Eye of the Beholder

November 11, 1960, sitting with all of the lights on in the house, hidden under my grandmother’s hand crocheted winter blanket, (a shelter of safety from anything that might have creeped into the house when the theme from the Twilight Zone) there I was watching the Twilight Zone, began its warning, then listening to Rod Serling staring at just me from the television as he said:

“Suspended in time and space for a moment, your introduction to Miss Janet Tyler, who lives in a very private world of darkness. A universe whose dimensions are the size, thickness, length of the swath of bandages that cover her face. In a moment we will go back into this room, and also in a moment we will look under those bandages. Keeping in mind of course that we are not to be surprised by what we see, for this isn't just a hospital, and this patient 307 is not just a woman. This happens to be the Twilight Zone, and Miss Janet Tyler, with you, is about to enter it. This was Episode 6 of Season 2 titled “Eye of the Beholder.’ All Miss Tyler desired , was to look normal. The television viewer saw a woman draped in bandages, and in the background just shadows of doctor and nurses. Miss Tyler was begging and pleading that this time, this last chance, she too could become just a normal looking person. Suspense builds as only the Twilight Zone writers can create, and finally the bandages are removed, and peeking though my fingers tightly covering my eyes, I see a beautiful woman, no monster, nothing from which nightmares might be created. And then for a final Twilight Zone punch to the gut, we finally see the doctors and nurses, all with distorted face, shaped like elongated face of pigs. Miss Janet Tyler is UGLY, she is not the norm, and must go away.

The Republicans in this nation are trying their hardest to distort the norm of a once proud nation. Their support for a narcissistic, psychotic, empty man sitting in the White House, who is used to creating havoc and paying no consequences for his actions is frightening. Running around all of us are monsters who pretend that they are Americans, just your regular red white and blue kind of person, waving  Confederate Flags, calling on Mother Russia draped in White Hoods, and Swaztika’s on their arms. Caring little for their constituents, but more for their Donor Masters, supporting a Commander-In Chief beholden and blackmailed by Putin, the GOP are trying their damndest to change the face of America. And just like the character of Miss Janet Tyler, who we used to view as normal, the character of this nation is changing, quickly, and awfully into a place no one will recognize. I can hear Rod Serling standing in the shadows reminding us that we are in the Twilight Zone.

some history

North Korea issued a direct challenge to President Donald Trump with the launch of an ICBM missile that Defense Secretary James Mattis said demonstrates it has the ability to hit "everywhere in the world."

Pyongyang blasted a missile that flew higher and farther than any of its past tests, despite repeated warnings from Trump, who has said he would counter the isolated north Asian country with "fire and fury" if it threatened the US.

Hours after the launch, Trump sounded more restrained, telling reporters Tuesday at the White House that the US "will handle" the situation. "We will take care of it," the President said, adding later that North Korea "is a situation that we will handle.” (CNN) November 28, 2017.   I was 68 years old and can remember where I was when I became aware of this situation. I was doing cardio, reluctantly watching the Cable News, sweating and swearing. Sweating because I had to work out harder because Trump was on TV, and swearing, because Trump was on TV.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, October 22nd, 1962, President Kennedy appeared on television to inform the American people of the recently discovered installation of Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba.

My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead--months in which our patience and our will will be tested--months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are--but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high--and Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission.

Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right- -not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved.”   I was 13 years old and can remember where I was, when the President spoke to the American public. It was the day after my 13th birthday, Halloween decorations were hanging in our living room, there was a bunch of home-made desserts in the dining room. My sisters, my mother, my father and I, along with a neighborhood family were sitting in front of the TV. It was the first time, I really saw my father act nervous and anxious. As the President began to speak, my father stood up and insisted we all remain quiet, and listen closely. When the President was finished, my father sighed, looked at all of us, saying, “We elected the right man for the job.  We should be vigilant, but trust that our President is smart enough to do the right thing!” 

The next 13 days were full of angst, to say the least. Thank goodness, intelligence, integrity, won the war of words. In June 1963, President Kennedy told Americans "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.” I AM NOT CERTAIN, that Donald Trump understands anything that President  Kennedy spoke of, but instead believing in no consequences for his actions, Mr Trump, will remain delusional and destroy everything in front of him. When will this mentally deranged man be IMPEACHED?

Social Study

It was eighth grade, Miss MacAteer, was my Social Study, teacher, among the many theories she held tightly was that before any of her students became a freshman in high school, ALL of them would understand the value of democracy, the value of the US Constitution, and that this nation’s best attribute was its expression of equality, albeit, she would add, sometimes it seemed that not ALL of us experience equality the same! Miss MacAteer also, stopped her lesson plan one day, when one of the kids sitting in the back row, (Miss MacAteer) believed short kids were at a disadvantage so we sat up front, while the taller kids who were given a different kind of gene sat in the back, because they could still look at Miss MacAteer while she stood in front of the class) shouted God Damn It when his notebook fell to the floor. It was at that moment when Miss MacAteer introduced the classroom to another one of her theories; being that even though this nation was based on the conditions of Separation between Church and State, no one, who calls themselves a good American would EVER say God’s name in vain.  (Most of the classrooms had cloakrooms, but somehow Miss MacAteer’s room was without, so instead of being sent to the cloakroom for punishment, Miss MacAteer wrote a note sending the trouble maker Eighth grader to sit the rest of the class session in the Kindergarten. 

It was a teacher like Miss MacAteer who motivated my interest in the history of this nation and what I had thought were decent morals and values. This was the 1960s, the beginning of changes, our nation had not witnessed for a few generations. People were beginning to question the status quo, and making statements like where do I fit in. President Kennedy’s quote “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, had meaning for me, and I believed that democracy was an EVERYMAN concept. Many of my teachers, held strong beliefs that America could be great, that we were made to be great. In Gym Class we participated in Presidents Fitness challenge, with Mr Pittman, and our music teacher Miss Cyphers taught us every single Patriotic song, along with as many verses that were written for them. Why, we even had a ceremony for Flag Day! By the time I made it to high school I did indeed have appreciation for my country. But that was then, and here we are in 2017!

If I hear one more talking head, rub his or her eyesore roll them and say, just when you thought Trump hit the bottom of the barrel, suddenly there are even lower levels to hit. If I hear one more talking head announce yet one more Trump associate meeting with a Russian. If I hear one more lie, proven to be lie by either audio or video, by Trump. If I hear people say remember your freedoms because one day soon, as long as Trump is in the White House, they may disappear. How stupid as a nation have we let ourselves become. The GOP worries about Trumps base, the lowest of the low of American, the media still debates simple questions about which moral is worse. The Talking Heads debate about laws passed or not passed, but refuse to add by a man illegally, and illicitly elected into office. Where are you Miss MacAteer, someone needs to be sent to the Kindergarten, someone is very bad, and something is very wrong in America! 

Pooh-Pooh

Growing up in the 50s, included a very large nuclear family, extending to second and third cousins. I had no idea of the significance of which numbered relatives they were, but figured out there were a lot of people I was related to. Whether it be the family poker games, the celebratory events, likes weddings or bar mitzvah’s, and even the holidays, Jewish and American, members of my family would gather, some speaking in English, some when telling a dirty joke, speak the punch line in Yiddish, and when a point had to be made with great precision, Romanian would be the line of communication used. My family, at the time still included immigrants to the USA, many who had lived in this country for years, but many who also harbored bits and pieces of Romanian superstition. Often time the first generation of relatives would explain to their parents, that in this country we are safe, and there is no need to assume the boggy man (some Romanian government official) would break through the door and cart anyone off to jail. There was some agreement regarding that, but there still remained on superstition, that sadly to this day still resonates within my psyche. It was my GrandMa Braff, I believe, who first introduced me to the Pooh-Pooh People. An invisible tribe of demon like creatures who hovered around humans, waiting for the human to say something nice, praise or reward a good behavior, or even have the audacity to say something nice. My GrandMa Braff, was certain that if you embraced just the good and were never cautious regarding the negative, the Pooh-Pooh People would step into the future and actually fuck thing up for you. (GrandMa Braff never said fuck up, but she would pull your cheeks toward her turn your head as she did hers to the left and then the right, and whisper, just loud enough for you to hear the word KAKA, then she would add such a shanda!

(KAKA was her term for fucked up, and shanda was sinful)

The only way, according to my GrandMa Braff to not fall into the trap of the Pooh-Pooh People, was to either never acknowledge something good might happen, OR, if you did want to KVELL (brag) after speaking of the positive, you immediately had to say Pooh-Pooh-Pooh, then you turned your head left to right then up and down. For good measure my GrandMa Braff would place her right index finger over her lips and sigh. There were many superstitions traded and shared as I grew up in the 50s, and most I chuckle over and find hard to believe I actually believed in them. But to this day, I still work and wonder about the Pooh-Pooh People.

Each new day is like the movie Groundhog Day. I ask did World War 3 start…I count how many Tweets Trump had created…I hear just how many more Trump Campaign, Administration or Family members have been connected to the Russians…The GOP, still wanting one success no matter the cost to their constituents…Trump lying…and Americans pretending that what the hell, since he is sitting in the Oval Office, lets just deal with it. I then imagine, how much different ALL of this might have been if only millions of us would have taken my GrandMa Braff’s advice and just said Pooh-Pooh-Pooh. 

dreary noise

I was told by a friend of mine, when I was a counselor at Emma Farm Camp that the only time you notice the wind is when a breeze slowly brushes the leaves, jiggles some of the hair on your head, and swoons past your body as if it just hugged you. Once the gusts become bigger, and all nature around you seems to crack and creak, you no longer hear the wind, and you are left with noise, causing your brain to tune out and not tune in.  I also remember walking toward the campers cabins, when the same friend pulled a thorn from a raggedy bush, asked for my hand, then proceeded to prick my little finger, she pricked her little finger and said, our souls are now eternally entwined. I was confused, as I began sucking my finger to stop the blood, but as I did so, I recall, as if it happened just now, a quick swish of wind, dancing around my body almost moving my T-Shirt from left to right; I must have looked astonished as my friend laughed adding the wind just spoke to you and said congratulations. To this day, when the wind is slow and casual, and I am standing alone, and a bit of a breeze brushes ups against me, I say out loud, I know you are telling me something, but what!

We make noise in this nation, loud ripples of bullets finding frail targets of flesh, insecure booming men bragging about their sexual prowess, insincere religious zealots ready to murder for a God they say is strong, but seems to be too weak to defend itself. When natural events occur providing death and destruction in the hundreds, we clamor and can’t wait for the myriad of videos, sob stories, and contrived here say to explain what happened. Politicians speed through the halls of Congress with throngs of reporters shouting, begging, screaming questions. Innocents get shot by police, crowds gather, police get shot by self appointed assassins, tons of SWAT teams arrive in with canons and tanks. The response toward an event that hinders, harms, hurts the innocent, soon becomes as loud and massive as a Hurricane, and within all of that noise, it seems we as a nation, do nothing more than try to shout into the wind to solve the problem, but none of our words are really ever heard.

I am frustrated, disappointed, saddened, shocked, and pissed that in 2017, we as a nation have seemed to forget the terrible lessons from the past, have demonstrated total disregard for the values of our Constitution, and have decided that free, and equal are not what the Founding Fathers of this nation wanted, nor the wishes of some of the various Gods to which we pray. A breeze blows by, instead of listening, or trying to learn a lesson, we become loud and create our own gusts, which churn and turn and honestly provide us only with noise, deafening, dreary noise!

Giving Thanks

For many, today, we give thanks, and for many we are able to include those we love in our hearts and thoughts. There is good in the world, and there are those who try each and every day to piece together the deeds and duties of the days which have arrived before, onto a chain that will await one more link for more charity, clarity, concern, and conscience to be added for tomorrow. We give thanks, at least that tomorrow, will provide promise.

If it was just about politics, a man made phenomenon, similar to a circus, which arrived in town on November 8, 2016, we could laugh at the demonstration of stupid, superficial and sinister. We could ooh and ahh at the parade of clowns, and the most bizarre antics of the animals demonstrating all of the principles of self-serving, and selfishness. But we have discovered politics, is just the ploy, the path to undermine any future of giving thanks, and sadly for some having much to be thankful toward.

For many, today, is a chance to become inclusive, involved, invigorated and ignite the powers of people by bestowing love. For some, it is one more day, and the goal is to survive. In giving thanks we ALL must remember that the future is fragile and we must all fight for its fortunes. Have a Great Thanksgiving! 

we are learning

We are learning a tough lesson about life. We are learning that greed is good, religion is a weapon of politics, capitalism does not correlate for the poor, learning history is a lost art, lying is acceptable when the liar is on your side, the way we used to do things is NOT in the past tense, and that power is a priority not to improve the lives of others but to maintain a firm grip to remain ahead of the others! 

We have black lives that didn’t matter, we have innocent lives of school age children, movie patrons, concert goers, that were deemed less important than the use of guns. We have pretended that immigrants were NEVER an important part of a making of this nation. We have decided that some Gods are good and others bad. We have demeaned those who love differently, see themselves in their own bodies as someone else. We have been invaded by a foreign power, without the use of nuclear weapons, and pretend that since the fall out is not atomic particles, there is nothing to REALLY worry about. And now we are speaking aloud about harassment and abuse of a demographic who since the early days of this nation have been considered chattel and nothing more than and extra rib from Adam.

We are learning new norms, none of which contain morals or values. We have discovered the weakness of democracy due to the weakness of the men and women empowered to protect it. We wait each day for some other Earth shattering Tweet, Response, Lack of Response, Lie, and Refusal to take action. How many of us wake up each day, and before we touch our phones, tackle our computers or turn on  the TV wonder…has the Third World War happened, has there been a coup in our government, who is now the newest enemy, and is Trump still in the White House and WHY?  I rant I rave, I blog, but I do so because honestly without attempting those three things I am afraid I will not breathe. I feel smothered…like those horror movies when the main character is in bed and some unseen demon or spirit is placing a pillow over the characters mouth. All I feel I am doing to save myself and the world is lashing out, pushing the pillow away from my mouth. I wonder just how long i have to do react this way. We are learning a tough lesson about the disregard for equality, fairness and of course the pursuit of happiness.

worry wonder

I wonder, just how many leaders of the Republican Party have been compromised by Putin and his KGB. I have to wonder this, as it seems the Republican leadership has found little energy to ignite a sufficient fire in our government to find resolve toward the relationships, between the Trump Family, the Trump Campaign, and the Trump Surrogates. All roads have led to Moscow, yet the GOP has been trying its hardest to build detours, knowing that democracy will die, but Tax Breaks for the 1% and Corporations/Politicians will be compensated by selfish donors/more activism Christian Conservative Judges will be placed for lifetime service in Federal courts, and Roe V Wade will be some pipe dream of long ago. I have to wonder, how with all the evidence discovered by most legit newspapers and professional reporting about the deals, the money laundering, the secret meetings, the business deals, the Republican Party continues to say the words Hillary, and has impeded as best they can any facts of the Russian War against the United States.

I worry, that each day, we wait, because WE THE PEOPLE, are playing by the rules of the Constitution, how much closer this nation becomes an Authoritarian Regime, because those in the majority, the Republican Party leadership enable Trump to NOT play by rules, permitting him to invent them as they choose, and change them when they wish. I worry each day we await the next shoe to drop from the Mueller investigation, the Trump cult becomes stronger, the Russians become cozier, and the lack of moral leadership becomes hazier and hazier. I worry, when is it too late to make a difference.

How much more money does the donor class need? How much more influence must the donor class have on its Republican puppets? How many times must we permit the Trump Administration and the Trump surrogates to lie, lie again and lie once more and have none of them NONE of them pay the consequences of treason and perjury? Will we be become like the average German citizen in the time of Hitler who, once the war was over, looked into the cameras and said, “I had no idea?” “You mean our government imploded, I was just trying to survive?” I wonder, why the Republican leadership decided to give up on America? And then I have to wonder, where is the outcry of the republican voters demanding we bring back democracy. 

oranges to oranges

Not every “right” is the same, and not every “wrong” has equal barring. The Republican Party and their propaganda machine has been quite aware of this idea, and throughout the Clinton/Trump Election Campaign have danced a very cunning and convincing dance, with enough savvy and sophistication as to trick the media in trying to present both Political Party’s as the same.  Currently, the Media is being manipulated into  playing a well oiled game  called ‘tit for tat’ or as Fox News so well lies about it, something called “Fair and Balanced”

Harassment and Sexual Aggression against women IS wrong. No debate, not reason to argue. Women are not chattel, nor are they second class citizens or should ever be. But currently, with the assistance of a smart and (we will get even with you) attitude, the Conservative propaganda machinery has begun to deploy a version of a game called Trump 2.0. During the Presidential Campaign, whenever the Trump Campaign lied, or its candidate said yet one more stupid and ingenuous statement, the Media felt the obligation to then find some comparison to the Clinton campaign, presenting to the viewer that BOTH sides were actually equal in how they played the political game. As Trump lied, suddenly a vast conspiracy team of experts popped up appearing on ALL of the Media Talking Heads programs and found false facts that proved Hillary lied just as much as Trump; and in fact they embellished her non-lie into an enormous ‘Buyer Beware’ moment. Suddenly, with the all the truthful evidence against Trump, Hillary, via here say and the Media thinking all kinds of wrong are the same and all kinds of rights are the same, made a sham of the truth, and bought tempting lures used by the fishermen of the Republican’s casting into the sea of social media doubt.

Senator Al Franken was a pig, a nasty male who used a women for a joke, thinking her body was no more than a tool for his comedy. It was as if the woman did not matter. Senator Franken was caught, he tried and apologized (not dismissing his actions), but he also stated that since that time he had discovered that women are equal to men and always should have been considered so. Roy Moore, has been accused of groping, touching, seducing and engaging women and young girls into sexual submissive situations, that is not only an arrogant and insidious behavior, but true and illegal act. Donald Trump has orally bragged about his tactics in demeaning women, and has proudly compared women as if he was hunting on a safari, and they were nothing but trophies. And now with a visual aid of Al Franken touching a female, the Conservative Media is ONCE again, playing the Media its game of “Well if the Republicans do it, and the Dems do it, then isn’t it a moot point, after all!

NO, NADA, NOPE. What happens with the manipulation of the definitions of right and wrong, by the Republican Press defines the discussion of the act and makes all of the actors seem the same. And as awful and disgusting as were Al Franken’s actions, Trump and Moore are awful in a different way and deserve a different kind of discussion and a different end result. Lets, look closely at just how sincere or insincere these men have or had been in their actions. If we play the Republican game of Its all the same, we never EVER look at the PERSON, or place responsibility on HIM. We did this once before, between Clinton and Trump, and none of it was as the adage goes, comparing “oranges to oranges”.

here we go

But we’ve always done it! It’s how life rolls, you got men, you got women. Read the Bible, any religious book of worship and you will see that there is a purpose for men, and a place for women. Why dag, nab it, look at that same Bible and then you will also understand why the homosexuals are not to be trusted and and integration is a sin according to the real power, God. And speaking of God, we all know that HIS power is the true example of strength, and righteousness. The Constitution was written by men, but empowered by their Lord and Savior. 

All this fuss about women is nothing but hot air being pushed by liberals, who, themselves are just as unreliable in protecting women from harassment, look at all those Hollywood heathens who have treated females as harpies ever since those Jewish guys started the moving picture industry. Republicans are Christians, they believe in family values, they believe in self reliance, they believe that all it takes is a real will (not a liberal handout) to get ahead. Women want too much, and every time they demand more they offend God and they destroy HIS place on Earth for their creation, which IS to honor thy husband, and have children, plenty of children. If a religious, self proclaimed prophet of God like Roy Moore said he is innocent, he is innocent, only the Devil and the Fake News, the media probably owned by the Jews, who have placed shame on an honorable man; who has made it clear while he was a judge, that the only law to follow is that of the Divine.

In America, it has become impossible to debate rights, freedoms, and equality without somehow placing you in the corner of God, or not God, which most often means the Devil. Finally, some brave women have come forward to tell their stories regarding unwarranted and illegal harassment with sexual and phycological. This is but the iceberg floating in the sea of American culture, the hard core chunk of devastation regarding women under the ocean, has been, lack of self determination regarding reproductive rights/equal pay for equal work/advancement in employment/abortion and contraceptive rights/rape. As it is with guns, the climate, people of color, there always seems to be an argument. I never understand how there can be a debate on something as simple as fair/equal/and free?

I don't get it

Late last night, just before the Finance Committee passed the Senate’s version of the tax bill slashing taxes on corporations and the rich, a remarkable moment unfolded that perfectly captured the GOP’s whole handling of the tax debate — in all its dishonesty, misdirection and bottomless bad faith.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) engaged in extended sparring with committee chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) over who would benefit from the Senate bill, with Brown insisting that it fundamentally represents a tax cut for the rich and not the middle class. This drew an enraged response from Hatch, even though Brown’s argument was 100 percent correct.

Yesterday, as I was walking home from a doctors appointment taking Fairfax Blvd, I had to walk over two people asleep on the sidewalk, one covered in a kind of tarp, the other lying on one arm, one shoe on and one shoe somewhere else. I passed three extensive building projects, with one announcing that if you buy now you can get a one bedroom one bath condo for $1.5 million. Fairfax Blvd used to be a cacophony of Kosher markets, a market place for the many Jews who once lived in the area. Times change and Fairfax has changed with it. Now as I was walking home, I witnessed at least 10 stores selling designer athletic shoes, designer baseball caps, and designer athletic ware. This particular night must have been special as half of the stores had lines of about two dozen young people standing in line eager to purchase, sneakers and sweats starting prices at least $250. I was standing on the corner, where Cantors’ Deli is located, waiting for the light to turn green. Suddenly, a man arose from the bus stop bench holding a can, at first I thought he was going to throw it me, but the target was three young guys sitting in a convertible, calling this man names. In a flash, I saw a can being thrown into the car, the driver narrowly missing an older woman holding two large plastic bags, who had only been looking down, most likely from the weight of the items in her bags. The car sped off and the bus stop bench guy, picked up another can from the ground and began to drink it. I passed him, quickly, and as I approached Melrose and Fairfax, the traffic had piled up, as one car decided to double park, with the driver running to pick up some coffee from a mom and pop coffee place advertising that even though their coffee is price, it will keep you up for all the night time adventures ahead of you; a small cup costing $9.50. Needless to say, there was a lot of thinking of horns, middle fingers being raised and a chorus of fuck you’s. It was at that corner, that an older woman with a very stuffed shopping cart walked over to me and asked me, do I like it here. Here, I replied, you mean right now? She walked closer to me and said, isn’t this all we have anyway? And then she walked away from me and started to push her cart.

On Friday, the Senate Finance Committee, voted to pass the House’s Bill for tax cuts, basically for the wealthy, people like Trump, most of the members of his Cabinet, and people like Senator Orin Hatch, who is assumed to be the wealthiest Senator in Congress. Flint Michigan’s water is dangerous, Puerto Ricans are living in filth, Veterans are still being denied quick and professional health care, people are still prioritizing which to pay, food, medicine or rent. I don’t understand how the answer to all that ails us is so clear, yet so ignored. I don’t get it, I just don’t get it!

Scratch the Surface

Growing up my little sister and I had chores to do. We had two kinds of chore, the first being a list from my mother, which entailed cleaning up the interior of the house. Especially when company was coming, my sister and I would find ourselves with brooms, mops, and lots of torn up t-shirts used as dust rags. Then there was Daddy’s Day Off Chores. These CHORES, required lotsmoft holding your breath, pleading, and closing one eye at a time as my sister and I were usually digging out the fallen first from our back yard, reaching our hands into the drain at the bottom of the cellar steps, clearing out, God knows what lurked there, or finding our selves in the recesses of our basement, where my sister and I were certain, was a door way to Hell, a hibernation room  for monsters, and almost every single species of spider known to man. My sister and i would first pretend to touch any of these spaces, but standing behind us was my fathers, booming voice, telling us “If you on scratch the surface, and don’t clean it all up now, those spooky creatures will come back again. Our choice then, was to do the job within thorough effort, or just give a small damn and wait until the NEXT time, when God knows what might be lurking, waiting!

So, now we have sexual harassment of women as the new pile of dirt lining up against the American way. We have moved from Black Lives Matter, to Gun Violence, to anti-LGBTQ discrimination, with the added touch of xenophobia, to the voices of women tired of being victims. The GOP, and now the Dem Party all are seemingly appalled at the emotional and physical harm, string and brave women have finally found the will, to come forward and SCREAM no more. But like most other cultural/religious habits, justified by God or Community, women have been harassed way beyond these newest revelations of powerful insecure men, acting in a menacing way. Women have been considered chattel for a long time, evidenced in inequality in pay, as in shined because they happen to be single mothers, perfected by anti-abortion, anti-choice laws and of course the insistence by mostly men that women’s reproductive rights are NOT AT ALL RIGHTS , women should have.

American politicians and the public who elect them have a choice, similar to my little sister and I when attacking piles of dirt, or crevices surrounded by large spider webs, just scratch the surface, pretending that enough talk, enough ringing of the fingers will be fine for now, or in fact just use all your energy and GET THE JOB DONE, by cleaning the bull shit, the soot, the ancient layers of dirt! Talk is cheap in this country, and with Trump we have found talk changes, and the truth of the matter seems to evaporate into thin air.

wake up

Never a bad guy, if in fact, he swears that Jesus is the reason for his actions. Never a bad gal, if she places her hand on a bible and swoons in tongues, insisting that her only course is one set by Jesus. Not a sinner, if he is born again, let bygones be bygones. Just a Christian in training, so all he did wrong was before Jesus entered his life. There is the Constitution, but that was written by hands of mere mortals, the Bible, now that is truly the book of laws because no one can dispute God’s words. 

There was never an intention to take the church out of the state, so THEY say, rewriting history!  The Founding Fathers, were all Christians thus when they declared their independence from Britain, they did so with the blessing of one Lord and Savior. Had the Christian God NOT led the Troops we would still be beholden to a King of Queen. Had Jesus not been busy with other worldly deeds, and been more focused on the needs for slavery, then the South would have won the moral war, which still needs to be remedied. There is no truth when words are spoken by heathens who place God low on the priority list, the refusal to follow the Commandments from God only weaken America. Abortion is wrong, homosexuality abhorrent. No worries regarding rape, women are chattel all originating from Adams rib. Racism does not exist, God himself had made it clear the Negro and brown skinned were placed on they Earth as subservients to clearly be like the animals, whom God created to assist the Caucasian to thrive. True Evangelical’s understand this, and  only the damned dispute this God given knowledge.

Wake up America, no one seems to care to stop the revolution which Putin and his spy’s created during the 2016 election. Wake up America, Trump told us he would buy and sell democracy to the highest bidder, as long as he made a profit. Wake up America, if the religious Christians really cared, they would be loud, really LOUD every single day, the Republicans, deny health cafe, health insurance for children, the elimination of food stamps, the pollution of this planet, the bigotry toward people of color, the continuous divide between the have’s and the have not’s. Wake up America, instead of the Republicans insisting that we use every bit of law to unravel the Russian mystery, they instead are going back to their favorite default, and diversion, Hillary. Hey America, remember when morals and values stood a chance to survive. Trump is still Commander-In Chief, the GOP is still trying to deny affordable health care, the poor are pains in the ass, and the divide in wealth is greater than ever. Wake up America, cause everything we thought we knew is gonna be a while lot different, if we remain asleep!

How is this Possible

Standing, with his right arm up to his God, with a piss ant shit eating grin, perturbed that ONCE again, he had to swear under oath, The Attorney General of the United States of America, the, go to guy for crime and punishment, Jeffrey Sessions, is called into the chambers of the Congress, to tell his story AGAIN. Demanding that he IS not a liar, but changing his recollections of events in which he had been present, to include some of the truths told to Mueller by others under oath, suddenly the lapses of Jeffrey Sessions memories erupt and he recalls. Of course he recalls but in doing so, demands that those eagerly wanting the truth are too eager to demand it from Jeffrey Sessions. 

Standing in before an audience of good ole’ Southern boys and girls, not just good ole’ boys and girls, but Evangelical Christians, hell bent on either throwing the homosexuals from high a top roofs onto a a cement ground, and closing every Planned Parenthood, stripping women of any rights toward their own reproductive lady parts, Judge Roy Moore, tells the audience HE is the victim. Moore provides a sermon explaining that like Jesus, he, Moore is being persecuted for just being a Christian man doing God’s work on Earth, while the heathen liberals run rampant similar to the Native Americans. Christianity is the answer to the lawlessness, the lavishness, and the oppression from which the USA suffers. It wasn’t like that in the glory days of the Confederacy!

The Republicans hesitate to recognize the truth about Trump and Putin. They first have an agenda to create a bigger wedge between the have’s and the have nots. Tax Reform before reforming our own government back to a better form of Democracy. More Conservative judges in Federal Courts, so diminish the hopes and freedoms of minorities. And of course more feed in the feedbag of wealthy men and women who care about one thing only and it ain’t the democratic principles of this nation.

Nine members of the Trump Campaign have admitted to conversations, meetings with Russians. Cabinet members of the Trump Administration have done everything in their power to disrupt public education, public housing, public lands, and even the clean air the public so far has been breathing. Trump trusts a KGB agent, is not quite sure of his own team of spy’s. And yet, AND yet each and every day, our democracy becomes thinner and thinner. Our rights, become more invisible.Our Constitution is now being used as a paper liner for out glassware and plates in some shitty kitchen cabinet.  AND FOR ME, all it seems I can do is rant and rave, write a blog, and start all over again the next day. How is this possible?

Don't seem to figure

Jeff Sessions sits before the House of Representatives, any questions directed to him regarding the Russians, the Russian Government, Russian oligarchs, or even meetings between the Russians and members of the Trump Team, Mr Sessions the Attorney General replies, with his eyes wide open a look of I just spotted a scorpion crawling up my arm, purses his lips, trying hard not showcase an Alabama hissy fit, and lying to his panel of Congress People “I don’t know if I remember that.” The Attorney General of the USA, the main Sheriff in town is walking down Main Street at high noon and he just can’t remember why, or even if he IS walking down Main Street. Session’s is still Attorney General!

Trump, tells the world that Putin’s feelings are hurt. Trump tells the world that Putin believes he didn’t interfere with the American elections, insisting to all that listen, now why would Putin lie about such a thing. Trump can’t recall half the people with whom he first expounded glowing praise, arguing that Fake News, over exaggerated any or all parsing of Trump’s own words. Trump praises China and The Philippines, telling the world that even when bad people do bad things, a good friendship can make it all better.  Trump still sits in the Oval Office.

The GOP, suddenly NOW think it might be a wise idea for Roy Moore to drop out of the race for Senate. Of course before real Americans with real values and morals started speaking out, the Republicans, were not quite sure of their feelings toward Judge Moore. The fact that Judge Moore was removed from his tenure as Chief Justice In Alabama for ignoring Federal policy on division of church and state, and ignoring the Freedom to Marry Law, was no biggie, and the fact that Judge Moore insisted that The God’s Law, not any God, just the one Moore prefers, trumps Federal Law, had little to do with the GOP’s decision to disown the man. The Republicans have admitted their tax law will mainly enrich the wealthy, and make their wealthy donors wealthier, but they are still pushing Tax Reform because they said they would, no matter how badly the deficit increases and no matter how many more people will remain poor or even become so poor as to live just on the Poverty Line. The GOP is still the Majority Party in Congress. Some how it just don’t seem to figure!

Eyes wide open

The war had begun, this time without bullets, or assault weapons, just the common knowledge that the use of fear, the encouragement of an enemy just a neighborhood away, and the inability of a nation so proud of its own democracy, as to not notice the decay which had been lingering, loosening its own foundations. The war had begun when a puppet was created, the body of a man so empty, of conscience, but so full of ego, as to be bought, bragged about, and filled with riches and rubles, easily swayed to act as a spy. The war had begun because this nation fussed and fumed about right and wrong, good and bad, while the enemy concentrated only on the selfishness, insincerity, and self-serving needs of politicians and people of great wealth who only wanted more, and more.

The war had begun many years ago, temptation and treason all paid for with money from off-shore accounts. The war had begin persuading the pay to pray religious folks, that as long as a sinner with power and prestige, can scapegoat others his sinister ways are meaning-less, and excuses will help him to become born again. The war had begun with the assistance that only greed and gluttony of capitalism, can provide. Bottom lines are like oxygen, more money, and it matters very little that the pollution in the lungs will eventually kill even the best billionaire. Just breathe in the anarchy and treason.

The majority of Americans understand that Trump and Putin, the Russian Oligarchs and the Trump Campaign have colluded and concocted a tale of revolution toward the United States. There is too much evidence, even for FOX News to ignore. The Republican Party leadership, so worried that democracy has never really worked well for them or in their favor, have aligned with Putin to install a right wing government, not by or for all the people…only the people deemed wealthy enough, Christian enough and white enough. One more day has gone by and the war drags on. Our nation is imploding, we all witness it as in watching a building collapse in slow motion. And as good little boys and girls sitting at our desks in elementary school, we behave…waiting for Mueller to save the day…we pretend that the Constitution will finally save us all…and all the while we are being robbed blind. All of this with our eyes wide open. 

Veteran's Day 17

Veteran’s Day, 2017! Men and women have come forward to risk life and limb to keep the world as safe as possible from those, who had or have little concern for freedoms, equality and justice. Family and friends courageous, fighting for a nation built on democracy, decency, finding sanctuary in the satisfaction that the pursuit of happiness are not just words or ideas, but ideals to attain and maintain. This land of the free, must remain free, and sometimes war is necessary to resist the tyrants, who seek to find fortune in the misfortune of others. Sometimes, we question the premise for war, but the Troops either enlisting or volunteering fight on, go to battle, believing that there is duty in preserving a quality of life, that might otherwise be destroyed or devastated by dictators, and those who delight in demeaning the democratic principles.

Veteran’s Day, 2017! And questions abound as to the legitimacy of not only the current administration sitting in the White House, but the Majority Party, too perplexed in providing their puppet masters with more, while the main stream man and woman receive less. The Commander-In-Chief, without ever understanding any consequences for his actions, rattles a saber, almost begging for a conflict to explode. Never having faced battle, actually running from it he has no problem in instigating another war. This war having the potential of no more Veteran Days in the future.

Veteran’s Day 2017! A sense of stench arising from the mouths of those who find hate to be truth, truth to be spoken in the form of bigotry, and bigotry, the mantra of a once greater nation. It is as if when Putin placed Trump in the Oval Office, he ordered, Mr Trump to create chaos and conflict. Perhaps, yet another war, a new Civil War. This war without a north or south demarcation, but a juxtaposition of equality against inequality. Veteran’s Day 2017! Are we more now a nation divided, a nation seeking differences, a nation devoid of our democratic history? Veteran’s Day 2017, what will come next?

of course

Of course there is no shock and awe as Trump stood in front of the Chinese leadership, kissing their rings, and finally kissing their asses. A big blow hard bully, while standing in front of his Confederate loving sons and daughters, and of course the nice Nazi’s, but when confronted with the perceived enemy, Trump’s hollow inside implodes and he is nothing but a coward. Oh yeah, and i am sure for his outstanding behavior as Coward-In-Chief, his family business received a few extra perks also.

Of course Roy Moore of Alabama is nothing but a hypocrite, unwilling to follow the law of the land, wanting to play by HIS rules, which HE pretends are the rules of some kind of demonized Jesus. Almost, like whimpers from a kitten lost in a drawer of socks, the GOP leadership, quietly say, Roy Moore should step down if these allegation are true. Not one word from the Party of Life while Moore disparaged the LGBTQ community, or called the Asian and the native American Communities, the yellows and the reds. And certainly not a single OMG, when Moore defied the Federal law on Same-Sex Marriage. You gotta have at least 51 votes in the Senate, so why make a fuss.

Of course, every single person connected to the Trump Campaign knew about the Russians, if not having met the Russians. Pretending that Trump, who has often times bragged that HE is the only one that matters, WAS NOT AWARE, is pure head up your ass syndrome. But its about Tax Breaks for the wealthy Republican Donors, who seemingly make the Nazi’s, the KKK, the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, act more patriotic. Steal democracy from the United States, as we steal our tax dollars from the economy, just do your job you Republican puppets, or else. Of course Trump is an enemy of the state and his enablers are soldiers fighting this nation. we know this, yet on and on and on and ON, we go, permitting more rot and ruin to eat away at our foundations of a nation of laws. When, WHEN, do the real victims of this Russian attack on our nation finally fight back, to win back our country?

Casey at the bat

“…The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,

He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children

     shout,

But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.” (Casey At the Bat, by Ernest Lawrence Taylor)

Perhaps, the people can find their voices again, and not fear the attempt to be silenced by the forces which seem mightier and meaner making most of us feel meek. Yesterday, was one day, a day for celebration of fair, equal, diversity and an image of what America could become. Good news, listening to the results from the polling places, but good news is like the weather, it too can suddenly turn cloudy, with rain, snow or hail. Perhaps the anarchy and treasonous behavior of the Republican Party toward the average America became too much; that along with the Putin’s empty headed puppet sitting in the White House. Who really know…perhaps the the Russians in consult with the GOP forgot to rig or hack some polling places.

Progressives, Democrats, and Americans took their responsibilities to vote, seriously. But please, lets us not consider one day such a glorious victory as to NOT be wary of those who seek the assistance of a selfish donor class or the dictates of oligarchs, to steal democracy. We must continue to resist, and remove the politicians who prefer to play puppet to madmen and fools!

Paul the puppet

“It’s disappointing. It’s sad, and this is what you’ll get from the far secular left. People who do not have faith, don’t understand faith, I guess I’d have to say,” Ryan told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” when asked about the criticism. “And it is the right thing to do, is to pray in moments like this because you know what? Prayer works.” (Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan) The Hill.

I am a human. I understand good and bad, I understand hope and change. My God has never told me personally to us a gun against innocent people. My politics are inclusive, meaning no matter your religion, or non religious views, no matter your gender, no matter the color of your skin or whom you love or do not wish to love, in the nation of America you can and should have equal opportunities for freedom and a pursuit of happiness. My politics, Mr Ryan also state that being a puppet for men and women of great wealth who only seem to care about their own bottom-lines is a sad story, written for pathetic men and women who decide self-serving, is the best kind off service to provide.

Since the massacre at Columbine, Mr Ryan, until the massacre in Texas, exactly how many thoughts and prayers have been provided and exactly how have each of those thoughts and prayers ceased the slaughter of the innocent. Perhaps Mr Ryan, the question we should be asking YOU, Mr Ryan, is “Just how many shits have you given toward the welfare of the people living in this nation versus, just how much income you have received from the pre-mediated murdering cooperation called the NRA? This has nothing to do with the far left, but everything to with your guilt in being nothing but a puppet and a prick! 

life or death

Talking heads are having a heyday, specialists are adding their own spicy tones to the murders in Texas, “Mavens” are sprouting on television as to the first buds of the tree in the spring time. Lots of shaking of the heads and of course theories as why how who and what if abound, like  an unkept lawn filled with weeds. Everyone is offering a solution while at the same time refusing to just say, there is NO DEBATE HERE, guns kill, people who use guns kill. But nope, INSTEAD, we are talking about bringing guns to church, bringing guns to schools, bringing guns to movie theaters, bringing guns to concerts. The answer to murder is to murder. 

How about this Cable News every time thee is a murder by gun, not only show case the murderer, and of course the victims, but what about adding a third category: the photos of the people in Congress in Washington, representing the particular state where the murder from guns happened. Why not say and these are YOUR state politicians who are accessories to the murders which happened today. They are ACCESSORIES, because they refuse to discuss any kind of guns laws, and instead prefer the payoff from the NRA. I really wonder, if we made a visual attachment to the men and women who could care less about assault weapons and massive rounds of ammunition, preferring to be puppets of the NRA, I REALLY wonder if shame might finally seep into the empty holes of their collective consciences.

And FINALLY, why, OH FUCKING WHY, Cable News and Main Stream News do you even permit a debate regarding gun laws. You are shot you get wounded or die, where is the debate. Life or death, which do you prefer?

Another Day

Some of us will demonstrate our frustration by writing our posts or blogs with sarcasm, sadness, sincerity, and ask why any gun violence in this nation is still considered something never to talk about now, but always a subject to speak of later. Some will read of yet another mass shooting, look a friend or family member, sigh, and perhaps shake their head and mutter, here we go again. Some of us will read the headlines of murdered and injured and just as we do with yet one more lie from Trump and his coconspirators, yawn and say so what else is new?

Of course the ritual of prayers and thoughts will ensue, we will have the media play respectful music as they insist they will not mention the name of the murderer, but reflect on the lies of the victims. If the murderer’s are white, the media will bring in mental health professionals, family members from previously murdered innocents, a Democrat politician who will insist murder is murder no matter the color of the skin of the murderer, and perhaps a police detective from a large city who will say something about the proliferation of guns. Of course if the murderer is NOT a caucasian, a person of color and of course someone who shouts the name “Allah”, then the media will provide us with dark dreary music a title with the words terror in the headlines, and we will get the best talking heads from the FBI, ATF, and all kinds of scary institutes covering madmen and their favorite assault weapons.

Republicans will run and hide, or insist NOW is not the time. Dems will immediately plead for some kind of dialogue on guns, the people who use guns and the careless way guns are sold. The same people who could give a shit about the sanctity of the First Amendment, will argue that the special thing about the Second Amendment was that Jesus himself, wrote it. When the white guy murders Americans Trump will purse his lips as dismissive as possible, while when the shooter is of color Trump will make that okay thing with his fingers, puff out his three chins and just shout not in my country, we will find you and destroy the world if we need to find you. And at the end of the day, NOTHING will be done to even address the issue of freelance murder with guns in the nation, and once again some of us will rant with rage, others will sigh and say nothing we can do and others will just admit, another day in America!

So What

What?! Today, in America, another mass shooting! OMG cause this one happened in a Baptist Church. A local community member of the town said this will change our community forever. Of course from Trump to Texas officials, thoughts and prayers were shared. Those words usually summarize the extent by which any government involvement will be shared. If it's a local guy, a white guy, it will be just one more crazy guy who while crazy was permitted to purchase is weapon of death. If it happens to be a dark-skinned guy, either a Muslim or even a Black person, then more will be said, and it will no longer be a madman but be called an act of terrorism. More innocent people died today in Texas, but hey, we have the Second Amendment and didn’t Jesus, himself help write the Constitution.

One more mass shooting, the talking heads have all kinds of ideas about the motive. One more mass shooting and the Cable news networks are peppering their viewers with how could this happen. One more mass shooting and we have a while bunch of thoughts and prayers, but absolutely nothing else. 

In America 2017, it's okay to deny free speech, and freedom of the press, but it AIN’T no darn good to even mention changing the 2nd Amendment. The GOP insists that abortions are evil, The Evangelicals insist that Gays are the Devil. The Republicans call themselves the Party of Life. Nothing to be said about guns, and the people who use them. Today, one more mass shooting in America, so what? 

an authoritarian

Trump tells the media that HE is all that matters when it comes to decisions regarding affairs of the State of the nation. Trump calls them HIS generals. Trump is unhappy with the Department of Justice and many of the judges sitting in courtrooms throughout this nation. Trump insists that the real criminal is Hillary and the Dems, and has done nothing within the powers of the Executive Branch to increase investigations into hacking of the polling places during 2016, and the continued influence of the Russian government into the politics of this nation. Trump ignores the Puerto Ricans and the American Virgin Islands, and their almost annihilation, preferring to pick a fight with two women who argue that Trump and FEMA have done nothing but a poor job. Trump continues to vacation at HIS family owned properties. Trump’s spokespeople cannot state publicly that slavery is and was bad, rather, just like the American Nazi’s there seems to be good reasons for slavery and of course some good Nazi’s! Trump lies is caught in his lies, uses surrogates to continue the lie, they are then caught in the lies and all we get in response is that the truth is fake news.

The Republican politicians, more concerned in pleasing their Donor Masters, appeasing a small and ignorant base of voters, and of course keeping their political profession FOREVER, refuse to stand up for the Constitution and act as checks and balances toward the other two branches of government. FOX News is a propaganda tool of the Trump branch of the Republican party. The Attorney General, Sessions, the man who is supposed to be the head honcho on laws and order, lies and lies and lies. The Secretary of the Interior wants to sell off land to his millionaire buddies. The EPA Secretary gets kicks back from polluting corporations. Steve Bannon is the alter ego to Trump. And Trumps remains in office, his polices still a priority. And all it seems we do is pretend one day this will go away…or worse…MAYBE this will become the norm.

Trump is an AUTHORITARIAN, a DICTATOR, and ENEMY of the STATE, and it seems no matter what he gets away with every treasonous act and acts as would an anarchist. When, I wonder, will just resisting be too little too late, and when will we have realized that we waited one day too late to remove this Trump Monster from office.

What Comes Next

We have been warned, directly by Trump, that he has no respect of the laws explicitly defined in the Constitution, and we have been cued into the fact that if he had his way, governing would change and the President, as in the Dictator, as in Party Leader, as in the Emperor, should, could and would be the person to assign guilt or innocence to not only the common citizen but to anyone considered a political opponent, especially a political opponent threatening the security of the guy identified as President.  We know that speeches and tweets like these coming directly from an ill informed, idiot with no knowledge of American history or government, aimed at the percentage of his followers, who may have never taken a ninth grade civics class, let alone would be able to pass a new citizens test, idolize the simple method of, all we need is one boss and everything bad will go away. Messages like these lead to Authoritarian Style government which fall under a Fascist Regime or a Communist Regime have yet to be questioned by the GOP, let alone alarm the GOP that the landscape is ripe for democracy to die a swift death. The silence of the GOP, because they still believe tax cuts for the wealthy and at least two more Christian Conservative activists Judges on the Supreme Court, is a priority; has become overwhelming, to those of us who appreciate the checks and balances of our government. We watch as placing the petty politics of a bunch of wealthy American oligarchs as THE Republican’s priority, above saving our democratic principles, as well as misinforming a bunch of self victimized uneducated racists and bigots become more normal each day, and worse, uncontrollable each minute it is not stopped.

Polling places in Georgia have been swiped clean as question arise regarding the hacking of those computerized voting machines. We discover unconstitutional voter purges in Wisconsin prior to the 2016 election in predominately democratic districts. Gerrymandered districts popping upon in Red States denying a fair opportunity for the people to make a legitimate choice.  We watch as Senators delay serious meetings on possible Russian collusion with the Trump Campaign. We listen as the Republican leadership in the House is now contemplating yet more Committees on anything Hillary, but stating that there is no reason to investigate anything Trump any more. We speak as if the Russians are the only ones who provided fake news, as we ignore the tactics and outright lies from FOX News. And each day becomes easier for America to slip into the hands of treasonous people and anarchists, afraid of one person one vote.

So, again, I wonder, what do we do? Will history look at the American public as they did with the German’s during WWII, wondering why if the facts were right in front of their faces they denied the death of their democracy? Will America slip into the mode of the 50’s where enemies internal and external abound prompting groups of KKK, Fascists, Anti-Semites to police and purify our society? Will America find itself as did the French, before their revolution, with the wealth divide so great as to cause the need for a revolution? We MUST decide that the minority of the Trump base will not set the future of this nation. We tried resisting, and I wonder what comes next?