THEY'RE BACK!!!! HURRAH!!!!!!

  Oh, they are back. I have been waiting for this for many a month. Sure, for a brief hiatus they once came back and I took advantage of that but then, dark again. Oh, how I missed them and no, sorry, as great as it is or was, for various streaming arenas to release these movies, it is simply not the same. Small screen vs. large screens? No question as to which screen wins out.

There is a whole gestalt about 'going to the movies'. It definitely is different from watching at home where the phone rings, texts beep in, the phone habit breaks your concentration and one cannot simply make the tie, the connection, with the characters and the plot. It simply changes everything.

Click on TV or computer. Not the same as getting out, driving to the movies, watching previews and discussing whether one will see that one or not, allowing other things into one's mind other than the news or the arguments that pervade our world today. Of course we know that movies are not real, but they serve a purpose. They entertain. They amaze. They amuse. They bore. They instigate thinking, provoke. They give a break in a time when that break is so desperately needed.

So they are back and so am I!!!.We will see three - yes, three - movies this week alone and I plan to see many more as the theater back home opens mid April - I hope, if idiots do not ruin things with removing masks and forgetting precautions! The theaters are spotless, with cleaning solutions and cloths to wipe seats if you so desire, though it has already been done. We took advantage of that, wiped it down again just for our own satisfaction and then sat back in reclining seats and enjoyed it all, separated with appropriate distancing even as the theater filled up.

People need a break. Yes they do. Whether or not they developed other coping mechanisms for lockdowns or new hobbies and interests, people needed to get out There are people who have not been out of their homes, literally, for over a year. That is not acceptable and the more life returns safely, sensibly, to old norms, the better off we are. Apparently many others feel the same way.

So come out and enjoy the show. It is so much better than the news about mask opponents pushing people to be unsafe, all the better to kill you, or the ever growing sexual scandals re politicians though not surprised re Mat Goetz who was also the only member of Congress to vote against an anti human trafficking bill! 

True, the movies will not solve our problems, but they will help soothe some wounds, entertain and refresh one's mind, allowing for reset and rethinking, and are simply enjoyable. By the way, they also provide for thousands upon thousands of jobs. Now isn't that better than reading of increasing possibility of a new surge and the morons who refuse to behave appropriately or that over 555,000 have been killed and over 30 million infected.

Oh yes!!! They are back. A sign of progress, A sign of hope. A sign of a future that hopefully will contain the best of the past and perhaps an encouragement of the throwing off of old, bad habits and trends, movies showing their negativity, making the consequences of hatred clearer than ever through the movies. Identifying with a character makes it ever so more real, ever so much more  important, urgent, to act upon.

Oh, they are back!!!  Yay and hurray!!!! And cannot wait to see the epic battle between Godzilla and King Kong on the big screen. Oh yeah!!!

OH, BUT IT IS!

   What is? Almost everything! Today, in this cockeyed, crazy world of ours almost everything seems to be politics. Masking for protection against the virus? Political, nutty as that is. Taking a vaccine? Political again. Feeding hungry families and individuals? Political. Keeping families together, especially little ones with their parents? Major political!

So where does this stop? When and how and why do we allow social issues, health issues, to become political footballs, leaving the human consequences and victims to suffer one blow after another? "Get a job" some shout at the man on line, or the woman holding the hand of a toddler. "I won't wear a mask," shouts a stupid and unthinking protester. Riots at bars. Crowded beaches. All have become political issues and it IS all SO political. Even as it should most certainly not be that, even as politics and political issues become verboten in homes, among friends, with the rule of "no politics here" being stated and observed.

But life today dictates otherwise. One cannot wall off vital societal issues in the hope of calming everyone down. One must be able to discuss, to hear each other, to learn to listen and compromise. If we cannot do that amongst ourselves, in small groups, then what message do we send to the idiots in DC who have made it ALL politics, paralyzing the country's government and stimulating not the economy, but the hate and the differences.

So what do we do to heal the differences and reunite the country? Frankly, I wonder often now whether it is even possible. When three states already have passed restrictive voting bills, modern day Jim Crow laws, going backwards more than a century, then what hope is there? Battles will rage if we can get the Senate to pass the Biden bill to protect and insure voting rights. But why has this become an issue again and how can we defeat this behavior if we cannot even discuss it within the home, lest fighting break out and shouting become the tone of the talk?

To add salt to the wound, it appears that the decision has been taken to allow most of the rebels of Jan. 6 to escape punishment, certainly meaningful punishment, any kind of deterrence to others to copy their behavior or for the insurrectionists to return. Following the mob is not a defense. One must take responsibility for one's actions and crying out versions of "Mikey made me do it" is not a defense. These people boasted of their plans. They were automatons to the words and instigations of Trump and domestic terrorists. They are the kind that allow fascists to set up governments and oppress all the people with emphasis on some. WE cannot allow this. Throw the book at all of them and yes, it is political.

WE had better all straighten out our thinking, our thought processes if we are able to move forward or even stand still if that is the result of fighting the backwards ideas of too many. Oh, but it is all politics and oh, but it is also all humanitarian. We must relearn, reteach, ourselves how to make the two a living, viable 'thing', a workable combination, a good and positive synergy, else we are lost and we are already at the entry to 'Lostland'. What will it take for us to wake up, straighten out, cull the criminals, the rebels, the haters, pushing them to the sideline or prison, whatever they earn by their own behavior, and get this country back on track.

To see the long lines waiting for food pantry packages. To see the homeless, the kids dragging their teddy bears from place to place, the parents despairing, as they are evicted. To see the demise of the American society. Intolerable and yes, it is all politics today, but it should not be. It is part of the social safety net and should not be questioned. Too many questioners have fallen into this net so perhaps here is some hope for the future - if we can get the current day legislators to listen.

Replace them maybe? Good start. All politics!

MOMENTS OF SANITY

     It's a crazy world. No doubt about that. The movie made so many years ago - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, said it all in those few words. Try to figure out the world, try to game it, and the end result will be a debit recording. We have seen proof of that pudding these past five years, especially the last year, and know the truth. Lives have been lost and at the very least turned upside down and inside out as we learned new habits, unlearned or stowed away old ones, and tried to get on with life.

But life is really a story and two people undergoing the same events will have different stories. The author, Pat Conroy, stressed the power of "Tell me a story". What will be the story of these times? Whose 'story' will prevail in the hi-s-tory told in the books and the media? Already, depending upon where one goes for news, we appear to be living a dichotomy of stories, meshing not in the least, with strict about face versions of reality in some venues.

In all honesty, we have all survived - or are surviving - a trauma. Life has been that not normal. The question is, will we be able to return to moments of sanity, more and more of them, or will we begin to lose them. Actually, that has already begun, but can we stem the tide of that twisting and turning, the reality denying behavior of some?

The author, Patti Callahan, expressed it very well in her novel, Surviving Savannah - a book I most heartily recommend. "Not everyone who survives trauma becomes a better person. The idea that  surviving brings everyone to a new and better place is a lie told by people who need the world to make sense." And here we are. How confused are we with our not so brave new world? How do we ever explain  it to ourselves, let alone the kids? How do we return to sanity, leave behind the fear of the past year - or can that even be contemplated? Has the past year changed us so? Are these changes all bad and if they are, are they reversible?

I am hoping that we begin to find our way back to sanity in increasing steps and pace. We have a head of government today who emphasizes sanity, modesty, plain talk and sensible planning and behavior. No shooting from the hip. No off the cuff nasty remarks. No grandstanding. No nastiness and criticism said in gentle hints and nudges, forcing one to read between the lines, a nice change for he shouted paeans to hatred and bias, the name calling, under Trump. 

This is the way we can change, indeed become better people for the experiences we have undergone, but not all will wish to improve or change for the better. It is easier for some to retain bitterness, to allow acid to eat at the soul. It allows emphasis to be placed on the wrong things and the good things to be ignored, consigned to ignominy and for what? To prove a point that is already dead, been proven or shown to be a negative, rather than a positive?

Biden's campaign was run in a calm and rational manner. He showed that he was consistent, decidedly favored a sane version of behavior and history, and continued to do so in his first national speech. This trend continued in his first press conference yesterday and how pleasant it was to hear a rational voice rather than a blustery and bombastic know nothing pool of hot air, airing all the wrong things and never answering anything worth a damn!

It has been said now that this is an administration that will proceed in this manner: “As you’ve all observed, successful presidents better than me have been successful in large part because they know how to time what they’re doing. Order it, decide and prioritize what needs to be done.” Beautiful. A rational, sensible, pragmatic approach. Knowing what needs fixing, ordering them, and taking them on, one by one. Not all wrongs can be corrected simultaneously, certainly not in any realistic manner. It is hard to be patient when the wrongs affect oneself, but there must be that patience if we are to succeed. Republican Senators have admitted that Biden is "as sharp as a tack" in their meetings with him. He has plugged away since inauguration, with no golf trips, no playtime somewhere, just nose to the grindstone and progress. Not as fast as many wished, but progress nonetheless and we must treasure that.

We must treasure these moments of sanity, particularly as the moments of insanity seem to be increasing and the acidic tones of pro Trumpers who persist in their delusions drip ever more venom as the backwards policies of Trump are being rolled back and new steps forward are being taken.

Let us resolve during this holiday period to come out of this as better people. Let us show that we can be better if we really but try, put down the backstabbing knives, the cutting tongues, the necessity to "prove" one's venomous thoughts, and get back to sanity. It is a much better life that awaits us if we do so.

Due to the holiday, my next post will be on Tuesday. Please take the opportunity to browse through the postings and read those you might have missed. Enjoy the holidays. Enjoy your families. Let us enjoy and multiply those moments of sanity.

SO......WHAT ELSE?

  Did you ever have that day when everything went blooey? Nothing went right the first time around? Did not make a difference whether it was in your personal world or the world's world - it just was not your day! Well, yesterday was mine and am hoping today will be better, but honestly, not too sure about that.

So, we load up the car with all the things we were requested to bring and barely squeeze ourselves in along with the "really, just a few things" so necessary to our holiday stay - or so we were told. At least the drive went off okay - that is after we finally figured out how to keep the gizmo successfully attached o the window! And successfully surviving the crazy drivers, some of whom evidently never learned how to drive on a highway, how to signal lane change and how to make up one's mind as to which lane and what exit you need.

And then the rest stops. Here is a word of advice. When entering one, looking for the facilities, be sure to enter the main one, the state supervised one, for the private stores are not necessarily always the best serviced, shall we say? Remember, cleanliness is next to godliness and after several hours in a car, quite important!

Finally, off the highway and then, off on some weird way that the navigation lady told us to use. Why? Who the hell knows, as I believe we circumnavigated the globe or at least the southeast states, until we finally got to where we should have been a good 45 minutes before, but triumph in a way. Got the hubby to admit I was right, that the directions were wrong and we should have taken the way I said. Ha!!!

So, finally at the destination, paid for to allow early check-in and entry to the villa, and then - nothing, a big fat nothing. The door would not accept the code and there we were, trying to get an answer from the office, wherever it was, as to what, why and how this happened and could be fixed. One hour later we were in. Yay! Now to unload the "few" things and unpack our suitcase. Uh, where are the drawers? Where am I supposed to hang these or put them, and no, not everything can be hung, especially if the closet is jammed with baby equipment! Dear Lord!!

Now, as we were dripping sweat, it was quite obvious that something was wrong with the AC. Yet another cheery part of the day as we tried to get through to the 'office', tried to maintain contact where phone service seemed to be minimal, and then get a productive response. Perhaps you have seen our missing, but promised, tech to fix it, particularly when four 90 degree days are predicted. Hope he is not using that same lady for driving directions!

Okay, so what next? We discover that the names of the people staying with us have mysteriously morphed into others. Double booked? No, please! Aha, just some more incompetence and that was fixed, along with the several hours long effort to now get the proper gate code and a permanent door code, you know so that we could enter and exit freely from the villa and the place. Nothing too serious, right? At least the chair we ordered came in on time with a nice young man delivering it and setting it up. So, two in the plus column.

Well, pretty good wi-fi. A third in the plus column. And then all the bother was just that, as the first contingent arrived. True, after midnight, unpacking noisily, and then going off to a storage unit to bring more stuff, to unpack in the middle of the night, but... there were my daughter, son in law, and two grandsons and the next group scheduled for tomorrow. All of a sudden it was a plus day. All the wrangling seemed small in comparison to seeing them all, to hugging them all. Even the wrangling of the idiot politicians trying to limit our voting rights will have to wait for some attention from me. Too busy with family, and Yay!!!!! 

See, there are some good days awaiting us, even when they try to hide!

OVERWHELMING

  If there is one word needed to describe life today in America it is overwhelming. One does not know where to look or not to look in order to maintain stability and sanity. If one does not monitor reactions to our world today, one can become paralyzed, fearful, unable to move in any direction other than backwards. A full and free life becomes almost impossible in an unthinkably toxic and threatening world.

So how does one cope in a world seemingly concentrated in battering us with one disaster after another, some of Nature  and others not, but so many preventable, even those of Nature. We do not pay attention, or give lasting, meaningful attention and responses to varied crises and then act shocked when the horror is repeated somewhere else, with new numbers, and all meaningless, awful tragedies that add up to nothing if weighed by any permanent answers. We weep crocodile tears for the most part, buy another teddy bear to leave at the site of yet another preventable massacre site and move on, leaving behind more mourners whose lives have been permanently altered and awaiting yet more mourners just around the corner in the increasingly violent American life.

When do we act? When do we stand firm and give permanent and meaningful solutions or at least attempt to do so, with full intent to actually do something meaningful, something worthwhile, something real. An example? Simple. Gun control. No, that does not mean the government busting into our homes and confiscating all domestically owned weapons. What it does mean is stricter laws, stricter controls, bans on assault weapons and accessories that turn semi assault weapons into the murderous assault weapons used to slaughter the innocent. It means that guns are kept out of the hands of the violent, the abusers, those who threaten others with violence, the mentally ill whose illnesses prevent them from always acting rationally. Why can we not do this? Why must the GOP continue to maintain their benighted stands even as the death toll increases and the tragedies multiply. It is overwhelming to any sane, caring, thinking being.

The whole issue is overwhelming. Which crisis do we react to first? How do we prioritize? What weighs in the heaviest, the most urgent and can we even delineate that in the face of overwhelming realities? Well, Biden had the right idea when he calmly stated that yet another North Korean missile test is business as usual. Just another belligerent act that in the end means nothing, so why go nuts and not keep on the steady path needed in more pressing areas, such as getting this country back on a positive track? Pay no attention to the blustery acts of the blowhard bully and he will have to turn to other areas far more pressing, such as poverty and starvation in his own country and the growing demands and restlessness of his own population.

Overwhelming can be broken down into manageable segments, just like the huge assignment given by a teacher or employer. Take it apart, separate it into less challenging demands and it will get done, less overwhelming, more manageable. We could then oppose the Big Lie return, the fascistic policy that the GOP has embraced whole hog. We can attempt to get at the truth. To talk sanely about the border crisis. We can figure out how to stem the problem at its roots - the impossible situations in the mother countries of these desperate people. We can remember that our ancestors were as desperate as them, in their own time, and came here for the same reasons. Hatred then and today tried to block entry, to deny the promise and hope of America.

Overwhelming are the phone calls that the former Columbine High School principal gets after each mass shooting, particularly those that take place in Colorado. Overwhelming are the tears, the vigils, yet what do they all mean and amount to in the end if we do nothing, or worse, spout off reasons why we cannot act, why we cannot fix this problem, why we cannot find solutions, why we cannot sit down and talk, hear each other, hear the cries echoing in the wind, never to end, until there is justice and meaningful response. End the blustering and harmful talk and get down to action. The country needs it, demands it.

So how about for five minutes, relatively speaking, that we take on another aspect of overwhelming. For the first time in a hard year there will be overwhelming reunions of families, vaccinated, able to hug their grandchildren, their sons and daughters, see them once again in physical form and not as Zoom denizens. Who would have imagined we would get to this point after the inaction by the Trump administration, the lies and denials. But breaking the problem down into manageable segments allowed the response to work and under the calm and responsive Biden administration we made progress, are moving forward with plans and actions. G-d willing we will do better in the coming year, get a grip on the fractures in our society and stomp overwhelming out of our negative lexicon of terminology.

So in this holiday period, so different from the most recent one at Christmas and Chanukah, let us be overwhelmed with good feeling, with joy and hope, with true sympathy for the wounded by life, real answers and responses and the joys of seeing and holding our loved ones again. A happy and healthy holiday to all. 

  

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH US?

  I know that American history is rife with violence. Violence was part and parcel of its expansion and settlement. Violence was returned upon violence and it was a great step forward when a system of justice and law enforcement was instituted, guns were banned in establishments and to carry around (think of today's push for carry rights!) and mob rule as justice was lessened, though still remained, as we know, in the form of illegal hangings well into the 20th century. Not perfect, flawed in some minor and some terribly major ways, but still, progress.

We thought we could live our lives reassured, safe, in our daily lives and activities. After all, there were laws, right? We were civilized, right? We were advanced, right? Wrong - in so many ways. We thought the awful school shootings were an aberration. We thought the terrorist actions such as the bombing at the Boston Marathon were just that - terrorism from outside enemies and were the exception, rather than the rule, at least here in America. Wrong, so wrong again.

Mass school shootings became almost a common act, shocking, but, well, there it was. We began to grow shells, tsk, tsking at the news, but then moving on. Teddy bears, flowers, tears, candles galore, but well, life goes on and we forgot. We forgot to make stronger rules. We forgot that not all are law abiding or who work under other laws that are generated in their own worlds. And we forgot the everlasting grief of those left behind, bereft of loved ones in the most shocking manner. I mean, life goes on, right?! So wrong, so wrong.

Now look what we have and ask yourself what is the matter with us? Are we some Third World country where the rules of tribalism, clans, blood feuds and more rule the day and society? Are we now a country where if one is irritated over whatever, one picks up some guns, some rifles, some assault weapons and goes out and picks a target? Hatred rules the choices many times, but apparently, groceries, massage parlors, anything and everything is ripe for shootings, for murder, for terror.

And speaking of terror, we apparently have not yet learned, much to our detriment, that there are domestic terrorists and they are on the rise. Despite the fabulists such as Ron Johnson, or Rand Paul, or dangerous idiots like Sidney Powell whose latest defense is that no one of any sensibility would have believed her statements re the 2020 election!! - I kid you not! - it is reality. It is people like her who add to the wild new society we have, where violence, incitement to violence, is not only allowed, but admired. What is the matter with us?

Looking forward to a return to sanity? Do not look forward to it too soon. Not when a chief purveyor of hatred, of lies, of fascist tendencies, Trump himself, plans to set up his own social media platform after finally being banned from others, too little too late, for an inciter of treason and hatred. What will this American society be after the putrid spewings of hatred, of anger, of incitement fill the air and the minds of damaged souls? Not good, to say the least. Perhaps we all need to invest in bullet proof garments if we are to stay safe in daily rounds!

And then, as the cherry on top, perfect in the news of the day, Melania celebrates her son's fifteenth birthday with two black balloons, dripping what - blood, symbolic violence, Goth views? There is something majorly wrong and ugly in that picture!

So what is the matter with us? Can we turn it around? Do we even want to? Are there enough of us to do so? Do we even care, at least until it smacks us right in the face? Cry, the beloved country, especially as we look forward to the lives of our children and grandchildren. Cry for them, unless we take action now. But do we care enough? 

What is the matter with us?

ROCKS AND HARD PLACES

 Every single one of us has been caught in a dilemma at one point or another. Do this and the world caved in, the floor falling out beneath your feet. Do that and the sky fell upon you. There seemed to be no solution without pain. There seemed no way out of a painful situation, twist and turn as one might.

That is where we are now, today, as a nation. We have many rocks. A surge in immigrants trying to get in, or at least get their children to safety. A country that has to find the funds to service its citizens, let alone handle a flood of children. A nation split in two, staring at each other over a growing abyss, with one side continuing to pursue false conspiracies and spreading lies, avoiding truth like a plague. And a pandemic as the cherry on top.

Do we handle the conspirators and rebels of January 6 as the traitors they were and are, or do we go with the false narrative of Ron Jonson and deny the violence, make believe there were no deaths and injuries, no windows broken, no guards battered, no fear among the legislators as they scurried to safety. So was it simply a 'rowdy' crowd or a serious attempt to overthrow this government by force, treason, plain and simple. Rocks and hard places, no matter the truth or the lies one pushes.

Pity Biden, caught under a microscope of unfriendly origin, his literally every step examined and analyzed. So he stumbled going up the steps. Big deal. Ever walk up or down those airplane steps? They are not easy. Better that than a man who claimed to skid down an icy steep slope on a mild ramp on a very hot day, or a man who needed two hands to lift a small bottle of water to his mouth. And for Trumpians to crow about every word misspoken or a slip of a tongue on pronunciation, well, perhaps they need a review of the illiterate, nonsensical, inane yet dangerous strange prose of Trump. Verbal gaffes are the norm for all of us; verbal dementia, as with Trump, is not.

Rocks and hard places. How does one answer ridiculous claims without appearing defensive? Should one simply ignore it or will that lead to further lies and truth fudging? Should one respond, will it only grow, like a blob that ate a town in a sci-fi movie? Rocks and hard places leave little room to maneuver, and any effort to extricate oneself from this position is often treated with derision and nastiness. My opinion? Simply give it back in understatements that will take a moment for them to get the point as it hits them over the head.

Such a moment occurred on the Pirro show as an immigration attorney zinged her one. He calls her on her lies and false 'facts' - Very few things I heard on this show tonight have been facts,"  and stops her in her tracks as she pulls the plug on the show with his second comment. "President Biden kept his promise,"...  He's making America better. .."He's making America great again."  Gotta' love it!! Here is a man who knows how to shove the other side in between those rocks and hard places. Kudos to him.

A country where we have returned to the streets of Dodge City, the violence of Laredo. We have disturbed characters who think it is their right to stab, shoot, wound and kill any other person to whom they take a dislike or who upsets their equilibrium by their very existence. Black, White, Asian, adult or child, it makes no never mind. Hence the stabbing of a 12 year old boy on line in McDonald's. Hence the jaundiced eyes of the GOP who regard imperiled children and frantic parents and relatives as the Enemy at the Border!

Rocks and hard places. How did we get into this mess and more important, how do we get out? I recall that on a trip to Joshua Tree, a national park, a stunning place of stark beauty and silence, we walked through a slip of a crack into a hidden valley. We walked along the rocks, finding a path of sorts and then realized that all we saw in front of us were rocks and huge boulders, no view of the 'outside'. Talk about rocks and hard places.

 I was imagining us stuck there, all wondering what the heck happened to us? Then a man came along, asked if we needed help, and he explained that this often happened to people walking here and he showed us the way out, between the rock and the hard places, the boulders blocking the exit.

That is what we need today. A person to come along and show us the way. Until that happens, Biden is doing a damned good job. He is calm, keeps his mouth shut and his nose to the grindstone as he tries to unravel the mess left behind by Trump and his coterie of enabling incompetents. No shenanigans. Only serious efforts and plans. Strong efforts to dislodge the rocks, the boulders, the hard places, purposely left behind by the traitor, Trump, and his co-conspirators. We need to get behind him. We need to become a rational nation once more and that is solely up to us. We must do better. We must find our way out between these rocks and hard places. We must. No second choice will do.

 

WHENCE AMERICA?

   "Look at the nations and watch -

    and be utterly amazed.

    For I am going to do something in your days

    that you would not believe,

    even if you were told."  (Habakkuk, 1:5)

Ever get the feeling that if one wanted to know the future of the world, all one had to do was read the Bible. There are enough disasters, threats, pandemics, crises, what have you, more than one could imagine. One can read of evil characters and then chase down the rise and fall, the emulations of other evil characters, direct descendants in immorality and wickedness. And if the Bible in all its various books is not enough, then simply turn to secular history and read of the mighty empires, built to last by their founders, or so they thought, that crumbled into dust, with pathetic remnants of past glory. Now? Whence America?

Worldwide pandemic, with most of the world still without vaccines. Miami has to shut down the entertainment district due to wild and unsafe behavior of spring breakers! Defiant, stupidly and dangerously so, anti-vaxxers refuse the vaccine, even though their lord and master took his. Whence America? Mar a Lago shut down due to positive Covid-19. Ha!! What goes around?

Whence America? When so many of the states are engrossed in limiting voting access and rights, well, where the hell are we? Have we not learned from history? Have we not become better than those engaged with hate in the past? Must we fight battles already on the winning paths all over again? Why?

 What is it that persuades those in power that they have the right to limit the rights of others, despite proof otherwise, that the constituents, not the noisy half crazed ones, but the quiet ones who go about living their lives, want no part of this blatant wrongdoing. And wrongdoing it is. It is immoral and no amount of legal chicanery can make it otherwise. It was legal to rob, to kill, to eliminate Jews under Nazi rules, but did that make it moral? Does changing rules re voting access make it moral? 

Whence America? Since when have we resigned membership in the rolls of decent humanity? Since when do we celebrate hatred? Since when do we think it is okay to allow free access to guns that enable mass killings? Why have we not learned from these slaughters. Crying and protesting, leaving flowers, balloons and teddy bears - and what a waste if we do not act, if we do not enact laws that assure the continued rights of all, that limit access to guns to crazed people whose openly stated desires are to kill those they hate. Note, please, that I am not advocating cancellation of the Second Amendment. I believe we have the right to own a gun - though not assault weapons. But there must be rules and regulations that make sense and insure the safety of the public.

"Ultimately this is about who we are as a nation, this is about how we treat people with dignity and respect," she said. "A harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. The president and I will not be silent, we will not stand by, we will always speak out against violence, hate crimes and discrimination wherever and whenever it occurs."

Those are the words of Vice President Kamala Harris, and I think, I pray, I hope, that she speaks for most Americans. But a whole lot more is necessary if we are to wipe out this plague of hatred, clear it off the books. Too much time has already passed, too much baseless hate, too much violence and whence America? And think not that we have been free of class, nationality, ethnic and religious baseless hatred over the years. Almost every immigrant group has faced prejudice, some violent, upon coming to America, however and why they came. 

Despite all the myths of people today, we were and remain the same. We are all open to harm from the violence of hate. We all were not angels as our people came to America, and yes, oh my, golly gee, I am sure that there were those among these groups who entered illegally for the same reasons these desperate immigrants of today try to get over the border or at least send their children to safety. Not to forget, mind you, that all entering immigrant groups all seemed to have their criminals among them, not only the illegals of today.

There must be a way to order and prioritize immigration in a rational and compassionate manner. No, we cannot simply say, c'mon in, without planning, without safety regulations, without preparation. One of the best ways is to remember that we are part of the nations of the world and the butterfly effect is alive and well. If there is violence and danger, poverty and hunger, in other countries, well, the people will do as is normal and try to go elsewhere, with the Lady of the Harbor standing there with her words of welcome. We are not isolated from the rest of the world and what happens in one, or ten, or twenty nations, no matter how far away, effects us. No amount of wishful thinking, desires to turn away, to ignore, to deny connections, to turn deaf ears to the cries of humanity, to be willfully blind to the horrific scenes of violence and starvation will work in any kind of permanent solution. Fix these problems, fix the immigration crisis.

Whence America? I have a clue as do all of us. I have many clues, as do all of us. The trick is to know which clues to emphasize and which to weaken, to batter down. As always, I remind us all, including myself, that it IS in our hands, like it or not. Whence America? You tell me.

AND THE WORLD STOOD STILL - OR DID IT?

  Such a nice day yesterday. No politics or nasty stories about disappointing politicians. No hints at roiling and boiling foreign relations who are used to a different President. Nope, they were there, but not here, in my head or heart, yesterday. I forswore reading them, determined to keep the mood going all the while it could. However, despite all my efforts to the contrary, intrude it did. Drat!

China, Russia, and the USA, all engage in shouting matches and threats. Florida goes its usual ridiculous pathway, denying truths that annoy its governor, who swears to change the situation and then Matt Goetz, (did you see his toothy smile - Brr!) swears to those words and promised actions. A crisis decades in the making, exacerbated by the policies of the Trump administration, are called out by the GOP who, I guess, want more stringent rulings, more cruelty to minors, more nastiness, more closing of doors to new immigrants, new adherence to a  broken system rather than a stormy watch.

Cry this beloved country as we mourn deaths attributed to policing gone rogue. Hang on the words of every ten minutes, repeating the "facts" of the story - depending upon which media is talking! But at least our pool hours are being extended and more people are allowed in to the theater for movies. However, still no Executive Board meeting. Maybe one day David Israel will put down his blanket that he wraps himself in and actually begin to administer in a proper manner, rather than in the blocking and anti growth government he heads now.

And perhaps one day those darned pigs will fly. We are so dark, so deep in to foreign territory, and I despair of our ever getting out of it in one piece. I wonder at the silence of the big mouth Trump. Why the quiet? Why the lack of clear policy at the border? Why? Because one cannot solve this issue in a day or a week. It requires a stronger effort, a new effort, and a way to mesh the inequities of Trump with the humanity of Biden.

The difficulty of continuing former administration policy without a catastrophic break is laid directly at the feet of Trump, Encouraged to follow his own dictats, never minding the harm and hurt it caused so many others, Trumpians refused to cooperate with the incoming administration, thus creating a time gap. Then they demand action, the very action they are blocking, take credit for the benefits of the Rescue Bill, the very one they decried and voted against. Hypocrites, all of them, down to the last and newest Republican Congressional character. 

What a mess. Should have tried harder to sleep longer and stayed away from the paper and the newsfeeds of the day. But how does one live in ignorance? How does one live in denial? I cannot. Much to my dismay! Much to my despair.

So, the world stood still. It remained mired in its own muck, the filth of its own workings. Yet it also moved on with signs of life in the building - but where were they moving towards? Beats me!

Standing still, moving on - does it even matter in this twisted world we now occupy? Which talking head has all the answers? Actually, does any single one have the magic touch? Anyway, when are they going to reopen the movies and theater again?!

 

"AND THE WORLD WILL BE BETTER FOR THIS"

   Nope. Not to worry. I am under no illusions that I am the Man of La Mancha. but the world is definitely a better place for me this morning because....wait for it.....I Slept!! Oh, the beauty of sleep. The joy of getting up without a feeling of exhaustion. The energy to take on my world. Love it!

What a wondrous thing it would be if we all woke up like that every day. Not to be greedy, so almost every day. Fewer  cranks and grumps. Fewer people looking to make others miserable. More people willing to sit down and listen and talk, to share, to consider others and the ways to a better world.

Think of the beauty of a world where the rights of all were respected rather than abused or limited. Think of a world where all were fed, housed, clothed and educated. Think of a world where the brain power of all was harnessed and the things we could do, the places we could go, the wonders we could discover and create. Think of a world where religion was not used as an excuse to limit people, to define people, to segregate people, but rather as the Bible tells us - to do no harm to others, to welcome the strangers in our midst, to do justice, to chase justice, to always tell and live the truth.

"Can we do it"?" asks Dora the Explorer. Imagine a world where we never lost our childhood optimism, when we lived in  a world where all things were possible and then answer, "Yes, we can." Sure, these are real rose colored lenses in a pair of fantasy glasses, but think of the possibilities if only, if only we but tried, truly tried and left behind all the selfish motivations, the inner hunger for power, position and wealth, the jealousy of others and the animosity that humankind seems to attract and internalize.

"And the world would be better for this."  Yes, that one man, or better yet, many men and women, would do the right thing, the moral thing, the good thing. A world where all our ounces of courage were used to better this globe of ours and the people who live on it.

What a difference a night of sleep makes. Think, just imagine, a world where that energy, those positive thoughts were available all the time, lent themselves to improvement, to destinations unimagined before. If only. If it were truly possible. But in any case, I will enjoy my burst of energy and positive optimism for as long as it lasts! And maybe, just maybe, I will be blessed enough today to do even a bit of good, help someone, do the right thing, make someone smile. I hope.

OUMUAMUA

 Oumuamua. The sound, the music of the Hawaiian language, a reminder of my favorite place on earth. Where the very air caresses one's skin. Where "hang loose" is the mode and mood of the day. Where no one blasts horns in the infamous traffic jams out of the airport into Waikiki and Honolulu. Where the beauty of nature contrasts with the ugliness of humanity as one visits Pearl Harbor, the Punchbowl Cemetery, and the Arizona, leaking oil lo these many a years, a reminder of the leaking blood we humans have spilled in war and enmity.

But what is Oumuamua? It is a massive piece of whatever, at that time, 2017, careening through space, coming close to Earth, very unusual in its size and what the heck was it? Aha! It was declared a piece of another star system, a piece, a massive chunk, of a Pluto like planet that had broken up. Broken up? Another star system? Think of it. Think of the implications.

We are not alone - maybe? What could life have been on that former intact planet? What caused it to disintegrate? Was it a violent, lifeform caused tragedy or simply something out of Nature. It was named 'scout' or messenger", perhaps as a warning to us. What message is it bringing? What does it tell us? What does it mean for the future?

A chunk of a planet, a huge Pluto like planet. It imploded or exploded or shades of Star Trek, was blown up? What is out there, waiting for us - or will it not wait and come looking? Think of the possibilities of space exploration, for we now know there are other star systems, other planets, other histories and human curiosity will not allow this to go by unexplored, and yes, unexploited. Will we pollute that new star system? Will we send it our space junk? How and will we get along with other lifeforms if we cannot even get along with ourselves?

Oumuamua was indeed aptly named. Is it a messenger from a Supreme Power out there telling us, warning us, showing us, that all things are within reach of permanent tragedy? Will we learn to temper our hubris, take ourselves down a peg, perhaps even learn to talk with, not at, each other and more important, to hear and listen, heed the words of others as they will do the same for us?

Should we take this as an interstellar warning in the category of a huge Ozymandias? Will we even think about that possibility, be a different kind of messenger to others? Not the rampaging hordes that hit the Americas, but the Star Trek ones who emulate Captain Kirk, Spock, the dignified Captain Picard, and all the other characters. Can you just see Bones out there, all excited at the new technology for medicine? Or will space exploration merely bring us more tragedy, a wider arena for it, a new dumping place for space junk and the damaging and destructive traits of humanity? Will we hear and heed the messenger Oumuamua or will we ignore it?

 Fascinating, don't you think? How and what shall we make it so?

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

 Many songs about love, success or heartbreak, have been written with the timing of key importance. It seems as if the middle of the night is the peak period for love connected emotions. Songwriters appear to be inspired by it and I wonder if they are writing during the middle of the night or merely using the concept. Whatever it is that they find inspirational is a mystery to me.

 I hate being up in the middle of the night. True, the computer boots up faster, it is quiet, no phone calls to interrupt thought process, but it is lonely and dark and lends itself to the more pessimistic side of life. I read all the stories of the news and I wonder if we will ever be able to crawl out from under the muck and mire, the filth we have poured so liberally over ourselves and the country.

We have become obsessed with loud and rude talk, tough talk, but refuse to pay the cost of these words and deny their power, The daughter of a major conspirator of Jan. 6 says no one takes his "cross the line" talking seriously, but evidently many do as he organized arms and plans for that day, as he threatened his own kids with being shot if they spoke of all this. A true loving father! But how much longer will we continue to deny the causative power of words. I can say that in the middle of the night it is not difficult to follow the historical trail of violent words to violent deeds. Why do we always forget this or ignore it, or worse, make use of it? Dark questions in the middle of the night.

At the same time one wonders about the thought process of some people. Do they think of their dangerous stupidity , invent it, in the middle of the night? Do not take the vaccine - because they follow Trump?! Well, he and his wife took it before they flew the coop back to Mar a Lago. More hypocrisy! Still, these people soldier on under the biggest fallacies and untruths perpetrated upon their willing heads. Their answer, which I have heard too many times, is "I am not a Biden person" when asked why no vaccine or mask. Seriously! Since when has medicine become a political football and who made it that way. Ahem - hint - GOP.

Does the darkness of the middle of the night lend itself to dark thoughts, to plans to continue to spread hatred and troubles? Does Ron Johnson think of his dangerously ridiculous and provocative statements, reeking of ignorance and racism at midnight? Does DeSantis think of his garbage then? 

It seems that the darkness of night lends itself to dark activities of the humans on this planet. People are grabbed in raids in the middle of the night. Nacht und Nebel , Night and Fog, was a murderous program of the Nazis. Crimes are committed under cover of darkness. Raids on perceived enemies are undertaken. All this overpowers the midnight of love songs, yet they persist. Perhaps we need to rethink our thoughts and the power of darkness to influence them.

As for me, all I want in the middle of the night is to sleep. Insomnia is the pits and I wonder what to do now. I painted some woodcraft items. I straightened equipment. I wrote the blog and checked emails. Worst of all, is the pill I was prescribed. Sleep? No way. This pill makes me more insomniac than ever!

"Oh to sleep, perchance to dream."

Shakespeare had it right lo those many years ago.

   

"IT'S OKAY. WE'RE GOOD."

   So stated Father Gabriel to Aaron in The Walking Dead after he shot a man to whom he had just pleaded to trust them. The man pleaded to be brought back into the fold, even as he confessed to yet more terrible violations of the rules of decent society. As Father Gabriel seemed to acquiesce he killed the man. Right? Wrong? All things being relative, circumstances dictating different truths and necessities? Actions being okay, the situation deemed good, depending upon the reasoning necessary to survival? Questions asked on a TV show, yet also relative to a real life situation.

So we have approximately 3,400 unaccompanied minors being held in not the very best of circumstances, though, mind you, not in cages, not under prisoner treatment, even as all the while the authorities are striving to find a solution, even as the Republican governors of the border states refuse to cooperate, only rant and rave, Trumpian substitutes as they raise the ugly airs of racial bigotry and xenophobia.

Most of these minors are coming from countries where their lives were endangered. Gangs were after them. Family members had already been killed. Life was hopeless, starvation and fear being daily conditions of life. So parents sent their children on ahead, desperate attempts to save them, give them a chance at a life. Not the best of solutions nor the best of circumstances. The situation is not good, and we are not okay.

This situation is an echo to another time when parents were desperate to save their children from certain death. The last chance was to put them on a train, knowing they would most probably never see them again, their own death imminent. This was the Kindertransport movement when a pathetic amount of Jewish children were rescued, sent to England, and the world stood there, head hung in shame as the rest of the children, over a million and a half plus, were killed, slaughtered, in the most vile of manners.

No one is saying the circumstances are totally identical, but these kids, these minors, are also facing existential difficulties and their guardians are desperate, or even dead, so onward these kids come. Our immigration policy over the past four years has been horrid, to say the least. We have been left with an intolerable situation and the correction is difficult. 

Under this administration it must be done in a humane manner, contrary to the vile behavior of the Trump administration and the cooperating officers of the agencies involved, and the morally challenged GOP members of Congress who went along with this, denied the truth in front of them.

 Yes, these things can happen here and indeed have happened and will continue to happen unless a wider approach is undertaken, until we all realize that this will continue until the situations in the countries of Central America are changed for the better. Not an easy task at all. Perhaps even impossible. But we need to try. Humanity demands that we do so.

Anyone who has been watching this show now realizes that the walking dead of the title are not necessarily the zombies who chase the living in mindless quests for food, unable to satisfy a driving demand within. Frightening, but the walking dead are actually those who survived, almost certainly doomed, alive, just delayed in fulfillment of the truth and inevitable outcome for them all.

The question is if there is any chance at all to truly be okay, as Father Gabriel reassures Aaron. What is okay? What makes it good? Will we be able to rescue the shattered bones of society and live lives where death is not such an upfront threat and influence on life and behaviors? Will we be able to cease being the walking dead? 

Make no mistake about it. While we do not have literal zombies hanging around waiting to chew us up, we do have figurative ones who are chewing up the rules of decent and humane society, who are counter to progress, who wish to return to a more savage time. 

So on the Ides of March do we need a warning for Caesar? Would it be heeded or disregarded in our own arrogance? Have we become the figurative walking dead as we consume the decency of society, as we forget humanity, as we ramp up hatred, as we turn to right wing extremism?

No, we are not okay, We have a chance now to head down the right path, to be good, to be okay, to put an end to all the walking dead who would devour decency, humanity, truth and compassion. Tough times, hard times, huge problems. With cooperation amazing advances can be made. Do we have the wherewithal for this? Can we resist the pull to become part of the 'herd' of unthinking walking dead or can we stand and do the right thing? Easier to do one thing, but then again, doing the right thing has never been easy, though necessary for our survival. Chomp or build - that is the choice. 

EXCUSE ME?!

    Just about every time I think that reality might be returning to some of our benighted politicians, then wham! Hit in the face again with some of the most ridiculous statements ever. If these were simply comments made by idiots such as Carlson or Hannity, well, wrong, but they are known to be biased towards the insane right extremists. Thus, what they say is taken with about 16 bushels of salt!'

However, when the most insane statements are made by Senators, those who are supposed to put the welfare of the country ahead of their own personal thinking, well, then brother! Have we got some issues that need to be overcome. Read the following and weep.

  "never really felt threatened" because the protesters were largely "people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break a law."

Weep for a country that has twisted thinkers in leadership positions. Weep for the country that has someone who will pander to other twisted and deluded minds in order to maintain a position of power and to be quoted by the media. Weep for the country that should have been moving far away from this type of partisanship, yet remains closely tied to it. Weep for a country that has a supposed leader who dismisses the deaths of five people, the wounding to hundreds of others, the shock to our system, the rebellion  with all its exposed preplanning - all because it was led by right wing extremists! I simply cannot fathom such thinking and I believe these people need to be turfed out of office ASAP.

We now have a President whose clear and obvious program, whose agenda, is straight as an arrow. He has set priorities - clear up this pandemic, get it under control, get the doses out there and let us get back to some semblance of normality in out lives. This will allow the economy to reopen, rebound and get the money flowing once again, jobs opening and life returning. Other goals of his have to take a back seat until this problem is dealt with it, disappointing but realistic. Rome was not built in a day, as the saying goes, and the USA cannot be rebuilt in that time span either. Priorities must be set and some people will be disappointed, but that is what it is. Simple and true. In the meanwhile, needed aid in monies, in infrastructure plans, etc., are on their way. The sane and productive way in which to conduct government. Who knows, perhaps we will even be able to claw back the illicit tax gifts we gave the fatcats under their champion, Trump. Wouldn't that be nice for our national debt.

So excuse me if I still get incensed that these people continue to sing their Big Lie. They follow the principle of their apparent role model, Hitler, who said, " The masses have little time to think. And how incredible is the willingness of modern man to believe." Cynical, but oh so clever and here they are, our own homegrown wannabe fascists in power who sing the same atonal tune which finds and develops, enlarges all the cracks in society. Of which there are too many today!

We have a long way to go. We have much to overcome, to deconstruct, before we are able to reconstruct. We must undo chaos and develop sensible and sane, hopeful, realistic plans and structures. We must work together if we are to succeed as a country. Will that ever happen if the insanity of the Trump world continues? Doubtful, but perhaps when these people reap the benefits of a Biden administration, its humanity and prioritization, then maybe, just maybe, we can begin the healing process until we finally are once more the united United States of America.

 

HYPERBOLE? WOW!!!

     What a change. What a refreshing air coming in. No rantings. No ravings. No curses. No invocation of hatred for others who are to 'blame' for our problems. No threats. No outrageous promises. Only pleas for unity, for sense, for cooperation. And hyperbole! The "former guy" does not even know the meaning of the word, let alone how to use it twice in a short speech of gentle, but powerful import.

 And the hope and the scolding. If we do what is sensible, if we continue to follow directives, there is hope that we will be able to celebrate a more independent July 4th. With common sense. Always. Included in the short but powerful speech was a scolding that anti Asian attacks and accusations must stop. Period. Add in the gently put but so obviously there criticism of Trump for doing nothing, worse than nothing, when the pandemic first hit. Oh, hyperbole indeed. My educator's heart overflowed with joy. A literate President again.

 On the other hand, for contrast purposes, shall we say, we have the crude, uninformed, bully words and tactics of Tucker Carlson who just took on the wrong crew. Basically, he has attacked our entire armed forces. Wow!! Perhaps he needs to look up the definition of hyperbole. What a load of muck and mire he has fallen into. The best words of the day belong to Senator Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran who lost both legs as a result of action. Oh yes, hyperbole indeed!

"F--- Tucker Carlson," Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, tweeted. "While he was practicing his two-step, America's female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America's women."

 A further contrast? As the Democrats ask for unity, point out inclusion efforts, the Republicans continue on their lonely and destructive path of isolation and nastiness. To a one they voted against the relief bill even as they took credit for its provisions in their talks with their constituents. Wow! Talk about walking on both sides of the street at the same time. Meanwhile, they continue their disgusting retro activities and inclinations to return Jim Crow laws and atmosphere to our country as they concentrate on blocking voting access to so many. What will be the future? A new version of a summer of Freedom Riders? A new tragedy of three young men kidnapped, beaten, killed and buried in a swamp?!

No hyperbole here, folks. We have a clear choice. No obfuscation here. Either we go with those of sanity, of calm and purpose, of knowledge that progress means planning, or we go with those who mean trouble. Who mean hatred. Who mean a return to a very troubled past.

Maybe, just maybe, we have had an introduction of fresh air into the staleness of the past five years. Maybe, just maybe, we can begin to hope again, to look forward to some return of normal life - but always tempered with common sense. Maybe, maybe, we can hope for a truly united United States of America. Maybe, just maybe, we can return to the roots and desires of our founding, of our years as a democracy, of our efforts, failures and successes over the years, to move forward, to lead and be an example to the world. Maybe,  just maybe, there is room for optimism. And this is no hyperbole!!

Oh yeah!!!

FORWARD AND BACKWARD

     At times it is difficult to figure out whether we are going forward or backwards. Every forward step seems to have accompanying it several paths to move backwards. At times we fall into the wrong paths while at others we are lucky enough to be able to savor the feeling of knowing the right thing was done, a step or two in the right direction taken.

The passage of the huge bill is a step in the right direction, many, many steps in that direction. It aims to plug the nasty ragged edges of the holes ripped in the safety net by the Trump administration. It aims to do something other than talk about infrastructure. It lays out the continued war against the virus, already so much more advanced than it was under Trump.

It is costly, almost frighteningly so. On the other hand, we will see much come from it, revenues to the economies of cities ad states, of the country, tax monies flowing in, people with jobs again. It will not be easy nor quick. The economy has changed in ways that will not be denied but adaptions are possible. Furthermore, at least the funds and the help in this bill are aimed at the people who need it rather than given as gifts to the fatcat society and the corporations who then either give themselves huge bonuses or stash the funds away, preferably overseas somewhere!

The shameful pictures of lines by food pantries. The actual shortage of food to distribute. The very fact that people in America are going hungry, going homeless, with too many families among those statistics. That these are not statistics but rather flesh and blood, people who are cold, hopeless, yet keep their dreams as long as they can in the hope of a better world.

I don't know that this current generation right out of college or for a few years already will ever be able to make up the lost years, the past five years. I do not know that we will ever recover fully from the exposure of the deep vein of hatred and prejudice that runs through our society - on all sides and from all kinds. I don't know that the pain of epithets and name calling such as came from the mouth  of Heat player Meyers Leonard will ever go away, the pain of history returning time and time again. We Jews wonder if it will ever stop.

The bill is costly. It will increase the national debt. But it will also lead to more revenues that can be used to offset this rise. Certainly, it is better than the giveaway Trump did. Certainly there will be economic benefit from a healthier society, where there is access to healthcare, from a society eager to return to work, to restore as normal a life as possible. And yes, the gas prices are rising and will continue to do so, but there is a good fact underlying that. It is the optimism that society will be going full blast again, people driving to work, taking road trips, going to the malls, and the demand on the supply will lead to higher prices. But then again, we will also have an administration that is working hard on other forms of energy, rather than denying the need for it. 

No one has ever said or proven that life and progress are easy. No one has ever successfully denied the fact that hard work is necessary if we are to maintain a good and decent society. No one denies that we will have to overcome this drastic split among Americans, turn the GOP inside out, restoring moral courage to those who have so dangerously lost their own. The partisanship must stop or at least cut some of the bitterness and the unthinking behavior that automatically causes negativity in voting.

It will not be easy as we try to rebuild, as we try to develop a more equitable society. We will have to be careful that we do not go overboard in making corrections, such as the stupidity with Dr, Seuss, the Potato Head family and now with Dumbo and Peter Pan!! Excess on either side is not good. We must be careful and keep to a middle path as much as possible, recognize that society and people will never ever reach perfection.

Forward and backwards. Steps taken and steps lost. Missteps. And steps of great promise. Let us make it so.

 

REDEMPTION

      We have all done things in our lives that remain with us forever. They are often moments when we did something truly beneath decency, caught in the moment, wished undone almost as soon as it took place. Strangely enough, the moment is often not marked by the person offended against, only within the heart and soul of the offender. If we are lucky, or careful enough in our deeds and words, we do not have too many of these moments, but even one is too much. And redemption is often not enough to erase the bitter taste it leaves in one's heart.

Redemption is exactly what we need now as  a nation. We have so alienated each other, so offended each other, that we need to pause and take stock. We need to check the rear view mirror for errors in our recent driving, and evaluate where this driving is taking us in future endeavors. At times there will be moments of aha! Recognition and acceptance of these egregious errors and then moments of true redemption or at least attempts to do so.

Yet I wonder. Is redemption possible in all cases. The elderly Nazi who watched Jews die, marched them off to their deaths, who now complains that he is too old for punishment, that it happened too long ago. Anyway it was not really his fault he says, and somehow he never saw anything untoward, to say the least and certainly did not participate in anything. Truly a miracle! So can this man be said to be capable of redemption, or even show some sign of recognition of his sins? And how do we know what is real and what is convenient?

Come closer in time to deeds of the days. Besides the fact that Meghan Markle is not the first person of mixed race in British royalty, as a former Queen came from a Portuguese branch of the Spanish royal family that had African heritage in its background. And who cares! Is it not time that we all woke up, that we all accepted life and people for who they are, what they do or represent via actions, and not by what they look like, which is dumb enough!!? Does it really matter in the short or long run of it if Baby Archie has lighter or darker skin tone? Really!! Is there redemption for this attitude, for these hurtful and denying remarks? I am not too sure of that.

And we arrive at the now shockingly unfolding truths coming out of January 6. Bombs. Planned attacks. Communications. Homicidal plans. A true attempt to overthrow this government,  this country, in  a storm of blood and violence, a blitz of a kind not seen in  a Western country since the putsch attempt of Hitler. The growing attempts to deny, or accept the goals of it, the trying to deny it as an attempted coup but rather a 'riot'. The gall of those such as Hawley and other 'neath the skin Fascists. The heaps and heaps of awful truths coming out under the investigation and the wonder, for if all this is so clearly there, then why the hell was it not remarked upon and prepared for or stopped in its tracks before it even happened?

Was it because there were officials in the government, in the army, in the Oath Keepers who wished for it to succeed and did all they could to insure its success? Did Trump involve himself in these plans with his mouth and with his appointments to key positions, to his demands that people be loyal to him, rather than to the country? Is there even any redemption for these actions, for these sins against the nation? Can one be forgiven for being a traitor, for demanding the blood of others in their treasonous actions?

These are serious questions and give rise to others. Is someone like Greene not a traitor as well, with her behavior and stalling, with her disgusting and open prejudice? Is there room for a Hawley, a Cruz, a Scalise, in an American government? Is there room for moral weaklings, for those who sell their souls for power and wealth, like McConnell? Is there, in effect, no end to the dangers to our country and how do we deal with them without losing our own souls and chances for redemption?

Not so simple. Confusing. Demoralizing. Disenchanting. Illusion busting. But part of life. Where and how do we draw a line, a beyond the pale situation? Wish I knew and had all the answers. But I do not and confess that what I do have is an element of fear that was not there five years ago. And who will do the redemption for that? Who will lead a national atonement and reconciliation that is so necessary if we are to move forward in a positive manner? Are we even open for that? 

"NOPE. NOT GONNA HAPPEN."

      And there it is. The state of American politics today, our miserable state of being that does not bode well for the future. Middle of the road politicians have hung up their gun belts. They are retiring, tired of their losing battles, tired, I guess, of losing their spines as they caved to Trump and his bunch of hate promoting creeps. Democratic possibilities are refusing in droves to take up the baton and run their leg of the races. They are too happy in their new jobs, away from the pressure, the filth, the struggles. And who is left at the gate, lost, left bereft of help? We are. The people of America. Those who prefer sanity and humanity as opposed to hatred and filth.

When Claire McCaskill was asked if she would run again for an empty seat, her response was: " But I will never run for office again. Nope. Not gonna happen. Never. I am so happy I feel guilty sometimes," She lost to that creep, Hawley in her race and has had enough. She is copied by too many others. We are left with self selecting morally vacant creeps, like Junior, who ignores his own father's disgusting sexual peccadilloes and calls Cuomo "groper in chief".

 Pots and kettles here, folks, and when are we ever going to leave the schoolyard mentality behind and grow up? When are we going to stop allowing the GOP bullies to steal our lunch money and push their way through? Will we ever succeed in fixing our mess if no one steps up to the plate anymore? That is, other than the low level GOP candidates or Democrats like Sinema who is just beyond words!

Pelosi had it right when she stated that "the enemy is within". Representative Zoe Lofgren published a 2,000 page report documenting the statements of Republican members of Congress matching and fitting in with the rebels and traitors of January 6, our own within ourselves Day of Infamy. Our own supposed public servants planning and plotting to overthrow the government which they are supposed to serve loyally and uphold their oaths. Evidently this is "not gonna happen".

Weird conspiracy plots and accusations. Stranger than strange accusations. Rumors splashed all over the social media by over the top crazies believed and bruited about as the truth! So evidently Hillary is on her way to Guantanamo to be questioned after she was arrested in secret on March 2 by eight Seals under the command of the former president, Trump! I kid you not. And people take this as gospel truth. So wrong in so many ways. She is fine. She cannot be arrested on orders of Trump who has none anymore. Never happened. "Not gonna happen". And when the hell will we wake up and understand that we are in existential danger from these demented followers of that dangerous creep deep in the throes of his own dementia!

If this situation were not so sad, so dangerous, I would be laughing all the day long. But unfortunately we need to wake up and realize that truly, the inmates are running the joint, gaining ever more power, attempting to sabotage all the plans of rebuilding, all the progress that we have made under Biden so far, all the attempts to repair the damage done by Trumpian residents, if it can ever be fixed in the first place. It seem as if we are living out the classic allegorical Batman story of Arkham Manor and that is quite an unappetizing thought.

So where do we go from here? Do we ignore the crazies or are they too deeply implanted within us to ignore? How do we fight and defeat the traitors such as Hawley, the dangerous morons like Cruz, the insane ones like Graham, the weaklings like McConnell, the turncoats like McCarthy? Wish I had the plans in duplicate, but this is way, way, above my pay grade. All I can do is speak out, call out, and hope that enough people hear.

"Not gonna happen." But is that true and what is the topic? Is the overthrow never gonna happen or is the future of America as it should be never gonna happen? The choice is ours, but it is getting late in the day to make the choice. If we allow others, those "enemies within" to make the choice for us, then woe upon us. 

Think I jumped the shark here in my fears? I refer you back to January 6. I refer you back to March 4. I refer you back to the statements of supposed loyal American political leaders. I refer you back to all my warnings and predictions that came true. I refer you back to reality. Now choose.

CRACKS IN THE WALL

      One character explained to another that there are cracks in walls, the walls of life. We are often in positions where we seem trapped, but there are these cracks that we must recognize, difficult as that might be. That crack is the opportunity to move on, to do better, to be a better person. It is the time when a person resists the temptation to get the immediate satisfaction of a mean statement or the release of a secret. It is a time when one grows up - though some people never do.

I wondered at that theory of life. How many of us wander through life, bouncing off this idea or that, taking petty revenge rather than moving on, being blind to the opportunity that lay before us as we ignored the crack in the wall and persisted in our negative behavior. If we ignored that crack, if we were blind to it, do we get an opportunity to find another one?

I then took an evaluative look at current events. Unfortunately, it seemed that instead of us finding that opportunity, that crack that allows us to move on, to grow, to correct errors, we consistently fall into the trap of choosing to remain within those stifling walls. We put false faces on the same old destructive behavior and think we have successfully managed to fool the world, including ourselves.

Lindsay Graham turned into some monster possessed with a new fervor to become a fierce devotee of Trump. He displayed some of the most frightening faces ever as he ranted on and raved on, all to support Trump, leaving behind the positive crack in the wall even as he bashed new ones, destructive ones. Now for the best part - he claims Trump has "magic", is magic, is the savior of the Republican party. Lord help us. What is his magic? Is it the rotting odor that arises from hatred? Is it the rending of the country, magic in the power to do that? Is it the magic Trump seems to have as he skates through life avoiding consequences?

We all seem to have lost our way, become blind to the opportunities of positive effect as we lose ourselves somewhere not in a good way.  People have no patience, allow politics to take over issues of health and everyday life, and yesterday there was a massive fight in a Bath and Body Works store, and one wonders at the 'magic' that now pervades this country, at the loss of vision of the population, of their inability to move on, to pick themselves up and carry on in a constructive manner.

We appear to want it all without taking responsibility, like toddlers who cannot understand cause and effect. A Georgia family takes on a heavily involved role in organizing transport to DC on Jan. 6, are physically caught up in the day's activities, and when called out about it, sues the one who mentioned it!! Seems it is now fashionable and allowable to do whatever one wishes and then bow out from the consequences, playing the 'who, me?' game of children sent to the principal. Is this the magic that Graham so admires? This is the same type of magic and admiration that led to a Hitler. It is the same magic that leads to unthinking lock step behavior - no thinking, no morals, no morality, only lockstep obedience to negativity and nastiness.

Life has changed. Like the character in the Walking Dead, confused, demoralized, who states that it “feels different, like everything good in the world is not on our side anymore.",  we are missing the cracks in the wall that are there before us, but also demand better vison, better thinking, and lots of hard work. She is told that if that is the case, well, we rebuild again. But today we seem to have lost that heretofore American get-go, that optimism, that energy, that attitude that allowed us to pick ourselves up and try again. It enabled us to find the crack in the wall with the positive ending, rather than to bash ourselves against the wall in insane behavior.

Folks, we need to find the cracks in the wall, the opportunities that lay before us, if only we  recognize them. We need to fix the apparent cracks in our heads, in our faulty thinking, in our humanity. And I sigh as I contemplate this increasingly ever more impossible task, so deeply are we mired in the wrong way of life, in the blindness of hatred, in the denial of the humanity of all. When 56 years after we pass a Voting Rights Act, long overdue then, we find ourselves fighting this same battle, well, wake up, folks. The cracks in the walls are closing even as the cracks in the firmament of America grow apace. We need to recognize the differences and choose appropriately. Can we? Will we? Do we even want to?

Answers? Anyone? Someone?

56 YEARS LATER

     It has been 56 years from Bloody Sunday, the day of the Selma march. Dogs, hoses, batons, brute force, blatant hatred - all unleashed on the marchers for civil rights be they Black, White, man, woman or even child.100 years after the end of slavery, and rights to live as people still being denied. Twenty years after WWII and the horrific concentration camps, and here we were in America, doing the same things - beating on people for who they are, for the color of their skin, for their daring to ask for equality.

And what have we learned in the 56 years that passed since then? Not a great deal - that is for sure. Hundreds of bills passed in Republican dominated state legislatures, all attempting to restrict voting rights, access to the polls, all aimed at possible Democratic oriented voters. 56 years later and what have we learned!!! What the hell are we doing? What are we allowing to happen? Why do we think it okay to move backwards in time and attitudes?

The outrageous backwards movements of people in our country encouraged people to attempt to overthrow the government in a violent upheaval on Jan. 6 and on ridiculous but dangerous visions of success on March 4, May 20, or whatever other dates they can conceive of in their benighted and deluded world. Now that these attempts failed, Carlson goes on to sing a paean of praise for them, for QANON adherents, the same ones who bashed the police, who trashed the Capitol, who hunted for victims, shouting threats to kill and even prepared a noose! But Tucker Carlson calls them "gentle people waving the American flag". Wonder if the families of the dead and the wounded will back that up.

These Big Lies continue to grow in amount and depth of gall. We even have the 'I am an orphan' defense. An 18 year old claimed that he learned his lesson and he will never do it again, never trash and invade the Capitol, never be seen inside the chambers with his looted swag or hold a baton at the ready. 2,000 pages of election related tweets and postings by Republicans re the election and the denial of the Biden victory. Acknowledgement of the role Trump played, inciting all with his violent language. This young man claims to have learned his lesson, promising he will be a good boy from now on, ignore the urgings of Trump to fight and 'take back' the country. After all, he never had left his parents before!! Really!! Allow me to do my damage and then make excuses, like the orphan on trial for killing his parents!! Claims his short stay in prison awaiting trial has taught him his lesson and isn't that what jail is for!! Gotta' love it!

There has been no lesson learned at all. 43 state legislatures are busy at work attempting to restrict rights. The denial of the truth grows apace. People try to draw a line between the language used and the actions taken, but there is no line. Words speak loudly. Words encourage people to either right or wrong and well, we know what happened. Amazingly they now say, see nothing happened on March 4 so ease up the security. Well, nothing happened because of the security, because of the lesson learned on January 6. Hear that orphan cry again?

"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship." So states a character in Little Women and so must we all realize and state the same. We must learn to sail our own ships. We must learn to distinguish between right and wrong, between truth and lies. We must learn to ignore falsehoods that support twisted beliefs and learn to walk with the truth. If we do not, well, you think ahead and see if you like the picture that you see. Always remember to include the fact that hatred never ends, knows no boundaries, and is always hungry, opening a maw filled with the fires of that hatred and death.

56 years later and this statement is still pertinent. The monsters of this statement are still around, perhaps even within our own selves and/or those we love or know. Neighbors who will stand aside or participate, friends who turn into enemies. Read and think.

"What is revealed to us as the conscious mind is no more than a flicker in the flames of the subconscious. Beneath our awareness lies a forest of terrors, of all the darkness of nature. In rare individuals, these ghostly drives break free and monsters climb out of the abyss."

(The Psychology of the Subconscious Drives, by Dr. Nicolas H. Lagrand) 

I fear the petty monsters that join forces when emboldened by these leader monsters. Happened before and can happen again. It has been said that  a person does not step into the same river twice, and yet think how often we repeat the horrors and wrongs of history. Perhaps we refuse to recognize that same river or do not even care or worse, wish for it.

56 years later. Bloody Sunday. Bloody Jan. 6.

NEANDERTHALS CALLING

     So I gather there is to be a convention of Neanderthals to protest Biden's remarks re the thinking of the Republican governors who evidently have not yet assimilated the dangers of the pandemic. Apparently, they are upset at the insult! Taking the words from the creep who put his feet up on Pelosi's desk, they say, "Not fair!". For sure I feel their pain. Who in this world wants to be compared to GOP members, those spineless, morally vacant people? Who wants to be seen as unthinking and uncaring people who fail in their responsibilities towards their constituents?

Seriously, what is the matter with these people? Truly, have they been living in a cave all this time, Neanderthal level living and they have not seen nor understood the deadliness of this pandemic? Half a million dead is not enough? Do we need to take their clubs and hit them over the head with them in order to at least gain their attention?

 In the meanwhile, frustrated in their plans for March 4, the new claim is now March 20, some other anniversary date important to these fanatics, these traitors. It seems as if every time they will be unable to meet their own deadlines for overthrowing the government, they will find another day, yet another anniversary, yet another attempt to be traitors to the land they claim as their own. Well, screw them and their pathetic plans and by the way, has anyone seen Jared? Ivanka? Oh, well, no loss there!

Same old, same old continues as Trump insists he is going to win for a third time, once again displaying his lack of intellectual capacity, and Pence insists on forgetting that he was to be killed, and jumps onto the bandwagon of this crap spewed forth from the mouth of Trump. Weird, but then again.... In any case, at this point, there is more angst over the possible ending of Grey's Anatomy or the death of Dr, Grey, than over the pathetic plans of Trump. As for me, I am just waiting for the movies in Palm Beach County to open up again. You know, the important things in life.

And life goes on. Here in CV we have an election today that hardly anyone knows about. David does not even write of it on his pathetic blog and what does that say about him and his plans? So remember, if you are a voting delegate, get out there and vote. 8 to 10:30 at the Clubhouse. Make sure to add Olga to our VP list as she will crack open the thick covering over the dealings of UCO and expose them to the light of day. About time!!

What a crazy world. Senators and Congressmen behave as children and that is an insult to children, actually. Rand Paul pays more attention to the carefully placed curls on his forehead than to the import of the necessities of laws to be passed. Ron Johnson continues in his efforts to stall the government and to hell with the needs of the people. So impressive!

Think I will go read a book. Far more satisfaction there than in the observation of the Neanderthals of today, or the tantrums of the rebels as they whine about their punishments. Crime and time, remember that old adage. Behave accordingly and stop whining when you are caught. Or read a book in the first place and avoid the whole problem. Even Neanderthals know that.