YESTERDAY,

  ...all my troubles seemed so far away - at least for the day, pushed aside by a day of simple, plain fun. Myriad videos of my little new baby great grandson - a most excellent use of time.  Puttering and planning for future projects as soon as I get my hand back! Then a seemingly ridiculous, rose colored 2 person play, a play reverting to the fairy tale endings of childhood, a promise that yes, all can be fixed, troubles overcome with good results, and all walked away with a smile from ear to ear after having cheered the actors time and again. Yes, yesterday was a good day. 

I thought about the play, "Here You Come Again"- How Dolly Saved My Life in 12 Easy Songs." That is, of course, Dolly Parton, whose music I have always liked, who is a god person, has a deep faith, and has remained in a marriage for decades. She personifies the American Dream, overcoming great adversities in life, becoming the star and humanist she is. Of course, topping all of that is the beauty of her songs, of the meanings they have for the simple, common person. No need for more than being the small woman with a big voice, an intriguing speech tic, audience appeal, belting the songs out, many times with her long-term duet partner, Kenny /Rogers, whose music I have always liked as well. 

Her songs speak of simple common woes of people, of the tragic turns that can happen, the way  in which one can indeed make lemonade from those sour lemon days and of a faith that gives one strength to go on, to survive and overcome. Yes, she did some stupid things to her body with poor decisions regarding it, but the insides remained sparkling and good, simply good. Whether singing a song she wrote or doing a cover of others, the emotions are sincere, the tones great, and they hit you in your heart, as the notes bypass your brain's sour cells. No room then for all the bad of these days, all the garbage one has faced in life. Nope, for upon hearing her sing, one turns to the heart, to love, guidance and hope. We all need that and evidently, the full audience felt the same way. The play is at the Rinker Playhouse at The Kravis Center for a few days, so try to catch it or elsewhere in the vicinity. See if you especially feel the emotions of these songs, the particular three I did, though each and every song was a winner.  

Of course, she opened with the song "Hear You Come Again", setting the stage for the rest, but for me, at the end of Act I she sang "Love is Like a Butterfly, a song she composed, and it is simple and beautiful. No need for musical intrusions, simply the woman with the heart and the voice. A song of love, hope, the beauty that can be found in life.

I loved the thoughts, the simple credo of faith to be found in G-d's Coloring Book". A world where all is painted by G-d, a faith that is always there, to hold, to help, to save. To appreciate what we have, for even the dark skies of the thunderstorms have the colors of G-d's paintbrushes. 

Of course, her biggest hit, Islands in the Stream was sung, with great success, but for me, it was the next song, the words and music written by Dolly, sung with huge success by Whitney Houstin, "I Will Always Love You" and to top it all, a certain crowd pleaser as we swayed and mouthed the words. That was followed by the closing song, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning, celebrating Nature, the faith and hope, the strength it transmits. 

Check these songs out on YouTube and you will understand my favorites and perhaps pick your own. Okay, it was more than three sings, but that is the music of Dolly Parton. Always there, always appropriate, always heartwarming or fun. Actually, there is a song in her movie "Joyful Noise", a poignant love song that reminded me of my parents and always makes me cry. Dolly indeed hits all points and reaches all hearts.

Go see it. Listen, listen, to the music and the words. Enjoy. Yesterday was a good day.

YEAH UH-HUH UH-HUH UH-...ZZZZZZZZZZZ

 Flipping through the news this morning I found myself nodding in tune with the articles and then nodding off. It became a fight between eyelids and brain - who will win this battle? I could have written at least half of the stories myself based on simple observations and understandings as well as past and present happenings and events. So, zzzzzz was beginning to win the battle. I had to resist.

Why resist? Because the war is existential. The war is a battle between the forces of negativity, evil, autocracy and the forces if not wholly for the good, are at least the much lesser of two evils and the only remaining hope that we have to build back and ensure a better future than the one now staring us in the face, like it or not.

We have lost our way. We have rolled around in the political mud for so long, for far too long, and we have lost the shock to the system that the original sins gave us. It is now almost a ho-hum as the further misadventures of Trump come to fore. It is a bigger story that Jared and Ivanka might divorce than the ongoing saga of her father, cheating everyone, robbing the nation, with misbegotten returns, with egregious violations of the nation's security, with his treasonous conspiracy of J6, with his insane plans to run again. That is outrageous! Yet there he is, remaining free when he should long ago have been indicted, convicted and imprisoned. Why has this not happened?

The answer is simple. The GOP has gone loopy, dangerously so. They have made no pretense any longer as to the depth of their fall, rivaling Dante's trip to his Inferno! Their outrageous behavior, the treason they have perpetrated, either by active support or by implicit approval and denial of truths, have given birth to abominations. Santos, a man who should never have been allowed on the ticket was cynically repackaged, designed like a test tube genetically engineered baby to be elected. A fraud from the getgo. Now that his-their-lies are in the open - he is not even disciplined. In fact, he is rewarded by being allowed to take his fraudulently won seat so McCarthy can continue on his path of taking the GOP further, deeper, on his nefarious path. He needs that Santos vote! Dear Lord. What have we become? What abomination have we created? Is there an end, a positive one, even possible any longer?

Why would we expect any different? Trump has violated the Constitution innumerable times, cheated on taxes, on purpose, defamed and betrayed this country and importuned others who went right along, even as they now try to crawl out of the slime of swampian Trumpland. No man is above the law, or so they repeat. Feh!! Actions, action is what matters, what is needed, not empty words encased in hot air balloons.

We need to fit ourselves into a positive current, an eddy which will bring us to a better state of mind. For that, I turn to the eminent historian, Thucydides, and his powerful circle of definitions and causes and effects, an eddy to be envied.

Thus he states in his Funeral Oration of Pericles and his History of the Peloponnesian War. Read, think, understand the implications for all of us.

"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage."

"The secret to happiness is freedom ...And the secret to freedom is courage."

Are we ready to search our innards for these virtues, for the courage, the self-respect, the desire to achieve happiness? 

Read and think. Think back to the courage it took for those of our ancestors who threw it all in and came here to seek just that, who demonstrated that self-respect and courage to seek happiness and freedom.

Can we, should we do any less?

"GO FOR STUPID"

 If ever there were a more fitting title of a book during these times, well, I have neither heard nor seen such a book. Yes, books aplenty re the entire Trumpian debacle, including the chief idiot in charge, Trump himself, but this title is a treasure. I do not even know the contents other than it includes stupid goals, rather apropos these days. The title speaks for itself - loud and clear. 

The only other title to rival would be a book or essay entitled "Wherefore Art Thou, Diogenes?" Surely this poor man, seeking desperately for an honest man would run out of fuel for his lantern these days, way before he came across an honest person. The only honest people in the public eye these days are those of the Jan6 Committee who committed themselves to a plunge into the filth of Trumpian times at risk to career and indeed, their lives. Otherwise, with some exceptions, the flood of dishonesty and dishonor flood the highways and byways of America.

The current GOP is a prime example of stupid goals sought and dishonesty and cynicism to be perpetrated upon the American people. Not even trying to hide it, though that would be nigh unto impossible, the GOP refused to charge Santos with ethics violations galore and kick his ass out of Congress, invalidate his election won by fraud so blatant one must wonder how that even happened. Nope, never happen, for they need his vote. Yup - his vote. Such role models for the rest of us - do wrong, lie through your teeth and get rewarded for it. Stupid goal, on the surface, yet a rather cynical clever one at the end of it all.

Poor Diogenes as he wanders across a desolate desert of an America ravaged by selfishness, cynicism and a deep disregard for the nation. At least the former openly bargaining politicians were clear about it, trading and talking and getting the job done. Today all we have is dishonor and vitriol, the only positive note being the increased sniping of members of the crazed Extreme Right-Wing idiots as they chew on each other. Let them swallow themselves. Then, perhaps then, it will not be a stupid goal as we try to reformat this nation into one more praiseworthy, more of a nation true to its heritage and responsibilities. 

In your court now - is it a stupid goal to want to be proud of our nation again, to have a modicum of realistic knowledge and trust in our legislators to at least try to do the right thing, to reach across the aisle with a friendly hand? To remember they are there to serve the people, not their own personal deluded goals, nor impress their religion on others, nor to provide for their increased bottom line.

Am I being stupid? Are others who think and hope, like me, also stupid? Are we delusional, going after these goals? I long for the days when I can place my hand by my heart and pledge allegiance to an America where I am welcome, where my kids have a future, where we honestly honor the Lady of the Harbor, where the world is better served with a true America.

Your thoughts?

AND SO

 So, we are told that things have moved in the right direction and will continue to do so. Russia and Putin are on the receiving and of a well-deserved drubbing. It is sad that so many have had to die, so many wounded in order to get his attention. Much of the immediate future is now upon the shoulders of high government officials and the common people who need to throw off the burden of this man.

We too have had to throw off the burden of a dangerous demented man. While he threatened and continues to remain a threat, to our democracy at least we have the beginning of a return to sense by former deluded and/or cowardly enablers. It is greatly worrying that he woke up the lowest depths and worse tenets of hate and allowed them free for all out in the open much to our dismay

We must take steps. He must be indicted, convicted and outfitted in an orange jump suit with color coordinated footwear. after that we must purge, yes, purge the remainder of the Far Extreme Right Wing who are members of Congress and whose plans and desire to overthrow this government are ongoing. Legal ways must be found and/or created to facilitate that goal.

And so, my hand is killing me from surgery and I will quickly sign off. May the approaching new year be blessed with a just and wise peace and allow for a better world for all.

OH, JOLLY GOOD!

   And the good news just keeps on rolling down the tracks. No sooner than one thinks a pat on the back is deserved for avoiding the virus, uh oh - now we have XBB and related variants, wonder if there is ever an end to this virus or will we keep on keeping on until death do us part. Actually, not so bad to put on a mask in crowded areas, but the concern remains and the suspicion grows; who among us is infected and not remaining home or not wearing a mask in public, endangering us all. So, thank you, XBB, and we will wear a mask when flying for the foreseeable future. As medical offices return to masking, do we need to get hit on the head in order to improve our hearing and understanding? Based on evidence so far, multiplied by the amount of Trump addled, well, it will be quite some time. Jolly good!

But wait, we have more good news to share as we stand to usher in the new year, hoping for all sorts of goodies. For me, topmost is peace for the world and good health, certainly, for my family. A more hopeful possible future would go a long way as well. Probably pipe dreams, though certainly not the pipes of peace as we can count now, to our great shame as humans, at least 15 wars, revolutions, insurgencies, drug wars, etc. going on round the world. Yup - that many and who knows how many more will be born this year and how many now present will grow. Yet another jolly good for humanity. We can be oh so, oh so, oh so proud.

A person caught in a great tragic circumstance, no good ending ever to appear, says that, despite the literally heavy physical and taxing emotional difficulties, says, "I do this easily. He's heavy but not that heavy because I'm carrying love. So it's not so heavy." Would that we were all to approach some of our greatest challenges this way, talk with each other, not at the other, hear, listen, and truly do the right thing, then perhaps, we would be taking one tiny step along a difficult road, but a most necessary one.  Now that would be jolly good!

I take a look around and stand there, Close my eyes again, take a deep breath and hope that I was wrong, not in my home country, misplaced through some trick of time and space. But no such luck for upon opening those eyes, they continue to see the truth, a desolate unfair, harsh truth for too many and the absolute absence of a determined nation to do and stand by the right, to gird its loins and take on the evil encroaching upon us. The courage to inspire the world to do what is right as well, to punish war crimes, crimes against humanity as they occur, rather than weaving excuse after excuse, allowing the pools of blood to expand geometrically, exponentially. Oh, jolly bad.

My country. What has happened to it. Somehow, some time, we shifted and are now seemingly doing our best to emulate the Third World conditions of less fortunate nations. Infrastructures crumbling, worn out, insufficient. People going hungry, children homeless, school-less, hopeless. Smaller governments wrangling, defying national law, instituting harsh, inhumane rulings, particularly against the "others". 

Those others are women, who have dared to achieve, tackle the glass ceilings, who demand to control their own bodies, make their own decisions. The others are those who are similar targets and share the same opinion as this statement re the constant hate directed at them, even unto the point of murder. "You don't get a day's relief from the knowledge that there is an organized effort to demonize us, to drive us into dark corners, to tell us lies about us. There is just no way to avoid it and it takes a toll." That covers the LGBTQ+ community, the Jewish communities round the nation, Asians, Indigenous, anyone who does not fit the mold of the haters and purveyors of death and blood.

Even more frightening is the apparent welcoming of a dictator to office right here in America. Trump.  DeSantis, an even more outright fascist. All the tagalongs, all those who connived and conspired to overthrow this nation's government, to declare an autocracy. Now in seats of more power, to waste funds on more corruption and let the people just drift with the currents of hopelessness and loneliness. How do we accept the new powers to be given to Jordan, Perry, Greene, McCarthy, Gaetz, Boebert, and the list goes on and on, way too long for this country to survive and abide. 

Action is necessary. It is called for. Will enough people hear that clarion call and react as is needed, restore proper democracy, cancel threats that eat away at us from the inside? Or will we drift in a pushed drifting into another civil war of great violence?

Do we have it within us to see reality as it is, and fight it till we return toa positive reality for this nation and for the world? Not as we wish it but as we make it. 

Will there be a jolly good, or a not so jolly good but rather a jolly bad at the end of day?

Your choice. My choice, Our choice.

BASELINES

  A slue of topics can get me upset, angry, despairing or even happy. Unfortunately, the happy is often drowned out by the not such good news, but one takes what one can find - or create. 

So, what can we find today - but full disclosure, there will be not such amusing details contained within the rest of this posting. Gary Gnu would have a blast reading these news nuggets to his faithful followers. To begin.

Remember our old phones, the ones that hung on the wall of the kitchen with the 25-foot-long wire allowing one to seek some privacy during the conversation? And here we go again. One of the supposedly biggest stuffers for Christmas stockings this year is a device allowing one to hang the cellphone in a holder - on the wall. Uh huh. Yet another back to the future we go. Wonder when the equivalent to the wire will be 'reinvented'. Can't wait! Such anticipation.

Here is yet another retread. In January 2021, Whoopi Goldberg, actually deemed a friend of Israel and the Jewish people, made a ridiculous statement that the Holocaust was "white on white" rather than racial. Sorry, wrong on that. For so many reasons. 

The most obvious one glares blinding you, is the fact that no other community or people was targeted with as much venom as the Jewish people by the Nazis. Yes, the Romany were targeted. As were homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, mentally defective or physically afflicted, political opponents and plain criminals used to staff the ranks of prisoner bigshots. However, the 'Jewish" part of this was not skin, but rather blood, blood which 'tainted' you and yours forever - and a day. One grandmother, one great grandfather could ruin you and your plans - even if that plan was simply to live. Blood, not skin. Noses, hair and eye color, skull measurements, any measurement that pleased the Nazis. Skin was not even in the equation. Black Jews, dark Middle Eastern Jews, Christian and Catholic Jews, Jews who did not know they were Jewish - all food for the maw of hatred. Skin was not the definer; blood was.

Whatever the sick reasoning was, whatever profit was to be re the slave labor, sold to famous firms, the result was the same- death, intentionally so. I truly believe that Whoopi is not a bigot, simply ignorant of the truth here, caught up in a search to find a way perhaps to equate Black and Jewish disasters. While both are and were awful, sorry, no comparison here. Blacks were not targeted all over the world. Dark skinned Arabs were allies in the hatred of Jewish people along with nefarious plans to eliminate all Jewry to be found in conquered territories. Or had their names and populations on lists throughout the world - including Britain and the United States - where there were many eager to go along with those plans. Yup - blood, not skin. Not white on white but blood. Always and forever.

"It doesn't change the fact that you could not tell a Jew on a street," she noted. "You could find me. You couldn't find them. That was the point I was making. 

That was what she said but she again missed the point. Whether one could tell a Jew on the street or not, their name was there on lists. Besides, there were and continue to be Jewish people who adhere to modes of dress clearly indicating they are Jews. In addition, Jews were distinguished from the rest of the population by having to wear arm and chest stars and indications, as well as have their names changed on their official paperwork. Skin? NO. Blood? YES. "Purity of blood" was their insane tenet and for it, millions died.

For those who say that the situation is different today, we actually just had an openly proud and observant Jewish man win for governor in Pennsylvania, a state that had gone the Trump way. So, take it easy? Be assured? Read this and see if that is so sure a thing to say.

"Back in January of 1933 … Billy Wilder, the great film director, a Jewish man who lived in Berlin got on a train to Paris the day after Hitler was inaugurated. Hitler was democratically elected. And he did that and his family is going, ‘why are you leaving? Hitler’s an idiot. Nothing’s going to happen. This is Germany. Yes, we’re Jews, but we’re Jews in Germany. The editor of the morning Berlin paper is Jewish, the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic is Jewish. We’re okay.’ And he’s like, ‘no,we’re not okay.’ [Wilder] knew in ’33. There was no holocaust then. There was nothing. But he knew immediately. Hitler and the Nazies started creating chaos."

Blood and hatred. A terrible meme that runs through the millennia, with all the pathetic excuses given to justify the unjustifiable. 

Blood - that which we all have in common. That which we refuse to admit. 

A baseline so manifestly failing.

THE DEEPEST HEARTFELT WISH

 

Let There Be Peace On Earth (feat. Jenny Gill)

Vince Gill

With all that has been ongoing in this trembly world of ours, seemingly with no end in sight, here is my most deeply wished thought and hope and dream for this world, for the future, for our kids, if we cannot see our way through to this blessed event. 

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our father
Brothers are all we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me

Songwriters: Jill Jackson, Sy Miller. 

SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOTTA'

  You just gotta' stop and breathe the air, polluted or not. Ya' gotta' take a breath, a step forward and stop and reassess. Take a look around and wonder and rate the values in your life. The true valuation of your life. Time to stop, get off the mad merry-go-round. 

Another year has gone by and at times it feels as if we never moved forward from last year. Ukraine War - check. Trump and his treasonous insanity - check. Melania and her idiocy - check. GOP and Democrats wrangling each other - check. Economy evaluated with dire predictions - check. Ever more catastrophic predictions re climate change and the continued viability of the world - check. So tell me, exactly what have we accomplished in a year and what are we planning for the coming year? Another same old, same old? Cannot be. Must not be. Yet ...

I took my own advice and took a breather, called a small halt from the chaos, trying to put it into some kind of sane reassuring evaluation. A hope to take account of blessings, of the positive, over the ever present demoralizing facts of our modern day lives. Try it. You might like its results.

Most of us have shared family and friends moments over the past year. We have lost some to age, illness, accidents, but we have also shared in moments of joy. A wedding. Abar mitzvah. A confirmation. A simple habit of a grandchild calling you often. A joy our memory has etched with sadness at the loss of those within that memory. The birth of a new generation with the ever present hope that they indeed will change the world. And a new man in my life - not yet two feet, single digit weight, and the conqueror of my entire being. There is good in life as there are, remain, good people among us, even strangers who will do a small, unexpected kindness lighting up a dreary day.

Take a look around. At times I bet your family disputes, trivial or not, depress you. Why can they not be settled? Now take a look around at that same family and appreciate what one has. I am ever so grateful for my kids and their kids. They have grown up, are still growing, maturing, into caring adults, thoughtful children who ask the right questions, who actually think, who deal out spontaneous reassurances and gestures of love. They even surprise us at times by the depth of their deeds and words. Value the good, the real, the hopeful and positive over the woulda', coulda', shoulda'. You will be better for it.

Into the macro word we move. How does one take any positive out of the mess we have? Simply look a tad deeper, past the extremists, the antisemites, the haters, the bigots, the damned greedy politicians who have sold their souls in lousy bargains with the devil and have become his minions. Lok past and find areas of hope and truth.

Yes, they are acidic, destroyers, but look- they are beginning to pour out their acid on each other, or as one person put it, behaving like "trailer park hoodrats", snapping, biting, scratching each other for the few crumbs that remain. People like this always end up turning on each other. To wit: the ranks of the Nazis in Germany who turned on each other, became their own private enemies. The Communists of the USSR, the Putin regime, China, as they turn on each other, hounding the weaker of them, and one day, hopefully soon, there will be redress for all of us. They will crumble under the massive weight of their misspent days.

President Zelensky, a short, tubby man, unprepossessing at first glance, ironically, a Jew saving Ukraine, inspiring its brave people, a country where hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed through pogroms over the centuries and cooperation with the Nazi "bullet Holocaust' and deportation to extermination. A people who now respond to his optimism, his hope to attain a meaningful victory over aggression, insisting that

"Even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in ourselves will not be put out."

Yes, somehow, often late, after much agony and chaos, good does overcome evil. It is the story of man's history on this planet. We hope we can change its current self-destructive path. If not us, then the people of forthcoming generations, whatever Gen-name we assign them.

Sometimes you simply gotta' have faith, In the power of man to reform. In the love of freedom. In the progress that has been made since we first walked upon this planet. At the innate goodness to be found within people. With faith in our deity, whatever name we assign to it.

We will not let the light go out.

THE MAIN THING IS...

 ..."There should be an inner light".

" ... should have what every person has, that everything should be OK for their children, their families, that they're warm and healthy, ... I'd like to wish them light, but it's such a difficult situation that there is light and then there isn't. The main thing is for there to be inner light."

That is the most important issue according to Zelensky, the besieged head of a country being shattered to death, reduced to bits and pieces. Those are important wishes, valuable dreams, but at what cost are we purchasing that inner light? Is it worth it all?

In my opinion, it is definitely worth the fight, but for how long can one country survive, leaking blood, lives, infrastructure, with a shredded economy and a dearth of realistic hope for a decisive and positive victory. Even if Russia were to retreat totally, remove itself from the four provinces it annexed illegally, remaining in an earlier seized Crimea, what does the victory mean?

Will there be a new Marshall Plan as after WWII when the Allies undertook to rebuild the defeated countries, even as they left themselves battered and shattered. In the England of the 60's there remained substandard housing and destroyed areas of the bombing of WWII. Will the countries of the world beggar themselves, sacrifice, to rebuild Ukraine? Will there be an accounting of the sins and crimes of Russia and its leadership during that time? Will Russia continue its scorched earth policies, only this time scorch the lands of its opponents, dragging in Belarus and other areas adjacent to Ukraine, in the end do what he has threatened to do - embroil the world, force an Armageddon of a battle between two giant opposing forces, causing victory for either side to be empty and bitter?

These are questions which remain unanswered and in fact, in my opinion, unanswerable until the situation actually presents itself straight in the world's face. When will that be? Again, beyond my pay grade, but I would bet that the people of the nations sending armaments to Ukraine as the proxy fighters for them, as their own economy suffers as budgets rise, will have things to say. However, war is always good for the economy, is it not, as people are employed, as patriotic memes become the currency of the day, as profits rise - and coffins come home.

Think these questions concern or are relevant only to Ukraine? Wrong thoughts. We here in the United States are subject to the same concerns. Thanks to a man who should never have been allowed out of his morally bankrupt world, the country is on the brink of action that will change the course of the world forever, perhaps even to the point of shattering it.

" Trump’s actions were appalling on a civilization-shaking level. He endangered lives. He tipped the entire country toward lawlessness"

 There are many others who have come to realize this fact, this actual real possibility, even probability, of catastrophe, even if it took them too long to realize this and thus slowed the pace of justice. The authorities were corrupted, coopted into collusion with these evil, yes, evil, plans and proponents and went along, becoming so enmeshed in the filth that they saw no way forward, out of it; hence, they jumped in whole hog, leaving their own morality in the ditches on the sides of the roads of America. Even unto and into planned insurrection, with top authorities of the government acting in step with their plans, alongside the President sworn to defend this country actually planning, encouraging, inciting this rebellion, to defeat the nation's legal government. To shred the Constitution and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, along with betraying our entire history, past, present and certainly into the future.  Why have so many refused to see that coming and continue to deny it till today?!

Look around and see the hordes of remaining die- hard deniers of truth, adherents to a demented man deep in the throes of a dark dementia. A man who enabled yet another man in the deep dark world of dementia, Putin, to strut his own stuff and threaten the existence of the entire globe.

This disaster to our country, Trump, continues to remain defiant, confident in his followers.

“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me, “It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger" (Posted on Monday in his misnamed Truth Social media site) 

He is sure they will rebel and resort to armed, violent insurrection were he to be called to account, indicted, convicted, oh, please G-d, marched off in an orange jumpsuit for the rest of his miserable life. Small comfort to the loved ones beaten and killed on Jan.6 and victims of violence and hatred he incited, encouraged, and called its proponents "fine people". He must be called to account as must all the others, from Congress down to the last moron who jumped into the mob on a whim.

Will doing that push him further into a martyr role? Will people argue his innocence, call it all a political gambit? I do not care. Let the punishment fit the crime goes the old adage and certainly fits right here. His crimes are egregious, manifold and multiple. To excuse his crimes, his fraud, all that he perpetrated, the harm he caused to this nation - all cry out for justice. NOW! Let the DOJ move faster than their current snail's pace. The longer this drags on the more damage it does. Out of mind, out of sight, out of the way, in maximum security, recognized for the danger he represents until we isolate him from the public, control access to media and ignore the rants he tries to transmit via a sleazy lawyer.

 No, he must not be made stronger. He must be made to look like the danger he is, was and always will be unless and until we shut him down. The legal way. The way that justice is supposed to work. The way that this country must return to, adhere to.

We must. There is no choice. Until and unless we do so, we will have more political hostages like Paul Whelan and the others caught in a trap not of their own doing, but rather of the politicians who forsook the truth of the words of their oaths, damned their constituents, and tried to ride the rotten coattails of a demented, dangerous man as he gathered all the reins of government into his hot, greedy little hands. Our country will be looked upon as weak, inconsequential, a thing of the past.

He must be punished, appropriately, after a trial, and then off he goes into nothingness, a forgotten blip in our history, comparable to Shay's Rebellion. How many know about that? Not too many. That is what must become of his time in office and his attempt to overthrow the government.

Becoming inconsequential is so right for him and his ilk.

  

MEMORIES OF LOVE AND LOSS

  Chanukah is a holiday of joy and triumph, mixed with the knowledge of how many lives were lost in achieving the victory. It is the realization that all through the ages this same fight, to light the candles, had been replayed again and again. Truly, the light of that one candle sung about by Pete Seeger, has aways been endangered. It is a fight which we must not ignore for in ignorance, it rises to record heights - or depths of depravity. Ugly choice, but there it is.

For too many years Chanukah, the fourth candle - tomorrow night- has been laden with overtones of grief, along with a poignant bittersweet memory, a comforting one. Seventeen years ago, my dad died on the fourth candle night of Chanukah after a too long time of pain and grief. To watch the life seep from him was also to watch the life, the joy of life, seep from my mom as well, for the two have always been one.

It was the end-of-life on this earth for a wonderful, beloved man, known for his generosity, his caring, his firm adherence to the ways of the just, the right, the legal and moral. Straight as an arrow, no shortcuts. It was those tenets he worked hard to instill in his children. He was a great patriarch of the family, always concerned, always there; however, it was for his wife, my mom, for whom he lived, for whom he struggled to overcome illness, never ever wanting her to be alone, without him. He promised her he would never abandon her, yet despite the hardest struggle, he could not keep that promise - at least at that time.

 Several years later, as my mom, unable to sit up by herself, eyes always closed, never speaking any longer, was propped in her favorite spot, watching the birds, in her favorite chair, suddenly sat up straight, opened her eyes, bright and shining, and spoke - "Natie, you came," and thereupon died. Once again, my dad had kept a promise made, a tad delayed, but nevertheless, kept.

His last cognitive moments of life were spent in typical manner for him. Together with members of his family, including myself, scheduled to return home that night, gather needed items and return the next day, my mom, my sister, my oldest daughter, the wonderful aide who had been with them for some time, we lit the fourth candle of Chanukah. My dad loved Chanukah, the traditional rites, the singing the songs, family together, the warm sounds of his grandchildren and great grandchildren lingering in the air. Always a proud Jew, adhering to the precepts of Judaism, it was gift, a blessing that he could be there for this holiday, the fourth candle awaiting being lit. 

He too could not truly move any longer. He was in great pain. His eyes were always closed, nor did he always respond any longer. But we knew he was there. We just knew it. As we lit the candle and began to sing and recite, his arm rose and he began to gently wave in tune with the singing, the blessings, a smile on his face. It was a moment of bittersweet joy, tears and a smile on everyone's face.

That was the last moment that I had with my dad, for I had to leave immediately, only to receive a call as soon as I walked in my door. My beloved, admired, feared and respected father had left us, gone to the upper regions to argue for greater justice, right and compassion in the world.

His funeral service was mobbed, diverse in the people who came to show their last respects to him, and my mom was even stunned at how many people came, even to the point of standing in the street to hear the words spoken inside.

Still and all, I wish he were here. I wish we had him for more time. I miss my talks with him, sharing our love of writing, of protesting injustice. I sorely miss his advice and knowledge. Simply still miss him, a deep aching pit never to be filled or sated, at least not on this earth. 

Yes, the light of the fourth candle lit the path for him to find his new world, though its brilliance faltered greatly at the task of lighting up our world as it should have. Bittersweet indeed. The memory always there, the bittersweet feeling always there - but not my dad. 

Chag sameach, Happy Chanukah, Pop, and to you as well, Mom, for I know you are together, singing joyfully as the menorah above is lit. I love and miss you both - always and forever, and always keep your memories alive. 

RUNNING LATE

... Along with the rest of the world. Hope to catchup later in the day

MAYBE, COULD BE, SHOULD BE, WELL ...

  We teach our kids to understand that there are consequences. At least we should be doing that. Unfortunately, too many do not. Instead, they allow, even encourage, them to think and practice a philosophy of life that excuses bad behavior. Those consequences of wrongdoing, due to influence, money, or simply ignoring all attempts to bring someone to account are negated, ignored, never applied. 

We are living in a time when people refuse to acknowledge their misdeeds, as people excuse these misdeeds, as people paint themselves in cheap cries of a patently false patriotism, even as they attempted - and continue to - overthrow the legal government at every and all levels. Worse, boding a continued perverted sense of invincibility, is the fact that those who should know better - and actually do - are cheering on these lawbreakers, these traitors, defying all cries to impose and apply justice where it is so manifestly missing.

How many more times will we find more documents wrongfully taken, sloppily stored, perhaps even sold? How many more times will those venomous children of that criminal traitor Trump be allowed to skate on all counts, allowing Eric to open his vicious mouth, for dumb as a stump Junior to add more vitriol to the mix and for Ivanka and Jared to think they can dimple away their wrongdoing.

The Jan. 6 Committee is going to recommend referrals for criminal charges. About time, quite late, but better late than never. The Office of Congressional Ethics - do they really have ethics - to get off the pot and do their job - investigate and charge those members of Congress who aided and abetted in so many ways, the attempted coup d'etat.

And then had the nerve, the absolute gall to try to arrange pardons for themselves and their treasonous behavior- even as they deny any and all wrongdoing with every vowel and consonant of their forked tongues.

 30 former legislators of both parties, as once upon a time there were actual statesmen of the GOP, now a sham and disgrace and danger to the nation, "implored" Congress to push the OCE to investigate and charge as is found appropriate.

"As is now clear, January 6th was only one event among many that together constituted an extraordinary campaign to overturn an election. ... Among the most alarming findings is that various members of Congress participated in it,” the letter read. "We also now know that various sitting lawmakers sought presidential pardons."

Somehow, I am still pessimistic about this ever happening. Can you see Goetz, Perry, Boebert, Greene, McCarthy, Hawley, Gohmert and the rest of that dirty crew, that nest of traitors, voting to allow and encourage and cooperate with an investigation into their behavior - misbehavior -re January 6? For some reason- hmmm - I continue to have doubts of this recommendation ever bearing fruit, or even coming into existence, even if in name only. 

Maybe, could, would, should - but ....

In any case, here is a helpful hint as to where to begin.

Cui Bono. Who Benefits.

Now, please, hop to it, before some other creepy traitor decides to hand them the American Medal or some such ghastly reward for doing evil.

MEIN SHTETLE BELZ - UNDZER STHETL BRENT

Once, I thought I knew it all. Once, I thought I was part of a new generation where the old fears, the old negatives would fall away, wither at the roots and die, useless, unwanted in a new world of promise. Once I thought that the old hatreds had mostly died out and would once and for all extinguish themselves. Once and for all. Once. Not now. 

Once I thought the music of the old countries, the Alte Heim, were of no more use, reminding us of a world which had spit us out, burned us out, killed us off. I was wrong. The new hopes, the bright dreams, once so vivid, have faded away, and the old colors of hate have revived - as have the meanings and ties to the old songs of a people long living under life or death situations, mainly death for too many.

Once I spurned the songs of those times. What did they have to do with me? Why would I sing or listen to one which painted with longing notes a wish, a memory of a town of Belz and the life lived there. That was the same Belz which witnessed so many of my people killed, burned, lynched, raped, slaughtered, turned out and away. Why, why, would I like that music?

Why? 

Because it appears to be that the Wheel of Time is still broken and insists on reverting to old times, bad times, times of which we would paint with rose colored brushes, dreaming of a time when we believed we were actually a part of that old country, where our childhood was seemingly a pastoral dream, a dream which haunted us even as we faced the nightmares of the present.

"Where do I/we go? Where shall I/we stay?"

Eternal questions, asked through the ages, seemingly with no permanent answers, or if indeed permanent, we wished otherwise. These are questions whose cause and responses should be clear, addressed, but never seem to be; rather than withering away, becoming superfluous, they grow, they hide, they reappear, they become the voice of the deluded and the mentally ill, drowning out others and blocking the light of day, smothering us in a night of fog and fear.

Unfortunately, we are living in the early days of such a time. Worse, we are living them in a world which we thought had passed the final death throes of such times, in a country which represented the hopes and dreams of a true home, a true welcome, a true chance to live that dream, especially for our children. A real life, not one of false memory. 

I/We were wrong.

The specter of the ugly truth haunts us still.

Once again - again - the sting of violent hatred is alive and well, finding nourishment in the population, drawing blood from us. Once again. 

Once again, we must turn to music, often in minor key of mournful sound, bursting with longing, fear, hopes and pleas. And, when necessary, with defiance and the same raised fist as is shown to us.

Eternal statements. Eternal questions.

Here are some of those longings and questions as seen in lyrics, English and Yiddish. Pertinent as well are the songs of others in the same oppressive, rights denied, hopeless, yet hopeful. Please take the time to read these words to the end. Then answer the questions - if you can. If you want to.

"One day to a new beginning                      There's a new world to be won

 Raise the flag of freedom high!                   Do you hear the people sing?"

"Belz, mayn shtetele Belz,
Mayn heymele, vu ich hob
Mayne kindershe yorn farbracht…
Mayn heymele vu ich hob
Die Sheine Chalomes a sach.

Belz, my littel town of Belz
My home, where my childhood days passed
Belz, my home town of Belz

In a small and simple room
Where I would sit and laugh with all the children.

I would run with my prayer book every Shabbat
To the banks of the river,
And sit under the green tree.

Belz, my littel town of Belz
Belz, my home town of Belz
My home, where I dreamed so many
Beautiful dreams."

"Our Town is Burning! Undzer Shtetle Brent -1936

It’s burning! Brothers, it’s burning! Oh, our poor town, alas, is burning! Angry winds with rage are tearing, smashing, blowing higher still the wild flames—all around now burns! And you stand there looking on with folded arms, and you stand there looking on—our town is burning!

It’s burning! Brothers, it’s burning! Oh, our poor town, alas, is burning!  The tongues of flame have already swallowed the whole town and the angry winds are roaring—the whole town is burning! And you stand there looking on with folded arms, and you stand there looking on—our town is burning!

It’s burning! Brothers, it’s burning! God forbid, the moment may be coming when our city together with us will be gone in ash and flames, as after a battle—only empty, blank walls!  And you stand there looking on with folded arms, and you stand there looking on—our town is burning!

It’s burning! Brothers, it’s burning! Help depends only on you: if the town is dear to you, take the buckets, put out the fire. Put it out with your own blood—show that you can do it! Don’t stand there, brothers, with folded arms! Don’t stand there, brothers, put out the fire—our town is burning!"

1941 - same author - eternal hope -

"Get up man! It’s dawning,
The beam says to me,
Here’s a sunbeam-bouquet, look up and see,
It’s springtime, the time of good news,
Soon will come blossoms, and seeding, and birds,
And nestlings and freedom and bright cheerful words
For all mankind, and for you also, Jews.

Lagevniki, May 1941"

AND THE DEFIANCE!

"The Jewish Partisan’s Song, Zog Nit Keinmol, is one of the most powerful songs ever written.  The lyrics of the song were written by Hirsch Glick in 1943. He was a young Jew in the Vilna Ghetto. During World War II, the song was sung by Jewish resistance fighters. It was a symbol of resistance for the Jews in their fight against the Nazis.

AND CONTINUES TO BE SUNG TODAY.

The Jewish Partisan’s Song, Zog Nit Keinmol, is one of the most powerful songs ever written. 

Zog Nit Keinmol is considered one of the main Yiddish anthems of the Holocaust. It was sung in the ghettoes, later by Holocaust survivors and at Holocaust memorials all over the world.

Here is a translation of the song:

Never say this is the end of the road.
Wherever a drop of our blood falls, our courage will grow anew.
Our triumph will come and our resounding footsteps will proclaim: We are here!

From the land of palm trees to the far off land of snow,
we shall be coming with our torment and our woe.
And everywhere our blood has sunk into the earth, our bravery and vigor will blossom forth!

We’ll have the morning sun to set our days aglow.
Our evil yesterdays will vanish with the foe.
But if time is long before the sun appears, let this song go like a signal through the years.

This song was written with our blood and not with lead.
It’s not a song that summer birds sing overhead.
It was a people amidst burning barricades that sang the song of ours with pistols and grenades.

So never say you go on your last way.
Though darkened skies may now conceal the blue of the day.
Because the hour for which we hungered is so near.
Beneath our feet the earth shall thunder: We are here!"

AND THE ETERNAL HOPE:

"Don't let the light go out!                                            
Don't let the light go out!
Don't let the light go out!
It's lasted for so many years
Don't let the light go out!
Let it shine through our love and our tears

DON'T LET THE LIGHT GO OUT!!"

AND YET -

The head of GoyimTV, the video platform of the antisemitic group Goyim Defense League (GDL), recently said he's moving his headquarters .... to Florida.

"The once-great party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan has turned its back on the ideals of liberty and self-governance," he said. "Instead, it has embraced lies and deceit. The Republican party used to believe in a big tent... Now, we shelter the ignorant, the racist, who only stoke anger and hatred."

DON'T LET THE LIGHT GO OUT!!"

READING SIGNS

  It used to be that signals were sent via smoke or the sight of huge fires, signal fires, that could cross a country in minutes. Simple, yet effective. People knew what to watch for, how to light the fires and then dealt with the cause of those fires and smoke. The beating of drums or the sound of horns were often added or used alone. Generally, it meant a time of trouble ahead. Today we have the signals, though unfortunately we are not reading them correctly. Even worse is that we do see them, we do hear the blaring horns, the thumping of drums, but we ignore. Worse is that there are too many that rejoice at the growth and necessity of these new signals, add to the cause of them in most negative manner.

When a person spouts nonsense, rants about absolutely insane conspiracy theories ranging from the absurd to the inane to the dangerous, we need to recognize the truth right before our eyes. How can we continue to ignore the growth of this dangerous trend when everyday it gets worse - and we cheer it on. DeSantis is going after those who "poisoned" the American people via the Covid vaccine. Well, poison me again that way, as my initial vaccine and all the boosters, generously given to me free, along with home tests, saved my life, the life of my spouse, the lives of many friends and oh, say at least 3 million more in the USA alone, never mind the rest of the world. So go sue yourself for criminal stupidity, DeSantis and take along the rest of the morons who back you and root for you.

The thing is, this garbage persists as people, out of stupidity, out of nastiness, out of a plan and desire for power, continue to spew this dangerous crap. "Loose lips sink ships" was a motto of WWII. Today, loose lips are sinking not a ship or two, but rather the entire nation. Unfortunately, the state of the world follows right behind, sinking along with us. As right-wing crazies aided and abetted by insane left-wing crazies rise to positions of power and refuse bipartisanship as a positive movement, gain power, so do their 'cousins" in Europe, Asia, all around the world. 

Governments are becoming more oppressive -and murderous as well. Lynching - in 2022! lives on as a weapon of suppression by governments. Shooting into crowds, removing rights, darkening the future of this planet and its inhabitants, and all we do is ignore the smoke, the choking of our breathing and move blithely along the path to death and extinction. Even as the very ground we stand upon deteriorates, dries out, floods, is consumed by rising ocean waters, and dies, taking the future of mankind along with it. 

The drumbeats of hatred sound louder and louder in our ears and minds-and into our lives. Reviving memes of hatred are given new life even as they portend more death. Rising antisemitism now admitted, even as the FBI ignores data from Miami, LA, and NYC, the three largest sites of Jewish population, as they compile a supposed evaluation of antisemitism in 2021.What the hell! Watch a video called Epidemic of Hate: Antisemitism in America. And remember - Jews are a minority but somehow people forget that, refuse to include us in the protection of minorities.

Our members of Congress openly call for the dissolution of the nation. They clearly plotted to overthrow it, to stage a coup d'état - but were foiled by brave, outnumbered guardians even as they violated their own oaths. These guilty ones remain a clear and present danger to this country and need to be dealt with as such. Leaders? Not of us nor for us at all. Even as a clearly criminal former president, a traitor, continues to spout his vitriol into willing ears. 

Even as our Justices of the Supreme Court, the notorious Gang of Six, socialize and openly consort with violent in your face haters, antisemites, misogynists, anti-democracy, antigovernment, right-wing extremists. How the hell can we have any faith in them as they violate their oaths, are partisan to an extreme, and partake in the suppression of rights in almost every case they accept. When they stand in judgment in cases where there is a clear conflict of interest and should recuse themselves - but do not.

The smoke grows even as we ignore it. The fires grow and we refuse to see it. The world edges closer and closer to a worldwide conflagration even as we play ignorant. Yes, signs are there. There are also hopes of righting the imbalance but only if we pay attention, active attention. When we rejoice in a rescue even as we work to free Paul Whelan and the other political hostages. Where we somehow get an insane dangerous man out of his government as he drags the world into a nuclear war. Another madman. Another error of ours. Yet, there we are, chugging along, blithely ignoring every warning in our path.

We are like the man flooded out of his home, clinging to a piece of wood, sure that G-d will rescue him. He turns away two boats and a helicopter, all of whom wished to rescue him. He refused, claiming G-d would do the rescuing. He was that sure. Even as the waters rose, and his piece of wood became waterlogged and sank. And as he drowned, he called out to G-d, why was he abandoned to this fate. G-d answered," Who do you think sent all those rescuers to you? You turned them down. Your death is on you. I did my job." 

Well, we need to do our job as well. To ignore the signs, to turn away from dwindling chances to save ourselves, is to confirm our own peril and reap the fate we have enabled... See the signs of danger, feel them, and deal with them. G-d gave mankind free will. Let us use that gift properly, positively, with hope, with strength and action. 

There is a shard of hope to clear the air. 

But - 

Time is short.