintelligent,uninformed bigots using their lack of understanding of both religious and American values as reason to fear the homosexual. (For those who don’t want to be bothered with the so called homosexual agenda just remember after the Homo’s there are the Non Christians, Non Whites, Poor, people with vaginas and anyone speaking with an accent) As the religious right like to say there is a war of morals in this nation but sadly the enemy lies within the ranks of men like Huckabee. He is a scary American made monster and one the townspeople seem to prefer.

when is enough...ENOUGH

The headlines circulating via the Internet, are a potpourri of articles of mangled, misguided, men and women acting like God, parsing the truth, destructive to democracy and scenarios seemingly from countries unlike the USA. The Bush/Cheney liars are touted as experts on a war they manufactured, some kind of prejudice Christian God runs the state of Texas, and in North Carolina, there are white Americans and then the others. When do the inmates stop running the asylum? When do the real people defeat the Pod People?

The Iraq War Criminals as truth tellers: Truth recently has had to take a back seat to prejudice, bigotry, partisan politics, religious zealots, fools masquerading as patriots, stupid and dumb. Sadly, it seems that fact is a bother, history a chore, honesty a gift from the Devil, and finding solutions a Communist plot. Once again, the men and women who have plotted against the interests of the average American in favor of their own profiteering are considered esteemed 'Mavens' at the ready to sell more snake oil and another war in Iraq! Is this madness,a contagious disease with no cure or just the lemming once more begging to be pushed of the edge of the cliff? When is enough…ENOUGH?

The Theocrats in charge: In the Fascist, theocratic nation state known as Texas, family, marriage, love is meaningless unless the religious dogmatic UnAmerican legislators decide that homosexuals are citizens. Equality is not the kind preferred in this backward bigoted nation state, especially the kind of equality mentioned in the Constitution; nope equality in Texas is defined by the New Testament, and it pertains to only a select group of Christians. We cannot be silent while prejudice inequality lack of justice runs rampant in places like the nation state of Texas; silence always equals death!

Bigots running for Senate:Nothing says T-Publican politics better then segregation, divide and conquer, we vs they and of course the bigots running for office on the T-Publican ticket. Voter ID laws, gerrymandered districts, inequality, hate and complete disregard for the 'others' seem to be the priorities to winning the T-Publican votes. One has to wonder who votes for these men and women whose on principles in life are do unto others first so they are too weak to undo me. How much longer will the normal American permit the stupid from nominating the wicked? Washington is bad enough now, imagine when men like Thom Tillis become the majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

When do the inmates stop running the asylum? When do the real people defeat the Pod People? When will democracy thrive again?

dumb or stupid

Rick Perry is not quite sure why he thinks homosexuality is similar to alcoholism because as he says he is not into the science, but he never stops insisting that both are the same thing, stupid or dumb? The President had his Special Forces capture the ring leader of the horrible attack on the US diplomatic mission in Libya, but the morons at FOX and some of their T-Publicans in Congress, swear  this too is plot and plan to discredit America, stupid or dumb? Yet another urgent call from T-Publicans to impeach President Obama with trumped up conspiracy charges based on the belief that he is still that Kenyan/Negro/Socialist guy whose mother somehow was smart enough to fix it so he seemed like a citizen of the US, stupid or dumb? All the Bush/Cheney war criminals who conspired to make money for Halliburton trumping up charges of the ticking time bomb or mushroom cloud never once giving a good shit for the lives of both Americans and Iraqi’s are once again heralded as Mavens on almost every news outlet, stupid or dumb? Purchasing bullet proof vests for school children as job one in fighting gun violence, stupid or dumb? FOX News praising George Bush for his ability to anticipate future problems in Iraq before invading that country, stupid or dumb?

In America of 2014 there is a choice for the average person to select the stupid or dumb choice. Decide that government is too big, except that part of government that insists it has visiting rights in your bedroom or doctors office. Decide that you do not want to pay taxes, follow any rules you don’t like, don’t want to share your neighborhood with people who don’t look like you, pray like you or hate like you and that makes you a Patriot. Insist that freedom of religion is greater then freedom from religion and claim that Jesus penned the Constitution. Decide that states rights usurp Federal laws, deny marriage to Gays, establish voter ID Laws, gerrymander you districts to restrict just anyone from voting and fuck any and all environmental protective laws. Stupid or dumb the only two choices facing America today.

How much more stupid or dumb must we become as a nation before we implode? Militias running around with guns as if they were in the wild west ready for High Noon. Jerks walking around in Toy Stores and restaurants with their over sized guns functioning as penis’s pretending that while shopping at Target or eating at the Buffett the special ops will be arriving in helicopters or limos. Organizations disapproving of same sex couples wanting to marry while ignoring the unbelievable divorce rate of opposite sex couples.Making hero’s out of manipulating, self promoting monsters like Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, Cruz while the real heroes who only want a decent job, average pay, goos schools the chance to become a viable citizen are scorned.Stupid or dumb, why the hell do those two selections seem to be the only choices in America?

Dearest Lizzie

"Iraq is at risk of falling to a radical Islamic terror group and Mr. Obama is talking climate change. Terrorists take control of more territory and resources than ever before in history, and he goes golfing. He seems blithely unaware, or indifferent to the fact, that a resurgent al Qaeda presents a clear and present danger to the United States of America," (Dick and Liz Cheney’s anticipate opt ed piece for the FOX owned Wall Street Journal)

Oh Liz Cheney you are one hell of an acorn falling so hard at the root of an old oak called Dick. Hutzpah, Liz usually a Yiddish term of endearment used by the Jews to describe a hell of a set of balls, but in this case Liz, my dear, it is stated as an insult cause the balls you carry are dangerous. To hear you speak as if your war criminal father had never lied, never undermined the sovereignty of a nation, never thought more of the profits for Big Oil or Haliburton might be humorous if it was not down right just one more nasty fabrication the Cheney Family has been known for. 

Your father cared little for the nation of Iraq. The man who found draft deferments the only way to fight the Viet Nam War, the man who had his henchmen out a CIA agent, the man who purposely misled a nation about the real reasons for his need to invade Iraq is nothing but a fraud, and you my dear Liz are just as guilty in pretending to be anything but a traitor to the principles of democracy. As I recall your dad insisted there was a clear and present danger lurking in the palaces of Saddam Hussain. Remember when ‘tricky Dick’ was sure Saddam had chemicals ready to launch at the US. You remember hearing Condie Rice taking your fathers lead and declaring the approach of a mushroom cloud. All during the Bush/Cheney dictatorship there was warning of a clear and present danger when in fact the one clear and present danger of the time the 9/11 terror attack took place and your dad seemed so unaware of it pending doom.

You are quite the turn coat Lizzie my dear. Nothing is safe from your family. You even learned the artful political maneuvering from your dad of taking no prisoners attacking your homosexual sister’s marriage as sinful and a sham. Your role model tricky Dick leaves an awful lot of poor parenting examples and of course poorer leadership choices. I thought your meaningless 15 minutes of fame dried up after your chaotic and rueful run for Wyoming Senate. But like the plague you lurk and wait hoping just enough sick people will fall prey and you can infect with the most virulent anti Americanism possible.

I worry about anarchists like you and your daddy, Liz, but I worry more that suckers, losers, loners and anti-American jihadists who never remember history  still think the Cheney’s are relevant. I am sure your Mom and Dad are really worried that true Americans will finally come to their senses and finally realize that Dick Cheney and his faux soldiers of fortune are enemy number one. Just go away Liz, just go!

here we go again

Here we go again. The men and women who predicted that at the most the Iraq War would last no longer then 6 months. The people who insisted the Americans would be heralded as heroes in the Middle East. The folks who warned us of mushroom clouds,ticking time bombs, weapons of mass destruction. The politicians and their pundents who, never once serving in the military assuredly saying that theTroops sent to fight the battles in Iraq would accomplish their mission with ease and little else. Here we go again and as has been the case for a population of misguided, unintelligent xenophobes, bigots and racists its time to forget any history and rewrite the past to fit into the kind of future they wish and want. 

Almost 4500 Troop deaths, 3400Troops wounded and disabled, half a million Iraqi’s dead or wounded billions of dollars spent, billion of dollars earned by Haliburton and war friendly corporations, economies almost devastated and yet almost all of the commercial news outlets permit the men and women who have gotten almost every aspect of the war in Iraq wrong to sing aloud about how this around the War in oral will be different. No one in the Bush/Cheney administration has been held accountable for their fiasco and war crimes, yet Barack Obama is suddenly the target and perpetrator  of everything wrong in Iraq.

Come on America, when does the nonsense end. When will we as a nation finally find the fortitude to tell the truth, beg for the truth, demand the truth and stop the madness of deranged to run amuck? Come on America, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Paul Wolfowitz, Doug Faith, Andrew Card, Judith Miller, Paul Bremer all lied, all schemed, all promoted a fiasco which set in motion decades of doom and disaster. We now, once again are going to give any of these war criminals even one more chance? Here we go again, and again, and again!

groundhog day, again

"Are we about to be drawn back into a conflict in Iraq?" Smith asked. "The same people who 12 years ago told us this will be quick, this will be easy, this will be inexpensive, they will see us as liberators, it's the right thing to do, are now telling us, 'It's the right thing to do.' What's the endgame? Who's thought this through?” (Shepard Smith)

Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Dick Cheney all three men are insisting we go into Iraq again. History is of no concern neither are the lies woven into our Iraq War history that promoted America to stop that supposed mushroom cloud, those weapons of mass destruction. Its Ground Hog Day all over again. Little Lindsey Graham has stated that Americans are tired of war, but this time once again going into Iraq will keep us safer from the foes. It was Senator Graham’s warning of the fear of foes that helped foster an appetite to invade a sovereign nation the first time. John McCain,  believes that a handful of Troops had they been active in Iraq would have stopped a marauding group of terrorists from attacking a cowardly group of Iraqi soldiers. Dick Cheney, easily forgetting his non strategy for winning a war except making making money for Haliburton and of course gaining oil rights defines our president as inept and amateur. Its Ground Hog Day once again, the world is supposed to be as dumb this time around as we were then first time we invaded a sovereign nation.

We now witness horrendous actions on behalf of the newest enemy to sanity and justice ISIS. Worse then the most hated AlQeada or the Taliban, ISIS has taken the lead in dissecting the nation of Iraq into the good bad and ugly. The powerless yet graft riddled Iraqi government of Maliki at the ready for vengeance governing, the civil war mentality of Sunni and Shite to cut each others throats because of their belief in God, the encouragement of other governments to divide and conquer are issues never ever addressed by our nation. If ignored they are easy reasons for yet another war in Iraq. It is Ground Hog Day once again. 

Round and round, over and over, again and again, repeating without correcting, it is GroundHog Day in the US. You are bad if you don’t hate the enemy from a far. You are not a Patriot if you don’t fight wars. You must forget that we never won the war in Korea, or Viet Nam or Iraq or Afghanistan, but must remember that the mushroom cloud always looms large. Perhaps if we initiated a draft once again, where all Americans must bare the burden of fighting a war, we will have a better handle on Iraq. Perhaps if we actually saw a budget sheet on the cost of lives, the cost of materials the list of vendors and their supporters who gain from the war in Iraq we will have a better handle on a war in Iraq. Perhaps if we stop confusing incursion after incursion as the only way to find peace we will have a better handle on a war in Iraq. Perhaps if we realize that you CAN learn a lot from history  we will have a better handle on a war in Iraq. Perhaps if we just stop permitting Ground Hog Day from occurring and occurring and occurring we might have a better handle on another war in Iraq.

a day for fathers

The vivid memories are the times I raced against the other policemen’s kids at the Fraternal Order of Police picnics usually coming in first and my dad placing me on his shoulders strutting around. The times he, dressed in his police uniform, would attend the track and field events at Linden school watching me run the dashes and the 4 team baton races. The moments the JCC plays were finished and it was time for curtain calls and my name was mentioned as director/choreographer watching him stand hands above his head clapping and smiling. The father son haircuts at Jerry and Son Barber shop across from Sterrett School schmoozing about the events of our day. He as my best man walking down the aisle with me with small tears flowing from his cheek holding onto my arm tight enough to never let me go, but with just enough room to permit me to start my own family. The day we went to the Squirrel Hill Police Station down in the basement and most of the “big’ kids from Denniston Avenue got sworn in a Junior Police. Those memories are always with me easy to recall, remember. They are also used to remind me of the intangible minutes with my dad.

My dad was able to dissect the ridiculous from the real. He could take the traumas and dramas of my every day life and help me to find solutions. He was able to sort through the silly, dig deep for the simple and present options I had no idea existed. Of course there were more brash memories of him sitting between my sister and I at a Vincent Price movies fest at the Liberty Theater, taking us out to the sand bridges in Lake Erie holding us up when the sand collapsed but even moments like those were a nonverbal lessons that HE would always be the great protector. Upon the birth of my first, Adam, my dad was there to embrace my son and proudly tell me I am now in charge of the world. he passed before my daughter Dani was born but somewhere in my list of things to do and be with my second child were the wonders of my father.

It is Father’s Day, and thankfully I can understand the meaning of this day having had a man of honor as a dad and two children who have helped remind me of the lessons learned as I grew up. I know that being a father takes more then DNA, it is encompasses courage, wisdom, sincerity, honesty, and of course unconditional love. For all of us who have been loved by a man we called dad, who was or is a best friend, a comrade, a role model, a confidant, this is a day to celebrate loud and proud. Happy Father’s Day

no more pretending

Lets pretend that this nation still functions as our Founding Fathers intended, you know a country proud of religious freedom and prouder of freedom from religion. Lets pretend that the Evangelical Baptist Bible thumping, hell and damnation preachers and pastors work only on Sunday’s stand only in front of their congregants gathered in their own private house of worship. Lets pretend that only the religious Jihadists come from the Middle East. Lets pretend that we being the numero uno country in the world able to nuke the other countries five times over if we desire, certainly understand the validity of our Constitution which insisted there shall be no official government sanctioned religion. Lets pretend that the Tea Party was actually a movement of articulate men who studied the US Constitution trying to refine and refresh the qualities of democracy instead of ban its words. Lets pretend that the Tea Party was actually a movement of women who just wanted to clear the air on the rights and freedoms of this nation instead of the purification of religious dogma. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday grilled a pastor who supports the separation of church and state, asking him why he did not share the “good news” that non-Christians were going to Hell. “Do you believe in sharing the good news that will keep people from going to Hell, consistent with Christian beliefs?” the Texas Republican wondered. A Republican state legislator miffed about an Arkansas judge's ruling that struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban suggested on a conservative radio show that politicians should emulate Saudi Arabia by basing laws off Christian doctrine, as Saudi Arabia does with Islam. David Brat: Hitler Could 'Happen Again' If We Don't Embrace Christian Capitalism.

Its time for the lets pretend to end. We are faced in this nation with an insurgency dangerous, dire and destructive. The Crusades are coming to America. The Spanish Inquisition has found its footing on our shores. The tar and feathering of decency and difference are almost daily rituals in our halls of government. Religious liberties have some how usurped any and all other kinds of freedoms. The Tea Party movement is nothing but a jihadist arrangement in which Jesus becomes the Lord, Savior, President and Supreme Court Justice of all Americans. Listen closely to the foul smelling words of the men and women of the Tea Party and stop pretending that those mad hatters will drink too much tea and just nod off to sleep. Our freedoms, liberties, equality are at risk more and more. No more pretending just how dangerous of a nation it has become in the United States.

so sick

Texas Republicans have adopted a party platform that includes support for voluntary psychological "therapy" targeted at converting homosexuals to heterosexuals. The Texas Republicans' measure states that "We recognize the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle. No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.” (CNN.US)

Growing up in the 50’s whenever a bad guy was needed to move the plot along, he would be a thin man, very flashy in his dress, a sinister smile, slicked back hair and ooze with impropriety and of course misperceived values. He was a homosexual, the kind of guy you knew would steal your money, run you over, and of course lust after you and your son. In the 60’s the bad guy was seen walking the streets, perhaps hustling most likely shiftless always a con, he was a faggot. In the 70’s the drug abuser, the hapless, hopeless narcissist was always the character of choice to demonstrate good from bad, all American from just plain evil, he was the queer. With the onset of HIV-AIDS, the bogey man, the antagonist who represented all the selfish, self serving anti Christ angst in this nation was of course Gay. He was the one who was self destructive and had no redeeming core or morals. Growing up in this nation in the past 60 years, it was very difficult to identify with any individual who among his many qualities happened to be Gay who was not deemed to be anything but bad.

It took me 47 years to come to terms with part of my own Gay identity. I always wanted to run from the BAD words like Homo, Fag, Queer and Gay. I believed from all of the marketing on the silver screen small screen, politics and organized religious institutions that even the mere mutter of anything homosexual would destroy my life and of course the lives of those I called family and friends. I fought hard to not be Gay, I fought harder to deny a piece of my life that was just as important as being Dad, a Brother, a Son, a Communal Worker, and American. But finally sanity persevered and the realization that I am who I am is natural and correct won the battle. I am Gay and it is a natural way of life for me.

And now a bunch of bigoted blow hards more afraid of their own lack of heterosexuality, fearful of their own perceived masculinity are trying once again to tell the world if you are Gay you are not natural and you are certainly sick.A bunch of con artists at the ready to use Jesus, fiction, falsehood and baloney to sell their dark and dirty trade have inspired a bunch of religious jihadists and idiots to pass laws calling me and all of my Gay brothers and sisters sick. I have had enough of separate not equal. I have had enough of bogus religion.I have had enough of insecure men and women so repressed in their own dismal lives trying to put me down. I have had enough of politicians who have no understanding of democracy. Perhaps if these jokers are so concerned about reparative therapy they might check themselves into a mental health clinic and wonder why they are so afraid of their own heterosexuality! 

love is love

Sunday, June 8 in sunny West Hollywood a married couple a son a daughter all mingling and enjoying the cloudless day at a festival. A special bonus, the daughter and her best friend are part of the showcase of entertainers; so the married couple and the son get to ‘kvell’ watching the duo perform. An American dream comes true this particular Sunday, and no one can deny this day in America was full of promise and purpose.

Sunday, June 8 in sunny West Hollywood the married couple are two men, two husbands to be exact. The son and daughter are the children of one of the men, and the proud step children of the other fellow. The festival is the LA Gay Pride event. Teammate is the name of the group created by the daughter and her best friend and they are proudly entertaining an audience of heterosexual/homosexual Americans who decided to spend this Sunday ‘kvelling’ about freedom and equality.

Sunday, June 8 in sunny West Hollywood while the married couple the son and the daughter share quality time together, somewhere in the darker recesses of bigotry and bull shit madmen and women are hell bent angry that in a place like America equality for all may be finding a home. Religious zealots pretending to act as God are damning the so called lifestyles of same-sex couple and families. Polarizing politicians with self serving ambitions are demanding injustice be served to anyone they deem different. Well paid pundents luxuriate in hate and lies creating false stories about supposed agendas, treason and socialism. Men and women who lack self esteem, who have been taught that the foul smell of racism/homophobia is the only kind of oxygen to inhale, who feel their life can become better if they destroy the lives of others; are ringing their fingers, clutching their abridged Bibles, ignoring the true US Constitution and demanding that end times will soon be upon America because the Gays are celebrating Pride.

On Sunday, June 8 in sunny West Hollywood, I along with my husband Joe my son Adam, my daughter Dani and our best friend Scott celebrated Pride. Although this was Gay Pride, my family was able to include in that celebration the creative accomplishments of one another, the insight and sensitivity of inclusion and the knowledge that our family can communicate, learn and grow form one another. On Sunday, June 8 in sunny West Hollywood my family lived the American dream and not the nightmare so many on the Christian right try to promote, create and envision. As my daughter’s group Teammate sing about, ‘Love is Love’!

monsters among us

The father of Bowe Bergdahl, the Idaho soldier released from captivity in a controversial prisoner swap with the Taliban, has received emailed death threats that authorities are investigating, an Idaho police chief said on Saturday. (Reuters)

In Mary Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ there is a fevered crowd, with pitchforks carrying torches of fire creating a mob scene to rid the township of a monster feared and loathed. Ms Shelley clearly creates a scene in which reason has been replaced with irrationality, purpose substituted for madness and insight blinded by the sheer force of belligerence.  The monster is bad, the monster must be stopped and if in fact we act as we have perceived that monster to have acted so be it; because our monster is a good monster.

Flip-flopping T-Publican politicians/irresponsible fame seeking pundents/phony journalists/individuals with lack of compassion, insight or purpose have perpetuated a vigil in which killing a monster is the only priority available. With pure malice, political gamesmanship, lack of value and awesome hate those who revel in turning the stupid into lemming like creatures have provoked the most nasty of American society to act out and act upon their most heinous desires. No longer in America (where divide has become the optimum choice,) do we care about the facts but perseverate over fiction and falsehoods. There is no longer anymore patience to find the truth when in fact the lies are so easy to finesse.

A soldier was captured, we know nothing more as fact except he enlisted to fight a war and was captured. An American was held prisoner, his parents mourn his captivity and yearn for his return. One of our own is coming home and suddenly he is a monster, we are the bearers of pitchforks and torches. Suddenly, we care less about the facts or truth but salivate at the opportunity to tar and feather this man making him the enemy. The same people who praise Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who profess the sanctity of our military, who carry paperback editions of the Constitution next to their assault weapons, who swear their blood runs red, white and blue have created a monster and act as worse and more dangerous monster themselves. This fevered filled virus if not stopped will run amuck and it will ravage any piece of democracy left. We have all got to be scared at the insanity around us, I know I am!

Pride

June is Gay Pride month. No big deal, a very big deal depending with whom you speak. For some men and women who among the many attributes in their life happen to be Gay, Pride is just one more aspect of acceptance. For other men and women for whom being Gay seems to define them as different for their families and communities in which they live, Pride is a cause to celebrate because each and everyday is a struggle and feeling proud is a most difficult task. Pride is a word we all use, how we define it is of course subjective and can imply a myriad of meanings; Gay Pride follows the same rule. Many homosexual men and women scoff at the festivals and parades which accompany Pride celebrations insisting that just living your life, earning a living, raising a family, becoming a valuable member of society is enough of a commemoration. Many heterosexual men and women support Pride events because they have a son, daughter, brother sister or friend whom they love and want to see them shine. Some Gay and Lesbians anticipate with baited breath the opportunity to showcase, show off, show up for a weekend event in which they are the stars. Many heterosexual men and women wonder why the Gays need their own Pride events insisting that the straights don’t do that. There will be Gay Pride months until being Gay is no longer stigmatized, until being a minority in this country is no longer chastised, until self loathing and fear of others is diminished.

There will be Gay Pride until people like Peter LaBarbera of the Americans for Truth About Homosexuality(AFTAH) stop saying some eyebrow-raising claims about masculinity within the gay community, "Masculine men do not have sex with other men.” Or men like Tony Perkins: stop ranting, Christians forced to bake cakes for gays like forcing Jews into Nazi ovens. (Tony Perkins president of the Family Research Council, spoke Thursday with the attorney of a baker who lost his court battle to refuse service to LGBT customers who ordered cakes to celebrate their legal same-sex marriages. Or women like Pam Bondi stop being hypocritical "Florida's marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society's legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units," Bondi's office said in court documents. Pam Bondi, Florida’s twice divorced Attorney General. Or political parties stop acting like douche bags, A draft of the Texas Republican Party's new platform embraces gay conversion therapy, arguing that it is a viable option for "patients who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle.”

I happen to be a white, Jewish, employed, father, husband son, brother, uncle, friend Gay man. I define my masculinity by my actions. I love men as I wish and I share love with those around as I want. I am an American and as such I believe in freedom from religion, justice and equality for all and firmly believe in a divide between church and state. I have never cried foul when religious zealots hate, segregate, or deny, but scream bloody murder when in fact they presume their God was the first President of the United States. It is Gay Pride month and I am proud to celebrate my equality! Happy Pride!

Patient 1

Just when you might think the T-Publican epidemic of stupid has reached its peak what with the IRS, Benghazi, voter fraud, along comes a more virulent strain of dumb in the form of chastising a POW just because the black President helped with his release. The same God Bless American T-Publicans who insisted on those mysterious ‘weapons of mass destruction’, the ones whose own sons or daughter did not enlist in the Bush/Cheney Wars, the politicians who refuse to pass any kind of budget to assist in correcting the horrendous conditions at the VA which started because of the Bush/Cheney wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,are all zombie like finding more heinous and horrible ways to punish a POW. Somehow with this newest strain of hating America just because, leaving a POW, a man who did enlist to serve his country, to rot sounds like the RIGHT thing to do.The words and actions of so called hero’s like John McCain and draft dodgers like Bill O’Reilly have resonated with a population hell bent on dismembering democracy.

And then, just when you thought the fever, the bleeding sores, the shakes and shivers could not get any worse, a snake rears her ugly head. Her fangs filled with poison never compassion, speeds a form a venom which is so pathetic in its nature that you have to slap yourself on the side of the head to believe it. The same seething slimy snake ascends upon a soap box propped up with stalks of hypocrisy, weighted with self righteousness and pronounces in a juvenile gibberish (written for her by haunted ghost writer) the following: 

“Sympathizers now tell the media Bergdahl can't be held to account anytime soon because he can't be interviewed ... claiming he's forgotten how to speak English. Really?” Palin asked in a Facebook post Wednesday. “Then # Call 1-800-RosettaStone.” “Does anyone remember abused POWs like John McCain, Tom Moe, James Stockdale, Tom Kirk, and other American troops forgetting the English language during their years and years of brutal, inhumane captivity?” the former Republican vice presidential candidate continued. “Seems these war heroes returned to their beloved country not speaking Vietnamese, but speaking KickAss against those who would destroy the red, white, and blue.” (Sarah Palin).

The darling of the deranged, the woman who might have become Vice President, the lady who like a rabid dog can only bite and chew opens her mouth omitting sign of common sense and committing fiction and falsehoods claims she knows what is good for America. In a culture that finds the Kardashian’s talented, reality TV real, unemployed people lazy, a President not a citizen, immigration not a piece of the history of this nation, Mike Huckabee a spokesperson for Jesus FOX News, news Sarah Palin has has become the idol for the frenetic, crazed brains dead and delirious. She has become a monster created by the townspeople who willingly and intently  wants to destroy over 200 years of decency and democracy. When I read about this woman, I worry about her living in an alternate reality, but I worry so much more about those who would prefer to live there with her. There is an epidemic of stupid, and Sarah Palin is patient 1.

ASS-ume

Bill O’Reilly speaking about Bowe Bergdahl’s father.”A. he absolutely looked like a Muslim. B. he talked in the language of the Taliban, and C. he thanked Allah," O'Reilly told fellow Fox News host Howard Kurtz. "I thought the appearance was totally inappropriate. I said it, I will stand by it.” "Okay, is he over the edge because of his boy? Maybe. And I feel bad for him if that's the case, but what he did and how he presented himself was inappropriate," O'Reilly argued.

Now Bill O’Reilly I will assume (as you so often do as you purse your face into an arrogant contortion, never really moving your lips but always raising your eyebrows) that even though you could have served in the military during the Viet Nam you were a Pacifist/Communist Sympathizer/a fearful lad or felt that US was not fighting the kind of war you liked because you never enlisted. I will assume as you so often do (based on nothing but your gut (in this case my well worn gut) that you have little respect for your children’s welfare because you seem to scoff at the sheer nonsense that Bowe Bergdahl’s dad would be placed over the edge  knowing that his son has been locked away for 5 years. I would assume Bill O, that you are a shallow individual more concerned about your audience then the lives of real Americans. And as you often times like to pontificate I will stand by that!.

Brian Kilmeade regarding Bowe Bergdahl’s father. “I mean, he says he was growing his beard because his son was in captivity. Well, your son’s out now. So if you really don’t — no longer look like a member of the Taliban, you don’t have to look like a member of the Taliban. Are you out of razors?”

Now Brian Kilmeade, I had no idea who you were until a friend who frequents FOX News told me you are like the added laugh track to an already boring situation comedy. I turned on FOX and Friends and found that description quite accurate. I am going to assume (as you so often do while entertaining your audience of witch hunters) that even though you were of the draft age to fight not only one but both of the Cheney/Bush Iraq Wars you decided not to. I might assume (as you always do) that you DID NOT fight those wars because you were either a non Patriot, a Communist or just felt that these wars were beneath you. I will also assume Brian that as a father you have a very distant relationship with your two daughters and son as you seem to think any parent, like Bowe’s dad is C-R-A-Z-Y for missing his son and trying his damnedest to be one with him. I will assume Brian Kilmeade that you hate the family unit especially the kind where a father and mother pine for their son locked away in some mountain captivity by the enemy. As your Godfather at FOX Bill O often times pontificates, I will stand by that!

I will assume Bill and Brian (as you both do so often while entertaining a brigade of bigots) that family values are meaningless to you as you chide and deride the emotions of two parents desperately missing their son. I will assume that you both hate the Troops/the Flag/Families and of course the kind of love parents have for their children because when you mention any of the above you hover with hate and shiver with sinister.I will assume Bill and Brian that neither one of you has a conscience that permits you to anything but laugh at the truth and romance the fake,phony and false. I used to wonder how people like you could look in the mirror but then I realized ghosts shine no reflection. 

guys and guns

In 1991, Warren E. Burger, the conservative chief justice of the Supreme Court, was interviewed on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour about the meaning of the Second Amendment's "right to keep and bear arms." Burger answered that the Second Amendment "has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud—I repeat the word 'fraud'—on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”

My dad was a Pittsburgh Police Sargent, which meant among the items he brought home with him at the end of his work day was of course a uniform, a billy club, his badge and a gun. We had a very tiny hall closet in our home on Denniston Avenue that usually held oversized winter jackets for the six of us living in the house, a few stray umbrellas, winter gloves and scarves and a special section as you faced the closet on the top left shelf where my dad would place his billy club, police hat in which he put his badge and then his pistol. When each of my siblings was considered of the age of understanding, my dad would hold all of these items in his hand explaining their use and purpose and telling his four kids these are not toys, these are not for show and tell, these are important for what I do on my job, and these WILL NEVER EVER be touched by anyone but me, the police officer. He would let us ask questions about each; how do they work, what are they for, do they get the bad guy? He was always ready to answer any inquiry we had and did not mind if the same question was asked for the millionth time. At the end of his lesson he would ask one question himself, who is permitted to touch any of these things?

Conservative radio host Stan Solomon recently blasted a father whose child died when a 22-year-old woman-hating shooter killed 7 people including himself self near UC Santa Barbara last month because he had not given his kid a gun. He continued: “The father of one of the girls who was killed blamed the NRA, and my response is, ‘You stupid son of a bitch, what the hell is wrong with you? If you had taught your daughter how to have and use a weapon, she might still be alive.’” (The Raw Story). Incident after gun incident those who claim to be packing heat because the government is coming after them, those who insist they are the responsible adults in the room, those who pretend that owning a gun makes you a better American or Christian rant and rave demonstrating just how irresponsible they are. The more men like Conservative radio host Stan Solomon speak out of their asses the more most Americans should become wary, worried and begin to wonder who exactly owns all of those guns in this nation. Comments like this are not random or fleeting but they are very telling.

We had a gun in our house, my dad taught us the meaning and its purpose, he explained that there might be some circumstances in which guns are necessary and at times may end someone’s life. The gun however as he stated did not make him a better dad, a better sergeant of police or a better man. He also told us many people own guns, but just because they have a gun it does not make them the good guys. He would add, make no mistake those who have little respect for the power of the gun are usually the bad guys.

Americanism

During the middle and last years of the Viet Nam War, the men who returned as Veterans from that war received a less than welcomed homecoming. The hero’s who enlisted or were drafted to fight the war (that if lost would create a Communist domino effect so pervasive as to infect the west coast of America) were considered bad guys even Un-American. They were our Troops but somehow seemed to have chosen the wrong war to fight.There was a definition of Americanism in the 60’s that somehow precluded the energies and efforts of a whole generation of Troops who had the audacity to fight a war that supposedly would have made America a pawn of the Red Chinese if lost. We looked upon our Viet Nam Vets as if they were zombies providing them with disapproval and disavow. It took a few later generations of Americans to grasp a fresher understanding of what these men and women had experienced; as well as a whole lot of soul searching to believe that what they did was actually true Americanism.

Bowe Bergdahl has been released after 5 years of captivity by the Taliban and the response from the Right is as if Satan somehow was set free to roam the shores of America. Without the mere attempt to hear his true story, a minutes chance to embrace the return of a soldier from the dreaded enemies of Afghanistan, the opportunity to say all of our Troops are no longer in the custody of Bush’s Axis of Evil, the Right Wing in their usual self proclaimed definers of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and of course everything Christian American have ravaged, mangled and misaligned a moment in history. Once again a group of citizens with nothing more than conglomeration of confused facts have demonized a man held prisoner. No one has to honor Bowe Bergdahl, no one has to respect him, no one has to salute his return; but we as Americans should be able to be grateful that he was an American who originally enlisted to fight a war for the honor of the US; a war that even at its origins had confusion, complications and absolutely no exit strategy!  All of sudden, once again FOX News (and how many of those pundents have ever enlisted to fight an All-American War), T-Publicans (who love to hum the tune of God Bless America, never ever understanding the words), and their play of pay politicians are trying to redefine what Americanism means. Americans have decided to rewrite the definition of Americanism.

This nation loves to establish the definitions of right from wrong, and what it means to be American, until both of those definitions become awkward to support or harder to communicate. We love to decide who is a good guy and with the same whim make him bad. We love to be judge and jury even before the trial materializes. We love to invoke the red, white and blue then suddenly pull the rug out from under our flag when we confuse those colors with bias, bigotry, ignorance and arrogance. No deals with the devil we say. How dare this turn coat not suffer his consequences. He does not pledge allegiance like I do so he must not be the real kind of American as I am. I heard he was bad, so before I find out the truth I want to punish him. All Viet Nam Vets signed up to fight a war that never should have been launched so they must be bad Americans. This man who enlisted then had the audacity to change his mind about the cause, so he is not American enough. I know what being an American is, even if I have never ever demonstrated its definitions in my own life. I know what Americanism, but you had better ask me now because I may change my mind tomorrow.

Well regulated militia's?

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.(Second Amendment of the US Constitution.) What worries me is who will help out the average citizen when in fact you have men and women in a militias who are more dangerous and self important then the government is at its worst? Look closely at the Open Carry self proclaimed Patriots of Texas as they gather in the streets or congregate at restaurants. Who says these people even know the first thing about the rest of the US Constitution and even understand the history that provides this nation with the Second Amendment? There is plenty to worry about when these militias have decided that the Black man, even though elected by a democratic process) is not the valid Commander and Chief. To carry a gun should come with some responsibility let alone some sanity and it seems watching this band of thugs one has to question the sanity part.

When Rush, Sarah, Sean, Glenn, Huckabee, Cruz are the the folks defining American values it is very important to to wonder just what values are being extolled? Bigotry, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Misogyny are not reasons to permit people to carry guns let alone use them. It is more Un-American to fight the democratic principles, then to just carry a gun because Jesus and George Washington told you to. If the government becomes too overreaching, too extreme take your  AK 47, missile destroyers, 400 rounds of ammo and fight back, but just because its a democrat in the White House and he happens to be black and he insists on rights, freedoms and liberties for all is no reasons or readiness for a militia. A bunch of blow hard Jihadists unhappy with the democratic electoral process, sore losers who see America in bigoted and biased eyesight suddenly find a portion of the US Constitution to their liking forgoing any of the other Amendments and their place in this society. 

You have a gun at the ready to fight the government and want to form a militia so then why do you think when you are food shopping, gift buying, restaurant eating, church going that men in black limo’s and helicopters are gunning four you and your family? Where is your responsibility to the foundation of this nation based on the democratic process? I am worried who will protect us from the not so well regulated or mentally well balanced militias that are forming and are anything but well or regulated?