THE DIRT UNDERNEATH

    The land where the streets are paved with gold, the golden mountain, the goldenah medina - all names for the land where all was possible, where one's family would be safe, where children could be educated, where dreams came true. And yes, there were sour notes along the way but if we take a look backwards, what a country this was and still is - and will be if allowed to remain so.
     But beneath the light, beneath the dreams, there are piles of dirt, a darkness which seems never to go away. It is a place where a bigot, a sexist, a disrespecter of all laws, of contempt for working men who are denied their wages and fees, is supposed to be filtered out and yet here we are, 2017, with such a man, such an alleged criminal, moral and otherwise, a liar from the get go, installed in the Oval Office where he is in the throes of making it a most tawdry looking place, physically and otherwise.
     Some people are confused by all the terms being bandied about so I am going to summarize a small lexicon from the Times for those who are a bit at sea. Sorry for any language and expressions, but they are part of understanding what we face.
     alt-right - A made up term used as a coverup  for racist far right movements. Sounds nicer does it not. But it comes with the same bigotry and hatred. It espouses nationalism and is anti immigrants, anti feminism, anti gay and transgender, anti Semitism and espouses violence in the search for its victory.
     alt-left - no such thing! Made up term to provide an equivalence between a violent right and those who oppose it. As real as "fake news".
     alt-light - those of the far right who moved a tad towards the center and who are despised by their former friends. It disavows some of the excess hatred and fight with the alt right re anti Semitism over the "fact" that Jews manipulate the world, its governments and the media. Wow!! Would have thought that things would have been a lot different if that were the case.
     antifa- short for anti fascists. It was formed decades ago in Europe to fight against the growing rightist movements and unfortunately has had to continue the fight. They do not believe in running away from a fight and do engage in trashing some windows and doors but will not attack people unless they are attacked.
     cuck - short for cuckold, an insult coming from cuckold, and used by the alt right on anyone, especially conservatives who are not rabid supporters of anti Semitism and racism in general.
     S.J.W. - social justice warrior, meant to be an insult from the right to the left but personally I believe it is an honor to achieve that title.
     Blood and Soil - come from 19th century Germany, means that the blood has a mystical tie to the land and used by the Nazis as well.
     Globalism - short for globalization and an insult from the right wingers. Unfortunately they do not realize that the world is one, all are affected and one cannot stand alone. Hence Trumps stupid raves and hypocritical rants and never mind that all the junk from his hotels are all made elsewhere!
     White Genocide - the whole world is out to get every last white male. That is their premise and their theme is the number 14 you will see on their items and stands for the 14 words of this sentence - "we must secure the existence of our people and a future for our white children."
     Their signs are the following:
     Fasces - the ax and rods used in Italy under Mussolini and till this day.
     Black Sun - Germanic symbol that Himmler loved.
     Blue Dragon's Eye - an ancient symbol for choice between good and evil and too bad they chose wrong!
     Black Cross - symbol meant to evoke the flag of the Confederacy.
     Othala Rune - from a pre Roman alphabet used by the SS and others of similar ilk who preferred - to put it mildly - the color of white.

     Okay, scary terms, scary images, but lesson over, even as we understand that our not president has just spoken in favor of these 'very nice people, fine people' and has literally shouted it aloud, looking like a new version or reincarnation of Hitler with his shouting face, that awful, ugly face filled with hatred. These are his private conversations and statements coming forward, and he believes he will get away with it and you know, he may be right. He is reported to be exulting in his 'glory' over what he said even as his aides are describing themselves as numb, dismayed and the armed forces, all five of their heads sent out a message against neo fascism and Nazis. Have his fellow Republicans actually condemned him or just his words? Big difference. By not doing so and continuing to accept him as a leader, they are condoning hatred, racial, religious, gender, orientation and anything else you can think of. No longer the golden state are we? And what is worse is the fact that Pence spoke out and said he backs up Trump!!!!! Bravo to those who called out on Trump and  may they continue to be brave and righteous in their dealings with Trump. And some Jews who know better are either quiet or serving as self hating Jews thinking they are safe by siding with the Nazi lover. Doesn't work that way. We know that. Better to read or listen to the comments of the late night hosts. They got it right.
     Once more, the choice is ours. Do we condone all this hatred, accept him as Our Leader as Ann Coulter says, approve the praise of David Dukes and Richard Spencer, the violence of the haters and the inevitable bloodshed or do we stand up, stand tall, stand proud and be Americans.
     If we are to be swayed by words, led us heed the words of Judge Katzmann, a federal appeals court judge, the son of a German Jewish refugee. He said, "How fortunate we are to have you here, contributing your hopes, your aspirations, your skills, your heritages, your music, your culture, your literature, your food to the tapestry of this nation. The American story is your story."
     The man in the WH who now claims his father came from a Scots background, all warriors, is denying the German heritage of his grandfather. Why? There is much there to be proud of and if he wishes, he can signal that he does not agree with the worst of it. He certainly is not a warrior, other than for the wrong and the unjust, for blood and hatred and violence. Listen to Judge Katzmann and let us all say Amen to that and the hope and plea of so many to love, rather than hate, to accept rather than spurn - to be American and human in all that it means, the very best one can be.

WE ALL CRY

     Sorry for delay as I am traveling. Perhaps it was good that there was a delay for here we are standing in what - pre Fascist Amerika? When Ann Coulter calls this man "Our Leader" every bone, every sinew, every ounce of my very fabric shudders. What are we doing? How have we allowed this man to rule in this manner? How? How? What have we done? All the protests now, all the Republican pols crying out now, where the hell were they at election time, at voting time, at stand up and be a man time?
     The man stands there and rants, looking remarkably similar to a ranting Hitler, and claims there are "nice people" on both sides!!! Yes, the SS guy who politely helped the old Jewish woman onto and into the boxcar, he was nice too. The torturer who said to the torturee that it would hurt him far more than it would the tortured. So apologetic. So 'admirable'!
     I have raved and ranted, shouted to the figurative heavens that this is a bad dude, an awful man, devoid of humanity, of morals, of ethics, of a heart. It did not matter whether he had Jewish grandchildren or Jewish appointees. They stood there and listened to him rant yesterday, spew hatred and moral filth and hung their heads, along with Kelly.
      Rubio says, "Mr. President, you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame.They support ideas which cost nation & world so much pain," he wrote. "When entire movement built on anger & hatred towards people different than you, it justifies & ultimately leads to violence against them."
     Appreciated, but is it too little, too late. And too wishy washy. Will we follow up on this. As far as I am concerned and as so many others feel, this man has to be removed from office. He is ultimately unqualified and unable to perform the requirements of his office. The main requirement is to be the leader of ALL Americans and he cannot. He praises the alt right, the terrorists who practice their trade domestically, who kill people in our country and it is proven by the statistics that alt right terrorists have killed more people than any "left" or Moslem situations here in the country, excluding 9/11, our first shock.
     Terrorism on any level, one death, one horror is awful. But when nut jobs deny Sandy Hook, when one says that the Nazis at the riot were Jews!!! in disguise and one can tell them by their noses and curly hair! I vomit. I tremble. And so should you all, for NO ONE is immune to the horrors of this type of extremism. NO ONE.
     So when person after person quits, albeit  a delayed action, from his advisory council, they are lambasted by Trump. Just look at this face during the speech and fear, people, fear. and if that and his speeches and his tweets are not enough, how about this one, more frightening than ever. It is being pushed by our wonderful Department of Justice, under the racist Sessions, who promised to do his best, oh yeah, to prosecute those responsible for Charlottesville. So watch how it is done.
     On July 17 the Department served notice on DreamHost, a warrant to give over all the information on every person who used that site to enter an anti Trump site, one which organized protests after the Inauguration. FASCISM!!!! Violation of every word and clause and sentiment and principle of our Constitution.
     Bias and hate and extremism and hatred and fascism are now in the very fabric of mainstream America. This warrant is unconstitutional and should scare the pants off every sensible and patriotic American. Have we now truly entered the world of 1984? Are we in Animal Farm where the pigs are more equal than others and we know who the pigs are, do we not!
     When we have a government, an administration such as the one we now have, it is totally wrong and totally unconstitutional and needs to go. There are ample reasons to invoke Amendment 25 and ample proof of the need to indict a sitting president even though as far as I am concerned he was never my president, elected illegally via tampering by his fellow fascist Putin. 
     The synagogue in the town was threatened by three neo Nazis armed with assault weapons standing across the street and when prayers wee over were instructed to exit the rear for safety and in group. The police - they refused to safeguard the synagogue so security was hired. America? 
     People, I am scared, immensely so. This is a horror which has overtaken us and just talk to people and see the depth of the feelings and the fear, the anger. I did yesterday and believe me, people are angry and frightened and want this man gone from office. Pence and Cabinet members and Congress - stand up and do your job and swear that you will fight this fascism in Amerika approach, root it out.
     If not, what we saw in Charlottesville will be remembered as the second round of shots heard round the world and the fighting will be magnified. When demonstrators bring assault weapons to a protest, this is bad.We are headed to a civil war and is that what we want? Was not one enough!!
      And send word to all would be dictators that we will not stand for this, not here, not in America, not anywhere in America. Be Americans.

KING JOHN REDUX

     There is an amazing parallelism between the two presidents that most concern me, David Israel and Donald Trump. Certainly Trump can cause and has caused much more trouble in the universal and national sphere, but David Israel walks in the same path of hate and contempt for those who do not play his follow the leader game.
     Charlottesville. A disaster, but perhaps a wake up call. Even rightists on the extreme end of the spectrum condemned it and condemned that lazy ass president who could not be bothered to tweet. He who tweets at the drop of a hat could find neither the time nor the energy nor the interest nor the desire to combat hate in its worst instance. It took the fingers of the world pointing at him, the voices of the world calling him out for him to finally produce an add on paragraph after he finished boasting once again of his supposed accomplishments - right over the dead body of Heather Heyer and the two officers.
     Hate. Hatred. "I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." So tweeted Obama using the words of Mandela and the similar sentiment expressed before that in the song from South Pacific.
     So it would seem that at such a time we would be careful about encouraging hatred and nastiness towards others, particularly those who disagree with us. Well, evidently David Israel does not learn from events. Granted, the Broadband Committee met on August 9, before the events at Charlottesville, but the atmosphere was already dense with hatred. The explosion was coming. But this was a disgusting meeting. David and Joy Vestal, another one way past her sell by date, engaged in a little repartee re "about 10" who would oppose a suggestion of David's. Truly!? Gee, I wonder who they were? There was no need or place for that statement made to a meeting and on tape. Hmmmm.
     In any case, at one point David Israel compared Ed Grossman's attempt to show David the paper with the facts to McCarthy holding up a paper with the names of supposed communists. Really? Truly? He called the "defiance" terrorism!! His next step in this festival of love was to compare opponents of his plan to go forward to the  opponents  of King John, the "barons who ran around demanding this and that". He was referring to the barons of England of the 1200's, 13th century, who finally turned against the King, John, who was categorically insane, cruel, demanded slavish adoration and professions of love, and who refused to consult with the barons and very causally threw people under the bus by cutting them off, cutting their heads off, starving their wives and children in oubliettes, and other lovely acts. This rebellion led to the signing of the Magna Carta, the first step to democracy, the first step to separate church and state, the first step to demand input that the ruler take seriously.
     So while David is an idiot for his comparisons, an egomaniac like King John, and Trump treads heavily on this same path, while we have King John redux, we must stand firm, demand that our voices are heard and demand that some people actually stand down. Wouldn't that be loverly!!
     But in the meanwhile we have selfish and incompetent leaders charging ahead. And to meet these charges we have thousands in NYC crying out , "Shame, shame! NYC hates you!" Well, so do quite a few people elsewhere. The WH was picketed for two days in a row. His supposed Trump country is developing larger and larger, louder groups against him. And here in the Village we are fighting too. We will speak up. We will demand answers. We will fight against poor contracts with terrible outcomes for us. We will fight against the wasting of our funds, the casual attitude towards our needs and opinions and indeed, watch the video and see and hear the contempt with which the usual suspects talk of the residents of the Village.
     So more CEO's resign from the business advisory council and even a GOP strategist calls it out. "He's not only unfit to be president," she said on CNN. "In my book, his lack of leadership, his lack of empathy, his lack of courage - he's unfit to be human."
     And all we get from him is another whining tweet how the 'fake' media do not like his tweets and statements and calls them very bad people. Not the far right, not the supremacists, not the bigots and the sexists - nope, the media. And in the meanwhile, the far right, encouraged by his lack or reaction, plan more events, more trouble, more outright hatred. They admit they will fight in the streets and my warnings of war in the streets of America are haunting me.
     But as long as we have a bigot, a sexist, an egomaniac demented man who is incapable and unworthy of being president, as long as that is the situation we are in trouble. There are steps to remove a sitting President - let us tread upon those steps with action and determination.
     And as for his twin little ruler brother here in the Village - we need to fight against him as well, defy him and his hatred and his plans for the Village. A building which in its current state is and will be short of parking places so no permit there. A building where a second floor will certainly be short of spaces so no permit there. So suggestions. Oh yeah! Put all the boxes for Atlantic in the first floor of the Clubhouse - that will show the residents for their defiance!!! Take up the parking places in the parking lot. That will show them too! Oh, build a three story parking garage in the lot, blocking the view of residents and never mind the cost. Atlantic must have its place. After all, David signed that in the contract - a clause which was not in the contract approved by the residents!!. The ugly suggestions and the ugliness of tone and attitude just kept flowing along. Just kick David out and let them use his office!! Safer for us in the long run.
     David Israel. Donald Trump. King John. Symptoms and models of government gone astray.
      

PERCEPTION OF A JEW

     I am an American. I am a Jew. Up till recently, I believed that the two were able to mesh beautifully. While there have been incidents of egregious anti Semitism over the years, some larger than others, increasing in present time, I did feel 'safe' here, to the extent that any Jew can feel safe, particularly if one is knowledgeable about Jewish history. History does repeat itself.
     But today I am more frightened than ever. It is as if I saw before me a split screen, a split picture of history. On the one side was Nazi Germany or rather the Germany that was to turn into that. It presented the mobs, the gangs of Hitler supporters, roaming the streets, terrorizing Jewish people passing bye. It showed the indifference and /or fear of those watching. It showed the violence as the Socialists and Communists fought with the Nazis, though more on political grounds than the abhorrence of the hatred of Nazism. It also presented the blindness, willful or not, of the Jews in Germany and elsewhere as they persisted in believing that this would pass, that they were citizens of the nation, that their ancestors had lived there in many cases for hundreds of years. They were wrong.
     And on the split screen showing today, the overwhelming horror and tragedy of Charlottesville dominated the screen. Friday night shouting, hands raised high in Nazi salutes, they marched through the grounds of the University of Virginia. On Saturday morning they came loaded for bear to their protest. Now mind you, they have every right under the Constitution to have their viewpoints and even speak them though again, hate speech and inciting violence is another story, but putting that aside, they were ready for more, anticipating more and what they were chanting is where I come in as a Jew.
     This was not just about a statue and I do not know how I truly feel about this attempt to wipe out the history of the Civil War. I think it equates to wiping out the history of WWII and that was tried already in post war Germany. Doesn't work and only leads to more hatred. As it did here. An insistent and constant chant of anti Semitic remarks dominated the air, ringing thru the air, sending chills down any Jewish person there or listening. According to the words of one of their own, this was the "beginning of the war!!"
     You know, on those annoying forms at the doctor's office where one is supposed to check ethnicity, I do not check white. I check nothing or even Hawaiian islander but not white. There is no Jewish there to check but there are many racists out there who will shout to the very last that Jews are not white. So screw them!!
     Now we have the disappointment of an American citizen, born and bred, third generation here, two more added on, and from the first generation, all citizens, naturalized and native born. I believe that my government has the duty to protect me as much as anyone else of this country, black, white, Christian, Moslem or Jew. For the President of the United States to condemn the violence on "both sides"  - nope, uh-uh, not the way it should go. For Richard Spencer to then say that the President was supporting them - well, he was correct. A refusal to take a stand, to say the words, is giving support. For hours later, an unattributed statement from the WH stating that of course Trump denounces these neo Nazis, etc. sorry, that means nothing. It is the equivalent of forcing the kids who fought to say "I'm sorry." Means nothing and does nothing.
     So I will take heart in the denouncement of these events by other public persona, including many of Trump's own party. Would that people would have had the courage before all this to deny him his chance at destroying our country. Would that these very people would do something now to get him gone from office. Must we have more violence before people realize the danger inherent in allowing haters to fill offices, to be appointed advisers to the President and  never mind his Jewish ties - they have been denied before in history and can be done so again.
     So I am an American and I am a Jew. And as I ride down various roads in the nation I look at the trees, at the forests and wonder "Could we hide there?" Would we find enough supporters to help us? And I look at my many non Jewish friends whom I love and cherish dearly and wonder if they would hide me and mine. I wonder. Will the people of this nation have the backbone to stand up to hatred of all types and colors?
     I wonder why this hatred persists, why people have such interest in poisoning their own lives and the lives of others with their virulent hatred of all who do not look or act or believe as they do. Are they so weak in their own identity? Are they so low in their own estimation that they must have people lower than they are if they are to function?
     And mind you, all those who feel this is an exaggeration, remember the past, please do so, for how often has hatred led the way? Too often.
     I am an American. I am a Jew. And the Jews of France can say their own version. I am French. I am a Jew. And so can the Jews of all the nations of the world where they reside. And yet this dichotomy bothers many who feel it must be rooted out, destroyed. Why?
     I am an American. I am a Jew.
     
Comment from a long time friend -  Nicely written and timely. The veneer of civilization is very thin and hatred towards the Jews is pernicious and pervasive. We must never lower our guard and always be alert to threats and aware of covert and overt threats. We are always on the front line.

AND SO IT CAME TO PASS.....

    Last night, to me, was a heartbreaker. Away from all sources of news on Saturday, it was not until 9 PM that I became aware of the tragedy of Charlottesville. And so it was that then my heart broke. And so it was then that my fears for the future of my country truly crystallized. And so it was that the war in the streets came to pass while the authorities stood by and did nothing. 
     I remember Chicago, 1968. I remember Detroit. I remember the Freedom Riders and the tragic deaths of three of these kids. I remember the hatred that flowed in the streets and the hearts of America. But I also remember that we have come so far from then, that at least till now we have learned to lose some of our hatred for 'others", to open up to diversity, to accept the differences between us even as we recognized the similarities.
     I was wrong. So very wrong.
  We talk now of alt this and alt that. We have politicians urging a more extreme viewpoint, encouraging the electorate to not be accepting of other viewpoints. Even Elizabeth Warren joined in and while showing anger, allowed that we are not to push those who differ outside, her "nevertheless she persisted" rallying cry was heard, chanted by the crowd.
     "You won't replace us. Jews won't replace us." These were some of the cries of the supremacists. The governor of Virginia told the hatemongers to go home, and the mayor said the same in a more angry tone. And Trump? He could not bring himself to condemn the hatemongers of the white supremacist movement, saying only a wimpy  “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” He then added for emphasis: “On many sides.” Truly, does one think that those who came loaded for bear had any idea of sitting it out? And yes, there were those on the protesters of hatred who also came with shields, perhaps knowing there would be a war. But Senator after Senator, even from the Republican party spoke out against this outrage in larger, firmer words, condemning the lack of strong condemnation from Trump for the white supremacists.
So how far do we go? How far will we go?
     Did the police do enough, fast enough? There are those that said no, that they stood there as the fighting commenced and finally went in, ordered in? The tragedy of vehicular murder, the latest example of the latest trend of using everyday items to kill people, anything other than rational voices and behavior is the tragedy of loss.
     What loss? Us. Our country? The trust of the world? The hope for the future? And do we have anything that would help contradict this negativity, this fear for the future, even indeed for the future of man? Not really. We have Pruitt conducting his destruction of the EPA and all the good it has done, all the while doing it secretly as if the destructive consequences will be hidden. We have a heavy duty inquiry with many facets into the top administrators of the country, even unto the President, with great possibilities, fearsome possibilities that the president is a traitor and colluded with our enemy. Why? Does that really matter? From ego? For money? For sheer lack of an ethical core? And all the while he has his minions chasing down leakers. The swamp is alive and well in DC.
     And meanwhile the war of hatred continues. Neuroticism? Ever hear of that? Well, it is a made up word which is regurgitating the outmoded and hateful use of the claim of "hysteria" against women and why they are not suited to much of anything that accounts or amounts to anything. Google did the right thing by firing the guy but the supporters are there, crying free speech. Free speech, yes. Definitely. Hate speech. No, most definitely not. There must be  a line drawn somewhere between the two and if we do not draw that line, and in the right place and soon, very soon, we, as a country, will be no more.
     We have a blustery and dangerous fool at the head. We have men who cannot seem to find their manhood and stand up to him, instead sticking to a retro party loyalism that smacks of fascism in whatever form. We have athletes who now sit down during our national anthem and what message does that send to our young who idolize these athletes. I understand them, for it is difficult now at times for me and for others to recite the pledge, wondering what the words actually mean and represent, wondering if what they say is true.
     Hatred is corrosive. It eats us up from within and attacks us from without. This hatred infects all aspects of life, leading us to a perilous hate filled and boastful bullyboy exchange re Korea and even Macron is warning on this. Somewhere, sometime soon a voice of reason must be heard, but a true voice, not one that disguises its nefarious purpose under the theme and guise of "making America Great Again" or "Taking it back". Where are we planning to take it? To the hatred of yesteryear? To the wars that left millions dead, millions of lives shattered, countries destroyed? Do we say and so it is, accepting that this is the normal status of life on this world? 
    Soon enough we must say and "so it is" that it came to pass that the humans of the time came to their senses, stopped the warring, taught out the hatred, had true equality amongst all, men and women, all colors and races and ethnicities, with no favoritism or advantages over another, only care for those who needed it and education for all, a fair shot at life, a good life. America would once again be a beacon of hope for the world and the Kennedy torch would be relit and proudly carried.
     Is that a dream? Is it a possibility? It is up to us, the people, to make it so. Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek would say that, "make it so' and it would happen. Would that it were truly so easy. And I could easily write another page on the hatred in the smaller arenas of life but will content myself with this. Look around you and see what hatred has done to our Village. Look around and see what love of power, the g asping of power has done to the hearts and minds of those who need that power to exist as a person. Look at the similarities between those who push that hatred and those who push it in the outside world, who wish to oppress, who threaten others physically, who demean them at public forums for speaking their opinion  and information. The hatred is the same, the results the same, just different in outcome as it adapts to the arena
     And so it is? Why must it be so? I do not want that war in the streets. I do not want to live in a war torn country which has no money, no time, no heart to care for its weaker and needier people. Please, let us turn away from the words of hatred. Let opposition be recognized as a legitimate outlet but not words of hate and violence. I am not comfortable being told to blow up or take poisonous drugs or even to move away. Where are our ethics, our acceptance of the values of the Constitution? Where are we as people?
     And so it is. What is? Our choice. Make it soon and make it right.
   
     

ARE YOU SCARED? YOU SHOULD BE

      From the very beginning I have spoken and written about the anti democratic tendencies of Donald Trump. From his manic behavior and crazy and obsessed insistence on obedience to him, to loyalty to him over and above all else, from his paranoia, the hints were there, more than hints actually. His ranting and raving are singular characteristics found to that high degree and just check out Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, any dictator of the world.
     Often I have written of the "presidents for life" that are found in banana republics, be they former SSRs or states in Africa or Asian states with little tradition of democracy, and even in South and Central America. They behave as if the rules of democracy are there to be ignored or twisted in favor of themselves.
     First we had Trump shouting and whining that the courts did not respect the boundaries and tried to take power from him. The Executive branch received the same whining even as they were scolded as children for not obeying their 'papa'. He threw people under, not the bus, but the tanks that were in his mind and when it came to standing up to true violations of rules and the safety of America and the world, Trump lost it and we got the screechy threats of a maniac, of one who cannot deal with challenge and when it is two maniacs going at each other then woe upon us - this time the woe being nuclear weapons. I wonder how many of the soldiers will indeed obey the orders of this madman and help push the buttons and send the missiles flying and creating another frightening world.
     We are now in a crisis that could without much more fuss embroil us in nuclear war or even if not nuclear, read the analysis of what a "standard" war would be like. Even the mainland US could be shattered and certainly outposts such as Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and others could be flattened with nuclear damage, Guam would be hit with 14 minutes warning. And if that crazy man wants to go actual ballistic - there is no one to stop him unless someone immediately invokes Article 25 and declares him unable to serve as President. He truly cannot be president right now but there are no brave souls willing to stand up and say that right now in Washington.
   But yesterday took the cake. This man, who I would swear on a stack of Bibles has dementia of one type or another and a test or two would prove it, this man really stepped out and encouraged thinking of the Republican party as to postponing the 2020 elections!! I could not believe my eyes. I would love to know who started this thinking. These are people who still think that Trump won the popular vote for after all there was so much 'false' voting!! It is sick! They are sick!! And they will be the end of our country, our democracy.
     Besides the fact that it is anti Constitution and to attempt to do this would be to just rip it up, this effort would lead to fighting in the streets, a new and furious Civil War such as we have never seen before. Americans vs Americans. Wholesale slaughter and the death of the United States, the mobs of refugees, so familiar to us all, only now they would be here, in our country. And the young and the old would die for they could not stand against the lack of food, water, healthcare and shelter that would challenge them, the sickness and epidemics that would ravage the country, the massive destruction that would ensue.
     You scoff and think it is so far way. Think again. This man who surrounds himself with generals to advise him, such as that is, a characteristic of egotistical and wishful thinking, this man has violated a tradition of the  country to make sure that civilians control the military and not the other way around. His behavior, his mannerisms, his behavioral and mental tics, the fear he has tried to induce in them, the nasty words he spews forth, the idiocy of his constant tweeting, like a teen who has not grown up, his nasty attitude toward women, toward homosexuals, his defying all laws and ethical principles, his secrecy - the list can go on and on. Be scared, be alert, be watchful and contact your representatives when you finally reach the proper and only conclusion.
     Even as he says that people cannot vote if they are not citizens, he violates their right even if they are citizens while he and his supporters decide that if one has not voted for two elections they lose the privilege of voting. What the f...^*! Who died and made him that arbiter of nastiness. And by the way, it was only until recently that 40 states allowed non citizens to vote in local elections based on the principle that they were there, they worked, they were paying taxes and remember the Revolution slogan - "No taxation without Representation'. Yup. That one and now several localities are turning back to that idea. Heavens alive!! Justice and honesty.  But Trump et al just go ahead and violate the Constitution, be it the transgender issue - or really non issue in the army and he is getting sued yet again, to proper taxes, to truly emptying the swamp rather than inserting his own critters who have even less ethics than their predecessors and no governmental experience at all.
     Trump has now stabbed Manafort in the back in his efforts to wiggle his way out of Mueller's grasp and now says he barely knows him, spoke to him a few times but that is all - the top campaign manager before the election!!! Our diplomats are attacked in Cuba by Cubans? Russians? Both together and several have lost their hearing due to this mysterious sonic attack and in the meanwhile this man plays games at Bedminster, reveling in one of his public performances. We are indeed in serious trouble.
    We need to have a transparent government, a government which does not twist the rules or ignore them, one which respects others, respects the G-d given rights of man, respects all humanity, looks for justice, for civility and plans ahead for the betterment of the constituents. Oh, David, sound familiar? You see, there is no difference between two would be dictators, only the scale of their abuse of others.
     Be scared, my fellow citizens, my fellow CV'ers. We all must act. Now!

PROMISES, PROMISES

   A new beginning always has promise to it, within it, implicit and explicit. It certainly is so when a new president rules in the WH. But this current presidency has proven to be otherwise, contrary to the rule rather than with it. 
     Certainly a president has the most obvious implicit promise of keeping the nation safe, or the particular entity. And certainly, a president who has been in office for more than a term is expected to do so. Yet here, within CV we do not feel safe as is concerned with a bright and safe future, and certainly within these United States we are far from a safe feeling. 
     David Israel promised all that he was  the one and only person who could steer the Village thru troubled waters. Instead we have these troubled waters both literally and figuratively. We have a constituency which is being riven by disagreements, with the supposed chair carrying on with great partisan bias and behavior. We have programs and decisions pushed thru with little or no time for reflection or even perusal of contracts. We are afloat in a sea of troubles, trying to get ready for a new agreement as to how to run this place for the foreseeable future and yet we are adrift, as the powers that be refuse to prepare and refuse to share any news of this with all and sundry. He dares even to take on powers that are not within his purview such as changing the words of a petition turned in despite all his efforts to postpone or avoid this. The words are the words that people signed for and with. It is not for him to change words, changing the meaning, mid petition process. The promises of David Israel are as false as the promises of Donald Trump but at least they will not see us blown up, facing a nuclear winter!!
     Trump, on the other hand, ta nasty tweeter who cannot seemingly help himself and/or cannot write in  any longer sentences in a proper manner, threatens all with these very same tweets. McConnell is blasted as Trump shifts blame for the debacle of his healthcare plan. Now he wants to "fix" Obamacare, yet another promise he will not keep and at least thank heavens he could not repeal it. Yes, to fixing its problems, but no to throwing it out, along with all those who will die without healthcare or certainly live a vastly different life.
     But what abut his promise to keep the country safe. He threatens fire and fury whilst across the sea another insane person shouts back. I do not trust either of them not to push that damn nuclear button and I believe there are many in the same boat! There are deep, deep divisions within his administration, with Mattis saying one thing, joining the bullies and Tillerson saying another, telling us to basically sleep tight for all will be okay. So says the false soothsayer right before the world goes to hell in  a handbasket!! One does not schoolyard bully another bully with nuclear options! Especially when they both have no self control or any seemingly sane thought process.
     Promises, promises. Jobs. Trying to push jobs, dead end jobs, in coal, stripping the country of its very surface and of its very beauty. Jobs, dead end jobs that immigrants usually serve in as they attempt to begin a new life here just as the "new" immigrants, the Irish, the Italian, the Chinese, etc. did when they came over. Thus it has been and thus it will always be, even as more educated immigrants take on other jobs and mesh with our working world and its needs. I, for one, am thankful for the doctors who came from other countries and who now treat me, care for me.
     And the promises of jobs? Jobs that were supposed to remain here? Well, those jobs are gone, shrunk by hundreds as the companies did what they planned anyway and now this supposed Foxconn deal is shown to be a bad decision or plan. Even if they were to hire all 12,000 workers, it would take 25  years for the state to break even and that is IF!! What a crock!! Another shattered promise. Empty words.
     Empty words can yet cause great harm even as they bust open emitting great gusts of hot air ad nothing else. Empty promises, meaningless promises, do not address the issues of trying to settle refugees in massive numbers as countries literally empty out in search of safety and havens, for a life for themselves and their children. More must be done in conjunction with the rest of the world in addressing this issue at its roots, treat the disease rather than its symptoms. But all we get here are words of hatred and threats.
     Promises to make America great again. Bah, humbug - America was and always will remain great as long as she does not steer far away from her founding principles, from democracy and the rights and hopes it gives its citizens and indeed, the rest of the world. But when this man and his henchmen try to stifle all dissent by stifling the press (sound familiar, CVers?), denigrating and threatening the reporters and editors, when the very right to vote is being taken away under false pretenses, when the process of due process is ignored, violated on a daily basis in thousands of issues - then America is not great and will not be great, not like this. Another promise of empty air.
     Promises, promises. Loyalty to Party rather than country. Loyalty to selves rather than constituents. Lack of acceptance of "the other" and realizing that this "other" is not really so different than anyone else. The growing hatred and rush to the extremes, here and in Europe, with the ugly head of anti Semitism rearing once more over the crowd. When we lose allies, treating them as enemies. When we cozy up to enemies and many within the administration are tainted with the accusation and actions of collusion with that enemy - including possibly even the president and his family and top advisers. When all this is going on then America is not great nor will she be if all this does not change.
     We need a sea change. We need attention to science and the environment. We need futures that have possibilities, new sources of energy, less use of fossil fuels, more care with chemicals that ruin our waterways and our very drinking water. When people in the Unites States of America do not have pure clean water and go to bed hungry, hearing the sounds of their children crying with that hunger. These are not the promises we wish to be kept.
     When we mesh what needs to be fixed and what must be saved, what must remain part and parcel of our very being, the very threads , the warp and woof of the country, then, and only then, will America remain on its path of greatness. If we do not, if we continue along this path of empty promises, most of which we do not need or want, then greatness will elude us and the world will suffer along with us.
      Promises, promises. Let us be wise enough to know what is truly a promise and what is not, what is positive and what is not. If not, well, read the papers, turn on the radio, check your news feed, watch the news shows on TV or cable and see if the promise of hatred, of nuclear blasts and nuclear winter, of a return - no, a new horrific beginning in an apocalyptic world - is that the promise we want. I do not and nor should any sane person.

SOME QUESTIONS, SOME ANSWERS - NOT NECESSARILY SO

    David Brooks, columnist from the Times, wants to know how he can get Trump out of his head? The answer, truly, he cannot, for all the reasons for Trump's election are the reasons for his failure - and the anger he produces in others.
     Trump went berserk on Monday - not unusual -  and tweeted away at the NY Times "as a failing entity, with an unfunded liability and non existent sources" - whatever that means. The Times calmly showed Trump the errors of his ways here what with the largest subscription rate ever, growing profit, income and revenues. 
     Why does Trump disallow 'unnamed sources" about himself but encourages it when he wants to make use of that technique? Could it be he is a hypocrite? Gasp!!!
     A little light relief? Why is Disney planning a new Broadway show called Frozen - and no Olaf either! Well, because it is beloved, people will pay mucho to take their kids and sing along at the top of their lungs and yet the message is clear - women can do anything, be anything and challenge any restrictions. A message greatly needed to reinforce in our times.
     Why does David Israel continue to make use of lies and threats and name calling? Uh.....I dunno. Maybe he is incapable of doing otherwise?
     What does he represent along with Trump?
The loss of ethics, the breakup of values, the bleeding essence of democracy.
     Why does the man tweet so much? I dunno, again, except that he appears to be incapable of speaking with any kind of skill and linguistic ability. But 57 percent of Republicans say his tweets do not get the right message out, are risky. Duh!!! In my book, tweets and tweeting are a refuge of the adolescents who have forgotten the art of conversation or never learned it in the first place, of adults who cannot speak and of other adults who want to seem cool. Other than actors as they are different. Just my opinion.
     Why is Trump sending little love notes to Mueller?  "he has passed along the president's messages expressing “appreciation and greetings’’ to the special counsel."  What does he hope to gain from this? Does he think it will settle suspicion down upon Mueller and let Trump off? I do not think that will happen.
     Why do we pay Trump millions as we guard him in his various trips to his hotels, privately owned buildings, totally against the whole emoluments clause? And why do we pay huge amounts to cover his sons as they bounce around the world doing Trump business? This is wrong!!
     Why does Trump continue to ignore the climate change warnings and why has the latest report not been released? Well, guess inside his air conditioned hotel rooms and Trump Tower and even inside the "dump" of the WH he is protected from the crazy heat and all he sees is the mounting bank account of his and his buddies.
     Why does he do all in secret? What? Such as his committees for deregulation, his waivers for people to serve in the administration. Why? Because they all violate ethics, all come from the very world they are to deregulate and all stand to garner much profits from new rules and de - regulation. Never mind the air. Never mind the waterways. Never mind the melting poles. Never mind the people. Mind only their profits.
     “fire and fury like the world has never seen”
Such is the language that Trump used in dealing with North Korea. Now the Korean dude is threatening to hit Guam with nukes.Why do we have two insane people shouting at each other and the world teeters on the edge of that sharp cliff while the clock hands move to two minutes before midnight!? Is it because he  “lacks the temperament and judgment to deal with the serious crisis the United States confronts.” I have been saying that for a long, long time. And the same evangelists of the extreme variety say, “When it comes to how we should deal with evil doers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear: God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary — including war — to stop evil,” Jeffress said. “In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un.” Please, may the Lord Above spare us from religious manics who use G-d to excuse and fuel every and any wrathful desire of theirs. It is rather more as Gore states that the Trump presidency might end early due to lack of ethics or for ethical reasons. Amen to that!!
     How are we to proceed once we get rid of this invalid president? Again, I dunno. Is Pence any better? He comes along as calmer, but he is a deep evangelical with deep anti choice beliefs, and goes along with all the nasty fascistic immigration or rather anti immigration principles of Trump and these neo conservatives of the alt right. I also do not appreciate one in the possible Oval Office who wants to bring "all to Christ". No thank you - got my own religion and beliefs.
     Why do I keep banging away at the two of them, the two D's? Because I hate lies, I hate liars, I hate lack of ethics, I hate nastiness, I hate oppression, I hate unfairness, I hate all that appears to be succeeding within our country now and I worry for us and for the future. 
     Mike Pompeo, the head of the CIA is political in his statements though he is not supposed to be. He is a Tea Party nutjob who calls the First Amendment 'fuzzy" - so what are we to think and fear for the future.
      I cannot change the future with my own small voice, but perhaps can influence a few, cause others to think, get rid of the trash in offices and get some new people on track. Any little bit I can do - that is why I keep on banging away - and will continue to do so, G-d willing, to the end of my days in Act III. Join with me. Think, act, push for the right thing to do and hate tyrants or would be tyrants. At least it keeps the blood flowing!
     "Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
                Ernest Hemingway.
     Think on that for a bit.

IT'S THE FACTS, MA'AM!

     Okay, it really is not ma'am, but that was in the original statement. Really, it should be, the facts, stupid!! Yup, I do not know what else to call a person who thinks that facts do not matter, that lies can be clean as a  whistle, that forever, one can do exactly as one wishes. Well, sorry about that, my two silly friends, David and Donald. Not so. Not so, indeed.
     So my morning giggle. "President Donald Trump would like to interrupt his vacation to deliver the following message: Don't call this a vacation." How many times does this man think he can lie so blatantly and no one will notice or call him on it. Now everyone is entitled to a vacation, but this is the man who chowed down on Obama every time he stepped away from the WWH and who swore he would be so busy with work that he would never leave. So, the facts, SIR. 
He has spent 13 of 28 weeks away from the WH, including mostly Mar A Lago and Bedminster and one weekend overseas where he screwed up royally anyway! He invites strangers whose only qualification is to be ultra rich right into his meetings, to hear secrets, to intrude on the rights of American privacy.
     Let us shift one minute back down to Florida, actually pretty close to his hideaway there, easy to find to demonstrate and protest. Anyway, here we have another dude who also ignores facts, who thinks that numbers which disagree with him are "fake news'. Well, SIR, the facts are the facts and twisting them does not change them. A zero valuation for TAX purposes does not mean that the building is valueless and in fact, the very fact that there are numbers for its depreciation and value per square ft. etc. says exactly the opposite. Fake news indeed! Lying does not make it so and if you wish to live in a world like that, please find the entryway that Alice found, take Donald with you , go to unparties and such and enjoy yourselves!! But up here in the real world, facts count. They truly do.
      Both of you seem to have problems with the internet. You have an exaggerated sense of importance and how many people want to read all about you - yet you do not allow any and all to comment on your blog which masquerades as a Village official blog, so all you get are the creepy remarks of your minions and your own words. Trump also thinks that the world is tied to his every breath and the two of you think you can get away with whatever you wish to do. There are rules, there are by laws, there is a Constitution, and yet the two of you are always working to go around it, to declare they are null and void at least for you. Though it might work for a time, it will never last. The voices here in the Village are being raised, are growing louder and the chorus of support for Trump has died down, to the lowest percentile yet, even among his supposed base. Hey, even Kellyanne Conway admits that!!
     The two of you bring your respective constituencies into dark and deep waters. Our waterways here are infected by some yucky plant, or that is what we are told, and Trump's waterways, those of the country, are under great danger of imminent pollution such as we have not seen for a long time and thought we had beaten back. We are going to be dug up for something we did not wish and the country's lands are going to be dug up for coal that we do not need nor want and  for oil that is in a glut situation at present and our natural beauty of which we sing - forget it!! 
     At least you, David, have no "Nicole Mincey" a bot that you make into a real person as did Trump, always on the lookout for anything to boost his ego.
     The hatred that emanates from the two of you is just awful. You urge all and sundry to hate those who oppose you, give them a supposed pejorative nickname, but which actually has a proud history in the history of the United States, so -  so much for that! You encourage your people to call us names. You try to shut all opposition down. You shout and rant from the stage, manifestly wrong according to any and all rules of conducting meetings. And Trump goes merrily along calling his opponents names, forgets, as he accuses an opponent of a military misdeed, forgets indeed that he was four times deferred and then finally for bad feet so he did not do any service at all during the Vietnam era. None, even as our boys died over there. But guess flat feet do not matter when one is on them for hours playing golf!!
     So now in the country we have those who dare to bring their evil and slimy hatred to the fore, to expose it to the air, be it Pompeo or Sessions or Bannon or Cotton or ICE people who rough up their "catch" or police who are told to be rough with those they arrest, even if nothing has been proven. This is not my United States and you are not my president and hopefully, neither will David Israel after March.

GRAND IS THE WORD

     Could not decide on today's topic so am going to let my fingers do the talking and the walking. Up early to take granddaughter to plane and that is indeed a sad thing. But grand is the word. It has been grand having her here, our granddaughter #1, with undivided time and attention, talking and laughing, not doing anything grand in scope, just having fun - even watching Moana together and deciding that Frozen was definitely better, but the message is the same to all girls and women - you can do anything, be anything and do not let tradition restrict you. Sometimes one needs new traditions even as we remember and value the old.
      And yet here we are and here we were and will it be here we will always be? Why are we still talking of 'honor' killings? Why do we still have female genial mutilation, even here in America? Why is there still a glass ceiling? Why do we still have men in positions of power be it in business or politics or wherever who use their positions to intimidate, grope and molest and even rape women in their employ? Why am I having to talk to my grandchildren, boys as well as girls, about the creeps on line who are out there indeed to get them. Sometimes the bogeyman is real.
     And even with all this it was a grand week. There is nothing sweeter than the hug and kiss from a grandchild, the words of how we will be missed as they are packing to leave, the smile of sheer joy when we are sighted at airports. And it is just grand as well when one realizes that there is hope for the future as yet another almost grown up grandchild feels the same way about bullies and bosses, about creeps and about politics and yes, even about Trump and the actions of my local nemesis as well!
Ahhh, the little things that give us joy.
     But in the meanwhile, I sat this morning, even earlier, reading of the same garbage. Trump and his stooges make comments and then their other underlings are out there trying to explain or ameliorate the consequences of those  statements. Sessions caves in due to pressure from the Master and Rosenstein has to explain that no, it is the leakers they want and not the journalists so in essence ignore what Trump and Sessions have been shouting to the world. Not so easy to do when it is freedom of the press at stake.
     Trump's political body can be substituted for poor Jud in Oklahoma as everyone is now picturing his political funeral as he digs the hole himself. Yet the fear of being in his mouth has Pence stumbling over his own tongue as he tries to crawl out of that mouth by denying his plans to run for 2020 and all the activities of his that seem to point that way. Ugh! Can anyone imagine voting for a Trump four years older, in the grown throes of metal deterioration, of the advance of dementia, and I even wonder where the world will be what with the war of words with North Korea, the opening of federal pristine lands to the ugliness of strip mining and the destruction of the environment, already deeply challenged by  Trump's obtuseness and greed.
     And grand is the scale of destruction and neglect that we have here in the Village. Don Foster is doing the best he can but he is only one man. He needs professional help with problems as deeply entrenched as the waterways. I had hoped that after those torrential rains we had that the yucky stuff was gone but here it is back again, concentrated on my shore line and into the exit canal going past Andover, gross to the nth degree. Don, come take a look again at it now and see the ugliness.
     But what is even uglier here is the same ugliness that taints the country at large. It is the eagerness and willingness of people to give over their very freedom for the dubious chance of standing in the shadow of someone else's presumed power. This reflected 'glory' seems to be what sustains them and the denigration of others feeds them as well. It is also encouraging though, to realize that there is a growing chorus of voices, of people in the village who see the truth for what it is. Yet we need more people to force through an openness that will only help our poor besieged Village and keep it, or remake it into the wonderful place it should be. So any and all rules that are trying to be forced down our throats in secret doses are to be resisted. Any secret plans are to be opened to the air. Any secret deals are to be resisted and  contract nullifications are to be avoided when he agrees to terms we did not agree to. If we need legal help to ensure our safety then so be it. And we are to insist that preparation for new Agreement terms need to be in place NOW. 2018 is months away and 2022 only four years away now and be sure that Levy's lawyers are deep into prep work for the replacement of the Millennium Agreement and not for our benefit either.
     Uch, enough with the ugliness for today. Have to go wake up my granddaughter to get ready. In her bag are packed the hearts of her grandparents but we look forward to more visits here and there and grand it will be.

TETHERS TO REALITY

     It is a most frightening thing to realize that the ostensible leader of a political entity is not truly all there, is suffering from a progressively worsening dementia of some sort, yet remains in office. The frustration, the danger to the population is not to be underestimated.
     Friday we had an example par excellence of such a situation right here in the Village. We have David Israel, a man who uses alleged threats and intimidating tactics to get his way. He maneuvered his way into overturning term limits here in the Village and has now joined, at least in his mind, the tribunal of "forever presidents" who occupy that position in many African nations. So it is in his head and so it is that he violates almost every canon of proper chairmanship, of proper behavior, shouts from the dais, discards Roberts Rules, makes deals in secret and in violation of the bylaws and the voting decisions of the delegates and ignores many of the physical dangers to the Village and its ongoing deterioration.
     So - let's go back a bit to understand what happened Friday. First, know that David, like an infant, demands to get his way and if not, throws tantrums. Yes, he does try to maintain a surface calm, but when truly caught out, he cannot maintain the reins over himself and he shouts and threatens. Okay, back to where we were.
     Now David wants what he wants. He wanted Atlantic Broadcasting, the same way he wanted DSL that we managed to block, despite his behavior and his threats. He got AB in by the skin of his teeth and shoved a contract into the faces of the delegates and added an answer to every question, Oh yes, he said, that will be taken care of, it will be addressed before we sign, we will make sure the Village is protected. Bah, humbug!!!!!
     Basically, he screwed he Village. One of the ways he did that was to promise to rent space to them for $1 a sq. ft. this when the rental in the  med building is about $22 sq. ft. But - where to find the space? Aha!! Here is how his warped mind thinks. The Camden building which WPRF gave to the Reporter to use, the present Rag, but was no longer a viable place as the mold, etc. was harmful to all. So - where to go. Watch. WPRF or Levy, the result is the same, wanted the space where the present realty office is. So watch what these minds came up with, the better to screw the Village yet again. Take this building with all is property and in turn give the Village the storage shed near Southampton, out of the way and difficult for Villagers to reach if they wished to go there, if they even knew where it was in the first place. But wait. Why were we switching buildings anyway, when WPRF was supposed to give us a replacement for Camden without inducing another trade. We were left holding the bag or missing a building!!! If we took this offer we were still out the building in exchange for Camden as we made another whole trade.
     Next. David claims this is a huge deal for us. We were trading a building worth zero for a building worth money and showed its tax valuation as zero. Yes, because it was not listed as a business building, was non commercial, or so the county thought and so its valuation was zero for tax purposes!!! The county tax office plainly laid out the truth of it all and whoa!! The man went berserk. He does not like being questioned or being shown up so he shouts to Ed that Ed is a liar and he cannot come up and tell all these lies. Wow!! you had to be there!  Ed had had it! He clenched the paper in his hand and ran - as best he could - up to the stage to show David et al the facts, right to their lying faces. Well, el chicken David began to screech for help, for security, for PBSO. Ed has a temper, yes, but he cannot physically, would not physically, harm anyone. Period. David is just a big baby, but anyway, he is also supposed to remain neutral non partisan as the chair of the meeting. Period there as well.
     All the numbers are there. The facts are there. The representative of the Tax office who happened to be there confirmed that the person who gave us the information was in fact an employee of the office with the ability to do this, contrary to David's lies about that. He certainly did not like being shown up.
     And even were we to agree to the exchange, why would we want to give them a larger property? How would the Atlantic company fit in comfortably and fairly with the Rag and its staff and needs, especially when they were now ensconced in the Clubhouse although that still left us out in the cold because that is a music room in demand during season and we still needed a replacement for Camden and not a switch of another building!! A switch which left us out in the cold. All data is seen in the previous posting, by the way.
     So now we have David screeching online how all who opposed were Fake News!! Yow, I saw that  and quickly looked around for the other dude not attached to reality, whose tethers are long gone. Nope, no Donald, only David, but same lies, same approach, same loser. He claims the opposition disrupted the assembly. I seem to have seen and heard otherwise as people yelled out to David to allow Ed to speak. But Ed was a 'danger' so he must go. But not a whit of difference would it have made, for behind Ed in line were others who spoke calmly about the trade and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. Olga spoke, I spoke, and my point was that this is a bigger decision to make and needed the whole Village involved and not a bare quorum in a summer month - the way in which he usually gets his misdeeds done!! Not this time!!! My suggestion to make a motion to table was taken up, the initial motion to vote was taken back, the table motion was made and was overwhelmingly approved.
     So reality and benefit for the Village won this time but what about the future? What about a replacement for Bob Marshall who is in very ill health, and we wish him a recovery, but in the meanwhile, we are short a VP for the man who never should have been on the ballot in the first place as he was ill then. But Olga is next up and David is peeing his pants at that thought so he ignores the hole in the officers - no Treasurer from the Village, now no VP for my quadrant, but the man continues on in his deluded feeling that he is eternal, a forever president and can do what he wants.
     He learns and takes heart from the other deluded president, Trump, who lies thru his teeth and then denies, who called other people on days of vacation and then takes more vacation than anyone, who has been on his properties for golf more than any other president, has blabbed secrets, called the WH a dump and then denied even as he denigrated the staff, though he was shown up there by Chelsea. Wonder when she can run for President?!
      This man in the Oval Office has lost his party, has the lowest approval rating ever, and is even eating away at his deluded base. He is dangerous to life and limb of the country and its people and threatens the lifeline of the world.
     Both these men are trying as hard as hey can to shut down the press and both presidents are in office thru alleged chicanery as far as I am concerned and both try to hide the paper trial for this. Well, nature does take its path and history generally allows for a righting of wrongs - if we can survive the worst of them in their respective arenas.
  Both need new tethers to reality.
     

THE DIRECTIONS ARE: OPEN MOUTH.....

    The man has become a clown, albeit a dangerous one. He embarrasses himself on a daily basis and often on an hourly one. His malapropisms are worse and more frequent than those of George W. and some of those were doozies. Trump trumps them all - and that is not a good thing.
     The man lies with every breath and has the foot in mouth disease worse than anyone I have ever known, certainly in this position. From the very beginning he lied and from the beginning he played dirty tactics on his opponents with smears and lies. And colluding with the enemy!! And now it seems that he has finally tripped but good over his forked tongue and FBI official after official is set to testify re his behavior and involvement in the whole Russian investigation. And now the grand jury. I am frightened by what this would mean should it all come out in the wash.
    But his lies are not of only yesterday. He claimed to have seen Moslems dancing on rooftops in northern NJ after 9/11, 'knew' that Obama was not born in the United States, that 2 to 5 million people illegally voted in the election, that he had the largest inauguration crowd ever, that the leader of the Boy Scouts called him, that the President of Mexico agreed with him re the wall and immigration. Nowhere was the truth. Nowhere was there the naked emperor called on it according to his troops. He railed against the vacations of Obama and now this man, who has already cost the taxpayers $20 million dollars for his golf trips in only 80 days, is now planning yet another 17 day vacation. The man just does not have anything to do. I had more to do on a daily basis as a principal than he does as President of the United States!! He once said that if one did not enjoy the job or have enough to do one should quit the job! Please!!!
     He has become a laughing stock in front of the whole world and frankly, that entire world cannot understand what happened to the people of this country that we have such a "leader'.
     Furthermore, the man insists on shoving that foot ever deeper in the mouth as he behaves as a great big bully, a know nothing  who gained a business thru the use of papa's money and thru bankruptcies and thinks that all owe allegiance to him and all must be obedient to him, afraid of him. He threatened Senators, calls the state of Maine a "drug infested den", yells at the Australian Prime Minister about "milk people" and slams the phone, tells the President of Mexico that he needs to stop talking about the wall in public as it is not good for Trump!!! The whole world must kowtow to him, that megalomaniac!
     Worst of all is the fact that he is encouraging the police of cities to go after the criminals from the immigrants, as if there were no other ones around. Yes, by all means, arrest all violent offenders, and hey, here is an idea, arrest all those guilty of financial fraud who ruin the lives of people. Oops, getting too close to Trump I guess and the rest of the members of his new swamp  crew of critters. And yet read the new developments re the investigation. And Nixon was called a crook!!! Woe upon us with this Trump. The sooner out of office, in jail or not, the better off we are.
     There is no more morality in Washington, DC and if it were up to Trump all morality would have to pass the litmus test of obedience to him. Arrest those he wishes arrested. Arrest all those who desire a new and good life, a dream to prosper, in a new country, just as his grandfather did, a man with no heart, a man who gives me the desperate chills at  the thought of history repeating itself with hatred running the world.
     This man is not now nor ever has been my president. He will never be.
     Now, about the other president in my life.....how do we get rid of him and his wrongs and his lies and his selfishness? Yes, we have made some progress, pushing him into corrections and new ideas that he borrows form us, but let us just dump him this coming March.

SHE CRIES

     If you look closely you will see it, the tear running slowly down the cheek of the Lady. Yes, that Statue that welcomed so many, the wealthy, the middle class and especially the poor, the oppressed, that lady is crying. No more "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" for those sentiments have been declared no good, wasteful and simply not good for business.
    So this man who is destroying our democracy, who is trampling daily, no, hourly, on our principles, who has the Founding Fathers rolling and squirming in their graves, that man who hates immigrants has applied for 73 permits for foreign workers for his hotels and not for the techie side of it!! That man's son in law has brazenly used the EB-5 visa program to allow in the obscenely wealthy from all countries, especially Russians and Chinese, another $500,000 for him and his businesses.
     And the poor. Why don't worry. They will die out anyway if that man can get his healthcare debacle back on track and refuse healthcare to these poor. There is always more where they come from!! And meanwhile, the vaunted Kelly, the new chief of staff? Well, he gave his Homeland ICE people free reign to round up the cattle. Yup, what else can we call it when "of the 650 immigrants nationwide, fewer than 200 of those people were actually targeted in the operation: 73 members of family units, and 120 (former) unaccompanied children. The other 457 people — nearly three-quarters of those caught up in the sweeps — were simply “also apprehended” and arrested." Just round 'em up. Never mind if they are only 'guilty' of living good and productive lives; if they are related to a felon or just there, why there they go!!! Anyone for some old WWII movies or perhaps some Soviet history or just go to Venezuela now or the Philippines or any number of Asian and African nations but never did I think we would do that here!! I thought, nay, I hoped that the days of American McCarthyism were over and done. Foolish me. And so the tear on the Lady rolls ever further down her face and yet another one follows.
    This man who lies as a natural state of utterance, this man who denies his insults and illiterate statements when they get him in more trouble, this man just keeps on irritating both local and international entities. Australia was the latest brouhaha and now the Vatican! never particularly known for its progressive movements, yes, that Vatican, shot a warning notice over the American Catholic bow. Two close associates of the Pope have accused the ultra conservative wing of it of supporting and even suborning prejudice and hatred, seeking out those who would further that agenda as in extreme evangelicals who promote hate or Steve Bannon with his program of hate. I am impressed. There is yet room to hope. 
     But what do we say then to the extreme base of his, those who scream  re abortion, who would kill the women in the name of saving lives, who would shoot the doctors, those who take glee and joy in restricting the rights of LGBTQ, of rooting out transgender people from the armed services and never mind their accumulated years of service to the country!! Out they go!!! The future, according to these people, looks more like a dystopian society rather than the archetype American society. It is a society where NOW!! the NAACP has issued a travel warning for Missouri due to their new legislation re suits for violations of civil rights. The images of traveling where one can find oneself thrown in a cell for no reason, denied human and civil rights - not appetizing and a shock to our system. And in America, 2017! We are back to this???
     This man boasts of his business empire, his successes so people should do the 'right" thing and just obey him, do his bidding, regard him as the be all and end all. Well, his businesses were not so successful; they closed, went bankrupt, stiffed contractors and just played around with people's lives and livelihoods so excuse me if I pass on his 'lovely' invitation. As have so many others.
     This man gets into arguments and so do his minions. Yesterday the apostle of hatred, of nationalism, Steven Miller, spoke hatefully re immigrants and got into two fights with reporters who dared to question, who asked for explanation, who asked for basis of facts. How dare they!!!! I just wanted to reach through the screen and smack him hard for his words and tones, for his fostering of hatred and inhumanity.
     This man has induced a terrible attitude  within this country. It is even more all for me and to hell with you attitude. We see that here in the Village. We see the blatant lies of David Israel re this realty swap and for that please read yesterday's posting or go to the Messenger site where the truth is told - and even the letter or email from a governmental official with the truth of numbers!!
     Garbage drips down from the top just as does goodness and kindness, care and concern, honesty and altruism. Yes, at times I feel like a stupid eighteen year old still idealistic, still hoping, believing against all reality, above and despite my cynicism, that there is a goodly store of decency within humanity. I have seen it especially in the days after the debacle of the election as so many have taken action, have worked with those who need help. Let us pray that this side of mankind prevails - here in the Village, in the county, out there in the rest of the country and further out there in the world.
     And in the meanwhile, the tears keep rolling down out of the corner of an eye. The torch seems to droop and the head to sag. Can we not shore it up? Can we not help the Lady be what she was before? We must. Oh, we must. Here comes yet another tear. And another. And another.

   

COME AGAIN? SAY WHAT?

     There are times when one asks oneself, "Did I really hear that or read that?"  We are smack in the middle of those times.
     So first we hear from the 'knowledgeable' guy, Lanny Howe, with yet another piece of conspiracy nonsense. He had to have his say about the whole brouhaha with Barbara Cornish and the Messenger Club meeting and of course Peter Cruz had to stick in his poisoned droppings as well.
     Every Messenger Club meeting has people sign in. Period. There is a table by the door, pretty hard to miss and it is not a big deal to sign in. Some clubs make you have a paid up membership of $5 to $10 before you can get a toe in the door. This was free; they even supplied the pen and ink to sign!
    What is the big deal? What would have happened if Barbara had signed in? Would she have turned into some mythical creature along with Frank? Seriously, what a mountain out of a mole hill. Yes, I would have let her stay but it was not my meeting nor my rules and the fact that others might have skipped signing in - well, they chose to do so and were reminded to do so numerous times. Ed was not going to conduct a witch hunt to find out who they were. Barbara and Frank are well known and they and Ed have had run ins before so Ed checked with her and asked for the sign in. Frankly, both sides made an issue of it where it need not have existed, but please remember that Ed is not a new guy to this business and has a heart of gold and is full of concern for the Village. He has met with great abuse from people who do not appreciate his sometimes uncomfortable questions so I do not blame him for his rules for his club. The whole thing could have been avoided.
     And now, Lanny and David. Get off the soapbox and stop your ridiculous conspiracy whispers. Yes, there were petitions and people were asked if they WISHED to sign. Some did and some did not and no one was thrown out for that choice. No one is going to do a comparison of who signed in and who signed petitions. That comes from your paranoid minds that all are out to get you. Well.....maybe, but seriously, if you are so concerned about plots, how about opening up the list of delegates to all so if one  needs signatures for petitions to be submitted there is a chance to get them, particularly under the new oppressive rules you plan to lay down in the Village. And perhaps we can make sure these are appointed delegates from true boards and not ones made up just prior to elections!! Zombies indeed! Now who is nefariously planning and now who has secret motives and now who just cannot take criticism? So please, cut the garbage!
     And wait, here's more. I said yesterday that a deal with Mark Levy is one that will never happen unless there is an advantage for him. David poo pooed that but oh dear, he was wrong or gasp! he was lying to all of us and to all the Village. First he tried to pull a fast one, did David, do the swap without the delegates' vote. When Ed and the Messenger's Club showed how that was a violation we then got the new fairy tale story and the lies, oh the lies.
     So -to the facts. We are told that the realty building with its large piece of property is worth nothing! Well, a bit of new info. Realty building, not worth zero as David says which is only because it has been tax exempt and how that happened is another story but anyway, the depreciation value is $133,630 at $50.65 a sq. ft. Replacement value is $238,620 at $90.45 a sq. ft. Compare it to the shed which is valued at $45,390 depreciation value at $35.64 a sq. ft. and replacement value at $82,520 at $64.78 a square foot and the realty building is much bigger as well. Read those numbers again and remember that we would now have to pay almost $4,000 more in taxes for the shed building. And actually, we had a deal with WPRF or Levy that in return for the realty building we would have a space for the Rag free of charge. Camden proved unhealthy to life and limb so we should get the shed, fixed up and handed over. The music room in the Clubhouse should remain that - a music room. Never mind the complications for Atlantic and quite frankly, that is David's problem as he signed the contract with that provision without the approval of the delegates!!
     So say what indeed!
     And it does not end here in the Village. Everyone is stumbling over everyone else to get out of the Trump mess and Kushner is saying that the Trump campaign was such a mess that it could not collude with anyone!! And so what? Now we are to believe that this messed up group is now able to run a country in these complicated times? Really!!! Foot in mouth, dear boy.
     We have leaks coming from inside aides who are frantic to fix the chaos. We have the President truly obstructing justice as he concocted a lie to try to fool the entire American people. Good job, there Donny boy!! Actually, not such a good job!! And don't you think it is time Junior woke up and took care of his misdeeds without Daddy writing a note!! This is not what a grown person asks for. I could just imagine if my dad had written a note to a supervisor!!
     Now Donald does not like living in the White House, calling it a dump. Well, move out! Resign, take your bags and go!! And take your lies with you. No one from the BSA called to tell you what a great speech you did. Only in your head did the bell ring! Your compatriot Republicans are walking backwards away from you, trying to work out the finances of the ACA so that people do not lose fair premiums and just die for lack of care! You - you could care less.
     We have Senator Jeff Flake condemning you in his book as hopeless. We have reports that nations around the world fear the USA for what it might do in its crazy career choice now.
     And now we have the whole story about Seth Rich, that the White House colluded with Fox and others to concoct the story and blame the Democrats and Hillary. Sick, ethically challenged and immoral to the nth degree. And now the lawyer seeks to depose Trump and Spicer. Dear G-d!!
     We make America safe by deporting an immigrant who would actually qualify for the Dream delay as she is 34 and has been here since she was 17. The mother of 4 American citizens,  picked up on no license -  and immediately deported. And look to where - "U.S. citizens should defer all non-essential travel to the state of Tamaulipas due to violent crime, including homicide, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion and sexual assault," the warning says. "The number of reported kidnappings in Tamaulipas is among the highest in Mexico." What the hell are we doing!!! And the wall will be built we are told despite laws to the contrary for the environment, for property ownership - the hell with all that!!
     Scariest of all, now the news of strict Bible classes at the WH from a ministry whose stated goal  is "to evangelize elected officials and lead them toward maturity in Christ."  Religion in the White House with a crazy dude and his minions. My back has shivers running up and down the spine. And the attendees? Coerced? Worse, going on their own? With what purpose? With what end? How deep in Christ are we supposed to go? What if one does not wish that? And does that go along with the new drive of yours to have investigations by the government into affirmative action? Are there no other problems, like perhaps the fact that no one can afford college these days, black, white or purple!!!
Should we all go out and get new white flat sheets?
     So our president is either a crook, a liar, an incompetent, a religious bigot, insane or suffering from a deteriorating disease of the brain, or any combination thereof. Not a good sign for our future and the future of the world.
     So say what? We now have Kelly who actually almost quit before and now he is to whip the President and the White House into shape? Will he be the actual President, the man behind the throne? We will see if all those egos there will bend to him - Jared and Ivanka, Kellyanne Conway, Bannon and the rest of the incompetents.
     Perhaps we need a day of prayer, a weekend of prayer - Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in all the religions. Prayers for our salvation and I do not mean our souls but our very bodies, the corporeal world. Oy vey is the situation to put it bluntly.
     Say what? We all need to get moving here in the Village and out there in the country. Say what? You heard me.

WHAT DOES ONE SAY?

     Facing the blank "sheet" of paper this morning, I took refuge in solitaire! I truly did not know what I wished to write about or discuss. Does one go back into the history of today or the history of yesteryear that is still very much a part of today? Even as I write this I am still not sure, so let the letters fall where they may.
     As usual, the night brimmeth over with Trump news, much of which I did not catch last nite - gotta turn the news off some time if one is to remain sane!! Now the Nutty President has done it again. He wrote the letter, or dictated it to Junior and here we go again. Is there no way, no manner in which to get thru his thick skull that this is a government, not a store, nor a hotel business nor a casino that nobody will much care if it goes bankrupt. But it seems as if we have a morally bankrupt administration in place such as we have not seen for well over a hundred years. Closer to two hundred as a matter of fact.
     This man was a mistake, a serious one, an error of judgement and an error of history. Yesterday I saw a very interesting thing on Facebook. A voter for Trump now liked a site that was looking for signatures for Pence for President!! Wow!!! This was a rabid Trumper, majorly so!! But I am not sure that is a good idea anyway, the man with the glued on hair as opposed to the comb-over dude.
     And does this Nutty President get indicted, brought to the defense table in a courtroom or does he get impeached or a combo of such? But what I do know is he has got to go. The jaws of the word's leaders are stuck on the floor at present wondering if there was something in the air or the water over and in America that this man is now in office - invalidly, I still maintain.
     This man has no control over his mouth and his tongue is directly connected to his mind, such as it is, and 'shooting from the hip" takes on new coloring with this guy. What he does not realize  is that as much as  he looks like a fool, as much humor and material as he gives to all the talk shows and the columnists, it does not trump (sorry) the danger he has fostered with his stupid bigmouth.
     Today is a day when millions of Jews will be fasting and praying, enjoying no luxuries, for today is the day when we mourn the destruction of both Temples, yes, those buildings that stood there proudly on Temple Mount, way before the mosque. The hurt, the pain, is still felt strongly for this Mount is intertwined with our history as a people, in our religion, and its loss - and the dream of its rebuilding is always there.
     There is a telling story that after the destruction, Rabbi Akiva, a great Rabbi of the people, the man who gave us the theology of Love Thy Neighbor as you do yourself, was walking thru the ruins, accompanied by another Rabbi. Both were weeping but then Rabbi Akiva suddenly laughed and laughed. Shocked, the other Rabbi questioned his behavior and Rabbi Akiva stated that he should see the foxes roaming the ruins as it had been prophesized and surely, if that piece of the prophecy came true so would the rest - the rebuilding and the return of the people to their homeland. 
     So Jerusalem is of utmost importance to us and yet president after president has made political hay of it, promising  a recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, united once again. Many American Jews and supporters of Israel decided to buy into Trump's statement of how he would do that. And voted for him, ignoring all else. Uh huh!! Guess what. Never happened to the present day in all the disasters of the moment.
     And that motormouth evidently needed an infusion of fuel when there was utter silence after the awful slashing death of three people in Halamish in Israel, no condolences, no promises of aid, no condemnation. Nope, but there was another ridiculous tweet sniping at the Senators that he "had carried over the line on his back." So much for fair play, for concern. He signed a  deal with Iran or approved what was, he signed another deal with Russia that left Hezbollah right on the border with Israel, and not a peep from the American or Israeli audience. Wow, if Obama had done that there would have been a total uproar. But people want to believe what they want to believe and overlook anything that does not fit their vision of what they see the world to be. As they wish it to be seen.
     His mouth moves as it wishes, as his brain misfires and sparks another outrage and we fall yet closer and deeper to a total quagmire. North Korea is at the breaking point and all this bluster and all these threats that try to top each other are leaving us at the very edge of not a very good place at all. Do we go into nuclear winter because two nut jobs could not control their egos and their mouths?
     The mouths of people all that long time ago, the mouths that argued amongst themselves and left them weak before their enemies and the mouths of today, the mouth of that man in the Oval Office, the man with a huge panel of lawyers now to protect him from his misdeeds and missteps - these mouths need to be controlled, their owners to learn some self control and remember their place in life. A lesson learned.
     And words once sent out cannot be taken back. We should be rough with people arrested, we are told, never mind that is against protocol and these people are innocent of all until proven guilty. And now they try to backtrack and have Sanders calling it a "joke". W are not laughing!! Woe upon one of us should we fall into this cesspool  of a world where democracy and human rights are more observed in the breach than in the observation and keeping of them.
     Words that are condemning us to a terrible end should this violation of the environment continue. The latest? The tundra, the frozen permafrost in Russia is melting, with huge sinkholes and the last time this happened - 130,000, years ago!! But let's just ignore it and keep heating up the planet. Let us ignore reality and see things as we wish them to be. Let us go chasing after the naked emperor and his naked courtiers. Let us keep playing peek a boo with reality.
     Our leaders are to blame and we are to blame for allowing them to be our leaders. While this man is so completely NOT my president, he is to others and even as they grow in disapproval of him and his actions, his statements, we are stuck! But good!! There appears to be no good solution. Perhaps if Trump were to be impeached, indicted and sentenced, then Pence and anyone else in the administration would watch their steps and think, really think, before they moved on with an agenda that is un-American and just plain wrong and in defiance of reality. Perhaps.
     Mouths and poor leaders and poor followers lost us our Temples for we did not learn first time around either. Mouths and poor leaders, even criminal leaders, and poor gullible followers ad people who just stand there have gotten us into this situation right now and left us standing there with a way out fast disappearing.
     What does one say? HELP!!!!
And by the way, we can use some help here in the Village. That's for sure!