MUSIC? MAYBE

     I simply do not know. Is there anything out there that can put paid to this dangerous nonsense, this adult game of the dozens? While I cannot speak for all of you, I can for myself, and I wonder all day, every day, how and when we can get an adult into the most dangerous and powerful position ever.
     As a former principal I would have sat the participants in a nasty game of oneupsmanship down together, given them one pad and pencil, displayed a small piece of dismay and disappointment and asked them to come together on one joint account of how they had reached this point. By the time they had returned to me with this assignment complete, they were on talking terms and asked to be excused as they had apologized to each other and knew what and where they had gone wrong.
     But somehow all I get in my head when I think of the possible participants in such an exercise is an image of one in particular simply sitting there and spitting garbage and nonsense, name calling to the nth degree and seemingly deaf to words of calm and sense. Yet that seemingly intractable adult is the President of the United States.
     Yes, Wolf spoke some strong comic lines at a dinner wherein it is expected to hear some roasting. The roasting was on a high temp Saturday night, but then again, the roastee was always on a high temp as he spoke and was always calling people names, denigrating women, immigrants - I guess other than his immigrant grandfather - and any other person or organization which displeased him. So goose and gander here, folks?
    "Ready, shoot, aim." That was how one WH official put it, trying to explain the bizarre procedures of the current WH and its head. It is the story of how one royal wannabe demands the loyalty of a monarch of medieval times, the kowtowing of a servile individual, and self abnegation giving all to the would be monarch and losing all of one's morals, soul and dignity.
     So what is the answer? How do we stop this? How do we get back to the time of adults in government? How do we return to a time of decency? How do we honestly and forthrightly face up to the filth underneath, wipe it up, clean it up, prevent its return and make the consequences clear to ALL if and when they cross or have crossed the line? When? When?
     So we know, via Shakespeare and Caliban in The Tempest, that music soothes the soul of the cannibal, of the savage. So perhaps that is what we need. We need the soft strings of a waltz or the Muzak of an elevator, or perhaps New Age tinkling and chiming, Whatever, as long as it does its jobs. Too bad, The Donald I could not have been with me yesterday afternoon (shudder, shudder) as we sat with a theater full of people of a certain age - which includes him! - and sang plaintive songs of the 60's and 70's that were written by women. It was a  return to the days when we were kids, adolescents just starting out on our journey, when we still had hopes and dreams, plans and morals.
     All came out of there with smiles and laughter, humming the tunes and finding more, thanking the people who had put this together. So maybe we should take a lesson from the ATF and the Army and anyone else who used music the wrong way, mistreated it and blasted it at people they felt deserved it. Perhaps we should pipe in the soft music straight into the WH and hey, the offices of the Secretaries as well. Can't do any harm at this point. Think what a glorious world it would be with the air filled with the soft lilts of calm and love, of beauty and hope. Dreaming? Maybe. But anyone have another plan? Open for suggestions! So sad that this is what we have come to - wondering how to settle down the president!! The dangerously deranged president. The foul mouthed tweeting madly president. Oy, enough for today! Going to ask Alexa to play me some sweet songs.

MUCK AND BRASS

     There is an old British saying that where there is muck, there is brass. Muck is filth, dirt, filthy dirt and brass is not the metal per se, but money, that and brassy nervy behavior in the worst sense of the word. As old as this saying is, it still applies, frighteningly so in the climate of today's political world. Its moral world as well.
     Money is the root of all evil, or so it is said, but actually, I think that it is not, for the most part, money as an abstract, to store away under myriad mattresses or millions of rusty tin cans. It is the things, the power that this money seems to buy in a never ending vicious cycle. Get money, get the power, act accordingly, get more money, more power and rule the world, whichever world it is that one chooses.
     Don't think I am correct.? Okay. Look around. Take the filthy administration in DC, the one drowning in its own filth, the polluted swamp we now have there. Read about and tote up all the millions upon millions of dollars that these appointees have assigned to themselves. See the signs of power - according to their twisted and benighted minds - that they have accrued, the use of the funds they have available to them - and allowed to do so by a wimpy, morally deprived Congress, particularly the Republicans which go tsk, tsk, and then have such nice little chats together. This saccharine tinged filth is enough to choke one.
     The top filthmaker and brass gatherer - Trump himself. Take a look at his latest rally in Michigan. What a  load of hooey! Now it is okay to bring in guest workers for the farmers who have no one to reap the crops? Well, of course he was always bringing them in for his hotels, but now that there is beginning to be reason for panic, as crops begin to rot in the fields, as prices begin to rise, so forget what he said before. He does, so what's the dif ?
     So the corporations are having their day again, piling up the cash, not noticing lots of money come back to these shores, anyone, are you, factories are still closing down and more will do so as Trump's crazy tariff war takes deeper hold and roots, and who will have the brass - why Trumpie, old boy, as he gathers his rosebuds from foreign powers in the form of hotel funds and rates, pretty gifts, the trappings of majesty such as 21 gun salutes, and parades. All the trappings of brass in the muck of the world he has created. 
     And this type of behavior does not stop a the boundaries of the DC swamp. Nope, we are graced with this filth and brass connection in almost all the states of the country as figure after figure goes down for the count - bribery, sex scandals, gift taking and whatnot. State level. County level. City and town level. Where does it stop? Who the hell knows what with the pseudo leadership at the top.
     And it transcends borders as well. Choose almost any country of the world, no matter its type or ostensible type of government. Democracies are being challenged and destroyed. Dictatorships are calling themselves democracies even as they lock up journalists and murder them, starting by demonizing them and calling them a danger to the country. Wow!! Sound familiar, anyone? Bribery abounds in so many countries, elected leaders become like the guests who overstay their welcome and remain and remain and remain. And why, well, look at  their personal accounts, the accounts of the families and see the bottom figure rise. Hey, Trump family, sound familiar?
     Now the question is  or should be - how long will the waiting be and what are we waiting for? Are we going to be able to resurrect ourselves, bring back morality, true democracy, stop the denigration, the dangerous denigration of journalism, stop the dangerous practice of the Big Lie? Are we going to encourage hatred and prejudice and encourage the violence that it engenders? Or will we be waiting for the final end, the dystopian world that we have long been warned about?
     Filth and muck and brass and power and waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
   

IS THAT FOR REAL?

     Well, yesterday we all took a trip to Bizzaro land. As a teacher of Language Arts I shuddered at the incomplete sentences, the lies and accusations without backup, the non sequiturs, and the repetitions. It is one thing if there is someone in the world of private business or even a CEO of a company who is off the track, but when it is the President of the United States, one has to wonder: what the hell are we doing!
     We have no leader. That is clear. One that talks of the Republicans doing that thing, somehow connected in his fuzzy mind to the Civil War, is not normal. Even if we were to say that he knew what he wanted to say, he has lost the connection between mind and mouth, though I am fairly sure that his mind is damaged, severely so at this point.
     And here we go, back to the Admiral, the doctor to the White House, the alleged drunk, pill popping and dispensing doctor who is the one who tells us that Trump is just about in perfect health and his mind is sane. Uh huh! How could we trust this man's statements. I did not trust then and certainly do not now so now what? Can we demand that Trump get reevaluated? Hah! Try that. It might happen right after he releases his tax returns. Like the second Tuesday of the first week of the thirteenth month! Like never!
     The admission in his phone interview that he knew Cohen was representing him with Stormy Daniels - whoops! Still talking over who has a bigger - what? as he compares himself to the North Korean leader, such a good way to enter negotiations by demeaning your talk partner. Wow! I am so underawed once again by this damaged man.
     What I think, at least to me and many others, is the policy of the Homeland people, the ICE people, the Border Patrol that is truly indicating how low we have fallen. That is to take the children of immigrants and separate them from their parents. The age does not come into play, just rip them out of the arms. What is next? Will they follow this Nazi path, this path of horrendous destruction of children that we see in other countries? So what? Will they shoot these pesky kids? Slam their heads on the ground? Oh, for sure, that will teach the parents a lesson! No one will want to come here any longer, to such a cruel country, one that eats its inhabitants and those who wish to be among the inhabitants.
     What is even worse is that these kids receive no care, no help, in dealing with their situation. So one has little kids sitting and staring into space, or crying, refusing to eat, cannot sleep, all wondering where is their parent, they want their mommy or daddy. But  nope, must punish them. Must punish the parents. And worse, the Department has now lost track of almost 1,500 of these children. Did they run away? Were they killed? Are they living on the streets? Are they being used as slave labor as they found in one situation?
     And to add insult to so many injuries, Trump, the madman, the anti democratic leader of the largest democratic country in the world, threatens that he is going to take over the Justice Department, that it is his!!!! NO!! Most assuredly and emphatically no!!! It belongs to the people and this man has so twisted it that it is almost unrecognizable and the fact that he can find people wishing to do these things - well, do not say it cannot happen here for it is happening, Right now!
     As a last straw, hear the words and meaning of the Solicitor General who defended that awful immigration ban. When Justice Kagan posed a hypothetical question about a hate filled president who has animus in his heart, states that people from Israel cannot be admitted into the country. What then, she asked and the lawyer responded that the president had every right to do that, to say that, to enforce that and just get the Cabinet to agree, but even so, if that is what the president wants then we must give it to him for it is now law! No matter that it is wrong. Has this man not read history? Is he so ignorant of the difference between even questionable laws, legal according to the moment, and immoral behavior, the fact that we must distinguish between legal and moral? Or is he saying that all the people in Nazi Germany, all the killers of the Tutsi, all the slaughterers of the Yazidi, the Rohingya, are doing the legal thing and it is okay. Never mind that it is wrong with a capital W. Never mind the history of mankind on this issue. Thus we all become complicit in this horror or we need to fight against it.
     We need to come to our senses, people. And the first step is to depose the most dangerous man at this point. Impeach, convict, convince to resign, whatever, but get him gone and get Pence to understand what he can and cannot do, what the people of this country will tolerate and what not.
     Is that for real? Is this for real? Unfortunately so.

THE O'ER AND THE 'NEATH

     The world of the o'er is the world of the surface. It is what we see when we look. It is the seeming appearance of people and things and often has pitfalls waiting from the 'neath world. It is the quicksand waiting for the luckless person, seeming to be solid ground and then one is entrapped. So it is in our world and so it is that we need to look at the 'neath if we are to understand people and know what to do.
     So lovey-dovey. Holding hands and kissing and hugging, grooming each other. Macron and Trump, the new couple of the year. But watch out for there is more to it than that.  Macron ran circles around Trump and then in front of Congress slammed his cooing seeming partner right where it hurts - in the basis of Trumpism.
He spoke against the idea of strong men and dictatorships, against isolation and mentioned America First policy as wrong. It was lovely to see. The o'er and the 'neath.
     We see the hypocrisy that arises from the contrast of the o'er and the 'neath. We forget our own history. So Michael Cohen now is taking the Fifth on questions re his payoff to Daniels.. Huh!! This from the lawyer of the President?! Never before! This from the lawyer of the man who reamed out people for taking the Fifth, stating that only mob people did that! Uh huh! Are we supposed to forget that he himself took the Fifth during his divorce proceedings with Ivana Trump?
     The o'er and the 'neath. So a policeman who was supposed to serve and protect now turns out to be one of the worst serial killers ever, the Golden State Killer, a former chair of ethics  officer throws away ethics and sanity as she screams filth at an officer who pulled her daughter over. And the filth that came out during the two Cosby trials and the retrogressing of the defense attorneys who tried their best to damage the victims. The filth 'neath the o'er.
     Nor does it stop there. The promises of the Trump campaign have turned to dust for the most part and we hope more will continue to do so. He is surviving by governing via Executive Orders, just as a strongman dictator who despises the very idea of democracy would do. Despite giving heaps of cash back to the corporations, here we now have Ford doing major cutting! The o'er and the 'neath.
     We have lost our sense of balance, of decency and  now turn to fighting like children, calling each other names, touting lies as the truth, and why not, for is that not what the supposed leader does? So in Indiana there is a disgusting race for a primary victor in the Republican party. Personally, I would not vote for a single one of these filthy mouthed creeps who certainly set an example - the wrong one, and who have allowed the dirt of the 'neath to take over the o'er.
     So the question is and always will be, will we fight our way back from the quicksand into which we have fallen or will we give way and find a new world in the quaking grounds of the world of the 'neath? Will we learn a lesson from the new memorial to the victims of lynching, a chilling one, one that attests to the worst of mankind, one that shows what happens when we allow the 'neath to take over. And these same hatreds are popping up, rising to the surface, giving off a nasty stench and we must make a choice. Do we choose the o'er, a world which must be appreciated and maintained via hard work, watchfulness, or do we choose the world of the 'neath, seemingly easier but not so in the long run.
     Imagine if the world of The Handmaid's Tale was the world that we lived in. Not pleasant, is it. It happens when people do not watch, are not vigilant protecting our democracy and decency and allow the supposed little busting of the gas bubbles from the 'neath to go unnoticed, until their stench and their evil pervades the world above.
     Choose the world one wants to live in. Choose the world of the o'er where wrongs hopefully are righted, where mankind realizes that we are one, all alone on a little blue ball in space. Choose the world where struggle leads hopefully to something good, something right, something decent. 

     
     

VIGNETTES OF LIFE

     Sometimes it is the little picture that tells the whole picture. The words of love from a husband whose wife was taken violently and suddenly. The finger wrestling of a wife as she discouraged her husband from holding her hand. The signs held by the young as they plead for the right to safety or the right to live in a country that is truly theirs.
     It is the picture of a woman in the hat, a signature of Olivia Pope in Scandal. It is just as iconic as the pillbox of Jackie Kennedy, except that this hat represents an almost in your face defiant attitude - the question being who is she defying?!
     It is the glee and joy when a seat in a legislative body turns over, becomes Democrat, and the hopes are raised. It is the voices of dissent and disappointment that voters have when asked about you know who. It is the sight of huge semis lined up under a bridge to prevent a man from jumping to his death. And it is the GoFundMe page raising $100,000 in a day for the hero of the Waffle House shooting.
     It is seen in the rather silly fight over motorized scooters, you know, the toy of kids and now evidently of adults who think it is okay to use on crowded sidewalks. The answer seemingly seems to be to vandalize them!! Stupid. Use common sense is the answer.
     Life in not too pretty a picture in the so called Apartheid Week, a cynical and thinly veiled open demonstration of anti Semitism. It is in the shouting and even physical accosting of college students as they walk on campus with a kippah or a star or a religious garment showing. It is in the bewilderment of these students as they face something they never thought they would have to - not in America!!
     And does the hate ever end? Why must a boy ask a girl to a prom using words of hate? Where does it come in? Why was it necessary? But at least the DACA program was given a breath of life yesterday by a Federal court which gave the Justice Department - what a misnomer that is these days - to explain their reasoning for their shutdown, one, presumably, not based on hatred and prejudice and lies.
     And for  a funny side or an icky side - take your choice - we have the touchy feely behavior of Trump and Macron. Hugging and kissing and picking dandruff off a jacket - primate grooming perhaps? - and for what? Another duel of the infamous handshake only in different form? Actually, it was both silly and icky at the same time. Just shake hands like normal people.
     And it is in the scenes inside homes across the country, simple scenes of simple joys. Of welcoming home a traveler. Or hearing a good lecture. Or listening to beautiful music for it does soothe the soul. Or going to the library and bringing home a stack of good books, like a treasure waiting to be uncovered.
Or in the simple presence of a friend and in the hugs of a beloved child or grandchild.
     Vignettes of life. So small and yet so telling.

EVER WONDER?

     Did you ever wonder how things got to this point? Did you ever wonder how the hell we make some progress and fix the messes all around us? Does it make you feel blue, disconcerted and in despair? Well, take some ......... and you will feel so much better, that is, aside from suicidal tendencies and thoughts, headaches, strokes, heart attack and awful rashes!
     Sound familiar?  We hear this and similar statements countless times daily, be it on the TV or radio as the sponsors have their moments. So one can be cured, but then dead! Great job! So why continue this? Because we have been taught and encouraged to think that there is a quick fix to everything. Just pop a pill or two, call x, y, or z, or better yet, go for a payday loan and blow the rest of your life!
     There has to be a stop to this type of thinking for it permeates all of our thinking and when we come up against something that cannot be all better in or with a quick fix, then we kind of fall apart, either curling up in denial or bluster away or threaten who knows what and waste our energy on useless paths and ideas rather than getting to the crux of the matter.
    We are all guilty of this type of false thinking, looking for that magic cure-all. We then look for a guilty party or even an innocent party to blame. Oh, it must be those immigrants breeding away - a la Trump. Or it is those poor people or even it is that filthy rich class that has sucked up all the money in the world. And then we listen to words of foolishness and inanity, words of no sense and think we have gotten some answer, and we need to place our trust in the person or persons making and backing those statements.
     So we get to who's on first situations. So we cannot discuss the possibility of presidential pardon for Cohen by Trump because it has not happened yet but if it does....? And then we are told to speak to attorneys about this but hey, they have nothing to do with it - it is all on Trump and therein lies a huge problem for me. Ever hear of one crook pardoning another so the second crook will not rollover on the first? Huh? Kinda the fox and the henhouse situation. And yet here we are in that very situation.
     And by the way, why is a pardon needed if he did not do anything wrong? And why does Trump not stand up and say he is not worried because he did nothing wrong but Trump is not doing that. Instead he is ranting and raving all over the twitter world with his ignorant and infantile and limited language and use of capitals to make his point.
     We get to the point of wondering if there is anyone left out there who is honest and righteous and patriotic in the proper sense, who does not have an insane desire to harass or cheat or run people over or even better shoot them and then of course have the rant of the NRA re the importance of access to assault weapons! Certainly we cannot feel safe and secure when yet another nominee of Trump's is under suspicion for some "raw allegations' and what the hell does that mean? And why did that semi nude guy shoot up the Waffle House - gee, not even an immigrant! And why does it seem that people now seem to think that vans are weapons of mass murder?
     I have no answers to these questions. We need to be more vigilant and careful in whom we place our trust. We need to think more carefully and for the longer term. We need to look into the future and evaluate all consequences and most important of all, somehow, someway, we need to inculcate morals and values, true ones, not fake ones, not hypocritical ones, not surface ones and we need to develop a moral backbone, an open heart and mind, and a knowledge of the fact that we are all one on this lonely planet and what one does affects all else. Think there is a pill or quick fix for that? I do not.


     

THE DARK AND THE LIGHT

     Never before have we lived through such times. Yes, there have been times of crisis, some pretty bad. The country rocked back in shock with Nixon, older times had the corruption of the Harding administration or the incompetence of that of Grant as President. But never before, certainly not in modern times, have we had such a crisis. And worst of all is the fact that the taint and darkness of it all strikes from top to bottom.
     Actually, worst of all is the fact that we are finding out how much dirt and darkness have been hidden, willfully hidden beneath the surface. We find out the depths of the hypocrisy and cynicism as people in authority forgot their responsibilities to those in their charge or their duties and others were just after the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and G-d help anyone who got in their way. And all thought they would never be found out and yet here it is, all the filth coming to the surface but, a great big but - how to deal with it.
     The sports federation, USA Gymnastics, expressed horror and shock at the disclosures of the molestation of so many young girls and women. Oh dear , oh dear as they acted as if they had never known and yet we now find out that they not only knew, but worked desperately not to protect these kids but worked oh so hard to - keep it quiet!!!!! The hypocrisy. The lack of caring as these girls and young women were molested, affected for life, trust betrayed, evil alive!
     We have the shouts, the frenzied charges of the alt right, particularly those in the world of media. How they ranted and raved against policies of Obama or threw charges at the environmental and business regulations that protected the country and consumers and wow, who'd a thunk, huh that such darlings as Sean Hannity would be proven to have benefitted from the very same policies he insulted, made money off the woes of so many during the real estate crisis and even now has a huge real estate empire, including slum properties. Huh! Just like his buddy, Trump and Kushner, who mistreated tenants and/or workers.
     We have Secretaries of the departments that run the country, that should be serving the people and instead we have a bunch of characters who think they are the reincarnation of Saudi princes who have a non ending spout of money pouring out just for them. The open greed, the secret greed, and the nonchalance about it, the 'who me' attitude that they oh so innocently display as if they never would have known that what they were doing was so, so very wrong, so very immoral.
     And of course we have the wonderful leader of it all, Trump, who gives the okay to do all this, to live the wrong way, to ignore their duties, to turn their responsibilities upside down, to ignore conflict of interests and in fact, it seems as if the more there are of those, the better one's chances of getting affirmed!!! And now a question remains to be answered - how much did the rank and file of our representatives on the Hill know about the truth and if so, if they actually knew then why did they allow this, vote to confirm, shout, cynically and dishonestly, their oh so justified rants at the Democrats? It boggles the mind.
     But they knew that THIS president would allow it all and in fact approved of this behavior as he was the paradigm of it. He has made the act of hatred, crude statements and dishonesty out to be the right thing to do. He has brought the level of government down to the level of rewiring adolescents who tweet their lives and brains away, ignorant or uncaring of the mess they leave behind and the disaster they are making of the future.
     And the crap just pours down as lesser levels spout the same stuff and the same behavior. Brian Mast in his tailored short pants sends out emails that purport to show how people oriented he is and yet he consistently states that he is a Trump man all the way. His votes prove that. We have the politicians who still kowtow to the NRA though at least there is some light there. We have bribery scandal, misdeeds in the Sheriff's Office and in police departments around the country. We have citizens who feel disenfranchised and others feel disillusioned and even hopeless.
     And it gets no better here in CVWPB. We have a supposed leader who is cynical, unbalanced as he waltzes through the workday singing Gilbert and Sullivan songs out loud, constantly voices insults and crude nicknames - hey, just like you know who - and whose business workings are veiled in silence and denial. Oh, so you think there is something wrong with a multi million dollar one page contract or one which does not have liability clauses or managers of projects? Silly you.There is always a catchup for him and his. When there are issues, such as with this ABC installation, it seems to wait to be caught out, for someone to take notice and then, and only then, is action taken. The status of our reserves? Who knows? How is it being spent down? Who knows? How will we pay for needed big capital expenditures? Who knows? Just make sure the snacks are in place and ignore the growing buzz of dissatisfaction, of growing apathy as people feel that we have to let nature take its course if we are to get anywhere, to rumblings of rebellion and to growing inertia as if to say  nothing can be done.
     The world outside is breaking into a tribal mentality, the country is doing the same thing and we are apparently not immune to it either. We are now composed of not so much CV residents, but of CV residents who belong to this group or that and who see the Village thru the prism of their tribe. It is nasty. It is counter productive and it is wrong. If it keeps up then it will prove to be the undoing of our wonderful home.
     So where is the light in all this? Simple. It is in the innate goodness of people. It is in the hopes and dreams and actions of the young. It is in the revived efforts and interests of the old and in the powerful growth of women in and on the playing field. It is in the push for voter registration. It is in the determination of state's attorneys general to use the courts to fight the darkness that is Trump and his cohorts. It is in  the simple goodness of life, in the smile of a friend, in the hug of a child, in the enjoyment of a show, or a good read and certainly in the victories we can achieve over the forces of the dark.
     What we must do is hang in there and strive, always strive for the better part of us. It is the only way.

ZECHARIAH SAYS

     You rub your forehead or pull at your beard. Who the hell is Zechariah? Where is his name in all this mess - no, - in all these messes we are dealing with? Well, one has to go far, far back to find this Zechariah, way back to the times of a man who spoke words of wisdom - and too bad no one listened, not then and not now.
     He was a prophet, with his own book and in the pages of his book there is a telling statement. 
     "These are the things that you shall do. Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgements that are true and make for peace."
     Simple, yet it seems that we are never able to reach that point in our lives, either individual or societal. What would our present situation be like if we spoke the truth, if we did not play these ridiculous and dangerous games wherein we competed to see who comes out on top. Certainly it is not humanity. Even the good guys tell lies, certainly do not render true and just judgements and as for peace, well, just take a look around and list the conflicts around the world.
     Albert Einstein said once that one had to learn the rules of the game and then play to win. A tad cynical, yes, thinking that we can reduce humanity and its survival to a crude game, but there it is. So how do we play this game and is it worth it if we lose our souls in the moves of the game?
     These are questions that I can answer only for myself. If in fighting the good fight we lose the fight for our souls, then what have we won? Nothing, for we are then corrupt ourselves, and in fighting for that better country or status of life for all we simply lose our way and forget our original goals, or sell out for a piece of it. Cynical? Maybe. Pessimistic? Maybe. But what else have we learned from all this current mess?
     We have learned to thumb our phones, to click the computer links, to scan the papers, to laugh and cry at the same time and perhaps give up just a bit more every day. How much more filth can we tolerate? How many more lies will we uncover. No, he does not have business with the government but oh, yes, now we remember. Or no, there were no extramarital affairs - I just paid her money because I liked her or other nonsense, all that speak to the severe decline in our morals, in the nerve of our supposed leaders, in the contempt that they have for the electorate, thinking that no one will ever uncover the truth and even if so, no one will care.
     Zechariah says. He says the truth. That is what he says. A five letter word, not four, and yet we treat the truth as if it were somehow tainted and only the foolish of the Don Quixotes among us speak the truth, honor the truth. Is that the point we have reached? Are we at the time when the voices of yet other Biblical characters ring through. 
     "They said to one another, behold here cometh the dreamer, let us slay him and we shall see what will become of his dreams." (Genesis 37:19 - 20)
     At present we are seeing some glimpses of hope but I wonder, I really do. Remember the power of our anger, of the demands of our generation. We stood in the streets and gave out flowers or hit back. Oh, we were going to change the world and yes, we did, in a way, by actually bringing that war to a close and by riding on buses in the south but then we lost our way, descended into drugs, into nonsense and then into greed. We lost ourselves, spoke not truth nor just judgements.
      So our hopes that are pinned on these bright high schoolers today, the ones who say they will not stand still to be killed nor allow others to do so. These kids that know that more than violence, the quiet speaking of the truth, the registrations to vote, vote, vote - this is what will bring about a change. We will get rid of the dinosaurs, of the petrified wood that our former high charging representatives once were, and we will once and for all surge for equality and justice and truth and honor and hope and peace.
     And if one needs inspiration, if one needs to seek for aid and comfort, for a vision of what can be and should be, then read one of the best and most powerful speeches ever spoken, The  Mountaintop speech spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. only a day or so before his death by violence. Hear his words and then wonder.
     "The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around.... (but) only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.....Something is happening in our world...... And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be.....to make America a better nation."
     "He's allowed me to go up to the mountains. And I've looked over. I've seen the promised land....we as a people, will get to the promised land."
     Read the entire speech. Hear and read the speech in its entirety. Remember the words of Zechariah. Then take accounting of one's own life and of the life of our nation. We need to make a choice. Do we stay in the bogs and mud of the marshes or do we choose the high road, the roads of Zechariah and the words of King? Do we slay the dreamer or do we work hard to attain the dream? Think hard on this, very hard.

WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO THINK

   

    I sit down every morning, usually at ridiculously early hours of the morning, (thank you, insomnia!), and write something. Sometimes it is a summary mixed with my thoughts. Sometimes it is simply a thought piece on a more personal level. Sometimes it is on a national or international aspect of life and other times it is more local, usually another piece criticizing the deeply misguided and poor leadership of David Israel. But today is different.

     No international. No national. Nope, not even David Israel. It is just that the world seems to have disintegrated so much that today is a down day. When people discuss the finale of Scandal more than the real scandal in Washington - well, that says something, does it not? When people scream diametrically opposed statements about the same thing - why have we reached this point and why have we allowed it.

     When we have people threatening to 'lock' up others because they say something that displeases, then we have truly reached a bad and dangerous point. Ten years ago would a sitting President have ever said that? Five years ago? 200 years ago? And what about the future?

     I think we have all lost sight of the value of taking a stand, a righteous stand, a stand where we place people or ideals above us. We need to stand for something. We cannot just go thru life moaning and whining. We must know that there are higher callings, a better way to live.

     We also must know that there are those who have paid the ultimate price either by their own death or by the death of others. I believe that we, our country, the USA, is now sacrificing our young, throwing them into the maw of enemies that will never stop, who profess ideologies, but act as thieves, crooks, murderers, kidnappers and just all over nasty and cruel people. Military defeat means nothing for there are always the deluded and the forced who will give up their lives to take others down with them. What is another way? Sorry, way above my pay grade. Need more facts, more input, and that input must come from the disengaged, meaning those who do not have a finger in the pie on a personal basis.

     And then I think of the country of my heart, Israel. I think of how I felt when Gerry and I stepped off the stairs of the plane and actually stood on the land of Israel. How we felt when reciting a prayer commemorating the destruction of the Temples while sitting on the ancient tiles and ground at the Kotel, the Western Wall. How we felt to see the kids running around free, unafraid, proud to be Israeli. How beautiful it was to meet and begin long relationships with family members , people who were of the surviving remnants, people who defied the British and came over, saving their lives, out of the murderous hands of the Nazis. And now I think of the sacrifices that have been made in the name of the survival of this Jewish state.

     Are there issues? Yes. Are there questions which seem to have no answers? Yes. Can I have difficulty understanding the attitude of some towards Israel, their at times statements and thoughts that revert back to medieval times? Yes. Can I wish for someone to come along and solve it all? Yes. But who? When? How? Will people even be willing to listen? 

      And I read and listen to the videos and articles that talked and spoke in recent days of the sacrifices that Israelis have made. I heard the voice of a mother mourning the death of her kidnapped son, how life seems to have stopped, how she is still watching for him to come through the door. I hear the words of an 18 year old girl who lost her father to terror and who is first now beginning to understand who this man who died at age 29 was and how he is and always will be her Abba, her father. I watched the entire video and the tears came and the words in my heart were anguished.

     Golda Meir said that peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us. Has the State of Israel not been perfect? Of course, but think of double standards and think of the times when Israel has done or said something and the world, including the ridiculous UN, shouted to the heavens, but then turned around and did the same thing and then justified their actions or just ignored criticism.
     So what is the answer to the world? For the world? In Biblical times it seemed that there were times that a 'voice was heard from the heavens'. Would that we would hear it again. Would that the whole world would hear it. We can but dream, can we not. 

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

    Almost immediately after Passover, a holiday celebrating our exodus from slavery and the start of the journey back to our homeland, Israel and the Jewish nation around the world, begin a series of commemorations, ones that turn from joy to tears and from tears to joy.
     First comes Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day wherein the murdered and butchered Jews of Europe and North Africa are remembered, mourned, spoken of with love and sorrow. It is a day when the children and grandchildren of survivors can proudly stand and say "we are here", alive and well, and we have our own nation once again. Tears and joy mixed together.
     Quickly, Yom Hazikaron arrives. This is a memorial day unlike what we celebrate here in America. While here there are ceremonies, much of the day is spoken of as a day of sales, the beginning of summer. In Israel, it is a day of complete and total mourning. From the night before one is immersed in a nation bleeding from the loss of so many of its citizens, men, women, children, lost through battle, through terror, through massacres, even in their own ancestral lands.
     Tuesday night was filled with a sounding of the siren and the TV began its portrayals of the mourned, the stories of the heroes, the reminders that the land and the state of Israel exist because and through the sacrifices of these kedoshim, these holy ones. One watches, glued to the TV or the radio and its sad music, and stays there, as if glued, until there are no more tears left to cry.
    At 11 AM there is a siren and an entire nation comes to a standstill, from the pedestrian to the cars, to the truckers, to the stall owners at the open market, to people in their own homes. The day continues in this mood until late afternoon begins a change.
     The music gradually eases in key from minor to major. There begins a realization that though many have tried, WE ARE HERE. We are alive in our own state. A Jewish state among the nations of the world. It is a state as are other nations, making both right and wrong decisions, yet is always under attack, by word and action, yet takes upon itself a duty to the world in its destruction of Iranian and Syrian nuclear and chemical weapons.
     It is a nation which has taken in literally millions of refugees. Lost remnants of Jews, of all ethnicities and colors, truly a melting pot. The descendants of Anusim, the Jews of Spain, the descendants of wandering tribes from Biblical times, from times of exile - from the four corners of the earth - no longer to be beaten, tormented, hated, slaughtered, but to be citizens of Israel.
     I am the same age as Israel and am enjoying the special celebrations of the day. The largest extravaganza will be here this year, performing all over, including many places within the South Florida area. Fairs, games, concerts, laughter, dancing, singing and over and above all - pride and love.
     And for the rest of the world who take Israel for granted - do not, for we do not. It is a young state as ages go and it is a state still with growing pains. It has its own internal battles to fight, our own enemies and divisions within, but make no mistake about it - Am Yisroel Chai - the nation of Israel lives - and will continue to do so, for while we argue, while we struggle to find the absolute best way to answer and undo Gordian knots of concern - even as we do this, we all know that we are one, that this state of Israel is ours and to be cherished, valued, and protected all the time.
     I am a proud American - well, used to be prouder -  but when I fly over the coastline of Israel, when I walk the streets of Jerusalem or the beaches of the coast, beneath the remnants of Roman aqueducts, or talk with the teens who are defending their nation, well, there is a pride here that is beyond words. It is a pride that overwhelms. And it is a pride which still swells the heart every time I sing the national anthem, the Hatikvah, the Hope. After thousands of years, to be a free nation in our own land, a hope that lasted through the pogroms, through the forced conversions, through the burnings in England, in Spain and Portugal, through the chasing of Jews by the Inquisition even into the New World, through the decimations of ancient Judea and to the modern day Nazis and their cursed followers even today - we are here.
     Happy Birthday, Israel. We sing and dance along with you today and for all days.

SHOULD WE?

       Diane, a major character in The Good Fight, a spin off from the hit show The Good Wife, has been having a tough time this year. She is almost crazed by the outcome of the presidential election and the constant Trump noise on and in the media. It is only when she lets loose in a meeting that she feels better - and then states that she has a gun in her desk drawer, afraid of the times, afraid of a crazy someone out killing lawyers.

     I know the feeling. Trust me on that!! It is truly difficult to turn on the news stations or shows and not find half of it Trump related and mostly bad news at that!!! Are we supposed to laugh at his antics, which are not really antics as he is supposed to be the pacesetter of the world in his role as President of the United States of America. It is with that recognition of fact that the question is asked - Should we or should we not? Should we be afraid, very afraid, or should we look past the demented and obsessed behavior and rants and hope that our country, our government, is strong enough to withstand his attacks on our democracy and of the safety of the world?

     Syria. North Korea. Russia. Iran. WAR. That is my fear, a great big one. Will he go pushing buttons and giving orders without Congressional approval or will he be ruled by some sanity, some people who will finally stand up and say this Emperor is naked, butt naked, and he needs to be taken out, off the parade route and a substitute placed in his stead. Now mind you, that substitute is Pence, a pretty dismal replacement, but at least he is somewhat sane. He cannot talk to a woman alone in a room without his wife's permission or presence - can you just see this with Merkel or May - but I do not believe he will get us enmeshed in WWIII, in nuclear oblivion, or the Syrianization of the world, leaving a bombed out carrier of rubble, spinning thru space with a humanoid race on its surface who have been reduced to the Stone Age!! Sound far fetched? But those are the structures such that nightmares are built on.  

     Trying to find other news, news that will cheer one up is difficult. We lost a stalwart figure on the American scene yesterday, Barbara Bush, an exemplar of loyalty and decency. May she rest in peace.We also had a nightmare take place in reality, life imitating art, the movies of epic disasters.

     How many times have we seen the scene in the movies. A bullet goes off in  a plane and a window is hit. Or something smashes into it from the outside. And then the action that has lived in my nightmares forever. A person is sucked out the window. I am afraid of heights and the thought of this just turns me petrified. And look what happened yesterday on Southwest, an airline I fly often enough. The woman killed was a good person,  led a good life, served her community, raised a family and look how she died. Hanging half out the window, cut by the broken glass, squeezed by the pressure into a space smaller than her body and only the heroics of other passengers prevented her being totally sucked thru!! Should we be afraid? Glad I have no flights till June and hopefully this picture of reality will be diminished by other things. May she rest in peace as well.

     So, should we be afraid, very much so, just a bit, or not at all? You make your choice as I have made mine. Additional factors? Well, Nikki Haley says she is not confused re her statements in the UN and I believe her, so what gives? Another Trumpian moment? Senators come out of a briefing on Syria policy and walk out with trepidation? OY!! Pompeo was in North Korea having a secret meeting with them? Trump in charge? Double oy! Oh yes, a moment of security - Sean Hannity coaching the President in late night conversations. Well, isn't that giving one a feeling of security and warmth? Well, folks - be afraid!

     

THE FILTH BENEATH

     It is true that people value their privacy and use the statement 'none of your business' to avoid answering questions and much of the time the attitude is proper, for people need not know everything about someone's personal life. Where the buck stops and where that sentence carries no weight is when the 'business' is tainted. Plain, simple, and when a public figure refuses to answer questions, when that same public figure is trembling at the thought of his dealings being exposed, well, we got troubles, right here in the Potomac city and evidently elsewhere as well.
     When one becomes a public figure all bets are off. Transparency is the only way to go for secrecy only provokes more curiosity, more suspicion. While we may not have any right to ask about Barron Trump, a child of 12, or even demand answers as to why Melania's clothing bills could support a small country, for that is truly private and as long as she pays the bills or Donald does, no harm, no foul - just a lack of sense.
     But when that curiosity leads to the uncovering of a dump beneath the oh so pretty lawn, then uh oh, that smell, that filth then overcomes all. Why is Trump so adamant about his tax returns? Why does he have a person whom he calls his own fixer, a la Ray Donovan, a man who does much to fix his clients problems? The reek grows ever deeper in its stench when it is revealed that there are ties between Sean Hannity and Cohen the lawyer and Trump and it stinks!!! 
     Trump rants against the media and yet here is a true bad, bad connection. And why is everyone so afraid of what the records reveal? It only raises the level of suspicion and the level of concern. Just what do we have here in the WH? Do we have a major crook? Do we have a business idiot, a personal moral failure whose misdeeds and errors in these fields constantly get him in trouble? Is that why he needs a 'fixer'?
     The growing garage dump beneath the lawns of Mar a Lago and Bedminster and even the WH is shocking to us and the world. It is shocking that we have allowed the master of this dump to climb so high on its rolling hills of trash. That, my friends, is on us. And it is on us to push the investigation, to allow nothing to lock it, to dig into those reeking and  stinking hills of trash, to dig beneath the fancy cars and the big mouths and dig out the filth beneath.
     This attitude of 'I can do anything I want and then call foul if someone demands the details' has affected much of the world. Dictators in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, are beginning to take over. The garbage, the bloody garbage, of their past is being dug up, given fresh breath and new life and why? Well, one reason is that they see the USA going the same way and certainly not objecting. And business is going the same way in nasty actions as well.
     Oh, they push ads on us, send us emails, inundate us with paeans of glory over how much they care for us, their customers, the people they claim to serve and yet, with this administration in charge, these same companies are cheering on the dismantling of all the regulations that have been put in place to protect the people. Banking rules. Environmental rules. Legal rights to sue a business in court. Economic protections for the workers and consumers. Proper and proportional taxes. Proper and safe work rules and spaces.
     And most of us go blithely tripping down the primrose lane, so satisfied that we have found bargains, that we know how to shop Amazon for the cheaper price, yet beneath that sense of accomplishment, that oh so kind to consumers with their lower prices, there is that filth beneath again.  In fact, some of it goes back to times when workers had no rights, when they were locked into their place of work, when they were treated as wage slaves. So ask Amazon why in some of their warehouse centers their workers are peeing in a bottle at their station in order to fulfill ridiculous quotas, afraid of losing their jobs? Wage slaves, no basic human rights. Are we willing to have this happen so we can shave a dollar here and a dollar there?
     We need to dig deep, to go thru the trash, to look beneath the pretty but shallow outside coverings and find the truth beneath, the truth that tells us that we must ever remain watchful, for if we do not, we will lose it all. That is on us.

DREAMS

     Life can be tough at times. Things seem to hit the fan all at the same time and one gets beaten down by the realities of life. It is easy to fall into a well of depression and despair, but then, somehow, so many manage to pull themselves out by the simple power of dreams, of dreaming what could be, what one wishes it to be, what accomplishment one dreams of reaching. That dream can inspire one to climb out of that well and live and breathe again.
     In our world of today it seems that dreams can be far and few in between. Are there any left? In fact, is there room for anyone to dream at all what with the horrors of chemical warfare, horrendous massacres, cruelty rife throughout the world and the dashing of human rights, of humanity's best traits? The answer is yes, hard as it might seem. The trick? Pick a dream which dares and challenges. Pick a dream that is seemingly impossible and then get others to join you, dream with you and then.....
     Believe it or not, in this seemingly miserable world of ours we have had dreams and achievement. Take the dream of the 15 year old autistic boy who dared to dream of building the world's largest model in Lego of the Titanic. Despite naysayers, he found yes sayers among his family and friends and even strangers and he did it!! And he is now changed by the accomplishment of this dream. It can be done.
     Closer to home. We have had massacres of our young, of music lovers, of churchgoers, of dancers in a club for no one appears to be safe. Yet the young among us said they too had a dream, a dream that the NRA would not have its way unopposed. That they would fight them, march against guns and assault rifles and so they did. They marched - throughout the world, throughout the nation. And in the upcoming primary campaigns it seems as if the NRA has lost some of its clout. About time this dream had some reality.
     MLK had a dream too. We had appeared to be on the road, the slow road, but still, and then along came the hate filled campaign of Trump where there were "fine people" in the ranks of the haters who shouted anti Semitic and anti black and anti immigrant epithets and threats. This is a dream we must return to, must advance towards reality. It is not only 'their' rights but also ours, yours and mine, for once fascism and bigotry get their way it is hard to dream once more.
     One of the touching moments, no - two touching moments took place last night and no, not talking about Comey. Talking about the awards show where it was opened with a lovely tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas killer. In fact, many of these same performers were actually there or near there for the big event. But what awed me, what showed me the power of dreaming, was the moment that Carrie Underwood appeared on stage and sang from the depths of her soul, sang 'Cry Pretty', a song of despair, of survival and of strength. She dreamed to return to the stage after her disaster and so she did! Dreams!!
     And as for me, well, I too have a dream, many dreams, actually. Can I attain it? I hope. It will be a  difficult road, one of both that same despair, strength, and perseverance. A road and a dream wherein many have joined with me to get me there. My dream? Simple. To have the strength, the courage, the power to look beyond the advancements of Parkinson's, to help raise money for research, to participate in studies and to keep at a difficult regimen of strenuous exercise and plenty of it. And where will this dream take me? What is the end of my dream? A simple one. To have more years with Gerry, to live to see my grandchildren grow up, get married, show off their grandmother as she walks down the aisle, and even, dare I dream that far, to hold their child in my arms. Simple dreams. Nothing like winning the lottery - though that would be fine too! Nothing complicated. Simple - yet so difficult.
     Here are the words of the Titanic builder's mom. Read them and cherish them.
      ""Dreams keep us going. That is something nobody can take away from us. It's something good to have when you are feeling a little bit stuck or sad. You can always dream."
     Dream we must for that is a necessity of life.
     Dream we must for a future.
     Dream we must for that is road to achievement and progress.   So dream on and on and on.

THE HUMAN COST

     There is often a break in  the connections in our mind, the ones that connect decisions to actions and consequences. It is a learning process, particularly in the toddler and the teen years, but it is a process which goes on throughout our lives.
     I know that for much of the middle part of my life, the part where I was raising the kids, building a home and family, working on a career, blending these together, sharing family times, and even possibly, glory be! finding time to actually read a book - I was clearly not in tune so much with the politics of the day. Yes, I voted and yes, I had opinions, but the politics did not consume us all nor did we carry around phones which beeped us any time there was a news break.
     Now, when one has more time to think, to evaluate, to mull and muse, one begins to realize the human cost of all these somewhat abstract decisions. And that cost is great indeed. Raise tariffs and supposedly protect the homeland. Uh huh. Not really, for here is the human cost. There are reciprocal actions and there are consequences. So when you next buy a six pack of soda cans, do not faint at the increase. The same goes for cars, for any product, including foil and especially pharmaceutical packaging. And do not forget the increased costs to the industries that need this aluminum for the completion of their own products and the fact that some products now will not be bought by other countries, and our farmers will have major issues exporting their wheat and soybeans, etc. Here we go again with unemployment and costs and inflation. The human cost is always there.
     But the worst human cost arises when we do not stop and think before acting. Yes, it felt good to do something about the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but now what? There are still loads of it around, it can happen again and what about Russia and its use of chemicals to kill those they do not like. Just put some on a doorknob to a home, evidently and wait for the effect. Do we have a plan that encompasses this all? Do we have a plan that will lead to a solution? Saying "mission accomplished" is not the answer. George W. Bush said that and look where we are today - still mired in the same area with thousands dead and wounded and more to come. Answers anyone?
     We also are not thinking when we endorse or allow the chasing down of immigrants as if they are wild animals, deeply intent on ruining our lives, stealing any and all jobs, the worst of all criminals, the terror of the country. Now read that again and see the nasty stupidity of it all. See the nasty hatreds perpetuated in this behavior. Yes, there needs to be a system, but yes, there also must be a decent way to deal with the failure of the system for nothing works all the time. To think so is to engage in wishful and unrealistic thinking.
     So Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia have the highest rate of conformance to the ICE madness. Philadelphia, ironically the cradle of our own democracy, a country which was built on immigration, has the highest rate!
     And what are we gathering in to deportation centers? Who are we shackling together in long lines? What are we doing to their loved ones? What, in fact, are we doing to the psyche of this country, to its very fabric? The human cost.
     That cost takes away people who have built productive lives here, working hard, creating a business, raising families with American spouses and children, doing jobs that no one else seem to want to do, the "dirty" jobs of agriculture and construction, of manning the counters of stores where they work for minimum wage - or less. What are we doing? Have you stopped to think about this?
     I now have nightmares about being chased down, about having to have papers to prove who I am, whether I am a citizen. I hear the voices of Nazis, of fascist representatives, of dictatorial supposed leaders. I hear the cries of people in cruel and inhumane deportation camps. I hear the cries of children ripped from their parents, from their very arms. The human cost.
     And if one thinks that there is no cost to oneself, that one is not affected by this, well, think again. It eats away at the soul. It eats away at our very being, our very image of ourselves.
     So for sure, let us punish those who would use chemical weapons and gas on both civilians and soldiers. For sure let us fix the immigration mess, finding a better way to incorporate the vigor, the labor, the children, the families, the businesses of these immigrants and for sure, let us then concentrate on ridding ourselves of the criminals, the truly criminals, not the ones driving without a license because they cannot get one. And do not forget our own home bred criminals, for criminality is not a racial thing.
     Fifty years ago Martin Luther King had a dream, but that dream was not new then nor is it new or achieved to this day. It is a yearning of mankind to be able to live in peace, with family and friends, with human cost taken into account and cut to the bone. I fear the future if the human cost is ignored.
     

WHITHER THE WAY?

     Some people get clear instructions. Follow the yellow brick road. Pass three lights and take a right. Or, if in Israel, one gets one of two - straight ahead and/or half a kilometer.
      But there are times in life when decision making, choosing a path, is not so easy and is, in fact, confusing to the nth degree. So what does one do at that point?
      Well, one can delay the choice, the decision. But that is only temporary. Or one can close one's eyes and stick a pin in  something. Or one can sit down and think, list pros and cons, and know that one will never know what would have been if.... But once that decision is made, what a relief. One can almost hear the "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" of it all.
     We here in America are at that time and we must make a choice. Are we going to be stubborn and defend a mistaken result of erroneous votes and an anachronistic Electoral College or are we going to take the difficult but better road of correction, of fixing the yawing of the ship of state?
     I, for one, am embarrassed at the face we Americans are now showing to the world. We , in contrast to many banana republics, to besieged republics in Africa, have refused to remove our corrupt and immoral head of state whereas these others have done so. So why is that? Why are we hanging in there with this bizarre image of a president? Why indeed.
     Every day we get worse news coming down the track. There is now a wondering what will be the tweet of the day. We are hearing that the WH is in a state of chaos - duh! We are hearing that Trump is angry and ranting, on the edge. Well, in my opinion, he has long ago fallen off that edge!
     What we must do is act. Instead, the pundits are now openly discussing the possible firing of Rosenstein and then what? Why do we do this? Why do we almost legitimize this possible action instead of condemning it outright and saying 'you had better not". Where are the morals, the backbones, the balls of these Republican Congressmen and Senators? So many are just walking away from it all, walking into lucrative positions on boards of companies they helped, or law firms or wherever, but they are leaving the country in the midst of a storm as they back away from the fray. Now do not get me wrong - good riddance to them and their backwards and cowardly voting and behavior, but why are they doing this? Why are they so afraid to stand up to this creep? Are they so afraid they will find themselves in a National Enquirer story. So what? No one believes them anyway unless the reader is himself needing of mental help!
     I just do not get it. I just don't. Bonnie Tyler sang of needing a hero. Well, seems they are in short supply on the ground. But all we really need are good people, not even heroes. All we need are people to choose the correct path, not the easier one, not the one that leads to personal benefits, but the one that serves the country, the one that will cut through the crust of corruption that is now smothering DC.
     I am well into the path of despair but do hope that I see some glimmerings yet remaining. But unless we all clap to confirm that they indeed do exist, a la Tinkerbell, then woe upon us. Woe upon us as we sink into the morass of a dictatorship. Woe upon us as we lose our history and allow our democracy to become a dead part of history. Woe upon us should we choose the evil over good and make no mistake about this - it is a choice of good over evil. Period!! Make the right choice.

WILL WE EVER LEARN?

     Man is supposed to have a brain. We are supposed to be able to learn from our errors and proceed in a forward manner. Yet how many times have we retreated from progress, even run backwards rather than face the truth? So here are three examples of where we are making these same retreating steps, apparently having learned nothing, nothing at all from the past! They are in order of importance according to my impressions.
    First, if anyone drove along the perimeter road yesterday afternoon and evening, there it was. A huge display of ABC incompetence and Comcast to the rescue. KNOWING where the line was for cable, the incompetents of ABC cut it anyway and there went the Internet for a large area with buildings from Somerset and Wellington involved. Oh, yay! This is the great service we are getting from this abominable contract and major misdeed. Told ya so. Warned us all so! And yet, hey, here is our future with this company. Thank you, David!
     And yet an even more important step back to the crude days of dictators but wait! We never had dictators here. In fact, our heroic presidents warned us about that, from Washington to Lincoln and in between and beyond. Our government today in DC has turned into an evil and corrupt crust of selfish and nasty and incompetent people. It is led by a man who is allegedly a criminal, a selfish and degenerate man who thinks only of himself. He is reportedly the angriest he has ever been, shouting on Twitter in his dumb capitals, hinting at more chaos, threatening a nuclear armed power and making threats that will only serve to downgrade the safety of the world and the planet itself.
     And how did we allow this? By thinking he was a joke. By thinking that he would somehow morph into a politician with our best interests at heart. That he would forget his piggish behavior. That his hatred and innate prejudice would be hidden away while he was president but hello! Take a look what we have! Now how do we get the hell out of this mess?
     And finally, we have the serious issue that ties directly into Trump and the ideas of Trumpism and the display of hatred and bias and huge regrowth or outing of semi hidden anti Semitism. Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day in Israel where life comes to a halt with sirens. Where the TV is filled with stories of sacrifice, of death, of more danger faced by the Jewish people and there is not a tear left by end of day.
     Abraham Foxman, a survivor himself, wrote eloquently how Trumpism has allowed this revival, has made it okay to hate, to threaten, to shout and in countries all over the world and he mentioned, many more than a few, this virulent ancient hatred has gone viral and gone murderous what with people being shot, old women being beaten to death, children frightened and here, in America, for the first time I am frightened, not so much for me but for my children and grandchildren, for all the people, for again, ad infinitum ad nauseum - hatred has no barriers and no end. It eats its own body up from within until there is nothing and no one left. 
     After the Red Army liberated the ghetto in what is now called Vilnius in 1944, Shub returned to find all its Jews killed by Nazi SS troops. Among the bodies strewn on the street was that of his father. A blood-soaked note in his hand, written in Yiddish, said, "If anyone sees my son, tell him to take revenge."
     Are we at this point? Again? Must we ever go backwards? Must we ever be entangled in incompetence, in corruption, in hatred, in bloodshed, in thoughts and moments and deeds of revenge as last minute acts of survival? 
      For Israel, this has been a rally cry but also a reminder - we are and will be, always, the epitome of the fighting Jewish warriors of the Bible, of soldiers fighting in the armies of the world, in defending ourselves and others against hatred and destruction.
        In Genesis G-d tells Cain that the blood of his brother cries out from the ground and we hear this reminder throughout the Bible, the calling of the blood of the killed, the murdered, the burned, the tortured, the drowned, the choked, the buried alive, the gassed, the shot and the horrors can go on - but time will tell.
     Why can we not take steps forward, permanent steps, honor each other and enough with the selfishness and greed of so many of our supposed leaders and their followers. Enough!!!

ABC AND A 1,2,3

     Remember the phrase that told us how easy something would be - as easy as ABC or 1,2,3. Well, we have our own ABC issue here in the Village and it is not as easy as that or as 1,2,3. For months, no, for years, the Village told David Israel that we did not want the Atlantic Broadband Company to insert itself into the Village. We were better off with the number one or two company in the field, Comcast, which had definitely improved its services over the recent years. But nope, this man was obsessed with getting his way, getting broadband in here with ABC, just as obsessed as he was several years before with the DSL company that had installed its operation in Boca CV and what a mess there was and the contract had to be broken. But the man raved and raved about it until he was shut down with the proof of reality.
    So next we were afflicted with his desire to bring in a company which was truly untested, a small company in the field which had major service issues and yet, David demanded that we bring them in. Through vote after vote he was told this and yet the man continued with his obsession knowing that he would wear away at everyone and wait until the delegates and their numbers at attendance were his way. And so he did. And so we were promised pie in the sky and what we are getting is mud on the ground!!
     Directional boring. He raved about it. Small holes in the ground in order to then bore underneath and install the cables or whatever. Well, anyone notice the huge piles of dirt in long lines along the Village roads. Anyone notice how the filling in of these trenches leave dead grass and in this drought we are having, last nite's storm notwithstanding, the grass does not grow back so quickly, if at all. So far this 'directional' boring, this 'minor' trenching has broken wires and pipes and conduits and what not. But dig we must as we see guys knee deep in trenches. Wonder if someone worked for Con Ed in NYC with all this digging.
    So, on we go with this purported ABC ease of ABC company. First we suddenly sprouted gray piping or whatever it is. Then I noticed that the tops were open to the air - the dirt, the bugs, the water, the whatever. So I made mention in my blog and lo and behold suddenly there was tape and capping of these pipes. Wonder why it had to wait. Wonder why the great know it all, David, did not catch this - or does he even care now that he has gotten his way and inserted us into another multi million dollar boondoggle.
     And lookee now. We are sprouting tall and ugly bright orange piping of some sort and for some purpose and then what? What happens to these ugly things? Are they reburied? Do they stick up for all time and eternity? Do they get to run along the ground surface, yet another ugly thing along with our crappy and deteriorating roads?     And what is this I am reading? Now it seems that this supposedly advanced system will need a box with an antenna to receive signals. Huh? Why? Thought this was a fiber optic system and we were done with these things but guess not and then I was told that the signal would be sent from where the company operates so Miami? And does that come along with all the Spanish programming that we do not need here in the Village?!
     And so what now? Suddenly we now have a 'box' that can be damaged in major storms and hurricanes and we double that with a possibility to do the same if it hits Miami, even if not here. What a boondoggle. What a disaster in the making. And this is before we even know how the programming and the transmission works. This is before they are done with this and then do the individual units and then what? Do we have pretty colors to choose from as the wires are wrapped around our woodwork and door jambs? How are we supposed to trust that this company can and will fulfill its pledge of snaking the wires? They obviously have a different definition now of directional boring than before so how do we trust them?
     And of course - how did we allow David Israel to do this to us once again. This man is a megalomaniac in his behavior and demands and here we go again. Will this be ready by Comcast contract ending? What will Comcast charge those who wish to remain with them? What will happen when people return next season and have to wait months to get their cable? Will we have a mob of pitchfork and remote carrying people charge at UCO and demand that David finally come out of his office and answer to the charges?
     It seems that we here in CVWPB are afflicted with two demented and selfish leaders- Trump and David Israel. One went into a rant Monday evening that has people scratching away and wondering when we are going to go into constitutional crisis and what will happen then. The tempers are at a dangerous high so what will be? Only G-d knows and I am not even sure about that!! And here? Will we remain meek and subservient to David's whims and  desires? Do we need to get forensic accounting into here, forensic lawyers to track down the deal and its incompetence, its lies, or are we simply going to sit here and wait till death do us part?
     Your call, folks, your call. But this man has now sent out new letters of get thee gone from my UCO and sent off many good people into exile from UCO and then he will whine that we need volunteers and Lanny will write another foolish piece on David's blog and honest responses will be disallowed. 
     What a mess, here and nationally. Wonder how long we will be able to escape the mess by finding some Netflix show? Wonder if we will only get some old reruns on the below par service we might get with ABC. Nope, ABC and 1,2,3, this is not.

MY APOLOGIES

     My apologies. I am truly sorry....well, maybe not so sorry, but I must be excused as I laugh with glee, a malicious glee, true, but perhaps things are beginning to turn around and perhaps this is the beginning of the end. Perhaps when this is all over we can return to our roots. We can have sanity in the government. We can eliminate the deep crust of corruption that now coats the administration. Perhaps we can look forward to the reinstatement of the safety regulations, cancel all the threats of cutting SNAP and other safety net programs. Perhaps we can get on with life and talk of other things, other than Trump.
     Sorry, but when my phone buzzed with the message that Trump's lawyer's office had been raided, I laughed. Yes, finally, hopefully, the balloons have all begun to burst and maybe the slogan that Trump used the whole time - "lock her up" will return to its originator with full interest. Lock him up!!!! Him and his crooked lawyer and all his co-conspirators in a corrupt government, in  a selfish and thoughtless government.
     And instead of sending troops at a huge cost to supposedly clear grass, fly drones, and do other scut work as the nation under Trump continues to chase immigrants, to toss them back as if they were fish in the sea, to besiege and capture them, to tear families apart - well, perhaps we can think of other duties for our National Guardsmen such as preparing for a real war, or helping in national emergencies and here's an idea - sending them to Puerto Rico which is still in crisis and could use the expertise of the National Guard desperately.
     So sorry for my mean giggle, but I and many others are entitled to this. About time. A man who sits and watches TV, who depends on Fox News to give him his agenda and information, warped and twisted as it is, a man who talks in capitals, a man who insults as easily as he breathes - time for this man to go! Time for charges to be brought. Time for truth to come out. Time to get someone who will dig us out of the morass he has gotten us into, be it Syria or Niger or Afghanistan, or Iran or Mexico or besmirching the land, coarsening the meaning of being American and the country of the United States of America.
     Time to take pride in ourselves once again. Time for us to stand up for the right and not for Trump's bottom line nor any of his appointees. Time to restore the judiciary to its proper role in our government. Time to remember that we must help those in need. Time to fight the rise of hatred that is poisoning the very air we breathe. Lots of work to do but first - lock him up!!!! Oh, yes!!!

ARE WE STILL WACO?

     Just finished watching the miniseries about Waco, where the federal government as represented by the FBI and the ATF just about went berserk. They lied, they swore about those lies, they could care less about the original purpose - to address the issue of underage brides - and became so overwhelmed with proving their point, their might, that they destroyed the very people they supposedly were "rescuing" - including 25 children whom they literally killed, gassed and smoked and broiled them to death with the insane maneuvers, the obsessed maneuvers, in order to show they were boss!!
     There is no doubt that many of these so called messiahs or religious leaders have succumbed to the siren call of polygamy, denied followers that 'privilege', or demanded almost slave labor from followers, but it seemed here that in Waco there was abstinence except for David Koresh though the followers went willingly along with it.
     What was clear is that there was no violence and no coercion. What was clear was that there was no battle scene of mad amounts of bullets being fired from within the building. What was true is that the federal forces used tanks, used psy-ops, used tear gas on women and children in a cold manner, allowed the building to go up in flames, but ....they won!! Evidently might makes right still and forever.
     I thought we had moved on from such tactics, learning from the time and time again that these tactics resulted in death to the besieged. Essentially, these actions were war crimes, crimes against humanity and very hard to watch and compare with memories of the lies that were told then. Wrongdoers who defied the federal orders, it seems, were demonized, blamed for everything from bad timing of rain to a persistent itch! It seems that we need to have a villain. It seems that we need to have a something to focus on, to turn our minds away from the awful things going on. So we had Waco or Ruby Ridge or just pick one of the many incidents, but I truly thought we were beyond this tactic of scapegoating. As a Jew, as one who loves the subject of history, I know that my people have been used as scapegoats so many times before and to my horror, I am seeing these signs again, here and in Europe, but here in the USA there is yet another major group of scapegoats - the DACA kids, the Dreamers, the immigrants - are being blamed for all the woes of our country. Poor economy. Job problems. Bad trade balances. Crimes. And crimes. And crimes.
So let's get rid of them, let's raid them, round them up like cattle, besiege them in places of sanctuary, go to war with states who refuse to join in this witch hunt, and now bring on the federal troops!!!! Dear Lord in Heaven! Are we back to Waco? Are we going to kill kids to prove our point, for even if the point were correct - which it is not, in this case - we do not kill the baby to solve the problem. WE do not throw away all that we are supposed to stand for.
     We are meant for better things, for better exemplars to the world. WE are not meant to follow a madman, a hater, a degenerate who uses 280 words at a  time to further his hatred and his insanity. And worse - he has followers who go along with it. You see, the hatred is never far beneath the skin, is it?
     Are we still in Waco? Will we now bring on the tanks, the tear gas, the bullets, the psy-ops, the horrors of Waco and address them to the DACA dreamers, those kids who ARE Americans, who can dream the same dream our parents and grandparents or whomever had when they came and remember - I bet there were oh so many who jumped ship or overstayed or whatever - so should we have the federal government dig into that? Do we follow a Biblical statement that G-d will address the sins of the fathers on the children, even unto the fourth generation?
     Where have we gone? Why have we strayed? Why do we allow hate filled people to drag us back to a time I thought we had long ago left behind? Why do we revert to the worst within us? Why are we doing this? Why? Waco redux is not far behind - and you ask and answer the question - honestly - why?