THE KNELLING OF THE BELLS

     "Lord, what fools these mortals be." Shakespeare knew enough to make that statement during  a turbulent time in England and it is appropriate for today as well. The England of the Tudors and the Plantagenets before them was decimated time and again by plagues, by diseases that ran rampant with no clear or united idea how to avoid or cure the ailment. Funnily enough, here we are hundreds of years later and we find ourselves in the same condition and position re COVID-19. Ah, the progress mankind makes!
     I should correct that. We are in a more precarious situation as the disease is spread more rapidly with international travel of so many and the lack of preparation for something we knew would eventually hit the world, not 'just' Africa or Asia. Well, here we are, and we have a great big zero, a huge F for failure. We are left just as bare of true protection as the Middle Age resident of England and Europe of those times.
     We were told now that "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness,". Knowing that, we also need to know and understand that this is a panic inducing situation as the world could turn topsy turvy, as countries impose military law under the excuse of public safety. The worst in mankind can rise to the top, the scum of the earth rather than the best of us. As for me, I worry about my spread out family and how we can get everyone home and keep in touch through all this noise and clamor, panic and sickness and yes, death, for people do die from this.
     Are we to be reassured of our safety and preplanning skills when we have an idiot of a President who rants and raves about laws for conservation of water, rambling on about flushing toilets and drip drip of water. Ugh!! The image that he drew of himself in the shower unable to properly wash his hair is something I am desperately trying to erase from my mind. ugh!! Double that! And no, the Democratic party and its adherents did not cause this! Stupid as that is, ignorant as that is, think of that statement as we substitute another group of people to receive the blame. Think not? Think again.
     Should we get through this or even as an additional factor, there is a rather more frightening, long lasting plan of theirs as well and I believe it has just gone under the noses of us all as we fret about the modern day plague. (Uh oh, do I hear that phrase again that the Lord is quite angry with His Creations?) That threat is one with a capital T. The bells should be ringing out its own farewell to arms, or perhaps the opposite as this move has ramifications that frighten the bejeezus out of me and should do the same to you - that is, unless you are of the persuasion that this is just a great idea and we should have done it sooner.
     Stephen Miller, the great hater and racist, the buddy boy of Trump, a master hater himself, announced proudly that there is now a new and powerful office within the whole immigration structure of ours. That is the Office of Denaturalization. Say that again and again, and if you do not hear the growing voices of terror, the sounds of Muslims in India finding out theyare no longer citizens of their country, or the Jews of Germany and Austria finding out in 1933 that their citizenship is revoked, their rights negated, their lives forfeit, then you need to shake your head and clear your brain.
     This is a most powerful and frightening tool and used by a regime of anger and incompetence, of fear for its power, then we are in big trouble. This in a country which is now trying to persuade the Supreme Court that a law they want to enforce, that anyone who enourages or aids an illegal immigrant to stay, can be arrested and imprisoned. When a justice asked what about the grandmother who tells her granddaughter to stay as she would miss her. What about the son taking care of his aged father, illegal? What about someone who mentions there is a haven for illegal immigrants just down the block? Are these people to be arrested? Are we going to imprison entire families, congregations, individuals who believe in human rights, in the dignity of man? 
    In response, the justices were told that 'Oh, we would never do that." "Trust us. Trust our word." Uh huh! Trust that and we will find our cells crushed and overloaded as Legal Americans are rounded up as well, as citizens are deprived of their citizenship and where does it end? Do you really want to contemplate the answer to that? Or are you going to be blind and play dumb as well and say loudly in a stentatorian voice that this will never happen. Not in America. Uh huh. They said that in Germany. They thought the Czar would never be overthrown and then get a repressive regime under the Communists. They thought - but the problem is that no one truly thinks enough, poo poos the whole train of thought and hence, I plead, hear the clamor of the bells, hear the toll of the bells, for they toll for us all. Like it or not. Deny it or not. We are sitting on a powder keg of history. Please, let us insure that the fuse be suffocated, deprived of air and oxygen, that we remain America under all and any circumstances. Let us call upon the grit of our ancestors, be they Mayflower passengers or steerage passengers, for all had the courage to come to a new land for a better life. We are Americans. Remember that. Hear that in your minds over the clamor of the warning bells, and do the best we can together, as Americans.

OH YEAH! UH HUH!

     One of the most frustrating things on earth is to hear someone spout lie after lie, one nonsensical bit after another, sit there quietly trying to be a good audience member and seethe as one sees heads nod up and down like the puppets they are and then engage in a most nauseating and untruthful love fest for one who has done worse than nothing, and lied about it all the while.
     The vaccine for Covid-19, or more familiarly known as the coronavirus - and please check your spelling next time, Donny boy - is acomin' down the track, real soon - so we are told by that imbecile Trump, who had one of his typical rambling, all over the place press meetings. As he spoke one could say uh huh and then double that as another speaker tells us it is at least a year to a year and a half down the road, not almost out the door and in our arms as Trump insinuates! Uh huh! As usual, the garbage spews forth from that man's mouth. One cannot believe a single syllable that emanates from his mouth.
    Trump appears to take this virus personally. How dare it affect his 'trump' card, the economy, which truly ain't that great, and ruin the stock market and the dreams and hopes of so many. Of course, it is the fault of the Democratic Party and in particular, that of Pelosi and Schumer, a personal attack on him. Amazing that everything is about him and that these two have the power to create a world wide epidemic verging on pandemic levels and all just about him. The arrogance is astounding. His egocentrism, his sociopathic behavior, is just mind boggling, and then one has to sit there and listen to first the Devil's Spawn praise his boss, Azar speak words of love for him as well, and on it went. My question? What the hell has he done that is praiseworthy?  Not only in general, but in specifics, about Covid-19? Nada!!! Oh yeah!!
     But all is okay because the government, meaning him, has done so much already for only 15 people have it here in the US and never mind those other victims, of course. Oh, and they are all getting better, even home already, and again, never mind the one who is still in bad shape and in danger from this disease. Never mind the person in California who is the first victim of community spreading and contagion. Never mind all the facts, that as usual, refute Trump's ridiculous and harmful statements.
     Oh, and not to worrry, for the government has set aside containment centers and has way enough supplies to hande this crisis if it even gets to be a crisis. I am not quite sure what we call the dive of the market if not a crisis, but never mind that. Find me a containment center, this the day after we read of the refusal of area after area to set up a containment center in their neighborhood.NIMBY at its best! Oh yeah!! Uh huh! As for masks - go find a real protective one in your neighborhood store or on line. Good luck to ya' for it is just not there. But oh yes, the government has done so much, is so ready, is so prepared.
     Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the same place where Trump has made loving statements re Putin, Kim, Xi and all other warm, cuddly, murdering monster leaders, the push is on to get Sanders for his statement that Fidel Castro actually did one good thing with his literacy program in a country which was inherently illiterate. I despise the deeds of Castro, what he did to his country, to the people on that island, but he did do that one thing. Does it make an excuse for him any more than the proverbial getting the trains to run time in Italy by Mussolini??Of course not, but it a fact, just as Trump's inappropriate love fests with hisfellow dictator brothers in arms, in dictatorship, in destroying rights - and that is what he has done here, make no mistake about it.
     Hit lists of 'enemy' workers. Lists of incompetent judges, even condemned by the ABA, yet great for his destructive aims. Evident lists of nasty names, usually relying on alliteration, to call his political enemies. Immense ego. No social empathy, no human feelings. It just goes on and on.
      Immigration rights, even legal immigration  shut down for all practical purposes. And do not forget those pictures of kids in cages, screaming as they are torn from their parents, lost children somewhere in the system, adults held in dirt and filth. 
     Reintroduction and emphasis on denying LGBTQ rights, equal to all. A return to the active and destructive hatred of earlier times in the USA with bombings of religious institutions, increased attacks of violence by right wing extremists, white supremacists, parades of hate and a return to a time of danger and denial for women. Oh yeah! Times are great, are they not?! The good old days according to some. 
     Need more? No problem. The National Labor Board now works for the owners, not the laborers, the unions. The lobbyists who have been made Secretaries of the Departments that cover that same area. So fair, so impartial! The reopening rifts in the social safety net and an evident non caring abut the needs of those who need help, aid, guidance, advice. It is sickening!!
     The causing of mistrust for the media. A nonsensical and dangerous meme of "false news". Illegal pressure on the Justice Department and the entire judiciary structure. Tampering with tradition and the Constitution and an ever increasing exposure of his true plans - the assumption of a permanent role as Life Leader, just like his best buds! The placement of his family at the helm of this country. The total destruction of any and all progress we have made over the years and add to that the blind damage we keep on doing to the environment as he insists there is nothing to it!! Oh yeah. Uh huh. Life is so good!
      Let us just vote him in again in a show of ignorance, of apathy, of hatred, of anti patriotism, a display of vile attitudes and actions against all those who despise and oppose that man, his coterie, and the damage he has already done and will continue to do to this, our country. Oh yeah. That is the truth. Unless we change that scenario. But time is short and only we can do that. Uh huh!

OVERDRIVE

    I wish someone would explain that term to me, especially within the various contexts. The dictionary defines it as a gear in a car's engine or an amount of great or excessive activity. Well, great, but what does that mean in real life and is it a good or a bad thing.
     An example: my phone, the stupidest smart phone ever, sends me a message that it is going into overdrive. Huh! What does that mean? Will it change something, anything? I already do not understand half the things it does in a seemingly independent behavior and mind. At times it shows me a shot on the screen of what appears to be zillions of files going into the background unto infinity where I imagine them meeting Buzz Lightyear! My response? Help!! My head then goes into overdrive and I quickly take my most excellent step to combat this - I shut it down or change the screen. There! That did it!
      If we are talking about great activity then we can turn to other areas as well, areas where I am just as concerned as when my phone turns rogue. What the heck is going on in this overdriven by far race for Democratic candidate. Almost every single one of them has voiced the opinion that if they rip each other apart, we are providing fodder for the enemy - Trump - and trust me, he is the enemy - and then what? A country driven into overdrive as we speed into a bad future, one where no overdriven gizmo will slow it down as we trash over two centuries of our history? Perhaps we need to go into overdrive in protecting our country, in making our displeasure known to all those pols who are forgetting what they are supposed to be all about?
     As I look around I see more areas of overdrive where a considerable amount of overdrive needs to be reined in. $1.737 trillion dollars lost over two days from the market and there appears to be no end in sight. This after a period of uncertainty and ups and downs, a lousy year where we have lost whatever gains we made. I know the damage, the hurt, the fright, for my heart goes into overdrive as I check the numbers and see my savings just melt away, in a fevered overdrive, thanks to idiots who see not the truth, who prepare not for life, who could give a good goddamn about me and all the other little people.
     Everything these days seems to be on overdrive. We are used to the flu epidemics. We are even used to epidemics of scary diseases such as Ebola or Marburg, the return of dangerous 'childhood' diseases because parents have become fools in overdrive gear, but this possible pandemic, well, that is frightening. And all the while this country has done nada to organize and face it when it inevitably hits the USA. We damaged our relations with other countries so there went that option. We refuse to believe the facts - a standard of the day under Trump - and so we sit, twiddling thumbs, blind as bats to the scary overdriven future of this disease.
     Just look around and find the other areas of damaging overdrive. The hatred, the xenophobia, has morphed into a monster eating up the world, right along there with the overdriven environmental crisis. We are destroying each other in tandem with destroying the world and as that danger increases, so will the other, for resources will dwindle and panic will be in overdrive, all the while knowing that there is too little too late, no overdrive at all in the protection and saving the world. Just look at recent pcitures of the Arctic and the Antartica and chew that thumb of yours and contiue on in overdrive as you chew up all the nails on your hands. Worry in overdrive, especially as those in power refuse to acknowledge this problem. And on we go in our merry destructive path.
     Our systems of justice have degraded in overdriven speed, with Trump attacking judges, calling for recusal of anyone who does not like him, attacks jurors and forepeople according to their verdicts, and on it goes as he packs the benches with more and more incompetent objectionable judges, the future of justice within this country falling ever deeper into an abyss, where that famous monster down there awaits, all the better to chew this country up, all the while we allow this to continue.
     Oh, but not to worry, for the future is saved. Ivanka poses in a replication of an iconic pose of Princess Di, as if, truly, as if. All this overdriven   behavior, the paths we have taken as our country erodes the very ground it stands on, all this and  more have these people concluding that they are the future, they are the dynasty, they will be the future royalty of this country, in name or actuality, whatever, for the power counts and nothing else.
     Folks, we need to go into overdrive and quickly. never mind those annoying stupid phones. Never mind all the outside and inconsequential static of these days. Just go into overdrive where it counts - in the struggle to insure the future of our country as the USA of history rather than the weak and dirty imitation of the fall of Rome, the fall of ancient empires and even the fall of governments today. We need help and the only help to come is us. The person in the mirror. The person who will check off the right box and get us back onto a clear and smooth road, even as we fix the damages as best we can.
     There is hope and encouragement to be found in the words of a famous author. Ernest Hemingway, in A Farewell to Arms, states:
   "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places."
     We now have many broken places, but we will be stronger there, we must be stronger there. We must know that we have to rebuild and recover,  the sooner we get started, all the better it will be.

TREASURE HUNTS

     Ever go on a treasure hunt, in camp, on field days? The tension rose as the hunt progressed and all this for a treasure that was not much, other than the satisfaction of finding it, but the hunters were all in, eager and competitive. The atmosphere became almost, if not, feverish, as enthusiasm ran high, as the end neared.
     We, too, are on a treasure hunt. No, we will not find jewels or gold bars or missing treasure accumulations from secret tombs of the pharaohs. What we will find is ourselves. Yes, we are the treasure we seek, the treasure that comes along with another great and wonderful treasure, the character of the United States of America. Say that name over and over. Hear and feel its majesty. Hear and feel its history. Hear and feel its meaning and importance to the world. Hear and feel what we are in the process of losing, endangering its existence beyond a point of no return.
     Once that name was spoken of proudly, aware of its contributions, its responsibilities. At times they were shirked, but we always came around, sooner or later. We tried, made errors, had some grievious faults, but always managed to progress, albeit at times at a snail's pace. But that scenario is in existential danger right now. No longer do our leaders take glory and joy in representing the nation and its people, for now, the only joy most take, particularly those of the GOP, is in the gaining and maintaining of power. Power to do what? I have no clue, for it seems that they use their might to sustain wrong, to accept misdeeds, openly, acknowledging wrong yet ignoring it. 
     Now they are on a revived tack, trying to bring back times in history when we had restrictions on personal liberties, when women were treated as inanimate chattel, owned by husbands and fathers, unable to make their own decisions regarding their bodies, their lives, their very souls. Annoying, persistent women were even caged in mental asylums, filthy, neglected, for the rest of their lives. In the Senate, that creep, McConnell, is pushing for more laws against abortions, even going so far as to push criminal charges and penalties on doctors who perform them, no matter the reason. Women are to be punished too, a lovely, oh so lovely, throwback to worse times.
And I wonder, I surely do, about the treasure route, the hunt that we are on as a nation. So many of us have already lost our souls to greed, to power and its machinations, to hidden, ugly prejudiced thoughts and feelings, let alone the ugly actions taken in the name of prejudice, and now we are in severe danger of losing our soul as a nation.
     Our nation is on a twisted treasure hunt, the end result, at the x marks the spot point, that will take us away from we should be, instead rolling downhill ever faster until we lose our nation, the hunt closed, history perverted. A prime example can be found in the shameless behavior of Oregon legislators from the GOP who refuse to take a stand and vote on climate bills and other "liberal" issues, so instead, they run away, passports in hand to nearby Iowa. The second time they have done this and are they so willing to leave this country? If so, let them get the hell out. They can disagree, our right - at least for now - but not to shirk their duties. No. Most emphatically no.
     Trump and coterie make lists of unfavorables. They twist and turn, break laws and traditions as they get rid of them for opposing Trump and his evil plans. Yes, evil. I use that word with full intent and meaning. Our media's integrity and independence is being hedged about, threatened on a daily basis. Our supposed president uses schoolyard bully techniques and language, so proud of himself. He appeals to the most basest of all traits among ourselves and we should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing him to do all this, to get away with his sins of society, of his crude and cruel approaches to immigration, to the economy, to reactions to dangers to our country, even inviting those dangers in. There is no end to the list of the evil he has done, of the damage his perverted, twisted treasure hunt has done and will continue to do, to us, as people and as Americans.
     He has taken the kindness out of America. He has removed societal care and concern for its weakest and neediest members. He sentences so many to a life replete with danger, hunger, cold, fright, no security, no hope, caring only for his fatcats and his personal wallet. He is one of the coldest people I have ever seen, even sociopathic, for I believe his human feelings, other than rage at those who oppose him and glee for his own victories, are the only emotions he has. Even his family is there only to serve him. Period.
     We need to search for our country again, the United States of America. Soon, for time is running out, the sands quickly slipping through the hourglass of history and it is not on our side. Let us demand and force even, a new map, a better x marks the spot. That is the only thing we must do and then, the regulations for our safety, for our future, for our people,will return again and we will send  those uncaring, moral cowards back to the dump where they belong, roll up our sleeves and get on once more with the business of being the proud citizens of a proud country, the United States of America.

WHO THE HELL AND WHAT THE HELL

     There are no answers anymore. Neither are there almost any questions anymore. It is just such a topsyturvy world that it is hard to believe in anything anymore. Are the Russians truly interfering in our elections once more? Yes, I believe they are and that is enough to shock one right out of one's shoes. Indeed yes, but what is more shocking is that it appears that they are playing both sides of the street, interfering with both sides of the election, all the better to eat us up. Yup, that big old bad wolf has decided that we are Little Red Riding Hood, ripe for the picking once again and look yummy enough to eat, even as we become a Third World nation, a plaything for Russia, a country which has a broken economy, but evidently feels that messing around with us will save their nuts, pull them right out of the fire. And you know what? So far, they are correct in their assumption.
     The USA right now is in the midst of a soul searching campaign wherein we have to decide who we are, who we wish to be and how hard are we willing to fight for our dreams, our ideals, our place in the panopoly of nations. Have we lost our soul? Have we lost our courage as a nation? Have we decided that it is easier to succumb to a dictator, roll over and play dead when and while he takes away the rights set forth in our Constitution, all the amendments, while all those once anti Trumpers in the GOP rollover and expose themselves all in their fevered desire to enhance their own little worlds at the cost of the world of the nation.
     Who the hell are we and who the hell have we become? What the hell has happened? What has happened is that we have become weak. We have backed away from difficult decisions, from hard questions and even harder answers. We decided, in 2016, much to our detriment, that a clown would be the answer for the next few years, give us a bit of comic relief, for after all, how much damage could a reality star, a businessman who goes perpetually bankrupt, actually do? Well, we have certainly found out and the joke, the bitter, dangerous joke, is on us.
     Meeting with an unanticipated success on their part, the Russians have now decided to go all in and play the puppeteer on both sides of the stage. They have meddled with both the Republican and the Democrats and are sitting there, snug and smug as bugs in a rug as they watch us tear ourselves apart, hopefully, for them, to finish the job in the big election in November. Two sides of the nation, the fooled, the befuddled, the desperate, will go out and vote and what happens after the results are in? Who the hell and what the hell come into play there once again.
     We have forgotten that there are angry people out there, people who have felt evergrowing thoughts and feelings of abandonment, of desperation, from top to bottom, and are in the throes of horror as they contemplate a possible win by Trump. How that will happen, will it go to the courts in either result? Will it permanently tear us apart, the United States become the Parted States, the once upon the time striving Camelot? Will there be violence at the polls? Will there be violence, hacking, at counts and recounts? Will Trump leave the WH if defeated and G-d help us either way. What the hell and who the hell will be waiting there to confuse and terrorize, paralyze into inaction and worse reactions.
     Only G-d knows the final results and I am not sure if even He knows for sure, so crazy are the happenings of the times.  What I do know is that He is angry. He is angry at what His creations have become, at the level of defiance they have displayed, at their return to the evil days depicted in the Bible, in all the holy books of whatever religion one picks. Think not? Locusts!! Floods. Droughts. World epidemics, a possible pandemic for which there is no cure and a dastardly death rate. Earthquakes. Devastating fires. Eruptions of once dead volcanoes in deadly cataclysms of Nature. Mud slides. The very existence of the planet as a place for inhabitation called into question. What next? Who the hell and what the hell. And I, for sure, have no idea what the hell to answer and I bet neither do you. That is the hole we have dug for ourselves, for a possible future - or not. Hell, I am desperate too, just as concerned and worried, perhaps a bit more than some others, but then again, what the hell!!
     

TIGERS AND SUCH

    There have long been warnings and talk of payment, for good or bad. Bad does not alwys get its just 'reward' nor does good get its reward in a timely manner. The recognition that should be paid towards those who do good in society, be it in a large manner or a small one, is not always there, and worse, is sometimes bitten back by those whom it has helped. That appears to be human nature. Sad, but true.
     Everyone from Aesop and his fables and morals to Churchill and his warnings re dictators, to intelligence agencies who suss out the nasty guys, the threats to nations, all have warned about those wishing to do harm to others and to an inevitable payback. He is much more optimistic than Aesop who warns of the scorpion  stinging its rescuer, even as Churchill says that the tigers ridden by dictators grow restless and hungry, and hungry tigers are no joke!
     Maintaining control over masses of people is not easy. They grow restless. They grow angry. They grow curious in a deadly way as to why things have become the way they are and then act upon that curiousity. Time and again throughout history, from ancient to modern times, dictators have been overthrown by the very same people the dictator thinks he/she controls to the nth degree.
     Today, here in what once was America, a symbol to and for the world, we have a growing dictatorship. The dictator wannabe has been quite successful in terrorizing and fooling the people around him and in a supposed base. Yet there are rumblings, from some very heavy people, Sotomayor dished it out good in her dissent, as Trump et al try to destroy the haven that America is supposed to be, was, yet is now turning its back on it all. Case after case has been rushed through the now corrupted and weakened justice system, no time to debate, to fight, to keep America, America. 
     Yet another attack on the very people who need America, like my great grandmother who was told she would be a burden, a charge, on the taxpayers even as my grandfather filled out sworn statement after statement that he and his wife, the daughter of my great grandmother, would see to it that never would she ever be a charge on the public. But nasty is as nasty does and the outcome was not good. That same person denied entrance was last seen, elderly, ill, abused, starved, being thrown into a cattlecar on its way to Belzec, a notorious death camp of the Nazis. An old woman who would harm no one, who was waiting to be welcomed into a loving home, loving arms, yet the fatcats had their way, just as they are doing now. What would this nation be today if not for the penniless immigrants who came here, fought in the Revolutionary War, established industries, libraries, fought for civil rights, for human rights? Where would we be? Certainly not where we are today.
     And yet maybe we would be, for today we have that Demented One, riding the angry and hungry tiger, the one that has had enough of the cruel rider, the tiger who is beginning to rebel, to face facts and the truth. We, the collective tiger, are tired of an ignorant person who cannot read, cannot write nor spell, does not think, is dangerously impulsive and as fickle as a puff of dandelion blown in the wind. Woe upon the rider who dismisses his own intelligence agencies. Woe upon the rider who cares for naught other than power in his hands, establishing a continuous family dynasty, getting richer, pulling the money from public pockets, and who appears to be sreriously mistaken as to who exactly are our enemies and whom our friends. That rider is dangerous, very much so, and I, for one, am getting angry, restless beyond all words and limits, and am getting hungry for America, the America I can pledge to, the America that I sang to as a child, the America that allowed my family members in, allowed us to grow in the air of this country, the America that is no longer.
     People wonder why so many vote for Sanders, seemingly an extremist of the left, who wants it all for the people and wants it NOW! Why? Because he is the inheritor of the old fabrente socialist who would sit in the cafes of New York, determined to fight for the rights of all people, the ones who fought against situations that led to the Triangle fire, to starvation of children, of homes with no food, no warmth, no security of a life that a person needs. People are tired of seeing this rider destroy all that we have achieved and see Sanders as the direct opposite of what we have now.
     He is not my pick. I favor a steady balanced person, Klobuchar, with a head screwed on straight, with feet firmly planted in middle grounds veering towards social justice and change, but in a realistic manner, for one cannot go from zero to sixty in a reform plan, unless that reform plan cares nothing for rules and regulations for the people. Sadly, that, my friends, is what we have now in Trump. That is why Sanders appeals to many, a protest vote, an angry vote from the tiger, from the masses of tigers who are seeing the light, the truth. Finally.
     And I am worried, very much so. The gap in America is growing by miles an hour, almost seeming unable to be breached, to be fixed, to be healed. We need to wake up and if we cannot get rid of this guy via the laws at this point, then vote him the hell out, cancel the influence, tricks and manipulations of the Russians who just love him and his messes, and then arrest him the minute he is outside theWH. Then, my friends, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, get down to serious work on repairing the damage and see to it that this never happens again. 

TRUTH? JUSTICE? HONESTY?

     The above three topics, traits, virtues, used to be valued here in America. Yes, there were those who did not, among them many politicians. However, our top politician today, Trump, carries out their denial, their abnegation, to the nth degree and the worst thing about it is that no one says a thing other than to politely point it out and then onto the next day's horrific deed from the top criminal, not the top cop, as he claims to be.
     "You don't say that, even if it's true." And there you have it in one little sentence, the whole raison d'etre and tenet of Trump and the Republican party of today. In fact, so deeply are they enmeshed in this topsy turvy world where the criminal runs the joint, where there is no longer any law that is immutable, safe from tampering, where in fact the criminal openly brags of his power, so deeply enmeshed are they that they can never dig themselves out of this. Certainly not in the historical sense. That record cannot be erased from the historical records. But realistically speaking, why should they care, as things seem to be going their way and all rights of Americans are being erased, an inch, a foot, a yard, a mile, at a time,  definitely under attack.
     So why are we sitting here allowing this to happen? Why are the wildest statements or stabs at the future actually coming true? Why have we allowed this criminal, this perverter of justice, this man who claims final and top authority under which he can pardon all who support him to do so? Those who committed crimes for him, mostly white, male, and rich, who stole money from the citizens of this nation by medical fraud, tax fraud, financial fraud, drug trading - and yet, Trump's buddies go free. Worse, he announces openly, brazenly, that those now in the chute of trials and convictions followed by sentences, will be pardoned as they are "worthy" of it!! Worthy? One has to be worthy if one is to commit a crime, an attack on America in its consequences, and then be 'worthy' of being pardoned, of Trump interfering in the whole process? It is mind boggling.
     How did we ever let this happen and most puzzling, why. Why do people keep making excuses for him? Why do people say they could not vote for Hilary because her husband lied - but when the doer of the nasty, the committer of the misdeeds - plural -  comes along, it is okay? How and why do they just ignore his tampering with the judicial system, not only stacking the deck for decades to come with ignorant judges, but boldly interfering, openly, and the consequences will pile up. Be sure of that. Batman's Arkham Manor in real life. Check it out.
     However, the worst is yet to come. I have long warned of civil war and I do not mean in the courts. These courts are becoming ever more useless thanks to the machinations of Trump and the apathy of the people. No, this is Civil War, with capitalized letters. There are calls for such a war all over the Net, boogaloo or whatever crazy name they give it. RAHOWA - racial holy wars in the minds of the perverted and the damned and think it is not here yet? Ask at the churches. Ask at the synagogues. Ask at the mosques. And that is right here in America - or what used to be America. There are many other voices now warning of this possibility. Wish it were not so. But it is, so what are we to do about this?
     First, get him gone from office. Come out and vote for his opponent, whomever it might be. Vote against any of those who supported him in Congress, in the House or Senate, in the states, just throw them out of office and the minute they are out, arrest them for the lies, the false statements, the obstruction of justice, the financial and civil frauds and crimes. Best of all - put an orange jumpsuit on that man and perp walk him to hell and gone.
     Right now - read carefully and see the awfulness of their deeds. Now Mulvaney says our economy is in dire need of legal immigrants. Ass! When immigrants are discouraged, arrested, separated from families, children thrown in cages, food, water and health care withheld, and all requests for asylum denied - well, tell me, Mr, Idiot, where are these so desperately needed immigrants to come from? There have been dire warnings of the effects of this policy, this hate filled policy, on our economy, but hatred triumphed and here we are.
     People, time is running short. We are running out of time and the fault is ours. Recognize that or you will be forced to recognize it and face the truths of the matter, of the situation, when we have a dictator for life, a family dynasty to remain as heirs, when benefits from the government are slashed, even totally wiped out, with people, here in America, starving, dying from exposure, even as the fatcats step over their bodies on their way to the newest posh restaurant, park their fancy polluting cars, and control the masks necessary to breathe the outdoor air of our fatally polluted world. Think I exaggerate? Calll me in ten years and let us see. If we are even able to do so. I have just been told for the third time this year that I cannot have the medicine I need because I am to use a cheaper version. This after these cheaper versions nearly killed me!! And after paying copays through the nose! Make that five years.
     Truth, honor, justice, humanity, striving to improve life for all, for protecting our planet, for the best we can be, not the worst. Think we will ever have it again? My glass is three quarters empty right now. No rosy outlook there. And yours? Be honest. Think long and hard. Harder yet.

HOPE AND DESPAIR

       It is a difficult thing to do, to read the news, watch the news, hear the vitriol of the past return to today. What one thought, prayed for, that hatred of the other would finally meet its well deserved death - well, that has not happened. Instead, what we have is a poisonous return, all over Europe, Asia, and even here inAmerica. Never did I think that at gatherings of friends we would talk of the need, of the possibility, that we might have to leave or have we left it too late already. Even more frightening is the question of where would we go?
     Yet there is hope. Our younger generation is watching and thinking, very carefully. They are well aware of life and the vicious turns it can take and make. Below is an entry in a nationwide contest of high school students, an entry which won third prize - quite an accomplishment. I recognize much of what is within the piece, for I know the stories of ancestors we have spoken of, the stories and experiences of others and it has made an impression. These kids today are the adults of tomorrow nd we will entrust the world to them.
      Our generation has not done such a good job at caretaking, have we, but we hope and pray tha this next generation is more aware, more concerned, more determined to leave the world in a better state than the one they inherited. Despair, yes, but also hope. Hear the voice of my granddaughter and her generation.

          Some Things Never Change
I put on my glasses with Holocaust viewing lenses
I see my great-great grandmother taking care of her house
Making beds, sweeping floors, washing dishes
She was a homemaker.
I see my great-great grandfather working with diamonds
Cutting them, shaping them, selling them,
He was a merchant.
The Nazis invaded 
1939
I see my great great grandparents running, hiding,
Trying to escape,
From Poland, to Antwerp, to France
To Rivsaltes
To Auschwitz
I see them being put into the gas chambers,
breathing, choking, dying
I take off my glasses for it's too much for my eyes to handle
I see antisemitism
Shooting, screaming, blood
Did I even take off my glasses?
I see them sitting next to me, I feel them with my hand
They were off
What was I seeing then?
The past? the present? the future?
It was the present; reality
Tree of Life
Sirens
Death
I guess not much has changed since 1945.
   

APOLOGIES

     Sorry, have been traveling al day and just got in. Will be back to writing new postings tomorrow.

AHA!! SO WHO IS THE DUMMY NOW?

     I just do  not know. I cannot figure it out. Are we so brain damaged by the air, the chemicals, the plastic, the whatever it is that we face in our modern lives, that we simply cannot distinguish between safe and not, between asking for trouble and not, able to follow a thought or trail to its inevitable end unless something, anything, is done?
     Yes, there are sparks of remaining intelligence, but some are so contradictory that I wonder how some of these people sleep at night. Do they actually understand the ramifications of their deeds and the fact that they have opened gates that do not shut again, unless it be in the opposite direction?
     Hard fought for consumer protections were put in place, consumers given the right to have expectations of trust, of protection, of the safety of products. Well, this week they will be gone. As will the right to take the company to court to address the issues and the harm done. Gone. All of it. Just thank good ol' boy, Trump for that. Such a good man, is he not!! 
     Want our people in the services to be well treated, maintained, provided with the best arms and safeguards? Silly you!! All that money meant for them is going to build that damn wall, the one running right through and over private property, wildlife preserves and trails, Native Amerian reservations, but what the hell, Donny needs his wall. Perhaps he will turn out to be a great graffiti artist and he can go into another career and leave the WH! If wishes would come true.....
     Seriously, this act depicts in full detail just what the Senate GOP has done. By failing to convict despite their acknowledgement that what he did was so wrong, and now that he has confessed to much of what he lied about and denied - such a shock- Trump telling lies!! - now he is in full gear, zero to sixty, VROOM!!He can do anything he wants. They told him so and boy, did he grab that baton and run like the dickens.
     Congress's constitutional powers have been basically negated - "The re-programming announced today is contrary to Congress's constitutional authority, and I believe that it requires Congress to take action...... such a reprogram attempt "undermines the principle of civilian control of the military and is in violation of the separation of powers within the Constitution.". ... Said by a Republican so where was he before, when it counted? Where were they all?  Now they are complaining? What did they think? Where were their collective heads, other than up their own rears, or better yet Trump's. Now they complain! Who are the dummies now and unfortunately the not so dumb are forced to sit and suffer - or are they?
     Federal judges, prosecutors, are up in arms at the interference of the government in the form of Trump and stooges into cases with connections to Trump and his egregious misdeeds and sins. People are beginning to wake up, but how and toward what end? Will they just shrug shoulders and give up, saying all politicians are the same , thus allowing - Oh G-d Forbid - another term of Trump during which things will pass the point of no return?
      Or will they gird their loins as the Bible tells us, screw their courage to the sticking point and go after the crooks and criminals, the rabidly greedy people sucking our country dry, wasting our money, raising the debt beyond all realistic terms, and worst of all, impinging on our rights with every step they take, determined to remove them all. 
     There are good people out there. Never mind the extremists, though again, I would vote for a rotting tree stump against Trump if I had to. I would not worry, for if we gain the Senate, keep the House, even a Trump could not win out, unless, that is, he declares martial law, calls out the troops, and opens a war on ourseves and do not think that is beyond his megalomaniacal mind, for it surely is not.
     Good people. Klobuchar, newly determined men and women - yay! - who are putting themselves forward, willing to take the personal abuse of Trump, the bully. There is Stacy Jmes backstage, so many good people. All we need do is call upon them, vote for them, stop the carnage of our judiciary system, the rending of our Constitution, the encouragement of hatred based on anything one wants to hate. We so need to do this. We truly do.
     Only we can help ourselves, no one else. We need to tell foreign countries to get the hell away, particularly Russia and Putin, China and Xi, and all else who would treat us as if we are ignorant, newly born states. We are Americans!! WE ARE AMERICANS and we need to begin to behave again as if we remember what that means, meant, and always will. We truly do.
     So who are the dummies now? Take a look around and do not forget that person in the mirror. Look deep and be honest.

CONTAINERS AND CONTENTS

     We all know that there are items that sometimes look great on the outside, but when opened, ugh!! Or food looks tempting,  but try tasting it! And there are the opposite situations, when there is an inherent physical ugliness or off putting appearance, but try eating, or opening, or wearing and one will say aahhhh.
     Translated fromthe Hebrew adage, one should not look at the container, but what is inside. That is the true value and even when one is plain on the outside, if there is a goodness on the "inside", we state that is the better goodness and truth of the container and contents.
     Now look at today's world at several 'containers'. Just back from Israel, I think it is a beautiful example of one not knowing what is inside, the truth of the matter. Israelis are tough, having been raised in a land where paradoxically they are both free to an amazing extent, but also imprisoned in another. It is their land, free to be Jews, free to feel a sense of belonging that could be lacking in other countries, based on history and today's world. It is also a tiny country surrounded by millions upon millions of people and supporters around the world who would rather see the Israelis in the sea, swimming for their lives.
      One has to be tough, appearing almost rude to an extent. Yet the same person will talk to you standing on a street corner or on the lightrail, ask and tell the most intimate details of one's life, and then invite you into their homes for meals, for friendship, for sleepovers and for matches for unmarried children!!Even as many appear beautiful yet tough, they are actually soft and loving, giving medical care to children of enemies, appearing first on the scene at worldwide disasters, advancing technology and medicine in the most innovative ways, and have multiple songslongingfor peace. Truly container and contents here.
     We have famous sports figures, CEOs, big wheels in so many spheres of the world, yet when the covers are lifted even just a tiny bit, we find an ugliness, sheer cruelty and disregard for others. Does the outside matter here? It should not, yet it does to too many people.
     Today there are headlines with two glaring examples of container and contents. First we had a really cool picture posted showing a huge crowd under an Air Force One, evidently a portrayal of the crowds who came to see Trump, not the races, at Daytona. Guess what? That picture was from 2004, used without permission, without the truth, and there you are again, an outside with a rotting inside. 
     Second, we have a man who believes that his physical appearance, his height, will gain him his seat in the WH again. The taller man wins, so it is said, yet what is inside this container and is it worthy of being at the height of the country? Think of the contents - the insanity, the dementia, the cruelty, the incompetence, the greed, the fake physical appearance of a doctored face, the misogyny, the  sheer nastiness of it all inside that container, and all the roaches he gathers around that rotting content. Does it really make a difference if the President is shorter, or a woman, or gay? Does it not matter that the person actually be a good person, knowledgeable, a patriot in the true sense of the word, a public servant, one whose family is intact, a person respected by the world and committed to American values.
     This particular container is rotting, rusting, and the insides are ugly, malodorous. Yet people appear to be blind, even as the organs of government are corrupted, as 1,100 former members and lawyers of the Justice Department demand Barr's resignation, as we confirm sexual deviants and know nothings to judgeships, to postions of grave authority, as the container itself admits to his own ugliness, lies, nasty behavior and worse, actually is proud of it all, wishes to remain in office forever, and the ever increasing hatred of others, the loss of morality amongst our GOP Senators and Congressmen and women.
     Truly, this rusting container and its gross innards wil be the undoing of us all. Unless we all wake up and come November throw it out, and in the meanwhile we must make our feelings clear, that we want trash cleanup while we wait, that we need scouring of the streets and paths trod by this man and his cohorts, that we want cleanliness, foremost and always, back again.
    And just as an aside, take a look at the picture of Trump talking and Melania standing next to him. She is stiff, as in pain or could it be disgust - and why are her lips moving as he is speaking? Weird is the word. Has she cracked under the strain of living with this man? Has she broken under the hypocrisy of her program of anti cyberbullying even as the chief cyberbully lives with her? Interesting.
     Anyway, take a note from today's posting. Before discarding people, or choosing friends, or crowds to hang with, look at their insides as well as their outsides and weigh them. Truly, who is the better person here? Who is the better choice? The right choice will only enhance your life and your happiness. Just sayin'!

WAR!!! WAR!!! WAR!!!!

     War has been declared by Trump and his supporters and make no mistake about it. No,they have not gone to Congess for permission, yet Congress did exactly that by not convicting him, instead upholding his stated belief that he has the 'legal power' to do as he wishes. Ever and for always. Ever and ever should he claim it is for his reelection. Ever and ever should he act on his oft stated opinion that he should be President for Life.
     He has declared war on all the rights and values of an American. He has interferred, openly and dishonestly, with the justice system, voicing his opinions, changing decisions and punishments, and reminding all that he can do what he wants. No matter what!
     It is so simple, yet so complicated and hard to be believed. Attempt after attempt has been made to abnegate our rights. Attempt after attempt has been made to ruin our foreign policies, curtail honest Federal employess, line his pockets with the money of taxpayers, take away Medicare, punish pre existing conditions by not covering them, attempting to censor, definitely attacking in the most nasty manner, against any and all who cross him, even if they were bffs before! And do not forget his children, those incompetent blowhards talking of running for President.Help!!!
     Adding insult to injury, he has admitted he lied, he did send Giuliani to the Ukraine, and what do the Republican Senators say about it? A big nothing!! People, we need to pay attention as to what is happening, to listen to his verbiage, chart the excesses and the growth of these excesses, and see where he plans to go. The man knows no barriers other than himself and he violates that everyday. Yes, war has been declared, and in November, we had better pick a better general or we are lost.

CIRCLE THE WAGONS, BOYS, CIRCLE THEM FAST!

     A paranoid person always feels that the world and all within it are out to get him. In that case, he chooses his circle of intimates very carefully, looking for those whom he can trust, and even then, there is a forever changing of the guard as each intimate falls under suspicion.  Often then the wagons are circled, the drapes closed, the communication cut and the nuttiness goes deeper and deeper, beyond all point of return. That feeling is often strengthened when past members of the circle or even present ones begin  to speak out, a la Barr, who evidently does not like to be seen as a lackey and devoted servant to Trump.
      And ain't that just too bad!!  The truth will out, will it not?! I cannot understand, though, how all these people got caught inhe first place, perhaps thinking they could outsmart the man, save the country in a major attack of hubris, or what? Did they not see his corruption, the internal worms of distrust, mistrust, anger, crudeness and downright inhumane tendencies? Did they not see his lies for exactly what they are and if not or chose to ignore, then that says something else, does it not?
     In his newest fit, the Demented One is bringing back Hope Hicks, the champion liar of a former position in his administration, circling those wagons ever closer, all the while the heaps of corruption pile up around that circle, separating that sick inner circle from the rest of the world.
      Today, even McConnell says to Trump that perhaps he ought to think of tweeting less. Now the GOP votes to limit his war powers. I thought they realized that they gave up that right when they excused his abuse of power, knew and admitted it was wrong yet allowed him to escape just punishment. As a consequence the man is admitting in so many words that the Justice Department was oh so naughty and mean and pardoning is not out of order. Great! Kowtow to the Demented One and escape trouble - as do all dictators who use fear and lies and cruelty as their tools of trade.
     So how much longer do we hold off on a final, long delayed, and well deserved attack on that circle of sick souls? Is there time to wait until November? Is there a safety net that will catch the poor deluded souls who go along with his immoral behavior and cruelty? What will happen when this Demented One exercises what he believes is his right - to do as he wishes, as he pleases, and to hell with all else?
     America is at a tipping point and we all know what happens when we ignore that and let it go over or under or asunder. The words do not matter, only the consequences. Perhaps we need to circle our own wagons, defend democracy, defend America and what it means, what it stands for and break the power of that other nefarious ill meaning circle. We have, potentially, till Election Day in November - I hope and hopefully, we will all do the right thing. Circles need dooorways if those within are to grow and flourish in the right way. Doorways allow us to win over the deluded souls of personality cults. Let us uncircle those wagons.

IS HONESTY THE BEST POLICY?

   Seems a strange question, does it not, for does it not answer itself in the affirmative? We are not talking about little white lies, but lies conjured up to fool people, to change their souls, to rewrite and revamp history. So now, is honesty the best policy?
     Looking at today's world one would think that it is obviously a belief more honored in the breach than in the keeping. Leader after leader of nations all over the world, in global floods, are being ousted due to being caught in major lies, be they of sexual or financial behavior. Families of these leaders have been found to be tainted as well, as they enriched themselves at the public troughs at great damage and cost to the public.
     So now swing to North America, to the USA , and look around. The Justice Department, so important to be neutral, free to make the proper judicial calls and decisions is hammered by Trump, with judges being attacked and employees quitting in frustration as their efforts of honesty and openness are destroyed. State Department is the same thing as security experts are told to shut their mouths for the Demented One needs no advice other than his own fractured mind. 
     And at the top of the heap of all lies and illegalities, of robbing the people, right after their father, are the 'children' - Ivanka, Junior, and Eric. They go along, foster crooked deals, lie to the public, agree with the overcharging of the Secret Service for rooms in TRUMP HOTELS. Ivanka claims original authorship yet we all know it was a compendium of other people's words. She claims to be for women and rights and for child care, yet in that family it only means rights and care for the wealthy.
     So why would we expect others not to do the same. Trump makes a grand ffffft at his oh so not Great Deal of the Century and is already backtracking on it via Kushner, another great man in his own mind! The wheels on that bus are spinning top speed, ready to grind over Israel, and what, should I then say, triumphantly, I told you so!!! I would rather not, but this is what we have as the head of our country.
     We have one chance to save the country, to save what America is supposed to be, supposed to strive for. That chance is the election and finally, Klobuchar is getting the print and attention she deserves. She is real, steady, and honest. She knows what needs fixing andwill do so, especially if we keep the House and gain the Senate, push out the hypocritical cowards, including  Cheney, and go forward in a humanistic and rational manner.
     Most importantly, I believe that she values honesty and what a breath of fresh air that is and will continue to be. Knowing the truth. Knowing that we are America again. Knowing that we are on the right path and can honestly face an honest future, an honest return to American values, no more roundups of people, no more cheating and lies from the White House, and perhaps, even an injection of honesty and moral values into the remaining Republican members of our government. Perhaps. What a dream. What a wonderful reality - I hope. Then you and I and all of us can sing full throated a Star Spangled Banner and pledge Allegance in all honesty, faith, hope, Americaness. I cannot wait.

WELL............ WHERE TO NOW?

     "I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be."
     So it has been said and I thought how meaningful and trusting that was. And is.We wish ourselves to follow a certain path in life, yet almost always find ourselves veering, sometimes a lot and at other times, not much, yet it seems the perfect place for us as we progress, or learn a lesson, or help someone who needs aid and advice.
     It is also a life that is trusting to another power, the power of G-d, of Fate, of Karma, of whatever and whomever, and thus has a strong certainty that they ended where they need to be. It is both a comforting thought and a worrisome one. Do we decide anything in life or is it simply ordained and we are along for the ride? 
      I believe it is a combination of both and one side is more in play than the other at times and we need to try to understand why we are where we are, what to do, and do it. Not to do so only leads to trouble and a definite wrong path to life. It is confusing, but it also leaves us an opening to change our lives, to get rid of the impure, the troublesome, the wrong and make a u-turn, back onto the road in the correct direction.
      No, I have not turned weird, just a bit more introspective as I reach that certain age. There is a new book called When My Time Comes and I believe we all need to think about it. Are  we in the right time, the proper place, doing the right thing, or are we lost, lost in a forest of deep, wide and tall trees blocking our views in every direction? 
     I believe that we, the world, is in that deep forest right now. We have lost our views. We have lost our sense of direction. We have lost our sense of right and wrong in a time of desperation, of threats, of denial of reality and we are caught in a massive and malignant spider web of our own making. We refused to see the truth for so long that we do not recognize it when we see it, ignoring it as long as it suits us at the moment, forgetting to look into the paths of future life, not only for us, but for our descendants as well.
     Taking a trip toIsrael now was a hardship for several reasons, but we felt it a must, so off we went. It was the right thing to do. I feel stronger in many ways, more whole in many ways, more certain in the paths I need to take, firmer in my decisions, and I believe walking these ancient streets, standing small before the holiness and majesty of the Wall, of walking where history is today, always, has helped me greatly. So we do find ourselves where we need to be even if we were not sure. That is very clear in my mind.
     As an aside, a happy one, perhaps we Americans have deided to recognize that Trump has led us onto a deep, dark path that has obscured the evil he knows is right there on the road and at its end as well. He threatens a soldier who did his duty, he impugns his crooked behavior and thoughts onto others, and is just bad to the bone. Yesterday Amy Klobuchar came in third. She is growing in popularity as people realize that she is what we need now, desperately so. Let us recognize that, get back to sanity, sew our nation back together and be America once more. That is where we need to be and where we need to go.

AND THE RESULT IS..... ARE......ARE NOT.......

     Reading the news these days can leave one totally confused. First there was no wrongdoing. Then there was - obviously, and then there is a concern that information from Ukraine via Giuliani was not quite kosher. Who is to be believed? Well, obviously, Trump is an inveterate liar. He cannot tell the truth if it rose up and slapped him in the face, which I rather wish it would do. He changes his story minute to minute.
      Pelosi sat there after her insult and snub by Trump and only afterwards, did she rip his speech into shreds, well deserved and timed action. Now he states that she was mumbling and moaning the whole time behind him - never mind that there was no sign of it as she was seen the entire time sitting there quietly but the lie suits him, so there ya go.
     The results we seem to be growing are not good. Barr says the sanctuary cities are going to be punished and of course the immigrants they are after are the criminals, not those who came here illegally but are law abiding and productive citizens. Right!!! Tell that to those who were rounded up like cattle from their place of work, from their homes they owned, from churches where they prayed, from courthouses where they went to answer legal issues they might have had. And we, the people, we swallow this whole!!??
     We have the executive branch using the legislative branch as an adjunct, rather than as an equal partner and everything goes cockeyed. We have no checks and balances and the President is openly vindictive, foul mouthed, and an ignoramus especially as he loaded on 3 trillion dollars to our debt, despite claiming it would be reduced and now plans to add more trillions, based on false and faulty plans for the growth of the economy at an unrealistic rate, based on cutting all the safety nets that he promised would be left alone, all the lies he is constantly telling. Yet, the willful blindness of so many continues on.
     So what do we do? We fight the lies, expose them for the dangerous things they are. Expose the crudeness and rudeness of this man. Stop making excuses for him and his unacceptable behavior, his giant wasting of our taxpayer funds, millions upon millions of dollars, that we pay for his golf trips, pay into his hotels and clubs. Wow! What a racket.
     We need to alter the developing dangerous path of Europe as it trends right. And why not as they see the same trend in America with presidential approval. Hate is contagious. Hate hurts. Hatred leads to more hatred. Hatred of things and thoughts and their elimination leads to elimination of people.     
     We know that and think not that it is an out of date thought for just swing over to Africa, Southeast Asia, India, the USA, England, many Moslem countries, and see the ethnic cleansing, the genocide and going backwards there are more than can be counted and still they continue.
     People, we need to create new paths, new results, turn away those who would change the world in a bad and yes, evil, manner, and create new byways to go around them, to defeat them, to go for a strong but honest person. Frankly, that is Amy Klobuchar, who is gaining in the primaries, and that also means examining one's votes for Israeli parties and what it takes to be a leader. In every country. All over the wrold.
     We are beset by floods, plagues, drought, fires,
volcanoes, earthquakes - and we sit and rotate on our thumbs. Does this not sound almost Biblical in nature? Should we not pay attention to this, heed the very clear messages that we are being sent?
     I am no prophet, just one person out here who reads, who thinks, who sees the truth and wonders why so many do not. I wonder whether it is too late already, if we have reached the tipping point beyond which there is no return, no fixing things. I wonder if anyone ever understands the danger we are in and the lousy leaders we have chosen, all concerned with power and its retention or an approximation of it, money, fame and greed for all things that others will not have - ever, if this continues.
     And the Lord promised to spare Sodom if there were a minimum of good and godly people within. There were not, even as the numbers needed grew smaller and smaller. Do we plan or replicating this scenario? I hope not. I really do.

SOLASTALGIA

     If that is a new word for you, it is just as new for me but is just perfect for its definition and its connection to our times. It was coined by Glenn Albrecht, an environmental philosopher, ( and I did not know there was such a category, but why not), and it has a combination of roots for its meaning. It combines solace or comfort, or the lack of it, desolation and nostalgia at the distress of seeing a familiar world, a known environment, a supportive environment, transformed drastically by fire, flood, drought and other disasters, both natural and manmade. Basically is it an intense homesickness for what was, what was known and familiar, and now is almost, if not totally, unrecognizeable. And worse, apparently will be no more. Ever.
     What better word to describe every environment we know, from political to natural, from weather to food production, from flooding sea waters to parched former arable lands. Add to this the food insecurity, the loss of the sure possibility to protect family, provide all basic needs, the insecurity of the future, being unable to prepare for it, and knowing that there is no one out there willing to step forward and say the harsh truth, demand the difficult, maybe even the impossible if we are to make this planet of ours a workable, sustainable environment for life.
     Worst of all is the solastalgia we have when we look around at our political environment. There is no longer any trust in our elections, a basis of democracy. There is no trust or honor or respect to or from the ostensible leaders of society who have abdicated their true roles and left the people bereft of all they need at a most crucial moment.
     When we look around all we see is filth and dirt, literal and figurative. We see despair, ennui, desolation, lack of any positive feeling and all surrounded with toppings of cynicism and selfishness. We wonder whether or not the friends we have will be enough, will our family remain together even as the world shatters and distance increases the difficulty of togetherness.
     Yet the world continues and we chase the next fad, the next "stuff" we desire, the next big house or fancy kitchen, the next research for cures even as we price them out of range of those who need them. Why do we do this? Why are we so blind to all this? Perhaps it is because there is a note of optimism that remains there, deep down, an eternal thought of salvation, of help from somewhere, man and natural or G-d and supernatural. We refuse to give up all the way, with nothing left but the rim of the cliff. 
     I myself vacillate between thoughts and hope and sheer desperation and frustration at the blindness we have imposed upon ourselves. I wonder how we can tolerate an awful and dangerous threat to our survival in the person of Trump and coterie, even as there are good people who fight the good fight, persist in the face of the impossible.
     I wonder. I think. I hope. I despair. I wander at times in an unknown land. Where are you.
     
   

TODAY, TOMORROW, AND YESTERDAY

      It has been said that one must live a life looking forward, to the tomorrows, but can only understand it by looking backwards. Only then, it is felt, that one can understand where one has been, how one got to be there, in the place they are, and how to make the morrows a better place to inhabit. That is a manifestly difficult thing to do, especially honestly, facing the truth and the facts.
     We are at such a stage now here in America. There is a difficult ( to put it mildly) man at the helm right now but it is more than that. He is a danger to us all, an existential threat to our lives of tomorrow and all the morrows that follow. He has succeeded in changing the meaning and directions of our past, yet has managed to continue to fool people, and be a personal wrecker of the world.
     The more signs there are, the more signs we ignore. He had the ugliest, yet truthful, picture taken the other day and it looks even worse in black and white, the known euphemism for the plain unvarnished truth. His crazed hair was blown off his face and from underneath appeared a weird mask, a yellow/orange mask, an ugly face, and one that exposed the ugliness and the faslehoods underneath. It is as if the portrait of Dorian Gray emerged from the attic and was exposed to the world as Donald J. Trump.
     The evil, yes, evil, qualities he has are the very ones he tries to pass off  on to others and his pettiness and downright nastiness are ugly to the vision and the soul. He has taken his misdeeds for goodness and vindictiveness as his right. He wishes to take away social security, medical care, safety nets, pre existing coverage, and all things that are good, befriending and championing all that is evil, that is greed, that is selfish. This is not a leader for the present, let alone for the past of our country and its values, and certainly not for our future and the future of the world.
     Yet he has cowed the Senators, won over and patronized the haters and bigots of the country and the world, abandoned allies for his own good, not the good of our nation, and cynically planning his 2020 campaign, using the State of the Union as a crude and rude rally, straining the dignity and our history beyond all repair. He has divided the country such as not has been seen since theCivil War and the Vietnam War. Nor is the cure and the healing necessary even in sight nor in the realm of possibility at this point.
     WE have allowed all the wrong things to surface from our past and allowed it to poison our present. WE have allowed a cruel and selfish man to run rampant over us all, to split friends and families, to have imposed self censorhip on our speech so as to not create difference, or possibilities of vioence. What have we done? We have allowed cracks in the firmaments of the world, in our country, and threatened our future.
     It is a long slog back to a point of safety, a point from whence we can win and find our path back to the future that is supposed to be, the one tht matches the road taken by our past, by our Founders, by our Constitution, by the dreams, the sweat, the blood that has gone to gain and preserve it for all time. The country that welcomes new blood and new ideas. The country that welcomes diversity. The country that welcomes all religions.  The country that does not espouse hatred. The country that does not blow up monuments in order to build a dangerous and unnecessary wall of division.
     Our future and the future of our grandchildren and great grandchildren are waiting. Which way will we go? What will we leave for them? Will it be a land divested of all that is good, that is right,that is healthy, that recognizes the true needs of society and achieves them? It is up to us. Look to the past for lessons, read the future possibilities written in the present and build that future that we need, that we earn, that is right. 

I AM TIRED

     Not such a good day today. A mess in the counting of votes and who knows what that portends for the future. Surprise results and I hope and pray that Klobuchr move up, that the media give her more fair play and coverage so she is there as a real choice. Hope that Sanders not get the nomination. But so tired of this all.
     I am even more tired of the dangerous garbage coming out of that mouth of his and his ever increasing attempts to make himself immune, above the law, now and forever. That is called an absolute dictator, an absolute monarch and we do not want this in our country. Yet how to stop him when his entire party kneels down to him, pays him homage and refuse to do what they know andeven acknowledge is the right thing to do.
     And I am so tired physcially. Today is an off day for me, something that happpens in PD. I am more tired than I have ever been before and weak, so, my friends, please excuse this short blog posting as I need to go and rest and see if I can turn off the horrors of the day. See you on Sunday.

AND THE WINNER IS.........

     No one. Nary a soul won a clear and distinct victory yesterday, though many hints to the future were given. For sure, the law lost. Trump fought the law and he won - in a way. He was acquitted in this abortion of a trial, but his guilt is out there for all to see and even the GOP Senators acknowledged it, first denying,then admitting, then saying it was not an impeachable level. So what did we need to impeach? Perhaps Trump singing the Russian national anthem, or wearing a uniform of a general in its army, or perhaps throwing open the gates of a new detention cmp for Ukrainians or even Americans who disagree with him. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing to stand in his way now as long as he claims it is for reelection. So the wimpy Senators have said, so they have determined. The only one with the courage of his convictions was Romney and shame on the rest. I hope they get their just desserts come election time.
     The loser of the State of the Union was us. Yes, us, as we were subjected to not a serious and meaningful speech, but to a rally, yet another political rally for his reelection. Shame on him and shame on us that we have allowed this country to sink so low, to have a dangerous buffoon as its ostensible leader. And yet, perhaps that a-hole lost as well when he displayed his rudeness towards Pelosi and then was shamed by her ripping up his speech for so little was it worth.
     This man has caused us to be shamed in front of the world, cheapening all things that matter. He has been handing out medals that are supposed to be earned by great efforts and contributions and he topped it off by giving one to Rush Limbaugh!!! Seriously? And next up is David Duke? Putin? The Charleston rioters? He has cheapened anything of value and made America a running joke in the world. Losers all of us.
      But there is hope. Buttigieg is leading in Iowa and Klobuchar has pulled double digits so if the papers would give her a fair shake she could go far. I believe she is the best we have, steady, a woman, a winner, a sensible person with head on straight. Perhaps we will pull this off but at least, the very least, get rid of Trump for if not, we will lose America.
     Those who stood with courage bring all this time, Pelosi, the head House honchos, Romney, well, they are winners. Trump and the other GOP cowards are losers and I hope they go down the drain, Collins and Murkowski and Alexander among them.  As for Graham....!!!!Speaking and then ignoring your own convictions to follow party crooked lines, well, it speaks for itself and oh, by the way, let them justify his cost of billions of dollars to maintain that horrific wall he is building, all the better to imprison us. At the same time, he threatens to veto aid to Puerto Rico after their awful earthquake. His meanness and vindictiveness is just intolerable!
     Well. In any case I am ready to go out and enjoy a country where there are crowds and beautiful people and history and no Trump waiting to take over as King. Though I do believe he thinks he can do so in America!! At least he thinks so and wishes so.
    Well, Shalom for today, and go and come back from your day's trips in peace.

WHOA!!!!!!!

      What just happened? Iowa caucus results are slow on the uptake and for some mystifying reason. This does not bode well for the other primaries nor for the main election as we have just given Trump the okay to bring in other countries to influence the election. A-holes!! In addition, dirty tricks are alive and well in the GOP as the voters of the GOP are being instructed to vote for Sanders in open primaries, hopefully causing a blowout at national convention times. What creeps. Guess they can never leave an opportunity to create havoc alone, such is their low level of morality and faith in honesty. Such is their lack of patriotism and their contempt for both the Framers and Founders as well as the electorate population. Phooey on them!!
     We are now in the midst of a national debt load that is simply unsustainable. The fatcats and the stock market are doing basically fine, except when not! but as for the little guys, forget about it! Low wages, stagnant wages, wages that do not cover the minimum needs of a person and family, homes that are too expensive to own or rent as people are turfed out. Food insecurity. Health crisis as drugs and treatments are unavailable to too many, too costly, out of stock, denied, denied, denied. But hey, otherwise we're doing just fine, right? Wrong, eminently wrong.
     The best moments of the day, when Buttigieg came in strong and when Pelosi ripped up the speech after Trump was finished lieing and following the words written for him, so he sounded sane though full of falsehood. She was reacting to his lies and to the snub he gave when he ignored her outstretched hand. He is such a crude and rude infant! Next he will deny he did that, false news has pictures of it, and he loves Pelsoi except when she is trying to get him to pay his dues.
     What a crock the whole situaton is at this point. We have ceded control and independence of our country to nefarious souls who wish for power and who could care less to whom they owe thanks for its achievement, even if they are our traditional enemies The crapola rants how we are in a great epic adventure, wonderful times, even as we are mired in ridiculous wars, we lie about the truth and the injuries, we turn away from our allies,and have become a laughing stock to the world which has begun to turn away from us, at least while the inmates run the asylum.
     Israel is not waiting with bated breath for Trump to give them their next set of steps, and neither are other countries, like the Ukraine. The USA has stirred up the waters, the scum has risen to the surface and he just goes merrily on his way. Anybody hear those wheels, see those wheels, reaching Israel as they, too, will serve as fodder for the maw of that man's ego and lust for power, to have it all?
     As for me, back to vacation and visiting family and checking out new and old sites to visit. The National Library sounds great as does the new restaurant. Israel is a wonderful place, full of new people, new mergings and fusions, and just about replete with so many languages and faces, Jews returning to their Land, along with all others
 who make their home here, from Arabs, to Christians, to religious folks of all religions. It is vibrant, beautiful, exasperating. The same pushy woman will accept a child on her lap in a crowded bus, and those two grumpy men will help someone up the steps with a loaded wagon.
     I love this place. So should we all. We should remember though, that it is a state of men, not of G-d. Yes, G-d is here, but in so many names and appearances, that someday we might all just realize that the names may differ, though the prayers for peace remain the same, the pleas for help remain the same and would that we would all remember to render thanks to He who watches over us, whether we know it or not. In the meanwhile, Israel is a nation like all others, allowed to err, allowed to live.
     So, reporting from Jerusalem, and keeping up with the American mess, I will blog again tomorrow.

SO I AM LATE!

        Not really sure what time it is as there is a six hour difference between Israel and America. Body rejects sleeping right now and when the hell do I take my meds?But wow! we were upgraded to a beautiful family suite and thinking of moving in.
Nice at times making believe one is one of the 1% even as the money flows out in a white water rate!
     There is an amazing vitality in this country.It was seen in the airport, seen at the passport controls, and in the vitality of diners at restaurants. It is as if all the crazy headlines are somehow twisted into hiding the true face of life here and the more we stress the work of the few we forget or overlook the ives of the man in the street. People here go around carrying on everyday life with no paranoid looks. Arabs and Jews walk side by side in crowded sidewalks and life just follows. If the supposed know it all of all sides would stay the hell out of the way the rest of us could work it out without the crazy superlatives and capitalization of letters coming outof the WH andAbbas and all else.
     Tomorrow we set off to visit some schools, and a wonderful place called Shalva, where work goes on with kids who are developmentally delayed,but kids nonetheless, kids who love to laugh and show off. It is good to be away from the incessant tension of the corruption and rot at the heart of the present WH regime. I know it is there, but am intending to ignore it for a while and maybe you know who wil disappear, poof! Ahhhh, one can dream, can't one.
     More tomorrow.

SIDES OF LIFE

     Tomorrow's post may well be delayed as tonite we fly to an ancient homeland, one to which or for which I have been praying, thinking of, valuing, and treasuring. I also do much worrying about it. That is the State of Israel, the land of Zion, the ancient homeland of the Jews from time immemorial. From the time that Abraham bought a piece of land, a cave, in which he buried Sarah, his beloved wife, we Jews have owned land in Israel. When we returned to it after centuries of slavery in Egypt, we had to reconquer, replant, rebuild, and we did, but as with all good things, our country shrank from enemies within and without, until thelast kingdom, that of Judea, was sent into exile. 
      But we came back, again and again, undertook great and perilous journeys to it, to the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall, sent messages to G-d via the crevices of the Wall, and always, always and forever, there were Jews living in the Holy Land, always. But over the centuries with no established state or homeland for the Jews, we settled around the world, with great danger to us, for we became scapegoats, targets, even as we remained loyal to the countries of residence, took part in every movement to better the standard of lives for all, to legislate justice, yet something was missing.
     What was missing was a place for Jews among the nations of the world. It seemed that every group, every religion was being given the homeland they wanted but for us - nothing. Too much oil. Too much religion. Yet when the Jews had guardianship over holy places of all religions, these places were open to all, kept up, honored, in contrast to when Jordan illegally held those lands, or other countries, denied visitation by Jews, desecrated graves by the thousands, paved urinals and walkways with ancient tombstones of Jews, and shot at those walking on the other side, the side of Israel.
     All we wished for was a state of our own, a country wherein Jews would be welcomed, safe, and what we got instead was a fractured proposal of a state which still, we accepted, just to have that country, to have that land again, to have a place for Jews to be welcome, to be a place where refugees running for their lives from murderers, such as the Nazis, the Ustase, the NKVD, the Arrows Cross, anyone, would be safe. Think of Dreyfus and think if this would have been so if there had been a land of Israel who would have fought for him.
     When we got that land we were attacked, others wanting to deny us that fraction of a land. So we fought, and Holocaust survivors grabbed a gun as they got off their ships and ran to defend their country, their fellow Jews, other citizens of their new land and they died in doing so, well aware that they died for something rather than because they were Jews, treated as vermin by the nations - yes, all the nations - of the world.
     And we fought again and again and again and always. Mistakes were made on both sides in the heat of an impassioned enmity, and for Israel, a fight for survival, for they knew this was a fight to the death.And we returned. We did not 'seize' land from Jordan, for they did not own it, simply refused to give it up as they should have way before the war, so when they attacked us in 1967 after Israel said, asked, pleaded with the King to stay out of the war and the land would remain with them, he thought he had the advantage and attacked and guess what- Shavnu l'Artzeinu. We returned to our land. We conquered it from those who would kill us, and we did not seize it!!
     Today, anti Semitism is poorly disguised as Anti Zionism, as a request for a binational state, all the better to neuter the Jews, their homeland. Whines and threats are heard all day long, yet no one seems to notice the prosperity of the Arabs within the State. No one seems to notice the palatial buildings and homes they build for families. No one notices theArabs in Knesset, in the armed forces, in every single profession, working right alongside fellow Israelis, Jewish ones. No one sees the Arabs who walk freely in the malls and streets of Israel. No one seems to notice the Arabs who move to live within the boundaries of the country, of Jerusalem, so they can remain there in safety and prosperity. And no one seems to notice the forbearance their young soldiers display as they are attacked, threatened, spit at, harmed, as the borders of the country are swarmed by those wishing to gain entry into the smaller villages and kibbutzim, on formal Israeli land and slaughter all within. No one. And no one seems to pay attention as they shout Death to the Jews, the Yahud, as they chant their deadly and so telling a theme - From the river to the sea, Palestine (a made up name) is free. The Jews within - into the sea and you can bet every last farthing and cent - not one country would take in Jewish refugees. Been there, done that, suffered that, slaughtered wholesale and later the crocodile tears and the excuses ran  on and on even as Nazis were 'cleansed' and rewarded with new lives and jobs.
     No, Israel is a necessity, a right, not a gift from one state to another. It was a gift, a promise witten in the same Bible that the three major religions treasure.They just ignore what they do not like. Israel is a Jewish homeland, even as we retain loyalty to our respective lands where we live, where our ancestors had lived and have lived for centuries, yet with all this, history has proven that the Land of Israel is the Land of the Jews, whether we live there or not, for always it has been in our prayers, in our yearnings, in our pleas and desperate need for sanctuary. And it has grown into a country of great advancements which it shares with the world, the only democracy in the Middle East (not that that counts for much with the new oligarchs - including you know who!)
       Am I emotional at the thought of this visit though I have been there double digit times? Yes, emphatically so, especially so, for this time we are going to meet remnants of European Jewry, remnants of my family whom we never knew had made it out. Truly, it is the land where from all four corners of the world Jews are gathered and returned to safety, to a home where they are valued, to a country which shares space in their heart with the country of their inhabitation and there is no conflict there. None at all.