SHAKESPEARE?!

     Every year I would hear the same complaints. Why do we have to read him? It's not even real English. It's so old anyway! The best answer, before the experience proved itself rewarding to and for the kids was this: because I said so. Period.
I am sure that somewhere in the world today, wherever they might reside, some of my students are remembering their days in our classroom and the understanding of Shakespeare, its relevance to all ages. Humanity is not so creative. We recycle.
     "Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!" 
    So cried out Marc Antony in Act III of Julius Caesar and so did we, the people, of the current USA, do so yesterday. There were huge protests. They began, for the most part, peacefully, and then deteriorated into violence, mob disorder, looting and fires. Not just protests, but acts used by others willing to incite, others wishing to prove a point about the protesters, or people frustrated by the longevity of this irrational hatred that leads to the cruel deaths of so many. 
      Saturday is a day when aside from the delivery of the morning paper, I am, thankfully so, at least these days, cut off from the agonies of the world, frighteningly  resembling the death throes of mankind, certainly of our society as conceived, as once was progressing towards.
    However, when a society is so riven with discord, with disagreement on fundamental rules without which we cannot have a just society, then we are in trouble. People have a streak within them that often calls for war, for the use of force to prove a point. So the police officer sits on a man's neck for the 'crime' of paying with an alleged counterfeit bill. Was it? Do not know, but what I do know is that it was not worth the loss of life. He might not even have known if it truly was a counterfeit and I would bet that most of us have passed off a counterfeit $100 or $20 bill at one time or another. They are rampant within society, favorite targets of counterfeiters. Usually if one is revealed, it is confiscated, a substitute is put in place and there are no cops involved. Certainly no death sentence!!
     But that did happen. And it was inhumane. And people are tired of it. However, as righteous as the anger was, there was no need to let slip the "dogs of war". Once they are unleashed there is no calling them back. They snarl and bite, attack and wound, even kill. They are symbolic of all that is the worst of mankind.
     So the leader in lieu of Caesar, Marc Antony, called for war against the murderers of his mentor. Those who had participated in that political coup for what they believed were good reasons, fell alongside the evil plotters. Is that what was happening over the past few days? Have we forgotten ourselves?
     Kamala Harris asks that we hear the pain of people. Simple justice and humanity demands that enough is enough. But common sense also tells us that looting, fires, smash and grabs all have nothing to do with the original basis of the protests and in fact, trashes it, so detrimental to that cause.
     It also falls prey to the idea that all others, meaning those of paler skin color are at fault, simply transferring the irrational hatred. Not right either, for at the time of slavery my people were used as slaves, as objects of ridicule, blamed for the ills of society - as continues to this day - and always, always, never safe, never sure of welcome, a sustained welcome,, always running, fleeing from those who would murder me and mine. So I understand the anger, the unfairness, the frustration. So do the millions who were oppressed in their original homelands.
     But what we have here is not good. That huge blimp of a coward threatens from behind the vast lines and force of protective guards. He threatens that looting will lead to shooting, a meme of a terrible time of rioting in Miami years ago. He warns that they will be met by "vicious dogs". Those same damned dogs of war that manage to live, to survive, as do the roaches. So think about that. And think about the visions,  the awful photos of Selma, Alabama, when dogs of war were unleashed as well. Will we never learn!!!
     Hatred is a cold emotion. It freezes the soul, cracks the heart, and damages the brain. It leaves no room for others, no empathy, no sharing, no ties of similarity of shared life and what life brings to all of us. A man filled with that freezing emotion is Trump, the man who should have had the integrity and courage, the honor, to come forth from his hideaway, crouched behind the protective final barriers of wife and son. He should have appealed for peace, promised results, investigations, major changes, denounced the violence on both sides, but he did not. He is, as Roger Cohen stated yesterday, a donut, no, the hole in the donut, promising and giving nothing. A waste.
     I have been warning for years that this man will drive the country into Civil War, far worse than the first one. We are a nation at war with itself, with no answer in sight. We have allowed anger to separate us, to become political robots, rather than Americans who disagree, as usual, with certain policies, but manage to talk it out, to compromise, and keep our nation moving forward. But not now.
     Now we have the threat of armed soldiers, our army, being called out to quell these protests. Will they? Will they shoot their own? Will they shoot fellow Americans? Will they channel the National Guardsman who shot the student at Kent? Will they emulate the Russian and Chinese soldiers who rolled right over crowds of those calling for democracy? 
     I wish I were wrong. I so desperately wish that were so, but I doubt it. We are almost at the point where the momentum will not allow for peaceful settlement. Guns and riots will follow. Blood will spill. Extreme? Three years ago I wrote of a would be dictator, unwilling to get out of that kitchen should he lose the bakeoff and today we hear of pre formed excuses that should he lose - oh, dear G-d, please let that be so - he will call it rigged. And where do you think he will keep that behind of his then? Right on that chair in the Oval Office!
     Do I have the answers? Unfortunately I do not nor do I think any one person or group does either. But we need to start somewhere, anywhere, with some words of peace, of apology, of understanding, of national pride. We are Americans. Let us remember that. Let us forgo the worst parts of our history, the story of the past, and let us use the memories of what was, what could be, as a starting point.
      Please, please, do not cry out, do not cry Havoc and do not let slip those dogs, the gnashing teeth, the shredders of mankind or at least what is the best of us. How do I wish all to Be Well and Stay Safe in this America. How?
     





    

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND

     I cannot sleep. I have tried some pills, carefully, as there are complicating factors, but they really do not work. Not for me. Perhaps the pains and aches from a bad fall share in the blame. Or the worrying that I do, not so much for us, but for the kids. Or the sad state of affairs when to fly to see and hug the kids in physical reality is a life decision, a truly existential area of thought.
    But I believe that a growing grief at the current existence of ours, the raging unknowns, of major and minor concerns, all that make up life today, is a major factor in sleeplessness. I find us increasingly in the position of living as the stranger in a strange land, life having changed so much that the landscape itself has changed. Good? Bad? A mix of both? There are things to be said on both sides of the issue.
     Does anyone truly recognize America any longer? We have a certified lunatic at the helm of a sinking ship. He is a man who has made it very clear that one either marches behind him in lockstep, with no room for a millimeter of dissension or disagreement, or one  faces figurative disappearance from life. One is insulted. One is threatened. One is lied about, to the point of being accused of irrational and impossible crimes. One is driven to the point of such confusion, dismay, bewilderment, that one cannot sleep.
     How did we ever reach this point? When was it that we began to self divide to live in worlds of our own creation, much of which has lost touch with reality? Or is it that the reality has changed around us so drastically that our norms of behavior and thoughts seem so weirdly off?
     When did it become okay, even approved of, to clamp down on the free media of our nation? When did it become, that so unamerican a pursuit, to be led by that same lunatic in the White House, the one who has cowed people so much brighter than he is or ever was? He is a man who is great only in his cesspool of a mind and in the increasingly fetid minds of his backers as they slowly but surely lose their tethers to reality? When did espousing the truth, the search for it, the publication of it, become so replete with fault and even a growing terror of its consequences? When? Why? How?
     We have allowed this to happen. So now we are the aliens who have landed on a planet that is so familiar to us, seemingly a duplicate of our old home on Earth before we ruined it, and yet, and yet, and yet, there is something different. Where are the people? Where is the hustle and bustle of daily life? Why is there such a thunderous silence in the streets of the cities? Where are the hikers of walking paths, the musicians of life? Where is the laughter of children, the sounds that leave glitter in the air? Where has it all gone? Or, unthinkably, is this the Earth that we have returned to, actually never leaving, just not paying attention as the life on Earth changed.
     Just about seven weeks ago the Jewish nation celebrated their exodus from slavery, a second chance to get its act together and become a nation, a nation of laws, of a just society, a nation to shine a light , carry a responsibility to and for the people of the world. This injunction has been carried through until today as one looks to the roles and lists of philanthropic organizations, at aid groups, at cultural institutions. 
     Tonight we begin a two day celebration that continues that gelling as a nation. When the Torah, a design for living a righteous and unselfish life, was handed to us, it became the guiding light, the instruction book for much of the world, in various forms and editions. But something went wrong. The words were twisted. People were killed, brutally, with this book, this gift to mankind, used as justification.
      And so we have the world of today. An advanced society, or so we are told, or tell ourselves in an effort to convince ourselves of that 'factoid'. If so, then why do we still continue to have people killed for their color or national origin, for religion or no religion. Why are we in the midst of a modern day plague, one with no end in sight, with no cure, with no prevention, only the instruction to hide, to separate, to divide us even more. And that dangerous dolt in that once beautiful White House, leads the charge to demolition, ranting and raving in a bathrobe, cursing those who call him out, threatening the transfer of power after the elections, endangering us all.
     No, I cannot sleep for the grief at what was once upon a time, for what could be, once upon a time. It was a landscape of stores and businesses, large and small, a place of creativity and growing pains. It was a land where thoughts were for and of other people, a growing union, was to be beheld. It was a land that looked forward to continuing its task of welcoming all to a land where one could dream, but not only dream, rather also to achieve, look towards a brighter, better future for their children. 
     Where has it gone? Over 100,000 dead in this country, just about a third of the world's dead. Millions infected. Hostility growing , a dangerous situation. The stock market making no sense leaping up and down, imbued with the mania of pre Black Tuesday. Truth is denied. Freedoms and rights are challenged, not so inalienable any longer. The Holy Bible, in all its manifestations, grows moldy along the byways of the nation and the world, for we no longer abide by its ideals.
     Instead we have moral cowards, not brave souls willing to rush into deep waters and convince others to follow, to demonstrate faith in the Lord and ourselves. We have people who have lost their souls, sold them on the cheap, the GOP being prime examples of that. We have armed groups now trying to prevent looting, to turn aside the anger of people. We have a nation slow to feed  its hungry children - here, in America!!! That is unthinkable. Totally unacceptable. And all the while we have a demented, tormented and tormenting soulless man who is ever trying, ever more desperate, to hold onto his power, to his position as President, to turn aside all threats to that desire. He rules - yes, rules- by Executive Order, trashing our government, as insane as King George III was at the time of our Revolution. 
     So yes, I cannot sleep. I cannot share in the joys of the holidays, for ever present, lurking in the background, are the dangers we have wrought, brought, upon ourselves. I cannot sleep, for the sadness I feel every time I think of my kids, close enough, yet so far away, and of all the grandparents in this situation, and all the children who have worries re their aging parents. I cannot sleep for fear of dying alone, a cruel, harsh death. I cannot sleep for worry over the future, for concern of all the impacted people, for all that is going on.
     Till when? Well, that is the essence of it all. If anyone has an answer, please feel free to step up and tell us all. But not the answer of dictators, of oppression, of hatred. I want the joys of life back again. I want the sharing of life again. I want this for all of us. 
     And I want all of us to Be Well and Stay Safe, but.....can I truly do that, say that, and be assured of its possibility? And I so want to sleep.

THE DULL EDGE OF THE BLADE

     When cutting something in the kitchen, or slicing open a package, using a dull blade makes hard work of the job. It frays rather than cuts and makes  a mess of the whole thing. We seem to have fallen into the use of a dull blade, a blade of hurt, rather than the sharp edge which can trim the fat, slice neatly, and open the packages that life seems to be handing us these days.
     Why is that the case? Personally, I believe it is because we have a dull knife out there in the WH who attracts other dull blades, people who have forgotten what true intelligence at the head looks like, have forgotten the harm that the duller edges of stupidity, lies, name calling can create. They have forgotten that the damage of that dull knife is too often non fixable; it remains to harm and to hurt, to haunt with why didn't I or why did I, if only - woulda - coulda - shoulda, - but far too little, far too late . In any case,  even when pointed out, there are those who will push against that truth, that nastiness. So there we are with that hurtful dull edge.
     Take numbers. Why is it that we react to the shock of a multiple shooting more than we react to the news of millions in starvation, class warfare, ethnic hatred - or coronavirus deaths. It is because we cannot fathom in our heads the import of such large numbers. It becomes vague, a statistic that joins the ennui of other numbers. But smaller numbers are humanized, take on faces, take on comparisons that are understood better than the millions. Two attempts to humanize large numbers? 
     One is the shocking banner headline of the NY Times which listed, in teeny tiny print, the names and a sentence about each name, each person - a PERSON - a real live individual, killed by this virus and by our totally inadequate response and preparation for it. It is that person, that father, mother, friend, neighbor, child, teacher, doctor, nurse, that real, live person, that city of Boca empty, or South Bend, or a sports arena. But 6 million? Numbers, too much for the mind to absorb, so it pushes it away.. But the large numbers are there as well. Imagine walking into the boundaries of NY City and finding only the empty echoing streets where once there were crowds. 
     Oh, right. We actually did that, and not only to NY, but to Rome and Milan and Jerusalem and Venice and London and Paris and on and on. Boccelli sang a magnificent concert on Easter Sunday to an empty magnificent cathedral and then to an empty city. Imagine the emptiness as a permanent number and situation. See the 6 million plus paper clips collected by that class studying the Holocaust, its history, causes and results. That could be us, a modern day version of the Black Plague in Europe of the mid 1300's that wiped out a third of the population - and in turn, actually benefitted humanity by being the seed of a great revolution, a Renaissance. Do we want that, wish for that, use the dull edge of disease, of numbing of the senses, in the name of a weird progress? I sincerely hope not; I truly do.
     And yet the dull edge keeps on with its harm, used by the dull bulb of the bunch, the bulb that brings darkness, threats, anger and hatred to the world rather than anything good. This is a dull edge of hate which sharpens itself on the bodies and ruined reputations it leaves behind. It is the anguish of a family caused by false rumors of an affair and a murder that never happened, a death that was a tragedy of health and nothing else, 'only' the sorrow of a family now tortured by the constant cutting, a sawing away, of that dull blade. 
     The dull blade of dull minds, of easily led minds, of minds that refuse to recognize the truth, the minds that deny the truth of Twitter's efforts to fact check the biggest liar in amount and girth, Trump. This, in order to uphold a responsibility  to the world to publish the truth and nothing else, unless labeled as such, to sharpen the blades and trim the fat, the harmful, the ugly and the bad.
     Constant use and presentation of a dull blade in every aspect of our lives here in America and indeed all over the world, raises further danger. It will give off sparks giving rise to a destructive  fire, of explosive hatred, of ethnic cleansing, of injustice to a degree that will perhaps - perhaps - only shock some and encourage others. These knives, these dull edges of harm and hurt, of destruction, must be sharpened, turned into the positive aspects of life rather than the negatives. 
     How do we do that in this hostile and changed world? We remember our foundations, our values, the lessons of the past, and the teachings of our elders, our parents. We open our minds to the fact that we lost our way, many of us, and fallen under the influence of evil, yes, evil, minds. There is a concept and a reality of evil, like it or not. It threatens our democracy, our liberty. It threatens our futures, the futures of our kids. It leaves behind a legacy of shame and blood, of dullness and sharpness - the sharp edge of other blades in the hands of the dull ones, blades now used to kill, to destroy the good of society, its positive and courageous efforts and achievements.
     It is almost too late when that chief dull blade realizes it has gained sharpened edges, now useful to cut society into the shape he wants. It is when Grassley wakes up and says that Trump has "failed" in his actions re the firing of independent investigators. Too little, too late. Not when Grassley and his GOP have given away the store and its entire stock, to that same blade, the one getting ever sharper, all due to our negligence, our failures. We failed to guard the Tree of Liberty, to control the baser elements of our society, to protect those who need protecting, and not allow the fatcats to rise above all, to shut down the dreams and realities of an America, the hope of the world, the land where the Lady of the Harbor holds up a torch, lighting the way for those in need of aid, of succor, lighting the dark with the flames of justice and welcome.
    If we are not careful, if we do not wake up soon, almost too late already, what with a man who is setting up his refusal to concede a loss in his next race, then it will be too late. It will be the negation of our new memes today - Be Well  and Stay Safe. No way to do that if we do not stand guard at the gates, if we do not keep the dull blades out of the nation's kitchens.
     Fact check your beliefs. Fact check for the truth. Put aside your pride and those of you out there who realize your errors, be strong and less prideful and admit your errors. Become a sharp blade in defense of our nation and its meaning. Be a sharp blade that will undo the damage already done, wreaked upon us by the dull blades. Only then, perhaps, will we Be Well and Stay Safe. The time is short, the duties many, so let us get to work, get out the vote, stand guard against the false  and destructive lies of supposed voter fraud, guard the life of our country. If we do not, our lives will mean nothing too.

     

SEEDS AND DEEDS

     I read a phrase recently which used the terms seeds and deeds, drawing a strong connection between them. The seeds are words, those seemingly harmless words that emerge from the mouths of leaders, of ambitious people, from good people and from plain ordinary everyday people.
  The nursery rhyme which states that "words can never harm me" is the worst ever. It leads one to erroneously feel that mouthing off, allowing words of hate, of incitement, to flow forth actually has no consequences in the world of the real. They seemingly exist in a vacuum, so dangerous thoughts emerging in words seem to have a get out of jail free card - that is until we draw that connection to the deeds that follow.
     Words are the seeds. They are the seeds of greatness and the seeds of evil and disaster. They are the architects of the deeds to follow, the delineators of what will be. In times of stress and pressure, when the world seems to be imploding, with ourselves right in the epicenter of that implosion, words that emerge from a could be, wannabe, leader and head architect, are of great import.
     The people make the choice as to what to believe. Do we believe the person who focuses our hate, our despair, our fault finding on a particular group, seemingly offering a quick and neat solution- get rid of that group - or do we focus and believe the person who promises only hard work ahead, dangerous roads to travel, and a long time until society is fixed, or at least on the road to being mended?
     Unfortunately, the speaker of hate often seems the one who provides the better answer. That leader provides a supposed strong hand to guide us through the dangerous choices ahead, providing hope that an end can be seen. He appears to be stronger than the other dude or dudette who speaks in terms of demand, of slogging through swamps and traps, who promises nothing but a path of turmoil and toil with a possible good ending. No guarantees, no make nice words, just the truth, harsh as it is, hard as it will be.
     If those words of hate become the mantras of that society, then there will be new or revived traits of society not very healthy for segments of it. It will become divided, worthiness and valuations assigned, demerits assigned, and harmful traits develop, becoming societal determinants, definitely not good for large groups of people. 
     These traits, these word developed traits, elevate a segment of society that has felt isolated, harmed, despised, denied, powerless, even as they begin to feel a lighter load, a growing appreciation of themselves in that society, and a huge desire to take out all their pent up venom on someone, anyone, anybody. They have reached a seemingly high, elite role in the new society, thus joyfully partaking of it and their just rewards long denied, and we are lost! So lost. We now have an uphill battle to combat those words which led to these deeds, the seeds that led to the growth of a dangerous and oppressive  society.
     Yesterday I wrote of the need to evaluate and fix what needs fixin' at and in all levels of government, from top to bottom. We have long known of the corruption, the filth, the festering miasmas of society under the growing rule - and yes, I purposely use that word, rule - of Trump. Over and over we now come across warnings of his deviation from the path of democracy, from the guidance of the Constitution, from the hope that a fair and just society can give. He veers from fixing that which needs it, to messing up that which is good, stops progress dead in its tracks and then regresses, denying all safety rules in place, retracting any and all respect from and for the government, preferring fear and uncertainty, hoping to engender the feeling of a necessity to cling to a  supposed strong leader. 
     Words of insult, of hate, of vitriolic, acidic hatred, meant to destroy all that we hold dear, pour forth and we are sliding on that slippery slope, that false slope that leads not upwards, to progress, but rather to hopelessness and danger.
     It is easy to give in to the moment, to give vent to anger, to call people names, to insult and threaten, to do so on semi anonymous social media. The words fly out through the air, over the wires, and momentary nastiness becomes ever more permanent. So Trump sits there, the couch potato rotting from within, and giggles away as he types and resends the words of hatred not only from his mouth, but also from the mouths of others.
     So, too, do we have a similar situation right here in the Village. We have a man who boasts of his techie skills, now fading in the distance, who holds the Village in a vacuum of leadership. He does not lead, though he poses as one who does. He send out words of insult, of defamation, seemingly genuine, but as false as the stereotypical Ponzi scheme. He stalls the mending we need to do, far more than simple darning of a a patch of cement or a broken pipe. We need to fix the problems, not just the signs of them. 
     We need leadership on all levels, including federal, state and right here in CV. I will not send out words of physical insult, a sign of a failing mind, a mind ever more isolated from the niceties of society, from the gentle touches and connections to and with others. It is the consequences of one isolating himself more and more from others, from good people, and turning to the sycophants who polish his ego and ruin our lives. 
     We need action. We need to force words and seeds of truth to be heard. We need to use all paths to get back, to lead us to the correct road, hard and rocky as it might be. We, the people, are the ones who must bring the seeds of good societal traits back to life. We must breathe new breath into honor, truth, justice, universal rights, slice prejudice and hatred to bits, and work together to fix the world, large and small. Tikkun Olam, fixing of the world, as Judaism calls it, demands it.
      We need to Be Well and Stay Safe, yes, but we must also insure that our world and the world of our kids remain so as well. We need the seeds of goodness, of hope, of justice and enable the deeds that reflect those seeds.
      Be Well and Stay Safe.

UNDER THE NOSE

     The Trump administration is so so so bad that it is easy to overlook  the fact that there are other levels of government that are even more important to the daily lives of citizens and residents. While we mostly wish deeply for a return to pre-Trump normalcy, I sincerely doubt that is possible. The world has changed too much by far, beset by a rising nationalism, threatening leaders, and a pandemic that is shocking civilization to its heart. We find ourselves hopeless and helpless against a foe with changing characteristics, ones that have never been seen before. Bombastic boasts of vaccines rule the day lately, but still, nothing out there yet and will not be for quite some time.
     What to do? Turn our attention to areas closer to home. First, yes, vote to defeat the poisonous Trumpism in November. Then take a look at the Senators, Governors, Congressmen and women, State legislators and vote for those with a heart, those who do not follow lockstep formation that disregards local needs and the facts of reality. It is interesting to note that where the governor is a woman there is much more sense and understanding about the pandemic crisis and , excuse me, but more balls to stand up to Trump and the crazy followers he encourages. Even national governments led by a woman seem to be more successful a la New Zealand.
     Here in Florida we have an idiot follower of Trump, De Santos, and hence a more necessary turn to the localities. In West Palm we have a mayor who knows his duties. Keith James is doing an excellent job in hard times. Even the Commissioners have mostly stepped up to the plate. A special callout to the library system of Palm Beach County for their excellent service. Love you all!!! 
       And then trouble with a capital T. Here in the Village we are moldering away. We have, by a small number of votes, handed in once again by zombies from associations where there are no boards, no reps, no delegates except on voting day, once again installed David Israel in the driver's seat of the Village, much to our detriment. Here we have no open, transparent administration. Here we have no meetings, having seized upon the pandemic as a great excuse to not hold them. Where is the "great" techie mind? Where are the Zoom conferences? Where are the socially spaced meetings? We have the rooms, so why are they nonexistent?
    The answer is simple. David is long past his sell by date as far as UCO is concerned. Thank you for your service is what we needed to say and retire him with a socially spaced or Zoom goodbye. Underneath the beautiful lawns and trees of the Village we have a festering pit. We have nastiness and illegal against the by laws actions by David and  henchmen, going so far as to have delayed audits, required by law, holding up budgets and budgetary concerns, allowed the finances to fall into some deep black hole out there in space for all we know and has decisively insulted the Villagers and delegates who voted in Ed Grossman as Treasurer. 
     David has played his oh so old tricks of denying computer access, claiming all sorts of breakdowns and oh so innocent faces. He has denied the Treasurer his designated role in UCO, the information he is entitled to and indeed must have in order to do his job, and who knows the true state of Village finances, of UCO budgets and concerns, of the frightening future we face having to deal with huge financial needs and demands. No one knows, not even the Shadow, certainly not the Treasurer, nor the delegates, and probably not David as he sits there like an earthbound Jabba the Hutt, playing off one against another, and leaving us all out in the proverbial cold as far as knowledge and truth are concerned.
     What is truly concerning is the censorship that grows ever more egregious. David plays his personal blog off as a Village blog, a UCO blog. It is manifestly not so. Definitely not so. No one can post on it, disagree with any one of his stances, and if finally a post by an "allowed" poster gets on, then whoops!!! Off it goes. What a crock!! The self declared king of the Village, dictator of the Village for his lifetime has struck again! Trumpism in its local form and government. Feh!!
     There are those within  UCO who are trying to do their jobs and they are doing a good job, reaching out to Villagers, checking the status of the physical plant, though again, those guardhouses get more TLC than anything else in this place!! 
      However, be that as it may, we have serious issues that are not being addressed. David apparently is too busy enjoying his solo administration, enjoying the frustration of Ed and the ignorance of the Villagers as to the State of the Village, too busy to allow any 'spoiler' to get in there and make demands. And who suffers? We do. The Villagers. Those of us who have made this our home, plunked down a goodly portion of our retirement funds, fixed up units and now have to contend with that spoiler, a man who rants from the stage, who denies rights to elected officers, does not call for meetings, and shuts all out other than his particular favorites and pets of the moment. Trumpism in its local flavor indeed!
     So let us all pay attention to our governing administrations at every level, but let us make sure we do not forget our very government right under our noses. We live here. This is our everyday home in our cycle of life. Time to recall David. Time to demand a voice in the administration of our home. Time to demand answers. Time to demand transparency, honesty, responsible government and budgetary planning. Time to fix the cesspool right under our noses and then go on from there. We do not need a petty imitator of Trump who both glory in their 'talent' for insulting people with rude names and comments.
    Time to Be Well and Stay Safe but also to insure that those same standards of wellness and safety are applied to our home. If we are not Well and Safe here, then where do we go? What do we do? And to whom do we turn? It is our responsibility to fix this, to drain not only the Trumpian grown swamp of current DC, but also to drain the fetid pit of incompetence and opaqueness here. That is the way to Be Well and Safe, to Stay Well and Safe - here and wherever we go. 
      Make our voices loud and clear. Demand that they be heard and answered. Now. Open the Village books. Now. And this applies to all levels in every country. We are all the same, with same  needs and fears. All of us must speak up, make our demands heard and be well and safe in our lives. That is our right.
This is the response Ed sent to Bob Rivera in connection with what I wrote about above

TO: Bob Rivera et: all
On Wednesday, May 20th, I informed you that retaining a new auditor is a complex problem. Hiring an independent CPA for an annual clean audit is not akin to buying a sack of potatoes.
I spoke to Olga, and she related to me your comment concerning the 2019 audit delay. The problem has become more severe and shows no promise of any satisfactory resolution. The fact is that Kim Juda resigned due to her concerns about improper deficiencies and the lack of full disclosure regarding UCO finances. She clearly stated her position in that regard, in her letter.
The claim that her resignation was due to my failure to provide information is simply not valid. Make no mistake, I have documented proof regarding every aspect of Kim Juda’s resignation.
You also stated in a prior e-mail that you were concerned about time, etc. No one is more concerned than I am of the entire situation, and no one has tried harder to correct it. I have spoken to many of the officers to resolve the ongoing problems to move forward expeditiously. It has been over two weeks since my attorney’s letter describing all the officers’ duties, and no one, including yourself, contacted me to seek a resolution of this most vexing situation.
You are requesting sealed bids for auditing services. Whoever is prompting you to ask RFPs (request for proposals) by the time of the first Finance Committee meeting does not know the proper procedure when searching for a new annual auditor.
It is my opinion that no CPA would get involved until the books are in order, as is demonstrated by the resignation of Kim Juda, the previous auditor. I cannot and will not put my reputation as a Certified Public Accountant for over 50 years on the line until I can freely examine the books and records and make any corrections. The hiring of an auditor obviously cannot legally happen until my position as Treasurer of UCO is resolved, and I can gain free, unfettered access to the records.
I would hope that the officers read my opinions on the proper resolution of the multitude of problems outlined in the many e-mails that I sent them. I addressed the issues with my lawyer, Max Zaretsky, who clearly stated in his letter that an effort to induce Kim Juda to finish the 2019 annual audit should be attempted. It is my position that an attempt is made after the books are corrected, and all the data needed to perform a yearly audit. Any effort to re-establish her as an auditor is, in my opinion, futile until the concerns she raised in her resignation letter are resolved. As of this date, none of the issues have been addressed by the administration.
Every UCO officer has the opportunity to read the Treasurers’ Report in the UCO Reporter. They are well aware of my ongoing difficulties. Despite my informing them in more than one venue, not one has responded to my concerns.
My involvement in retaining or keeping the old auditor or obtaining a new auditor is clearly stated in the UCO Bylaws. It is my sole responsibility and, one should not attempt to infringe on that right. The officer’s responsibility is to adhere to the UCO Bylaws, which set out the parameters of responsibility. Further to this, the officers should comply with the principles of my election platform, which include the removal of an extra paid accountant and not a bookkeeper who is the clerk of original entry.
In short: The ability to move forward in completing a year-end audit is severely constrained by the actions of the UCO administration. The responsibility for that lies entirely on the shoulders of David Israel who is stonewalling my efforts to resolve the issues surrounding the records. The elected officers bear some responsibility in that they are condoning his behavior by their inaction and silence.
My Finance Committee Meeting is Wednesday, June 24th, @10:00 am. I hope all of you will attend.
Edward R Grossman CPA.
Treasurer

United Civic Organization

ITISTIME ITISTIME ITISTIME ITISTIME IT IS TIME

     The time has come. It is time, too much so already. One looks around and wonders just where the time has gone and where it will be going next. More important, what will it bring with it, leave behind, and what will change so drastically that we will forget what came before or wonder at it.
    Whoever thought that a normal landscape would now include people with masks, with face shields on top of that, or goggles and gloves. Whoever thought that to give a hug would be considered life threatening. Whoever thought that to see family members would become nigh onto impossible due to that same danger. Whoever thought that now a scheduled appointment for ZOOM would become a regular standard of life. Whoever thought that life changing events would take place via that same path. Whoever thought.....
     "We grow accustomed to the Dark -
            When Light is put away -"
                      Emily Dickinson
     We are living in that time, that time wherein we put away the Light, that time wherein people fight over every last little damned thing and for what? That time when partisanship has taken over the country; hence, we are no longer a 'United' States. That time wherein we have lost sight of our goals, aims, ethics and moral values. That time wherein we have stomped upon the basic fabric of our lives, the goals of The Founding Fathers, returning instead to a time that should long ago have become nigh unto impossible to revive.
     We have moved backwards, turning to the Dark, emulating whom? Darth Vader? The enemies of the X Men? Or more likely the enemies of mankind through the ages, men like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, all the 'little' people who enabled these villains and others to proceed apace with their aims and desires.
     "I don't trust these people" a citizen says. Another states that the government no longer represents the people, the plain everyday people. Instead it is back with a bang to and for the small percentage at the economic top rung of the ladder, while the rest of us, we just do not matter. Just look at where the bulk of the aid to companies has gone. Look at the empty mom and pop stores, never to return.
     Look at the divisions, the life changing divisions rent upon our lives. Look at this young generation who are being told that basically their lives will suck, never ever really having a chance to rise in life, to expect a steady salary, enough to marry and raise a family, buy a house, or even rent a decent place, whose ambitions will be thwarted, shoved aside - for always.
     It is time to stop and take stock. How has this happened. How have we reached a point where after a record number of candidates, we are left with the would be almost successful at achieving it dictator, one, who along with a petty dictator of horrendous actions, called our pandemic just "a little flu", and a senior statesman, nice, decent, but not the best of the lot, though our only hope to restore anything , salvage something, from our past, fix our present, and build for a future such as America always symbolized.
     It is time that we return to regular headlines, not banner ones wherein we understand that the time is not right. Not banner ones over and over again detailing the egregious violations of the law, of tradition, of humanity, that Trump et al commit, and the awful one of today, where 1% of the 100,000 dead in America from that same "little flu" are listed, along with a line or two about them. 
     Imagine an edition listing all 100,000 rather than a 'mere' 1,000 and still that is not enough, for the deaths continue. We have allowed these deaths to continue because we have a dangerous man, a man of immense stupidity along with some mystifying element like Hitler, to hypnotize the thinking part of brains, convince them that right is wrong, that left is right, that hate is okay. That complete corruption, malfeasance, lies upon lies, incompetence, cronyism, nepotism, stabbing allies in the back, making love to enemies and then daring them, playing chicken with them, that all this is okay. IT IS NOT!!! Manifestly not.
   So what do we do in a time when the greatest invention of all is a hug glove, wherein one can get close to another, hug them, yet never actually touch. I, for one, think okay, but I want the real thing! I want to kiss that cheek, hug that body, wrap my arms around them, not plastic. I want to share, together, in the life events of graduations, from nursery to Ph.D, parties, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and anything and all else. No glove - just reality. 
    A reality that we have been robbed of due to that same incompetence and ignorance, purposeful misuse of governmental funds, refusal to recognize danger and words of warning, willfully neglecting to fill the nation's reserves of equipment and then, as usual, blaming it on all else, but never where the buck actually stops.
     It is time. Time to renew ourselves. Time to fix ourselves. Time for children to actually wish to imitate our leaders. Time to hear children actually wish to be president and help people. Time for our best and brightest to step to the plate, to honor public service, as a privilege, not an opportunity to line one's own pockets. 
     "Know you? I wonder do I know you? Before I could answer that, I should have to see your soul."
     Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
     On this, Memorial Day Weekend, let us remember those who have gone before, are still with us, who will walk in the footsteps of those heroes, those everyday people who simply do what Fate has asked of them. Let us all be heroes. Let us all look deeply into our souls, as people, as  a country, as Americans. Let us hope that we find that soul able to be rehabilitated.
     It is time to do that and all that we need. It is time to take the steps we must, to go bravely into a new world replete with changes. It is time, always, to Be Well and Stay Safe, within the bounds of the musts of life, the necessities of life, the soul nourishing values of time and grace.
                           It is time.

YOU'RE SO VAIN!

         The song continues with words telling us that a person probably thinks the world is about him. One might think the song was written with a particular person in mind, correct?! In fact, just as an aside, music is defiant of time, with music of one generation, perhaps of a time long ago, carrying meaning over to the present.
     In any case, these words tell the story of the current inhabitant of the WH. He is stuck, mired, in the selfish egocentric world of the toddler, all about "me" world, except that they are cute and he is manifestly not! In fact, his every attempt to look Presidential falls flat on its face as he cannot restrain his own mouth and tongue, his own scatterbrain, which insists that he go off script and let it rip, full steam ahead and never mind the consequences. Why? Because, like every toddler, he thinks he will get his way and all that he does is wonderful, so there ya' go!
     It is now required that a mask be worn, particularly where social distancing is impossible or where there is danger of transmission and certainly as a supposed role model. So the vain old dude hid his face in the mask only when the cameras could not see him. It is "unseemly" for him to be wearing a mask. It does not go with his masculine ideal - "tall, well built, with a deep voice, a firm handshake," and a dignified aura.
     Oops! Missing some things there. He is so fixed on appearance that he forgets substance and  here he is, in all his glory. More and more people are catching on, but will we be able to stay ahead of all his nasty, anti democratic values and attempts to frustrate voting rights, to ward off any voters and methods that could mean his political demise? I, for one, certainly hope so and for many reasons, one of which is the worrisome harm he is doing and will continue to do to democracy in our country and in the world at large.
     It is unseemly what this man and his enablers, moral cowards, have allowed him to do to the values of this country. It is unseemly how he has encouraged racial and ethnic hatreds of all sorts. It is unseemly how just plain dumb he is, how shameful to hear him speak so poorly and write so deeply immersed in illiteracy. It is unseemly that the President of the United States should sit deep into the day, on a couch, watching TV for his policy information and decisions, and tweeting maniacally and viciously as if he were a teenager. Perhaps he is stuck there as he never got a brain rewiring during his adolescent years; I do not know, but the man is so twisted that it is nigh onto impossible to untwist and figure him out, never mind fix him.
     "..... a petulant child who refuses to follow the rules. "  Is that how one is supposed to talk of a President and yet, how else are we, when his words and lack of understanding are mind boggling. Finally, after much urging by Schumer and Pelosi as the number of American dead edges up to 100,000, and remember, it was only supposed to be a few in Trumpworld, he has lowered the flag to half mast for three days. Fine, finally a gesture from him, but that does not fix the mess he created, nor stop the deaths and it appears to be that we will hit that benchmark of over 137,000 dead by early August, and if we opened too soon and too foolishly, well, just watch that number grow!
     A twisted partisan government. Empty spaces where experts should be. Ignoring the dangers to our world. Spitting on our allies and on our tradition of democracy. Igniting huge red flares of danger with enemies, threatening all. Pulling out of world assemblies and pacts. Reintroducing nepotism, cronyism, corruption and incompetence into the government on an unimaginable scale. We can go on and on but the truth is there and clear.
     Perhaps the man himself described it best. When tested for the virus for the umpteenth time, even as the rest of America is short of tests, his remark was:   I tested positively toward negative,”                 'Nuff said? Message clear? Truth told?
     As usual, and against many odds and perilous situations, Be Well  Stay Safe. Wear your masks, socially distance and do not be fools nor commit foolish deeds. It is your life and the lives of others around you. Selfishness has no place here. Just the actions of wise people who know how to do just that, to Be Well and to Stay Safe. 

OH, THE PRESSURE!

         One of the best perks of retirement was never really having to know the date, for one day flew into the next and who cared? No pressure. No deadlines. Just life, where the only pressure was fixing the vsiting dates among the kids, being share and share like with all. Presssure? What was that? Now, that pressure seems to have returned and it is truly not a welcome development at all.
     What is it that is filling this pressure vacuum? Well, the unknown: is the fool taking the hydroxy and will he come to its inevitable end or is he just being a lying putz again, not taking it, but leading others into the deed and thus causing more deaths to be laid at his door? Will people face the truth or will they put on yet another white hat with broader sides and follow the women of the dystopian world of Margaret Atwood? Which outcome should we wish for? Pressure!!
     What about the pressure, the time race, between Trump's ever more encroachment upon the liberties guaranteed to Americans, canceling voting rights for so many - and even perhaps introducing false elections a la all his BFFs, or will we actually pull off a mail in ballot election where the evil plans to disenfranchise others will languish, unable to be implemented. That, of courses is his greatest fear, that all will vote, including those who cannot tolerate him any longer and we will be 'free, Oh Lord, free at last!"
 The pressure of it all!
     Will McConnell's face ever collapse into that weak chinned slope?Will Graham ever look in the mirror and see the ugliness of his insides reappear on his face, marred by hate and an almost insane degree of it? Will Grassley ever realize how stupid it is that now he demands certain answers as to Trump's behavior when he was the one who agreed to give him the keys to the kingdom without restrictions? Will Tlaib ever see herself in the mirror as well, the ugliness of her face as she screams, lies about Jews, about Israel? Will people ever realize that the ugliness, the putrid disease of their innards will inevitably ooze through to the surface, primordial miasma and mud making its ugly appearance right there, on their faces? Ah, the pressure of wondering about it all.
     The just about unbearable pressure wondering if one will have to move out of country should Trump cheat his way into office again. My entire being shudders with the dread, with the force of that pressure even as I assume it does resound loud and clear in the minds and hearts of so many. The pressure that weighs upon us, the wonder how so many can still believe him, or set aside his sins and still back him!
      The pressure and concern, the wondering if and when Cruz will ever give up his gnat career and simply go away. Or why and how DiSantos thinks he can get away with being a mini Trump here in Florida and axe people when they disagree with his crooked policies? The absolute wondering at when people will finally realize that somewhere, somehow, the truth will out and all that has been hidden will be exposed to the harsh light of day and all their gains will go down those proverbial drains of history and legacies changed. 
     I like the other pressures of a retired life. Not the ones wondering if we will be quaranteed forever. Not the one which wonders if we will be able to restock needed supplies. No, the other pressures. 
     How do I fit in the doctors even as I have the indubitably wonderful pressure instead to finish those library books on time, when there are so many good shows and programs to watch, when I have to meet my friends, when I can finally see my kids and grandkids and hug them, just eat them up, large and small.
      And close to home here in CV, when can we look forward to reopening UCO, what has been going on there all this darkened time and what we can do to retract and/or fix. Most important, when can we set up Zoom or properly distanced meetings. For a supposed techie genius, David Israel has done remarkably little to take advantage of the methods in which to hold meetings. Hmmm.       Pressure! Pressure! Some good and some not so good. Meanwhile, the other always with us pressure, to Be Well and Stay Safe.

OUR POTATOES ARE FINE

      So remarked the governor of Virginia after Trump decided to go after him, calling him crazy,  as wanting the ruination of the Second Amendment and worst of all - leaving no one to guard the potatoes on the farms of Virginia. May sound funny but think again.
     The undignified picture of a president calling a governor names is typical of a day here at the ranch known as the WH but it is sickening. There is just no dignity at all in this Trump administration. No wonder the behavior of the average Republican member of Congress has deteriorated to a national level of shame and disgrace. As has the behavior and demeanor of most, if not all, of the Republican political people round the nation.
      What has happened to their potatoes? It seems that one night some dark creature of the night stole into the bedroom of all GOP politicos and removed their brains, substituting some evil substitute which made them creatures with neither will nor values, only the imperative to obey the Master - Trump. And so the dissolution of America in all that makes it America continues apace.
     That same governor calls upon his life experiences to take Trump to task. He grew up on a farm and is a doctor, the only doctor, among the governors of the nation. He warns Trump that he should not be taking hydroxy. Me, on the other hand, Heaven forbid we tell him not to oblige his craziest whim! Could be worth it, well worth it, as we learn some excellent lessons from the whole mishmash. 
      Actually, the man is such an inveterate liar, always trying to look like a hero and a genius, and looking more like a geni-ass, simply is remaining true to that role and is lying about taking the drug. He is a coward to the bone so why would he risk his life? Or perhaps he thinks he will show the world how brave he is, sacrificing himself in the name and benefit of his nation. If he dies - then so be it. 
     But is he really taking it, risking life and limb? This liar? This coward? Bet he is not and so do many others. Like taxes and death, most doctors feel that the only two outcomes of misuse of this drug are death and a need for ventilation. So full speed ahead! Go, boy, go!
     Why am I so angry? It is because before we get the chance to throw him and his out of office in November, we have too much time wherein he can continue to rain down ugliness upon this nation. Ugly black painted walls - billion dollar plus contract given to a big donor buddy -through the rugged beauty of the mountains of Arizona. All in the name of hate. All in the name of ignorance as we now have no workers to reap, no workers to prepare foods, and a growing loss to farmers even as people go hungry and desperate in that hunger, in that need to feed their children. But the man is a geni-ass! Just ask him.
     He can continue to push and impose upon us his crooked, incompetent, dangerous nominees for offices of the nation, for seats on the bench, for robbing this nation blind. All done with arrogance and assuredness, full speed ahead, for they have the encouragement, the backing, of the president, and a great role model he is for them!! In the meanwhile, my nation is being destroyed from within, we being our own worst enemy.
     Yet another Executive Order making it a free for all as he instructs us all to cancel any and every safety regulation, all the safeguards put in place so that industry does not kill us with chemicals, with smog, with polluted and poisoned waters, air to breathe or land to live upon and die from! He has the backing of fatcats of all ilks, of quack doctors gathered to support his twisted medical theories. But he is a geni-ass. Just ask him. His plans and answers are always harmful to us, worse than useless and yet, he still has believers, apparently brain dead, zombies with no thoughts at all. How can one believe in a man who insists that having over 1.5 million cases of the virus is a "badge of honor"!!!! SICK!!
     The brazen attempts to cancel voting rights for so many, mostly people of color, or Democrats, in order to remain in office. The outright destruction of our very fabric of life, of nationhood, of Americanness! And even so, as he does his twisted best to destroy us, to pull his own Beer Hall Putsch, we continue to have many farms, rural and urban, whose potatoes and their growers, are just fine. The love of liberty, true liberty, not the false one of masks or no masks and how this decision is politicized, will continue to feed that spark of a true America, truly the United States of America.
     But we must earn it, win it back, before he and his manage to impose rules canceling term limits, approving nepotism, fatcat privilege, limited healthcare - and trust me, it ain't so great right now! Before we truly have a fertile national ground for class division and war. Before justice becomes a bad joke here. Before education becomes open for only that privileged class and the rest are consigned to worthless slavelike positions for life, to be cogs in a system of drudgery, of manifest unfairness, of evil galore.
     Seeing sharks around? Just look back at the many examples in history where this has happened. Do not even have to go to the past, for just look at so many nations of the world where democracy has been buried once again and terror rules the lands and nations. Is that what we want, what we wish for our kids, as our legacy to our descendants? I hope not.
    So let us go dig our own potatoes. Let us guard them ourselves. They will be fine if we but do our job, fulfill our responsibilities and practice true patriotism, the one which will allow us all to sing the national anthem with pride and heartfelt emotion. I long for that day. I pray for that day. I hope that this period of time under Trump's twisted thumbs and mind is only a short lived aberration in our national history, not our lasting legacy.
     As we all struggle to Be Well and Stay Safe, we must remember that mantra works for our country as well. We must not forget that. Else what use the struggle?   Be Well   Stay Safe and keep our country so too.

RECKLESS, RECKLESS, RECKLESS

     Those three words are descriptive of Trump's behavior in taking hydroxychloroquine as a supposedly proactive attempt to ward off Covid-19. Schumer hit it right on the nose even as Pelosi did the same, calling it life threatening to a man who is medically morbidly obese, does not exercise, already has too much plaque in his arteries - and somewhere else? - and goes off track in tantrums which can break off plaque.
      In cases such as this there are serious life threatening risks of induced abnormal heart rhythms. Not spoken of  - and  gee, I wonder why - is the fact that this medication can cause hallucinations and psychosis in the person taking it. Additionally, this is a selfish move, as those who need this medication for proven benefit will now face a shortage, life threatening, due to the idiots who will follow his reckless path and ingest it. Reckless indeed. Careless of the needs of others. Thougthless and selfish. So what else is new.
      It fits completely with the rest of his behavior. He neglected to fill the nation's reserves. He ignored the warnings. He ranted and raved re conspiracy theories. He blamed it on the Democrats. He blamed it on China. He called the  frightening numbers a 'hoax' and as someone who has lost friends and family members to this horror, I call this man out!! Loud and clear. You are the cause of so much pain and suffering, so much death, and so much economic disaster, hunger, insecurity and fear for the future. You are the cause of this unimageinable national debt, beginning with your harmful tax cut for big business and continuing with your poor planning and damaging of the fabric of America.
     The reckless behavior is also mirrored in the appointment of unqualified individuals who cannot fulfill their responsibilities nor want to as they are too busy living high on the hog at the public trough, even Pompeo, a known pig for that behavior. We have judges who for the next forty years will ruin our country, taking it down dangerous pathways and you and McConnell will just chortle away as  you molder  in your graves. And note that not a single Republican has spoken up about your latest egregious behavior with the medication. Perhaps they are even thinking unnameable thoughts! Who the hell knows anymore in this bizarre America. Who even knows what America is anymore as Trump rolled back all legislation, all advances, as he jumped headfirst, joyfully, willfully, into a process of deAmericanizing America.
     The question is - are we lost? Have we reached a point where we cannot turn back? When a new huge contract is given out to a brand new firm, an untested firm, to insure a better flow of medication and equipment, untested even as there are companies already out there who are doing the job already, despite Trunp's interference with it, well, is this not a continuation of reckless, thoughtless behavior? I would love to know, investigate, the connections between these people and the Trump administration. I could bet that there are ties there. There always are in this administration. 
     So please, Trump old boy, please continue ingesting dangerous drugs if that is what you want. Ignore medical advice and experience. Follow the quacks even as you allow political quacks to bleed this country dry. Please continue to go your dangerous ways - but for yourself, and do not drag along with you easily impressed fools who will follow in your path. Do whatever you want to yourself, for you always have, but leave our country alone.
      Hey! Why not resign and free yourself of this scrutiny you despise and rant against, going Twitter crazy. Go back to being a  failure in civilian life, bankrupt of finances, of security, of decency, of values, and leave us the hell alone to pick up our feet, find our shovels and picks, and rebuild America.
     In the meanwhile, while you go off and play with personal fire, let us Be Well and Stay Safe as we slog our way through a crisis much of which is your fault, resting on those broad morbidly obese shoulders of yours. You cannot escape responsibility  by refusing it. It is there. History will show it there. That is your legacy to the history of mankind. Hang your head in shame.
     The rest of us: Be Well    Stay Safe
  Thought suggested by a reader: perhaps he is lying again and never took a pill. Not unrealistic. Such a creep.

THE NEW LINES

      We are all so confused these days. We have given up retaining the names of important individual officials as they change so often. We confuse truth and falsehood as often because there appears to be no length to which some people will go to in order to attain their goals. In fact, we are even uncertain as to what these goals are. Are they truly stated or are there underlying reasons. And what about all those lines?
     Here are my new guidelines to sanity, my lifelines to reality. First up is the most important and I have learned that the hard way. Do not EVER try to understand the Trump supporters, particularly if they ever had functioning brains at some point in their lives. What is so obvious - his lack of intelligence, his nastiness, his focus on self to the detriment of all others, his narcissism, egoism, paranoia, crude language that remains on a second grade level and I apologize to all second graders for that comment - all are deep and troubling symptoms of danger. We have a demented, damaged man serving as president when he is not even capabe of serving as that second grade class president. 
     So why do people believe his obvious lies, his recanting of one lie and replacing it with yet another and another and another until one is not sure of one's own name! They believe because they cannot believe how foolishy naive they were, how they allowed this less than classy guy overcome their brains, and they are deeply ashamed. So what to do? Keep defending the lost cause until you actually begin to believe the lie because that is your lifeline to sanity, to pride, to trust in oneself. Sad, but true.
     In fact, it is the same excuse people made for all the times they trusted in an upstart politician who promised the world, gold clad, a new ideal. When the ideal tarnished, when the lies and excuses came along, ever growing in numbers, one continued to hang on. How could one be so stupid? Fall for it? Should have known better? Shamed, they put on blinders and like sheep, follow an ever diminishing herd. Worse, they find a way to profit from the shambles of a nation, emulating the leaders own habits and practices.
     Hence the second line. Understand that many, if not most, people are greedy and look out for number one. That is why the do gooders, the samaritans, the volunteeers, stand out. Thank the Lord these people exist. So instead of fuming and fulminating, do something. Speak out, speak up, join in volunteering and supporting a worthwhile cause. Push for the truthteller, the one who goes for honesty over selfish reasons, such as benefitting from government funds. Look for the person who leaves family home, as he travels somewhere on country business. Look for the person who does not engage in insider trading. Look for the one who does not treat employees as slaves, personal body servants. From dog walking to cleaning clothes trips, and even food delivery.
     Finally, though there are more things to do, look for the one who can accept responsibility for deeds done by either himself or by others in his name. The buck stops at the top dude or dudette. Take it. It is part of the job. Clean up the mess, install better people, better process and procedure and always make one's way forward. Where oh where is such a person? Certainly not in the WH today. Certainly sparse on the ground, but for sure we can keep raising the bar, reinstall pride in public serivce and gather the better part of our people to work for us, for the country and for the world, not for the wallets of the fatcats and friends. Continue to be blind to the truth and these people will laugh all the way to the bank as they break laws, untouchable, always excused via the friend in that Oval Office. Nothing will ever change. Not if we continue to wear blinders, do not believe in our true minds, and allow a dangerous fool to lead us into perdition and doom.
    Certainly do not believe that this criminally stupid behavior on the part of all ends at the federal level. How many times have we not  exposed a governor or mayor who has refused to follow the correct advise, or followed the faulty advise? Why are we encouraging armed, crazed people who focus, obsess, on facial masks as symbols of freedom, enough so that they shoot people in its name with a president who encourages this. And why do we tolerate inefficient people, people beyond  their sell by date, to continue to faultfully man the steering wheel at the prow of a boat going under?
      We all know the cases of people who should have retired long ago, now well past their prime, yet either unaware or ignoring it. So they make mistakes, some expensive ones. They become nasty in their urge to retain power in their little pond, where they think they are big toads. Sadly, others suffer for this and certainly the physical plant or the funding or the movement suffers from  this lack of the best leadership. Yet people still support. Why? They think they need to justify past years of support when they already knew better. They hesitate to jeopardize their own little circle of power. They are tired of covering up. They realize the dire need for new blood, fresh air. They finally accept the truth.
     In the meanwhile we have all levels of government and opposition either taking advantage of a bad situation, a time of great uncertainty and fear, who close down the windows and lock the doors. Meetings are canceled in the name of security even as Zoom goes universal, used by many of the same people here - even for meetings!! But why let people into the inner circle? Much better, much easier to spend funds, to prioritize incorrectly, to keep a strangle hold on the reins of power and money, even as the backing is evaporating.
     Right now we are approaching at 'warp' speed, (sorry, couldn't help that) a fork in the road. Momentum can continue us onto the bad fork, the dangerous one, the one where liberty, faith, truth, honesty, all are among the missing. Or we can exercise speed restraint, control the curve and proceed on the other road, harder at first, but certainly more beneficial in the long run. On this road there are no"super dooper missiles" nor a President assuming an actor's performance of an uplifting speech from an old movie, superimposing his face on the screen, thinking he is fooling anyone. The truth is, the man has no class, no brains, no functioning intelligence, only the whims and impulses of the second grader with two baseball cards to trade, one bent and the other a nobody, even as the gum in the package is prechewed, touted as better for your teeth. And there are people who will be fooled. Always.
     Folks, there are hard battles ahead, difficult and trying days and weeks, months and years. There is much to reform, to fix, from dangerously incompetent judges, to refilling the empty desks of of professionals fired for delusions of Trump. We need to return to the regulations of safety for our citizens, for the environment. We need to take back the free gift of monies to the corporations who banked it rather than spend it on expansion and hiring. We need to reform medical care in the country, remake and format our immigration system, being fair and humane, smart yet caring. We need to protect our Supreme Court, return to the separation of powers of our Constitution. We need to return to law, acknowledge that no one, NO ONE, is above the law.
    We need to roll up our sleeves and dig in, work hard and long but it can be done. Under it all we are still Americans and whatever lines divide us now can be filled in, tamped down, eliminated and a new line of unity can be installed. We need to eliminate the line, the growing line of hatred and prejudice for once and always. We need to eliminate the lines of fracture in the country and we need to reestablish our lines of communication with allies and even our enemies. Most of all, to do this we must BE WELL and STAY SAFE. Wear the dang masks and distance yourself. You are not only killing yourself if you do not, but also your neighbor and your parents and your kids. Have we not all lost enough?


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WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE, MISMANAGEMENT, HYPOCRISY

     All of the above words of the title are used to explain our present Federal government, and as far as I am concerned, much of the down ballot levels as well. Something has gone missing from our country, from those who have chosen to become representatives of the people - but are not. Something nasty has infected the souls, the brains, the ethical system of too many people in this country and we are left with the current poor representational pickings and a dismal future. That the present is awful goes without saying.
     Warning after warning, plea after plea, cries from the heart - all whispered, then spoken of , then shouted about- and nothing. Nothing until it is almost too late - or are we there already?
     Frightening is the term I would use to sum up all the title words. How did we get here and so fast, so quickly that an enormously dysfunctional administration has been in office for almost four years and the country is so much the worse for it. We have lost all trust. Fair play is as outmoded as jousts with lances unless one jousts with lances of evil motivations and results.
     We have a President who is systematically dismantling all the safety precautions of our governmental systems. Independent Inspector Generals, those who watch the watchmen of the country, independent and objective, are being cut down by an almost weekly Friday night long knives attacks, so reminiscent of dictatorial governments, and replaced by more administration stooges, ill equipped for the job nor inclined to do anything positive to fix that and to uphold the responsibilities of the office.
     Lindsay Graham, weak chinned and empty of moral values McConnell, and the rest of the GOP in the Senate were rude and crude in the last year of Obama's term when they even refused to talk with Garland as part of the Supreme Court appointment process. They used some garbage never heard before about last term no appointment rules. Sheer trash and wouldn't you know it. Today, Graham, he of the insane and child frightening face, full of hate, now states that the conditions are different so it can and will be done. Thank you for wishing someone dead, you creeps, for no judge with a heart will resign, certainly not RBG!! In any case why is it different? Because no one of them votes for qualified, rather only by political viewpoints and today the Senate is held by the GOP, hence it is okay to appoint a judge. Such crap. It is one rule, one law, yet the GOP makes its own, based on lies, on things that never were, on the basis of winning, rather than better for the country. How did we ever get here? How do we dare include these dangerously unqualified judges in the same category of Brandeis Frankfurter, Marshall, Warren etc. We have done well before so what happened?
     What happened was a growth of the selfish theory, that no one counts more than oneself. And in pursuing that thought, the country grew apart. Weak points of unity sheering off, crumbling down, and no, idiotic Eric Trump, the cookie crumbles, not the chips!! We see now a reversal of the protection movement wherein the environment was to be saved from our destructive behavior, that our children were to be protected from dangerous cancer causing chemicals, that our mountain tops were not to be torn off in the name of dirty energy coal.
     We had rules against nepotism, cronyism, political appointments in professional positions but they were stepped on and over, thrown into the heap of bad historical judgements and the mess we are in is the result. Lies are seemingly the response. We had no pandemic rulebook? Oh yes, we did.We had warnings, but they were ignored under the mouth, brain and viewpoint of a mentally damaged, infantile narcissist.
     Blame was to always be deflected onto someone else, even stating openly that he takes no responsibility. How different from Truman who had his desk placard with "The buck stops here. " Lies are and seem always to be the currency of the day, and screw the people the operating mantra. Huge fraud and mismanaging public funds, using them to shore up companies not needing nor truly qualified to get it.
      SBA unable to help all those terrified and desperate small business owners, for their personnel had been cut, nonprofessionals were brought in and the money was shifted elsewhere. DeVos sent her funding over to religious and private schools who then thanked the Lord for it. Well, I am all for female power, for offices, but sorry, DeVos is not G-d!! What a thought! 
      Some of his own party have woken up and call his behavior a "threat to accountable democracy", particularly his latest firing. He damns and demeans anyone who has a criticism of his deeds, his inane and infantile tweets and why the hell is he not busy being presidential rather than being busy as a schoolyard bully? 
    Evidently, the business practices he allegedly used as a private person, fraud on taxes, shafting his subcontractors, are all okay and to be in use in his personna as president, G-d help us. It seems there is no end to his depth of nastiness or depravity, no end to his accusations of others of conspiracy talk and deeds, anything that will shift attention away from his dangerous incompetence and his lack of concern or care or empathy for fellow Americans.
     I am not an Obama fan. There are certain policies where we part paths, but the man survived Trump's onslaughts and nasty lies and accusations, endeavoring to be a President. The picture of his face as he spoke to a virtual gathering for graduation was so telling of where we stand as a nation. His sadness comes through loud and clear. His eyes tell the true story of America today and the America of tomorrow if we do not throw these imbeciles out of office, fix their damges and proceed carefully, with truth, fair play, seek unity, and rejoin the world, assume our proper role as a leader of the Free World, defender of Democracy, purveyor of Justice, always seeking and willing to improve ourselves.
     Until this can be, until we all pull together, do try to do the right thing, vote for whose who care, who are honest, who feel for the people, and as always - Be Well    Stay Safe.

NO NEW BLOG TODAY

Due to a medical emergency there will not be any posting today. I will be back with a new post on Sunday

WHAT LIES BENEATH

     Today, most people are walking around as if they are preparing for a career of robbery, identities hidden beneath the masks. People walk right by friends and neighbors because masking hides identities and identifying features. It hides who we are, allows for a certain freedom of action - as long as the masking continues to work. However, it also allows for masking to hide the truth. What truly lurks beneath those masks?
     Masking is a cause of limited interaction and that is fine for today's infected world, but what about when it is not? How does one converse with an 'unknown'? How does a child recognize a mother beneath those all enshrouding total burkas? Or is that the point? These maskings of all types cause a separation among the strata of society, unleash a certain wild streak, for who will know who it really is beneath that mask?
     Yet we must wear those masks, for our safety and for the safety and continued viability of the human race. But what truly is beneath those masks? What does it mean when the highest oficer in the land and his underlings do not obey the rule of the land, refuse to wear masks? What messasge do we get from that behavior?
     We humans mask ourselves up every day of our lives. We self isolate when we do not like one group or another. We try to appear as if we are a friendly 'monster' a la Nessie of Loch Ness. We try to portray ourselves as reformed monsters, like Godzilla fighting for the human race, but then again, in the next movie he is the enemy, plotting against it or battling another reformed monster. We humans are forever wearing masks and go figure. Why can't we just be honest with ourselves and others?
     "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here..." The Tempest. Shakespeare knew from the beginning of his writings that there are monsters beneaeth human forms, human masking up. Always, there are obvious villians, but always, too, there are 'good' people who are unmasked at the end of the play as the play reaches its denoument. That is a fact of society today with an interesting twerk.
    Today the outer masks of society are the dividing grounds of society. Those who hide their faces beneath mouth and nose masks are the good people of society, who try hard to insure its safety, who follow these sane and necessary rules. Those unmasked are the evil devils, escaped from Hell, wreaking havoc upon us. A defiant attitude, government is here to destroy us, we are the great unwashed, victims of society, even as they push violence, politicize the mask and indeed all truths that defy their twisted views and deeds.
    How did we get here? How do we allow an ignorant yokel, a dangerous buffoon, one who "ponders injecting disinfectant into a body", who lies with every breath and inbetween, who is functionally illiterate and obviously suffering from some  form of progressive dementia to 'lead' this country into the levels of Dante's Inferno. How and why have we allowed the villians of society to unmask freely yet cover and mask those who are the positive side of society?
     There are no answers as far as I can tell. I am as puzzled as the next person. The situation has grown so, or degraded so, that numbers are twisted or ignored. Predictions of 25% unemployment should make one's hair stand up. Over 80,000 dead in the States, rising quickly to the 90,000 mark and a  prediction of at least 147,000 by August 4. Warnings of serious harm to society if we do not follow the dictats of science. Pleas to stop the rush to disaster. The total moral vacuum of the GOP as they condone perversion, insider trading by their own Senators, invading the Justice Department and making Barr their puppet, always there to justify and defend Trump rather than his true job - the safety and law for the American society at large, not the one existing within the confines of the WH.
     As those with any sense wear the masks, the rest have drawn a virtual mask over their true intentions. The mask serves as a target and incitement for them. These are the people of the extreme right, those who shoot 'others', scream anti Semitic remarks, violate the sanctity of houses of worship other than their own. These are the ones who are masking their evil intentions even as they scream for 'liberation, for liberty" as their twisted leaders, Trump et al, lead them further into the very depths of the Hell they escaped from, only this time bringing others along who are suffering under this oppressive atmosphere, this evil miasma covering the country.
     What lies beneath, what lurks below, are the evil aims of this group of people who boldly unmask themselves and their goals, as they deem all others  mentally deficient, unable to discern the truth. But Jared let it out two days ago when he slipped and the truth emerged, ignorance and danger rearing their ugly heads. 
     He and the others are mulling, plannng, how to mask their objective - to cancel the election in November - thus making it easy for a takeover of the country. Ignoring their lack of knowledge, that nobody can cancel the election, certainly not anyone from the Executive branch, certainly not he or Trump, his daddy in law so beneficial for him. But the danger screams out to all of us. Are we paying attention to the true faces of these people even as they cover over their devilish ends with a mask of humanity?
     Masks are inanimate objects, used as tools by those who need them or who see a malevolent purpose to them. We, the good posse with the white or red or blue masks, must chase the bad dudes with the black hats and the black bandannas. We must unmask the truth whatever and wherever it is to be found. If we do not, well, then what lies beneath, what lurks below, will rise to the top, the scum of society, of the human race, becoming its elite as they lead us to perdition.
    We have been warned of these truths all through the ages, masks have been used in various manners through the eras of human history. They have proven to be our weak point as well as a strong point - depending upon how it is used and who does the leading.
     Until we recognize these truths and act positively, proactively for our own safety, for humanity. it will be difficult to do what we must - yet we must. So always, as we fight these eternal battles of good and evil, of hope and despair, always remember to Be Well and Stay Safe.






     

SNAKE OIL

     Guess we are indeed returning to the days of yore, when fishy looking guys with an assistant roamed the streets and byways of America, rural and urban, carrying with them the magic elixir that would cure all ills, from melancholia to hang nail, from stomach tumors to diptheria. These were the purveyors of snake oil, fake medicines, many mostly alcohol and/or laudanum, which robbed Americans of their money, their health, their trust - and sometimes their lives. It was a victory for the smooth talker, the sham personality, and a defeat for the truth.
     Today, people still fall for the snake oil and its purveyors. Why? Because they need to believe something, anything, that is better than the real news, better than the realization that as advanced as we seem to be in medicine, there is so much we still cannot do, cannot cure nor protect people. That is a hard realization, so then we turn to an alternate world, a world where there is Fake Data, False Media, Alternative Facts, magnificent achievements, ignorance and a willingness to believe someone, anyone, who will show how things are better and getting better every day. In every way. Never you mind about the facts in real time, in a reality tethered to the truth, for the snake oil salesman has a better world for you to see. Truth is highly overrated in this world.
     The snake oil universe is populated with new thinking or lack thereof. It declares a free for all for criminals, particularly those engaged in politics. It seems they are so very, very busy that they have no time to respond to  questions, to document requests, to subpoenas and certainly the president cannot be held responsible for his own actions, even the criminal ones, for to be the president evidently means full immunity, the Capo of all Capos. 
     We have the biggest ever snake oil salesman in office right now and so many deluded souls who follow him tightly, wishing so hard for these false claims, these dangerous claims, to be true, for to think otherwise is too painful. But listen carefully to their words and their methodology. "'Ware, there be monsters!" There be the destroyers of our country.
     An utterly bizzare idea is introduced slyly via a backwards media, TV, radio, social media or all at once. First the outliers are the ones who shout the words. Then someone from the snake oil seller joins in, seeming not so strange anymore as people have been hearing about it for a while. Example? Fine. The nation is drowning in deaths, in infections, in economic disaster. By August 4 we are predicting 147,000 deaths from the virus, a hell of a long way down a road of death from the "few" who were to die according to the snake guy, Trump, to the new numbers and probably more as the resurgence grows. 
     So, distraction needed. Introduce "deep state". Supplement wth a new term which has nothing behind it other than hot air and desperation as truth is overtaking the lies. Call it "Obamagate" and pull out all stops, incite hatred and violence, tack your hopes on this, pulling hard for the defeat of the enemy! But the enemy is us. It is our neighbors, our friends, our family, our daughters. The people who refuse to swallow that snake oil are delegitimized, demeaned and debased, painted as liars and fools, even as those names belong to the snake guy and crowd.
     But fellow citizens of an endangered country, there is far worse ahead. A mid thirties dangerous doofus, proven to be incapable, a pal of nepotism and cronyism, of corruption, of the principle of 'money rules', one who never follows through on any of his savior ideas, this man now says he is unsure, "unable to commit one way or the other". Commit to what, you ask? To holding the November election on time, to holding it at all. To keeping that failed snake oil guy in office. For how long? Forever, for life, if one reads and hears carefully, reads between the lines, and understands that the wild statements made all along, about emulating dictators who are in office for life, well, follow through and now we have the exact words. Openly. Brazenly. 
     Open treason. Open planning to shred the Constitution, the Declaration, to upend history on its head, to force the snake oil down the throats of all, to proclaim that Truth is Lies. That War is Peace and all other poisonous ideas. Snake oil slithering its way towards the ultimate goal of the salesman and his crew - to rule the most powerful country of the world and its derailment, its destruction.
     We already have armed militias openly defying the government , even as the very same government crosses the street and encourages this very perilous defiance. Armed insurgency. Folks, I have long warned about a civil war here, a war which could rend the world asunder, pull the countries of the world into the powerful swirls of its eddy. Living elsewhere is no answer, for every man, woman, and child on this planet stands within the danger zone. There is no untieing of knots here, no slicing the Gordian Knot, without consequence, no downing the snake oil without the poison of it ruining us, killing us.
     The snake oil saleman, his followers, the armed home grown militias, the defiance of the law, the rewriting of laws meant to protect and replaced by rules that will kill our children, ruin the environment, all this must go. We must insist - no, ROAR - that there will be an election in November, 2020, despite all efforts otherwise, to destroy this country.
     Folks, there is much work to be done, particularly if we are to undo all that has gone before in this perversive attempt to fool and rule the world. No mistake: this snake oil crew is dangerous to life and soul, to our lives and the lives of independent countries all over the globe, to democracy, to hope, to dreams.
     We must vote in every election between now and November and overwhelm the oily people in the big one. If we do not, well, we might have to use his oh so vaunted Space Force and have them find us a new home out there in space. This home, this globe, this America, will be no more. Instead, the air will be reeking of the vile odor of snake oil, of the emissions from the corpse of democracy, from the death of any and every thing that is good and fair.
    We must be strong.
    We must defend the truth.
    We must never succumb to the snake oil nor its   salesman.
     We must vote, by mail, by being there.
      We must, above all - Be Well and Stay Safe.