IN THE SAME SEAT

 The picture has gone viral. A new flight attendant sat in the aisle beside a frightened passenger as the plane experienced turbulence. A major kind action, particularly as we have read of so many hostile confrontations between flight attendant and passenger of late. A breath of fresh air and a reminder that there are kind people out there, just a bit more difficult to find.

Saturday night I ran into both types. One was the uncaring professional who seemingly could not handle the discomfort of one person along with the discomfort of another. Prioritizing in her mind, maybe, but that does not mean to ignore. A second to reassure one that her pain and discomfort are acknowledged goes a loooong way. Ignoring, cold shouldering - uh uh. Not in any way. For those of us who have made it into the ER for one reason or another, we know the frustration of being ignored, unseen, invisible, of no account. To then be told that an xray of a battered joint would take another two hours, already in the middle of the night, already there for over two hours, well, time to go home. Time to take care of myself until office hours on Monday. And so I did and so we are doing as we trudge slowly through the medical process. Please note that the quickest one to report to my room was the person in charge of getting my insurance info before I left. Says something! 

As I waited for Gerry to bring the car around, a lovely young woman noticed me standing there kind of lopsided and brought over her hair so I could sit. She did not know, how could she, that sitting was even more painful than standing, but sitting was definitely safer. She did not know me from Adam nor Eve yet did a kindness for a stranger. When I thanked her, she said, "It was nothing. Kindness doesn't cost."

She was right, is right, but so few among us acknowledge that or could care less. We live in our own world where we are center, the focus of all within that circle. When we lose that attention, well, we revert to the infant and toddler stages of life. Not pretty at all. That bit of unexpected small act of kindness goes a long way to calming, soothing, and letting one know that invisibility isn't the issue but rather willingly blinded eyes and uncaring heart, poor professionalism at the very least.

Apparently, we have all devolved in recent years, straight back to our SEE ME stages of life. We think that we are the 'right' ones, our opinions the valid ones. Our thoughts the proper ones, our philosophy of life the way to go. We forget there are forget there are other viewpoints, equally valid, and bury, way down deep, the necessity to parry and debate, to compromise and legislate fairly, to move forward rather than backwards.

We need to hear and understand and apply the words of that very kind flight attendant. We need to internalize the philosophy, so simple, and then maybe, maybe, we could even get to the point where we can be civil with each other and work together to unravel the Gordian knot we have made of it all.

"As a flight attendant, you set the tone," Dean-Shannon was quoted saying on Delta's website. "As a passenger, I would want to be treated the same way. I have to remember; I was in that seat, too."

We all share seats on this voyage through life. The earlier we recall that fact and act upon it, the better off we will be.

APOLOGIES

  Apologies. managed a posting yesterday, but today the aches are too great. Took a bad fall Saturday nite and today is far worse than Sunday. So....taking a day off to rest, sleep, ice, heat, whatever works to ease the pains. Seeing a doctors re the same issue! I hope.

See you tomorrow with a blog posting and a day that will begin better than today's!

DOABLE, POSSIBLE, HAPPENING EVERY DAY,

   ... Or have we found ourselves part of the battle of priorities of the world. We have become so busy injecting hot air into circles of concern, that we overlook the importance of the words meant for this occasion - Holocaust Remembrance Day. We have juggled emotions, historical trends and movements, paths of history so clearly distinguishable from surrounding contextual areas. 

So we watch and recall. Remember. Revisit. Re- interpret. Repatch. Refuse to see the differences between this atrocity and similar ones, try to re-equate the impossible to equate events, reposted variables. What's more, this is all done with a tear on the face and a song of anguish and terror. This approach is downward moving, and its path harmful, massively so. We must ask, rethink anew, our set of scales, and finetune the balances of and nearby humanity. Sorry, folks.  We all try to repaint and repurpose the colors chosen in order to emphasize contact, paint our priorities with a larger, more powerful brush. We try to increase its impact on the community. And we all find that comparing our dinner plates to those of Chinese children is not a very productive action. In fact, trying to make one's own tragedy larger is so definitely NOT the way to move forward. Not at all.

 Voltaire said that man must spend his life regretting all the good he has not done. Think about that. We must remember a closed fan has no purpose, no positive movement. Let us emphasize that which must be done, the truth, and forget the nonverbal imports of entries never done.

Good or bad. 

We must own up. 

We must move forward. 

Always and forever.

We must.

THERE CAN BE MIRACLES

  Last night was amazing. It appeared that one of the miracles Whitney Houston said could happen, did happen. There she was, on stage, singing with all her might and talent. The audience was silent, mesmerized, time and time again until it collectively, gave roaring standing ovations to one song after another. Yes, it seems miracles can be part of life.

Now not to worry, I am not delusional, for yes, unfortunately, Whitney Houston died a terrible death after too many awful years. She could not seem to wrest herself permanently from an abusive husband, loved him too greatly for her own sake and fell victim to depression, hopelessness, and despair. Unlike Tina Turner, she could not pull herself together long enough, deep enough, to save herself. However, the message she left behind, the theme of the songs in which she shared her hopes and heartbreak, remains strong. Presenters such as last night's Belinda Davids keep it alive.

The heartbreak of these songs are the heartaches of all of us. The pains with "every beat" of her heart ring through, loud and clear, and we wonder just what happened? Where has the love gone in today's world? How did we forget who we were as children, life generally sweeter, less oppressive, more smiles on faces than frowns. We participated in life rather than remain on the side, the shoulder of life rather than the path we need to take, are meant to take if life is to fulfill the promise it holds for each and every one of us.

At one point in her career Whitney sang of the "greatest love", that which is found within oneself, one that allows our self-esteem a healthy life, gives us encouragement, courage, to go on, to trust oneself. To "be free". Only with that trust can we move forward on a steady path with the strength to go on despite the odds seemingly against that possibility. If only she had taken her own advice; but she did not.

Instead, she lingered in a relationship of abusive nature rather than the loving, caring one she so desperately sought. In the wrong place - the wrong man. Always she sang of the pain this 'love' inflicted upon her. She was nothing without that love, a true love. That never happened, yet she clung to the hope of it, the illusion of it, declared herself broken, shattered, nothing, without that person's love - a love never true nor beneficial, a false love, hurtful, demeaning and poisonous. 

As I listened to the beautiful voice of Ms. Davids, I thought of the waning presence of true love in this world. So many, too many, of the people of this world are without love. They are threatened, beaten, their needs ignored, enslaved, the targets of hatred, inimical to all. We confuse love with acquiescence to demands, that we change to fit those square holes. That we all become the 'supporters', a "base'" for others, never for ourselves -never a good place to be.

I listened and thought how blessed I am in my life. Never mind petty childhood spats of siblings or an occasional scolding by a parent, or a tense discussion with a friend. If we have a circle of family, by blood or by love, crafted, if we have that then much fades into the background, little things of no account.

Unfortunately, in today's world the blessing of true family, of any composition, beneficial and supportive, is a blessing more noticed in its absence than its presence. Today the stories of humanity are rife, rotten, with spilled blood, with hatred vile and vicious, of 'others', whatever one's definition of that 'other' is. We appear to value and stress hatred, refusing to accept the humanity of all, particularly if that other appears to be different than you.

Whitney asked of her audiences, asked of her loved ones, "Don't you want to dance with somebody"? Always there is that need, that longing for a partner, for a trusted being, someone, to share life itself, its joys and tribulations. Well, we all need to dance at times, even if we dance with the "greatest love of all" - our own strong, worthy inner souls.

If we recognize the need fora better side of humanity, if we take a giant step back from where we are now, morph that step back into a step forward, a giant, confident one, forward to a better place where we can all "be free", then we can certainly dance with all.

One day we will realize there are no capitalized people - no White, no Black, no Red, no Yellow, no Trans, no LGBTQ+, no separation, simply people. Let us rejoice in that knowledge and act upon it. Back that cake, serve the customer, treat the patient, respect all - and dance together.

SQUAWK, SQUEAK, SQUAWK, SQUREEECH!

  

Those are the sounds emanating from an excited posting, a transmission of the latest news from Planet Earth to the rest of the waiting galaxy. All agog at the latest human shenanigans, bets are increasing in amount and number, odds changing in minutes, seconds even. Will the entity known as the USA survive, intact for the most part, or will it collapse of its own weight, stressed by lies, more lies, stupidity, greed, and sheer carelessness as players refuse to do their jobs, fulfill responsibilities.

Too busy, they say. What are they busy with? Sniping and biting each other, snapping at heels, and tripping over their own tongues. Goose and gander are seemingly not equal in misdeeds as excuses from the land of Nod are thrown into play. Adults behave as children and the children? They shake their heads, puzzled by the so blatant, obvious, misbehavior of these selfsame adults. Their conclusions circle the core of a plot conspiracy, a human undertaking of suppression of ET rights to visit Earth, to mix with earthlings, to create ties of economy and shared concerns, to expand exponentiality the possibilities for advancement, a positive synergy of the best of all civilizations. How else to explain the daily insanity.

The sages of the Council of Planets scratch their varied heads as they simply feel that such egregiously outlandish behavior by the humans must have a purpose, an underlying reasoning. What that is, is yet to be unveiled, to be explained and understood, validated - if at all possible. The problem is exacerbated greatly when the discussion turns to debate re a proper response, a sane, logical exchange of data, thoughts, philosophies, between the cultures. The tension rises as we meet a growing difficulty in understanding our own selves, let alone trying, succeeding, to find the words to clear up any confusion on the part of the ETs.

You can't make this up, one segment shouts. Others plug for nefarious thinking and plans on the part of the humans. Yet another splinter group maintains that we need to shut the door on communications at this point. Humans are obviously suffering from some long lingering infection, contagious, harmful, and generally affecting the thinking process within the strange minds of humans. In fact, the level of concern grows as questions are raised re the possible contagiousness of this infection, for can it be transmitted to the ET world? How could they possibly know how to deal with the lies of a Greene, of deniers of truth such as McCarthy, of cowards like Cruz, of nonentities like Mast, the vile hatreds of the right wing of the GOP, of whatever the hell that man, Trump, is? How do they focus on the most important if they cannot explain nor understand the issues nor the truth, if any - beneath the bizarre behavior of these strange beings, humans. They themselves appear to puzzle their own selves. Lies, vitriol, anger, determination to stymie progress and even bring the government down, no logic, at least in the minds of the ETs. No sense at all.

Several participants in the Council of Planets are quietly walking out on these discussions. They feel there is no use for they cannot ever understand such improbable self-harming behavior and thinking -and, in fact, never wish to do so at all. Others begin to follow, and the Conference closes the door on contact, open and free, between humans and ETs at this point. Perhaps in another millennium it will be better. Perhaps. There is plenty of time. 

Thus, the growing and then disappearing stories of spaceships in the sky, of strange looking bipedal beings most definitely not your average looking human, of contact with 'weirdos'.  Nope, humans have blown it again, been denied the progress that could have been achieved. 

Will they ever learn? Will they ever stop tampering with truth and reality? With recognition of the humanity of all, with a recognized personhood of ETs, creating a safe environment? 

A pipe dream or a true possibility? 

Big shoes to fill. 

A rocky path to follow.

Sanity required.

SQUAWK......

"MILES AND MILES OF NOUGHT" JAN. 27TH.

  These words are from the pen of Amy Bloom as she describes the peaceful, voluntary death of her husband, holding his hand as he began the "long journey of miles and miles of nought", legally, via Dignitas in Zurich. It did not matter that there was a belief or not of "miles of nouhgt" versus an afterlife. Only the dignity which should be accorded to a person dying, in pain, via a painless, more dignified ending of that journey through life.

There are many examples of the beliefs of one being imposed on another. Abortion choice. Homophobia - personified so gracelessly via DeSantis, our quickly upcoming fascist. In fact, it is so entangled with his other cockeyed beliefs that one cannot see exactly where sanity and insanity merge. Black history is to be banned because it teaches "queer theory", or intersectionality, or whatever bizarre idea runs through his bizarre mind which then finds new homes in the sadly confused minds of others. As it washes through these people, it becomes more and more of a real life threat, as books, ideas, inventions, philosophies, teachers, and all people are targeted for their opposition to this backwards, dangerous trend in the life of the world today. 

 Much, much worse than the spouting of these ideas, these vitriolic words which are part and parcel of the adherents of the New Fascism, is the transference from words to deeds. To a repetition of history most vile and unspeakable. Yet speak of it we must if we are to prevent further growth of this already burgeoning poisonous tree and its deep, long, twisted roots lurking beneath the surface.

In two days, on January 27, 78 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, these ideas remain alive and well and thriving. Still too strong. Still too appealing to haters. Still clinging to life, a life receiving new infusions of energy, money, of blood, every damned day! Even here in Palm Beach County, in West Palm Beach, in Boca, we are living with the growing presence and poison of antisemitism, of Holocaust denial, of a virulent hatred of Jews, as new hate groups arise, as well as groups formed to combat this poisonous contamination of humanity. 

However, our efforts to combat this hate, this erasure of names from life - not numbers, but real, once living, thinking, breathing, laughing people, well, they are failing abysmally. It is a story of a sour history returning again and again, never to die, always to rise and infect. In the UN, the Yad Vashem Book of Names is to be opened, 4,800,000 names - so sadly incomplete. Families with no one left in life to recall them, to name them, to demand that their existence be validated, their death mourned and the enabling philosophy to be ripped asunder, its roots torn out of the psyche of humanity. I, along with so many, too many others will type our list of names which burn in our hearts and validate our emotions, our histories awash in blood and the blackness of hate.

 Will it bring them back to life? No. Most definitely not. However, these victims will be recognized as people, with names and histories, with hopes and dreams, with anguish as their loved ones were stripped away and their own humanity denied. So I will type those names of mine, made ever more real as research has uncovered pictures, stories, their very humanity, new relatives who looked my mom, or resembled my dad. No longer part of a vast incomprehensible mammoth crowd, but individuals. 

Real people. Dying people, entering the long journey of miles of nought way before death freed them from their pain. They are people, my great aunt trudging on a death march, cousins gassed, beaten, burned, shot, tortured to death. 

My great grandmother 'disappeared', her greatly advanced years earning her no mercy, her death never confirmed as to exact day of death. Known to be, as one minute she was there and the next gone. Was she killed in the streets as she searched for food and water, for medicine for ailing, dying loved ones? Or was she ripped from her barely there shelter, or from a street where she might have been existing?

 Was it on the train in the brutal world of the cattle cars, or of starvation and illness in the ghetto of Lvov or did she 'survive' till she reached the belching flames of hatred in the notorious extermination camp Belzec. We might never know exactly, but death was certainly her fate, a death drowning in hate, in spilled blood, and her name and history live on in me. In the diminutive 'Esterke' my grandmother, my Bubbie, used to call me. Did she see her mother in me? Did I cause her pain every time my name was mentioned? I hope not, for I dearly loved her and my Zaydie who lost over 200 members of his family in one brutal mass "Holocaust of Bullets" in the summer of 1942.

Such was the "long journey" of theirs. Such is the long journey we all live today. One official, a pretty good guy for the most part, said, “These people are not coming from Palm Beach County They’re coming from outside of Palm Beach County bringing their hate to us,” ... “We are a diverse, peaceful, loving and welcoming community, but we don’t welcome their hate.” 

This isa denial of truth, a hopeful, but useless and dangerous thought. It is not the stranger, but the neighbor. It is not the acquaintance, but the once best friend, family friends. These are the perpetrators of violent death, of criminal behavior, of uncaring cruelty. Not the stranger - and that makes it even more dangerous and infinitely sadder.

Holocaust Remembrance Day: 'No more means we can live as Jews and not just not die'

Rabbi Avichai Apel, German Rabbinic Organization chair and European Rabbinical Conference Vice Pres. addresses European Commission.

 AMEN!  A THOUSAND TIMES SO.

 "Yitgadal, vitkadash, shemeh rabbah..."

Kaddish for all those ripped from life, known, named, or still unnamed. 

We remember them all.

We remember you. 

And always will.

May your memories be for blessings.

AAAAAAWWWWWWW, SO CUTE, SO GOOD -

  Until it is not. "He is so sweet. Always helping" - said the neighbor of the serial axe murderer. Or, "No, my husband loves his children; he could not be a pedophile...."  Famous last words, except that they are as related to truth as Marjorie Taylor Greene is connected to sanity. Today the subjects of comments such as these are impressive in the sway of their denials and actual, real-time ability to reinsert themselves into society, somehow steaming the filth off their contaminated reeking bodies and souls. Worse, they are becoming a growing percentage of governing bodies throughout the USA. For sure, the skill of telling lies without blinking has become a valuable trait and ability, perfect for a first or second or third and fifth, etc. step up the rungs of that already besmirched ladder, made so by prior 'uglies' doing their own climbing.

Heaven help us, we cry out. How can this be, we ask. It must stop, we call out. And yet, it does not. Nor does it give any answer or advice to the confused, those trying to maintain a sane and balanced governing segment of our nation. It has become a Sisyphean task, and many are caving, exhausted by their apparently useless efforts, falling prey to the miscreants who have seized the reins of power, in ever more outrageous misdeeds and lies. 

Actually, it should truly not make a difference as to consequences of present veering off the straight and narrow. Good - till one is not. Law abiding - until the curtain is pulled back. A sterling example of civic responsibility - until the cracks beneath that solid platform cause it to collapse. Certainly, by logical extension of thought, those who begin in filth and persist in insanity, in living in a destructive world of false conspiracies, at times literally coming from outer space, well, it should be clear there is no room for them in any position or place from which they can do more damage to the world, the country they have already damaged, possibly beyond any possibility of repair, crippled. The nation they have betrayed cries out with fatal wounds even as they go on their merry way.

Can we actually fix a nation which not only accepted a clear pervert years ago with Thomas, now excusing him from his suspicious shenanigans with his wife and is now accepting of yet another sexual pervert in the form of Kavanaugh. A new documentary of his alleged perversions might shake things up, but... the faith, the trust is depressingly most present, prominent in its absence. 

Clear treasonous members of both Houses of Congress, before and after the fact, are escaping responsibility for the rebellion of J6. Worse, they have even gained power. They have stuck their thumbs in the pies and pulled out more than a few plums and cherries. They have pulled out the heart and soul of this nation, its courage and optimism, its confidence, instead, leaving behind, encouraged, despair, ennui, and apathy. It is clear to any but the willfully blind, or those who see and like what they see, that this nation, the nation of "four score and seven years ago" is fading, almost gone, obsolete, victim to attacks from within and without.

"What have you done for me lately?" A question to be asked, to have a mandated response, truthful ones. Good, honest, kind, - until one is not, no longer, and the ugliness previously hidden within the folds of their minds are now exposed, the glare focused, yet will anyone even care anymore, other than the diehards who will go down with the mortally wounded ship of state of democracy.

Not so funny actually that a George Santos will be welcomed to a reception. Not so funny that an openly insane woman now has the key to the seat of power in the House, and perhaps more than that!  Not so funny to watch Hawley cheer on and then run for his life from the rebels of J6 and continue in office. Good - till not. Sweet - until bitter. Honest - until one notices the extremely looong nose!

We are at the cusp of an event, an era, of shocking tragedy, for humanity. As individuals and as entities of state, time to see past the disguises and face the truth, feel it deep within. And then act to protect it, to fend against the evil ones who propose a vastly different future for us.

Think not that I have jumped the shark. Much of what I have said, written, predicted, years ago has come true, been exposed- and yet, here we are. Time to reject, to catch the escaped lunatics, mete out justice, and safeguard this precious nation.

Am I hopeful? 

No. 

DO WE? MAYBE. MAYBE NOT. DOES IT EVEN MATTER?

  Attended a most wonderful performance of the Broadway show, Tina. Wow!!! Wow again. Chock full of talent, especially Tina as the child Anna Mae- what a voice- and adult, Grandma, and on. The audience was 150% positive, not a seat empty, and rocked and roared along with Tina. Yet amusing and entertaining as it was, there were serious moments which demand perusal and musing.

Front and center was Tina's life as a child and adult as to hope, violence, and love. A brutal father, a mother who fled for her life, leaving Tina behind, only a beloved Grandmother to rescue her, followed by more brutality and abuse from a husband for almost two decades, followed by a rough time after divorce. It took many years for her talent to be recognized, respected and rewarded. 

 Noticeable during the performance was the buy in of the audience as they rocked back with verbal shock at the domestic abuse, at the desperation, and cheered and clapped when a woman struck back, remained defiant. Another such moment was when a record executive stated there was no room in their company for an "old n''''r woman" As one, the audience gasped their shock and dislike of that sentiment and choice of words. It cheered her moments of love and optimism, her determination to succeed, and went wild at curtain call and beyond. Misogyny. Racism. Domestic abuse.

What else? Towards the conclusion of the performance, one of my favorite songs, sung by the children of the Thunderdome, "We Don't Need Another Hero" was presented. Herein is the question or questions of the day, the year, the decade, for eternity. Sadly, but firmly, the children, "the last generation ... the ones left behind", pleaded their causes, their desperate wish. Asking not for parents or glory or wealth or even a return to what was and might never be again, even denying the need for a rescuing hero, there was a plaintive plea and recognition of the new limitations in the world.

"We don't need another hero
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome

Looking for something
We can rely on
There's gotta be something better out there"

There is great tragedy within those words and wishes. Acknowledgement that no,

 they are not children anymore, left behind, parents, adult authority gone, no one to

 fend for them, alone, with only their own selves to rely on. No pie in the sky here,

 only a desperate plea to find, to live in a world somewhere away from, divorced

 from, the world of the Thunderdome.

And yet, beneath that haunting plea, there is also the eternal optimism to be found in the human soul, that there can and will be a better time, a better place, that things will definitely get better - only when? When? From Rita Moreno's haunting "There's a Place for Us - someday, somewhere, sometime", to Bonnie Tyler's defiant, demanding "We Need a Hero", always there has been this hope for 'better', for a rescuer. For a hero. Unfortunately, heroes are few and far between. Too often we hare after the supposed 'hero' only to find it was a false hope leading only to more tragedy. 

The missing in action hero is to be found within ourselves, within the indomitable courage and strength of humans. Yes, we despair of it all at times, too many times, but it is in there. The heroes we need, seek, long for - it is us, we the people.

We need to be, in fact are, our own heroes.

These Thunderdome children ask not the way home for they know home is no longer there. All they want is a life "beyond Thunderdome', a better place. One where they can serve as a light for others to follow. 

These yearnings are not restricted to children of an apocalyptic movie. No, they are, they live, they populate our fractured world. Be it food insecure, dehydration, kidnapping and slavery, a bullet, a machete, a country reduced to rubble, constant warfare, the children of the Thunderdome have found space within our own Thunderdome. 

We have a world where every day children die, are brutally killed, caustically ignored as they lay dying, as they struggle with mammoth effort, with strength beyond their little bodies and giant hearts, to climb, to flee towards a future for themselves. They are the brave ones separated from parents, denied place and welcome in a new country, denied refuge, become "lost" within the system. 

This is all our doing. We are the antiheroes in our own Broadway performances, only our actions and decisions have an effect in reality, most definitely not make believe. There are strong, severe consequences in real life, real time, enacted upon real bodies, of men, women, and children, the most heartbreaking of all.

WE need to be the heroes we can be, should be.

 We definitely need a hero, more than one, and these heroes are right here!

If only we would acknowledge that and act upon it. 

If only. 

WELCOME HOME, MR. MXYZPTLK

 For those of you who did not spend many wonderful hours perusing the DC Superman comics, Mr. Mxyzptlk is an imp appearing to be non- threatening, yet is very much so. Capable of, and always doing so, he changes reality, warping it, until one does not know the truth from the false. This situation should sound familiar to all of us as we appear to be living in a world which belongs to him and his adherents. Nothing fazes him, victorious in his plans, until tricked into saying his name backwards.

Our dear friend, Mr. Mxyzptlk, apparently reads, for he runs his life true to a facetious statement of Mark Twain- "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Worse, the majority of the GOP, and growing, adhere to that thought and chatter away inanities of dangerous proportions and consequences. Lies that are then adopted by the 'base'.

Last nite, I opened the computer and flipped through various news articles and reports. I then had to put a pause on that activity for I had to wonder. Had I somehow been transported into the reality of Mr. Mxyzptlk or the Bizarro world? Had the evil of the truth deniers taken over? Had we lost the battle, the war, for peace, for truth, for democracy? Seemingly so, and I leave it to you to wonder the answer as I present some of the news gems of yesterday. Looking for a rideshare to someplace sane -if there is indeed any such place remaining. Doubt lays heavy upon us.

First up - a new documentary, ready to blow the world of the Supreme Court, re Kavanaugh, will be released at Sundance. Seemingly, this private individual has been able to unearth the truth, what the government refused to do, and reveal that we now have two sexual perverts on the bench - how thrilling, such a warm, reassuring, fuzzy feeling. The 'best' part - I am 100% sure that nothing will occur as a result, he will remain on the bench, twisting and perverting our reality into that of Mxyzptlk and the evil world of Bizarro.

More? Oh, for sure.

" ... at least a half dozen times at trial, a prosecutor asked witnesses to identify Bagby’s “nationality.”Bagby, born in California, is an American citizen... questions about his nationality to be in reference to Bagby’s race, ...must be to emphasize Bagby’s race... a stereotype that to be American is to be white and to be Black is somehow ‘foreign,’ ... prosecutor continuously referred to Bagby’s nationality, ethnicity, and race, it primed the all-white jury to pay more attention to this racial difference, thereby activating any anti-Black implicit biases they may hold.” 

Like that one? Well, have I got more for you. 

Whiteness is the system, the ideology, the belief, the thought that because your skin is white, you are superior to Black people," she said. "Because your skin is white you deserve better. Because your skin is white, you have better opportunities. ""The last thing you have to worry about is an animal - though that could be a very real threat.. more dangerous are any whites you may see on the trail.. be safe!" 

The hate, the danger, is too contagious, poisoning all within society, right to left, crossing lines of ethnicity, race, religion, any difference at all that can be ginned up. Bizarre indeed is the fact of this hatred, from both sides, open, said with pride, even as the spilled blood spreads, as more are seduced by that talk, what it implies and excuses. 

Perennial, pervasive hatred. Reality?

Let's add some icing on the cake as Gov. Noem, a possible candidate for President, shows off her Trumpian stripes - her infection - as she refers to some nations as "evil foreign governments."  meshing seamlessly with those who refer to their "right' ideas of behavior and rules as somehow delivered unto them by the Lord on High. Just ask them.

Add this to the stinking stew.

"The Florida Department of Education says it banned AP African American History because it teaches students about activism, intersectionality and encourages “ending the war on Black trans, queer, gender non-conforming, and intersex people,”

Now, people, think not that this refers 'only' to black history for it refers to all histories of groups, as facts, 'truth' are open for 'revision' as suits the powers that be, i.e. - so no Holocaust history lessons for it is a "hoax" - just ask them.

This next one validates the idea of cutting 'them' off at the pass, starving them to death, weakening 'them' so 'they' become toothless, in more ways than one. I do believe that this type of plan has been tried before!

Iowa Republicans are proposing sweeping changes to the state's food assistance program — including banning beneficiaries from buying grocery staples like meat, American cheese, or flour....co-sponsored by 39 Republican state legislators would limit those getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buying food on a more restrictive list from a separate program intended for pregnant women and children. ... wouldn't be able to buy a variety of foods, including white grain bread, buns with added nuts or seeds, white rice, pasta sauce, canned fruits or soups, baked beans, cheese slices, butter, or flour. 

They would instead be limited to foods approved for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. 

Where the hell do these people come from? Have they learned nothing but hate their entire lives? Do they truly believe that the elderly on SNAP will do well on baby formula - if it can even be found! It just boggles the mind!

This next one speaks for itself, and I just love that I am not alone for I now know I have an army of believers in a Creator who also have insomnia walk beside me. We evidently are not afraid of the things that walk in the night. Oh, yay!! And the cherry on top of this bloody iced cake? We are assured that we are up front and personal with that Creator, at least so Mississippi's legislators tell me, as they pass warped laws shredding personal rights of women- and anyone else caught in their crosshairs.

"Missouri's abortion ban declares 'Almighty God is the author of life.'"

So now there are more of us who believe in aliens and ghosts? Yay again.

No, people, this is a reality most definitely not to be wished for. Yet here it is, replete with ugliness, fabrications, right with us, encompassing us. I certainly hope that Superman will rescue us again. If not, we had better amp up the learning curve and understand how we got this reality and how to change it - for the better.

Now, please. Perhaps the latest issues of Superman or the Justice League or the Fantastic Four, or Batman, or the X-men will have a better answer for me - and for you - and for us. Hopefully.

Someone has to have an answer, a solution.

IS THERE A 'THERE' THERE?

 When did the 'there' surface and has it remained there or has it become the here and right now rather than the 'there' not yet here? Or has the 'there' already long passed by, grown way beyond all predictive sources and guesses? Has the thought of a 'there' to come grown beyond old definitions and become the always and already here and now, never to be returned to the 'there' and 'here' of old? In fact, how would we recognize such a change in pattern, judge its life span and more important, will the people accept the change, a huge sea change, grow comfortable with the 'there' always the 'here'?

I greatly amazes me how much progress has been made, socially, technologically, over the course of my life span, boggling the mind. From cars with huge fins to room size computers, to punchcards, to small computers worn on wrists and capable of conversation, to speedy at home or away logons, to spaceflight and missions to Mars, and an unfortunate return to the days of a George Wallace, the destruction of a "Dream" of iconic presence, back to denial of rights and bigotries of old as toxic as ever. Too many benighted dangerous fools have turned back the clock to the then that was, bypassed all the here and now and returned us willy-nilly to a there that should never have been capable of reverting, morphing, into a hateful here and now. 

Perhaps permanently.

Now do a reality check, one that will convince you that the here and now has slithered and slimed its way into the Looking Glass world. Would it ever have occurred to you that an ignoramus, a bigot, a moron purveyor of hatred, a Marjorie Taylor Greene, would have risen through the levels of filth to be seated in a seat of power controlling the destiny of this nation? Of our future. Of your future and mine. The future- or not -of our children.

As bad as that is, it becomes worse, exponentially so, when we add to her, other dangerous darkened souls such as Gaetz, Bobert, Brooks, Perry, Jordan, Johnson, Scott, McCarthy etc., giving rise to a synergy of evil of heretofore unthinkable levels within the here and now, a poor fraying situation of a here and now, a return to a 'there' most definitely not worthy of return. 

At worst, this country will stagnate or devolve to a degree beyond which has already taken place. At best, we will survive to the elections of 2024, no more "stollen" accusations from a demented Trump. We will wallow in the blood shed by our proxies in Ukraine, the world will run out of all fancy ammunitions and weapons of war and revert to the next war - of sticks and stones and swords and war clubs and words.

And so, back to the beginning. Is the 'there' that is always there actually the here and now of our days? Can we change this time warp of negative consequences? Depends on how and if those in the present, in the here and now, understand the task at hand, shift, reformat our here and now, and insure a better, positive, hopeful 'there' to come. 

T'would definitely be a good thing to know, to be confident, that there will indeed be a proper 'there' there for all of us.

JIGSAWS OF LIFE

  A latecomer to the world of jigsaws, I have found them to be accurate representations of issues of life. No, they do not speak nor impart secret messages. However, the need for preciseness, attention, for not reaching above before time and experience, knowing one's capabilities and limits, knowing which brands are better - all part and parcel of the needs of a good life. Unfortunately, many of us have turned away from these commonsense necessities of life; hence life today in these here United States of America. Meet it, greet it and cry.

Note that the craze, the fans of jigsaws are rampant through the world, nationality having no influence on it, though perhaps its growth has been encouraged via the pandemic. Yes, it takes up time, but it also encourages growth of important cognitive skills, family togetherness and simple plain fun without all the artificial noise, merely the inner satisfaction upon completion, especially a challenging one.

Now look at life. Some puzzles are cheaply made, the cuttings imprecise, the quality of the pieces poor, difficult to fit together, to snap together. The puzzle theme is obscure and difficult to complete. Well, look at the jigsaw of life today as we live it, and wonder, along with me, why we do not upgrade, rather than lower our standards.

For quite some time now we have been catering to the lowest common denominator. "The Base." That anomalous, threatening word which allows for, encourages, poor judgments, lowered standards, hatred, negativity and a life replete with threats to those whose thoughts and bents differ. And the truth shines through. Trump, who just loves capitalizing and anagrams, has done himself oh so right. In his insane chase after nomination again, he has termed this latest aberration Save America Again. SAAG. Yes, sag, which is what we have done lo these almost decade worths of years. America's building is sagging, its foundations attacked too many times, repair scarce. America's foundations have been weakened, its support weakened. The cracks grow apace yet go unnoticed or ignored - or even valued. 

Yes, that part of the jigsaw has not weathered the test of time too well. Instead of experts, we allow room for demonstrably insane, dangerously so, characters who are cynical, love the attention they garner, and pose the most dangerous threats to our continued existence as a democratic nation. We are losing the tie- in pieces of the puzzle at a growing rate, and we do not even bother to try to pick them up and restore them to our broken puzzle.

Another growing trend today is the growth industry of a form of Jerusalem Syndrome, wherein people imagine themselves as prophets of the Lord, and spout off wherever and whenever the spirit moves them! Apparently, Marjorie Taylor Greene is one such false prophet, spouting, ranting, re Devil worship, pedophilia, sacrifices to Maloch - under a wicked collusion of the Rothschild family, George Soros and the Democratic Party. Oops, do not forget the space laser which Jews have been wielding, against the people of America and beyond dousing them, poisoning them. And this is the woman now in charge of the House Home Security Committee. This jigsaw has just imploded! Wrong pieces in wrong slots. 

Here are two telling comments about this latest Greene abomination.

“This is placing, literally, the Confederates in charge of the union.”

 “Marjorie Taylor Greene is just kind of a hollow shell of a person who believes, and actually is correct in believing, that theatrics get her attention and attention gets her money and money makes her powerful within her party...”

Now cry or laugh, whatever, but both are equally correct.

But wait, there are more broken pieces of this puzzle, this one Matt Goetz.

According to the allegations in the complaint, the defendant exploited a social media platform to infringe one the of most basic and sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution: the right to vote,”

This murky, water swollen, venom infected jigsaw deteriorates more and more, beyond all thought or possibility of repair. No, we need a new one, one which eliminates those who would spoil it, ruin it for all time, and replace their spoiled pieces with ones of quality and adherence to truth, to justice, to America.

"I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice," she said. "It's that simple."

"I am human, politicians are human," she said. "We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it's time. And for me, it's time."

Would that we have such people who know the truth and act accordingly. That prospect does not seem to be a realistic hope. In the interim, more jigsaw puzzles deteriorate.

As for me, I am going back to my treasure trove of Nick at Nite puzzles. Less stress indeed.

MEAT GRINDERS

  Today, an old meat grinder is considered an antique, living behind glass doors or on display shelves. Once, it was a valued piece of kitchen equipment. It was also the source or instigation of competition amongst the four of us, as we competed for position of grinder assistant. It was actually hard work, but we loved it and knew we would be benefitting from the job in the very near future.

I wish we would all volunteer for a new meat grinder assistant position - the correct meat grinder, that is. In silly, even dangerous statements, many compete for a grinder position; however, their grinders are warped, turning out incomplete jobs, grinding the wrong way, ruining the product from the getgo. In fact, many of the grinder assistants turn out to be the actual blades, the "meat" they are grinding is ... us. You and me and American society. At times their grinders appear to be time machines which only work in one direction - backwards. The final product is ugly in appearance, in intent, and definitely harmful to the digestive process.

We are told we need, deserve a "fulsome explanation of the process so far," Perhaps, but that never ever appears. The mysteries of the government are kept behind a curtain, emulating the Wizard of Oz - and his selfishness and disregard for his believers - and flies off, leaving the Land of Oz abandoned to its fate. More and more promising to be a fate most decidedly to be unwished for. No matter who is at the helm of state.

Today, we abandon the wisdom of the people, the pithy, short statements that highlight the truth, the promise, rather than grind down anyone who does not fit the mold desired at that moment. She said, " Better to be short and shine that to be tall and cast a shadow". Today, all the leaders seem to be casting a shadow, not the shadow of a great hero, a rescuer of society, a grinder repairman of note, but rather the shadows of deniers of explanations, masters of carelessness and/or obfuscation, of promoting themselves to positions beyond all accountability, justification, explanation and viability.

The foxes, ravenous with negative desires and goals, of "revenge", admit all, openly. Ron Johnson and his role and purpose of J6 talks loud and clear in an interview. McCarthy is deep up to his neck in his perverted attempts to destroy the government and along with it, the surety and reliance of the American government, threatening to force this nation into financial default, following along, close behind, the moral default already devastating this nation. 

Even as nature gives in to the changing, confusing world, polar bears attacking people in a village, we are attacking our own. Cut the budget. Cut entitlement programs, take away medical, financial supports of elderly, already living in a very constrained financial world, and as for the social safety net for those in need, ha!!

Hypocrisy is rampant. Santos, the liar, quotes MLK,  “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

McCarthy lets it roll right off his forked tongue, " Who wants to put the nation through some type of threat at the last minute with the debt ceiling? Nobody wants to do that." Uh, mirror anyone? 

Gosar, Scott, Greene, Perry, Boebert, and other creepy traitors who denied election results, are appointed to important committees which set the parameters and perimeters of the government. People who follow, still, this maniac.  "... my 'Prosecutor' is a Radical Left Trump HATING Lunatic, whose wife & family get a perfect '10' for spewing Trump HATE, & whose 'friends' are the most evil, angry, & disgusting Marxists & Communists in & around Government?"'     All we can expect is trouble on the hoof.

And meanwhile, the war in Ukraine carries on, the country is a pile of blood-soaked rubble, and the proxy war is heating up as Putin reveals his secret weapon, a la Hitler and his V2 rockets.

 Is this our future? A giant, malevolent meat grinder with twisted grinders at the handle?

Vegan, anyone?

A ruler like this?

"I will be as good unto ye as ever a Queen was unto her people. No will in me can lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power. And persuade yourselves that for the safety and the quietness of you all I will not spare if need be to spend my blood."

Elizabeth I on the eve if her coronation

BUSTED BALLOONS

  We all love balloons. Adults, children and everyone in-between. Birthdays, graduations, fun day at the park. Even when they fly off into the air, we watch, amazed, enjoying the action and flight. We send them everywhere - homes, camps, overseas, wherever we can order or ship. Why? Perhaps because they represent childhood and its supposed simplicities of life. Or perhaps because they are pretty or can be personalized. But there they are.

However, when a balloon goes pop! well, that is when the tears come. The fright or the disappointment. The loss of a pretty, wanted item. Whatever it is, when that balloon bursts, well, reality slips in and we begin to understand that all balloons cannot last forever. Even if they survive to remain in one's home, room, office, the air seeps out and one day they are a flat piece of foil or latex, lying limp upon the floor. Its bubble has burst.

As I watched a balloon soar high in the air yesterday, I wondered where it would go. Would it die in space? Would it land in a child's backyard? Would it pop, because that is what stressed balloons do. I thought how many of my balloons have burst wide open, leaking inner anguish for what that represents. I wondered why there is such a plethora of burst balloons these days and if there is anything to be done about it.

On MLK Day, loud, clear, frightening, pop!!! went one balloon, though not surprised, just taken aback at the chutzpah of it. A demented woman, crazed with the new power and influence she wields, and anticipations of its further growth, Boebert did not disappoint her distractors. On the day we mourn the death of a champion of rights for all, a man of magic speeches and words, shot by one who could not tolerate such a man and his dreams, she goes way over the top with her hypocrisy, and reminds us of all the gazillions of burst balloons she and her ilk represent. Compare the two statements.

MLK- "In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.... 

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.... I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."... this is our hope. 

This is the faith. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. ... 

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

Boebert - “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“On this day, we remember his incredible legacy and contributions to this great nation,” the congresswoman added.

POP!!!!

The hypocrisy of a woman of the shamed GOP fighting so hard to reintroduce days of yesteryears which should have been buried long ago, and she states this!!! 

No, no graceful flight through the air, only a great big POP releasing rancid air, toxic to this country.

She is joined in her hypocrisy by a supposed representative of the people, but which people are allowed into her oh so warm embrace? These people only.

Vengeance is mine declares the Lord. God will not let evil go unpunished," Greene's tweet stated. "The [House GOP] must do what is right for the American people and no longer serve the Uniparty and the Globalist agenda. America First!]

Where am I and others like me, others who do not fall into her definition of worthy people, only subject to the wrath of the Lord? 

Far, far, far, and further than that, away from her. No, Marjorie Taylor Greene is no friend of this country. Nor of democracy anywhere upon this earth. This is what she and others like her, be they GOP or Democratic or whatever category they assign to themselves, incite.

Anti-Semitic display projected on building in downtown West Palm Beach

I am so upset that I will leave further burst bubbles and balloons for another day.

My country??????

Do I need to check my papers again? Do we all?

BREWS AND STEWS AND FULL UP ROOMS

 Okay, you must remember this from elementary school. We were taught proudly and absorbed proudly, the notion that this country was a diverse bowl of people who together formed a wonderful new mix, quite different from the country of origin. It was a national point of pride. We also were taught that the mix, the recipe was not quite there yet, needed to be tweaked, but we were on the correct path to that goal. Well, somewhere between then and now it disappeared. 

Now people are more concerned, intent, on separating the ingredients of this magic mixture into its separate parts. Sadly, we are rejecting the wisdom of the ages. Separate, there is no strength. Together, the strength is multifold, a synergy that is more than the sum of its parts. We have ignored the modern consequences of forgetting that as countries warred within themselves, on themselves, killed their neighbors, even relatives for identifying with one part or segment and not the other.

Here in the America of today we are in great peril of reaching that sad, dangerous segment of the road through which we must pass and hopefully emerge stronger at the other side rather than allowing hatred of others to surface so strongly so as to subsume, completely obscure any of the truth. I am not very sure at all that we will traverse that segment of the road safely, unwounded, which we have already reached. The damages of the impacts of negativism, of hatred, of emphasis on differences, of a calculated amnesia of the truth of the formation and composition of this nation's philosophies and progressive bent, perhaps too great to overcome.

Nope, going, going, ....? Will we reach that 'gone' step? The coin has been tossed, not yet landed, but the air currents are not on the head side, our side.  This game we are playing, with human lives, not plastic chess pieces, is dangerous, so wrong. Throwing people around, trafficking them for political purpose, indulging hate, well, we have done it before and are doing it again. Still. So similar in thought and deed to past times of expulsions and present times as well. 

Now we read that the judge in the trial of a Capitol rebel has dismissed the obstructionism charge because he has "a unique stew in his mind". Perhaps he was not aware that what he was doing is wrong. Say what? So by the same reasoning the fascist governors such as DeSantis and Abbott can be excused if they too claim they were throwing people hither, thither, and way beyond, yon, because they too were unaware this was wrong, they too were doing this to "plead the blood of Jesus"? Hell no!!! 

This cannot be allowed, for the rest will also claim this religious delusion and plead innocent due to insanity. Hell no! These people knew damn well they were intent on overthrowing this country, of plans for killing, lynching, of following the mad Pied Piper who had full, clear and open intent to stir the mob on via his inciting, poisonous presence - thankfully that was aborted - and become Ruler.

Now the Mayor of NYC states there is no more room at our inns for immigrants. The city already has a homeless crisis. Yes, it does and now is the time for the federal government to step in, release funds -but wait! How can that occur when the GOP, its ragged remnants consisting of insane hate filled individuals intent only on obstruction, block the way, wanting only to shut down the government, create chaos in the nation and then claim to come in for the rescue.

We have lots of work ahead, hard times, and the future is unstable, perched on a crumbling cliff edge. Will we shore it up? Will we revert to our proper American mix? I have no answers, only hopes and prayers.

IF, COULD, MIGHT, MAYBE

  Did you ever heave a sigh about some situation and wish and hope with all your might that someone, soon, now, will come along and make it disappear? Have you ever lost hope that somehow someway a situation might actually arrive at a satisfactory conclusion allowing for sanity to return?

We all have had our moments, not in the sun, but in the shadow of depression and hopelessness, that there ever would be that satisfactory ending - or at last an ending whatever it was. We have done that with Covid in all its manifestations, locking ourselves away, only to discover the situation is now a standard, endless, the virus, apparently liking its home within our bodies. 

We have done so with unsatisfactory and disturbing news threads that run for a looonnnng time, causing us to forget the origin and meaning of the story and all possible endings. Such is the case with Ukraine - not a very good situation, bloody, relentless, with no end solution in sight, even as Russian soldiers complain of their ruthless situation, pressed into service as were sailors of old into the British navy, and are financing this war with their own funds to buy supplies. And yet how many of us skim, or not even that, the stories of the day regarding this proxy war which is actually reminding us- had better do so- of the peril we are in from power hungry demented rulers. 

Now you had to know where that is leading. Yup, the man is here again. Seemingly that bad penny that keeps turning up, causing us to sigh with resignation, knowing that he is the burden upon our shoulders, as heavy as was the burden of Atlas as he held up the world on his shoulders. He is the burr in the foot, the itch that cannot be reached, seemingly forever. We again heave a sigh, tired of the if, maybe, his momentous, final nail - whatever term the writer uses to tell us the man will be charged and put away. It never happens. Will it?

Now we have the brouhaha regarding the papers found in Biden's home and/or office. Yes, I agree, these papers, these classified documents, have been handled carelessly. Someone is asleep at the wheel, not keeping track of their whereabouts. There must be a better, more secure, safe procedure to ensure return in timely manner, proper storage while in use, and a secure, outside team to scour a place where documents have been in use.

However careless Biden's crew was, there is a major, huge, difference when compared to Trump and his papers. Obvious is the difference in amount. Obvious as well, is that they were immediately turned over to authorities and all further discoveries the same. The staff cooperated with investigators.  No attempt to delay any search. 

 Now, we have these same members of the GOP who cheered Trump and minions on in their defiance of security, of justice, of cooperation, refusing to hand over papers, lieing through their broken teeth and forked tongues, threatening investigations of their own. They had better be careful of what might just bite them in their shared rearend, hoist by their own petards. 

Vital actions go undone, the government is about to run out of money, the world is afire, yet these idiots continue on in their hypocritical behavior and worse, might just be right, as everyone is tired - I refer you back to the title. Why would we even think, sanity was a possibility as they robotically followed the original madman and do the same now with all of his equally demented, ranting, angry, hate filled small people who follow in his shadow, imagining themselves in positions from which they can wreak havoc upon their opponents. 

We must not give up, for if we do, the battle and the war are lost, ceded without real opposition. Ceded due to having had enough, too much, of bad situations hanging around too long, growing stale in our minds even as they strengthen their roots and holds on society. NO if, maybe, might about that.

WE MUST BE STRONG. 

THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE.

NOT IF WE BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY.

THAT YELLOW BRICK ROAD?

 Breaking News!! Worldwide chaos as the falsehood of the Wizard of Oz had been revealed. Dorothy and friends have turned down the offer to walk the road. They refuse to partake in the falsehood of this illusion meant to deceive, to placate upset citizens and visitors to Oz who looked toward the Wizard for aid and rescue. As usual, the truth has come forth in all its ugly glory, but hopefully, in time to rescue those proposed to be the victims of restrictions of rights, denied their membership in humanity itself.

So, my children, weep for what was, for what might have been and apparently will never be under the rule of a hypocritical GOP and its nefarious plans to increase the degradation of others. The nightmares have in fact become 'daymares' as the false wall of the GOP is breached and the ugliness pours out. The stench is of a MAGA instigated and perpetrated attack on the most very basic rights and assumptions of mankind, as the GOP fights to take us not to Camelot, but to Hell on Earth.

As a human I am offended. 

As a Jew I am frightened. 

As a woman I am terrified. 

Not so much for myself, as the light at the end of the tunnel glows stronger as every day passes. No, my worry, my fears, are for the younger generations. How will they live under such rules? Will they even be allowed to live, or will they be used as the animals they are likened to, as the chattel of others, denied humanity, denied all rights of independence and control over their own lives? Nope, the future is not rosy at all.

What am I talking about? The cascade has begun; the attitudes clearly portrayed, in the open. The warnings of those who had defended the right to choose, to be an independent adult, have come to life, brutally and quickly. The declared war has come out in the open, the die cast.

No sooner in office made possible by gerrymandering and tampering with the ability of citizens to vote, the GOP has pulled out all stops, taken down their disguises, pushed their lies upon us, and are rushing to pass legislation inimical to the very concept of America.

They say they wish to condemn violence rampant in the area of abortion denial. Oh, for sure I agree. For sure. However, the violence in this whole issue has been from the anti, rained upon the pro-choice. The very examples the GOP legislators use to justify their plans are, in fact, incidents of violence by anti-choice upon the volunteers, the medical personnel, the very buildings and offices where people have the right to choose. Where women come for routine, life affirming tests and care, where women are treated as humans. Period. Their Babies Born Alive bill is nonsense, the very possibility of it infinitesimal.

Last night I read of a story out of Missouri, yet another benighted, backward southern state. A bill was introduced -and debated - in all its "wrongness'', justifying it, refusing to admit the cascade effect seen clearly in this, in its very existence. It openly, brazenly, reduces women to objects of perusal, needful of guidance in the very act of dressing, as opposed to men, who evidently need no such advice. (Do not know where these people have been all their lives if they believe that!! Any wife can 'learn' ya' the truth on that!)

How demeaning for the women in that chamber; for all women in fact, discussing the clothes the women in the chamber were wearing, commenting on bodies and proprieties as if they are children, uncaring, incapable of exercising basic rights, reduced to schoolchildren forced into uniforms - but not the men. Never that!

Next up, Rep. Jack Nelson of Idaho who compares cows, milk cows, to women, assigning them the same category, unworthy of basic human rights, subject to the whims, the twisted minds and "knowing" of such as he. How demeaning, rude, disrespectful, certainly meriting exclusion from chambers- forever, - guilty of discrimination, and definitely in urgent need of a wash of mouth with strong carbolic soap!

Finally, at least for this blog, we have the eternal fascistic impulses of this generation of too many GOP governors, such as Abbott, of Texas, who speaks of human trafficking. How he did not regurgitate after he said these words, the man who engages in repeated human trafficking by sending individuals, families, legal and illegal immigrants, separated children, into freezing weather, no care set up, to prove his ugly beliefs, to act upon them and then be able to say this - I boggle indeed.

 “Human trafficking stands as an affront to human dignity, and tragically, it lurks beneath the surface of modern America, mocking the very notions of liberty and justice. Ours can never be a truly free and just society so long as human trafficking endures, and we must therefore go to any lengths necessary to purge this vice from our nation.”

 Well, judge for yourself who is for the people, who is the true heartless trafficker. Now judge your needs. Look at your families, at the women in your family, at the diversity within your family - and know, that no, you are not immune to the toxic results and cascade of brutal, bitter, oh so wrong consequences of and by these twisted people and their proposed changes to the fabric of this nation.

The danger is here. 

The danger is now. 

The time to think honestly and act accordingly is now.

'TWAS, 'TIS, 'TWILL

  Ahh, Heaven to a Language Arts teacher, the use of grammatical rules in an essay. However, as one who had to work with people rather than machines, I know that emotions come into play in human interactions. There is a sad inevitability which comes along with logic, emotion, and past history, thus engendering connections and logical conclusions - and concerns - which buffet the world today. Hence the tenses of the day in a bit of olden English, as the entire sequence is as old as time, as present as ever, from first human to last. Wonder if the associations will be made or hinted at in the new HBO show called, fittingly, "The Last of Us".

To interpret the title - so it was, so it is, and so it will be, seemingly forever and a day. Past, Present, Future. What? You ask, and correct you are to ask. Here is the answer. The ever-present inevitable power plays that seem to obsess humans, always figuring out the path and means to an end. That end was, is, and always will be, unfortunately, the justification for those means, no matter how outrageous they are. Means to the end purpose - to overtop someone or something else, gain power and prestige and parley that into more. Ever and always more. Why? I suppose for money, for prestige, such as it is, for posterity, for the simple desire to have Power, to Control, to be The Boss. Even to the extreme of Life or Death Power.

I believe that none of us are completely innocent in this, no matter the station in life. Someone will always have to insert him/her self into the melee and cause dissension in order to present oneself as the rescuer, the savior, the dissolver of all Gordian knots. The one who can pull Excalibur from its imprisoning stone, but somehow never gets around to it.

The worst thing about this whole power play business, this entire ugly part of humanity is that it never changes, though it be given so many different names and cause. At some point, inevitably, the gilt tarnishes and the ugliness, the motives become apparent, easily seen for the selfish lies they are. 

Worse is to watch the very sad, depressing phenomena of others buying into this person's behavior and deeds and words, forgetting morals, absolving crimes committed in the name of achieving control and success, losing themselves to and in this betrayal of others - loved ones, friends, family, for it matters not in this perennial chase.

Then comes the inevitable war, then invasions, the pride in the invention of better weapons of war, the glee at the rising body count, certainly if it is higher than yours, along with weapons destroyed. Going unnoticed, or discounted, is the destruction, the awesome razing of entire countries, deaths, the violations of rules of war - what an oxymoron that is - and the brutality emerging from either the advancing and/or retreating forces.

Unfortunately, very much so, there are times that war is inevitable, even justified, though certainly if we were better, there would be an answer, a solution to the problems without bloodshed. But we never seem to have acquired that level of skill and negotiations, hence the always and forever wars. Hence the petty little people who find a niche, exploit it, compound their powers and bring ruin to the people, devastation to the entity over which he has reigned. Sad, but oh so very true.

And on we go. Trying to assuage our own demons by citing fake cause to violate the proper rules of behavior. Trying to convince oneself and others that you indeed are the very answer, the panacea for all that is wrong in that particular world.

Will we ever see through to the truth, to real answers, positive solutions. Ones that do not involve the death of millions, the destruction of human achievement and the abrogation of all we have accomplished for the good. How can we believe that will ever be so as we look around. 

The entire world is at war. Every country seems to have its own violent conflagration, within its own society and borders or if desiring a larger stage, well then simply pick on a neighbor seeming to be weaker than you, ripe for the picking.

"Twas.  'Tis.  'Twill.

Can we not do better?

Can we at least admit and try and try and try.....

When the angels above asked Gd-d to look down at His creations and the disasters they have created, instigated, taken advantage of, He agreed to their destruction. However, time and time again, He reneged, allowed for yet another chance. Warning after warning ignored. And here we are.

How many chances does humanity get?

Answers anyone?

As one coming out of the educational world, I know there are limits to chance giving before it collapses of its own useless weight.

I believe G-d is certainly wiser than we are and certainly knows that truth.

 So......

WE DON'T KNOW MUCH

  So states a GOP representative and similar thoughts emerge from the mouths of others connected with the GOP. Not a surprise, at least not to anyone who has had a modicum, a scintilla, of a working brain lo these many a year. Evidently, their brains became somewhat stuffed and working on fewer sparkplugs the minute they accepted, tolerated and venerated Trump. When they allowed his dangerous shenanigans and cooperated with him in a planned overthrow of this government and in fact, its process, to destroy it forever, well, the truth came home to roost. And crow loudly. Only this time trying to deny their very heavy footprint in the muck of the plot.

Now we will have to live with the consequences of a national loss of unity as the Republicans now control the House. However, "There is no chance, no chance that major Republican legislation is going to get passed," Mulvaney said. "The first and primary role that the Republicans play in the House right now is to be a check-and-balance against the Biden administration."
Thus, they are perfectly situated to bring this government to a grinding, dangerous heartless stop. Nothing will be approved as written by both Houses and certainly Biden will exercise his veto power should something so foreign to this country's ethos get passed. Chaos and an environment rich with opportunities for the uber wealthy such as eliminating IRS rules, cancelling new hirings that are desperately needed, hauling back all social safety net programs, reneging on the promise of America to the world, to those desperate, all along such lines - this is what we can expect.

Proof of the pudding is how Jim Jordan, one of the worst of the lot of extremists, dirty handed in the J6 plot, has stated that unequivocally he is going to remove people such as Adam Schiff from the committee he is presently on and block any important appointments. Again, we will have a plethora of the brainless, the vitriolic, the undignified, as opposed to the sane, the thinking, the positive ones for our future. Again, we will have a dangerously incapable legislative branch consumed with its own sect powers rather than the welfare of the nation - their true job.

Here is a little tidbit, so telling of where we actually stand in any hope of a productive, cooperative, compromising, getting things done Congress.

“I would just say in response to the gentleman who said that he hopes that we populate this select committee with serious Democrats – that he populates the committee with Republicans who did not ask for a pardon, who did not have their phone seized by the FBI,” the Democrat stated.

I do not know about others, but there is another danger here. That is the fatigue with this mess that has set in. We are so tired of the roiling world of politics, the disgusting, disgraceful behavior of its denizens, that we turn away - allowing more room for the army of carnivorous foxes to penetrate deep into our henhouse. Such a situation must be avoided, though it will prove, I fear, to be very diffic to make it so.

Let us all demand a change from our legislators. Let us create, foster our own environment which rejects rejects, those who cannibalize our system and work against their own constituents. Let us demand honesty and immediately penalize those not so. Let us insist that the House undo its plans to limit the House Ethics Committee, for if we allow this condition to remain status quo, I fear indeed for the future status quo. Of all of us.

Think about it. Seriously. Not a good idea to poo-poo it. Not at all.