BRAINS AT WORK - OR NOT!

 LORD, WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE!  

Or at least there is the popular thinking that no, they are not the fools, for it is all the 'others', those gullible, those willfully blind, those with shut down, locked down tight processes of thinking.   It amazes me. How much foolishness? How much dangerous ignorance and willful avoidance of truth. We permit ourselves to swallow whole, unchallenged and right there in one's face.

 All the while thinking they have notched another. victory sign in their belt. Have fooled so many who took their lies as gospel truth. And who will resist to their dying breath the acknowledgment of that thick binding of wool over their eyes. The truth is rendered impotent, useless, no acknowledgement of existence, brushed aside as one cleans lint from one's suit. And we are all the worse off for it. 

The political atmosphere of the country is rife with big lies. They are so ingrained within the fabric of human beings that one cannot even dig them out, nor force them out, nor to be able to convince them of the malfeasance of their untruths. The need to believe these lies is so deep with individuals that one has to give up before one even tries, knowing the inevitable results. Even glaring examples of how wrong, how deeply erroneously false their beliefs are, discounted. Wished away, excused away with feeble excuses which disintegrate at the puff of a breath. 

I believe one of the most frightening aspects of the current atmosphere is the fact that it has indeed gone over into the copy paste mode of history. An historical presentation emphasized here is the   "story” of history and certainly the "his” part of that as well. Despite all the research, despite all the reflection, despite all the scholarship, despite all the advancements made, the most mutual recognition of equality of gender and humanity is now going down the drain. Faster and faster, with no valve to turn off the force of the torrent of lies quickly pushing the facts, the truths, down the pipes with nary any possible chance of at least recapturing some of these endangered truths. The goal, clearly, is to redraw and rewrite and reevaluate the history of mankind in general and that of the USA and other countries in particular.  

It is the past once again being written into the present and way into the tomorrow, the future awaiting this planet. We persist on repeating the errors of the past, enhancing their evil via misused advanced technologies and ever faster means and results of communication.  We have, Mankind in general, powered it, this nastiness, this emphasis on one's individual gains of bottom line enhancement, conspicuous consumption, large applications of fear implied and real against those who tarry and resist further advancement along this road to Hell.    

Renewed laws and mores of society based on authoritarianism and the clear and growing deliberate exclusion of all but a very sparsely populated realm of the upper crust, all serve to distance hopes and dreams, equality, true progress. As a result, life grows harder, the slog ever more a steeper climb, and the US of the world lessen in importance and value, lack possibility of a return to ours, and our children. 

That which was once the pride in the advancement of humanity, of democracy, of true empathy, and recognition that all must reach out and lend a helping hand, an encouraging hand, to those in need, allow them, enable them, to climb the same beneficial ladder, to use the strength they have, the inner courage to do the right thing for themselves and others. 

Only that way does all of mankind progress. Only with true, unembarrassed empathy, of a "there but for the grace of G-d" philosophy, in use, can we retain that which remains and regrasp that which is flying quickly off to unreachable space and time. All that indeed allows us to model ourselves along paths of truly emulating the traits and the truth of the image of G-d that we have within us, along with the temptation to follow the gods of metal, wood and stone, of incipient and unavoidable harm and hurt.

These are the false gods and false images to which we have chosen to return to, time and time again. We never seem to totally internalize Truth. That these images and the chasing of these images must be made gone, never to return, to be trashed for all of eternity. The possibilities are there. So why so often, too often, do we choose the wrong side.          ever returning to the worst of us. 

Under the leadership of those such as Trump and Trumpian characters, of false and cruel leaders round the world who base their powers, their ability to remain in office on the scepter of fear they hold over the heads of those they rule, well, the results are out there in 3D for all to see. to acknowledge. We can see the success of those who grasp all for themselves and stingily dole out miniscule amounts, if at all, to buy the people who have placed them in these powerful positions. Merely modern replays of the bread and circus of the failing Roman Empire.

I do not understand why at this time of my life I am forced to look backward to that which was. That which was once dreams and hopes. Once upon a time. To a young idealist who dreamt of All that could be. That should be. But is not. Where is it now? I must look back and wonder. Where the hell are we going? Any forward movement actually contains within strong retrograde power. We have chosen as role models those who should most definitely not be emulated. We fall into the same ever returning traps. Never seeming to learn from the lessons of history. Disregarding the pools of blood through which we splash. Even as the pools grow larger and larger, deeper and deeper. For the blood that is shed joins with other rivulets of blood. Forming creeks. And rivers. And torrents and oceans.  

No. Prayer alone is not necessarily the answer. It helps. It strengthens us. But we must do this ourselves. Knowing that there is the best fan in the world in the universe, rooting for us to do that which we are capable of. That which is possible to achieve. But that which we never do. Instead of sharing the room, widening the ladder, we make it even narrower, forcing too many to fall off. To be crushed beneath the feet of those above. And to be grabbed by desperate hands of those below.  By those who want More and by those who want to keep the More they already have. False values in life.  Fool's gold. And humanity has fallen for it time and time and time again.

I wonder why we have never been able to channel successfully the powers of the young. Their idealism. The wisdom of true Elders. To improve this world. To cast out from among us the ugly and no good. Why do we fail in this effort time and time again? Why do we allow the young to choose unwisely and fall under the evil influence of those of no good within. Whose hearts and souls are blackened, charred into uselessness.    

Why must all talk of change always result in bad moves, false leaders and misplaced trust, with detours placed there to misdirect. We speak of needed change and then take shortcuts which lead to violence and failure. We bypass the powers of legality, dream childish visions of blood and guts.  Indulge in fairy tale modes of "Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After". 

 And we fail, for force alone is not the answer.  We need legal powers and reinforced underpinnings.  We must be strong, determined, prompt and ever alert, but use what we legitimately have and not emulate the wrong ways of those who oppose us. That makes us no better than the worst of them.  Defense and offense, but always with legitimacy at hand lest we lose the battle and the war before it has even begun. We must turn to the resources which we have, the laws which we have, the legal powers enabling us to do the right thing. 

I don't know. I wish I did.

Evidently, there are many of you who feel the same way as I do. Over the past two days, literally, according to the statistics, over half million people have been reading my postings. I'm not even sure nor understand how they know to read me? But if I can move humanity forward one teeny tiny piece. of a step forward, well, that would be good.  

Yesterday. Today, Tomorrow. 

Will we choose the ugliness of the past that remains with us, that has sent out tendrils of lunacy into tomorrow? Or cross that out and instead take the goodness of the past, the sweetness possible in the present, and generate encouraging hopes of the future. To go forward. Together.

Your choice, folks.

I have long made my choice.

Once again, a reminder. It is on us.  

Resist the calls of the Sirens for they no longer are after Odysseus and his crew. No, instead they are after us. We, the people. We must reject the Sirens. Reject the universe of Trump. Oust those who do not belong in office and serve not the people, but themselves. All with the law on our side. 

We must defy the return of fascism. We must resist the rather liberating call to Hate. All that bode no good for us. And certainly not for the future of our children. If there is to be a future indeed.

Once again. All on us.   

        

  

DRAMAMINE, ANYONE?

  One does not have to be a professional traveler, a frequent flyer or an infrequent one to understand that today is a day we will all need extra supplies of Dramamine, extra tricks on our phones that keep us from being nauseous as we peruse the news of the day, if news there is in any case. Much of what passes for news today is mostly cut and paste of yesterday's, which was a cut and paste of last week's, which was a cut and paste of last month, which was a cut and paste of last year, which was a cut and paste of the previous decade. In other words, nothing new under the sun.

Actually, that last statement could be rightfully challenged. What we have today in the once blessed, once great United States of America, is a situation such as we have never faced before. Never anticipated it nor set up red lines of warning to alert us of its coming. Not here! Not in America? Oh, yes, in America. 

We can go crazy swinging our heads and minds, back and forth, not quite able to internalize the facts and the implied to be facts. We ponder, exactly how did we get from George Wasinton, our first President who turned down the offer of a crown and warned his fellow Americans to be alert, ever so, lest someone come along and reinstate a monarchy into the nascent democracy. 

How did we get to the situation we now have - a man who is our most recent president, perhaps to be the last one of the once proud United States of America, a leading democracy among the nations of the world? What we now have is a man who prefers the throne rather than the seat in the Oval Office. Who despises democracy and champions authoritarianism. Who dreams of being Donald I, a ruler of this nation. 

He dreams of stretching out his arms, grabbing that crown and thrusting it upon his head. To sit back on that throne and claim his dream as a reality = all for and of his making. With no one daring to challenge, for the Imperial Presidency would be the arbiter of all legality and criminality, the conveyor and creator of arbitrary new laws beneficial to himself and his greedy family members, even as his own bottom line swells obscenely. This inherently and convicted felon and sexual pervert ironically mirrors some of the state of George III at the time of the American Revoluton as he too battled mental (and physical?) deterioration at that time. 

So why the Dramamine? Surely, we're all used to feeling nauseous, sick at heart and sick at soul as we have watched this nation's fabric and underpinnings go awry. Blown away in the face of powerful, destructive winds. Shredded by insects who ate away at it. The Dramamine is recommended, advised as to keeping a steady stock handy as we are in for some very rough seas and major air turbulence. All deriving from the intensification of his bizarre and overweening ego. My airport, PBI, a sweet little airport has now turned into yet another figment of this man 's. twisted desires.

 Its name has now been changed to The Donald J Trump International Airport. The only president to have an airport named after himself, by himself, during his term in office. Even as he continues to scour Washington DC. for more infrastructure damage he can inflict upon the historical buildings. and history of DC and the entire nation as well. No thinking small here in the madcap attempt, (unfortunately somewhat too successful for my comfort), to satiate his unsatiable desire and appetite to turn the world upside down, is there? To recreate it in his own distorted image and vision. 

Nothing goes unnoticed, too big, too small for all touch upon his ambitions. Outright lies from size of crowds to spewings of his mouth, to obvious signs of deterioration, both mental and physical. Imagined voting irregularities ginned up from the air. Serious attempts to disenfranchise, to deport without differentiation. To deny humanity. To live by ancient maxims of hate and contempt for all one deems beneath oneself. 

The much-mourned destruction of the East Wing of the White House. To be replaced by a very strange ballroom - in 2026 - a ballroom! Gilded Age anyone? His tasteless and very weird colonnade of heroes along with the tasteless splashes of gold and gilt he has brought into the White House and all he touches. Fool's gold, all of it. A Rose Garden   destroyed, replaced - not - with a rather tawdry and misplaced patio of cement and yellow striped beach umbrellas. Mai Tai, anyone? Little umbrellas?    . 

To insert his name on the JFK Center. Forced to remove it, thank G-d. And now, a rather strong and uncomfortable sense of impending disaster as this twisted infantile man who has no attention span of any consequence, is practically illiterate, with his favorite and perhaps only reading being stories of himself and his "achievements". This man has turned attention to the measurement and examination and commiseration for the treatment of these columns of the North Portico. What now? The Big Tent center pole? The bizarre statements made at Mount Rushmore. That Arch, that abomination that hopefully will be denied existence.     

 All through the nation, infrastructure is being hijacked. And rechristened. With new names. All the same. Donald Trump. Simply Trump. Benefiting in gross manner from trades he is legally barred from doing, but that makes no never mind, does it? His greedy efforts as he trademarks three different referral names to the new PBI. 

Picture him sitting like a mad king of old. Surrounded by the gold and the paper bills of his wealth. Even as he finds himself alone at the end. There's no one there. No one to care. No matter how much wealth one has accrued here in this world, nothing can come across that barrier to the next. And there, ahead of him, awaits a much more powerful Being than he ever imagined himself to be. 

And he will reap the consequences of the harm and damage, the pain that he has caused.  All for temporary wealth and power and for what? A legacy? G-d help all those who support such a legacy, who enabled it, who crippled the world, America, for twisted motives - wealth and power. And for what?  Nothing of lasting value gained, all that was is no more, and history will be the judge of the legacy to be left behind.   

Do I sound angry? Yes, I am. Very much so. But my anger is not only directed at Trump. for without the acquiescence of so many who refused to think, to peer ahead, to follow threads, he would have gotten nowhere. I believe that much of the ugliness and the hate that fills this world today derives from so much of what he has done or not done. What he has said or left unsaid.  

 Oh, yes! Dramamine to weather the roaring high seas, the huge freak waves. The freakish weather patterns now becoming destructive norms. But then again, there is no environmental change is there?  Need a pill now? Understand the rough weather facing us, with no for sure certainty that we will be able to compensate, to repair, to progress, truly progress, not call retrograde as foreword movement.

This man is sick. He is sly. Nasty. Infantile. Not yet learned one of the first lessons of life. The world does not revolve around one person. No matter how important. No matter how well known. No matter how bad.  But the world has no time to waste and with full determination, with all legal tools and mannerism and pathways we must act. To change the current situation. Turn it aside from the awful detour it has taken, led back onto the straight road. 

Time's a wasting and growing short. The vagaries    of this man and his acolytes must no longer be allowed to wage war against the people of Earth.      He is a broken model of a man. Full speed ahead with determination to calm the seas and settle the air above us. If we do not act. If we do not take enough Dramamine to sustain ourselves, then we will find ourselves crushed beneath the keel of a wayward ship of state steered by a demented captain, carrying us all to perdition.           

Dramamine, anyone? 

Wrist bracelet, anyone? 

Portable basin, anyone? 

A change of clothing, anyone?

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow. 

We never seem to learn, do we? Not only that, for even as we once surged forward, along with accompanying errors addressed to some extent at least, we are now barreling backwards. To old nasty memes and feelings of enmity. If we do not act together, those of us who remember we are Americans first, last and always. Not blue or red. Not pink or yellow. Americans. Red, white and blue. We must stand against all who would impede us in our path. With determination and right, and legality, we can better the approaching future. If not, the nation, all nations, will have to find their own way. As will the individuals within.

Check your medicine cabinets. Check your drawers and your carry-ons. Get that Dramamine ready and handy. 

I hope it is a Bon Voyage with a safe and sweet landing, a cruise we treasure. 

SHOT TO THE HEART ...

  ... And who's to blame? Well, look, there you are. The man in the mirror. All the men and women in the mirror. Who stood by and either implicitly or complicitly allowed for the likes of the present Barracudas to gain their place and edge and shove all else out of their paths in order to make way for their imperial selves. And for those who follow in their wayward footsteps, sell their souls to the Devil and then count themselves oh so clever in having gained the pathetic goals of their lives - wealth and power, or even just a bit of power enabling them to lord it over all else. Preferably for all else to witness the demeaning of another human being and shake in fear and admiration at 'he' who had done this.

Where and when did we go so wrong? Our grandparents and greats had struggled to get here, make a new life, raise families able to live the American Dream. Along with that was an insistent and careful inculcation of true patriotism into the hearts of their children, those who grew up to be the Greatest Generation. The "Greatest Generation" who then went out and fought the monsters who would have the Dream die. 

They began to fill the ranks of steersmen, government employees, the professions, the various trades necessary to build a strong land. Dedicated their lives not only to their own success, but also to fulfill the truth of the maxim: From those to whom much has been given, much is expected in turn. And then something happened. Why? For many reasons, known and unknown.

This generation of heroes began to suffer from small fractures within their foundations.       Elements of negativity wormed into the small, miniscule fissures in the framework. It is to be expected that all societies have growing pains, even retrograde pains, but not to the extent that this nation of ours has undergone this past decade. And most certainly not to the extent of the gross overblown lies tossed about as truth, where words lose their meaning and become that which they claim they oppose. 

 The Greatest Generation devolved into their entitled children. Who bought into the rat races. Who bought into the selfish. And who in turn raised a generation of entitled children such that we have not seen before. Retrogressive becomes progressive. Fascism in its many guises is labeled as democracy and socialism and communism raise their ugly heads once again, promising pie in the sky but delivering only the sour remains of what others have eaten. The members of society are confused and seek a leader, a strong one with strong convictions, only to find that the leader has no convictions other than those which serve his interest. 

 These days, more and more people are waking up to the fact that we have gotten ourselves into a fix such that there are no tools enough and knowledge enough and craftsman enough to fix it. We have ceded power to those segments of the government which then cede that power which we ceded to them and give it to the president. So that we now have an almost completely insured and protected imperial presidency. 

How we get out of this is beyond me. Trump and his party have managed to install one third of the seats of the Federal bench seats available with his own people. People who had served as his personal lawyers, people who were involved in his various machinations that stink of corruption. Anyone bold enough to defy him was not bold enough to remain in office and take the abuse. They  took the easy way out. Better for them, but not for their nation, and certainly not for the world at large.

Since we have become so embroiled in arguments about who is a citizen and who is not, who has the right to be a citizen and what does that entail, we should all get an assignment, including the native born and those not. Read the Declaration of Independence word by word by word. Understand what it is saying. Understand what it is not. And look around you once, twice, three times, and more. All the times you need to understand why and how those words are evaporating from the very page.   The Constitution and the Declaration are becoming irrelevant in the very country in which they were born. Is it because we have lost our way. Is it because we have told lies so huge that they forbid any denial and they become incorporated within the very atoms of these documents.  We actually grow to believe we are spouting the truth.

Lord knows I am not a fan of any recent President. Of any party. Because both parties have forgotten that they are Americans first and foremost. But I must give credit to where it is deserved. At times, as people will remind me, even the bad and the disappointing have something good within. As they try to convince me that there is something worthwhile inside our current president. So, I find that other presidents, other politicians, can become a bit more dignified the further they get from their office.

This is from Obama's speech at the opening of his presidential center. And I quote. 

   "... Feeding us a steady stream of distraction and outrage.... Appealing to our basest, most tribal instincts, it's tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair. To stop trying.... that the very idea of working on behalf of the common good is a sucker's bet.... I am not immune to anger or doubt.

(But I do know this:) When we lose faith in each other. When we stop believing that voting matters. That citizenship matters. That our collective voices matter. That how we treat each other no longer matters. And we give away our power to decide our own futures; we open the door to the most ruthless. or the most careless. Or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others. And see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils. And punish enemies. And keep those who are different in their place."

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow. 

Will we ever allow ourselves to see the truth? To see right through all of the confusing shadows?  

Only we can decide that.

AND THERE IT IS AGAIN!

  What is the "it" that has come around again? Is it this strange but understandable reluctance to actually put down, not on paper, but on screen my concerns, mostly my fears re the future of this nation. Busy celebrating its 250th, of what was. and how we came to be, frightening thoughts intrude. Many people have picked up on these frightening threads, many shaking through to their souls. and they've written their opinions of it.

We have the threat of the unknown. Yes, we know what we have done, good and bad and in between. And we know what has come out be from them as a result. But the question rearing its head above all else is what is going to happen now to this nation? It is facing critical questions of unity and disunity. So powerful are these critical questions that one can wonder whether there will there be a 300th birthday celebration? 

Or by that time will we have sunk down deep into the smothering fetid swamp ground, weighted down by the errors we have made over the years, the increasing horror of our behavior, how we have sunk, both knowingly and unknowingly, buoyed by our adherence to the rule that it is not 'my' problem. Others will do it. It is their job. Besides, isn't every single one corrupt? So why bother? Life will continue, just perhaps a tad changed."  

This disregard for the nation we have sunk makes it very clear that we, our way of life, led us down the road to failure. We did it all by ourselves - and aren't we proud! We ignored the cracks we spotted in the foundational pillars of this nation. We refused to pay attention and do serious repair, even any repair. It has all come tumbling down just as did the building at Surfside when it also lost its firm foundation, similarly due to the fault of those    responsible to preventing such a terrible thing from happening.  Everybody else stood around with their thumbs up their rear, not wanting to spend any money, let alone the huge amount of money to repair all that was wrong and prevent any repetition. It can continue on, they said. It has until now. Why would it be expected to be different?     

And so here we are. A once proud United States of America, once holding up the world, keeping it on track or getting it back to where it needed to go, where it must go - gone. No interest in that hard and selfless work. More immediate concerns, correct? Beef up one's bottom line. To obscene levels. Lay people off, for their puny salaries are taking away from the profit, not our huge inflated seven and eight figure salaries + bonus! And hey, let's raise prices again and get more squeals out of desperate people.

No, and as truth continued to be denied, the nation fell to its knees, tried to stand up, and did on occasion, but finally, the result was and remains a nation prostrate on the floors of civilization. Spurning all the advances of humanity and rebuying into all other sets of rules - or lack of such, disregarding all that they had learned as children, as their parents had tried to inculcate deep within their bones. But it all failed. We had all failed. 

The stench of disregard, of corruption suffused the air and the only ones escaping its putrid odor were those who had caused it in the first place. But they were safe in their numerous homes, their extravagant manners in plentiful supply to shield them from the consequences of their actions. Instead of growing a better world, as they should have.

 Instead of even perhaps preparing for a day when we might have to leave Earth as we had decimated it so, beyond the point of fixing, we turned into other paths. Those of strange and extreme science fiction - turning into facts via our lack of forethought and recognition of truths. Humanity has virtually decimated the benefits of the gift of this earth. It steadily fell into the poisoned well, of unplumbable depths of dishonesty and selfishness.  The wheels of the busses rolling over those thrown beneath them were constantly dragging bloody remains throughout the world. 

 We took of the best we had created what we had striven for, and allowed it to crumble right beneath our eyes. When we looked around finally to find a hero to point out to the children, as role models, there were none. 

We chose the worst among us to lead us. We chose to ignore the moral and physical perversions. The decaying of the souls of our so-called leaders who use religion cynically. As a political tool. We are getting what we deserve. No more a role model for nations looking to reform and reformat. We were a disgrace and a danger, and we reaped what we had sowed. 

No hand of aid was extended to us. They did not see past the shards of the shattered remains of dreams and hopes. Of humanity's advancement. All they saw were the people ripped from families, demeaned, chased, injured, and forcefully ousted from this nation once a proud haven for those of need, even as our ancestors were. Being shoved out through the borders. 

Even as our economy failed. Even as our circulation failed as well, for there were no more infusions of fresh thinking, of fresh blood a nation needs to do all it must. Only old stale remains of what once had been. We had created our own path to death. We abused others. As well as the land on which we were living. We abandoned our role, a hard one. But a good one. Serving mankind. And we trashed it. All that was good. All that has remained is quickly disappearing at ever faster pace. Soon we will be as those great empires who also fell into moral disrepair. Leading to physical decadence and their last dying gasps were wasteful, awful giant testimonials to the pathetic leaders who came in and out of office so quickly that one could not keep track. 

The obscuring fogs of the past covered it all. Deepening the coverings over all that was and will be no more unless we WAKE UP!! We must pay attention. We must take serious giant steps to reform ourselves. We must not take the easy way out, for there lay only more danger.  More disaster.         

To the demise of humanity, certainly as we know it.

So, what is the IT that has returned again and again? All the yesterdays, the todays, and may G-d help us, for if we don't stop it, into the tomorrows, as few as they might be. It is a sad fact. I had to turn away from writing of specifics, so despairing am I of what we have done to ourselves. Even as we continue to excuse the perversions of the leader. The twists of his family. The ugliness. All that we have engendered and allowed to run rampant upon this beautiful gift from the Lord.  

ABANDONED!!

  I can remember from decades ago, and I can remember from not so long ago, that always I trusted my nation to have my back. To have the back of all of its citizens. Always to seek out a better way to help and to rescue. To advise and guide. To stand beside. To stretch out a helping hand and pick its citizens up, those who find themselves in spots of bother, some of consequence and some not. 

Knowing that one was not alone, gave so many the strength and encouragement to forge forward, to invent, to move the nation along, as it grew in power, in international concern, in striving to better not only oneself, but the myriads of Earth's inhabitants who desperately needed their own quantity of encouragement and welcome. Certainly not so much anymore. In fact, if at all. 

Today I believe that in order to catch the eye and the hand of the government, to see through your eyes and lend that helping hand, well, very poor chance that you will get even at least one.  Our government today has very little to do with the government that the Founding Fathers foresaw. Or at least allowed to develop naturally. To always seek out the better. To allow for correction and moral growth. They knew they were not perfect, possessed flaws natural to mankind, and thus allowed for change, albeit positive change. 

When some of the people of the nation and some of their leaders sent our ship of state out onto rocky seas, we did not accept that as the end of it all. There were manifestly legal, constitutional methods by which to correct the steering errors and find smoother sailing, a more beneficial path for the ship of state. Redirection and correction did not necessarily come overnight, but it did eventually come and we the people were the beneficiaries.    Today, unfortunately, we have those who seek out the worst they can find. To be the worst they can be. Anxious to look in the mirror and pat themselves on the back at the same time and say "yes. I have achieved my goal. I have broken the bank of X, Y, or Z. I have amassed wealth beyond my wildest dreams as a child."

"And best of all? I've only stepped on a few 100 thousand people. As they clear the road ahead, making it all the easier to move forward, to step on their necks and backs, to narrow their choices and to look upon them and their problems as inconsequential, for what matters is the culmination of my ambitions."

 However. Truth to be said, most will go further in their warped ambitions, in their cold and calculating road of growth in the path they were on. Not quite sure if evil and selfish ambitions had reached their culmination or was there perhaps more to hug to oneself? Have ambitions indeed been met. Or perhaps there is more in it for me?  Wealth and power plus a high degree of influence and say-so, perhaps even, yes, a large heaping of fear amongst those who dare to challenge. Who stand in the way of my twisted thinking and resultant behavior. 

To gain entry past that impossible to open gate and achieve Nirvana. Even as I hear the smack of that gate closing immediately behind me. To be able to smirk. To despise those who do not get in, who stand in line, fruitlessly. Waiting for something that will never happen. And this is when egos of the crazed ambitious creatures swell, the knowing they have made it. Those who have not? No time to spare a moment of sympathy, a pang of guilt. Not at all.  

Such is the selfishness pervading and overwhelming the air above our land. We have allowed for, even encouraged, a reoccurrence of a group of crooked thinking elite who care naught for any but themselves, who treat with our enemies and abandon our allies, along with their co-citizens. Exactly as those against whom we fought and resisted at the time of our founding. 

That stink of active corruption reaches all the way up to the President who amasses wealth and instigates fear. Who has no loyalty to any other than himself and family and those he can bully, demean, and abandon at moments of need. There is no sympathy within this man and those who follow behind, tongues lapping his filth. 

Our once blessed and caring nation is no longer. Can we return it to whence it originated, with morals and goodwill, with truth and honor? Accept its errors and then repair? To stride forward, careful of where we step, avoiding damage to necks and backs of others. To use power within our capabilities in a more beneficial manner than not? 

Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Does it ever change?

Yes, it does, and it can - if we wish it so and work to make it so.

WE must do it, for there are no others to step forward.  

More tomorrow.   

CAUGHT OFF GUARD - OR NOT?

Yesterday was the day for various emotions. First, as always, it was my mom's birthday. She always claimed that the fireworks were for her and of course, we agreed. Why not? Why should we burst that bubble? Truly, she was worth it all. I still miss her, and so do the generations she left behind, but as we knew our dad would be there for her, we knew she would be okay. So happy birthday, Ma. We all miss you. We all love you.  

Actually, above all else, it was a Saturday. Shabbat. A day given over by G-d to serve as a day of rest for the entire world. For all living sentient beings. A day meant for family and friends, for study, for prayer, for acknowledgment of who we are and where we are. And where we need to go.  For meditation. For sharing in the joy of religion. To remember He who created it all. A day that comes around every seven days, does it not? Yet each and every time, even as it is the same it remains different. It seems to expand, to pick us up where we need to be and set us down as needed.       

But as of a 1000 days ago modern Shabbat has taken on a shadow of ugliness and bloodshed. October 7. 2023. The day when Shabbat and its serenity and holiness, was invaded by the Devil Incarnate and soulless adherents who were fueled by Hate, JewHatred, antisemitism on crack. Loaded with venom, these creatures invaded and killed. And killed more. And took captives away for murder and torture at a time they chose.

 They came with murder and bloodshed in their hearts, on their souls. Somehow, their horrendous violation of all laws and mores of man and G-d   induced others not to condemn but to praise. The victims were condemned, accused of all sorts of outrageous acts against humanity. Truthfully, their 'crime' was to have survived, the continuation of a nation long violated, consigned to the slaughter.  yet surviving and thriving and reupping for more of the same as they stubbornly refused the evil desires and goals of their oppressors.

 Defiant and overcoming all that has been thrown     at them, this fact irritated the Haters. This Evil appeared to be innate in their very composition, and that emotion, that twisted desire to do away with them, unlocked a door behind which a wave of JewHatred, approved and supported by the Devil's acolytes, had remained, and now freed, approved and supported. 

Once again, an open target of poison, outrageous, so clearly false yet glommed onto by those needing to release their worst parts and sent their soulless desires and actions once again, into the world. Adherence and adherents grew in numbers and influence. Behind that symbolic door was the motivations of centuries, to kill that which eluded their comprehension, their refusals to look within themselves and understand where they went wrong and where they continue to remain, led by vicious ambitious false leaders. As has always been the case. 

A JewHatred which we have not seen for decades, certainly not so brazenly flaunted, and yet there it was. And there it remains. And there it grows. Aimed at any and all 'tainted' by connection, real and/or imagined, to the Jewish nation, individual and en-masse, to Judaism, to the State of Israel. The ugliness of the Shabbat of Oct7, then, before then, and now most probably for a chunk of time into the future. So, it has always been.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow, 

Just as it always has been true that we have survived it all, come out fighting way above our weight, and disappointing those have been and continue to be, wishful of our extermination, vanished from history. Shabbat of 1000 days ago. Shabbat through the ages. A favorite day to schedule violent actions against the Jewish people. And again, we are here. 

WE ARE HERE. Our Defender apparently has other plans for us.

They overrule all else.

We have tried over the millennia to find allies within the rest of the world and have been disappointed so many times. Surely among all the billions of people on this planet there are good people. Yet even when we find one it seems to be a fair-weather friend, in for the gain and certainly not to share the pain. The very pain that their friendship could ameliorate. 

I thought about the forecast of the world. Are these crazed weather phenomena signals from the Lord Above? Thundering so loud it frightens one.  Pouring too much rain. Withholding the rain. Are these warnings to us? Perhaps. I have thought so many times. But yesterday, picking up a print of one of the most seminal documents of the world, my heart began to bang against the rib cage. Surely not. Surely. W cannot be there. And yet, we are. 

Where is "there" which frightens me so??     Unfortunately, it's not too far away. In fact, it is here. Already. And those who know better, who should know better, should be brave enough and honest enough to shout out the truth. And yet. 

 Why? Why? Why?

More on this in the next posting.  

I THINK I GOT IT!!

  This year, especially in the most recent days just passed, and probably well into the next few months, we are talking about the spirit of this nation. Whether it is the spirit of liberty or the spirit of freedom, the freedom of sharing and understanding what a glorious gift we have. And yet. There's something empty there. There's something that is leaving behind, perhaps even causing, great gaps to open in our pathways. Even as those who cause these gaps try to convince us that they are not there. All the better for us to fall into. And for the climb out to grow ever more difficult.   

The danger they pose! The nation continues to split. Groups pulling away. Larger groups forming. The skill and the necessity and importance of discussion, of compromise, and accepting the crucial truth that such behavior must return. And we must find language in common. Words in common. These words will allow us to try to find a way back. To interact with each other. As Americans. Not as Democrats, not as Republicans. But as Americans.  We need to salute the facts of our national fabric. That we are a nation of many, but with a single heart.  

But that truth is no longer. It has become obsolete. Fading into the fog of the past at ever quicker rate. Why? Because we have chosen of own will, and yes, with the prodding of others, to separate ourselves. To talk nastily about other Americans. To claim that they are not Americans. To claim that they do not deserve to be Americans. Or perhaps we don't deserve to be Americans. 

If we cannot see past all the smoke and the fire, blinding our eyes and deafening us with the roar of the raging fires burning our heritage to the ground, then we have turned our backs, our souls and our hearts, our righteous pride in an America ever striving to be better, to do better, to acknowledge errors and rehab those errors. America the Beautiful? Going, going, go .... 

Worse, we have gone so far past the ideals, that the way back is nigh unto impossible - unless we find a way back to whom we are supposed to be. To repair the torn, challenged and shattering national ethos and prepare to be proud givers, as we transfer this nation, its historical uniqueness, its Glory, into the hands of those who follow. Hopefully those who do will have been exposed to the truth. Not the lies. Who know how to find the truth for themselves. and refuse to be gob-smacked by those who wish to deny America. 

We, the adults, are enjoined to teach our people the Beauty of America, its Promise, its Hopes. the Welcoming Hand reaching out to take in, to provide haven, even as those we do, then contribute the new blood, the energy of the appreciative and help send our nation surging into a positive future. But we have forgotten the truth of the matter. Instead of a welcome, too many get a boot in their rear with steel toed shoes, all the better to hurt more. We have tossed a critical foundational plank into the damp ditches alongside the road, rotting the very fabric of the planks discarded. Into obsolescence. 

And so then I ask. What will we leave behind for our children? What will we be able to send them with our shoulders back and our heads held high. Or will we leave behind only the filth of what we have made? Once high goals have gone missing in the interim. And they have taken something along with them. They have taken along our unity, our honor. So split are we that we cannot even agree on the proper manner in which to celebrate our 250th birthday. I cringe in shame at my nation and for my nation. In fact, I am deeply disappointed by the state of the world in its entirety.

As short as a decade ago I could never have imagined the current events of today. It never crossed my mind to think that one day the very same universities which had taken us in, much to their benefit as well, never did I think that these same universities would condone, even praise       violent demonstrations against Israel. And make no never mind about it, when one stands here and says I am not anti-Semitic; I am only anti-Israel  -

BULLSHIT!! 

Being anti-Israel in its existence as a Jewish independent nation is being anti-Semitic. Who the hell do you think would be killed? Who do you think would be the targets of yet another massacre? And in fact, how the hell do you excuse what happened on October 7th, 2023? How dare you condemn Israel for responding? Even as they had to fight for days in order to beat all the animals back into their cages. There to wait until Israel went in and did what any other nation state would have done in this same situation. To make sure that no more would they come over the border. No more would they slaughter and rape our people.

And if the world did not like that, as we stood forth against them in might, in strength and determination, well, there again. I refer you back to the highlighted word. That the United States would join in, would allow these bloody protesters calling for the death of all Jews all around the world to stand forth boldly, well, I would have said you must have the wrong pens, the wrong crayons to draw this picture.

Now that is a shame. We have so much to be proud of. So much of that pride we are now tarring over. Throwing feathers on it and placing it on the rail. To be carried out of town. We are, from the best of us, the best of our ideas, the best of our history. I'm not sure what happened, but for sure the level of sanity in this world has diminished. As have the mores and morals and fabrics underlying this nation, the United States of America. 

We sure as hell are not keeping them sturdy, undamaged, as healthy as they were at the start of the deal, of the birth of this proud nation of ours.  We have made fundamental changes in our country, in our nation. Once we relished the freedom to make choices of our own. To opt in. To opt out. To opt in as maybe. To change minds. We did not have to cringe before our decisions, fearing what others would think of it. We had good people leading us, and yes, they had flaws. So do we all. There was only one being in this universe that does not have flaws and that is not Donald Trump.    

 But over the past decade, we have begun to. circumscribe our choices, our ability to make choices, our freedom to make choices, and to stick with it or not, as we wish. We used to have people within both major parties who could talk with each other as Americans, working for the benefit of this nation. You could even find points in common   working together to keep this country moving in the proper direction. But now? 

Now you are daring stone throwing, curses and specific directed physical violence should one disagree. Even for simply daring to speak up and disagree, a right of all Americans, A critical one at that. When did we allow this to happen? When did we lose our inner core of justice and morality? Of acceptance, tolerance. inviting all to share this wonderful country with all, even as they contributed to it. The American Dream was for all honest, hardworking people.   

We have now a president who is an official sexual pervert. We have a fake marriage with his wife. We have a man clearly deteriorating in mind and body. We have a man who takes gifts from foreign nations, clearly still not on the best terms with us. But he is like as child wanting more and more at this forever Birthday Party, overriding the party of the nation. Shredded as we cannot even agree on how to celebrate it.

We have self-anointed royal families. Including that of the president. Who deems himself perfect to be the authoritarian dictator of this nation. To be followed by his crooked sons. Even as the man himself is crooked using the office of the president, demeaning that office. as he uses it to be a shill. To put pressure on people. To use influence and power. To grow his bottom line. This year in particular, $2 billion worth. And add that all to that which came before and all that will come after. 

I thought, we thought, most of us thought that this kind of duality and dishonesty had gone the way of all living things. That we had beaten back, permanently defeated all the ugliness of corrupt governments. I guess we were wrong. And I guess as well that we are not addressing this issue with full acceptance of what we must do. 

We must make things better. We must do better. And what is it that I have now got? Well, I watched the strangest video the other day. A man who comes to a neighborhood, finds a lawn, a horrible sight.   He then mows and chops and cuts and works very, very hard, for days to bring it into a better shape. 

That is what we need to have now. We need people of courage. People of nobility within the soul to come forth.  Help us beat that unruly lawn into order. Into beauty. To make the neighborhood better, not worse. We have all the legal means necessary to do so, and we had better use them before this Supreme Court totally and completely grants any and all and every power to this man. And to all that would follow in his footsteps. 

Why do we not use this legal power? Why do we not do what is right? It is now that I get it. That yesterday, today and tomorrow we have   taken huge giant steps backward. Ended up in the most manifestly evil place. A truly perverted, spoiled national lawn.

And once again, it is all on us, only us. There is no rescue other than us. There is no realization or excuse. 

We must do what we must do.  

Time grows short, as do life expectations of nations and the people within.

Happy birthday, America. May we all live to share in many more. In safety. In friendship. As Americans.  On a beautiful, pure and bright American national lawn.  

FIRE BURNING ON THE DANCE FLOOR

  I don't know how many of us remember that song and the instruction to call 911. Obviously, there was no fire. It was all a metaphor. However, this song brings back fond memories of a little granddaughter. But now I am looking at it in another way. It is now a metaphor, an allegory, a comparison and example of the fire burning on the many dance floors of the world. These fires are clearly not being addressed, certainly not in any positive manner. In fact, we are feeding into those fires. We are contributing to the conflagration these fires are bringing to the world itself. And to the people upon it. In fact, it is a fire so fierce that the anger it produces leaves me cold. Hard as steel. That is my reality these days. 

I am so tired of those around the world, every single damned country which has turned and rapaciously, violently, with malice aforethought, attempted to devour any and all Jews without or within their purview. Even as the State of Israel goes above and beyond, all is dismissed. Ignored. Is it any wonder that we froth at the mouth with frustration. Why my insides are iced by the anger that I feel against those in the world who know better, but who persist in the ugliness? Spewing lies out of the mouth without end. At supersonic speed.   For example, Israel is always one of the first, if not the first to attend any other country, even those who have declared enmity towards it, to help them in difficult situations, exactly as they are doing now in Venezuela. Using their personnel, their drones, their knowledge to rescue people, they have no idea who they are, but doing what is right.  

However, what we get in the picture of the Jews, that the world and its haters present as Gospel Truth, as Quranic truth is that, Israel, the people of the Jewish nation have no right to be alive at all. How have they survived millennia of persecution vicious, above and beyond that directed to any other nation. And yet we continue to survive. So, we are called names. We are cursed. We are whispered about as having done deals with the devil. 

But the fact is no, we have a deal with the Lord above. And it is He whom we trust. And it is to Him we return when we realize that those humans in whom we have placed our faith are negligent and uncaring. Useless. In the short and the long run.    Despite any and all attempts to totally exterminate the Jewish people, for once and for all, all such plans are useless, for our Promise, our oaths serve as reminders to us and to the One Above as to where true aid emanates. "I will lift up mine eyes to the mountains" for that is the source of our strength, our permanence, upon the surface of this planet.

But still. No matter how deeply we know this in every atom of our existence, it is still hurtful, harmful and frightening. Despite all our faith. The anger boils over. It mixes with fear. It mixes with confusion. And even as we burn inside, that fire turns to ice and steel. Strengthening us. Helping us to resist all the negativity. I know that no matter what is thrown at us, what is beaten into us, we have other sources of knowledge and strength. And we will use that burning ice and steel within us to defeat all those who come against us. Those who have decided to stand up against the Jewish people. 

Already they are finding that these are not the Jews of yesterday. These are the Jews who know how to fight, who will fight, who are fighting. Who will not stand by and await fate to come to them. Instead, they take faith in their own hands. Call up to the Lord Above. And do what they must. They can criticize what they wish. They can complain what they wish. But it makes no never mind.

The so called 'Progressives” who are among the most retrogressive people on this earth will soon find their place in hell. The Plateners. The David Dukes. Mamdani and his filthy wife, those who sought his sponsorship and bought into the lies - even from the mouths of Jews who sold their souls to the devil for advancement on this world. They too will have their day in court, only it will not be a day in court that they will treasure. 

Israel is fighting a humane war, as much as it can in the battlefields of urban location, especially when one considers the rightful anger and horror and desire, yes, desire for revenge.  Of the blood spilled of our men, women and children, our infants. And yet even as we lose our soldiers, civilians ripped from their lives to serve once again as the protectors of their nation, their people. above and beyond, Israeli still remains the target of filthy accusations. And the world - buys into it in a sellers' market.

It is most confusing when universities of higher education and other professions proudly spout their contributions, the results of their research and brains, how in the name of all that's holy do they deny the critical portion that Jews played in these advancements? How do they do this? Do they simply close their eyes and minds? And buy into the lies as if these were stocks going way, way up. How do the gays come out for Mamdani, a strict Moslem, supposedly, of the same ilk of those Muslims who string gay people up from the lamp post, from trees, who beat them to death even as they ignore the truth and the difference in attitude in Israel. Gays are welcomed, no difference. The Gay Paride marches are well known and attended by many of the straight, for we are all Jews together.   

The Jewish people have come to look upon America from decades back as a land of haven.  They had no other land, the State of Israel denied existence. So, we came to America. And we became part of the threads of its existence. Woven tightly into the fabric. Yes. there was anti-Semitism. There is antisemitism even at the time of the revolution. When people wished to deny the rights of the Jewish people within the newly formed states, it took the power, the charisma, the strong words of George Washington and those righteous who followed, to ensure that Jews could become and would become and are contributing members of this nation.

Over the years, over the decades, the centuries, we perhaps grew a bit complacent. Thinking that yes, here we had found a way, as well as within other supposedly Western nations of Europe. We had   found the place, a place of assured safety. Always. though, America would be the best.  Yet look at it now. Look at it now! We are beaten in the streets. Our buildings are blown up, set afire. Our children are being frightened. People are hiding their signs and symbols of Judaism and Israel. 

But that is only the few, not the many. Yes. We are amazed, enraged by the turn of events. We try to peer into the future. We call out above. Why? Why again? Why must we always face this concerted effort to displace us? None of us have the answer. But what most of us do have is a determination to stand up and walk proudly, erectly. Fearlessly. In the streets of our neighborhoods. In the provinces of our nations. But know that even as we do this. that fire of ice remains strong within us. And will never be doused. Nor melted. Nor put out of existence

Yesterday, today, tomorrow. 

No matter how same. No matter how different. We know what the eternal truth is. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. 

For that is the truth. 

Eternal and forever.

HAS IT GOTTEN ANY EASIER FOR YOU?

   It certainly hasn't for me. In fact, if anything, it's gotten even worse. Almost every day, if not more frequently, I find myself descending further into a. Dystopian world. Time and again, my eyes are crossed, bombarded with concerns of today, though these same concerns were written so many years ago. Is it that we have so lost our way? Going nowhere? Other than into deeper insanity and denial of truth. 

We are like the donkeys, the beasts of burden sentenced to a life of walking in circles, pushing and pulling a heavy burden, working and struggling to survive, though we are going nowhere. Nor do we even understand what has gone wrong and how, if at all possible, we can change our lot. Even as we decry the pain and the hopelessness of our plights, we continued on in the same old trodden paths, deep ruts allowing for no exit.

How have we reached this point? We, the creations of the world, the last of the creations made on Day Six. Meant to rule the world, the living and the insensate. To be aware and grateful for the life laid out before us. To know, hopefully speaking, on which side our bread was buttered. The responsibility was laid upon us to be the better people, the better person. Sadly, we went off track almost immediately and continued to do so over the oncoming millennia. 

 Our existence on this earth was given with the hope and prayer that we know, that we knew, always deep inside the parameters of the gift and its responsibilities placed upon our shoulders. To strive evermore to reach the next level and aspire to go ever higher, ever closer to He who had created us, the Creator of the world - no matter the name given to that Being. We severely disappointed ourselves, fallen short, not only in our own eyes, but also, more importantly, in the Eyes of the Lord. We are laid out in shame before the Creator.  

Our disappointment is multi-faceted.  We insisted on denying it, denying the benefits of a good life as lived with proper mores and morals. We thrust away unheard the voice of the Lord. We disappointed and defied, turned away the warnings and claimed only the promised gifts, the rewards for a righteously lived life. Via bitter and harsh ever recurring lessons, as soon as we had disappointed, offended the Lord Above, we knew better, learned better, desired better. But it almost was never acted upon by sufficient numbers of mankind. 

In so doing, we broke the deal between us. A bargain made is a bargain to be kept. Surely, we had the better part of this deal. so, what the hell happened/ Did our brains have multiple shocks and outages? Did we almost always allow the 'Eirav Ra", the evil sectors of society to run rampant over us? Why? And why did we almost always forget to whom, in whom, we must place all faith and trust, to know deep down that even in the worst of times, it could be worse, were it not for the inherent love of this Creator towards and of His people.  

Life is tough these days, but I am sure that it has been even worse for those who preceded us. Perhaps we are the last generation at least for a while, to have lived much of our lives comfortably, safely, even as we struggled to balance the various aspects of life, stumbling, picking ourselves up, and turning to the Lord at times of need. 

But we carelessly allowed for false prophets to take the bullhorn and deafen our ears to those speaking truth. We spoke evil of other Jews. Concentrated energies on that which was not important at all. Worse is the too many of us who joined with our enemies and stood among them, cursing their own people.  Our arrogance in taking all the credit for the miracles happening almost on a daily basis.  Faulty thinking ensued as we chose false leaders.  We gave them a faith and a trust which should have given to the Lord. We are now reaping the consequences of those errors. For those who look into the blurred future, surely, they no longer see the visions of the lions laying down with the lambs, nor the swords being beaten into plowshares. 

The world as usual waited with bated breath for this opportunity. They grabbed at it with greedy hands. and vicious mouths, with plans boding no good for this nation of ours. The evil wishes and desires. moved very quickly to physical violence and increasing political persecution and isolation. It became the cool thing to do to not only turn aside quietly, but to shout viciously into the air. Cry out the 'evil' they have brought to the world, ignoring truth for fantasy of great harm.  Calling for the death of all Jews, of the destruction of the one tiny Jewish state long a Promised Land for them.

There are several quotes that I came across, and it behooves us to read them and think about them. And act upon them, hopefully in a positive manner. To see if there was any way that we can turn the air of the world softer upon our faces, upon our children. For the Lord to once again find patience with us, His People, and for the rest of the world as well.  

"There was a listening fear in her regard. As if calamity had but begun." (John Keats. Hyperion.)

"Hell hath no limits, nor is  circumscrib'd in one self place, but where we are is hell. And where hell is, there must we ever be." (Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus) 

As for our leaders, here, in Israel, America or. round the world. It was a rather apt description and assessment of their quality, or lack thereof. 

A father speaking of his daughter: “She had brains to burn. If she ever decided to apply herself, he believed she could be president. And that wasn't the high bar it might once have been, given the quality of some recent incumbents”. (River Red With Blood, Joh Connolly)

Truthfully, does it ever get any easier? Are we so faulty that we can never actually strive for more perfection, attain it, and keep it whole within?

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

When, G-d, when? 

ANATEVKA. ANATEVKA.

 ANATEVKA, ANATEVKA ... 

I hear the words of that song from Fiddler over and over again these days. These days are wrought with tension. With disbelief. Yes, disbelief even as I have warned and spoken words in this vein for years. Are we too in danger of being chased from homes, from lands where we have lived for centuries, from all our Anatevkas?  Are we prepared for terrible possibilities? 

Thus have I been calling out for years. I have been told I was wrong, that the world is different, that we are different. But is the world different from the world of a decade ago? Any better? Or far worse? We must acknowledge the truth, that the world has changed for the worse, that our hopes and dreams have become fragile, that our leaders, those who are supposed to look out for the safety of the nation and its population, are clearly falling down on the job. We must now acknowledge that our friends, our leaders are not carrying within themselves concerns of our safety, but rather their own needs.  Unfortunately, I have been correct in many thoughts and concerns. We must all become more alert than ever before.  

 Most of all to be prepared, to take up the battle when it is time to do so. If we wait for and depend on others, well, been there, done that. Enough!

No, nations were not prepared. In criminal negligence those ' protectors' of the nation were short, way short. They allowed for a nation to be caught short. In fact, it was only through the bravery of individuals - soldiers who grabbed guns and cars and raced down South. There to fight with civilians plugging the gaps, old men, women, soldiers and civilians who fought way past exhaustion, even with life taking wounds. Even as workers joined in, for they knew their lives were equally at stake under the vicious Hamas and the not "innocent" Palestinians who enabled them and joined in with great enthusiasm.  

One would expect in such a situation for the nations of the world to respond with words of sorrow and support. But by the second day and in all the years and months that followed. the world has taken it as their global mantra. Israel, the nation, which was invaded, is called the invader. Israel, which did not even get into Gaza on the second day, was accused of genocide and continues to be so accused. It became gospel truth to the world.

Even more ugly is the truth that was revealed. The   long-planned enablement of the rotten cores of the universities to be exposed, their own dirt within, the allowing for the filth of JewHatred to infest and infect these 'hallowed, and tainted halls of education, so negligent of their tasks. Bullied and brainwashed students. Miraculously enough tents and tarps and slogans to put in place. Immediately. So long has the brainwashing of students gone on that even some misled Jewish students were convinced to stand on protest lines calling out for their own deaths. 

The complicity of the universities, how they allowed, even encouraged and went along with this was exposed. A new world of pain grown from an older world of pain, still powerful enough to attract many who bought into its ugliness, gave them a target upon which to blame all the ills and woes of the world. 

 As usual, Hate has its own power source. It is external and seemingly internal its own power, a resource never lost, though perhaps dimming at times. But now is not such a time. Now we are seeing its ugly regrowth and revitalization. Its manifestation emerges at first with and in words, tapping hate banks and grows ever sharper and more abusive. Its inciting to violence grows into a reality which then grows into acting upon that incitement to violence. It emerges in bombs and fires of infrastructure of the Jewish community and finally rises to acts of murder.  We are already at that point, passed it already.  

The same silence on the wrongs of this JewHatred, the same silence that thundered in our ears as our former friends and neighbors stood by, watched us being dragged away, to death and horror. Nary a word of protest, but many words of enthusiasm and glee as the properties of Jews were ransacked. 

For three years now we have been fighting this war.  But truthfully, this has been a war of millennia. Too many deny it. It is too awful to accept that truth. But it is happening. It can happen. We are in the midst of that development. It is growing in visibility. But are there enough to man those ugly positions, to stand aside as evil proliferates? Well, simply look to the people who staff ICE, at the viciousness, the insane determination to 'catch' all, people who are for the most part law abiding hardworking and critical to our economy in so many areas. No, staffing will be no problem.      

It was difficult for me at times to mesh the polls with the world and the non-Jews I have met and become friends with. They universally express repulsion at the acts and thoughts of antisemitism, so from whence these growing numbers on the polls?  How do allow aberrations such as Mamdani and backers to rise to the surface? Why do we constantly fall for the words socialist, progressive in the name of a political party when we know via history that these are often trigger words for a communist or fascist party looking for power, two sides of the same coin. For that matter, why do we persist in allowing for extremists on the Right and the Left to spew forth in public presentation of words of violence, words of Hate!!      

 We of the older generation must be alert and not resigned. If we do not share in the recognition of the importance of proper education, then not only will we be lost, but so will the future generations. Will they have a future? One of positivity? The answers to these questions are up in the air, in great danger of falling to the ground with no protective coating.

 It's rather depressing. It's very hard when you have to learn this, to know this, time and time again. Yesterday, today, tomorrow. How long? How long?  Are there not enough good people to avert a new tragedy? Remember Your sadness after the previous tragedies.  To Jews, to people of the world, to the entire world.

Hear us and our cries. Allow them to pierce Your heart. Allow Your anger and displeasure with us to subside.  

So we all hope. So we all pray. And so, we must recognize the truth. No longer to give it room     to grow. To push it back into the depths of Hell from which it must never emerge ever again. 

STEP DOWN UNIT

 There was a plethora of appropriate titles for this posting, but I chose the one I felt most inclusive of the contents of this entry. Truthfully, there is never a shortage of apt titles, especially in politically themed writing, but in any case, ...here we are. 

I very recently read an article which referred to the White House as a step-down unit for our oh so esteemed President. I wondered about that, as if truly so, we are being played by a clever demented one who is making time pay off for himself, his extended family members, particularly his sons and his bogus friends who are in it for the same reason. 

"Make hay when the sun don't shine" or something very similar is the way it goes. And trust me, this man is making hay, pulling together an enormous number of bales of hay, enough to keep him in the hay when he is finally out of office, though certainly not out of the mess he has laid down upon his fellow Americans.

And there is yet another possible title. "My fellow Americans" is a common turn of phrase when said official is speaking to the nation, usually at a time of either great celebration or a time of trouble. And I believe that most of them believed they were speaking to fellow Americans, as they spoke like a human, a fellow comrade in arms as we, this nation and its leaders sought to do right, to find the best way forward for the nation. They did not hide behind strange and eerie postings in the middle of the night on a most oxymoronic private online address - Truth Social!! If ever ... As if!

Why the title? He clearly is using this misbegotten second term in office as a springboard to enhance his bottom line and to get his health situation under control. If that is even possible! To cement his position within society. To be respected and forgiven. To stand among those of his predecessors, even as they stand so much taller, so much higher, so much so that he is almost unseen.     

He will be satisfied, I believe, with the usage of his own terms of greatness, at least in his own mind, if not in the mind of the public, particularly as the inner, hidden and/or denied truths are revealed, as their rank odor calls attention to them. Just as he sits in the Oval Office, surrounded by sycophants with huge, plastered grins on their faces, He cannot at the same time control his rather random movements, part of his degenerative syndrome - take your pick. Mine is PD, or a related version. 

In any case, he cannot control his physical deterioration along with wayward mind and tongue at the same moment in time. During these times of duress, he takes a forty-wink nap and hangs onto any hand presented and uses these moments as stabilizing opportunities. Doesn't really work, does it? 

In the meantime, under cover of as much darkness as can be found, he enhances that oh so important bottom line, evidently a challenge to manhood, so he does indeed have much to prove, does he not? Taking successful strides to do so, he and his fellow corrupt and ignorant brownnosers boldly go where most previous leaders of our nation have not gone - to open bribery and corruption. To nastiness and harm to this nation. To use these remaining opportunities, laid out before him in his protected step-down unit, before they are gone.   

Leaving behind a broken and challenged nation. Will we indeed fall into the gaping holes of our       current situations, our vast disagreements, our confusing combinations? Personally, the optimism is not there at all. We have gone so far and deep into the swamp that was DC and now has returned to it, that retreat, a simple and clear order to do so, will never emerge from the mouths of those who are just as bad and harmful to the health of this nation. As they use politics and political themes to cover up the truths of their own power grabs, not really their intent to do better for this nation as a whole, but rather only for their gang. Those who buy into their dangerous speech all the better for them to enhance their own positions of wealth and power.

Meanwhile, back of the proverbial ranch we are beginning to hear some chirps. Those who were giving voice to opposition to our current situation and the awful trends just beneath the surface, all the ready to emerge and do its worst to this nation. To all that it stands for. All the promise of its birth 250 years ago. To all it has striven for. To acknowledge errors and improve upon them. To do right. To be right. 

Do we have enough to engender a true and successful intervention in the case of the misguided ones, and the purposeful ones, who are taking this nation down? I hope so, I truly do, but hope, the   possibility and probability are fading fast. 

There is a small gap of time now.  Use the growing numbers of chirpers and those who will join us, to legally, rightfully, take back our nation. Oust the corrupt judges. Shake the ranks of the government and civilians for those capable and willing to do true public service. Have them convince us all that they are in this rather nasty game for altruistic motivation and not for selfish reasons. 

Honestly, I despair of locating enough. The search looks more and more similar to the useless disheartening search of Diogenes, seeking an honest man and not meeting with much success. Again, and I speak for myself, I am not hopeful or convinced that we will find a sufficient number of such people, true leaders.  It is a challenge to find and name one, with confidence in that choice. It seems to be as futile as was the search for a good person, enough to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The most aggravating thing about all this is that we have been living this same scenario with minor changes throughout the time of humanity upon this planet.

It matters not - yesterday, today or tomorrow. We are just plainly lost and have not yet found our way back.

We had better hurry.

I just read that scientists and an AI brain have predicted the end of civilization and humanity by the year 2030.

That is around the corner.  

 As usual, 

It. Is. Up. To. Us.

Only. Us.  

Let us step up, not step down. 

HERE IS THERE AND THERE IS HERE AND HOW THE HELL DOES ONE DIFFERENTIATE?

  In fact, it is not so easy to decide exactly where one is. the 'here' of it all, and how the hell we got There? Here? in the first place. So often these days, life of the public arena is so confusing and distressing and to find one's exact Here is challenging. However, what do we do when we discover, much to our growing concern, that our Here is nowhere within the public center of life.   Hence, we find ourselves in a revolving cycle, a dry eddy which shuffles us off to the proverbial Buffalo only to find that the center of our Here does not mesh well, if at all, with the There of others? 

We have long ago given up trying to reintroduce sanity into public thinking and expression as we were not successful. So, Where indeed do we go to from Here? Where is that Here, that Where we so desperately seek, the one to reset us on our feet with at least a modicum of surety and confidence that at last we are indeed Here, Where life can be fathomed and at least gives a hint of possible better times within our individual and societal Heres, and Wheres  and Theres. Even as we know the truth, knowing that we are indeed the cause of our misery, we remain static. We persist in keeping true to worn out false statements of policy and faulty beliefs. 

 It is, in fact very difficult to maintain proper directional stance. It seems that almost in the same instance when we dare to feel we have found a home, to be Here, in the very next moment we are force-fed misinformation convincing us that our presumptions were wrong. Suddenly, without true respite we are forced to turn it all around again and the Here and the Where and the There become totally enmeshed, unable to be understood nor successfully defined as separate entities.  

The ground is pulled from beneath our feet. There's nothing left to hang on to, to believe in. We cannot discern a tiny bit of a positive germ able to start a healing, to generate a germ of sense and sensibility. Of true culture and civilization. Of a true America. As she was meant to be. As she should still be. 

The strength of the sane and civilized society, one true to the moral precepts which underlie it, emit a sense of comfort and reassurance to the individuals within. We are sadly lacking in that. Our pseudo leaders have openly forsaken the moral precepts once held dear. Religion is blatantly being pushed within the state, giving rise to a great shudder of fear of what might come next.     

We have lost our way. We have lost our directional sense. Too many of us have lost our morality. Our souls. Sold in the name of wealth and power and influence. At this moment we appear to be even further, ever further than ever. The Here in which we hope to reside in security, democracy and positive outlook is missing, gone unseen for lo these many a year.  

Such reassurance is gone. The tongues which speak of it are forked, and nary a word or sentence of truth emerges. All promises and statements to reassure us of our safety and progress come out twisted. Unable to be believed.      

We are lost. In the midst of a deep forest which we have allowed to grow up around us. Blocking out the light. Sapping our strength and our trust. We certainly are confused as to where exactly our position is. Where are we located? And how we. all the nations of the world, must sheathe their dripping sharp-edged tongues and weapons. Or we will remain lost. 

 Why is it so difficult for us to understand that we are all in this together. We either sink or swim together. And for those who do not know how to swim, the time for lessons is upon us.         

The questions remain. Grow ever more in   prominence.

Where are we?

How did we get There? Wherever we are. 

And what is the Here in which we find ourselves?

For too long, in all our yesterdays, throughout our todays and most likely in our tomorrows, we persist in making the same errors. Calling the wrong shots. Being blind to all that needs to be done.

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

Lord help us. 

A WORLD OF TARPS

  Tarps certainly have many uses in this world. It can be laid over a leaky roof. They can protect floors during a time of construction or home improvement. They can protect inside the house or even outside the house furniture. Simply cover them up to protect them from the hostile elements. Tarps can even protect cars from brutal sun and harsh salty air.  

 Tarps have many uses. Some are literal while others are figurative. Or even both purposes at the same time. Tarps obviously can hide the physical. What is going on behind that construction fence? Why are there no viewing holes cut on them? The lack of knowledge, to understand the reality of something piques the at first harmless curiosity. However, if no information is forthcoming, that little itch becomes the forerunner of a massive one, unable to be satisfied or cured. 

In these days too often, the bland unknown becomes a footpath into conspiracy theories and more. Until it becomes a nagging itch, ever larger and possibly generates all sorts of conspiracy plots. As ridiculous as they seem at first, these whispered thoughts gather an energy of their own and well, there we are, here we are, in the toxic atmosphere of life today.

When physical tarps are combined with mental and emotional attachments, with political purpose underlying, it is then that there is not enough calamine lotion in the world to stop the itch. It grows on what came before it. It swallows the very air around it. It leaves the observer wanting and needful of a sensible and true explanation. The more there is no response to this need, the worse it gets, particularly if there is a basis for the unease and mistrust. The entire matter takes on a life of its own. The body politic, denied the response, grows ever more suspicious and uneasy, prey for "deep" plots. The emerging possibilities grow ever more      frightening. That is when emotions begin to call the shots, and even an attempt to give answers of truth fall by the wayside. Too little too late.

One prominent example right now is the sight of hanging tarps, long and ugly, hanging down from roof to ground at the Kennedy Center. The very same center of culture demeaned by the man who dared to place his name upon its walls. No asking, no prior notice, only the dastardly deed. Actually, a violation of laws pertaining to the Center. Hijacked by a man who would not recognize truth if it rose up and slapped him in the face. Who insists on putting his name wherever and whenever the desire arises. Even to the point of destruction of much of the heritage buildings and places of the nation and/or building ones, relevant only to his self-aggrandizement and his overblown ego.

So, the question remains. What is going on behind those tarps? When they are pulled down will we see his name etched all over? Broken walls? A building torn down just as the East Wing of the White House was torn down? Will we see a giant Trump?             Possibly see a huge advertisement, expanding his sales of Trumpian merchandise, the Oval Office deemed insufficient for his purposes, for his greed?  

Worse possibility?  Even a level of probability when one takes into account the insane mind, deluded and twisted, at the helm. He has already changed much in this nation. He has laid tarps all around. He has hidden the machinations and corruption so rampant within his administration, planting weeds of ugliness all around. Strange rules and guidelines have sapped the health and energy of this nation.  The harm laid upon the population within, cuts deep into the populace. Children dying from disease long ago conquered. The armed forces laid low by epidemics of diseases that have vaccines, though now discarded by the purported Health administrators of our land.  

So much of our foundation consigned to the trash pile. All that over the years of our existence, 250 years, we have improved, moved forward, taking steps in the right direction when we mis-stepped. No longer. Civil service tests - gone. No bid contracts in place. particularly if you donate to Trump.  Just be a good old boy, and wealthy. Ever willing, perhaps even eager, to sell one's soul to the devil as manifested on this earth.    

Accept as logical and legal the instructions given to the Heads of the various departments of the government of this nation. To destroy itself. To slash through the workers. To literally disembowel itself and take all improvements to that fate.    Education. Health. Armed Services as well, as discrimination in all segments of this nation grow, as the nation's false leaders reach back to ugly past deeds and thoughts. With people not realizing that prejudice against one is prejudice against all.  

I think most awful is the accursed return of the sight of "law enforcers” chasing people. Why? These people are trying to improve their lives. Just as our ancestors - even ourselves - have done. Shared the same dreams and hopes. They take jobs that nobody wants. They build small businesses, educate their children, and add vitality to the nation's ethos and culture, the fresh blood necessary for a nation to move forward, to grow in positive manner. Are there those among these newcomers who are of criminal mind? Of course - just as there are among native born. Go after them but do not consign all into the same trash pile,  

Why are we mimicking the French gendarmes. With great enthusiasm and energy, they invaded homes of those deemed unworthy of life. Once neighbors and friends, their doctors and coworkers, the owner of a small store. All were beaten, from infant to elderly, by the ancestors of Hamas and Hezbollah who look upon all Jews as their enemies, worthy only of slaughter.

Why have we turned so backwards, so dismissive of true and worthy goals for all of us? Why have we consistently turned to false leaders who perpetuate harm on those they rule? When we have fools, leaders, bad leaders, when we allow ourselves to follow in their footsteps, there is no good awaiting us.

We must remove the tarps from our physical and emotional thoughts. We must see through to the truth. Whether we like it or not.

So it was yesterday. 

So it seems to be today.

As for tomorrow, we certainly have a lot of work ahead of us.