HOLIDAY BLOG

Due to the holiday, I will not be posting until Wednesday morning. Catch up on the reading, enjoy the holiday and let all of us pray for a better year, a peaceful year, a year of progress and hope.

TAKEAWAYS

     The time has come. The Jewish New Year is upon us. Time to take account, evaluate what was, what is, and what will - we wish - be. Those account columns do not always balance out the way we would like them to do, but that is life and what we must, every year, face up to and evaluate accordingly.
     Personally, it has been a mixed year. We have received some bad news, some categories have gone into the debit columns and others have in one way or another, surprisingly, moved at least partially into the assets column. Life is funny that way and there are times that good does come out of bad. We just have to recognize it when we see it. Hard to do at times.
     One of the hardest things this year, one of the ones I truly hate, is the fact that one cannot have free conversation any longer, even with long time friends. On the other hand, some friendships have deepened with newly recognized strong bonds that developed politically and then grew into more widely based friendships.
     Death is a topic that has come  up quite a bit this year. I am facing, I hope, with bravery and realism, the fact that my days on this earth, at least in the way I like - and need - to live, can be limited. That in itself brings the need for strong decisions, but all this can be put off for a while, one hopes. But there have been deaths among friends. Now that is hard. My generation, my friends, good people, and yet that is life, is it not. Cavalierly said, as the loss of friends is a great hole in one's life. No phone calls, no jokes and laughter with them, no deeply meshed feelings, and a dazed realization that no one is invincible, no one lives forever, and this year? Who knows other than the Lord and all we can do is pray that we have merited an easy passing when the time comes. In the meanwhile, we must plan as if we are to live forever.
     So what does that mean? It means that like it or not, we cannot turn away from the life of the country, of the world, of the people in it and in fact, of the very existence of it. One of the great things about this blog is the fact that constantly amazes me - people from all over the world read it. Today I have my first reader from Tanzania and welcome to you and to all my readers. We may live all over, be of differing genders and nationalities, our religions might differ as well, but we are all sojourners on this planet, put here to keep it a good place, to watch over it for the new generation to follow. Sadly enough, we have failed, failed badly, in that respect.
     We have taken virtues to the extreme and come full circle to faults. We have taken love and respect and limited it to a special few. We have allowed the growth of hatred, of a prejudice that should have been buried long ago. Yet all this is here. Why? Because, we have grown lazy, valued the wrong things, paid attention to minutiae of life rather than to the big things We have grown selfish and think all the good things belong to us and we will not share any longer. We grow smug as we  think how lucky we are to have had ancestors who came here earlier and that we can stand back and deny it to others. Selfish!
     Countries all over the world are having great difficulties and the lives of once prosperous citizens in thriving countries have descended into hell. We treat people trying to escape this hell as criminals, children and adults alike. We refuse to see the larger problems that have led to this and do not work together to solve it. Instead, we demand the bigger piece of the cookie for ourselves and to hell with everyone else. 
      Worst of all is the betrayal of our kids and future descendants for the world we are leaving them is just about beyond repair. Go watch the old time and the new time apocalyptic movies, read the books, and no, not zombies, and think about what we are doing. Art and life - in what order, in what causality?
     Finally, we have chosen the wrong leaders, the worst we could have done These are leaders with no moral values, who usurp the workings of government for themselves and their own selfish purposes. These leaders encourage the worst in us, bring out the worst in the world, and the very worst thing is that they have driven us to the point of accepting their behavior, of shrugging it off and then going along to imitate it,for why not?
     Yes, there are good people around, people who gather together to change the world, to make it a better and more caring place But there are too few, working with too limited resources and backup, and too little time for us to change the world and our fate. Or can we?
      So as we enter this Jewish New Year, let us hope and pray for a better one, for our personal lives and for the lives of all else and for the life of our planet. We can do it, if we but try, truly try.
     May we all have a sweet and productive year. May we look back at this year as the turning point to better things. Better lives for all.

UNHINGED

     I was going to write about the Jewish New year, its meanings, its surrounding family and friends, activities, all the goings on that accompany it, but it has to wait. Watching the meltdown of a President, or hearing or reading of a raving unhinged person who went so far as to threaten and/or imply death to a whistleblower, well, it is frightening beond words.
     Trump wants to return to the days of yesteryear when apparently we did right by spies and well, you know what we did, he says. Well, what did we do? I cannot remeber any spy being put to death other than the Rosenbergs and that was a disaster as well, as we executed people who should not have been. Other than that, we imprisoned and usually exchanged our spies for theirs. The days of Nathan Hale were long over, a more ciilized rules of engagement were in play.
     And therein hangs the issue. This man knows no civilized way to play his game of making deals. It makes no never mind as to who gets crushed, for if they are in the way, tough bugs on them!!!
The win, that eternal golden WIN is always on in mind and he reaches for it as we used to do when riding the carousel - get that brass ring! But we did not take apart a country while doing it, did we?
     So what has happened over the last few days? Well, first of all, this has been happening for the past few years and that is why Trump et al are bewilderd, bothered and all hot under the collar. They shout, they tantrum quite nicely, don't you think, wondering what the hey!! We have done worse, they offer as an excuse, at least in their unhinged minds and actually thought the letter cleared him of wrongdoing. So much for the power of their thinking. And so much, hopefully, for the plans to reelect him and carry along his corrupted advisers and abettors with him.
     When a bank is robbed, or a person is killed, we do not ask the perpetrator if we should hold him for trial or suppress the evidence. Yet, here, lawyers who should know better - and I am sure they do - decided to do just that and asked the perpetrator what to do about the letter and the whistleblower. So twisted were they by the misdeeds and even alleged crimes they had committed since running for office, they believed they were invincible, their twisted leader invincible too, a teflon ideal. Well, time to prove them wrong.
     By now the entire country has become unhinged. People do not talk with each other anymore. Politics is verboten! And thus the divide grows ever deeper. There is no communication and the sides have dug in deep in their bunkers to shout across the ever growing divide, a la the usless and brutal WWI, the war which did not end all wars, but instead was a contributing factor towards WWII and the rest of history as we know it. This divide is the conjoined unhinging - of the president and of the country.
     Nietszche wrtoe of looking into that abyss, and there is an old Jewish tale which has a wise Jewish elder reminding a fellow Jew, justbefore the New Year, that when we look at someone and see bad things, we are actually seeing into our own souls, and we need to mprove. Certainly every time Trumpis acused of doing yet another foul deed, or saying some mean thing,by mouth r finger, he defleccts and acuses hi enemy of he moment of soing what HE himself has done. Do tell!
     What is even worse is that we are all so tired of this and that is dangerous. It could lead to apath, andin that case, we could have that Donald I
     

C'MON!!!!!

    So the big bully saunter overs to the new little guy and remarks how lovely it is to share desserts and isn't it really special that the big guy loves chocolate pudding, just what the little guy has in his lunchbox. Quietly, the pudding is handed over and this "lovely" sharing goes on almost every day, whatever the dessert  is. Now did big guy say or demand the pudding? No, but did little guy understand the implication of those words? You betcha' he did and so did Zelensky of the Ukraine and he was  in no position to not grant a "favor" to Trump, a favor clearly specified. Was that quid pro quo? Oh yeah!!
     In the Bible there is a reference that three sins of Damesek, or Syria, will be overlooked but on the fourth...... Well, it translates quite nicely into the Donald saga, does it not. Actually, there are a hell of a lot more than three outrages, but this one just pushes all the buttons and alarms.
     Every country has to have sovereignty. Eery country has to insist on its independence to act as it feels just and right. Every leader of a country is supposed to guard that right and privilege. Well, this one did not. He invited, most probably for the second time, another country to come and meddle with our elections, the very  basis of democracy. Big guy vs little guy and before that, it was the two BFFs working in tandem so nicely.   Yes, it was time, past time to impeach.
     Here is the issue.The House will impeach but the Senate is riddled with the remainder of the cowardly Republicans who now seem to think it okay to praise and/or ignore sexual perfidy, bribery, lies and lies and lies, turning the truth inside out, demeaning people, even kids, in public, constant boasting where there is more reason to hide in shame. 
     But this? This is treason, a crime of great dimensions and needs to be considered and punished. He and all who went along with the coverup, the trying to squelch it, the removal of it from electronic storage, my G-d!!! - all need to suffer the consequences and there you go!! Pence, the Devil's Spawn, will need to go to as well as Pompeo and Mulvaney and Barr, such a weak excuse for a lawyer and officer of the law and court!  And all of those who participated in this coverup. Time to get a righteous government in place and hello, Pelosi is the next in line when the bad dudes are gone. But will the Republicans fill those pants or will they continue to be the small guys afraid of the Big Bad Bully of the schoolyard.
      Time to get us back on track. Time to get him out of the way so we can get on with the true business that needs to be covered - health care, social safety nets, immigration and treatment of immigrants, faith in our past as guides for the future, heavy duty investment in the environment and its improvement before we all go glugg glugg along with all else. It is almost past time for that already.
     So c'mon. Call, write, tweet, whatever, to your reps all over the levels of government and let us get rid of the trash and renew oursleves and our country, along with the rest of the world. Get rid of the dictators, the anti Semites, the haters of people of color, the believers in white supremacy over all, for why are we not all equal, no supreme being other than the One above!!
    C'mom befoe it is too late. Read and put aside prior belief, anxious belief, blind belief in the orange dude. Face it - and let us get on with the rest of life, private, national and international.



















     

HOLIDAYS

Will be traveling today for the holidays but hope to  post early this afternoon. Meanwhile, lots to think about. Lots to wonder and see which side of the line we choose to stand.

No one is above the law. No one. No one can think hiself immune from consequences. This is what we must remember and teach our children - and ourselves.

   See you later on today.

AND THEN?

     And then what? What happens whichever road we take? So the crooked demented man is impeached in the House but cleared in the Senate due to the majority of spineless scaredy cat Republicans. Or, the Senators actually refill their pants and do the right thing and stop supporting not only a crook in the generic meaning of the term, but a man who would steal the country out from under us, invite foreign countries in to interfere with our elections, use bribery and threats to get his way and who violates every law of presidential power that has ever been made. In short, is this man above the law - forever - as he seems to feel or do we remind all that no man is above the law and supposed ignorance of the law is no excuse before the judge and jury? Which road, folks? And what then?
     Do we then convict and settle for the Devil's Spawn, Pence, he of the car cavalcade on Mackinac island where no President has gone before in that violation of the rules of the island? The man who slept not in Lincoln's bedroom, but in Trump's, as we, the taxpayer's paid for it all? The man who governs by his wife's agreements and permission to talk with women? Or do we warn him that he had better watch his steps, not rock the boat with any more Trumpian legacies, to behave.
     No matter what we do andwhere we go, there will be people who will claim that ridiculous witch hunt claim, especially if the Senate does not do its job, and there will be the rest of us who are so tired of the filth of this regime, of life under Donald the First. It has even gotten tothe point where Chief Justice Roberts has said that the Court has fulfilled much of the job of Congress because they have not done so. Hmmm. This from the man who has turned it upside down with his conservative bent. The man who has allowed it to turn political and partisan. Interesting.
     And in the meanwhile? What? What then? So, are we going to go backwards on the right of all people to live their lives, to enjoy their bedrooms as two consenting adults with it being no business of anyone else, nor having an effect on their job success? And the slope is there, folks. Who and what else will we deny? Cannot be a Jew because Judaism refuses to accept Jesus as divine? Or cannot be a Sikh because the turban is offensive to some jerks? Or women now have to get permission when to have babies and when not? Are children to be taught a la Soviet Russia to inform on parents, to trade filial love for handkerchiefs of some to be chosen color, probably gold if Trump does the choosing.
     How the hell have we reached this point? How have we allowed hatred to divide our country so? How have we allowed a President to speak at the UN in terms of America First, straight out of Nazi sympathizers circa pre WWII. How do we think this is good because he actually spoke without putting his feet in his mouth? Actually, he did, because his whole rotten and so wrong vision of the world was laid out for all to see, a vision which cannot be, not anymore.
     How do we allow a man to take on a 16 year old girl with the courage to take on the world, to get up in front of the UN and speak, and scold, and threaten and urge. Her face when she saw Trump was precious and telling. And this idiot thinks he can call her names, troll her, infer that she is mentally ill because she has Asperger's!!! She took him on and very simply made him look like the mean ass he is.
     So what now and what then after it is over? Will we come together as a country? Will we understand that that dogcatcher is more qualified than Trump? Will we allow Trump to reign from prison? Oh, I cannot wait, now or after his presidency, to watch him be convicted of all he has done wrong - tax fraud, emoluments, collusion with foreign countries, bribery, moral perversion, disregard of the Constitution wihich by the way does not say he can do anything he wants. That is a toddler speaking!! I will be there with bells on to see him do the perp walk, perhaps lucky enough to see him in a skin tone matching orange jumpsuit and see the truth come out - from his tiny bald skull to his demented and deranged mind, to his crooked bones and actions and he can take all the rest of his cooperating crooks right along with him.
    If the Senate blows this opportunity, if the House does not demand the entire and original statement of the whistleblower, the original recording of the conversation, then we are dumb. A la Nixon, these things can be tampered with easily. Trump himself knows that he is in it deep now, up to his miserable neck and squinty eyes. He asked Pelosi for a deal!!! Hah!!!!
     Well, it is now time to wait and hope and nervously pace the floor. Will all this give birth to which country - the old one we love and honor and respect or the new twisted Amerika that Trump and minions want? Breaking point here, folks, breaking point.

FIFTY TWO

    52. Not such an amazing number. Attached to a bunch of zeros and a dollar sign might mean one won the lottery. 52 could also mean 52 minutes or seconds and that is not a long amount of time. But attach that 52 to the word years, and while though but a speck in the eyes of the life of our universe, when referring to human meaning, it means a lot.
     Today is our 52nd wedding anniversary. Comparing the pictures of now and then can almost make one believe that we are talking about two different couples!! And perhaps that assumption is correct.
     We were kids when we married. We had barely been out of state, let alone the country or anywhere in the world. Going to the City (Manhattan) was still a call to dressup and put on city manners. We did not have two pennies to rub together and still had to finsih college.
     So what did we have? Well, we thought we had the most important reason for marrying. We believed we loved each other and wished to build a life and family together. And so we did, but, when I look back, I wonder at the naivete of those two kids and what they took upon themselves.
     52 years later I look back and understand how love changes, deepens, becomes more intense and meaningful as the years go on. Working through good times and bad, solving problems, growing into job responsibilities, and managing family life is not so easy. It takes a great deal of hard work and learning over the years, to compromise and adjust. (Of course, most of the time I was right! LOL) 
     Two years ago we had a big blowout for the fiftieth, a party where we mixed so many different groups of friends and marveled at how much we had learned over the years, how we had learned to get along with others, to see the value in all, to accept differences, to admire differences and we hoped that others would accept us in our various facets and presentations.
     Most of all we hoped that we would still have years together, to watch our kids and grandkids grow into their own lives - and for great grandbabies (hint, hint). (And an LOL on that one too as marriage and family will come at the right moment) but I am waiting......
      And so we did. We grew into different people, different from those two kids, yet the same. We valued our life together, the family we had raised and their lives as adults, the children they were raising and the friends we found. We also found a deeper love and appreciation for each other and for what we had.
     Two years ago we received a diagnosis of PD for myself, a devastating piece of information. It took - and is still taking - adjustments and acceptance and determination to beat it back as best we can- and has brought us to a new high point in our lives. In addition to the new group of people we have met, great people, caring people, we have found strength in each other, understanding what this means for the rest of our lives, the changes that must be made, the expectations that must be tempered. But through it all, we remained strong, leaning on each other, and, as always, timing our meltdowns. When one is struggling, the other is strong and we change places as needed. 
      So, Gerry, after 52 years of marriage, five years before of meeting and getting to know you, through good times and hard times, through joys and sorrows, I loved you then as a kid of 19 and I love you now, a deeper and I believe, more meaningful love than before. And though you never proposed to me, I guess we are married and had better get used to that fact!!!
     Luv u, and Happy Anniversary!!!!
     May G-d bless us in the coming years as we meet the future and what it brings, together, as always.

CONCRETE

     The concrete one uses to build must be of proper mix and concentration if it is to fulfill its role properly. If incorrect, the building, road or bridge roadway can collapse, causing great tragedies. Today we need to ask ourselves if the concrete mixes now being used in this country are the proper ones, the ones made to last, the ones that build a sound and firm foundation for the rest of the structure.
     Ah yes, you might be thinking now. She does not mean 'concrete' concrete, but rather the figurative concrete that is meant to build our country, our government, that is meant to build upon a sound base from the past and continue to improve that base and resulting structures way into the future. Well, we sure as hell are not doing that job properly right now. If the inspectors from Palm Beach County came around I can just see them saying, "Rip it down, all down."
     Concrete is what I sometimes think many of our brains have turned into. They have ossified, turned hard and dense, unable to truly absorb the faulty concrete that is now serving as our rather new base foundation for this country. It is a concrete that is prone to dangerous cracks and collapse.
     When and how do we correct this? Beats me, especially if we continue to keep allowing this mix to be poured over the original foundation and then build faulty towers above. As we stand around and watch, one can see the early cracks and can but only wonder about timing and the future. How long do we keep playing blind to these obscene presentations of contempt for the public, allow them to continue, allow our foundation, our country, to sink beneath the weight of it all, sink under the rising waters of uncontrolled environmental disaster?
     Some people believe they can move to another foundation and avoid this one. Well, no, you cannot. Playing the coward and refusing to face up to the head of the company, the one who designed the mix, who keeps pouring it down over us, well, that is only a delaying tactic, for eventually this concrete will cover us all.
     So, plain language, how long do we tolerate this man, this treasonous and petty man who believes he is a great leader, and a definite fit for a dictator's role, with a definite dynasty waiting in the wings. So the cowardly Republicans who never found the courage to stand up and say, "Hell, no!" are leaving the ship, swimming away, leaving the citizens of their districts and states, the people of this country, alone, to drown, to choke, as the concrete pours down. 
     These GOP people quit, leaving the dregs of humanity to remain the kernel of the once proud party of Lincoln, and now the party of any tinpot would be dictator who has only his needs, his desires, his bottom lines as the driving raison d'etre. Why and wherefore could these Republicans not gather the courage to stand up to him and his? What were they afraid of? Do they believe that there would be reeducation camps in their future? Prison camps? Nope, for that is meant only for refugees right now, not Americans!! 
     For how long? You tell me. And make sure you drop by McConnell's office and ask him what the hell happened to him? What does he believe he is getting out of the debacle that is now our country, the country that is now the laughing stock of the world even as it stands ever more likely to drive the final nails in the coffin of the world as we know it. I dread to hear what Trump has in store for all of us as he speaks at the UN Climate meeting, what dangerous heresy he will bring up, what science he will continue to ignore, what horrors he plans to unleash upon the world as he denies what is there and refuses to do a damn thing about it, or rather, make it worse than it already is. Who knows, maybe he will boast of the "new" nuclear weapns he has and unleash it upon the Atlantic and Caribbean as they swarm right now with great brewing hurricanes? I put nothing past that dangerous idiot.
     The cherry on the top? His treasonous and definitely impeachable offense of using blackmail on the Ukraine to help his campaign, to propose a quid pro quo with Ukraine: they would investigate Biden and son and the USA gives them weapons to defend themselves from the invading and threatening Russians.The effect of an impending investigation alone, even if none took place, could have changed the entire situation and this man thinks nothing of it even as we still reel over his acceptance of Russian interference in 2016. So he is crazed - and we are what? Cowards? Afraid of our own shadows? Enjoying standing around or sitting and rotating?
     Will this turn out to be yet another wrongdoing that slides off his slimy hide yet again? Or will we finally do something? Hey, perhaps all those resigning Republicans can actually understand that he cannot take away their seats as they already gave them up, so as lame ducks - ACT!!!!! Impeach the dude. Remove him from office as incapable of fulfilling his responsibilities and while at it, take along Pence who is showing more and more of the wear and tear on his own soul and morality or give him fair warning as to how to behave his last year in office. 
     And then let us get down to business and fix this country, remove the faulty and dangerous concrete, realign with our allies,put our enemies back in their places, and talk with sanity and meaning rather than bluster and lies. And ban Twitter from theWhite House!!!!
      New concrete, new leaders, a return of morality and caring for others, a new USA based on a sound concrete foundation of an ever improving past and into a better future than what we now have. It is time, well past time for us to act.
     

TILL

     What is the meaning of that word anyway? It can denote the ending or the beginning. It can point out a time condition or any other condition. It can be used to pinpoint a sequence of events and causalities, and it can also come with a sigh of frustration, chagrin, and disappointment. And so I ask now, till when will we have this farce of a government? Till when will we continue to accept a severly disabled man as President and I do not mean physically, but mentally, emotionally, a man with a critical lack of mental balance.
     Till this administration is swept clean of the incompetents, the unqualified, the venial and the alleged criminally irresponsible, we will continue to reap what we have sown. Till we send this administration packing, we will continue to have attacks on our system of government, on our judiciary, attacks that will have repercussionsfor decades to come.
     Till we stop a government that emulates the story of the wolf and the three little pigs in its huffing and puffing and manifestly unsucessful stabs at greed and mayhem, we will continue to revolve in the equivalent of those caged motorcycles speeding round and round and going nowhere. Till we have a steady hand at the helm, one which makes decisions and then keeps to them, decisions that are made after careful thought, consultation and followed into future scenarios, till then we will continue to have chaos. We will continue to remain on the edge of a nuclear war, with insane leaders dragging their relative countries into a war no one on this planet can win - ever!
     Till we find replacement Republicans who will stand up against their vile supposed leader, we will have the pitiful and dangerous situation we are in at present. Till the RNC hoists its pants back up and stands erect, we will continue to have a party with no moral backbone, a party that runs scared before and from its supposed head, and which brings the country and its government to a halt, empties out the halls of government of career professionals, runs down our government and makes it a moral disgrace for all the world to see.
     Do I think that any of the Democratic candidates is the perfect answer? No, for no one is perfect, but I do believe that if we keep the House, win the Senate, and get the White House, with perhaps  the cherry on the top if we have some actual living Republicans who can think for themselves and admit crimes when they see them, then, till and when that happens ....well, a gal can dream, can she not?!
     Warren seems to have stepped into first place in the polling. Is she the best one? Who the hell knows at this point. What people need to realize is that extremes of campaigns are inevitably rounded out, but at least there is room there for honest and caring policies, unlike what we have now, a government run for the benefit of the Trump Organizaton and its bottom line, all headed by a morally bankrupt ignoramus who cannot do ought but go bankrupt financially and morally and his folllowing right along in his footsteps family.
     I still think Klobuchar is the way to go for she is smack dab in the sensible middle, choosing right or left according to needs and musts. She is tough yet caring, successful, and knows how to tough things out. She is real. But at this point, what with the GOP shutting down its primaries in order to stop any opponents of Trump, usual cowardly behavior, and Trump coming up with his hate filled speech, his barbaric feelings, his huffing and puffing and getting us nowhere but into more danger, his crazy behavior and threats,  anyone will do in  a pinch!! Even the proverbial dogcatcher.
     This loss of balance, of proper govenment can be seen all along the width and breadth of the country. Crazed attacks on rights of women, threats to our social safety network, immoral fascistic cruel behavior and actions with and against immigrants and refugees, mass shootings and racial attacks, demented defenses for assault weapons, the rollback of regulations that will help with the environment - people, this guy and his minions gotta go!! As do  the state legislatures who gerrymander and vote against the wishes of the majority of the people in the state, who cut poorer women out of the ability to get healthcare for whatever they need, for the crowing of saving money on the stomachs of children, on the deteriorating health of the uninsured. We need an epic change in all levels.
     Sadly, as well, we need an epic change here in the Village. The officers need to be changed, the offices aired out, made ready for new and more capable, brighter, fresher thinking. We need to step up to the plate, insist on participatory government and if not, then vote the guy and his minions out of office. At this point we have been driven into precarious footing in many aspects of life here. Financially struggling. Infrastructure fragmenting. Roads deteriorating - again. And yet, only a select few who will toe the line are accepted into the cabal of power retention so no wonder all else are just turning away, apathetic, focusing on the lives and not on what makes this great place a reality.
     Keep from the old what works, the people who truly care, the experience they have, but bring in new people at the top, people who will not play games with our finances, who will not be yesmen to WPRF and Levy. And for heaven's sake, we are halfway through 2019 and in 2022 the Millennium Agreement expires. We got royally screwed last time, thanks to a terrible president at that point and what is going to happen now? Have we even started planning? Is it a deep and dark secret? Will we bend over once more, pay for things we should not, take on more of the expense and have less of a reserve? Doing needs doing. Do is not done, as the saying goes. So who will step up for this demanding doing? Somebody? Anybody?
     Till. Till when? Till then? But when is then?
     

TIDBITS OF LIFE

     Well, my first suggestion is to go to the movies this weekend. There is a movie out there for all tastes. Go. Enjoy. There is little else to do this weekend that will prove to be either as productive and/or enjoyable.
     Anyone hearing the sounds of wheels racing along the street? The wheels of a bus, the wheels that are going round and round? They are even whispering in sounds that sound very much like Hebrew as glimpses of Netanyahu under those wheels are seen. Yup, told ya so! Oops, I hate to use that saying, but there it is. The point is not what has happened or not happened in the voting in Israel, but the fact that Trump just pitched another throw, right under the wheels. You see, by not winning the election Bibi has worn out his welcome in the teeny disturbed storm that is the mind of Trump. Told ya so!! (Sorry)
     Then of course we have the telling statement of Trump, who, when asked a question about moves on gun control, answered, "No, we're not moving on anything." Bingo!!!!! Out of the mouth of babes? Yes, he is an old man, with an old man's tired and worn out mind, but he is also a temper tantrum ridden overgrown infant and there you have the pronouncement of a babe.
     Getting a stronger urge to check out, go to the movies, bury yourself in cinematic oblivion? Well, doesn't always work as even in Downton Abbey there is a crack that is clearly a poke through time at the present administration.  As for Rambo, well, you do the figuring there. Ad Astra is wandering there, along with two other draggy space movies - 2001, Close Encounters, movies that just about guaranteed that I fall asleep. In this movie we are treated to a vision of space that has been introduced to too many of the problems of Earth and the poor dude has to deal with a whole bunch of problems along with the angst of a son/father disillusionment. Okay, back to reality,
     So what do we have now? Okay, Giuliani, who, I am beginning to believe, suffers from 9/11 syndrome or disease, for at least he was down there, unlike someone else we know who claims that he was on the Pile, right alongside the first responders. Hah!!! If that was not such a sad statement, a telling statement I would laugh myself silly. Instead all I got here is another told ya!!
     So, Giuliani. First he says, "Of course, I did" when asked if he asked the Ukraine to look into Biden. Right smack after the footprint of that statement, he says he did not. Poor man has had his brain fried and cannot remember for beans!
     Movies, anyone? Getting closer to going there? First choice? Downton Abbey. I loved it and so did the crowded theater which spontaneously broke into applause at the end. There were tears and laughter, an enjoyable rebellionof the servants, an old fashioned, once fashionable, sense of loyalty and respect for the head of government, for the King and Queen, for service to country - something sorely lacking today in our present administration.
  Enough time afterwards to see the rock em sock em aged RAmbo return. One can just substitute whomever as the recipient of the old fashioned violence and leave with a sense of ah, if only, and know that there was no crime in that, in thinking those thoughts, just a release of tension before venturing back into the real world.
     No assault weapons here in the Abbey, but trust me, the tongues of the ladies are as sharp as anything else one can conceive of. They hit the point right there and can change directions on a shilling!! Ahhh,women power!
     At least it will take your mind off the ugliness of yet another military/Trump business swamp again as a Marine Corps unit plans its celebration to take place in Mar a Lago. Yup, nothing like separation between government, the state, and the business of the President and its all important bottom line. Yup. Got your values straight here? Well, hop to it already.
     Ahhhh, the tidbits of life. Just go find your movie card, buy the ticket, load up on junk food as a good American should do at the movies and go, enjoy. We loved Downton Abbey and wish there were another one in the offing and today, we will release tension with Rambo. Space? Not so sure. Just go. It is good for the economy anyway.

CREEPS AND LIARS AND CHEATS, OH MY!

     My apologies to The Wizard of Oz and to all lions and tigers and bears. For sure, walking through a field filled with them is less hazardous to one's health, physical and mental, than walking through the minefield that is the world of Trump.
     As per my statement that the truth will out, we had more garbage rise tothe surface of the Trumponian swamp. We have received the figure of $200,000 plus spent at his Turnberry Scotland hotel, spent there by the military to enrich the Trump organization bottom line as they traveled miles away from more reasonably priced overnight facilities for flight crews. That is in addition to the stays of Pence, the foreign emissaries, lobbyists, etc. who stay at his Washington hotel and all the hundreds - yes, hundeds- of days spent at his infernal golf resorts - all on our dimes, many dimes at that!
     Of course that then brings us to the issues of who is cheating whom on you know whose tax returns, personal and business. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of hanky - panky going on there and for proof right now, we have the association maxim - lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. The fleas on Trump are many. Almost every one of his appointees has been shown to have cheated, lied, made awful statements, misused government funds and facilities, given in to megalomaniac desires and affectations, behaved in an inappropriate manner, and have shady ties to the very areas they are supposed to represent. And of course we have the Justice Department that has turned into its own particular swamp for becoming and serving as the personal law firm for Trump. No longer does it protect the citizens of the country, for it is too busy battling for Trump in various courts where he is being sued for myriad offenses.
     Pompeo admits tht Trump's actions are the direct cause of the dangerous Iranian mess we now have. The constant and obsessive decision to fight tooth and nail and lie and lie and lie about  revealing his tax returns - why so vehement if all is okay - the failure of so many of his appointees to be able to remain in office and function properly, the obstructionist behavior of his appointees and their rude and contemptible behavior at hearings of Congress - should be brought up on charges of contempt as far as I am concerned - and now we find that the Justice Department, in apparent collusion with the Trump intelligence chief, has chosen to hide a very suspicious phone call between Trump and a foreign contact, an official, to whom he promised to deliver something. I do not think the delivery was a hotdog with mustard and all the toppings!! No UberEats here.
     What are we doing here when we allow this clear and present danger to continue to serve as the ostensible leader of the country who more and more is looking like the dictator of the country. We seem to be fighting the battle for state vs federal rights again, the verbiage is getting more and more strident and the rest of the country is falling into disrepair and tribalism. We have lost the sense of being America, united and free and proud of it, and have allowed the emulation of this behavior to seep into the rest of the country and all levels of government and society.
     Right here in CV we have a slate of officers who are gifted with the ability to clone and morph on an almost hourly basis as they keep switching hats and appearing as experts and decision makers for the Village. For most of the rest of the Village there appears to be a Keep Out sign posted, all the better to admire the constant renovations and painting and landscaping of the UCO building to the detriment of the rest of the Village infrastructure. We are driving on roads with faintly marked lanes, on roads that are falling into bits and pieces of gravel, stones and sand, and all the while the disrepair of the fences around the Village are being exposed more and more as a result of work by an outside agent. This despite the fact that attention had been called to this state of the fences for years already, particularly by a determined woman. In return - be ignored!
     A faulty and dangerous method of accounting for the Village's funds, for present and future, has been exposed and no surprise there as the same people who nearly pushed us into bankruptcy years ago are still in control. Yet all is secretive and just try to get information from UCO and you might as well engage in spitting into the wind for that will be more successful! Yet the same type of apathy that has reigned in the country, though now with hopeful signs that there has been an awakening, now reigns in the Village. I believe people are thinking that nature has to take its course, the present strata of players will be out of play and then, perhaps then, there will be hope for a change for the better. But we cannot wait that long. We need people to run to replace stale officials. We need new ideas. Better accounting methodology. Transparency. Participation in government of the Village, a functioning Delegate's Assembly, so that the few do not control all, a multi million dollar budget at that! If we do not do it then who will?
     With Trump I believe that impeachment is out of step for now with time restraints. What we need are people with courage to admit that he needs replacement, that Trump and his administration are clear and present dangers to our country and he needs to be removed and the rest of them asked to go bye-bye. Instead of resigning as so many Republicans in Congress are doing, we need them to stand up, protest, tell and speak the truth about their boss and stop kowtowing and yessing him all the time. Amendment 25 is right there. And for sure, get rid of McConnell, support his opponent and stop his one man's blockage of the functioning of the American government.
     In so many levels of government here in this country we have had the good people, the knowledgeable people, those who believe in public service, leaving, frustrated. We need to do better and we need to do it NOW. Never mind the lions and tigers and bears. The others are far more dangerous to our very existence as the United States of America, as Century Village, and we need to get out there and do what we must. Oh my!!

MEN!!!!!!!!!!!

     What's the matter with men today goes the song. But perhaps we should just leave out the today and examine their seemingly always happening behavior. What makes them tick? What makes them think certain things and what makes them persist in the same old stupid behavior and act as if no one notices?
     First and foremost,whats with all the news that just keeps on coming, straight our of the darkest basement of the behavior and beliefs of too many men, the stories and testimonies, the accusations, of sexually abused victims. Men, be they of whatever class, porters asnd religious fanatics in Asia or rich depraved men here and in Europe, they all think they have the G-d given right to do with women as they please. That women are there to serve as property belonging to men and need to be subjugated.
     Acting in that belief, they go around displaying their genitals. What the hell ever made them believe that women are impressed with that particular body part. It is neither beautiful nor artistic, just made for its various purposes. But still, the men insist, that they flip them around, expose them, pet them, and disgust all who are victims of these unwelcome sights. Including children!!
     Furthermore, what makes men think that they can persist in telling lies, in acting incorrectly, even illegally, be caught red handed, yet deny it all. The cookie's crumbs are still on their faces, still dirty their hands, but nope, they did nothing. They lie and lie and lie yet again and think they are so clever. 
      Lewandowski's behavior yesterday at his appearance before the Committee is point made. Telling people he cannot remember, needing help to find a sentence on a page, refusing to read a video sentence, castigating a member of Congress for telling someone that the toothfairy does not exist?!!! And this man is running for Senator!! And why not, since it seems he has gotten rewarded for his lies, for his obstructions, for playing right along with that ultimate disgusting male, Trump.
     What is the matter with men? We are what is the matter. When we allow them to get away with the hijinks they pull, with highly inappropriate behavior, then we are at fault. We need to call them to account for their misdeeds, for their misbehavior. We need to show our children, show the world, that America has grown up and refuses to tolerate this anti social behavior any longer. That men will be taken into account. And for that matter, so will women who do the wrong thing, but there are so many fewer of them against the rampant misbehavior of the male gender!
     Do not get me wrong. I love the male gender members of my family and have male friends. There are good people of the male gender, but what the hell is the matter with so many of them. Please, do the world a huge favor and keep your junk in your pants where it belongs, learn the value of truth telling and of honorable behavior, and of the value of all people, male and female and any other designation chosen. People are people. People deserve to be treated properly, to be told the truth, not to be thought of as fools who will never notice the difference.
     If you must, play your stupid ego games in the men's bathrooms and keep it out of the public eye, out of the world where this is considered abusive and asocial behavior. Please be men, men of honor, men of maturity and understanding, men who wish to move the world forward in a positive manner and please, choose your leaders wisely. And that ain't Trump, the example par excellence of wrong, so wrong behavior, statements and creeds. Men, behave!!
     

DO YOU?

     I just do not get it. Somewhere along the line we began to truly color outside the line. What we have gotten in return is not the brilliance of native art or primitive art, but rather the insane drawings out of a severely bizarre mind. Or minds. And if you get it I would greatly appreciate a true and understandable explanation. However, I doubt there is one, for sheer madness is never truly explainable.
     I believe that is why Trump is simply way out of the lines and the box! Not in  a good way either, a creative manner, for his lines are jagged, tearing at the wholeness of the picture, even to the point of shredding it at times. His lines induce fright and horror in most people, but a cruel joy in the hearts of others, the haters, the perverted, the twisted and the duped. It is both sad and frightening.
     The colors of the pictures or purported pictures are dark, jagged, and clashing. It represents a mind that is just as jagged and torn, just as dark, replete with hatred for others, with nastiness that comes through as racial bias, as hurtful and crazed statements, as defensive language and action for perverts of his ilk. It is the representation of a mind that looks to divide rather than unite.
     Are we to believe that 'Hispanics' have a choice either to love themselves or their country and never the twain shall meet? Are we to believe that they are a class of people totally separate from the rest of humanity, certainly within the USA? Are we to believe that it is okay to discuss the origin of a CNN contributor and evaluate what he looks like? Think about it? Are we to go back to the false science, the racial science of determining who people are and their worth or lack thereof based on their looks? Based on measurements of skulls and noses and chins? Think about that? That is Nazi theory redux, straight out of the mouth of the chief hater, Trump, the twisted and eprverted artist that is drawing pictures of America that should scare you badly.
     Or how about the vigorous,almost crazed defense of a most unqualified Justice, accused of sexual harassment and assault, who lied about it, who survived the confirmation debate due to the wimpiness of the  Republican Senators, with a key vote placed by Susan Collins, much to her everlasting shame, and a rabid president who foamed at the mouth and is continuing to do so as new revelations come out and not so new ones, along with the fact that the FBI never investigated them in that fake period of discovery! What a farce! And why is Trump so rabid on this? Well, look at his background, his statements, his behavior, his payoffs and the answer is clear.
     We begin to see, in that awful picture, if it can be called that, the twisted mind that has created it. We see the mind, the broken mind, of one who would rather stick kids in freezing cages than build schools for military families. Who would rather poison the waters and the air and ground around us than lose a penny from his bottom line, who violates the emoluments law every second of every day with his entangement of his business and the government of the United States and who could care less about the accusations. He simply continues to color and thumb his nose at us. And still, his tax returns remain hidden away lest the truth be revealed.
     This is a picture from a man who is drawing the world as it will be after a war that he forces upon us, a war brought on by his erratic and hostile behavior, a war where nuclear weapons would be in play. This is the result of a man who blusters and threatens, who loses friends and emulates enemies, all in a twisted quest for notoriety and legacy. But what legacy would that be? Only the ragged remains of his awful pictures, the ones that reek of hate and madness.
     Once more I ask? Do you get it? Do you understand how and why we reached this point? Do you know where we will go next, what new ugly line will be drawn in another chaotic movement? If you do, then please, explain it to me and to the rest of the world, for no one truly gets it, the ugliness, the hate,the hopelessness.
     

MOMENTS

     Life is often a basic everyday nothing special routine, but there are moments that define important times, decision times, epic moments that must be heeded, remembered and serve as warnings or hints or even validations. These moments are rare, but they do happen; the trick is to recognize them as such at the moment and value its message, whether the message signifies good or bad.
    Take yesterday, a seemingly normal day in our crazy world, if normal actually exists anymore. The seemingly meaningless moment: a close call with an Orca and a kayaker. Another: a rather pitiful video of a lion in captivity in Utah, on its side, appearing emaciated and in severe pain as it just lay there emitting piteous groans. Nothing to you, right? Wrong! 
     We are tampering with nature, with the environment, so that things that should never happen, happen. Do is done here and yet we avoid its meaning, its import. An Orca has another name - Killer Whale - and it is a fierce predator. Never the twain should meet, and yet, there it was. Something is severely wrong here, a balance and necessary division seemingly breached. 
     As for the lion, poor thing, what the hell is going on? Why is there no vet with him? Why has this situation been allowed to reach this point? Is there no help, no relief, no release into a preserve for this creature? Where is our humanity? If we are supposedly to rule over the animals, we are to rule with wisdom, kindness, and yet..... More importantly, what does this then say about our attitude towards those who are weaker than we are, members of the human race who are weaker than us, who depend on us? For that answer, just pick up a paper, a newsmagazne, or go online. Shameful, is it not? Of great import are these awful moments. We just need to get that!
     Another moment? Sure. Kellyanne Conway actually said that it is a good thing that the president actually makes his decisions with no study or information beforehand. Huh! Is that for real? Say what? Well, it just about proves or gives us the proof of the pudding that this man is not just an idiot, but a dangerous one at that, managing to rule - yes, rule - this country as a dictator. He has managed to suborn the highest law enforcement agencies in a most perverted way managing to have them ignore, rather than pursue, a claim, a validated and witnessed claim of Kavanaugh engaged in sexual assault while in college, an ongoing behavior from high school and probably into the rest of his life. Certainly it must affect his thinking, such as it is, and certainly it proves his lying under oath, his perverted character and the fact that he needs to go - right along with the one who appointed him!!! Perverts they both are and shame on us that we allow the FBI to do the bidding of perverts and allow these men to govern and make decisions that affect our every moment. Moments indeed!!
     We also have moments of courage and heroism. Think about Stacy James who is refusing to officially concede her loss in Georgia. It is not that she does not know that according to the numbers she lost but how the numbers were achieved -  or not. There was definite and recognized tampering in that gubernatorial election and she says that this must be recognized for what it was - the denial of democracy, the shuttingg down of the voice of the people. She refuses to do the political dance, as she says, and walk away without making the point, showing the truth and indicating what is wrong and where we need to correct things. A moment indeed of courage and truth.
     And yet another moment of courage and truth, this one going on already for years. It is the moment for Kaepernick who stood, or rather took a knee, for his belief and remained there figuratively and literally at times, foregoing his employment, millions of dollars, abuse from so many - but thankfully, support from others. A beautiful moment tied to his was the ad of Nike, replete with others who also stood for moments in time that mean something, that lead to something, to believe in something.  While Nike is not perfect nor are all those who joined in, the point is clear. Courage must as courage does. Do is done here as well. We just need all the rest to understand that, recognize that and return to humanity. At least the Emmys realized it and gave the ad and its content an Emmy. Good job!!
     Moments in time, as Whitney Houston sang, must be appreciated, recognized and used as stepping off points for the improvement of our behavior. We must recognize the messages and lessons and not push them away. Recognize these moments for the added meaning they give to life. Moments are momentous and life changing - if we allow them to be, if we allow them to point us in the right direction to live the rest of life.

DO AIN'T DONE

    I came across that statement or adage in a book written by Silvis, a new favorite author. I thought it was great and wished that I had use of it while the kids were growing up, but never you mind. It is still relevant to other situations, carrying the same import.
     How many times do we say that we will do something. We will clean out the closet. We will reorder the basement, the garage. We will see that doctor or start a new exercise regimen. All things we will "do". But do ain't done, goes the saying. I will do whatever, means nothing until it is done. Then we can say we did it. Until then, do ain't done.   
     Think how much life would be improved if we all took this to heart. We will do what we have to do in order to dethrone Trump. Fine, but do ain't done. Standing there and talking isn't action and until actions are taken, well, repeat the above saying. Repeat many times and in many circumstances, until do is done.
      Talks with antagonistic countries. Repairs of the traditional Western alliances. Reregulating the environment so that our children will be able to breathe, to eat, to drink, to carry on with normal lives. Fix the education mess we have here in the USA. Fix immigration and run mandatory classes for reeducating our ICE and BP people in humane treatment of refugees. Reunite the country. Get rid of Trump. Get rid of Trump. Get rid of Trump. There, I said it three times so isn't that the formula for causing something to happen? Make believe those three wishes were the equivalent of Dorothy and the ruby red slippers. LOL
      But all this, in the meantime, falls in the category of "do ain't done". We might have made strides in some areas, but have gone majorly backwards in other areas, much to our detriment now and in the foreseeable future. We have settled into either a manic attitude and attached ourselves to Trump and his twisted philosophies and actions or fallen into a state of apathy, given up. But there are people coming together with that goal in mind and I point out the unified and united statements from all the candidates - that Trump must go.
     Do ain't done, not by a long shot, but just as we can remind our teen kids that the room is not cleaned up miraculously with the statement "I will do it", that "do ain't done", we can apply that to every important and even not so important events and plans in our lives.
     "Do ain't done" in so many ways in so many spheres of our lives and the global lives of our planet. From 1969 till now we have wasted the progress we had made in space, not truly built upon it, and the latest statement from that idiot is not that we need to seek and explore, that we need to actually reach out to other beings if they exist, that we need to study and plan, that we not ruin new planets with old problems dragged there by people of earth. But do ain't done in all this and in fact, the only plan I hear now is the idiot's plan for a Space Force, so Startroopers here we come!!
     In the meanwhile, all the "do's" that we have ignored are coming to bite us in the back or wherever it will hurt the most. Tiny countries are challenging us, demeaning us and why not, as we have accepted a crazed man as the leader, no different than in so many other countries, less developed countries. We have our citizens being held hostage, imprisoned, banned from exiting a country, all the better to blackmail us, demean us, disrespect us. Oh, and yes, we have a VP who now claims that several months ago a champion horse bit him on the arm and he was so brave about it! Really? Another bunch of hooey from the administration so well versed in it. Or maybe the horse hated his plastered down hair, the same hair that gives me the willies. What is it with the hairdos in this administration!
     We do not "do" the right thing, so the do's that are done actually add to the problems. It was not enough, apparently, to have one sexual pervert on the Court, so we implanted another, and yet another new story has come out about Kavanaugh's behavior and sexual harassment of others as a teen, but there he will sit. These 'do's' will never be done for we have forfeited the right and the opportunity to do what needs to be done.
     We are cutting back on safety regulations even as more information comes out, pointing out that we need more, rather than less. The mothers of over a dozen children now have kids with autism and other health issues, of varying degrees, as they used the sperm of the same lying donor!! Do ain't done here at all, for otherwise we would not have these situations, these changed lives, all because do was not done, due diligene was not done, and all we do now is make excuses. And more excuses. All to no avail or positive outcome.
     We have a president now who looks to the past, always backwards, always in the worst way. Never mind the positive benefits of bad situations. Yes, the coal miners are losing their jobs, but we are improving the air quality all over the country, and what we need to do now is build in training for other jobs, jobs with futures, just as their wives are doing. Show the kids that women can achieve and contribute, to families and the country, as they step out into the world, train for jobs, as nurses, med techs, therapists, whatever, as they earn and support families. But no, not with this dude and his backward supporters. It is exciting to see a joust reproduced in movies, or read a vivid description of it, but it certainly is not the way to go in modern times. The same thing with so many industries. Forget the dirty power of coal. How about training the miners as environmental specialists, or wind tower installers, or med personnel, or as teachers, technicians, as long as it is productive. But we do not, not with this guy.
     Do ain't done today in America. Do ain't done in so many countries around the world because we have abdicated our responsibilities. We have lost the pride in being the leader, and have fallen back into the tail of the world. 
     We fail to recognize that until we "do" what needs to be "done", inserting training and resources into the roots of the problems, the problems that cause mass world wide immigraton problems, then nothing will be "done". Period. No amount of blowing hot air all over it, sending up erroneous signals, telling lies, wishful thinking, will turn this around. If we do not follow and understand why "do ain't done' is what we have to remember, then just go home,wring your hands, hang your heads, and give up on the future.
     Do ain't done is such a great guiding principle for us. Simple, yet powerful and so enabling of a better future and a better planet. Let us remember to do so it is indeed done.

MY TAKE

     Did you watch? Did you laugh? Did you understand it as I did, that though the Democratic Party and its candidates might differ on the details and the extent of some policies or issues, they are all united in several areas. First and foremost, Trump must go. He must. He is dangerous, divisive and degenrative. Kamala Harris told him it was okay now for him to return to watching Fox news.
     The candidates, mostly in a nonantagonistic debate other than for a few moments, also agreed that health care needs a great deal of work. How far each goes might differ, but in the end they all appeared to understand that a compromise somewhere would have to be made, even as reform took place. My take - one cannot go from A to Z without stopping somewhere in between. A culture shock is not necessarily the way to go.
     Each candidate agreed vehemently that guns must go, must have changes in the law. It is not impossible, as we had a law with gun control, but when it expired the NRA and cowardly politicians caved and here we are, watching our kids get shot, our citizens and visitors run down, slaughtered. 
     Yesterday a few small clips appeared that showed Trump at his usual insensitive behavior and his sheer idiocy. It was particularly telling that he announced about the Taliban coming to Camp David right around 9/11. The same people who killed 3,000 Americans, left a huge dent in our hearts and souls forever and caused the death of so many of our soldiers. But there he was and then there he was not as he suddenly called off the negotiations, a path he always takes - say, say again, and then cancel and on to some other stupidity.
     He tweeted away and before and after his appearances at memorial ceremonies, he tweeted outrageous and insensitive tweets, and his conversations that day were just beyond beyond!No one and nothing was safe, from the Federal Reserve Bank to anything that crossed his tiny mind. Did you know that Melania has a son, oh, then he catches himself and mutters "together" - really? He forgot that one time he and Melania made this son, Barron by name? He further sullies his appearance with sheer nonsense. How many of you out there know of any child who will come home and say, "Mom, I want to vape". Uh huh, thought so. This man is such a dork, so damned stupid and unaware. Furthermore, as a Language Arts teacher I forbade the use of 'very' in essays and compositions, forcing the kids to find more expressive terms. This dude should have been in my classroom for he would have learned to stop using that word over and over again, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. But hey, the man says we must protect our children from vaping, about which he just heard, but I guess the dangers facing our kids from assault weapons in the hands of crazed white supremacists is another matter. Hey, so many victims are 'others' so not so bad according to his book of values. Intolerable!!
     All the while, his distortions of America and what it means continues. Now we have courts in tents, Star Chamber proceedings, as observers are now barred from entry and observation. He has made it practically impossible for anyone to enter America legally, I guess, unless one has the skills necessary for the country which will allow you a special visa. You know, like the one granted Melania for her talent. What, you ask, is that talent? I dunno. Nothing vital. Models are a dime a dozen so hey, what the hey, what is one more or less!
     Now we are turning away little babies, babes in arms, denying their citizenship and why? Because they are born via a surrogate for gay couples. See, no man can carry a baby yet, so a gay couple kind of needs a surrogate, but this seems just no good to that fool and his benighted fans. You know, these kids must be dangerous, advanced so at their tender ages. It is sickening. 
     At least all the candidates agree that there must be immigration reform, humane procedures and a recognition that immigration is the lifeblood of the country, and tellingly, there were children of immigrants standing there running for the office of the President of the United States. In addition, they mostly all came from middle class and lower class, economically speaking. Many worked their way through school. Many fell and stood up and tried again and that is America! They are us.
     Time for a change, my friends. Timefor us to realize that the immigrants he rants about are simply different looking versions of our own parents and grandparents. They worked hard to improve their lot and the lot of their children. And so do the new immigrants. They try to do it right, even as they are stymied by the new insane rules and regulations specifically designed to hinder them all, stop our new lives from enriching our country.
     Time to change and time to elect a sane, thinking, caring person. Time to elect people who speak for the people, are with the people, and are just as having had it with that man as we all are. So enough with the destruction of the environment, the opening up the last refuge in Alaska, for poisoning our waters and the air we breathe. Enough of the dangerous chemicals now allowed to flow once more into our lands and waters and air. Enough!!
     Register. Work for a candidate. Get out the vote. Work the elections. Be a watcher. Drive a person to the polls. Get this man gone and let us have our country back. It has been gone far too long already.

WHERE ARE WE?

     How many times have we asked that question when driving or walking somewhere? How many times have we stopped and asked ourselves where the heck we were in whatever we were doing or thinking? Sometimes we had an answer and at other times, well, that's another story.
     So, where are we now? It is a question that most Americans must ask themselves, right now. Where exactly are we on the map of the world, on a map of our personal lives? If you are like me, then you are probably just as confused as to how you reached this point. Surely at this stage in life I should know where I am, what I stand for, and what my country stands for and means to me. Surely, and yet, not there, am I and are you?
     Never did I think I would be so invested in politics at this stage of the game. Yet what can be done if it seems as if the country has fallen off the tracks, or flipped off the trestles into the chasm below? Surely there is something that can be done, must be done to rescue it and its population. Is there? Where are we exactly on that issue? Any answers, anyone, someone?
     We were not a perfect country, not at all, but we tried. We made errors and still do, but always there was a willingness to listen, to think, among enough people, so that progress could and would be made. We were ripped apart at the inception of this country, with American Tories, loyal to the King, moving back to England or to Canada. We then progressed, not always smoothly, people having to give some of their stubborn independence to the country, to strengthen it, but once again, we were ripped apart by the Civil War with its horrendous loss of life. 
     We never did fully recover from that war but made great progress as we grew, as the years passed, even as terrible tragedies still took place. We helped immigrants and the poor, built hospitals, but lied to the Native Americans and still denied full rights to African Americans. I do hate that term, for are we not all Americans or future Americans and why must we separate ourselves by whence our ancestors originated? Is it that I am still too naive to think that this is possible and actually had been achieved to a large degree? Where did it go? What happened?
     People are always on the watch, some employing that 360, 365 attitude, but for the wrong reasons. Like children watching to see that the parents are fair to each of them, that teacher has no pet, that all get what ALL get, and they worry. What have they missed out on? So they imported workers and then treated them like dirt. Irish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Jews from all countries, but especially eastern Europe - all were on the receiving end at one time or another.
     Though we did make strides in the right direction, what happened? Well, too many people thought they were lost, thought they were given incorrect directions to make it through life, to receive their fair share, right or wrong. Too many people had vastly differing perceptions of reality, and along came those always waiting there in the dark, waiting to take advantage of unrest, of fear, of an inborn prejudice, of a lack of education, of a willingness to be convinced that someone, somewhere, had the answers. We lost our way and when the question was asked, "Where are we?", we neither heard the proper directions or decided to ignore them and go along the same dead end road we were on.
     And so here we are. We made it through the nation shattering years of the Vietnam War and the protests and thought we came together as a nation, spurred, unfortunately by 9/11. But now, now we are in a worse place than ever. We are split into deep divisions and I wonder, I really do, if these differing factions can ever reunite. Singing G-d Bless America one day a year and then going back inside and having at each other is just so wrong, so hypocritical!
      We have a man definitely lacking in brain power, a man of nasty traits and rampant hatreds, a man who thinks, as does a toddler, that the world revolves around him. An overgrown toddler who delights in sitting and tweeting the equivalent words of a schoolyard bully. Worse than that, the signposts of the roads are broken. They have fallen down on the job, neither lighting up the road nor giving proper directions and seem to quiver before the breath of that giant toddler in DC. All the while, we, the people riding on this road, are falling into muck alongside or struggling through, trying to escape the quicksand that is pulling us down into a place we should not be.
     We have fallen into the habit of defining people as "others", dehumanizing 'them' so it then becomes okay to trash them, to imprison them, to mistreat children and parents, to forget that 'them', they, are people with the same needs, vices and virtues as we have. But we have forgotten and actually have people quite willing to be the callous guards, following orders, 'doing their jobs'. This makes me shudder and so should you. It is a miserable dead end road that we are traveling and where are we is answered with - on the road to hell.
     We have lost, somewhere along our travels, lately, the caring for the weaker elements of society, the needy, those who need just a helping hand to get on their feet, to feed their children, to find a roof over their heads, to educate their children. We have lost that, regretfully so. There is hope though, that proper mapmakers and charting are returning and we will once again know where we are and which is the best way of reaching our final destination.
    My country has lost its way. There are people out there who will yell, with spit flying, that old shout to "love it or leave it". Well, loving a country means wanting it to be the best it can be, the best it should be, hence the activism, hence the efforts and the struggles to keep us going forward, positively, along American roads, rather than poor imitations of roads of other dictators, of haters, of pathetic people who have lost their humanity. They, too, need a helping hand to come back to the proper road and keep off the filthy misdirections of others.
     We all need to learn to let go of the hatred, of the anger and become Americans once more, the people of the Lady of the Harbor. If there are troubles, well, troubles shared are troubles resolved, and we have forgotten that. Generosity is better than meanness and nastiness. One makes one feel better and the other simply amplifies the garbage within. So where are we, folks? Where? And where are we going?

360, 365

     Wondering what the title means? I came across it in a book I was reading where it was used and explained by the main character and it struck a note. It means that one must have an outlook of 360 degrees for 365 days, meaning a looking about at all times in full circle every single day.
     Wow, I thought. What a perfect description of the world we live in today, especially given that today is 9/11. While there are many today who were young or not even born then, do not feel within their bones the cannot be described adequately enough feelings during that moment, those hours and the days afterwards, we obviously had not learned the 360, 365 maxim, or did not practice it often enough. I remember where I was when a woman shouted out a window that JFK was killed and I will never forget where I was when I saw the beyond belief attacks on the Towers, the grinding day that followed, the days afterwards when all walked around with a shocked stare and adults were tonguetied when it came to explaining this to the kids.
      The worst ever though, is that while reading this, I thought to myself that it was so true, perhaps even more so these days. Why? Because we not only have to be aware of enemies outside our country, but also the enemies within. We have people on the right and on the not even so right wing that are content to destroy our government, our Constitution, take down the country, go along with it out of belief or fear or desire to ride the coattails to personal benefit.
     We have, within this country, our country that no longer feels as if it is ours, roundups of human beings, trashing of human beings, physically and verbally, plans to raid homeless encampments and have them placed in "government backed facilities". Really? Truly? If you do not get a shiver down your spine then you are missing the point. The government today, here in our own country, is now being run by a would be dictator, who has taken over , suborned many of the powers of the other two branches of government and has run his branch by fiat, many of them close to insane or reach the level of Caligula in their intents.
      360, 365. We have let that ball drop, sinking into a smug sense of safety as the economy first tanked and then began its rise again in 2008. We have sat still while Trump shredded our relations with allies, longtime friends. We have observed his love affairs with the dictators and murderers of the world. We have heard his vocal admiration of them and his emulation of them as far as he can take it. We have ignored the trashing of our rights, of the free press, seen him destroy people with his vicious tweetings and his infantile tantrums with dangerous powers attached.
     360, 365. I wrote of the necessity of a heightened awareness, a 360, 365 need for Jews to be in a state of heightened awareness of the power and violence of hatred. We need to powerfully thrust back against the takeover of the extreme, the fanatics, the haters on and from all sides. And we need to keep up the fight. McCready lost yesterday in North Carolina, and as disappointing as that was, there was also a note of optimism. In a state where Trump had won in 2016 by 20 points, that lead had nearly vanished. Perhaps, we can hope and pray, that people are coming to their senses, even among the deeply duped, but we must do more, and quickly, to defeat Trump and all he stands for in 2020 and return to what should be, build a better future for us all.
     Again as a postscript for macro and micro worlds - the situation is similar by you. The citizens of the world need to watch the rise of populism, the apathy of the crowds or the size of the crowds. Which way will you choose? And for here in the Village, have we not yet reached the point of new days yet? When will we replace the old, the faded, the useless ideas that do not work, replace them with new ideas, new people ,new energies infused into UCO and the proper use of the experience of those who came before, but back on the right track.
     When will we all remeber 360, 365 and practice it. It stands for a difficult world, a dangerous world, but it is the one we live in. Perhaps with 360, 365 we can fix it, but first we have to get there. I wish us all good luck and  a good fight with victory at the end of it all. 
     May we all remeber those who were slaughtered on that terrible day, those who have lost their lives in the nonending war that followed, and may we all pray for a better world, a world where war is no more, and 360, 365 is not so necessary.

ANYONE HEAR "UNCLE" YET?

     Everyday I wonder. Is this the day? Is this finally the time when sanity returns? Is this the day when we all get tired of the filth, the rampant corruption, the nastiness, the hate that permeates DC and in fact, the entire USA?
     But if that day arrives, who says uncle? Will it be the participants of the immoral and rife with corruption Trump brigade, or will it be the rest of us, so tired of this man and his garbage that he foists upon us every damned day! All the daylong!And in fact, all the nightlong as well.
     The hatred that this man espouses, that he spews forth with nary a thought or doubt, reached yet another nadir. Since he cannot spell, nor read, apparently, he decided to curse out a Baptist minister and incentivise his nasty followers to send their own filthy comments to this poor guy. What happened? The idiot over there in DC seems to think that Carl or Karl, makes no never mind, sounds enough alike, so blam! There goes the tweet. And there goes the followup.
     The minister answered quite well.  "Your heart must be in a dangerous place to have such a consistent flow of defamation and disrespect for so many." Perhaps now he and others understand the angst that this piece of garbage in DC spreads all over the nation and the world as well. The feelings generated when one is the center of the poison darts of the Trump regime are not pleasant. They are harmful, frightening with their venom and threats, and rock one to the core. 
     Every single day, and quite often almost hourly, more filth is revealed. I begin to believe that the last moment of moral righteousness this Trump ever had was the very moment he was born. I can almost see the calculating squint, the chin lift, the crossed arms, in tiny Trump, as he practiced for his future - and ours, unfortunately.
     Deals with hotels and airports, all to better his bottom line and fill his hotel rooms, toadying by lobbyists, toelickers, and others wanting favors are the ones who fill his hotels and so does he!! All the while, we, the taxpayers are filling his coffers with our money, funds that might go to relief from hunger, for education - oops, we have now been toldby a Trumpie that colleges breed liberalism so they have to go! Okay, so how about housing, or oohhhh, immigration reform the humanistic way? Or even building those schools and life improvements for our military? But nope,off they go to the Wall, our own version of the Berlin Wall.
     And make no mistake about it. That is what we are building and that is what we are building as well within the country. Stomp on liberals.Stomp on reforms for the needy. Stomp on any funding for humane causes. Stomp on any reforms and rollback any regulations already passed. And do not forget the eternal games of golf from the man who said he would be too busy working to play golf! Pardon me as I barf!
     Free speech has been demonized and constantly pushed to the edges of its rights. All the while, Trump demeans the free press and media and only uses media for his own twisted purposes. The system of government is twisted and torn, as the executive branch abosrbs the duties and rights of the other branches, as the judicial branch is corrupted, as incompetent judges sell out for the position they do not deserve, as Republican politicians bow down and grovel before that man, and no one says uncle. Or are they doing exactly that already with their behavior?
     A nation is now split into two camps - pro and anti Trump. Every Democratic candidate and the three challengers to Trump in the Republican Party, all admit to the one fact that at the end of it all - Trump must NOT be reelected. Ever! Each one fights through a hailstorm of verbal attacks of viciousness beyond recall in recent times. Every rule is trashed, viciously, by the Trump camp and what do we do? Beats me.
     The most frightening thing lately is the wrenching of honesty out of the most benign segments of government, with NOAA being compromised because that damned moron cannot stand being shown to be wrong! Again and again.Threats are being made to force people to change their opinions, at least publicly. And what are we doing? Many are just shrugging their shouders in a what can we do gesture, so tired of this creep.
    So yes, many are ready to say uncle nd many have already done so, but is the uncle for giving in or is the uncle for getting ready to fight back? I know what mine is. And yours? 

J'ACCUSE

     No, I am not comparing myself to Emile Zola. That man had the courage to publicly take on the nation of France and its long engrained ugly thread of anti Semitism within its very heart. Despite Napoleon's gesture of giving rights to the Jews within France, there never seemed to be an end to the anti Semitism and  in Zola's lifetime it culminated in the Dreyfus Affair, a shameful blot on France forever.
     Nor have things changed very much there, especially now, with open beatings, horrendous talk, orally and in print, and the fear is in the air. But do not think, unfortunately, that if one lives in the United States that one is immune to this hatred. Yes, once we could not buy homes in certain areas, were denied jobs and promotions, faced quotas in universities and professional schools, had to go abroad to complete some education. We were cursed and threatened, beaten, chased and called vile names, but, a huge but, things improved, greatly. 
     Till recently, a Jewish person living within the borders of America could almost smugly declare his pride in the different world of America, its lack of open and vile hatred and anti Semitism, but today? Uh uh! In a major way. Bari Weiss wrote a wonderful opinion piece in Sunday's NYTimes and I recommend that all make an effort to find it and read it and read it again. Pass it on. It is that timely and important.
     While I do not agree with every statement of hers, ufortunately, it is time for J'Accuse here in America and its starts with the top and then drips venomously downward, right to the nasty dregs of humanity and society, the people who blame all on everyone else, particularly the Jews. However, do not make the error of thinking that the upper classes of society are free of this taint for that is so not true. They are just more polite about it.
     Before Pittsburgh I never would have thought that we would be attacked in our synagogues. Yes, there had been signs of a growth of this ugliness, with Jewish institutions targeted, but a mass murder and then another one in yet another synagogue in another American city? What was going on?
     What was going on and is still ongoing and growing is the acceptance into mainstream thought and action that it is okay to declare open season on the Jewish people once again. Yes, perhaps we are a tad sensitive to this, but after these thousands of years facing this all over the world, yet surviving and seeing the building and establishment of a country that is a Jewish state once again, well, try to understand why we see the anti Semitism right there under the veneer of anti Zionism, why we sliver our eyes in shock and concern, why we worry for the future.
     So J'Accuse you, Trump, and spineless Republicans who allow this and who have encouraged it by actions and lack of actions, accepting the role and importance of anti Semitic crazed people into your campaigns, into the White House and I am tired of hearing about your Jewish son in law and daughter.There were plenty of mixed couples in Germany and Austria,were there not, and go check what happened there, within their own families.
     J'Accuse to the Democratic Party in its weak response to the spewing of ugly filth from the mouths of Omar, Tlaib, and friends. It does not make a difference that these words of hate came from the mouths of people of color, nor does it excuse it. They are guilty of spreading this anti Semitism and in a violent manner as well. Where was the party of the Jewish people at this time?Being wimpy, that is what they were doing and they did it on the backs of Jews. So what? Sacrifice the Jews for the other 'others'? Jews will survive, they always have, so political expediency is the way to go? NO, most emphatcally NO!!
     J'Accuse all those who go along with this newly open and mainstream anti Semitism,from shootings in synagogues to the ever rising frequency of the beating up of Jewish people in Brooklyn, right here in the city that is more Jewish in its very bones than most any other place in the world. It is the place where so many Jewish ideas, Yiddish and Hebrew terms, became part of the lexicon of NY and then America. So where are the reports of these beatings, the desecrations of property? Beats me, for the press seems to ignore it for the most part. Guess it takes the brutality of  massacres to call attention to it.
     Finally, J'Accuse the Jews. No, we are not at fault; I do not believe in blaming the victim. That is a canard and meme of the haters. But what I do say is that we have forgotten, too many of us, our Jewish connection, no matter how we live, openly as Jews, or not caring if we are of Jewish ancestry, or worse, hiding it, as so many are thinking of and even doing as the level of fear, of a repetition of past and violent times in our history, not so distant at that and even ongoing, as that level rises.
     There is a long time theme in Jewish history. "When it is good for the Jews, it is bad for the Jews; when it is bad for the Jews, it is good for the Jews." The Jews in the second part of those statements are the Jewish people. Sometimes we need to remember who we are, our proud past, our long existence, our survival and thriving wherever we go, our philanthropy, our entry into socially responsible careers, for that is part of being Jewish. Unfortunately, too many of us lose the thread when life appears to be so smooth, no more hatred, no more anti Semitism, no more violence directed against us because of our Jewish blood. But think again, unfortunately, right here in America.
     J'Accuse all those in this, once my beloved country, once where I was able to walk down the street and not worry if others saw a star or my son wore his yarmulke (kippah), or a Hasidic man walked the streets and stood out. And yes, there are murmurs of "them", and "those people" right here in my own Village. J'Accuse allof us, Jews and non Jews who have allowed this awful ugliness to rear its horrendous head and body and arms once again. Has all this hatred not outlived its times? Have we forgotten all too readily that hatred knows no bounds, that it spreads from one group to another, always seeking to stoke its furnaces with the blood and  bodies of victims of hate? J'Accuse all of us for forgetting this.
     So, no elegance of writing as had Zola. No boundless courage and abilityto take on a nation. Only the small voice of one who is worried for the present, and most urgently, for the future. Yes, now is the time I would say that when it is bad for the Jews it is good for the Jews. Many are being forced to remember who they are and their origin, taking pride again in their history, their strength as a nation, their enormous contributions to the world, and the pride and power of being identified with the Jewish people.
     Wish I could erase this blog, this J'Accuse, but I cannot. Not at this time. Perhaps when the haters are defeated and some moral courage returns to our politicians, when the purveyors of hate are pushed back into the muck where they belong, perhaps then. But not now.