One simple word. One syllable containing the cure to much of society's ills. One syllable which has glaringly been missing from the lexicon of too many retrogressive thinkers. Actually, the question is whether these people think at all. True thought process requires looking into consequences, future benefits or snags. Too many do not complete that process, or worse, is they see the future and love it!

We are standing on a terribly fragile cliff's edge. We are there because we have made so many, many, misguided and plain wrong, ignorant - or purposeful - turns and decisions. Now we are left with a do or die situation. The outcome? Up in the air, nothing really good about the situation. We can stand still and hope there is a miracle. Or we turn around, face the rising numbers of political and social buffalos heading directly at us. Or we jump.

 What is at the bottom of that fall is unknown. We will find out if we have a soft or hard landing only when the dust clears and the situation evaluated. Who has survived? What have these survivors brought along on their drastic fall? What did they feel would be of greatest value or meant the most to them? Only then will we know if we have met with success or have met with final irreparable disaster.

 More and firmer use of that syllable NO would and could have averted this turn of events. NO to filthy thinking, to thoughts and actions that divided this country not into two, but into myriad numbers of fractious groups, each squealing their desires, trying to run roughshod over all and everyone else.

 The flapping of foolish, yet dangerous, tongues, along with the flapping and snapping flags in the hurricane strength winds have deafened us, blinded us. In our obsession with red flags, blue flags, we never recognized the absence of white flags. These were the flags which would have signaled a willingness to surrender to sense, an awareness of the existential danger rushing at us, at our country.  Those third color flags are necessary but glaringly missing. With them, we have our flags of the Red, White, and Blue- our national flag, our unity. Lacking white flags, equal to the number of red and blue flags, is imminent disaster. The point of no return will rush at us in increasing speed. Unless and until we realize, internalize, deep into our national blood and tissues, of the utter necessity of Red, White, and Blue flags, well, follow the bouncing ball.

The resultant tune, and chaos will bring us to an end. The very air around us will ring with the cries of the Founding Fathers, the agonized screams of those who fought and died for this country, the moans of those brave immigrants who built this country, who had great hopes of and for this country. Gone.

Why gone? Because we were so embroiled in our game of chicken, that we never saw the fox charging at us. We ignored the brutal slaying of children, of people at prayer, of people living life. We refused to see that if we did not institute gun control, ban weapons of war from the hands of civilians, we would follow that dead end road until we finally reached that crumbling cliff edge.

Why cannot we say NO to gun proliferation? Why can we not shout from the mountain tops that lives of children far outweigh the mistaken 'right' to own murderous weapons. When do we say NO to venal politicians who are hypocrites, crying crocodile tears as they pretend to mourn the needless deaths even as they shake hands and share beds with gun advocates? Why are we so blind to the increasing deterioration of the road we have chosen, the suicidal leap awaiting us? Why?

Either we act promptly and meaningfully, putting aside those who spout the ugly excuse that the killer was legally entitled to buy those tools of death, or we condemn ourselves and our country - and inevitably the world as well - to final death, certainly of life as we know it - or knew it. 

NO to those who advocate accepting schools and the children within as legitimate targets which need strengthening! NO to those who push for more guns as the antidote. Think of the excitement every day, then the boredom, as we have duels at noon on every street corner, 24/7/365. Think of the uncertainty of life and the brutalization of that life which would be - and indeed are becoming - true.

Enough already. Throw out those who spout falsehoods, reams of 'sympathetic' words which contain no value at all, other than danger. Demand that we remove the growing threat of violent and determined efforts to overthrow our government, our system of democracy. Deny those who would invoke the name of G-d, to worship at the feet of false gods, as they justify the wrong, the so massively wrong!

NO!!! NO! ENOUGH! PLEASE?

The blood of our brothers and sisters, the blood of our children, cry out from the blood soaked grounds upon which they fell.

We ARE our brothers' keepers. 

We ARE the keepers of our own souls. 

ARE YOU FRIGHTENED YET?

  Well, if you aren't, I surely am, as any reasonable, truth acknowledging person would be. No, not those who deny the nose in between the eyes, but rather those who understand truths, realities, as opposed to wishful thinking, hateful thinking, that has brought us to the current state of being. I totally dislike that my called-out warnings about this were correct, for I and mine are equally as subject to the same chaos. There is no escape. It is what it is, our real time situation we must address. To ignore, to deny, to continue our present paths is just plain stupid and harmful beyond all description. If we are to somehow pull that proverbial rabbit out of our now shabby hat, we had better do it NOW, PRONTO. Doubtful, though, very much so.

Headline: Physicists Predict Chaotic Earth.

Ho-hum you say. We know that already. We are already dealing with the crazy weather, with 500-year storms arriving almost monthly or more, with weather out of season, whacked beyond all understanding. Exactly? There is no understanding this phenomenon, a global one, unless we acknowledge that we, the people of earth, in our blind search for more, more, more, we have just about cut our lifelines to the future.

"If the Earth System gets into the region of chaotic behavior, we will lose all hope of somehow fixing the problem." ... "we are now entering a new phase, one driven by human activity. As humans pump more carbon into the atmosphere, we are creating a new Anthropocene era, a period of human-influenced climate systems, something our planet has never experienced before."

Are you shivering in your shoes yet? You certainly should. A new kind of era, driven by human behavior - totally hair raising and fright inducing. A possible extermination event? Maybe, but at the very least, a life changing situation for all. Mad Max off the screen and into reality.

Can we, do we, have the time necessary to fix this, to head it off at the pass? Some say yes, while others say no. I am  pessimistic, find myself in the no camp. Factor in the behavior, - self destructive - of mankind through the ages. Join me? The same people who deny this truth, this rapidly growing danger, are the ones who are following the Pied Pipers of our times through a hole in a mountain with nothing good awaiting, neither there nor outside. 

We have chosen badly again. And again. We never learn our lessons, the catechism of sanity, of appreciation and recognition of the good and bad, the brilliance and the foibles and inanities of mankind. The need to accept others as we wish to be accepted. The need to share this earth with all, to recognize the rights of all. And we do not, manifestly so. Sad to say. Actually, no. Make that tragic. Even more tragic, the insistence time and again that we travel down the dangerous road. 

At the crossroad we ignore the clear, clean swept road which offers opportunities to do the right thing, to achieve good for mankind. Instead we pick that rock strewn, rutted road, the one with the scattered bones of those who passed here previously, falling victim to their foolish choices. We pass wagon after wagon, overturned. We find possessions abandoned along this dreary, dark road. Instead of turning back, we pick up the possessions, burdening ourselves even more, and the darkness of mankind's doom grows darker yet.

Turn back and assess what we have left behind. Scorched earth. Stark forests of burned trees, the air growing heavy with Carbon for lack of trees and greenery. Ditto for the temperature of the earth and its changing climates. We wreak havoc on those we deem our enemies, use barbaric weapons upon  them, ignore every legal definition and posit which govern international relations. We encourage others to do the same as the sinner is rewarded for his egregious sins, if only he will go away. So he does - for now - and soon is back for more, even as others follow his behavior. Why the hell not? What is the downside? A few thousand deaths? Bah! Not important in the scale of benefits! 

I look at my older grandchildren, hear their innocence, their optimism, their deep, earnest desire to fix this world. The clean innocence of their belief in that possibility. I recall when I, too, felt the same, long, long ago. I shouted, I marched, I protested, and as I look back, I see that we are back where we began, perhaps even more so, more enmeshed in the detritus of our behaviors.

We have scorched the earth, burned out the possibilities of reform, in man's behavior and decisions, and for the earth to once again, heave to and fro, and allow us yet another chance. To blow it all again? To do right by Mother Earth? Who the hell knows at this point.

And yet there remains the faint hope that there is another way; we only have to hitch up our pants, use belt and suspenders, and for the sake of all, do the right things. Here are two recent songs, written and sung by their composers, one young, one almost 70. Both contain words of hope, plaintive, almost pleading for people to pay attention. Check them out. Listen to the words; hear the music; feel the voices. Easy enough to find both song and lyrics on YouTube.

One is "Sparrow", by Jordan Smith

 The other is "Beautiful World" by Michael Bolton.

 I must confess that I continue to fall under the spell of such hope, such prayers, that we can pull that reluctant rabbit out of our shrinking, ever more ragged hat. Maybe, though growing dimmer, ever dimmer.

PORTRAITS, COLORS, AND TRUTHS

  A wise character in a novel stated, "No portrait is ever a complete representation of its subject." That theme of portrait, subject and truth is contained in The Picture of Dorian Grey as well. It gives us an eerie, but necessary warning that all that is seen is not necessarily what is truly there. Not at all. What is hidden can, and often does, outweigh the visible 'truth' that we see with our subjective and/or hoodwinked eyes. Even the mind's eye of Plato's cave misunderstands what is seen, what the truth is, has grievous errors in interpretation, leading to despair and death. Death of a body and death of the mind and soul. No truth to the colors seen as they led to errors and fatalities.

For the past three months we have been seeing horrid pictures of a war that never should have been. We see the results of criminal behavior, what never should have been in the first place, as we misthought and misinterpreted the visions, the portraits of life we thought we saw and understood, read correctly. We were and are grossly mistaken. For sure, if we had read the portrait of Putin correctly, checked the colors of Russia, seen the truth of it all, the historical imperatives there for us to use, Ukraine would be presenting a massively differing portrait today.

The portrait of Ukraine has changed, moving from darker colors to lighter, life affirming ones. From a country, an area, where bloody antisemitism was practiced for hundreds of years, it has morphed, changed its colors to ones of acceptance. It is championing democracy, standing in for the nations of the world, giving them a chance to do the right thing, understand the import of the portraits portrayed in our media every day, all day. Whether we will do so remains up in the air, doubt laying a heavy blanket over that possibility.

Closer to home there are other black, threatening colors, portraits of ugliness that should never be. That should long ago have vanished from our art gallery of life, yet unfortunately have returned packing malevolent, deadly thoughts and consequences within its storm clouds, tainted even more by the streaks of red, of blood spilled due to its inner truths. These are truths which some cherish, while others detest. Still others remain in apathy or dull acceptance of whatever the status quo will be. Just leave them alone is their mantra. We love our bread and circus life. Better to ignore the ugly than pay attention to it.

So wrong, so very wrong. How do we allow the ugly color of hatred to blossom and grow in our society? How have we allowed, even encouraged the strength and length of the ugly, deadly, life sapping tentacles to reach this point? How have we allowed our minds and hearts to fall victim, willing victims even, to the ugliness of those portraits, the threatening, demeaning colors? Instead of rejecting these realities, we have instead provided fertile ground for its falsehoods, its evil, to grow apace, natural enemies short of supply and presence. Truly, our portraits in our attics are far uglier than Dorian Gray's in his attic.

Three months into an ugly streak of murderous deaths inflicted upon the unwary, the innocent, all in the name of truth, all accommodated by refusal to see the truth, we continue on our twisted paths. The GOP refuses to outright condemn the proliferation of guns in our society, especially the assault rifle. One Senator whines that assault rifles are great for killing feral pigs so why should the deaths of others take away his legal right to own such a weapon and indulge his tastes.

Why indeed. Since 2009 over 1,500 deaths in mass shootings right here in the good old USA. Countless thousands directly and indirectly affected, mourning, lives changed forever. Why? Because we cannot get our act together, the GOP and its retrogressive members refusing to see the true colors underneath their ugly chosen ones. Where is the right stated to kill via irresponsible, deadly policies of gun control? Where and why have these gun adherents forgotten the two words of the Second Amendment which nullify their rants about their rights. These words, "well regulated" militia, not a freewheeling one composed mainly of extremists, haters, over the top Christians who have little, if any, resemblance to true Christians and Christianity? Why? Wherefore? Whence? 

Worst of all, the components of these crazed groups have actually won seats in governmental bodies within and at every single level. They threaten our democracy, tearing at its roots of equal rights, of access to voting, to overturning results, of suborning lies and violence at every corner. The same group and adherents who willfully, violently, attempted to overthrow the legal government of this nation of ours. Perhaps even more egregious is that so many Americans were willing to defend those actions, cheer them on, support them. 

Sons of Liberty, see how your dreams have been twisted by the haters of today! These are most definitely not defenders of democracy, even as they take advantage of every loophole within the laws that govern democracy. Our job, the responsibility of seekers of truth, as representatives of humanity? As those who would keep a future of possibilities alive? To beat them back, to tamp them and their viperous venomous views and plans deep within the depths of the hell they wish for us.

A difficult undertaking. But what else is left. They have corrupted our basic founding stone of free, legal, peaceful elections and transfer of power. They have refused to recognize the equality, the shared humanity of all peoples, whatever and whoever they are and beliefs they profess. It is not our place to fit all into one pattern, kept that way. Rather we need to allow for differences, for them to be shared, appreciated, and mellowed, our similarities celebrated as well, joining the two worlds in peace.

 Perhaps then we can put an end to the violence, the shocks to the core of humanity that these mass killings send through our souls, bleed and drain our sensibilities, and leave room only for more hatred, more unacceptance, more violence, more bloodshed, a vicious, never-ending cycle of death.

Are you not as tired, as much in despair as I am? Do you think these obscene shootings are to be 'understood', to be dumbed down into mere "evil", a part of life, or caused by 'wokeness' or CRT, or wrong religious beliefs, or too many doors in and out of a school (a la Cruz, the moron) or, best yet - MORE guns!!! The fanatic quest to save the 'life of an unborn human" a fetus, to be truthful - as opposed to saving the lives of countless born, existing, in black, white and red, not fetuses, but actual beings? Who has given them the right, the might, to kill all who disagree with them? To demonize them? To call down the wrath of the  Lord upon them? As if they represent G-d on earth, His personal messengers. What is with all this extremism, the poison it has injected deep within the foundations and roots of America and the world as well. Surely we can improve our timing, our planning and responses, far better than those of the not so responding police in the latest horror.

I believe it was Madonna who sang of True Colors shining through. Perhaps we need to rehear and re-sing those words? Better yet, read the following, allowing it to sink into your every atom. Written by Amanda Gorman, the Nation's young poet. I cannot say it better than that. We all should be hurting.

HYMN FOR THE HURTING

Everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed and strange,
Minds made muddied and mute.
We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.
And yet none of it is new;
We knew it as home,
As horror,
As heritage.
Even our children
Cannot be children,
Cannot be.

Everything hurts.
It’s a hard time to be alive,
And even harder to stay that way.
We’re burdened to live out these days,
While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.

This alarm is how we know
We must be altered —
That we must differ or die,
That we must triumph or try.
Thus while hate cannot be terminated,
It can be transformed
Into a love that lets us live.

May we not just grieve, but give:
May we not just ache, but act;
May our signed right to bear arms
Never blind our sight from shared harm;
May we choose our children over chaos.
May another innocent never be lost.

Maybe everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed & strange.
But only when everything hurts
May everything change.

"WE'RE DYING OUT HERE!"

 So cried a grieved Uvalde woman, a plaintive cry from the center of her soul to the very depths of every ion of her body. Why is that happening, why do the politicians do nothing, why, why, why? Is it stupidity? Is it the dark unstated feeling that well, it is okay, for most of the victims in these mass shootings are members of "other" groups? 

Is it the sheer hardness of heart which amounts to the attitude of collateral damage, that it is okay for children to die in the name of Second Amendment rights?  How awful if that were so. And yet that is the feeling one gets upon hearing the vehement, outraged cries of those demanding their right to possess assault and semi assault weapons, to freely purchase multiple weapons and ammunition, and use it at will. If people die, well at least the Second Amendment is hale and hearty! Right? No, so very, very wrong. 

What is to be done with an idiot serving in Congress, evidently enough people out there agreeing with her politics and mindless or accepting of her dangerous lack of knowledge and coherent thought. All meshed with her egregious racist feelings well voiced too many, many times.

She says: "When 9/11 happened, we didn't ban planes, we secured the cockpits,"

I must add here that as a resident of NYC at that time I walked there, breathed, saw the ashes, the burnt papers, the posters of the missing, answered the numerous seekers of those missing, those pulverized members of families, friends, loved ones. No, it was not just "some" people and "a bunch of planes".

It was asked: "We've all seen how quickly and creatively Texas – your local legislature – can act when it wants to, say, protect the unborn embryo. Why not act with that alacrity to protect living, breathing 10-year-olds in this school behind me?"

No answers forthcoming. The ears of those who should be listening are stopped up with their own putrid shouts and rants. I, too, believe in the Second Amendment, I own a gun, legally purchased after fingerprinting, an investigation by the FBI and whatever rules were necessary to follow in the process. Why the hell not? Nothing to hide, no nefarious purposes, only in the hope that it never be used. But an assault rifle? Repetitious purchase? No process a must, with gun ownership easy for those who should most definitely not have a firearm in their possession, oddly enough having too many!

Even as the local paper printed its May 26 issue, its front page dark, deep black blank page, other than the large contrasting white print: MAY 24,2022.  Even as a woman cried out asking what they are doing, the elected by them, responsible to them, why this happens again and again and again, so many times that the shell of indifference, a ho hum again is heard, and life goes on for those not involved.

But we are all involved. There is something most definitely wrong in the world today, not only here in America. Other countries boast that the USA is the worst in mass shootings. But they each have their own tragic situations. They all sit there reading the papers, listening to the news, check the media, comfortably out of harm's way as they relish the deaths of enemy soldiers, admire the sacrifices of Ukrainian citizens, fighting, literally to death, their very existence a challenge to Putin. Treated accordingly by Russian soldiers still, after all these centuries, proponents of horrid, criminal behavior as the occupiers. No, we are all involved. All living under the dark clouds of man's continued inhumanity towards man, the callous indifference to death by violence, unwarranted, with apparently lack of long-term interest in finding a solution, at least a beginning, to the complex issue at hand - gun control. Sane and safe. Fair and protective of the rights of all.

Rather than 'bother' with the complex nitty gritty of the matter, we seek out other explanations for these recurring tragedies. We seek others upon which to lay blame, convincing them to accept blame where none exists. No, those two girls in touch with the killer were not to blame. The adults are to blame. Questions are raised with no answers. Evasion of truth, a lack of fulfilling responsibilities. All of that rather than truth and positive preventive, proactive intervention and prevention. But no, we continue to allow our children to die. Or shoppers in markets and local stores, our show goers, our innocents walking on a street, taking a subway, voicing an opinion counter to the owner of that assault rifle.

Congresswoman Tenney says it is not as simple as saying we have a gun problem. She is correct if it is an acknowledgement of a deep rift in our society, a fragmentation and fraying of the safety blanket of society. We have allowed this to happen, even perhaps encouraging it ourselves. At times it made life easier, but now we reap the consequences.

We have GOP politicians who cannot see the forest of the country for the blinding trees of the "enemy" - those Democratic Party members who must be opposed because - simply because. 

We have corrupt people, of all layers of society, from the local street cleaner to the bar owner, to the industrialists, to the highest ranks of officials, who deny the truth, twist it till it cries out in pain and surrender. We cringe, but do nothing when war crimes once again, ever and aways, are committed, leaving behind, as the detritus of society, the bodies, the hopes and dreams, the humanity we have shrugged off, rejected as inconvenient. We ignore the squishing of blood in the soaked lands of the globe. We ignore the murder of children even as they are recruited as soldiers, used as pawns, become the victims of the wars of adults.

Is the situation hopeless? I truly do not know at this point, but it must be stated that the proverbial half-filled or half empty glass grows ever emptier. Politicians grow ever more brazenly corrupt, denying it all, and yet there it is. And there is, too, our not only acceptance of it, but also, most astoundingly, our admiration for and of that sin against us, of the sinners themselves, for it is nothing less than that. What have we done and what are we continuing to do?

Yes, we are indeed dying out here, in so many, many ways. In so many unnecessary ways. Why do we spend so much on needless overkill weapons when we should better solve the underlying problems of society instead, obviating the need for macho play at work, turning, inevitably to war? Again, and again. And again.

People say we are making deals with the Devil. Or is it that the Devil is actually us? We need to check our mirrors for the answer to that, look deep inside that reflection. Or is that a needless step as the truth is already known to us, much as we would deny it.

How do we dare call upon G-d to be on our side when G-d has no part in it? We need to call upon ourselves. We were given the tools to do just that, but we have allowed those tools to turn rusty with disuse, turning instead to twisted tools which bring about twisted results. 

We pervert religion to our needs, becoming extreme in our determination to run things as WE see fit; as we cast cynical eyes and 'beliefs' around, which are actually not true to origin or purpose. Christians become Christianists, using religion as a tool to beatdown others. In Judaism its members forget that we are all one, allowing levels of observance become harmful separation points. Buddhists and Hindus, Moslems within themselves, divided again, by questions of belief, in the same religion. If we cannot find peace amongst ourselves, how can we find, establish parameters of a peaceful, just, fair society, a productive one, allowing for a truly enlightened society which has much to overcome at present, even more so in the future.

We are indeed dying on our dying planet. Continue on our present self-destructive path and we will have to worry for not much longer. The next Mad Max movie, in production, now, will prove to be superfluous, for we will be living it in full Technicolor.

Life or Death. Choose. The choice is real.

BEG YOUR PARDON?! SAY WHAT?

  I wonder, I really do, whether we are attached to reality here or our tethers have slipped, allowing the worst inanities to slip on through. The mother of the killer - I refuse to use that meaningless word "shooter"- expressed surprise at his obscene rampage through the lives of so many, too many. She stated that he was not a violent person. Coulda' fooled me -and evidently continues to fool lots of others. Although, sad to say, perhaps they are not fooled, merely heedless of the lives of others. She "knew" her son so well, that she bought this newly 18-year-old son a stuffed Snoopy for his birthday. Uh, anyone out there sense something a tad off kilter?

Worse is the continuation of her blind, grossly stupid, vapid statement. "The children had no part in this". Say what? Really, when 19 of them, vainly tried to be protected by two slain teacher heroines, were themselves killed, murdered, in cold blood by this apparently Snoopy loving, gun loving excuse for a human being. No part in it?! Would that their part in it were truly not there!

It is that rhetoric that brought us to this point, yet another mass shooting, multiples of them, in the two consecutive months of April and May. We mourn as a nation. We weep as a nation for these bereft parents and community. We shudder at the shattered lives, the ever - increasing circles of those affected by these grim pictures of reality. We toss and turn through the sleepless nights, wondering, 'who is next, where is safe, should I lock my kids up to keep them safe'? Is there indeed, any safety for anyone at all, anywhere at all.

What we tragically, mule headedly, refuse to do as a nation is get a grip on ourselves, remove ourselves from the political realm into the world of humanity, and discuss the 'gun issue' as termed by a Texan GOP legislator. Here are his words. Straight from the rear end of a horse.

"You know politicians divide us. Leaders unite us. And we need to be united right now, as Americans, because what happened in Uvalde, Texas, can happen anywhere," Gonzales continued. "And we have to be united in protecting our children against that."

Even as he refuses to discuss that issue. The time is never right for these hypocritical blowhards. So forget his statements of unity and protection, Not worth a plugged nickel.

If we cannot discuss it now, then when? Ever? Do we bide our time, wait for the horrid images to fade from memory, pushed aside by, oh, yet more mass shootings, defile these slaughtered kids by discounting their deaths? Or do we know deep within our hearts and souls, that this is indeed the time for discussion - and action - on the 'issue', such a bland, understated word. When, dear G-d, when, do we act, do we finally penetrate the stone hearts, the ossified brains, of those who refuse gun control, who weep crocodile tears as they hypocritically bemoan the victims, and then spout invective into the already superheated atmosphere of the country? Truly, when is enough, enough?! Is there ever going to be such a time or are we already too late?!

In the same day's news stories, we read the threatening statement of yet another 'wonderful' legislator from the benighted state of Florida. Addressed to Biden, "try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place," 

Truly, what is the matter with us? Is it the water? The very air we breathe? The overuse of chemicals inimical to hearts and souls, paralytic of the brain? Why is it that so many men need to hold on to 'things' to prove their manhood to themselves and others? Cars. Guns. Flying fists. Knives. Bar fights. Road rage. When? When, for the sake of all that's holy and right?! When? Ever?

It pains me to write that perhaps we have indeed passed the point of no return. We read of a mentally shattered associative disorder suffering Herschel Walker, consumed by irrational hatreds, openly known to be wrong for the job, yet he won the primary. We wonder at the lack of thought of the voters, shrugging shoulders and saying, well, if that's all we got, we will vote for him. Never mind that the Democratic candidate is so glaringly better for the district, for the country. Partisanship has reared its excessive, corrosive head and we merrily march on, continuing our masochistic path. We never learn, or is it that we learn the wrong things, take away the incorrect point of the lessons, the damned bloody lessons!!!

We need fewer 'experts' who crawl out of the compost heaps of the nation and spout their harmful nonsensical pronouncements. Worse than useless, they shore up the benighted of the country, enable sick individuals to buy guns, rifles, knives, ammo,  shoot their way into history - over the dead bodies of so many innocents. 

We need more of those who would rather stick to the job needed, recognize the necessities and step up to the plate. They take on the hard job of trying to reach people, not resign in a justified, yet bad for us, sense of despair. We need new blood like Michigan's Mallory McMorrow who spoke to the point, had her fellow State Senators listen in silence. Would that the rest of our politicians, our residents, would sit and listen as well. Would that we could clone her, ship her around wherever needed - so many places.

No part in it? Absolutely not. We are complicit indeed in these continuing hours and days and months of horror, of bloody slaughter. If we insist on remaining supportive of excessive Second Amendment interpretation, or simply sit there in silence, deaf to the cries, unseeing of the tears, falsely ignorant of the bloody, contorted bodies of the victims, well, our shoulders will bow under the weight of our complicity and guilt.

Brutally honest; brutally - but truthfully.

Will that ever be understood? 

No, no more begging pardons. Let the guilt and the consequences fall upon those who court it, and even defend it. Their bad, not mine. Hopefully, not yours either.

NUMBERS MATTER

 Many people believe that numbers are just that - cold, emotionless bits and bytes of data, with no value other than presenting facts. Merely facts. Without human emotion. Those who believe this are so, so wrong. While numbers can be made to lie, they more often represent the cold, hard facts of a shameful situation- or the other way around.

 We can take pride in the numbers which showcase aid sent to Ukraine by governmental and NGO entities. We can take pride in achieving a victory of sorts over Covid, with fewer deaths. We can be ashamed of other numbers and what they represent. The coin of numerical data has two sides.

30,573

21+10 +11+ to infinity

What are those numbers, those standing alone, above? These are numbers of shame, of gross negativity and inhumanity. They represent in a small, yet so overwhelmingly large at the same time, the depths of depravity to which a supposed advanced, cultured, civilized society can still, continue, to do, to even applaud.

30,573 are the numbers of lies told by Trump, before the Washington Post gave up counting. The Big Lie, the one tearing, shredding, this country to bits, is separate and above. Lovely!!

The line of numbers is even more horrific, for it is literally, presented in full living horror, of bodies on floors, contorted in sudden, painful death, and so, so many of them children, the most hopeful segment of society. If we kill them off, we are killing our future. Hitler knew that. Stalin knew that. The Jewish children were targeted, and Russian children were indoctrinated. And it keeps on, a rather shameful, don't you think, tradition of this world and its varied centers of "civilization". So why the hell does this keep happening? 

Why were 21 bodies counted yesterday, with many more wounded in hospitals, 19 of the dead little children, in the same category of unthinkable, though it indeed happened, as Sandy Hook, for these were children of grades 2-4. These are the 'cute' segment of school populations, the little brothers and sisters, the pioneer oldest children, the child who leads parents, interpreting for them as they do not yet speak English. These are our vulnerable. They are the vulnerable points of our society. Why, why, do we then persist in allowing, even encouraging acts of this violence, this horror beyond all words, to occur? Why?!

Why, because we are mired in a rather senseless argument which has turned more violent each and every day. It has become politicized beyond all rationality. It is the subject, the grim presence of guns in our society. It is the ease with which they can be obtained. It is the casual coldness of the heart and hands of the holder of those guns. It is the puzzling question of why we allow our political hypocrites to bemoan, to wail, over those bodies, crying how ugly, how sad, how it must not be tolerated ... so where the hell is gun control.

It is nowhere. It is denounced by those such as Abbott whose constituents are now dead. At ages 7,8,9,10. No future for them. No future for the parents. No future for our riven, broken society. Not unless and until we straighten ourselves out. There will always be illegal guns around, but if there were fewer of them, if the opportunity to get them were limited, then many of these sick impulses of shooters would not be implemented.

It behooves us, as well, to instill a sense of shared humanity within our people, particularly among our future - our children. Instead, we are worrying, sniping at each other, poisonous invective spewing forth, falling upon and into the ears and hearts of our children. When can we stop the insane political arguments going on as to whether to teach CRT, a rather pointed program, right and wrong at one and the same time? When can we stop ignoring the values and contributions of other societies, those different from us, yet again, the same, sharing values? When can we stop insisting upon pointing to our differences, rather than similarities? Why do we share time and space for a professor touting the fact of "colorism", valued according to skin complexion, to features? Enough! How about pointing out that we all have one nose, two eyes, two kidneys, one heart, a pair of lungs, and one brain with which to think and keep pure.

Why do we tolerate spoilers such as Manchin, so hypocritical in so many ways? How do I count them? I do not, merely mourn their existence, and his continued spoiler presence as an elected Senator. He says he "would do anything I can" to pass "common sense" laws, legislation - yet refuses to end the filibuster for that, he states, would make this country insane. Ah, point of information, dear hypocrite - this country has already gone insane. To wit: our elections and the candidates within the systems, especially those of the GOP.  'Nuff said? 

Gun control. Politicized, despised, Supreme Court and the six retrograde justices, a true misnomer. Mass shootings. The resulting pain immutable, forever etched into the hearts of those bereft and etched into our national psyche as well. Food insecurity. Housing out of reach for too many. Abortion, the right to choose, weaponized, all the better to deny the equality of men and women. A political situation wherein we have an uphill slog to remedy the damage done by Trump. All this in a world imperiled in so many ways, including existentially, as the environment is so precarious.

We can present all the numbers. However, along with those cold, hard facts, must come the human connection, the actual, in real life, meaning and import of them. If we do not, if we continue to spout numbers without explanation and connection, without truth and emotion, well, you can write the ending on that.

Meanwhile, can we please, please, end these awful "breaking news" "stories" of butchered children, slain where they are supposed to be protected? Can we put an end to the invasion of the synagogues, temples, stores, arenas, of this country? Can we elect truthful, caring, responsible figures to guide this country along the proper paths? Now that, is a hard one to take up - near nigh unto impossible. 

WHAT'S TO SAY?

 There are times, many times, in a person's lifetime, when the words have run out. The speakers are tired, discouraged, lost all hope of getting through. The intended audience, be it one or thousands, have covered ears, closed eyes, and shut down brains. No one talks anymore with someone, but rather shouts at all opposing. The quieter voices have been drowned out, those voices becoming hoarse with efforts, failing, vain efforts.

In an inner deep examination of my thoughts, a quiet terror begins to grow. See, guess I have been a Daisy Downer: from the campaign of Trump vs. Clinton, through the presidency of Trump et al, the deterioration of the GOP as it morphed into a welcoming home for right wing extremists, to a Democratic party apparently, tragically, unable to contain its own ranks as off the wall "progressives" rip it asunder from within, aided and abetted by the dangerous and harmful egotistical antics of Manchin. That terror grew from a fear of possibility, ever growing into a more certain sense of actuality as I watched our country tear itself apart. We have surely proven the theory of those who state that the worst enemies come from within. A country whose inhabitants pour corrosive invective, commit treasonous actions, and cheer at the vision of the foundering ship of state going down for the third time. Manifestly not a third time lucky.

The fear crystallized as the nation began to actually make real my worst, out there, predictions and concerns. Time and again, fearing I had "jumped the shark" I held onto a shred of hope. Surely, we were not that stupid, that self-destructive, that unaware or even consciously denying of the truth, the lessons of history. Certainly, we would reject and defeat those monstrous sharks determined to emulate 'Jaws" one thousand times more powerfully, as they fed on, attacked and consumed not The Orca, but The United States of America.

These fears have eaten away at my heart, at my soul, consuming the last wisps of hope remaining, as, most frighteningly, there grew a closer and closer resemblance in the words of analysts to my own oft expressed concerns. No! How could this be? Surely, someone, somewhere, many someones, would, could, actually wake us up, wave a magic wand of truth, of true patriotism, conquer the nasty, ever nastier, threads and threats of populism, of nationalism, of hatred of all else, other than themselves, that group limiting those acceptable, allowed to enter their circle of haters, destroyers. 

I was wrong. Even as voices began to be raised concerning these mounting problems, the growing splits in the firmament of our nation's fabric, as the foundation began to shatter, as we ourselves shredded the Constitution in its own name of the Constitution, the situation went from bad to worse. The waters of destruction rose all around us, the lower decks awash, even under water, possible exits, or solutions, growing fewer and fewer, even purposely defied and denied. 

Possibly the proverbial final straw? Those dangerous farces of primaries, where registered voters were given GOP ballots, told their primary was yet to be held, the ignorance of those who fell for it, and the painful truth of it all. We have lost our moorings, lost the lifeboats that should have been right there. The depth and strength of the teeth of those sharks grew in direct proportion to the rise of poisonous invective, the demonizing of opposition, and a malevolent growth of a move to split this country in two, perhaps even more. We lost touch with our 'Americaness' and resorted anew to the once divisive and defeated theory of state above all else. Even as we took down the statues of generals of the Confederacy, we applauded our own modern-day versions of those Americans turning their collective backs to our besieged, massively beleaguered country.

There are no winners here. Only losers. A social liberal, I rejected the raucous voices of those who would throw our baby out, have it go down with the ship, in an insane  resistance to any compromise at all. That same behavior of bitter, self destructive opposition to bipartisanship, is magnified, personified, in and by the actions of the GOP members of both Houses of Congress. They were cutting off our own limbs, crippling us, with their blind opposition. Finally, they turned wholly into traitors, as they openly, violently, turned on their country, aided and abetted those willing to show up, to beat, to hang, to threaten, to destroy. Even as there were those of Congress who ,unbelievingly, joined this rebellion - encouraged, advised, even up to the highest levels of government, into the Oval Office itself.

Unthinkable - and yet there it was. A sitting President waging war on his own country, betraying our history, our "noble experiment". Colluding in a coup attempt on his own Presidency. Unthinkable! For sure, even the middle decks of our Ship of State were awash, aroil and aboil with the heated waters of hatred, the filth of lies contaminating all, the violent giant waves precluding even an attempt to launch rescue boats.

Racist invective and attacks. Running for offices at every level on the basis of defense of lies. Our growing isolation and the mighty attempts by Biden to halt that Trumpian path, succeeding as he united the West, growing NATO, while unable to do so here, the divisive abyss too deep, too wide to bridge. The final cement holding us together was failing to maintain integrity. It, too, was losing cohesiveness. The ability to transfer power between and from one elected leader to another, via legal elections honored by all - our strength, our weakness as well. If we fail at that, along with unfortunately, the upcoming elections of 2022, the looming black cloud of Nacht und Nebel of the 2024 election, provided courtesy of a GOP enmeshed up to and over its head in hatred, in fascism, in determination to bring down our democracy - what will be? Third time unlucky?

Ukraine. An insane plethora of demented leaders. The cowering of others before those demented ones, a la Hitler and the Nazis. The most unspeakable consequences of fascism, seen, heard, felt around the world to this day. The blind refusal  of mankind to learn the lessons of history, doomed to consequently repeat, again and again, with the same godawful results. Threats of usage of nuclear weapons. Not prepared to address that threat and a response to it in actuality. The ever growing, eternal hatred of Jews and the State of Israel, a vital part of the world, even as it maintains a safe refuge for oppressed and threatened Jews from around the world. The growing inability or even desire to build safe cities, countries, moral values. Oh, yes, we certainly do have it all.

Thomas Friedman, a very talented writer, with whom I was often of a differing opinion, has now morphed into a prophet of the same school of thought and warning to which I most unhappily belong. He castigates those running on the basis of that Big Lie, representatives of a GOP lost in the fog of its own destructive tendencies. He worries and frets, rightfully so.  The present GOP candidates are vying to outdo each other in their rabid espousing of a determination, a policy, of overturning elections unsatisfactory for them, breaking the peaceful transfer of power and what that means to our country and its future.

That peaceful transfer is the last mortar holding our country together, the last narrow footbridge over the abyss. If we go there, that bridge is destroyed. We are, in fact, almost THERE, that place of doom and chaos. THERE is not a good place. Most definitely so. Any country embroiled in warfare, round the world, has GONE THERE. Present is a glaring absence of peaceful transfer of power. The result? A torn country unable to take care of its own, unable to constructively better mankind, lost in the throes of a riven country. Our destination, our future, unless we do something right NOW. Vote. 
Speak out. Voice your opinions loud and strong. Demand a return to what was once a good place, of hopes and dreams, where now nightmares abound and people are afraid to walk the streets for fear of a madman, armed with the same weapons which should long ago have been banned, certainly controlled better. But they have not, for these same people resist that control. Even as the bullets spray from them. And hit too many targets.

No, not a good place, not a good path, not a place where we want to be - and yet, here we are. Friedman maintains that we are close to breaking, losing that valuable, union maintaining mortar, the principle of peaceful transfer. 

Lincoln said it long ago. "A house divided against itself, cannot stand."

 Thomas Friedman reinforces that belief, that truth, by warning us that once broken, always broken.

We will be the Humpty Dumpty of real life, never being able to be "put together again".

Am I frightened? Very much so. Cannot understand? Imagine a land once familiar, now strange. Dark, gray living. No joy, no freedom, no creativity, all decided and dominated by The State. Most definitely a state which has little or concern for you and your family.

THERE is not a good place to go.

"TWAS BRILLIG" INDEED!

 I think that perhaps we all need to check our current location and then allow reality to make note of it! Similar to the sites often requesting to know our location. However, there is a big, big difference. Whereas I know my physical location when online, be it Florida, NY or wherever, in the larger world, it is apparent that too many have lost their way and have no clue where they are. 

A memory lapse, seemingly, as their trip through the rabbit hole has disappeared from any and all gray cells. Or perhaps it is that the gray cells are no longer there, certainly not in any proper working order. The answer is there, as to why we are in the morass of stupidity, cupidity, massive greed and power grabs, and "governed" by some of the, at the same time, most brainless creatures who can read the mob and instigate, provoke them into supporting wild, dangerous theories, shouting for 'freedom' even as they toss it away by the bucketful. 

It is then that I am convinced that we all have fallen down that rabbit hole. Our 'wise' leaders are spouting words which have the same meaning and guidance as "Jabberwocky."

"Twas Brillig
And the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe" (Lyricsfreak)

There have been efforts to parse these nonsense syllables and words, to attach them to the vocabulary and interpretations of the times, but I believe there is a different meaning for them. That meaning is the message in its entirety rather than in its vocabulary. That message warns us that what we think is real, what passes for literature, truth, trust, loyalty, any and all of the positive attributes of a sane and working society, is all false, part of the black hole of a doomed society that cannot recognize its own downfall, nor repair the damage.

On the other hand, perhaps these nonsense words are far better than the alternative - the baseless, hate filled, false words, themes, and destructive memes of damaged personalities. What else can we say to these words spouted by a Congresswoman? Read them and weep.

"Why is there a “target” on white supremacists? she asked in an interview ... with the right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice.

“White supremacy shouldn’t be the main target,” the lawmaker argued. “We should be more concerned about the illegal invasion at the border, the crime happening every single day on our streets, especially in cities like Chicago. We should go after criminals that break the law and not pursue people based on their skin color.”

Are we supposed to then evaluate murder, categorize them into okay and not, crime or not, according to race and motivation, which damned hatred impelled him to fulfill his extremely questionable contribution to society!? Apparently so, as per Greene. A most violent, perverted world down that rabbit hole. Unfortunately, the truth must be acknowledged. 

We have not 'fallen' down any hole, but rather we have jumped willingly into an abyss which reeks of all the negative traits of humanity. It is a poisonous stew, its ingredients being hatred, murderous tendencies, false justifications. Those who have tasted, supped willingly, of that stew, are most insistent on dragging along the rest of the world, furthering the destruction of society as we now know it, as we hope it to be, as we work to make it so. And yet, the echoes - "Twas brillig" - resound.

The oldest elder of the Comanche Nation has just died. 104 years old. Think of what she has experienced. Think of the obstacles she had to overcome. Born in this country, she first had to be seven years old before allowed to become a citizen. Talk about the "Great Replacement Theory"!

What have we done? What are we continuing to do, to pursue? Avidly, with the drool of hatred dripping from the fangs of those who espouse poisonous beliefs and worse, snare and enmesh others into that same mode of thought and behavior. What have we done? What have we allowed? The question heard more and more - How has this happened?

It has happened because too many of us were asleep at the wheel. We laughed at the extreme traits, the nonsensical comments, the insane behavior, believing that no one could or would actually buy into it. No one would take their spews seriously. Yet, it all happened exactly that way. Good people, thinking people, put their thinking hats into deep storage, willingly looked away from the rabid extremes, choosing, picking, very carefully through the crap and ignored the rest. Unfortunately. Most unfortunately for all of us. 

There was an error in their thought process. Once again, history, the lessons for us, were paid no never mind. Thinking - or not thinking it through -  identical to those who disliked Hitler but thought there were some redeeming factors within his stance, thinking they could control him, found themselves morphing into willing accessories, cowed, frightened into justifying murder, looting, genocide, proponents of the worst that mankind could ever be. 

Stupidity. Lack of follow through. Greed. The pull of the crowd. Fear. The ever-growing snowball of hate, blackened as it rolls down the mountain of dirt, of negativity, of dictatorship, of loss of all that mankind worked so hard to achieve - all crushed beneath that reeking snowball, crushing all before it, leaving havoc and destruction, blood, the wails of men, women and children behind.

Think it not so? Think we here in America are immune? Think somehow we can pull that damned rabbit out of a hat, hoist it out of that rabid rabbit hole? Think again. Worry instead. Be afraid. And ACT!!! Tomorow is primary day in many states. The choice is clear. While Democrats have some loonies amongst its ranks, the real danger is in the extreme views of the GOP, each candidate espousing more and more crazed viewpoints and beliefs, each vying to be the most extreme. Now is the time to do something. 

Time to wake up. If we continue to sleep at the wheel, well, we all know what happens. The car will go offroad. The car will crash or roll down the mountain. The people within will be dead! All because we all slept at the wheel. At the wheels of so many, many vehicles. It all happened, happens now, and will do so into the dark and dim future.

All because we allowed it to do so.

MAYBE - COULD BE -WHO REALLY KNOWS?

 And that sums up political and real-life trends of present-day living. Some maintain they know all the answers. Salvation is eminently possible, the only requirement being suspension of common sense and all possible humanitarian impulses. Simple indeed. 

Jeb Bush thinks we need to remedy the situation by eliminating toxic politics. Good luck to him, for in fact, the trend is the other way, the more toxic the better. Candidates compete amongst themselves as to extremity and bitterness. Outrageous positions once the property of extremists on all sides of the political spectrum- now are part and parcel of everyday politics and supporting politicians. Raving acidic speeches, demeaning demonization of any and all who oppose the crazed viewpoints are the political currency of the day. 

Why is the question of the decades of the 21st century, leaves many scratching their heads. Where and how to remedy the situation leaves many totally, dismally befuddled and discouraged. In my opinion, it began with the egotistical swelled heads of entitled persons espousing the thought that they had it all - and made it all- and deserved it all. Not only that, but that "all" needed to happen NOW! Blocking of that trend, real or otherwise, increased the frenzy of its supporters, the toxicity of their speech and here we are today.

But the question remains, and a satisfactory answer continues to be equally as elusive. Yesterday, while reading an excellent novel by Adriana Trigiani, The Good Left Undone, I came across an interesting bit of advice given by a slowly declining grandmother to a beloved, troubled granddaughter. I thought about it, a lot. Maybe, just maybe, it provides us with both explanation and clue for corrective purpose.  

Not a new thought, its wording perhaps struck me powerfully, perhaps because the writing, the timing and setting at that moment, struck deep, within my soul, even evoking tears in its similarity to a time and event in my own life. In any case, it makes sense. Read it. Think about it. Understand its simplicity and wisdom.

"Listen to me. Love yourself. That's the greatest adventure. When you love yourself, you want to find your purpose, something only you can do in the way that only you can do it. Make things. Create."

Think about it. For far too long we have indulged ourselves with selfish "me, me, me" whining plaints. The more we focused on that greedy, never satisfied, forever grasping "me", the less satisfaction we received and the more we disliked ourselves. Failing to achieve those goals, to attain those desires, and the resulting jealousy of those who did, increased the negative feeling and evaluation of your own self and life. What had you done? Achieved? Had you changed the world in any positive, constructive manner? Were you satisfied with your own 'bottom line'

Dislike of oneself, being contemptuous of one's own life and lack of achievement, only and always leads to a bitterness which in turn eats away at society in general. We forget to recognize others as people, see them only as objects to be used, abused, and discarded. Negativity sours it all. 

How can there be a kinder, gentler society if there are no, or very few, kinder, gentler, positively satisfied people who know the truth. Like yourself, make yourself proud of your life, its meaning, and proud accomplishments. That joy, that deserved pride, that positivity, will preclude the toxicity of politics as we know it, live it, today. Instead, we will have a society of positive thinkers, people who understand the true necessity to help guide society onto the right paths, humanitarian paths, and the joy enabled by a good pride, a love of oneself and hence, a love of others.

Simple examples. You desperately 'needed' a certain popular toy or game station, brand name clothing. Desperately. If only you could have it, life would be so good. And then you get it. So excited, so happy - for how long? Until you sooooo need the next item. The previous once so desperately desired item is discarded, consigned to a dusty corner or closet or given away. Or, you finally get the game you wanted but realize that it is useless for only one, needing at least two or more to operate and enjoy. 

Lesson learned. People do need people to truly live a good life replete with positive accomplishments, shared with and by others. That is what creates a good, positive, always striving society. Not one of corrosiveness we now have, where no one is satisfied, where more, more , more is the motivating impulse.

Merely a restating of the Golden Rule or the words of Rabbi Akiva. "Love others as you love yourself; do unto others that which you would want others to do unto you." Simple and profound. So possible. If only. And when ignored, when humanity is occupied with its own negativity and selfishness? Here is what happens.

Between 1918 and 1921, over a hundred thousand Jews were slaughtered in the former Russian Empire, with the area of Ukraine being one of the bloodiest. This, on top of the Jews killed during WWI as the fighting armies and refugees from the fighting, inflicted their own grievous needs and demands on innocent others, as they indulged their baseless hatred. Selfishness, greed. Ugly. Warned that it portended a worse event, warning of the very real danger to that same population- ignored, a warning spit into the wind and thereupon -  the Holocaust.

"In the very midst of civilized Europe at the dawn of a new era for which the world awaits its charter of liberty and justice, the existence of a whole population is threatened. Such crimes dishonor not only the people that commit them, but outrage  human reason and conscience."                            Anatole France, 1919

Truly, if only, if so very sadly, only.

METAPHORICAL THEONOMY NO BOTTOM

  You ask, what are those terms? What do they mean? What do they portend? In fact, what is the connection, why do they dangle from the same fraying rope that is us, our country? Why, indeed.

Let's begin with the last term. Seems simple enough, but not once you attach it to current events. These events portend a grave problem for our future. It is beyond sight of any end to our ongoing crises: crises of faith, of hope, of thought, of American values, of humanistic values.

Where is the origin of "no bottom" for this posting? The election overseer in Michigan was told by Trump that she was guilty of treason and should be executed. Her reaction was thus.

"...  it showed there was no bottom to how far he (Trump) and his supporters were willing to stoop to overturn or discredit a legitimate election.” 

 The answer is that there is indeed no bottom, no depth of dangerous philology, twisted deeds, no depth of nastiness, lies and threatening philosophies which will not be plumbed by these now crazed, lost their way GOP adherents. In fact, Trump is almost a no-never mind to the whole matter. The snowball he sent rolling down the hill, racing towards the bottom, has grown and grown, now having a vicious life all its own, rolling under its own power, generating its own momentum, and grinding all before it under massive, corruptive, corrosive power. No, it has not yet reached its bottom. Neither have the consequences stopped.

There was a vote in the House, 420 - 1, bipartisan, amazingly, condemning antisemitism and the need to honor the Jewish heritage. It "calls on elected officials to recognize the "dangerous rise of antisemitism globally and in the United States" and "condemn and combat any and all manifestations of antisemitism."  Would that it was a truth, a reality, but unfortunately, we know otherwise. Vicious canards of the millennia are revived (if indeed, they ever had died), updated with modern addendums. Now the Rothschilds are accused of having a laser by which they control the weather. Wish they did, as they would have used it for the benefit of humanity. This is what Jewry has done throughout time, be it in philanthropy, sciences, literature and the Arts, in any field of endeavor. Judaism itself demands this.

Furthermore, the same GOP members who hypocritically voted for this resolution speak empty words, particularly when we compare this to their other beliefs, the people they nominate and vote into office. Herein lies the definition and the peril of another title word. Theonomy. Goes right along with theocrat and theocracy. It is a frightening extension and interpretation of "onward, Christian soldiers". To create a theocracy under the political philosophy of theonomy, run by theocrats. In plain English: It is when “an advocate of a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or gods.” via “a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law.”  and "that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies."

Think no way? Well, think again. Think what it would mean to keep all those original rules and Their PENALTIES. Your confused teen - to death. A violator in another district, state, why go ahead and become the law, wherever! The new law of the theocracy makes it possible. Again you deny the possibility? Unfortunately, it is no more a possibility, but has advanced - regressed? - to a decisive oh, yes! Texas. Oklahoma. What happens there will not stay there. Under their crazed new "christian" inspired thinking, any citizen has the right to extend an iron hand to inform, accuse, arrest, sue, whatever dirty action these absolutely not Christians decide is proper and warranted , under the guiding rules of theocracy which has crept up upon us.

As a person of the Jewish faith, knowing the history of my people under religious law of a state or country, which demeans and endangers believers of another faith, I shudder in fear. Blood- soaked  ground, squishing beneath the pressure of feet, those running to kill, those running to hide, and the battleground in between. Not a scenario greatly to be desired! I shudder in fear of such a future.

Now you say it will never happen here. But it already has and will continue to press forward on its repressive agendas. No abortion "from Conception"? So what, will we now have to  report every conjugal visit, monitor the sex lives, the lives behind bedroom doors, the most intimate act of humans? Well, think about it. How else does one know when "conception" takes place. 

Think abortion, all right to choose is wrong? How about the converse? Which is exactly what is happening. Force people to HAVE children. Yes, force, by the very laws of theocracy, its proponents having now included it within the volumes of laws of the United States. A state of being which itself is rapidly devolving as states throw off the federal government and in fact, reach into other states to enforce their own laws. Theocracy = autocracy. Plain and simple. Egregiously inimical to life, rights, and privacy. Deadly harmful to LGBTQ+, to atheists, to agnostics, to deists, to anyone outside the very narrow lines of the theocracy.

One analyst compared this to the laws regarding slavery, i.e. the Dred Scot decision. Frankly, I see not much of a difference, particularly as the oppression moves forward. Women will be completely regarded as chattels, no rights, no careers, nothing other than to be the epitome of "kinder, kirche, kuch' of Nazi and all repressive philosophies. That translates to children, church (the right one, of course) and kitchen. This, my friends, is slavery. And there are people here, in this country, who are advocating for it, pushing it, desiring it with all the might of their twisted souls.

There is so much more to write on this topic, but time grows short. Suffice it to say that the "metaphorical' civil war predicted, actually now quite well advanced on the battlefields of wars of words, a metaphorical war, will quickly turn into A Civil War in reality, the one where people die. Where people are wounded. Where life is cheap and cruelty abounds.

Is that what we want? Is that what we need? Is that what YOU want? For your own loved ones? Think, think again and again. And again.

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

  and the flowers and the trees...." Unfortunately, nothing as pretty as that mind's eye picture. Nope. Not here. The flowers and the trees, well, they are dying, under attacks both natural and manmade.

Overheard snippet of conversation:

Person One: It can't be. No way.

Person Two: Well, and yet there it is, in full living, bleeding color.

Person One: But it can't. How did this happen anyway? I can't believe it. But the test was positive- or negative, depending on viewpoint, I guess. But how???? 

Person Two: How? The usual way. Need I draw you a road map? You were there, right there, from the outset, so how? Recall the song----the birds and the bees, etc.? Now follow the map if you must.

 No, folks, step out of the bedroom, for we are not talking of the birds and the bees or "the thing called love." In fact, it has led to the thing called hate. Sadly so. Tragically so, but there it is, in black and white, in full living technicolor! How did we get here? Simple, but I will draw that road map of tragedy, of a tragic turn of events, an environment which led to the death or imminent death of all that the trees, flowers, and love signify.

Let us begin at the end. Easier to understand for those who remain willingly immured in their own self-defeating state of denial. How did we get here? Where is here? Here is the state of affairs of the recent primaries and the imminent death of our democracy. Republican after Republican competed, using extreme viewpoints to get a leg over on the opposing candidate. They vied for extremist viewpoints that in years gone by, really not so long gone, would have been trashed, ignored, for the harmful garbage they championed. Yet here we are. Tragically so. Road map growing clearer? 

We gave birth to this new acidic world which kills off the birds and the bees, creating a toxic atmosphere which eats away at the flowers and trees of the nation, and as for love, well, take a look around. See much love lately? In the bullets of haters, from right to left? In the acerbic names and accusations flung at each other? Top it off with the sour cherry on top - the growing attack on human rights, the growing attempts, too many successful, which target groups of alternate life styles,  condemning them to the depths of Hell and its eternal fires. For daring to live free. Their freedom, their right to do so, evidently eats away at the ever diminishing capacity for that thing called love.

Are the mechanics of this state of affairs growing clearer, answering your question how we got here, how it can most manifestly, tragically, be true?! Not such a pretty picture, as the map grows more and more crinkled, points of life along the way simply disappearing, out of view and apparently, out of mind for too many. No yellow brick road to follow, no Wizard awaiting us with answers, for the true Wizards have died off or been exiled and the yellow of the bricks has been covered over, hidden beneath myriad layers of grime, of filth which does not wash off easily, if at all.

Still confused, or perhaps trying ever so hard to remain in your false cocoon? Okay. Let's take a few steps forward, or backwards as that might be a more apt descriptive term of our map route. Let's take a good gander at the slate of candidates of the GOP primaries. Each one, worse than the other. Candidates who should never have been on the ballot in the first place, let alone becoming elected. These are the same candidates who marched on Jan. 6, in open rebellion against the truth and the legitimate government of these here United States of America. The same ones in office who railed  against investigations, who managed to totally, completely wreck the honesty, the dignity, the neutrality, of the Supreme Court, increasing the distrust of the populace in the institutions of government. Along with growing unrest.

More unhealthy results leading to our present state of affairs abound. Yes, Cawthorn, that trashy being, was defeated, but on the other hand, what do we say to the victory of a Mastriano? Birds and bees are the furthest things from reality here, vague, growing vaguer, in the memory banks of the nation. No, life here is presently not one welcoming to the more positive aspects of societal life. For sure, that merry old soul, King Cole, would feel quite unwelcome here.

 Merriness, the positive juices of life have been squeezed out, their existence challenged at every turn and twist of the roads. There have indeed been many, too many, of those along our route. Our route, our map, becomes further 'decorated' with red warning lines, almost shouting from the paper to beware, turn around, change route, before, lest it becomes too late, committed to the path wherever it led us. Through swamps, through deserts, through dangerous rivers and over impossibly high mountains. Perhaps we are at that point already. I would have no arguments to refute that thought. Why would I, for the mechanics of it all are quite clear. Even transparent.

No, we are not a little bit pregnant, and had better not be, for our right to choose has been rescinded by modern day Neanderthal thinkers, or non - thinkers. In the words of the Everly Brothers: "Bye, bye love, bye, bye happiness, hello loneliness, think I'm gonna' cry,... think I'm gonna die."

I hope we will not die. We certainly do cry and will cry more unless we forestall the inevitable end coming our way if all we do is sit here in idleness and denial. I hope our democracy and initial foundations and beliefs will hold the fort, defend and then go on offense, against these democracy and rights denying characters. How did this happen? How did we get here? By faulty thinking, by not following the trail to its end, an inevitable conclusion - unless we act, immediately and strongly. Get out the vote. Vote. VOTE!! 

You know, perhaps we are that little bit pregnant. With the 'bad' seed. Perhaps we do actually need to get out of bed with those who would deny all that we have been and are meant to be, this beloved country of ours, besieged, beleaguered by enemies within and without. Time for a political abortion and then a better, more welcome pregnancy as we have a rebirth of this country as is supposed to be. And a hearty welcome back to "that thing called love".

Person One: Got it!!

HUH? SAY AGAIN?

  Well, maybe it is old age, but I find myself double reading, that is rereading a passage or even a phrase, caught in a tide of 'what the hell are they talking about?' At times it is a word. At times it is a phrase composed of words I know but put together like a giant combo meal at a fast-food restaurant, wherein the taste and meaning are lost, drowned by too much of everything rather than highlighting the best parts of the meal or message. 

At time, it does not even pay to attempt any understanding as the misunderstood does not deserve any attempt to discern meaning, as there truly is none there! Finally, while there is no true meaning, the message is in the stupidity of it all, in false flags being raised, in nonsense delivered as words from Sinai and G-d on high. That, perhaps, is the worst of all, when men presume to know the thoughts of the Deity of their choice, elevating themselves to prophet status. Yet there are people who are sucked right into that monstrous eddy that is slowly swallowing us all up, into its foul mix of nonsense, stupidity, greed, hate, and who the hell knows what all else?

So, I sit there, reading, scanning, trying to interpret the uninterpretable, scratching my head and thinking perhaps it is I who has lost it. Then my senses kick in again, and I know, deep into every ion and atom of my mind and soul, that the stink of these phrases, the impossibility of truly understanding them is on those who write it, who think it up and strew it all over the internet, all media, and spout its poison at mob gatherings. All the better to frighten, to miscreate a misshapen universe of their own, banning any and all who disagree with them, calling them names that make no sense at all. Here is a good one hot off the press, straight from those horse posteriors of yesterday's posting. 

The animal of Buffalo's shooting described himself as such: “an ethno-nationalist eco-fascist national socialist”. I will give you fifteen minutes to try to decipher and put together a definition of that phrase that actually makes any sense or possibly contains the teeniest iota of any truth at all. Give up? Of course.

Now, while one might scratch away, shrug shoulders, dismiss it as the ranting of a crazed individual, unfortunately the history of mankind points out the unfortunate success of such critters. Simply take a quick poll of the latest round of dictators of countries and the preposterous things they say, and of course, no doubt about it, straight from their god's mouth. Their false idol, the same variety of false idols that men have bowed to for millennia. 

These are the idols of greed and power. The idols of ego trips and vanity. These are the idols which demand their share, their overlarge share of sacrificial lambs. These are the idols which have been proven to be the actual nemesis of mankind, and yet, here we are in 2022, and the whole ugly scene and roles are going strong. Elijah the Prophet is in despair, thinking that he has already proven, atop Mount Carmel, to the misguided and deluded that Baal and Ashera are false gods, their priests liars and worse. Scratching his head and long beard all the while, wondering, amazed at the long life of these false and dangerous beliefs.

At time scratching is insufficient to the purpose thereof. How and why is it, that as the world turns to recognizing that women are individual entities, entitled to make their own decisions, to have access to full health coverage, that the United States and Poland are the two nations (along with the Taliban of Afghanistan) walking with their heads in the dangerous quicksand of retrogression and denial of the rights of all people, no matter how they are described. Take away the rights of one group, and inevitably, the rights of all, other than the overlords, will disappear into the mists of a once upon a time and place called Camelot. Replacing it will be the corrosive fogs of Nacht und Nebel.

The hatred and the deeds that result are indiscriminate in that hatred and anger. Even as Blacks were mowed down, young and old, men and women, out of his poisonous mouth came the screamed rant that I - and my people- are Demons, deserving to be consigned to hell. Well, we've been there, done that already, numerous times, and not to be impolite, we will not consent to yet another trip there. No thank you. You first.

 “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Yes, that is a paragraph, a Constitutional statement, the Ninth Amendment, straight from that Constitution that the unworthy, unqualified, misogynists and misanthropes of the Supreme Court five conveniently forget - conveniently disremember. Clearly, the unstated but deeply implied unnamed rights of all is clear, embedded deeply within the minds and intents of the Founding Fathers, despite all their misconstrued  presentations and early leaked draft..  

The city of Tampa today is scheduled to have a demonstration of military might and equipment, observed by the public. All the better to portray out in the open the future possibilities of armaments for the future disturbed segment of society! These scenarios are frightening for there is, today, tomorrow, in our future, a scene of reality not far off from this staged one. We are that close to armed warfare here. People once thought that was a nonstarter threat or possibility. Many have since changed their minds. This will be not one scenario where others, a la the Ukrainians, will die for us.  Nope, it will be us, our loved ones, our country, awash, drowned in the resultant blood and guts of war. 

To avoid that we must cut down the perilous turn we have taken, where the road to the future and our connection to a past is sliced to ribbons with roadside traps and ambushes. We must educate our people better, make them far more capable of discerning the falsehoods they are fed, the weird conspiracies that never ever existed anywhere other than in the sick minds of those who perpetrated them. And we had better do it soon, the sooner the better, for even yesterday was too late.

TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY.

NOT ONLY SUPERMAN KNEW THE TRUTH OF THOSE EASY-TO- UNDERSTAND  CONCEPTS AND WORDS. ONCE UPON A TIME ALL AMERICANS BELIEVED IN THEM. FOR ALL. WHAT HAPPENED?

(scratch, scratch)