"My country tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty..."
So I and my classmates would sing every day right after we recited the pledge. It was automatic. It was natural, and for the most part, it was true, at least in our minds. Later on in school we would learn it was not always so, but the best fact about America, about our country, was that it would always try to do better. It was that naïve bit of learning and belief that remained with me for the rest of my life, unto today. But today, yesterday, this past weekend and in fear rippling thru my soul ever since Trump announced and dear lord, since he was elected via the Electoral College - we are now Ghost America, a shell of a country that once was. And it is our responsibility to get it back, to fight for it, to stand up for what is right, for justice - for who we are and whom we are meant to be.
We, all of us, no matter how long our family has been here in this country, have an immigration story, new or decades old. It can be celebratory or sad, poignant. It can be a story of glee and joy, or a story of what could have been. In my mind and heart, the story that sticks most in my family memory, stays with me every day in the name I bear, is the story of my great grandmother, the person about whom my Bubby could never speak without tears running down her cheeks, silent, painful tears. With my Bubby waiting at home and my Zaydie waiting to greet her and take her home, with my mom and aunt and uncle all a twitter waiting for this to happen, my great grandmother was turned away, deemed to be ineligible due to cataracts and fear she would be a charge on the public. My Zaydie had signed anything and everything put before him, taken an oath that he would support her, but she was sent back. Sent back to a Europe in turmoil, sent back to die in a crowded inhumane boxcar, sent back to a continent where Jews were slaughtered, And so, my name. I bear it proudly for this brave woman who came and tried and was returned to death.
And if you think that she was alone over the decades, here is another story of one waiting to get in to America or indeed anywhere. "They said to my father and mother, “Sell everything and run.” But we had a problem. We didn’t know where to run. There was no Israel like there is today. There was no place that you could legally go to. It was very hard to get a visa to the United States; it would take years and years. … We felt something was coming, but we couldn’t help ourselves. The doors of the world were closed to us.'
This woman was the grandmother of Jared Kushner who has noticeably remained silent through all this. What would this woman have said if she had been alive today? Jared Kushner - go look in the mirror. Have at least a bit of self respect or have you entirely sold your soul to your father in law for a bit of power. Remember the judgement that always comes around, here and in the world to come.
Where are the people of courage that we need? Where are the law enforcement people who know that to enforce this is wrong? Well, we do have some. We have an Acting US Attorney General who refused to carry out these orders for she said “At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful,”
And so she was fired and replaced by a morally deficient man who would fit into a Nazi Germany or a Fascist America. No backbone there to stand up for what is right. And so what will we have now, the judges of fascism who said they were merely enforcing the law, forgetting that moral law, right, comes before wrong. We must support all those officials who are doing the right thing and the officers who will refuse to commit the moral sins. We will not allow our gendarmerie to round up the innocents. No!! Not here!! No more!!
And so we have the rest of the world turning their backs on us and soon it will not matter about trade pacts or anything else for no one will have dealings with us. Yes, there is Islamic extremism and terrorism. Yes, they have to be prevented from entering the country, but walls around us and banning all immigration is not the way to go and leads to only more hatred and no success for it engenders more extremism and feelings of revenge. Imagine the minds of those waiting for a grandmother or a spouse or children they have not seen and imagine the minds of those caught inside, handcuffed!!, forced to sign papers that they could not understand, signing away their rights to enter the country - ever! What goes through the minds and hearts and what awful seeds might be planted. We hope that the sight of thousands of people protesting and the services of lawyers waiting to help, the insistence on follow through- hopefully that will cancel out at least some of the hatred found inside this Executive Order.
And yet the hatred and the bigotry seem to have no end here. Already an Executive Order discriminating against the LGBTQ as if they are not worthy of peoplehood, or lawful protection against discrimination. already there is talk of it. And the basis of it all - religious and religion. So the Christians come in first despite most Christian sects horrified over what has been done? Religion again as a tool of horror? Again? Will we ever learn?
I am afraid not for yesterday it seemed that an ESPN anchor was feeling sorry for the "old people and the kids" who had to walk far in airports due to protesters and that perhaps there could have been less disruptive protests. Truly. I kid you not. Will someone please enlighten her as to the meaning and purpose of protests and the way that messages get thru? Someone? Anyone?
And by the way, will someone please pass the news to that crazy man in the White House, yes, the man who decided to watch a movie in the midst of all this - Finding Dory - anyway, that yup, there must have been duplicity in the election for here we have Phillips, the man who is ranting about voter fraud - he is registered in three states!! Yup, perhaps we need to rescind the election for it seems that duplicity seems to have been a hallmark of one side in particular. Should we check with Putin? Again, I truly believe that for many reasons, this election is invalid and certainly that man purportedly elected is incapable in any manner of carrying out the duties of his office - certainly not in a sane manner.
Ghost America. The land where justice once reigned and compromise and talk were the paths to tread. America, where immigrants were welcomed in and even if not so warmly, did become part and parcel of America's fabric and became Presidents and sanitation engineers, shopkeepers and professors, and yes, even criminals, but that did not mean that we excised any person whose nationality was the same! Ghost America, where civil rights was fought for, hard and relentlessly and where we evidently have to fight for it again. Ghost America where the Constitution is weeping in the National Archives. Ghost America, ruled by a fascist attempting to cement his takeover of the country. Ghost America. Will we allow this to be? It is not up to the others to make sure. It is up to us, each and every one of us. You and me.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
CRISIS CRISIS CRISIS
I almost do not know where to start this morning or where to go. That is partly because I do not know whether we in this country know where we are going either and partly because I am just rendered speechless by this weekend's happenings. To put it bluntly, we are exactly where I feared we would go, but not so quickly and I devoutedly wished that it would have been resolved before reaching this crisis point. Frankly, depending on how we solve this issue, we are looking either at the future of a United States or we are looking at its demise. That is it on a pure and simple level.
We have indeed reached a constitutional crisis. Are we going to be governed by the law, by the three branches of government and obedience to the courts and through the courts follow a path to change or are we going to be governed by a demagogue who has made no effort to hide his ultimate plans and goals - the takeover of this government, of this country, well amplified by his manic use of Executive Orders, his infantile tantrums like any self respecting demagogue has and displays, his bullying tactics, his threats, and his all around nastiness. Not the least of it all is the fact that basically he is an ignoramus, so different from the cultured people who have been our presidents and even the worst of them have never reached this pathetic level.
The man does not read and therefore does not understand anything in depth. He has no functioning brains other than what he wants means it all to him and his advisers are his runners who have lost control of him and instead are sycophantically fawning all over him and giving him the wrong clues. Wrong!! Wrong!!
The world is not in the best shape it has been in but it is not a horrible mess. People are still talking to each other, willing to negotiate and yes, people are often talking in shouts and capital letters, especially the moron who keeps tweeting, but there are still ears open and quiet talks going on without the bravado of public faces. But not this guy,., nope, not him.
When the executive branch refuses to abide by the judicial branch there is a constitutional crisis. When the law enforcement officers refuse to obey those judicial rulings, openly refuse, there is a crisis and not only constitutional but moral. These are the same law enforcement personnel who are supposed to keep us safe - or are they, have they, become the personal enforcement goons of the Trump administration. Have they lost the moral principles that should tell them that what they were told to do was wrong, was evil and refuse to do so. Orders that are morally wrong are NOT, emphatically so, not legal, or lawful or moral or enforceable by all civilized law and yet, over this weekend we had not such a little taste of the possible future of our country and we did not like it.
Thank G-d we had thousands of people willing to stand up and protest, we had businesses that stood up for the moral law, watched out for their employees, promised to hire immigrants, went to court and stood in crowds and shouted, spontaneously, with no time to organize and with only moral principles to guide us.
We had businesses who were brave and spoke out - "We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe.
This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community. "
We even had the Koch brothers who said -
“We believe it is possible to keep Americans safe without excluding people who wish to come here to contribute and pursue a better life for their families. The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” said Hooks, the co-chairman of the Koch network. "Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of free and open societies.”
His very supporters in his rush to office. We even finally had some Republicans back off, though too weakly for it to be of strong import. Courage seems to have been lacking over this weekend and in the week prior to this.
A law professor stated that "Obedience to specific court orders is what keeps us from being a banana republic or fascist dictatorship. That's really a big deal."
Another said, "The chaos just doesn't risk a constitutional crisis. Assuming the report is accurate, it creates one.....outright defiance can only be deemed disrespect for the rule of law."
We cannot say that we were unaware of this possibility. I am but one of many voices, most far more worldly and knowledgeable than I, who have shouted this warning from the hilltops, from the mountains tops and from wherever we found the opportunity. But people have forgotten their moral foundations, their moral courage, and have looked out for themselves, Republican politicians are worried about their seats? There will be no seats other than puppet seats if this continues. There will be a police state run by bigots and haters like Bannon and in the White House we will have an insane man who keeps on tweeting in the mistaken feeling that he is worth anything. He is not and there is no time better than now to declare him unfit and unable to discharge properly the responsibilities of his office and to follow up on that and make sure that the replacement figure understands that too and that we will not stand for this any longer. The people will have spoken.
The United States is a democracy and we, the people, have no wish to change that. Sure, we can disagree on issues, but surely, we have reached a point where we can do it better than this way. This hatred, this arrogance have all arisen from this man and his henchmen. We need to turn them aside and reassure the world, reassure ourselves that we will do better, that we do not value hate as a principle of government, that we respect the law and change it via the courts and legal ways.
There is no other path to go to for us. Either we reject this one that we are now on or we are doomed. Doomed. Taste that on your tongue and in your heart. Feel that in your soul. Look at your kids and grandkids and see what you feel when you do. Are you reassured of their life in a democracy or can you think, see, them living in a poor and battered country where to see the truth is to live a lie, where there is no freedom, no hope, no anything but drudgery and lies.
I know where I stand. Where are you?
We have indeed reached a constitutional crisis. Are we going to be governed by the law, by the three branches of government and obedience to the courts and through the courts follow a path to change or are we going to be governed by a demagogue who has made no effort to hide his ultimate plans and goals - the takeover of this government, of this country, well amplified by his manic use of Executive Orders, his infantile tantrums like any self respecting demagogue has and displays, his bullying tactics, his threats, and his all around nastiness. Not the least of it all is the fact that basically he is an ignoramus, so different from the cultured people who have been our presidents and even the worst of them have never reached this pathetic level.
The man does not read and therefore does not understand anything in depth. He has no functioning brains other than what he wants means it all to him and his advisers are his runners who have lost control of him and instead are sycophantically fawning all over him and giving him the wrong clues. Wrong!! Wrong!!
The world is not in the best shape it has been in but it is not a horrible mess. People are still talking to each other, willing to negotiate and yes, people are often talking in shouts and capital letters, especially the moron who keeps tweeting, but there are still ears open and quiet talks going on without the bravado of public faces. But not this guy,., nope, not him.
When the executive branch refuses to abide by the judicial branch there is a constitutional crisis. When the law enforcement officers refuse to obey those judicial rulings, openly refuse, there is a crisis and not only constitutional but moral. These are the same law enforcement personnel who are supposed to keep us safe - or are they, have they, become the personal enforcement goons of the Trump administration. Have they lost the moral principles that should tell them that what they were told to do was wrong, was evil and refuse to do so. Orders that are morally wrong are NOT, emphatically so, not legal, or lawful or moral or enforceable by all civilized law and yet, over this weekend we had not such a little taste of the possible future of our country and we did not like it.
Thank G-d we had thousands of people willing to stand up and protest, we had businesses that stood up for the moral law, watched out for their employees, promised to hire immigrants, went to court and stood in crowds and shouted, spontaneously, with no time to organize and with only moral principles to guide us.
We had businesses who were brave and spoke out - "We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe.
This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community. "
We even had the Koch brothers who said -
“We believe it is possible to keep Americans safe without excluding people who wish to come here to contribute and pursue a better life for their families. The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” said Hooks, the co-chairman of the Koch network. "Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. This is a hallmark of free and open societies.”
His very supporters in his rush to office. We even finally had some Republicans back off, though too weakly for it to be of strong import. Courage seems to have been lacking over this weekend and in the week prior to this.
A law professor stated that "Obedience to specific court orders is what keeps us from being a banana republic or fascist dictatorship. That's really a big deal."
Another said, "The chaos just doesn't risk a constitutional crisis. Assuming the report is accurate, it creates one.....outright defiance can only be deemed disrespect for the rule of law."
We cannot say that we were unaware of this possibility. I am but one of many voices, most far more worldly and knowledgeable than I, who have shouted this warning from the hilltops, from the mountains tops and from wherever we found the opportunity. But people have forgotten their moral foundations, their moral courage, and have looked out for themselves, Republican politicians are worried about their seats? There will be no seats other than puppet seats if this continues. There will be a police state run by bigots and haters like Bannon and in the White House we will have an insane man who keeps on tweeting in the mistaken feeling that he is worth anything. He is not and there is no time better than now to declare him unfit and unable to discharge properly the responsibilities of his office and to follow up on that and make sure that the replacement figure understands that too and that we will not stand for this any longer. The people will have spoken.
The United States is a democracy and we, the people, have no wish to change that. Sure, we can disagree on issues, but surely, we have reached a point where we can do it better than this way. This hatred, this arrogance have all arisen from this man and his henchmen. We need to turn them aside and reassure the world, reassure ourselves that we will do better, that we do not value hate as a principle of government, that we respect the law and change it via the courts and legal ways.
There is no other path to go to for us. Either we reject this one that we are now on or we are doomed. Doomed. Taste that on your tongue and in your heart. Feel that in your soul. Look at your kids and grandkids and see what you feel when you do. Are you reassured of their life in a democracy or can you think, see, them living in a poor and battered country where to see the truth is to live a lie, where there is no freedom, no hope, no anything but drudgery and lies.
I know where I stand. Where are you?
Sunday, January 29, 2017
NAILS ON CHALKBOARDS
Remember that sound? Remember how shoulders went up at that sound, how people cringed? Nerves were shocked and yet, we seem to have forgotten it. White boards and smooth markers, and now smart boards and we have forgotten the sound, that warning sound that told us we were doing something wrong and had better shift something.
Well, now my shoulders are up by my ears and sleep is never forthcoming for all I see and hear in my mind and in my inner eyes is the horror of demagoguery and hatred alive and well in my country, supported by no others than by a president and his blind and sometimes not so blind followers. Always a teacher and always a reader, visions of 1984, Brave New World, It Can't Happen Here? by Sinclair Lewis in 1935, numerous novels and non fiction books, The Man in the High Castle - and the list goes on. I think of the units on the Holocaust in my classroom, of the plays the eighth graders put on including a scary one where it WAS happening here and I wonder how we are now at the point we are.
Have we all lost our ability to think and to see, to truly see what is going on around us? Have we had to reach this point where the United States has grown backwards, returned to these days - "a long and shameful history in this country of barring immigrants based on where they came from. Starting in the late 19th century, laws excluded all Chinese, almost all Japanese, then all Asians in the so-called Asiatic Barred Zone. Finally, in 1924, Congress created a comprehensive “national-origins system,” skewing immigration quotas to benefit Western Europeans and to exclude most Eastern Europeans, almost all Asians, and Africans." Have we, as Jews, forgotten how our people were turned away at the very gates of entry into this country and sent back to their deaths? How have we forgotten that and worse; how have we approved the actions and the election of one who suborns this hatred and prejudice?
My kids out there, I plead with you to think, to feel, to hear the scratching on the blackboards. Hear the screams and the cries, of outrage, of hurt, of terror, and see the protests at the airports and other points of entry and worst of all - see how people so quickly fall in line and follow these prejudiced and illegal rulings. Just following orders, were they? Have we not heard that before? Have we not grown out and above that? Well, obviously not so I wonder, what would have happened, what would have been avoided if in 1885 a German immigrant named Trump would have been turned away due to the prejudice at that time to Irish and German immigrants. Would we have been spared the Trump we now have? This same Trump whose ancestor had to pretend he was Swedish rather than German?
And yet there is hope, perhaps a bit of dulling of the screeching on the boards. Two judges had the moral courage to block the deportations and to halt this right now. There are those who are questioning its legality for discrimination in this area was specifically banned via the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It will be taken up in the courts and shamefully so will have the Justice Department of our own country arguing to defend this horrific and shameful order, issued no less on a day that commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On that same day, Trump released his hate filled and hate propelled Executive Order, yet another one in his demagogic manner or ruling. And this on the same day when he "disremembers" to mention Jews as victims of the Holocaust. Really? Truly?
Are we to be shamed by the whole world as Trudeau of Canada says he will welcome the refugees? Are we to garner more hatred from the people of the world as we turn our backs to them and on our own history? From the NBA to Google, to families split apart to people who worked for us when we were fighting in their land - where does it stop? Where? San Diego, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, LA, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Newark - are we going to have a civil war over this and other issues that flow forth from this hate filled office of the President?
"And this is the forbidden truth, the unpleasant taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices." Joyce Carol Oates
Are we going to become active participants to this horror? Are we forgetting that hatred does not end? That it extends itself into all corners? Now no Moslems from seven countries - and notice not from countries where Trump has business holdings, not from Saudi Arabia from whence the 9/11 hijackers originated - that Christians from there can enter, so religious preference is alive and well in the small and evil minds that profess to be Americans. Where will we be - the Jews - who have the somewhat dubious honor of being scapegoated throughout history and the millennia and do not think that Ivanka and Jared will be any better off. Court Jews go down with the rest. Never forget that. Never!
A columnist writes "Mr. President, please remember: This is a country built by refugees and immigrants, your ancestors and mine. When we bar them and vilify them, we shame our own roots. "My every nerve screams out that we must stop this, halt it in its tracks. In all honesty, I am no fan of Moslems or Islam and feel that it has done much to wrong the world, but I would stand today with the protesters for this is simply wrong and selfishly, I also know that it does not stop here. It never does! Nor can we condemn a whole group of people for the sins of the few. We need to extend hands, teach and educate and for heaven's sake - no, for all our sakes - learn to get along. Not go along with these hateful measures. Not go along with a man who is now being called out as mentally off balance, as suffering from malignant narcissism. I have long stated that he has a mental condition, that he needs to be examined, that his papers need to be forthcoming. I have long shown how he is following every step of an ambitious demagogue, from deflecting attention with the Big Lie as he steals another precious right from us, as he governs by dictat and fiat rather than by our system, as he bullies and terrifies people and as grown men succumb to his influence and control and contradict themselves with his every shift.
Please, all of you out there, remember what you should have learned in school, what history has taught us, what we have learned about propaganda and its insidious effect on us. Think and think and think. Hear those scratches. Feel those shoulders and backs tense up. Do not close your ears and your minds for these scratches will be heard and felt, insistently and harmfully. These terrible actions, these terrible feelings, drip down through our society and these smaller hate filled people are to be found all over and it is all over that we must resist, be it the nasty person in line to the nasty person ruling the Village. Why can we not use our humanity rather than our savagery?
May the good Lord watch over us now for if ever we were in need of guidance, it surely is now. I, for one, am frightened and I believe there are many who agree with me and that same feeling. This is not the America we have come to expect nor the America that is true to its guiding and founding principles. Shame on us, shame of those who go along. Your turn is next for history tells us so.
Two applicable quotes from related article.
“Anyone who says #WeRemember or #NeverAgain while sitting silently while the US closes its doors is full of sh-t,” he tweeted Thursday.)
"it was easy to draw comparisons between the fate of those aboard the St. Louis and, fewer than three generations later, the indefinite suspension of refugees from Syria.
The current situation in Syria is “probably the easiest example in the world today of people being massacred by a political tyrant,” Hathaway said. “That we would not read the tea leaves of history and understand that the people fleeing are the enemies of our enemy is beyond comprehension to me.”
To do nothing, to say nothing, to go along with this and even partake of it, is to be guilty of it. You have just agreed to ethnic cleansing according to race, religion and national origin. Now go look in the mirror and see if you like what you see.
Well, now my shoulders are up by my ears and sleep is never forthcoming for all I see and hear in my mind and in my inner eyes is the horror of demagoguery and hatred alive and well in my country, supported by no others than by a president and his blind and sometimes not so blind followers. Always a teacher and always a reader, visions of 1984, Brave New World, It Can't Happen Here? by Sinclair Lewis in 1935, numerous novels and non fiction books, The Man in the High Castle - and the list goes on. I think of the units on the Holocaust in my classroom, of the plays the eighth graders put on including a scary one where it WAS happening here and I wonder how we are now at the point we are.
Have we all lost our ability to think and to see, to truly see what is going on around us? Have we had to reach this point where the United States has grown backwards, returned to these days - "a long and shameful history in this country of barring immigrants based on where they came from. Starting in the late 19th century, laws excluded all Chinese, almost all Japanese, then all Asians in the so-called Asiatic Barred Zone. Finally, in 1924, Congress created a comprehensive “national-origins system,” skewing immigration quotas to benefit Western Europeans and to exclude most Eastern Europeans, almost all Asians, and Africans." Have we, as Jews, forgotten how our people were turned away at the very gates of entry into this country and sent back to their deaths? How have we forgotten that and worse; how have we approved the actions and the election of one who suborns this hatred and prejudice?
My kids out there, I plead with you to think, to feel, to hear the scratching on the blackboards. Hear the screams and the cries, of outrage, of hurt, of terror, and see the protests at the airports and other points of entry and worst of all - see how people so quickly fall in line and follow these prejudiced and illegal rulings. Just following orders, were they? Have we not heard that before? Have we not grown out and above that? Well, obviously not so I wonder, what would have happened, what would have been avoided if in 1885 a German immigrant named Trump would have been turned away due to the prejudice at that time to Irish and German immigrants. Would we have been spared the Trump we now have? This same Trump whose ancestor had to pretend he was Swedish rather than German?
And yet there is hope, perhaps a bit of dulling of the screeching on the boards. Two judges had the moral courage to block the deportations and to halt this right now. There are those who are questioning its legality for discrimination in this area was specifically banned via the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It will be taken up in the courts and shamefully so will have the Justice Department of our own country arguing to defend this horrific and shameful order, issued no less on a day that commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On that same day, Trump released his hate filled and hate propelled Executive Order, yet another one in his demagogic manner or ruling. And this on the same day when he "disremembers" to mention Jews as victims of the Holocaust. Really? Truly?
Are we to be shamed by the whole world as Trudeau of Canada says he will welcome the refugees? Are we to garner more hatred from the people of the world as we turn our backs to them and on our own history? From the NBA to Google, to families split apart to people who worked for us when we were fighting in their land - where does it stop? Where? San Diego, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, LA, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Newark - are we going to have a civil war over this and other issues that flow forth from this hate filled office of the President?
"And this is the forbidden truth, the unpleasant taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices." Joyce Carol Oates
Are we going to become active participants to this horror? Are we forgetting that hatred does not end? That it extends itself into all corners? Now no Moslems from seven countries - and notice not from countries where Trump has business holdings, not from Saudi Arabia from whence the 9/11 hijackers originated - that Christians from there can enter, so religious preference is alive and well in the small and evil minds that profess to be Americans. Where will we be - the Jews - who have the somewhat dubious honor of being scapegoated throughout history and the millennia and do not think that Ivanka and Jared will be any better off. Court Jews go down with the rest. Never forget that. Never!
A columnist writes "Mr. President, please remember: This is a country built by refugees and immigrants, your ancestors and mine. When we bar them and vilify them, we shame our own roots. "My every nerve screams out that we must stop this, halt it in its tracks. In all honesty, I am no fan of Moslems or Islam and feel that it has done much to wrong the world, but I would stand today with the protesters for this is simply wrong and selfishly, I also know that it does not stop here. It never does! Nor can we condemn a whole group of people for the sins of the few. We need to extend hands, teach and educate and for heaven's sake - no, for all our sakes - learn to get along. Not go along with these hateful measures. Not go along with a man who is now being called out as mentally off balance, as suffering from malignant narcissism. I have long stated that he has a mental condition, that he needs to be examined, that his papers need to be forthcoming. I have long shown how he is following every step of an ambitious demagogue, from deflecting attention with the Big Lie as he steals another precious right from us, as he governs by dictat and fiat rather than by our system, as he bullies and terrifies people and as grown men succumb to his influence and control and contradict themselves with his every shift.
Please, all of you out there, remember what you should have learned in school, what history has taught us, what we have learned about propaganda and its insidious effect on us. Think and think and think. Hear those scratches. Feel those shoulders and backs tense up. Do not close your ears and your minds for these scratches will be heard and felt, insistently and harmfully. These terrible actions, these terrible feelings, drip down through our society and these smaller hate filled people are to be found all over and it is all over that we must resist, be it the nasty person in line to the nasty person ruling the Village. Why can we not use our humanity rather than our savagery?
May the good Lord watch over us now for if ever we were in need of guidance, it surely is now. I, for one, am frightened and I believe there are many who agree with me and that same feeling. This is not the America we have come to expect nor the America that is true to its guiding and founding principles. Shame on us, shame of those who go along. Your turn is next for history tells us so.
Two applicable quotes from related article.
“Anyone who says #WeRemember or #NeverAgain while sitting silently while the US closes its doors is full of sh-t,” he tweeted Thursday.)
"it was easy to draw comparisons between the fate of those aboard the St. Louis and, fewer than three generations later, the indefinite suspension of refugees from Syria.
The current situation in Syria is “probably the easiest example in the world today of people being massacred by a political tyrant,” Hathaway said. “That we would not read the tea leaves of history and understand that the people fleeing are the enemies of our enemy is beyond comprehension to me.”
To do nothing, to say nothing, to go along with this and even partake of it, is to be guilty of it. You have just agreed to ethnic cleansing according to race, religion and national origin. Now go look in the mirror and see if you like what you see.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Don't be fooled. Atlantic Broadband is not the good deal that David Israel would have us believe
Just listen and read carefully and you will see that David Israel is trying, again, to pull the wool over our heads.
Above this post is a post of a letter sent by our lawyer to David Israel which basically points out to him that he is pushing a deal that is no longer viable with CSI.
And, of course, that is ignoring that the only Company that is bidding on this is Atlantic Broadband, and nobody else.
So what is actually happening here is that UCO has no right to strike a deal for anything else except for TV. They have no mandate to do anything else.
So the facts are this. This is a big deal. Israel is trying to force the CV Community to accept his plans for CSI payments, his plan for who we use for TV, WiFi and telephone access thru the TV Provider.
David Israel has no right to force us to take his favorite TV provider. He certainly has no right to force us to select his choice. He certainly has no right to deny bidding opportunity to Comcast and any other viable bidders.
So you may ask "Whats in it for David?" He is pushing real hard for this Canadian Company. Maybe too hard.
Above this post is a post of a letter sent by our lawyer to David Israel which basically points out to him that he is pushing a deal that is no longer viable with CSI.
And, of course, that is ignoring that the only Company that is bidding on this is Atlantic Broadband, and nobody else.
So what is actually happening here is that UCO has no right to strike a deal for anything else except for TV. They have no mandate to do anything else.
So the facts are this. This is a big deal. Israel is trying to force the CV Community to accept his plans for CSI payments, his plan for who we use for TV, WiFi and telephone access thru the TV Provider.
David Israel has no right to force us to take his favorite TV provider. He certainly has no right to force us to select his choice. He certainly has no right to deny bidding opportunity to Comcast and any other viable bidders.
So you may ask "Whats in it for David?" He is pushing real hard for this Canadian Company. Maybe too hard.
Friday, January 27, 2017
TIME TO THINK
I had to stop and breathe last nite as I read something my daughter sent to me via messenger, a posting on Facebook which discussed the use of the 25th Amendment in deposing a sitting president. Wow! So others have been thinking about this too. Makes me feel a bit better to know that better brains than I have thought on this topic, have reached the same conclusions I have, that this man is unfit to be in office and needs to go.
However, it is not so simple. You see, narcissism or sociopathy or erratic behavior or bipolar or simple plain nuttiness is not the way to proceed. It needs to follow steps outlined in the law. Not an easy thing to do what with his party members running scared of the big hulking bully and his threats. They worry over losing their jobs but what about losing our country and all it stands for, all it has meant all these years since its founding? Where does that all count? But what we have instead are grown men giggling nervously, making excuses or so help me G-d, calling Trump the Moses who is going to lead us into the Promised Land!! I kid you not. Would that be the land of a nuclear scarred landscape as the bipolar "leader' could not shut his mouth or control his fingers tweeting away or his stupid mouth that gets shouted out every 60 seconds?!
Now we have the first major crisis that we have driven into, steered by his erraticism. We have insulted a major ally, a major trade partner, a nation which has close ties to many of our citizens and hard workers and a nation and trade partner that has great influence on our job market. Now his pride, his moronic and overblown pride has caused great dissension there and even amongst nations of the world what with his other behaviorisms.
A border wall. Paid for by whom? "Fortress America". Are you all seeing this? Do we understand what this all portends? Never mind that Corona beer will now cost more, what we have here is a script for a disaster, one that has already begun. So first a 20% import tax and then, no, it has to wait, too busy signing other Executive Orders. And let's just keep pumping out outrageous statements like threats to sanctuary cities which cannot possibly live in reality, especially when cities and towns who tried restrictive laws targeting immigrants found themselves on the losing end of this all and left with a huge bill.
How do we deal with a man who speaks in terms of a world mess and American carnage in every area he can possibly apply that word to. How to deal with a man who makes no sense, who demands utter and complete obedience. Does he think he is the divinely appointed ruler of America? Actually, within his sick mind I believe he truly does believe that and does not even stop to think when he speaks, just opens and blasts off, certain he is telling us of divine wishes and demands.
And how many more governmental departments is he going to muzzle, shut down, demand utter and complete obedience? For how long will we have to listen to his minions tell the media to shut their mouths! Really? Is that not their job and since the case of Peter Zenger way back in colonial times, freedom of the press, freedom to criticize governmental officials has been on the books, legal, allowable and even treasured. Where does this dude come off trying to cancel it all. This Fortress America is not to the liking of most people and even his backers are beginning to be uncertain and remember -tyranny is the opposite of a guarantee of long life in a government. Ask the people who died during many "nights of the long knives" under various demagogues, many of whom Trump admires.
Folks, this guy has got to go. Either investigate and find his misdeeds as would be exposed in his tax returns, or prosecute for conflict of interests as he is now in full flagrant observation as soon as he accepted the first dollar for a room in his hotel from China, or for any other misdeed and simply for the fact that he is 25th Amendment incapable of carrying out the responsibilities and charges of his office.
If we intend to keep our country, if we intend to keep the world intact, if we intend to keep our lives on a sane and balanced plane - if we hope for all that - impeachment or deposing and removal from office for cause. But as Henry II wondered whether someone would rid him of his trouble in the form of Thomas a Becket, we can wonder here who has the courage to stand up to Trump, remove him via legal means, who needs to realize that his job will not be secure as the voters will show in the next election.
The situation is not funny any longer. Yes, one can laugh at Trump and his mannerisms. Lindsay Graham can poke fun of this Mexican mess by saying "Mucho sad". But in reality, it is far worse than that and quickly reaching the point of no return. Rather than laughing now, there is a feeling of horror. One more point. Last nite I received a phone call from a woman whom I have never met or even heard of until my phone rang. For some reason I answered even though I usually do not answer an unfamiliar name. This is a person who lives near us, not in the Village, who states that she is a senior citizen and she "just cannot stand it any more and has to do something!" She found my name in a Palm Beach Post article, looked me up and hence the call. I assured her we will be doing "something" and will include her in but is that what we are up to now in this country? Are we now up to suborning our senior citizens? Are we at that point where we have to reactivate the past generation of activists, we who fought the war, who fought for women's rights, who still fight the battles and the war?
Where are we going and in fact, where are we at now? Someone? Anyone? Words of wisdom and advice and please do not tell me we have got give him a chance. For what? To do what? Enough! Wrong!! Oh, and oops, do not forget those voter fraud intimations, turns out that the only people uncovered so far as to being double registered are.....Bannon, Mnuchin, Tiffany Trump and Jared Kushner. Uh huh!! Sad, so very sad for us all.
However, it is not so simple. You see, narcissism or sociopathy or erratic behavior or bipolar or simple plain nuttiness is not the way to proceed. It needs to follow steps outlined in the law. Not an easy thing to do what with his party members running scared of the big hulking bully and his threats. They worry over losing their jobs but what about losing our country and all it stands for, all it has meant all these years since its founding? Where does that all count? But what we have instead are grown men giggling nervously, making excuses or so help me G-d, calling Trump the Moses who is going to lead us into the Promised Land!! I kid you not. Would that be the land of a nuclear scarred landscape as the bipolar "leader' could not shut his mouth or control his fingers tweeting away or his stupid mouth that gets shouted out every 60 seconds?!
Now we have the first major crisis that we have driven into, steered by his erraticism. We have insulted a major ally, a major trade partner, a nation which has close ties to many of our citizens and hard workers and a nation and trade partner that has great influence on our job market. Now his pride, his moronic and overblown pride has caused great dissension there and even amongst nations of the world what with his other behaviorisms.
A border wall. Paid for by whom? "Fortress America". Are you all seeing this? Do we understand what this all portends? Never mind that Corona beer will now cost more, what we have here is a script for a disaster, one that has already begun. So first a 20% import tax and then, no, it has to wait, too busy signing other Executive Orders. And let's just keep pumping out outrageous statements like threats to sanctuary cities which cannot possibly live in reality, especially when cities and towns who tried restrictive laws targeting immigrants found themselves on the losing end of this all and left with a huge bill.
How do we deal with a man who speaks in terms of a world mess and American carnage in every area he can possibly apply that word to. How to deal with a man who makes no sense, who demands utter and complete obedience. Does he think he is the divinely appointed ruler of America? Actually, within his sick mind I believe he truly does believe that and does not even stop to think when he speaks, just opens and blasts off, certain he is telling us of divine wishes and demands.
And how many more governmental departments is he going to muzzle, shut down, demand utter and complete obedience? For how long will we have to listen to his minions tell the media to shut their mouths! Really? Is that not their job and since the case of Peter Zenger way back in colonial times, freedom of the press, freedom to criticize governmental officials has been on the books, legal, allowable and even treasured. Where does this dude come off trying to cancel it all. This Fortress America is not to the liking of most people and even his backers are beginning to be uncertain and remember -tyranny is the opposite of a guarantee of long life in a government. Ask the people who died during many "nights of the long knives" under various demagogues, many of whom Trump admires.
Folks, this guy has got to go. Either investigate and find his misdeeds as would be exposed in his tax returns, or prosecute for conflict of interests as he is now in full flagrant observation as soon as he accepted the first dollar for a room in his hotel from China, or for any other misdeed and simply for the fact that he is 25th Amendment incapable of carrying out the responsibilities and charges of his office.
If we intend to keep our country, if we intend to keep the world intact, if we intend to keep our lives on a sane and balanced plane - if we hope for all that - impeachment or deposing and removal from office for cause. But as Henry II wondered whether someone would rid him of his trouble in the form of Thomas a Becket, we can wonder here who has the courage to stand up to Trump, remove him via legal means, who needs to realize that his job will not be secure as the voters will show in the next election.
The situation is not funny any longer. Yes, one can laugh at Trump and his mannerisms. Lindsay Graham can poke fun of this Mexican mess by saying "Mucho sad". But in reality, it is far worse than that and quickly reaching the point of no return. Rather than laughing now, there is a feeling of horror. One more point. Last nite I received a phone call from a woman whom I have never met or even heard of until my phone rang. For some reason I answered even though I usually do not answer an unfamiliar name. This is a person who lives near us, not in the Village, who states that she is a senior citizen and she "just cannot stand it any more and has to do something!" She found my name in a Palm Beach Post article, looked me up and hence the call. I assured her we will be doing "something" and will include her in but is that what we are up to now in this country? Are we now up to suborning our senior citizens? Are we at that point where we have to reactivate the past generation of activists, we who fought the war, who fought for women's rights, who still fight the battles and the war?
Where are we going and in fact, where are we at now? Someone? Anyone? Words of wisdom and advice and please do not tell me we have got give him a chance. For what? To do what? Enough! Wrong!! Oh, and oops, do not forget those voter fraud intimations, turns out that the only people uncovered so far as to being double registered are.....Bannon, Mnuchin, Tiffany Trump and Jared Kushner. Uh huh!! Sad, so very sad for us all.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
MY NIGHTMARE - YOURS TOO!!
I woke up screaming, shouting "no, no, no!" and found that waking up was the worst part of the nightmare for it was real, a living nightmare with no path to escape.
The man is crazy, certifiably so and basically, so are those who follow him down his path - that, or are just as evil as he is and choose to remain so.
So now we are to have government by Executive Order, with the real time image of a weird smirk on a weird looking dude with a mop of orange hair - cannot be real - signing away with a frantic pen and muttering to himself the whole time, channeling the witch and the wizard.
Okay, so time to make plans. Let's go north - but uh oh, looks like Canada is building a wall and sending us the bill! So let's go south, before the wall is built but guess what? Mexico says no more Americans allowed in. East, that's it. East. Splash! That was the Atlantic. So....West, young man, west - but oops, splash again - the Pacific. Where to go, where to go? Back south again and take a boat to Cuba!! Got it!!
Feeling paranoid, like people are watching but what can one expect when the Chief Executive states in a manic tone and interview that his speech was great, that people just loved it, that the CIA audience gave him a standing ovation, they loved it, they just loved it and ranted on and on. And forget about opposing him for it seems that all the big dudes of America have grown chicken feathers and have other parts of their anatomy shrink in direct proportion as they wither under this crazy man's threats. After all, he wants to open the black site prisons again and waterboard once more. Torture is now in fashion again!!
So who is left to protest or are we now in the same situation as the Pastor in Nazi Germany where no one was left. Well, the millions of people last Saturday show that we have the women, so many women and we have the right thinking people who support them and are protesting the policies of that maniac who should be deposed, I believe, according to the 25th Amendment - I could be wrong on which one it is.
McCain says he will oppose Trump but has approved Tillerson so what is the point of blather and words if when push comes to shove they cave, like Rubio. Actions speak louder than words, especially in this situation.
And in the government? Well, we have more people having the courage of their convictions and they are resigning, refusing to work with that man, refusing to go along and get along. Not for them the selling of their souls. Would that more people would think that way, but no, we have the likes of Rand Paul who says that he has the magic plan that will give people the healthcare they need. They will get a $5,000 infusion into a health savings account. Wow! Really? Has he seen any medical bills lately? I have and that covers just about two pills and a bandaid and maybe half a night in a hospital bed! And just about forget it if you were unemployed and could not keep up your coverage and whoa! had an pre-existing condition. - just die already. Don't drag it out and make it hard on everyone.
What about international standing? Well. Mexico is starting to fight back with its announced Mexico First attitude and they are right, 100%. And as Trump screws women all over again with his antediluvian banning of all funds nationally and internationally re abortion funding, thinking that will stop them! Wrong! Wrong! Sad!! It will only send them to back alley abortionists and death and pain and infection and once again highlights Trump's misogyny! So he can put his two fingers together all he wants but what he really needs to see are the fingers flipping at him! The Netherlands has stepped up to the plate with funding to make up for this idiocy and G-d willing other countries will step up too. Hey, he is blocking all immigrants and now tiny Israel, surrounded by enemies, is taking in the children of these enemies, the Syrian orphans, into homes and schools, caring for them, allowing them a path to citizenship but we here, oh no, no more immigrants, no more American principles, no more Founding Fathers ideas. Just torture away, much better idea!
So we have the environment being sold down the river. We have a 138K gallon spill in Idaho but what the hey, let the pipelines go on. Screw the Sioux and all Americans. No more federal regulations to help the workers. Let the Fat Cats reign! No more oversight of governmental officials for they are much too busy supervising their own fortunes to pay attention to the needs of the people or pay taxes or reveal any personal information, nope, too busy. And now gay sex is being likened to bestiality and incest, child pornography and the list goes on and in North Carolina, if one is a lesbian, well, lesbianism is listed as one of your medical conditions, supposedly for your own good!! And one of the possible nominees for the Supreme Court goes right along with these statements and feelings and attitudes. G-d help us if we do not do something to stop this.
Instead we will now have the era of Mad Donald, the consummate liar and here are words that express it far better than I do.
The man is crazy, certifiably so and basically, so are those who follow him down his path - that, or are just as evil as he is and choose to remain so.
So now we are to have government by Executive Order, with the real time image of a weird smirk on a weird looking dude with a mop of orange hair - cannot be real - signing away with a frantic pen and muttering to himself the whole time, channeling the witch and the wizard.
Okay, so time to make plans. Let's go north - but uh oh, looks like Canada is building a wall and sending us the bill! So let's go south, before the wall is built but guess what? Mexico says no more Americans allowed in. East, that's it. East. Splash! That was the Atlantic. So....West, young man, west - but oops, splash again - the Pacific. Where to go, where to go? Back south again and take a boat to Cuba!! Got it!!
Feeling paranoid, like people are watching but what can one expect when the Chief Executive states in a manic tone and interview that his speech was great, that people just loved it, that the CIA audience gave him a standing ovation, they loved it, they just loved it and ranted on and on. And forget about opposing him for it seems that all the big dudes of America have grown chicken feathers and have other parts of their anatomy shrink in direct proportion as they wither under this crazy man's threats. After all, he wants to open the black site prisons again and waterboard once more. Torture is now in fashion again!!
So who is left to protest or are we now in the same situation as the Pastor in Nazi Germany where no one was left. Well, the millions of people last Saturday show that we have the women, so many women and we have the right thinking people who support them and are protesting the policies of that maniac who should be deposed, I believe, according to the 25th Amendment - I could be wrong on which one it is.
McCain says he will oppose Trump but has approved Tillerson so what is the point of blather and words if when push comes to shove they cave, like Rubio. Actions speak louder than words, especially in this situation.
And in the government? Well, we have more people having the courage of their convictions and they are resigning, refusing to work with that man, refusing to go along and get along. Not for them the selling of their souls. Would that more people would think that way, but no, we have the likes of Rand Paul who says that he has the magic plan that will give people the healthcare they need. They will get a $5,000 infusion into a health savings account. Wow! Really? Has he seen any medical bills lately? I have and that covers just about two pills and a bandaid and maybe half a night in a hospital bed! And just about forget it if you were unemployed and could not keep up your coverage and whoa! had an pre-existing condition. - just die already. Don't drag it out and make it hard on everyone.
What about international standing? Well. Mexico is starting to fight back with its announced Mexico First attitude and they are right, 100%. And as Trump screws women all over again with his antediluvian banning of all funds nationally and internationally re abortion funding, thinking that will stop them! Wrong! Wrong! Sad!! It will only send them to back alley abortionists and death and pain and infection and once again highlights Trump's misogyny! So he can put his two fingers together all he wants but what he really needs to see are the fingers flipping at him! The Netherlands has stepped up to the plate with funding to make up for this idiocy and G-d willing other countries will step up too. Hey, he is blocking all immigrants and now tiny Israel, surrounded by enemies, is taking in the children of these enemies, the Syrian orphans, into homes and schools, caring for them, allowing them a path to citizenship but we here, oh no, no more immigrants, no more American principles, no more Founding Fathers ideas. Just torture away, much better idea!
So we have the environment being sold down the river. We have a 138K gallon spill in Idaho but what the hey, let the pipelines go on. Screw the Sioux and all Americans. No more federal regulations to help the workers. Let the Fat Cats reign! No more oversight of governmental officials for they are much too busy supervising their own fortunes to pay attention to the needs of the people or pay taxes or reveal any personal information, nope, too busy. And now gay sex is being likened to bestiality and incest, child pornography and the list goes on and in North Carolina, if one is a lesbian, well, lesbianism is listed as one of your medical conditions, supposedly for your own good!! And one of the possible nominees for the Supreme Court goes right along with these statements and feelings and attitudes. G-d help us if we do not do something to stop this.
Instead we will now have the era of Mad Donald, the consummate liar and here are words that express it far better than I do.
"Donald Trump is a proven liar. He lies often and effortlessly. He lies about the profound and the trivial. He lies to avoid guilt and invite glory. He lies when his pride is injured and when his pomposity is challenged.
Indeed, one of the greatest threats Trump poses is that he corrupts and corrodes the absoluteness of truth, facts and science."
As has been said before, a lie by any other name is a lie. Period. The naked emperor again and again. Till when will we allow this to continue. Those people in D.C. had it right yesterday when they hung that banner off the crane - brave souls - RESIST!! Write and call your representatives again and again. Make it known that we will not stand for this. The man is certifiably insane and needs to be removed from office for cause.
Will I, will we, ever be able to sleep again? Will we ever be able to face our waking hours again with confidence in the American dream and character? The doubt is creeping in.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
TYRANNY AND DESPAIR - SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Every time I think I can address another topic, such as the misdeeds going on here in the Village, that man does it again and the outrageousness of his deeds and his evident plans just rule the day. But yesterday's statements and deeds are just beyond the pale and Dictator Trump is not out of reality guidelines!
The second federal agency has been gagged, told to stay off social media, not to tweet, not to release any information from the agency. The second one!! And what, do we wait for all to be shut down and then finally recognize that we now have elected a man whose wish and determination is to shut down the country, to eliminate any and all else other than federal power under his control. Nor do we have any person who appears to have the strength and moral rectitude to stand up to him. His craziness, nay, his insanity, has scared all, from business executives to ranking Republicans, all afraid of this crazy man's revenge tactics.
He has got people believing in his "alternative facts", people saying that of course it is possible for 3-5 million illegal immigrants to vote and that is why he lost the popular vote!! This man cannot take not one thing to show or state that he is not the best, not the boss, not the dictator, not on a TV reality show and not the Czar Ivan the Terrible!! Now he even threatens to "send in the feds" to Chicago. Which feds would that be? By law, by Constitution, no federal troops, no army troops are allowed to operate on American soil. That is for National Guard and that is for the governor of each state to activate - not him! So what, will he then make up a Godzilla monster overwhelming Chicago so he can then say emergency - send in the troops?! Ridiculous, correct? But how far will this man go and how far will we let him, will we allow him?
So today will be this - "Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!" So from which federal program will he hijack the funds? How high is he building? When exactly will we realize that this man has stolen the soul of our country - today supposed illegals and tomorrow the legal immigrants, as he has announced and then what - the citizens and natural born Americans who bother him? He has already raised the bar by arresting journalists from Saturday's march and charging them with felonies!! Yes, huge fines and major time and what did they do? They are reporters and did their jobs and reported the truth even as they are now accused of felonies, of incitement, of looting and arson and anything else this man can get the police to charge them with. Truly we are now in the beginning of a police state and what will we do? Will we just sit by and let it happen or will there be a rebellion, something that looks more likely every day. That is a frightening thought.
People are trying to take him to court, but what will prevent this tyrant from shutting down the courts? What will prevent him from pushing aside any and all regulations? Today we are losing the protection of federal regulations regarding the environment - "A summary of the actions posted in the Federal Register includes a long list of regulations that include updated air pollution rulings for several states, renewable fuel standards and limits on the amount of formaldehyde that can leach from wood products. President Donald Trump signed a directive shortly after his inauguration on Friday ordering a "regulatory freeze pending review" for all federal agency rules that had been finalized that have not yet taken effect." So I guess we are going to look like Chinese cities what with the smog and masks and as for breathing in fumes, so what, I guess, as long as the Man is happy - and of course Jared as well.
And speaking of Jared, this man who is supposed to have a magic touch and solve the Mideast problems, how does he respond to the fact that Trump is now pulling away from his promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem. All those people who foolishly voted for his father in law based on that promise - the word of a man who NEVER keeps his word and who is now backing off and away from that promise. What a shock!!
As for respect of others, this man who boasts of being a predator, who looked at his daughter in a sexual manner, this man has now issued regulations that are attempting to control the lives and yes, the deaths, of millions of women, here in this country and around the world. With his insane blocking of funds for all women's health care in places that might provide abortions, he has condemned women to painful and ugly deaths. He has no care for rape or incest or women's health or fetal abnormalities - nope, what he says goes and that is it. Why would we expect different, this man who refers to women by their genitalia and appears to think that other than his daughter and okay, possibly Tiffany, though does she speak? are not worthy of anything but being liar spokesmen for him or for sexual objectification.
Are there no brave souls with the spine to demand that he answer for his crimes, for his evasions, for his lies, for the facts that are hidden in his never released tax returns, for all his conflicts of interests, for his planned use of the federal government for his own benefit and screw the citizens? Is there no one around to say that this man is unfit, mentally incapacitated, to preside over the country? What do we have to do - call up Wonder Woman? Or do we call up all the women and the men who have enough manliness within them to stand by their women and stop this wholesale cancelling of America?
Read the papers, people. Think about the results and the consequences. Think and wonder where does it all end? Does it even end or can and should we expect far more craziness and illegalities? Should we all be afraid to speak our minds for fear of being charged with made up felonies? Are we to expect the "feds" with black bags at our door?
But perhaps there is hope and we should not be afraid for after all, we will all be dead, at least 32 million of us, as healthcare is taken away. Always a silver lining, huh?
The second federal agency has been gagged, told to stay off social media, not to tweet, not to release any information from the agency. The second one!! And what, do we wait for all to be shut down and then finally recognize that we now have elected a man whose wish and determination is to shut down the country, to eliminate any and all else other than federal power under his control. Nor do we have any person who appears to have the strength and moral rectitude to stand up to him. His craziness, nay, his insanity, has scared all, from business executives to ranking Republicans, all afraid of this crazy man's revenge tactics.
He has got people believing in his "alternative facts", people saying that of course it is possible for 3-5 million illegal immigrants to vote and that is why he lost the popular vote!! This man cannot take not one thing to show or state that he is not the best, not the boss, not the dictator, not on a TV reality show and not the Czar Ivan the Terrible!! Now he even threatens to "send in the feds" to Chicago. Which feds would that be? By law, by Constitution, no federal troops, no army troops are allowed to operate on American soil. That is for National Guard and that is for the governor of each state to activate - not him! So what, will he then make up a Godzilla monster overwhelming Chicago so he can then say emergency - send in the troops?! Ridiculous, correct? But how far will this man go and how far will we let him, will we allow him?
So today will be this - "Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!" So from which federal program will he hijack the funds? How high is he building? When exactly will we realize that this man has stolen the soul of our country - today supposed illegals and tomorrow the legal immigrants, as he has announced and then what - the citizens and natural born Americans who bother him? He has already raised the bar by arresting journalists from Saturday's march and charging them with felonies!! Yes, huge fines and major time and what did they do? They are reporters and did their jobs and reported the truth even as they are now accused of felonies, of incitement, of looting and arson and anything else this man can get the police to charge them with. Truly we are now in the beginning of a police state and what will we do? Will we just sit by and let it happen or will there be a rebellion, something that looks more likely every day. That is a frightening thought.
People are trying to take him to court, but what will prevent this tyrant from shutting down the courts? What will prevent him from pushing aside any and all regulations? Today we are losing the protection of federal regulations regarding the environment - "A summary of the actions posted in the Federal Register includes a long list of regulations that include updated air pollution rulings for several states, renewable fuel standards and limits on the amount of formaldehyde that can leach from wood products. President Donald Trump signed a directive shortly after his inauguration on Friday ordering a "regulatory freeze pending review" for all federal agency rules that had been finalized that have not yet taken effect." So I guess we are going to look like Chinese cities what with the smog and masks and as for breathing in fumes, so what, I guess, as long as the Man is happy - and of course Jared as well.
And speaking of Jared, this man who is supposed to have a magic touch and solve the Mideast problems, how does he respond to the fact that Trump is now pulling away from his promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem. All those people who foolishly voted for his father in law based on that promise - the word of a man who NEVER keeps his word and who is now backing off and away from that promise. What a shock!!
As for respect of others, this man who boasts of being a predator, who looked at his daughter in a sexual manner, this man has now issued regulations that are attempting to control the lives and yes, the deaths, of millions of women, here in this country and around the world. With his insane blocking of funds for all women's health care in places that might provide abortions, he has condemned women to painful and ugly deaths. He has no care for rape or incest or women's health or fetal abnormalities - nope, what he says goes and that is it. Why would we expect different, this man who refers to women by their genitalia and appears to think that other than his daughter and okay, possibly Tiffany, though does she speak? are not worthy of anything but being liar spokesmen for him or for sexual objectification.
Are there no brave souls with the spine to demand that he answer for his crimes, for his evasions, for his lies, for the facts that are hidden in his never released tax returns, for all his conflicts of interests, for his planned use of the federal government for his own benefit and screw the citizens? Is there no one around to say that this man is unfit, mentally incapacitated, to preside over the country? What do we have to do - call up Wonder Woman? Or do we call up all the women and the men who have enough manliness within them to stand by their women and stop this wholesale cancelling of America?
Read the papers, people. Think about the results and the consequences. Think and wonder where does it all end? Does it even end or can and should we expect far more craziness and illegalities? Should we all be afraid to speak our minds for fear of being charged with made up felonies? Are we to expect the "feds" with black bags at our door?
But perhaps there is hope and we should not be afraid for after all, we will all be dead, at least 32 million of us, as healthcare is taken away. Always a silver lining, huh?
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
HOSE THOSE PANTS! SNIP THAT NOSE!
Things are heating up in D.C. and all over the country and the world. It seems we have all had enough, more than enough of lies, soul abusing actions and a great big moral crisis. There is no American carnage. We do not have destroyed or closed factories crowding the landscape like tombstones - yes, there are buildings, but then again how many have been converted to homes or other places of business and art centers, razed to make way for the new or for factories that include the new technology and automation. There is and always has been a turnover of buildings and movements of business from here to there. Our unemployment is at the lowest rate and will only go up under Trump - as long as he is in office - and when examined, most, if not all, of the data and statistics that this man and his administration spew forth are lies. Ooops, I meant "alternative facts".
Yup, here we are living in The Brave New World or the sister world of 1984. Words and vocabulary are "improved" upon and the truth is as the government sees it, not as the simple truth. "Fake news" is another term that has arisen and I for the life of me cannot understand why we do not simply call these things what they are - lies, lies and more lies. The emperor is naked, not wearing see through clothing!
I have long wondered why Trumpers have refused or will not see, or claim to not see the truth, recognize it just as they recognized what they saw as misdeeds by Clinton. Letters in the Times have said it very well. "we have lost our ability to reason and think." Or this one - those "who are certain of Hillary Clinton's guilt but cannot detect even a hint of his serial lies and ethically challenged business practices..." The terms of racist and sexist resounded as well. Words of truth.
But what has happened since his Inauguration as he is now meant to preside over our destruction with his horrid plans and threatening moues and rabid statements is just beyond horrific and most telling of the truth that all his opponents have been saying since day one - and that includes me.
I hate lies and I hate liars, those people who cannot for the life of them tell the truth and do not even recognize such a concept. They lie as they breathe. There are lies of omission and commission and Trump and his people are experts on both. Lie after lie spewed forth - over the numbers who attended, how they were counted, how proof was not proof basically unless it supported their lies. Evasions after evasions and yet people made excuses. So now I would like to know - what will they do with the BIG PINK ELEPHANT in the room? The man and his minions, his co - guilty and complicit minions, lied through their collective teeth pre election and people just ate it up. Oh, he would present his tax returns after audit, after election, despite the fact that audit is no reason not to present and candidates have presented these documents for decades. And now? And now? They admit it was a lie from the outset and worse, they knew it, used it as tool of the campaign and had no plan whatsoever to ever reveal it.
Now the elephant in the room is why? WHY? Presumably because of what they will reveal. We already know he is a consummate liar and cheat and had to settle for his misdeeds in Trump University, an insult to all universities of the world. WE know he is owned by the banks of the world, including by that of China, the very country he presumably started up with. HA! Take that with a grain of salt. He has pursued Russia for three decades and is now best buds, BFFs with Putin who very friendly like had his country work to get him into office.
So what else is he hiding? We already know that his supposed empire is a joke, a hollow balloon which could collapse at any moment what with the millions and millions of dollars that he owes all around, so.... he did the next best thing to honesty, I guess. Being the blustery snake oil salesman that he is, he figured that the next place to look for a bailout is the presidency of the United States. Surely he could manage to use the funding of the country to straighten out his companies and there ya go!! Funds will just flow in and since he never divested, he and his buddies will do quite well. Yup, smell the swamp?! Trumpers bought into this by the thousands and now are asking themselves what they have done. Oh, what they have done!!
This man cannot find his rear with both hands but he does know how to bully and threaten and be an overbearing physical presence with his hulking body. He uses his limited vocabulary to bluster and lie and any minion of his must do the same - from Jared Kushner to Kelly Conway, to Seth Spicer to Bannon. The royal court, the courtiers and the princes and princess. I could vomit, but the threat to us is real and we all have no time to indulge in that for we must get this man out. We must bring him down and it appears as if the courts are the way to go, to keep pressure on, to force him to tell the truth and then resign before he is sent off to prison.
“The senior team exhibits many of the characteristics President Trump has always valued: cohesion, collaboration, high energy and high impact.” What a crock!!Such are Conway's words. Notice a lack of honor and honesty. Note a lack of truth. Well, we must insist on it for all those who are in need of it and the strength it can provide, the help it can bring - "the people and institutions that have been the focus of attack -- people of color, Jews and Muslims, refugees and immigrants, LGBTQ, Americans who are poor, children seeking education in our public schools, disabled Americans and Veterans , those who rely on affordable health care and women who refuse to relinquish control-legally, morally or physically-over their own bodies.'
And the people came from all over and from all decades and from all genders. Old activists reassembled from the lines of antiwar to pro civil rights to ranks of Jews and ChristianS and Moslems and women, oh the women, immigrants, the kids threatened by this man, the people who refused to allow him to run rampant over us.
So even as he refuses to do what is right and even as his party henchmen refuse to do what is right, for example in South Dakota where the GOP is trying to repeal a popularly voted in law that just about demands that ethics be primary among their lawmakers. Golly gee, such an irresponsible demand according to the Republicans! And in the Senate, they refuse to allow second hearing on DeVos for Education, this ignorant woman who states that she must "review" the laws that crack down on sex assaults in the colleges of the nation and elsewhere, on laws that will stop the criminal and financial abuses from the for profit universities such as Trump - hmmmm- and of course what she does not have to review is her stated opinion that guns are necessary in school so grizzles can be shot. Uh huh!!
There has just been a poll released that Americans cannot agree on what is the most important issue facing us. Yet I know what it is. It is the need to get rid of this liar and his court. It is the need to get back to the America we can and should always be. It is the America that showed itself in the millions marching peacefully and determinedly and who can be called upon to do so again and again until the truth be foremost and prominent and the liars be gone. Begone!!
Yup, here we are living in The Brave New World or the sister world of 1984. Words and vocabulary are "improved" upon and the truth is as the government sees it, not as the simple truth. "Fake news" is another term that has arisen and I for the life of me cannot understand why we do not simply call these things what they are - lies, lies and more lies. The emperor is naked, not wearing see through clothing!
I have long wondered why Trumpers have refused or will not see, or claim to not see the truth, recognize it just as they recognized what they saw as misdeeds by Clinton. Letters in the Times have said it very well. "we have lost our ability to reason and think." Or this one - those "who are certain of Hillary Clinton's guilt but cannot detect even a hint of his serial lies and ethically challenged business practices..." The terms of racist and sexist resounded as well. Words of truth.
But what has happened since his Inauguration as he is now meant to preside over our destruction with his horrid plans and threatening moues and rabid statements is just beyond horrific and most telling of the truth that all his opponents have been saying since day one - and that includes me.
I hate lies and I hate liars, those people who cannot for the life of them tell the truth and do not even recognize such a concept. They lie as they breathe. There are lies of omission and commission and Trump and his people are experts on both. Lie after lie spewed forth - over the numbers who attended, how they were counted, how proof was not proof basically unless it supported their lies. Evasions after evasions and yet people made excuses. So now I would like to know - what will they do with the BIG PINK ELEPHANT in the room? The man and his minions, his co - guilty and complicit minions, lied through their collective teeth pre election and people just ate it up. Oh, he would present his tax returns after audit, after election, despite the fact that audit is no reason not to present and candidates have presented these documents for decades. And now? And now? They admit it was a lie from the outset and worse, they knew it, used it as tool of the campaign and had no plan whatsoever to ever reveal it.
Now the elephant in the room is why? WHY? Presumably because of what they will reveal. We already know he is a consummate liar and cheat and had to settle for his misdeeds in Trump University, an insult to all universities of the world. WE know he is owned by the banks of the world, including by that of China, the very country he presumably started up with. HA! Take that with a grain of salt. He has pursued Russia for three decades and is now best buds, BFFs with Putin who very friendly like had his country work to get him into office.
So what else is he hiding? We already know that his supposed empire is a joke, a hollow balloon which could collapse at any moment what with the millions and millions of dollars that he owes all around, so.... he did the next best thing to honesty, I guess. Being the blustery snake oil salesman that he is, he figured that the next place to look for a bailout is the presidency of the United States. Surely he could manage to use the funding of the country to straighten out his companies and there ya go!! Funds will just flow in and since he never divested, he and his buddies will do quite well. Yup, smell the swamp?! Trumpers bought into this by the thousands and now are asking themselves what they have done. Oh, what they have done!!
This man cannot find his rear with both hands but he does know how to bully and threaten and be an overbearing physical presence with his hulking body. He uses his limited vocabulary to bluster and lie and any minion of his must do the same - from Jared Kushner to Kelly Conway, to Seth Spicer to Bannon. The royal court, the courtiers and the princes and princess. I could vomit, but the threat to us is real and we all have no time to indulge in that for we must get this man out. We must bring him down and it appears as if the courts are the way to go, to keep pressure on, to force him to tell the truth and then resign before he is sent off to prison.
“The senior team exhibits many of the characteristics President Trump has always valued: cohesion, collaboration, high energy and high impact.” What a crock!!Such are Conway's words. Notice a lack of honor and honesty. Note a lack of truth. Well, we must insist on it for all those who are in need of it and the strength it can provide, the help it can bring - "the people and institutions that have been the focus of attack -- people of color, Jews and Muslims, refugees and immigrants, LGBTQ, Americans who are poor, children seeking education in our public schools, disabled Americans and Veterans , those who rely on affordable health care and women who refuse to relinquish control-legally, morally or physically-over their own bodies.'
And the people came from all over and from all decades and from all genders. Old activists reassembled from the lines of antiwar to pro civil rights to ranks of Jews and ChristianS and Moslems and women, oh the women, immigrants, the kids threatened by this man, the people who refused to allow him to run rampant over us.
So even as he refuses to do what is right and even as his party henchmen refuse to do what is right, for example in South Dakota where the GOP is trying to repeal a popularly voted in law that just about demands that ethics be primary among their lawmakers. Golly gee, such an irresponsible demand according to the Republicans! And in the Senate, they refuse to allow second hearing on DeVos for Education, this ignorant woman who states that she must "review" the laws that crack down on sex assaults in the colleges of the nation and elsewhere, on laws that will stop the criminal and financial abuses from the for profit universities such as Trump - hmmmm- and of course what she does not have to review is her stated opinion that guns are necessary in school so grizzles can be shot. Uh huh!!
There has just been a poll released that Americans cannot agree on what is the most important issue facing us. Yet I know what it is. It is the need to get rid of this liar and his court. It is the need to get back to the America we can and should always be. It is the America that showed itself in the millions marching peacefully and determinedly and who can be called upon to do so again and again until the truth be foremost and prominent and the liars be gone. Begone!!
Monday, January 23, 2017
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
Computer a bit cranky today so please excuse any errors or omissions. So, to the speech and its aftermath. At least he maintained sentence structure, albeit short and choppy, with a distinct lack of elegance or phrase for eternity. What there was did send me into a frisson of fear for the echoes of the 1930's came thru loud and clear. One heart, one country, one people and underneath it all, combined with his outthrust and upraised fist was the echo of ein volk, ein reich, ein Fuhrer.
The phrase G-d's people sent another chill racing thru me. Who are G-d's people? His family? His minions? The Americans who believe that he is reincarnated via G-d's favor? Those who say they are G-d's people frighten me with their hypocrisy and false pride. They frighten me with their arrogance and their legends of themselves mainly in their own minds and they frighten me with their lack of empathy, honesty, ethics and love of mankind. Self aggrandizement is the word of the day, all led by their Leader Trump. And I use capitals intentionally.
Echoes in my head. Wrong. Wrong. Amazing . Good genes. Only I can do it. And lie after lie after lie. This man is dangerous.
Look at what has happened since. He has said he has a health plan and all will have coverage. He will help all people with this - how, with no plan and with no coverage at all? Sure, they will die without care and so all their problems will be gone. Great planning for after all, then we will not need so many social programs if we cull the population!!
As for the "depleted" military - can someone please explain. It makes no sense any which way for one cannot deplete a military force and their budget has gone up so again please? As for taxes - what taxes? The man lies again. He has the blond bimbo lie for him and say no tax returns for no one cares, they voted for him anyway. But now there are already over 200,000 signatures on a petition to release them and he, why he is just ignoring it, our new Fuhrer. Correct me if I am wrong but did not the man promise to reveal them after election? Liar, liar. Another world class lie as he stood there looking at a video of himself poking fun, deriding a handicapped journalist, looking at it and then oh no he did not do that. So who was that? His poltergeist?
His ego wounded, he cannot accept that there are people, most of the country in fact, who cannot stand him nor abide his lies. They will call him out on everything he does and says. Too bad but the truth is the truth. The CIA was insulted before his speech to them and he continued at the CIA memorial wall. In fact, he turned the speech to his favorite topic - himself! He exaggerates his pitiful numbers of inauguration and then is totally pissed off that the march bettered him by far. He does not like criticism and then blamed the media again for this and promised to fix them but good. C'mon. I thought this was over when kids finish middle school but evidently he never did for he cannot spell either. And by the way, he referred to the fact that people think there is something wrong with his brain; I do for sure. I think he is totally unsuitable for this job and should go back to amusing himself in his crass and declasse gilt edged apartment in his monument to himself and leave us and the world alone.
What is even worse is that he is destroying any and all alliances we have as he sets up new ones and a mutual admiration society with Putin and even Erdogan, dictators and demagogues both! Worse yet - he is encouraging every pitiful and pathetic and poisonous hater and racist to come out of the woodwork all over the world. Those same benighted fools who voted for him are now showing concern as to his actions and their consequences.
What further amazes me is that usually intelligent people, including friends of mine, will rant and rave in his defense. Nope, he did not lie and nope he is not a racist, and nope he is not ethically challenged, and nope, he has not cheated the American people with his non payment of taxes and nope, he has not deserted the American people, the very ones he promised to protect, with his non healthcare program and with the appointment of unsuitable Fat Cats to positions of power in his cabinet.
And this is just the beginning. But we are beginning too and I suggest that every reader of this blog who is just as disgusted and frightened by this man and his henchmen follow up on the enthusiasm and achievement and statement of the march and become active. Join a political party. Join a PAC. Join anything and be there to march, to carry a flag or a poster and a hand to clap with when he is impeached and after him, Pence.
This is just the beginning.
The phrase G-d's people sent another chill racing thru me. Who are G-d's people? His family? His minions? The Americans who believe that he is reincarnated via G-d's favor? Those who say they are G-d's people frighten me with their hypocrisy and false pride. They frighten me with their arrogance and their legends of themselves mainly in their own minds and they frighten me with their lack of empathy, honesty, ethics and love of mankind. Self aggrandizement is the word of the day, all led by their Leader Trump. And I use capitals intentionally.
Echoes in my head. Wrong. Wrong. Amazing . Good genes. Only I can do it. And lie after lie after lie. This man is dangerous.
Look at what has happened since. He has said he has a health plan and all will have coverage. He will help all people with this - how, with no plan and with no coverage at all? Sure, they will die without care and so all their problems will be gone. Great planning for after all, then we will not need so many social programs if we cull the population!!
As for the "depleted" military - can someone please explain. It makes no sense any which way for one cannot deplete a military force and their budget has gone up so again please? As for taxes - what taxes? The man lies again. He has the blond bimbo lie for him and say no tax returns for no one cares, they voted for him anyway. But now there are already over 200,000 signatures on a petition to release them and he, why he is just ignoring it, our new Fuhrer. Correct me if I am wrong but did not the man promise to reveal them after election? Liar, liar. Another world class lie as he stood there looking at a video of himself poking fun, deriding a handicapped journalist, looking at it and then oh no he did not do that. So who was that? His poltergeist?
His ego wounded, he cannot accept that there are people, most of the country in fact, who cannot stand him nor abide his lies. They will call him out on everything he does and says. Too bad but the truth is the truth. The CIA was insulted before his speech to them and he continued at the CIA memorial wall. In fact, he turned the speech to his favorite topic - himself! He exaggerates his pitiful numbers of inauguration and then is totally pissed off that the march bettered him by far. He does not like criticism and then blamed the media again for this and promised to fix them but good. C'mon. I thought this was over when kids finish middle school but evidently he never did for he cannot spell either. And by the way, he referred to the fact that people think there is something wrong with his brain; I do for sure. I think he is totally unsuitable for this job and should go back to amusing himself in his crass and declasse gilt edged apartment in his monument to himself and leave us and the world alone.
What is even worse is that he is destroying any and all alliances we have as he sets up new ones and a mutual admiration society with Putin and even Erdogan, dictators and demagogues both! Worse yet - he is encouraging every pitiful and pathetic and poisonous hater and racist to come out of the woodwork all over the world. Those same benighted fools who voted for him are now showing concern as to his actions and their consequences.
What further amazes me is that usually intelligent people, including friends of mine, will rant and rave in his defense. Nope, he did not lie and nope he is not a racist, and nope he is not ethically challenged, and nope, he has not cheated the American people with his non payment of taxes and nope, he has not deserted the American people, the very ones he promised to protect, with his non healthcare program and with the appointment of unsuitable Fat Cats to positions of power in his cabinet.
And this is just the beginning. But we are beginning too and I suggest that every reader of this blog who is just as disgusted and frightened by this man and his henchmen follow up on the enthusiasm and achievement and statement of the march and become active. Join a political party. Join a PAC. Join anything and be there to march, to carry a flag or a poster and a hand to clap with when he is impeached and after him, Pence.
This is just the beginning.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
SISTERS ALL.....AND BROTHERS TOO!!
Planned to write of my take and that of others as to that awful inauguration speech, the one that sent chills of fear down my back, but Saturday's events demanded otherwise. Back to the topic another day, but wow!!! was yesterday truly amazing.
I am still on a high. The world spoke. It spoke in the voices of millions of women and supporting menfolk, sisters and brothers all, big people, little people, the woman down the block and the celebrity. And isn't it something at how many of these celebrities were brave and bold enough to come out and face the Tweeter, very much unlike the corporations and the politicians who are now fawning at the feet of the new American Fascist, who threatens all with his vows of revenge and his downright ugly lies.
It was truly great and awesome to see the pictures from around the world, the marches that took place from Wappinger's Fall, NY to London, to D.C. to NYC, to Tel Aviv, close to 670 places where it was taken notice of, but please remember to include and add the small places. Yesterday media had the figure at 3 million. Today the figure is one million and why and how did that come to be? D.C. alone had close to a million but do not ask Trump about that for he was sour graping all over the media and even at the CIA for heaven's sake!! He cannot deal with the fact that he has one of the lowest attendance rates ever and he and Sean Spicer were ranting away. Most undignified and most adolescent! Actually, pure infantile behavior and I am sorry little infants for comparing the two! Anyway, Chicago has over 150,000 and the figures just build and build so 3 million is more like it but I guess we have more posturing and fawning from people afraid to tell the truth although late reports are now saying that does not include D.C. with its huge figures.but let's take another area.
Here, right here in Century Village, a small group of determined women managed to get out some publicity re a march right here in the Village. We worried about how anyone would hear of it, how people would take it and in any case, remembering our audience, who could march the distance. We worried that we would have ten people and perhaps would be lucky with 25 and wow, what a great surprise. We had about 200 women, some with walkers, some on scooters, others trudging along slowly - including me - and we made it. We had women joining in at their buildings and walking that rest of the distance. We had husbands, we had children visiting, we had grandchildren cheering on their grandparents, and we had people waiting along the road to give us bottles of cold water, with cars honking in support and thumbs up. What a day!!!!
It was a high and I am still on it and I love that my girls were so happy as well when I spoke with them at night. What bothered me was the nastiness of those opposed. Why did it bother them so much? All around the world we saw this nastiness. Was it because they realized that there are many people, literally millions, who dislike Trump and what he stands for and what he has already done and said? Is it because they themselves are defensive, worried over the fact that he is nasty and uncontrolled and dumb! "Honered?" Really? Needs a spelling bee where he would know that honored is the way to go - and something he will never be! And by the way, as President, G-d help us, was he allowed to erase that ignorant misspelled tweet? I think not? Calling Comey. Calling Comey. Oooh, do we need Putin's help here too?
They have also lost their sense of humor. There is simply nothing there and why is that? Because they know they chose incorrectly or as their representative says Wrong!! Wrong!! Sad indeed.
What Trump represents is a backwards leap, not a good one for mankind. Millions have spoken and all the defensiveness and lack of humor and shouting about "lies" will not change it and here I am going to put down a posting of the Washington Post with a summary of some of the best signs, so read and enjoy. Have a hearty laugh even as the truth of these signs shout out and remember, as many of the marchers stated, we marched for all mothers and sisters, daughters and aunts, grandmothers and all the women who have supported men and the world, who gave life to this world and who will continue to do so - whether Trump likes it or not. We refuse to have a man who sexualizes his daughter, who looks at little girls and sees what he ought not to, who uses foul language in describing foul behavior with women, a man with no brains to serve as my leader, as our leader and here I too state - he is not my President. That person would be respected and honored, would have a working brain and intelligence and be a grownup. This one does not and garners only my disgust and disrespect, my contempt and yes, my fear, for what he can do to this world of ours. In any case - laugh a little. We need to.
#FreeMelania
No Country for Dirty Old Men
Sad!
Resistance is Fertile
Too Worried to be Funny
If Mom’s Not Happy, Nobody’s Happy
I Have a Vagenda
Manchurine Candidate
Orange Is the New Fascism
There Is So Much Wrong It Cannot Fit on This Sign
Super Callous Fragile Ego, Trump You Are Atrocious
Super Callous Fascist Racist Extra Braggadocious
Actuaries Against Repeal and Delay
Leave it to the Beavers
Viva la Vulva
(Older woman’s sign:) I Can’t Believe I’m Still Protesting This S—
J Edgar Comey
(On image of President Trump as a scarecrow:) If He Only Had a Brain
(On a drawing of ovaries:) Grow a Pair
This P—- Grabs Back
Donald You Ignorant Slut
Melania, Blink Twice if You Need Help
Impeach Trump, Convert Pence
#emoluments
Sorry World, We’ll Fix This
(On needlepoint:) I Made This So I Could Stab Something 35,000 Times
Patriarchy is for D—-
There Will Be Hell Toupée
Update, 5:30 p.m.: A few more from your responses on social media:
I am still on a high. The world spoke. It spoke in the voices of millions of women and supporting menfolk, sisters and brothers all, big people, little people, the woman down the block and the celebrity. And isn't it something at how many of these celebrities were brave and bold enough to come out and face the Tweeter, very much unlike the corporations and the politicians who are now fawning at the feet of the new American Fascist, who threatens all with his vows of revenge and his downright ugly lies.
It was truly great and awesome to see the pictures from around the world, the marches that took place from Wappinger's Fall, NY to London, to D.C. to NYC, to Tel Aviv, close to 670 places where it was taken notice of, but please remember to include and add the small places. Yesterday media had the figure at 3 million. Today the figure is one million and why and how did that come to be? D.C. alone had close to a million but do not ask Trump about that for he was sour graping all over the media and even at the CIA for heaven's sake!! He cannot deal with the fact that he has one of the lowest attendance rates ever and he and Sean Spicer were ranting away. Most undignified and most adolescent! Actually, pure infantile behavior and I am sorry little infants for comparing the two! Anyway, Chicago has over 150,000 and the figures just build and build so 3 million is more like it but I guess we have more posturing and fawning from people afraid to tell the truth although late reports are now saying that does not include D.C. with its huge figures.but let's take another area.
Here, right here in Century Village, a small group of determined women managed to get out some publicity re a march right here in the Village. We worried about how anyone would hear of it, how people would take it and in any case, remembering our audience, who could march the distance. We worried that we would have ten people and perhaps would be lucky with 25 and wow, what a great surprise. We had about 200 women, some with walkers, some on scooters, others trudging along slowly - including me - and we made it. We had women joining in at their buildings and walking that rest of the distance. We had husbands, we had children visiting, we had grandchildren cheering on their grandparents, and we had people waiting along the road to give us bottles of cold water, with cars honking in support and thumbs up. What a day!!!!
It was a high and I am still on it and I love that my girls were so happy as well when I spoke with them at night. What bothered me was the nastiness of those opposed. Why did it bother them so much? All around the world we saw this nastiness. Was it because they realized that there are many people, literally millions, who dislike Trump and what he stands for and what he has already done and said? Is it because they themselves are defensive, worried over the fact that he is nasty and uncontrolled and dumb! "Honered?" Really? Needs a spelling bee where he would know that honored is the way to go - and something he will never be! And by the way, as President, G-d help us, was he allowed to erase that ignorant misspelled tweet? I think not? Calling Comey. Calling Comey. Oooh, do we need Putin's help here too?
They have also lost their sense of humor. There is simply nothing there and why is that? Because they know they chose incorrectly or as their representative says Wrong!! Wrong!! Sad indeed.
What Trump represents is a backwards leap, not a good one for mankind. Millions have spoken and all the defensiveness and lack of humor and shouting about "lies" will not change it and here I am going to put down a posting of the Washington Post with a summary of some of the best signs, so read and enjoy. Have a hearty laugh even as the truth of these signs shout out and remember, as many of the marchers stated, we marched for all mothers and sisters, daughters and aunts, grandmothers and all the women who have supported men and the world, who gave life to this world and who will continue to do so - whether Trump likes it or not. We refuse to have a man who sexualizes his daughter, who looks at little girls and sees what he ought not to, who uses foul language in describing foul behavior with women, a man with no brains to serve as my leader, as our leader and here I too state - he is not my President. That person would be respected and honored, would have a working brain and intelligence and be a grownup. This one does not and garners only my disgust and disrespect, my contempt and yes, my fear, for what he can do to this world of ours. In any case - laugh a little. We need to.
#FreeMelania
- We Want a Leader, Not a Creepy Tweeter.
- HARDLY ANYONE MARCHED. FAILURE. SAD.
- (Beneath a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag:) Don’t Pee on Me
- 1968 is Calling. Don’t Answer
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Czar/ Putin Made You What You Are
- Fact Checkers of the World, Unite!
- I know signs. I make the best signs. They’re great. Everyone agrees.
- I (heart) Journalists.
- Vaginas Brought You Into the World. Vaginas Will Vote You Out.
- I Wish My Uterus Shot Bullets So the Government Wouldn’t Regulate It
- (On photo of Meryl Streep): What She Said.
- I’m Quite Unhappy.
- We Shall Overcomb.
Friday, January 20, 2017
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH.....
So today is the day, the long dreaded day but maybe we will be lucky enough to get him gone via impeachment or incompetence or something that will serve to cancel his term. Possibly ethics, conflict of interests?
The new slogan re Trump and his opponents is to "Make America Sane Again" - that is how bad the situation is right now. I intend to listen to his inauguration speech, containing my nausea and just about yell loud enough at the TV that I will be heard in the next county!!!
Reading the paper today, it was shocking to read of the current batch of nominees. All crooks, or people with lazy ethics, damaged memories, and downright plain wrong backgrounds. Playing around with off shore accounts, hiding money, disremembering that one has oh, another 100 million dollars, or one actually thinks that to be Secretary of Energy is to be paid to be the champion of oil and gas producers and never knowing that his chief responsibility is the nuclear end of energy and the bombs that go with it, an Education nominee who thinks that perhaps it is a good idea to have rifles in the schools so people can then shoot the grizzles! Swear, cannot make this up! Goldman, Sachs evidently can organize a reunion of their executives and please, show me one, just one nominee who is not part and parcel of the Fat Cats Society, critters of that swamp that was supposed to be drained. And it seems that the Republicans who insisted on full disclosure and perfect records for candidates when they were in the minority have now decided to just about forget it and where are the party members with moral balls. Gone to who knows where, but certainly not looking out for the benefits and concerns of their constituents.
The language used to describe Trump gets more vitriolic as times go by. He makes some people physically ill with his ridiculous gestures and uses the same five vocabulary words all the time. Perhaps he should have been in my class and he would now speak better! But in any case, here are just a few words and terms that are used today:
vindictive, disruptive, bombastic, self-aggrandizing, clueless, hostile, especially to the rights of women, professionally unprepared, intellectually ill formed, morally compromised and temperamentally unfit, an expected future corrupt administration, short tempered, short attention span, vengeful and not showing any signs of changing or growing in his position.
Yet people keep saying to give him a chance. Really? Truly? How and why? Till we are in a trade war, at a war mentality with China, with people dying terrible deaths because they have not medical coverage because repeal was not followed by replace and a fair replace at that, because social programs were slashed and guess what? Jobs will then evaporate as well when there is no money coming in because of the trade war and people cannot afford to buy anything with the tariffs and high prices.
People, we are in for a bad four years unless we get him gone and remember to never allow such a person to be in this position again. He sets a bad example for all, brings in a family to rule with him and I use rule purposely and just look at the big companies scramble to put in ads that tell of how they are creating jobs and have done so over the years. Why? Because they are afraid of the vengeful behavior of this man, threatened by him and his "I'll get you, my pretty!" attitude.
Added in - a most unispired speech, mostly Stephen Miller's ideas, could be he wrote it as well and what the hell is with that fist pump - the new signal of American Fascism? Feh!!
So that is that ranch and what about our local ranch? Yup, right here in Century Village. Here too we have a man who rules by secrecy, by dictat, by threats, by throwing people under the bus and then resurrecting them if they serve his purpose. He has brought the administration to the point where NO ONE wants to run for office for what good will it do. He has made it ever more difficult to challenge him and wants to increase that difficulty to a point of no return. He does things in secret and wants to shove his Atlantic Broadband company down our throats or up our you know whats! Where are the bids from other companies. Why are we doing this two and some years ahead of the need? Why were we not going to have time to read the contract? What does David have going on for him in this contract? Why does he think he has the right to determine our Internet provider when it is only cable that is the purview of UCO.
Why has he done this - and please, do not tell me he is doing this for the good of the village. Sure, it might be good for his cronies who own multiple apartments or so he thinks or for his friend the motel owner in Sheffield or others like him but not for the residents who want their freedom to choose and have phones without extra payments and want a contract where at the end we will be paying close to 50% more than during the first year and why the hell are we taking such a long contract? How will they service us? What will we do for the next few years when Comcast will not rush to help us for what purpose will it serve them to do so? Is this contract along the lines of the best contract ever for security that we had to redo with another company? Is it along the lines of that "wonderful" paving job? Is it along the outrageous raise we are to pay for WPRF and again next year as more expenses come up and we are the bearers of the burdens?
We need to take a look at all our governmental entities on every level and fix what needs fixing and not listen to fools who claim they are being told they are illegal and so is everyone else!! All she probably needs is an adjustment and in full disclosure, my service with Comcast has been great after the first few years They got their act together, they have many trucks and repairmen to service the Village and were totally blindsided with this new contract at this time. I have no stock with them and just like them and do not like the way David Israel does his business here. How and why should we trust Atlantic when they are so disliked by their current customers?
Back at the ranch is not a good situation - not here, not in the country and for sure not in the world. Germany has a crazy right wing party again that is growing, Hungary has Jobbik, the European Union is dissolving, NATO allies are in turmoil especially with Trump's statements and Turkey issues with Europe, terrorists are running around blowing things up, people are shooting others in mass numbers - guess that grizzly gun will help! Not!! Women's rights, LGBT rights, civil rights are all threatening to fall by the wayside. Step up folks, join protest clubs. Join others who will work to insure that the USA does not become an unfair and fascistic country and demand of the world that they behave in a manner befitting its purported values, its support of human rights, of caring for people.
Yeehaw? Not really? Proud to be an American? Yes and no. Not with Trump but yes with those who are marching and those who speak up. The lowest rated approval for an incoming president - says something, does it not? Heed it. Hear it.
The new slogan re Trump and his opponents is to "Make America Sane Again" - that is how bad the situation is right now. I intend to listen to his inauguration speech, containing my nausea and just about yell loud enough at the TV that I will be heard in the next county!!!
Reading the paper today, it was shocking to read of the current batch of nominees. All crooks, or people with lazy ethics, damaged memories, and downright plain wrong backgrounds. Playing around with off shore accounts, hiding money, disremembering that one has oh, another 100 million dollars, or one actually thinks that to be Secretary of Energy is to be paid to be the champion of oil and gas producers and never knowing that his chief responsibility is the nuclear end of energy and the bombs that go with it, an Education nominee who thinks that perhaps it is a good idea to have rifles in the schools so people can then shoot the grizzles! Swear, cannot make this up! Goldman, Sachs evidently can organize a reunion of their executives and please, show me one, just one nominee who is not part and parcel of the Fat Cats Society, critters of that swamp that was supposed to be drained. And it seems that the Republicans who insisted on full disclosure and perfect records for candidates when they were in the minority have now decided to just about forget it and where are the party members with moral balls. Gone to who knows where, but certainly not looking out for the benefits and concerns of their constituents.
The language used to describe Trump gets more vitriolic as times go by. He makes some people physically ill with his ridiculous gestures and uses the same five vocabulary words all the time. Perhaps he should have been in my class and he would now speak better! But in any case, here are just a few words and terms that are used today:
vindictive, disruptive, bombastic, self-aggrandizing, clueless, hostile, especially to the rights of women, professionally unprepared, intellectually ill formed, morally compromised and temperamentally unfit, an expected future corrupt administration, short tempered, short attention span, vengeful and not showing any signs of changing or growing in his position.
Yet people keep saying to give him a chance. Really? Truly? How and why? Till we are in a trade war, at a war mentality with China, with people dying terrible deaths because they have not medical coverage because repeal was not followed by replace and a fair replace at that, because social programs were slashed and guess what? Jobs will then evaporate as well when there is no money coming in because of the trade war and people cannot afford to buy anything with the tariffs and high prices.
People, we are in for a bad four years unless we get him gone and remember to never allow such a person to be in this position again. He sets a bad example for all, brings in a family to rule with him and I use rule purposely and just look at the big companies scramble to put in ads that tell of how they are creating jobs and have done so over the years. Why? Because they are afraid of the vengeful behavior of this man, threatened by him and his "I'll get you, my pretty!" attitude.
Added in - a most unispired speech, mostly Stephen Miller's ideas, could be he wrote it as well and what the hell is with that fist pump - the new signal of American Fascism? Feh!!
So that is that ranch and what about our local ranch? Yup, right here in Century Village. Here too we have a man who rules by secrecy, by dictat, by threats, by throwing people under the bus and then resurrecting them if they serve his purpose. He has brought the administration to the point where NO ONE wants to run for office for what good will it do. He has made it ever more difficult to challenge him and wants to increase that difficulty to a point of no return. He does things in secret and wants to shove his Atlantic Broadband company down our throats or up our you know whats! Where are the bids from other companies. Why are we doing this two and some years ahead of the need? Why were we not going to have time to read the contract? What does David have going on for him in this contract? Why does he think he has the right to determine our Internet provider when it is only cable that is the purview of UCO.
Why has he done this - and please, do not tell me he is doing this for the good of the village. Sure, it might be good for his cronies who own multiple apartments or so he thinks or for his friend the motel owner in Sheffield or others like him but not for the residents who want their freedom to choose and have phones without extra payments and want a contract where at the end we will be paying close to 50% more than during the first year and why the hell are we taking such a long contract? How will they service us? What will we do for the next few years when Comcast will not rush to help us for what purpose will it serve them to do so? Is this contract along the lines of the best contract ever for security that we had to redo with another company? Is it along the lines of that "wonderful" paving job? Is it along the outrageous raise we are to pay for WPRF and again next year as more expenses come up and we are the bearers of the burdens?
We need to take a look at all our governmental entities on every level and fix what needs fixing and not listen to fools who claim they are being told they are illegal and so is everyone else!! All she probably needs is an adjustment and in full disclosure, my service with Comcast has been great after the first few years They got their act together, they have many trucks and repairmen to service the Village and were totally blindsided with this new contract at this time. I have no stock with them and just like them and do not like the way David Israel does his business here. How and why should we trust Atlantic when they are so disliked by their current customers?
Back at the ranch is not a good situation - not here, not in the country and for sure not in the world. Germany has a crazy right wing party again that is growing, Hungary has Jobbik, the European Union is dissolving, NATO allies are in turmoil especially with Trump's statements and Turkey issues with Europe, terrorists are running around blowing things up, people are shooting others in mass numbers - guess that grizzly gun will help! Not!! Women's rights, LGBT rights, civil rights are all threatening to fall by the wayside. Step up folks, join protest clubs. Join others who will work to insure that the USA does not become an unfair and fascistic country and demand of the world that they behave in a manner befitting its purported values, its support of human rights, of caring for people.
Yeehaw? Not really? Proud to be an American? Yes and no. Not with Trump but yes with those who are marching and those who speak up. The lowest rated approval for an incoming president - says something, does it not? Heed it. Hear it.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE WE HAPPY?
I read of an interesting idea this morning. It is a Happiness Index used as a gauge for social ills. Very interesting. It is a finely tuned instrument which basically states that there are three measures to pay attention to: "ethical, beautiful and meaningful."
So I asked myself if I am happy according to these three categories. I think so. I have a beautiful family and it makes my heart swell when I see that the three kids get along and the cousins like each other and maintain contact. I have a good husband, a partner in and for life, a high school sweetheart to a life time sweetheart. I adore the fact that the grandkids call us frequently and the older ones can indulge in great teasing bouts.
Fine books, a book club, great friends from all walks in life, music, shows, and a blog which allows me to express my thoughts and no one can shut me down. I am amazed that I have international readers and welcome them. And , I believe, I lead a good life, trying to do what is right, take the ethical path, and try to make my life meaningful. No. I am not perfect, but I do try to do the best I can and I do not care if there are people who oppose me. That is their right, mistaken as they might be, but I do detest the nastiness and pettiness that come with some. There is no need for that.
So yes, I am happy.
There are things that make me unhappy but before we get to that, ask yourself if you are happy and if not, then why not and think about how to make it better. The human condition allows us to fix things and if we are able to do so, if we live in conditions that allow us to do so then there is no excuse for not trying.
And what if the conditions are not conducive to happiness at times. Well, then do something. Say something. Write something. March. Protest. Talk. Even act out if needs be.
But being happy does not shut out the possibility and the living truth that there are things that make us unhappy. For example, I am extremely unhappy about the Trump situation. I believe he is actually a danger to us, to America, to the world, and in particular to several groups. Immigrants. Women. The needy. People of color. And yes, Jews. And do not tell me that he has a Jewish son-in-law and Jewish grandchildren. Everybody always has a favorite or pet Jew even as they allow and encourage anti Semitism to flourish. Deny David Duke in a powerful statement. Kick Bannon out with a great big thump! Warn the nationalists and the populists who are encouraged by you that all racism, all xenophobia, all such nastiness is not to be encouraged by anyone. Today in Germany they allowed a severely anti Semitic party to remain legal and earn seats in government and why? Because they do not as yet serve a threat to others. Really? They had seats in local houses of government and what? Do we wait until the danger is imminent and right in the face!!
Today there was a huge wave of live phone calls to Jewish institutions all over America warning of bombs, including right here in Palm Beach Gardens. What do we do when the inevitable happens and someone is for real or someone says to forget it, a hoax. What then? Where is the happiness then?
And where is the happiness when the nominee for Education does not even know the difference between growth and measurement. Lord in Heaven, spare us from such experts! Please! And spare us a nominee for Health who has huge holdings and even fooled quite close, possibly right into it, insider trading as he bought stocks that he knew would benefit from upcoming legislation. Smells stinky to me. Spare us from all those Fat Cats who are now going to become entrenched in the government, all the lobbyists who were supposedly to be gone. Money rules. Money talks and by the way, just forget the 18 million who stand to lose health coverage the first year as Obamacare is repealed and then all the others who will not be able to afford the increase in premiums, as much as 25%! Are we happy then? Are the constituents happy then? Are the Republicans going to keep blinders on and be happy that they were able to screw the Americans as they hewed to a crooked Party line?
So relax and take a trip to a national park and enjoy nature. But uh oh! Pruitt, the nominee has this marvelous take on his role as EPA chief - keep the parks but lets mine for coal, rip off the tops of mountains, strip mine, dig for oil and what the hell if there is a leak, frack away. Too bad for that land - there's more where it came from evidently. The hypocrisy and the oxymoronic statements and behavior is just amazing in a bad way. Sad. Wrong. Fantastically wrong! Not great!
So on Friday, when that man is sworn in and presents his speech, what will we get. If he sticks to script, we will see a bunch of lies as he brags of what he has not done, as he takes credit for what he did not bring about, and makes false statements about what he will do and accomplish. If he slips and goes off - well, who the hell knows! Hey, maybe he will tweet the whole thing in bursts of 140 characters and makes believe he is still an adolescent but then again - he acts like one and that is insulting adolescents! Let us see if he addresses these concerns: "We are all coming together at this pivotal moment to demonstrate that we will fight any effort to roll back the clock on access to health care coverage, our reproductive rights, the safety and security of immigrant groups and the policies and programs serving women, children and families and preventing them from falling beneath the safety net,”
"We have become a nation of victims. Every group with a sobriquet that survives two news cycles feels that it has been wronged. From ‘deplorables’ to Democrats; fly-overs, free-thinkers and fundamentalists; populists and progressives – all believe that they have been ignored, disappointed, and beaten down. All of us need to listen to find a better way."
That is the statement from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and it comes with a plea to Trump to bring the nation together - make us happy according to the opening of this piece.
Are you happy yet? Do you believe that he will do this., that he will give us the beautiful, the meaningful, the ethical. Perhaps we can be happy in our individual lives, but happy as a nation - grave doubt. Sad!
So I asked myself if I am happy according to these three categories. I think so. I have a beautiful family and it makes my heart swell when I see that the three kids get along and the cousins like each other and maintain contact. I have a good husband, a partner in and for life, a high school sweetheart to a life time sweetheart. I adore the fact that the grandkids call us frequently and the older ones can indulge in great teasing bouts.
Fine books, a book club, great friends from all walks in life, music, shows, and a blog which allows me to express my thoughts and no one can shut me down. I am amazed that I have international readers and welcome them. And , I believe, I lead a good life, trying to do what is right, take the ethical path, and try to make my life meaningful. No. I am not perfect, but I do try to do the best I can and I do not care if there are people who oppose me. That is their right, mistaken as they might be, but I do detest the nastiness and pettiness that come with some. There is no need for that.
So yes, I am happy.
There are things that make me unhappy but before we get to that, ask yourself if you are happy and if not, then why not and think about how to make it better. The human condition allows us to fix things and if we are able to do so, if we live in conditions that allow us to do so then there is no excuse for not trying.
And what if the conditions are not conducive to happiness at times. Well, then do something. Say something. Write something. March. Protest. Talk. Even act out if needs be.
But being happy does not shut out the possibility and the living truth that there are things that make us unhappy. For example, I am extremely unhappy about the Trump situation. I believe he is actually a danger to us, to America, to the world, and in particular to several groups. Immigrants. Women. The needy. People of color. And yes, Jews. And do not tell me that he has a Jewish son-in-law and Jewish grandchildren. Everybody always has a favorite or pet Jew even as they allow and encourage anti Semitism to flourish. Deny David Duke in a powerful statement. Kick Bannon out with a great big thump! Warn the nationalists and the populists who are encouraged by you that all racism, all xenophobia, all such nastiness is not to be encouraged by anyone. Today in Germany they allowed a severely anti Semitic party to remain legal and earn seats in government and why? Because they do not as yet serve a threat to others. Really? They had seats in local houses of government and what? Do we wait until the danger is imminent and right in the face!!
Today there was a huge wave of live phone calls to Jewish institutions all over America warning of bombs, including right here in Palm Beach Gardens. What do we do when the inevitable happens and someone is for real or someone says to forget it, a hoax. What then? Where is the happiness then?
And where is the happiness when the nominee for Education does not even know the difference between growth and measurement. Lord in Heaven, spare us from such experts! Please! And spare us a nominee for Health who has huge holdings and even fooled quite close, possibly right into it, insider trading as he bought stocks that he knew would benefit from upcoming legislation. Smells stinky to me. Spare us from all those Fat Cats who are now going to become entrenched in the government, all the lobbyists who were supposedly to be gone. Money rules. Money talks and by the way, just forget the 18 million who stand to lose health coverage the first year as Obamacare is repealed and then all the others who will not be able to afford the increase in premiums, as much as 25%! Are we happy then? Are the constituents happy then? Are the Republicans going to keep blinders on and be happy that they were able to screw the Americans as they hewed to a crooked Party line?
So relax and take a trip to a national park and enjoy nature. But uh oh! Pruitt, the nominee has this marvelous take on his role as EPA chief - keep the parks but lets mine for coal, rip off the tops of mountains, strip mine, dig for oil and what the hell if there is a leak, frack away. Too bad for that land - there's more where it came from evidently. The hypocrisy and the oxymoronic statements and behavior is just amazing in a bad way. Sad. Wrong. Fantastically wrong! Not great!
So on Friday, when that man is sworn in and presents his speech, what will we get. If he sticks to script, we will see a bunch of lies as he brags of what he has not done, as he takes credit for what he did not bring about, and makes false statements about what he will do and accomplish. If he slips and goes off - well, who the hell knows! Hey, maybe he will tweet the whole thing in bursts of 140 characters and makes believe he is still an adolescent but then again - he acts like one and that is insulting adolescents! Let us see if he addresses these concerns: "We are all coming together at this pivotal moment to demonstrate that we will fight any effort to roll back the clock on access to health care coverage, our reproductive rights, the safety and security of immigrant groups and the policies and programs serving women, children and families and preventing them from falling beneath the safety net,”
"We have become a nation of victims. Every group with a sobriquet that survives two news cycles feels that it has been wronged. From ‘deplorables’ to Democrats; fly-overs, free-thinkers and fundamentalists; populists and progressives – all believe that they have been ignored, disappointed, and beaten down. All of us need to listen to find a better way."
That is the statement from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and it comes with a plea to Trump to bring the nation together - make us happy according to the opening of this piece.
Are you happy yet? Do you believe that he will do this., that he will give us the beautiful, the meaningful, the ethical. Perhaps we can be happy in our individual lives, but happy as a nation - grave doubt. Sad!
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
SO WHAT NOW, ONE MIGHT ASK?
900,000 protesters are expected to be in Washington this Inauguration weekend. 900,000. These are people who are worried, who are traveling hundreds and even thousands of miles to make their voices heard. Unions, women, education, and we can go on but the import of it is clear. The mandate is not there, the majority did not want him, and though there are moral cowards who now are sniffing back in their original protests, namely politicians who want jobs, there are those with moral courage and backbones.
Every day in the paper we read of the backgrounds of his nominees and almost to a one, they are guilty of being the opposite of what they should be unless their job is to ruin all the advances we have made. They have ignored the fact that thousands of people are now finally speaking up, worried over how they will maintain their health if Obamacare is repealed and there is not even an unsatisfactory substitute plan available. What they never had and finally did, they now stand to lose. Terrific!! Fantastic! Just great!! But really not.
We have a leader who is an inveterate liar, cannot tell the truth if he tried. For example, he now states that the Trump organization never had anything to do with Russia. Huh!! What were all those visits? What were all those attempts to name something, anything, over there with a Trump name attached to it? This man thinks that lies cover over all truths and you know what, it has been tried before and people fall for it. The Big Lie and isn't this showman just ever so clever with its use.
He is clever in his use of Tweets for with their outrageous contents he blocks the media from paying attention to the real stuff and how horrendous it is and how little he has done in the manner of something positive or advanced. Regulations are ready to be dumped. No safety for workers. No environmental controls. All limitations on corporations and big banks - gone. Natural resources - why just gobble them up. Minimum wage, limitations on working hours, on UNPAID working hours, on discrimination in the workplace and everywhere else and on and on. I am nauseous and scared. What have we wrought?
So yes, this end of week is depressing indeed but it is also inspiring and we and the rest of the world must hold this man's feet to the fire and force him to do the right thing, to talk with a straight tongue and not a forked one, to think - though that might be hard to do - and to learn the importance of policy, of thought, of honesty, of deliberateness and consistency. That is what we must pay attention to and what we must take him to task if he does not. Difficult and frustration but if not - not many other choices left, are there? And above all, we must, must, see that ethics and morality play a central role in all that is his administration.
Every day in the paper we read of the backgrounds of his nominees and almost to a one, they are guilty of being the opposite of what they should be unless their job is to ruin all the advances we have made. They have ignored the fact that thousands of people are now finally speaking up, worried over how they will maintain their health if Obamacare is repealed and there is not even an unsatisfactory substitute plan available. What they never had and finally did, they now stand to lose. Terrific!! Fantastic! Just great!! But really not.
We have a leader who is an inveterate liar, cannot tell the truth if he tried. For example, he now states that the Trump organization never had anything to do with Russia. Huh!! What were all those visits? What were all those attempts to name something, anything, over there with a Trump name attached to it? This man thinks that lies cover over all truths and you know what, it has been tried before and people fall for it. The Big Lie and isn't this showman just ever so clever with its use.
He is clever in his use of Tweets for with their outrageous contents he blocks the media from paying attention to the real stuff and how horrendous it is and how little he has done in the manner of something positive or advanced. Regulations are ready to be dumped. No safety for workers. No environmental controls. All limitations on corporations and big banks - gone. Natural resources - why just gobble them up. Minimum wage, limitations on working hours, on UNPAID working hours, on discrimination in the workplace and everywhere else and on and on. I am nauseous and scared. What have we wrought?
So yes, this end of week is depressing indeed but it is also inspiring and we and the rest of the world must hold this man's feet to the fire and force him to do the right thing, to talk with a straight tongue and not a forked one, to think - though that might be hard to do - and to learn the importance of policy, of thought, of honesty, of deliberateness and consistency. That is what we must pay attention to and what we must take him to task if he does not. Difficult and frustration but if not - not many other choices left, are there? And above all, we must, must, see that ethics and morality play a central role in all that is his administration.
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