Remember the trips with the little ones when all they would do was to ask "why" and when answered asked "why" about the answer. It was their mouths and minds working with their eyes to try to understand the world. Today is my question day, my "why" day. Answers? Ha!!
Why do we have an imbecile for a President?
Why did we even allow such a man to run?
Why are there no minimum limits per sense and values, morals, before one is allowed to run for office?
Is there no group with which this man does not pick a fight?
Why does this man have a pitifully limited vocabulary limited to the vulgar and the obscene?
Why does this man not show a decency and modicum of respect towards others?
Why does this man act as a terrible twos toddler in dealing with others?
When and how is this dangerous feud with Kim Jong Un going to stop?
Are we on the brink of nuclear disaster?
Why are so many asking the same questions, raising the same concerns?
Why do so many comment on the unsuitability of this man for President?
Why does this man ignore the pleas for help coming from the darkness of Puerto Rico, the destruction on the islands even as he finds time to curse our people?
Why do we have an administration that runs on greed and gimme, gimme tactics?
Why does Secretary Price use luxury charters to take his little trips - on our back!?
Why are our allies deserting us?
Why are our foes rejoicing in our current situation?
Why are the Republicans so anti humanity?
Why do the Republicans wish to destroy the healthcare of millions?
Why have the Republicans forgotten their roots as the party of Lincoln?
Why have we been returning to the days of old - in a non romantic manner - and encouraging or allowing hate and hate groups to prosper?
What is the matter with those women who allow the alt right to grow, who support it at the expense of their own rights and humanity?
How indeed could any woman have voted or still support this man and his followers of the basest base ever?
How do we condone the forcible arrest of non participants in a protest due to use of "kettling' - a contemptuous technique for rounding up "protesters" as if they are animals, fish to be kettled and cooked!!?
How will we run this country when we do not pass the required bills in order to do so?
Are we facing rebellion in the streets that amount to a revolt? Is that what these increasingly violent protests will become? Whose fault is that?
Why do we have a President who seeks and cherishes the support of white supremacists?
Why are we chasing after frightened immigrants?
Why are we going after contributing members of our society simply because they were children and were taken here by their parents looking for a better world, a better future?
Why do we have an administration where nepotism and cronyism are right back in the forefront?
Why do we allow petty dictators in all aspects of our lives to grow and prosper?
Why do we allow others to cancel our rights?
When have we lost the sense of what it means to be an American - and to be proud of being American?
When have we allowed other countries to interfere with our internal and yes, even external, activities and processes?
Since when do we go to the brink on each and every foreign policy issue?
Since when is foul language, nasty name calling and deaf ears part and parcel of American policy?
Today is our 50th wedding anniversary, a day we embrace with great joy and thankfulness, but will we be able to celebrate our 51st in the America that we were born into, that we love and cherish? Where is my answer?
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
THE NEW YEAR
This is a time for introspection. What have I or we done right this year and what could we improve? Do we regret any action or inaction and could we have chosen other words?
The answer, I believe, is a definite yes but as for me, I am not sorry that I spoke up, called out for reform and called people to task. Would I have loved to do more? Of course, but life does not always give us what we want. We need to build on what has gone before, and always, hopefully, in the right direction.
I have spoken or written before of my fears of the rising anti Semitism, the violence it has chosen, the vehemence of its poison, and the most shocking, the growth of this in young people and the aid and abetting of it by young Jews themselves who do not understand that anti Semitism includes all Jews, open or not, and there is no escape or running away, no matter what name you call it. It therefore behooves all of us to remember that we, as Jews, need to remember that we are one and the difference in our customs, be it via country or via religious sect and observance should not divide us.
Not only that, but our history and our books, our very religion, urges us, tells us, commands us to fix the world, to help others - the widow, the orphan, to give charity and to be kind to the stranger in our midst. We are to chase after justice, not let it slide by, ignored. As such, we should be in the foremost of every charitable association and on the donor lists of disasters and food pantries. It should make us proud that Israel as a country is often the 'firstest with the mostest' to disaster areas and are already on the way to the disaster that is now the Caribbean.
And we, as Jews, need to know that we must support Israel. Yes, she has made errors in judgement as have many other sovereign nations, but the main point is that she remain sovereign, the only Jewish state, the only state where the Jews are eternally welcome, not chased out or burnt out or killed or slaughtered. It should not be made into a 'hip' or cool thing to knock down fellow Jews with a kippah on or a Jewish star, or who support Israel. It is not cool, not the right thing and not the right way to protest and we must remember that until one is living there, accepting the risks and the responsibilities, that one needs to temper one's judgements.
Most of all, as a woman who is Jewish, as a woman who feels that women have often been denied and even ignored in some aspects of Judaism, that the recognition of women as equal partners must happen. We must be treated with respect be it at a meting or at the Kotel, the Wall. Mind you, the secular world needs to learn this too and not try to outtalk and overtalk women as well. I am so proud of these younger women who have forced the issue and become rabbinical representatives and the men who support them. Kol Hakovod - kudos to you.
As for the world - what a better place it would be if we realized that we indeed do share this planet, this spinning orb and we had better do right by it or it will do wrong by us. Enough with the hypocrisy, the avoidance of responsibility. Enough with the sovereignty as it runs rampant over others. Enough with the hypocrisy of business and government. Let the United States be once again the moral and values leader of the world rather than the one threatening to blow it up. Let us talk honestly and openly. We are all mankind and unlike the movies there are no alien ships with wise sages who will come to teach us a better way or warn us of impending doom unless we change. We can realize that ourselves - and have to help ourselves.
Today, in Mexico, after a second quake, and as we watch the horrifying and stunning views of the massive hurricanes, a woman asked, "Is G-d mad at us?" I think so. I can just see Him looking down upon us and asking Himself what He has done? Maybe we can all try just that bit more?
In the meanwhile, a Shanah Tova to all of you, all of us, out there. May we know a New Year blessed by peace, by prosperity, by health, by love and happiness. See you all Sunday morning.
The answer, I believe, is a definite yes but as for me, I am not sorry that I spoke up, called out for reform and called people to task. Would I have loved to do more? Of course, but life does not always give us what we want. We need to build on what has gone before, and always, hopefully, in the right direction.
I have spoken or written before of my fears of the rising anti Semitism, the violence it has chosen, the vehemence of its poison, and the most shocking, the growth of this in young people and the aid and abetting of it by young Jews themselves who do not understand that anti Semitism includes all Jews, open or not, and there is no escape or running away, no matter what name you call it. It therefore behooves all of us to remember that we, as Jews, need to remember that we are one and the difference in our customs, be it via country or via religious sect and observance should not divide us.
Not only that, but our history and our books, our very religion, urges us, tells us, commands us to fix the world, to help others - the widow, the orphan, to give charity and to be kind to the stranger in our midst. We are to chase after justice, not let it slide by, ignored. As such, we should be in the foremost of every charitable association and on the donor lists of disasters and food pantries. It should make us proud that Israel as a country is often the 'firstest with the mostest' to disaster areas and are already on the way to the disaster that is now the Caribbean.
And we, as Jews, need to know that we must support Israel. Yes, she has made errors in judgement as have many other sovereign nations, but the main point is that she remain sovereign, the only Jewish state, the only state where the Jews are eternally welcome, not chased out or burnt out or killed or slaughtered. It should not be made into a 'hip' or cool thing to knock down fellow Jews with a kippah on or a Jewish star, or who support Israel. It is not cool, not the right thing and not the right way to protest and we must remember that until one is living there, accepting the risks and the responsibilities, that one needs to temper one's judgements.
Most of all, as a woman who is Jewish, as a woman who feels that women have often been denied and even ignored in some aspects of Judaism, that the recognition of women as equal partners must happen. We must be treated with respect be it at a meting or at the Kotel, the Wall. Mind you, the secular world needs to learn this too and not try to outtalk and overtalk women as well. I am so proud of these younger women who have forced the issue and become rabbinical representatives and the men who support them. Kol Hakovod - kudos to you.
As for the world - what a better place it would be if we realized that we indeed do share this planet, this spinning orb and we had better do right by it or it will do wrong by us. Enough with the hypocrisy, the avoidance of responsibility. Enough with the sovereignty as it runs rampant over others. Enough with the hypocrisy of business and government. Let the United States be once again the moral and values leader of the world rather than the one threatening to blow it up. Let us talk honestly and openly. We are all mankind and unlike the movies there are no alien ships with wise sages who will come to teach us a better way or warn us of impending doom unless we change. We can realize that ourselves - and have to help ourselves.
Today, in Mexico, after a second quake, and as we watch the horrifying and stunning views of the massive hurricanes, a woman asked, "Is G-d mad at us?" I think so. I can just see Him looking down upon us and asking Himself what He has done? Maybe we can all try just that bit more?
In the meanwhile, a Shanah Tova to all of you, all of us, out there. May we know a New Year blessed by peace, by prosperity, by health, by love and happiness. See you all Sunday morning.
IS IT ENOUGH YET?
When is enough, enough? When is it time to pull the plug? When is it time that deluded people admit to their dangerous delusion and the "base" realize that they are supporting a madman who will utterly destroy their world and the world of their children? Where is the final boundary, the so called red line to be drawn and when?
So yesterday was a boomer day for the madman of the country. His whiny scared little Senators are trying to figure out a way to screw the people of the country by taking away their healthcare, going forward - or really backward- in their frenzied push for this misnomered healthcare. It will give people so much health - right into the grave or severely impaired lives. And why? All so they can say "we won" and get little pats on the back from that madman in the big White House.
In the meanwhile, he is occupying himself by tweeting re the Emmys, calling it the lowest rated ever. Nope, sorry, wrong again and enough with this nonsense about numbers. I did not watch it, never watch these awards shows and yet I saw every bit of it I needed or cared to see and I was not included in the numbers. Enough!
What is more important is the fact, the disturbing fact, that Sanders is on the path of obstruction of justice and needs to watch her mouth, but that is minor compared to the worst speech ever given by a US President to the UN. All one had to do was look at the faces of Tillerson and Haley and realize that oops, something is wrong here. Well, there were many things wrong here. First the man used this speech to boast about himself again for he built a hotel nearby. He has the best unemployment and employment figures - wrong again. He has called it sadly wrong in his threats to Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. Yes, there are some bad dudes there. There are people suffering there. But, a great big but - we are not the ones to go in and militarily take over, run the joint and turn the world against us in a righteous manner. If we wish to help oppressed people there are thousands upon thousands of Rohingya over by Myanamar and Bangledesh. There are severely poor, hungry and uneducated thousands right here in the USA. But do not forget the praises given to Russia for their help. Oh, such good people they are, says the president who is being investigated for collusion with them in his campaign and before and after.
How do we allow a man to stand up there and in his representation as our representative talk, threaten, yell that he is going to wipe North Korea off the face of the earth. He is nuts! Yes, that country is being run by a maniac, similar to Trump in plans and thinking although so far we have avoided these extremes, but there are millions upon millions of innocent people there who do not deserve to go up in nuclear ash. Nor do the people of South Korea or Guam or Japan or Hawaii or the west coast of America and who knows how much further into the interior. The world does not deserve - not yet anyway - to go up in nuclear ash, into nuclear winter, into oblivion because this man is crazy. Is this what he is trying to do, to emulate the madman approach that Nixon used to warn the Soviet Union off? Either way, it is nuts and why have there been no objections from his appointees, his Congress, his governors, his family, his military? Where are their voices? Where the hell is Pence in his responsibility to get this man gone or is he still trying to glue down every hair on his head?
So as the world crumbles we ignore the fact that Trump is using campaign funds and RNC funds to pay his legal fees, millions already, even in criminal defense. NO, no, not a good thing to do, but fairly representative of his lack of morals. Where is he when his great numbers of employment are threatened by Ford closing down for a bit in several factories? When Toys r Us declares bankruptcy? When nastiness is prevalent in the working world and elsewhere, when people can threaten others, to cry that they own the streets, when in a military hospital the workers are allowed to mishandle newborns! When there is fighting in the streets and the situation looks worse every day?
When is enough, enough? You tell me. I know it is enough for me but you? You pick your red lines but make it quick for the world is heating up in more ways than one. Enough!!
So yesterday was a boomer day for the madman of the country. His whiny scared little Senators are trying to figure out a way to screw the people of the country by taking away their healthcare, going forward - or really backward- in their frenzied push for this misnomered healthcare. It will give people so much health - right into the grave or severely impaired lives. And why? All so they can say "we won" and get little pats on the back from that madman in the big White House.
In the meanwhile, he is occupying himself by tweeting re the Emmys, calling it the lowest rated ever. Nope, sorry, wrong again and enough with this nonsense about numbers. I did not watch it, never watch these awards shows and yet I saw every bit of it I needed or cared to see and I was not included in the numbers. Enough!
What is more important is the fact, the disturbing fact, that Sanders is on the path of obstruction of justice and needs to watch her mouth, but that is minor compared to the worst speech ever given by a US President to the UN. All one had to do was look at the faces of Tillerson and Haley and realize that oops, something is wrong here. Well, there were many things wrong here. First the man used this speech to boast about himself again for he built a hotel nearby. He has the best unemployment and employment figures - wrong again. He has called it sadly wrong in his threats to Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. Yes, there are some bad dudes there. There are people suffering there. But, a great big but - we are not the ones to go in and militarily take over, run the joint and turn the world against us in a righteous manner. If we wish to help oppressed people there are thousands upon thousands of Rohingya over by Myanamar and Bangledesh. There are severely poor, hungry and uneducated thousands right here in the USA. But do not forget the praises given to Russia for their help. Oh, such good people they are, says the president who is being investigated for collusion with them in his campaign and before and after.
How do we allow a man to stand up there and in his representation as our representative talk, threaten, yell that he is going to wipe North Korea off the face of the earth. He is nuts! Yes, that country is being run by a maniac, similar to Trump in plans and thinking although so far we have avoided these extremes, but there are millions upon millions of innocent people there who do not deserve to go up in nuclear ash. Nor do the people of South Korea or Guam or Japan or Hawaii or the west coast of America and who knows how much further into the interior. The world does not deserve - not yet anyway - to go up in nuclear ash, into nuclear winter, into oblivion because this man is crazy. Is this what he is trying to do, to emulate the madman approach that Nixon used to warn the Soviet Union off? Either way, it is nuts and why have there been no objections from his appointees, his Congress, his governors, his family, his military? Where are their voices? Where the hell is Pence in his responsibility to get this man gone or is he still trying to glue down every hair on his head?
So as the world crumbles we ignore the fact that Trump is using campaign funds and RNC funds to pay his legal fees, millions already, even in criminal defense. NO, no, not a good thing to do, but fairly representative of his lack of morals. Where is he when his great numbers of employment are threatened by Ford closing down for a bit in several factories? When Toys r Us declares bankruptcy? When nastiness is prevalent in the working world and elsewhere, when people can threaten others, to cry that they own the streets, when in a military hospital the workers are allowed to mishandle newborns! When there is fighting in the streets and the situation looks worse every day?
When is enough, enough? You tell me. I know it is enough for me but you? You pick your red lines but make it quick for the world is heating up in more ways than one. Enough!!
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
LIT
I used to think, actually, know, that this word meant something being lighted or even when one was just a tad tipsy or a term referring to the inclusion or exclusion of light. I have now found out differently and understand the word to mean "cool". At least in the jargon of the day of teenagers. And much to my dismay? I have found out that I am not 'lit' to my granddaughter because that is not something grandmothers are supposed to be. Okay, I can live with that.
So I decided to look around and see what is 'lit' in today's world. Not much. Everything seems to have a tawdry overtone, blotting out the light and one has to search for the lit in things. So why is that? I think because it comes from the top. Like him or not, Obama set a certain tone, a classier tone, along with Michelle - and I must say I am disappointed that he is now seemingly in the business of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements on Wall Street. Not even a year and there he is. Is there ever a politician that does not disappoint? No lit here.
Not anymore.
As for our current top guy - ugh, is there a different phrase for that - there is no lit coming from him, not in attitude, not in behavior, not in anything. Now he is talking again of the 'ultimate deal' in making peace in the Mideast. Well, if it is going to be of the same caliber of his so called and ballyhooed plan for two new lines of hotels, with all the false starts, lies about deals actually being made, everything all fritzed out - well, no lit here either. Not very surprised. Are you?
Perhaps most frightening of all is that this unlit man could get us involved in nuclear catastrophe. A poll taken shows that most Americans do not trust him to handle this crisis. Well welcome to the club!
What did surprise me today was hearing that Hillary said there might be reason to question the validity of the 2016 election if there is more to be found referring to the Russian interference. She feels this is the deepest attack we have ever had on our country and its values and there have been no consequences for the attacker . Hmmm. Have been saying that for months. Now if someone can only find the legal way in which to overrun the results, wow!! But wait, where will we get those great bellylaughs if SNL has to cut out their jokes about the fool in office. You know, the toddler in mind who sends out tweets emphasizing violence, against women, against others, against anyone who displeases him. No lit in those tweets and indeed far the opposite.
This man has no 'lit' in his life nor his heart nor his mind. He laughs at troubles for others, he tweets harshness and hate and encourages it in others and fights with all. He has no favorites for life for if one displeases him, off with their heads!And yet, he has a base out there, albeit a shrinking one and these are people who are insisting on keeping their delusions, their hate, their manic opposition to any and all who talk against him, who accept anything in desperation as in the proposed Cassidy-Graham bill to replace ACA. Well, we are back in the forget about pre existing, forget about affordable premiums, and forget about its rationality and legitimacy as the Budget Office has not yet even rated it and yet, the rush and push is on before September 30. Never mind the other more important things that must happen before that date such as being able to run the country and not default on our loans and interest payments. Minor, I guess. NOT!
His lawyers are bickering amongst themselves as the digging goes on and the fear and frantic maneuvering continue. And even now, Trump continues to try to hide his misdeeds in deals and connections and possibly even treason and treachery. It kind of reminds me of the nonsense we have here with David Israel and crew. He cycles people in and out of his inner circle so long as they please him and recognize his "awesome' power. There is even a rumor that he is on the outs with an important person in his life, Hmmm....
And will he now be "lit" and try to improve the situation for future hurricanes, get this weak CERT on the road, as no one truly wants to work with him, such is the atmosphere in the Village. Will he continue to push for $16,000 to be spent on LED lighting or maybe see that that money is better spent on replacing trees and signs and fences. And by the way, who is that guy that they supposedly know who keeps jumping the fence. If they know - then do something!!! Are we to wait until there is a too late for that incident and a tragic outcome. That is truly not 'lit'!
So in my jargon, to be lit is to be cool and at one with the higher values of life, with compassion for others, with a heart that feels, with a desire to make this a better place and not for power, such as it is. Let us all be lit. What a world and wouldn't our grandkids be so proud of us - even if we are not 'lit" in their jargon.
So I decided to look around and see what is 'lit' in today's world. Not much. Everything seems to have a tawdry overtone, blotting out the light and one has to search for the lit in things. So why is that? I think because it comes from the top. Like him or not, Obama set a certain tone, a classier tone, along with Michelle - and I must say I am disappointed that he is now seemingly in the business of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements on Wall Street. Not even a year and there he is. Is there ever a politician that does not disappoint? No lit here.
Not anymore.
As for our current top guy - ugh, is there a different phrase for that - there is no lit coming from him, not in attitude, not in behavior, not in anything. Now he is talking again of the 'ultimate deal' in making peace in the Mideast. Well, if it is going to be of the same caliber of his so called and ballyhooed plan for two new lines of hotels, with all the false starts, lies about deals actually being made, everything all fritzed out - well, no lit here either. Not very surprised. Are you?
Perhaps most frightening of all is that this unlit man could get us involved in nuclear catastrophe. A poll taken shows that most Americans do not trust him to handle this crisis. Well welcome to the club!
What did surprise me today was hearing that Hillary said there might be reason to question the validity of the 2016 election if there is more to be found referring to the Russian interference. She feels this is the deepest attack we have ever had on our country and its values and there have been no consequences for the attacker . Hmmm. Have been saying that for months. Now if someone can only find the legal way in which to overrun the results, wow!! But wait, where will we get those great bellylaughs if SNL has to cut out their jokes about the fool in office. You know, the toddler in mind who sends out tweets emphasizing violence, against women, against others, against anyone who displeases him. No lit in those tweets and indeed far the opposite.
This man has no 'lit' in his life nor his heart nor his mind. He laughs at troubles for others, he tweets harshness and hate and encourages it in others and fights with all. He has no favorites for life for if one displeases him, off with their heads!And yet, he has a base out there, albeit a shrinking one and these are people who are insisting on keeping their delusions, their hate, their manic opposition to any and all who talk against him, who accept anything in desperation as in the proposed Cassidy-Graham bill to replace ACA. Well, we are back in the forget about pre existing, forget about affordable premiums, and forget about its rationality and legitimacy as the Budget Office has not yet even rated it and yet, the rush and push is on before September 30. Never mind the other more important things that must happen before that date such as being able to run the country and not default on our loans and interest payments. Minor, I guess. NOT!
His lawyers are bickering amongst themselves as the digging goes on and the fear and frantic maneuvering continue. And even now, Trump continues to try to hide his misdeeds in deals and connections and possibly even treason and treachery. It kind of reminds me of the nonsense we have here with David Israel and crew. He cycles people in and out of his inner circle so long as they please him and recognize his "awesome' power. There is even a rumor that he is on the outs with an important person in his life, Hmmm....
And will he now be "lit" and try to improve the situation for future hurricanes, get this weak CERT on the road, as no one truly wants to work with him, such is the atmosphere in the Village. Will he continue to push for $16,000 to be spent on LED lighting or maybe see that that money is better spent on replacing trees and signs and fences. And by the way, who is that guy that they supposedly know who keeps jumping the fence. If they know - then do something!!! Are we to wait until there is a too late for that incident and a tragic outcome. That is truly not 'lit'!
So in my jargon, to be lit is to be cool and at one with the higher values of life, with compassion for others, with a heart that feels, with a desire to make this a better place and not for power, such as it is. Let us all be lit. What a world and wouldn't our grandkids be so proud of us - even if we are not 'lit" in their jargon.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
OH TO BE THREE AGAIN!
This is the stage of our president. His behavior is that of an infant, totally focused on himself, totally centered on what makes him happy, even if it is in an infantile manner.
Take the load of tweets that he sent off . Once again he sent off stupid - there is no other word for it - tweets, moronic ones and totally inappropriate for a grown man, let alone for one who is supposed to carry and enhance the dignity of this country. He praises his own wealth and we are already concerned that growing his wealth is his primary goal. He misspells the name of a candidate he ostensibly backs, praises his donations to the relief fund, never mind all the effort from others and the miniscule amount it means to him - and then boasts about it.
He pokes fun of "the Rocket Man" the already off the deep end dictator of North Korea and shows himself hitting Hillary with a golf ball. More misogyny. This stuff is nauseating, plain and simple.
And in the meanwhile his White House and his departments are not running well at all. He has Sessions deny what a federal court asks for, they hide papers, refuse to disclose the tax forms, stonewall about the investigation and are bent on reducing people in the State department as Tillerson acts as a CEO and not a statesman. This is where we are at and it is not a good place to be, especially when this week is when the President and his representatives, his appointees, his professionals are supposed to meet and talk with their opposites from other countries. And us - woefully unprepared. Not good news for us at all.
What we have is a country and administration being run in a non transparent manner, more focused on finding the leakers who are exposing the truth and the faults of the Trump administration and in the meanwhile the country is going to hell. Where and when does this stop. How long do we allow this to continue? When does he get gone - resign, impeach and convict, whatever, but get him out and make sure that Pence understands that we will not stand for nonsense from him either. We want the humanity back in our government. We want the humanity back in our lives. We want the truth and we want it now.
And by the way, that goes double for the administration of David Israel in CV. We were woefully not ready for the hurricane and its aftermath and they can crow that their generators worked at the UCO building and they were cool and comfortable but there were thousands out there that were not. Why not give up a few more millions to WPRF? We seemed to have made this a routine act. Why not follow thru on building properly and looking towards the future. Woe upon us with both administrations and when the hell are we going to wake up and get rid of them. Elections are coming up. Important questions are coming up and no, worrying about spending more and more money on LED lights for trees is not an important issue. Wake up, people. Wake up, America. Time is short and consequences loom large and serious.
Take the load of tweets that he sent off . Once again he sent off stupid - there is no other word for it - tweets, moronic ones and totally inappropriate for a grown man, let alone for one who is supposed to carry and enhance the dignity of this country. He praises his own wealth and we are already concerned that growing his wealth is his primary goal. He misspells the name of a candidate he ostensibly backs, praises his donations to the relief fund, never mind all the effort from others and the miniscule amount it means to him - and then boasts about it.
He pokes fun of "the Rocket Man" the already off the deep end dictator of North Korea and shows himself hitting Hillary with a golf ball. More misogyny. This stuff is nauseating, plain and simple.
And in the meanwhile his White House and his departments are not running well at all. He has Sessions deny what a federal court asks for, they hide papers, refuse to disclose the tax forms, stonewall about the investigation and are bent on reducing people in the State department as Tillerson acts as a CEO and not a statesman. This is where we are at and it is not a good place to be, especially when this week is when the President and his representatives, his appointees, his professionals are supposed to meet and talk with their opposites from other countries. And us - woefully unprepared. Not good news for us at all.
What we have is a country and administration being run in a non transparent manner, more focused on finding the leakers who are exposing the truth and the faults of the Trump administration and in the meanwhile the country is going to hell. Where and when does this stop. How long do we allow this to continue? When does he get gone - resign, impeach and convict, whatever, but get him out and make sure that Pence understands that we will not stand for nonsense from him either. We want the humanity back in our government. We want the humanity back in our lives. We want the truth and we want it now.
And by the way, that goes double for the administration of David Israel in CV. We were woefully not ready for the hurricane and its aftermath and they can crow that their generators worked at the UCO building and they were cool and comfortable but there were thousands out there that were not. Why not give up a few more millions to WPRF? We seemed to have made this a routine act. Why not follow thru on building properly and looking towards the future. Woe upon us with both administrations and when the hell are we going to wake up and get rid of them. Elections are coming up. Important questions are coming up and no, worrying about spending more and more money on LED lights for trees is not an important issue. Wake up, people. Wake up, America. Time is short and consequences loom large and serious.
OVERWHELMED
How does one make a choice these days? It does not matter whether the topic is the weather, the consequences, the causes or politics. It is all just getting to be overwhelming to an impossible degree.
We have a fool for a president who cannot seem to move past the unfortunate result of the election and his taking office. Visiting Florida he once again talks of his win in November with a big thumbs up, all the while speaking of how happy the people are in shelters and food lines. The man is just nuts, or so focused on himself that he cannot see past his own shadow.
But wait, one might hear. What about his clever maneuvering with the Democratic leadership and getting what he wants? Well, this man is not to be trusted and there already have been backsteps taken in his so called deals so how is one to trust him and what he says?
The answer is that he is not to be trusted and until something is absolutely concrete, such as the Dreamers getting stamped, official papers that they are now legal, then lay low, people, lay low. And that goes for anything and everything else.
In his world the words of science, the facts of science, are ignored, hence there is no global warming, hence there are no consequences and we have seen larger hurricanes before! Or so he says. This is a time when we are now seeing three storms/hurricanes at one time, following dangerously along the same lines as Irma, with another major hurricane threat before people have not even returned home in many cases or the curb is still overflowing with ruined items of people's lives. And yet, now he says that the US will not leave the Paris Accord. It is time to make up his mind for us.
A huge border wall. Transparent too so no one gets hit on the head with a bag of dope thrown over it!! Fluctuating loyalties. Resurgence of neo Nazis. The gall of people who hang signs Slaves 4 Sale, or that racism is an integral part of America and its values. How do these people sleep at night? But there is one good side from all this. With Bannon and his hateful and hatefilled people going after the rest of the Republican Party, perhaps the Democrats can get their act together and surge forward in 2018 and take advantage now of everything they can . Including the Circuit Court judges which Trump is trying to load up with stark strict conservatives, young ones, who will tie up any American values, any decency, for decades.
The truth of the matter is that Trump could really care less about things, only those that affect his bottom line. He is busy ripping off the government and the taxpayers as he charges them exorbitant rates for people to stay at his hotels, as he continues business, just as he continued it during the campaign, just as his family and aides did and all the while, the investigation grows. When will it finish or make a statement? When his term is over? And he will go laughing off to the bank?
And I am tired of reading about Melania. So she wears heels all the time. So she is a fool for that. So she wears exorbitantly priced clothing. They can afford it. So she gave out a couple of sandwiches and the world poured praise on her head. Truly, such a great and gracious act! She has made her deal with her husband and whatever it is, that is her deal to live with and her son to take care of, as does any mother. Until she does something noteworthy, like gainsaying her husband in a powerful manner or stepping to the forefront in some important area, leave her out of it, sundress or not.
So how's the weather? Ugh!! Another area of what the hell is going on. Should we stay? Should we go? Should we do both in a quick turnaround? Check the airline. Wow, all booked up already. But the spaghetti lines says it will curve. But then again, maybe it won't and a trough will push it or not! And what if it goes to NY and we ran there? Were caught there for Sandy as we were there for a wedding. Not pleasant in a cold house with no heat. And what about all those doctor appointments? Are they even open yet?
Oh the questions to ask and the answers to give. Where the hell is that Xanax!
We have a fool for a president who cannot seem to move past the unfortunate result of the election and his taking office. Visiting Florida he once again talks of his win in November with a big thumbs up, all the while speaking of how happy the people are in shelters and food lines. The man is just nuts, or so focused on himself that he cannot see past his own shadow.
But wait, one might hear. What about his clever maneuvering with the Democratic leadership and getting what he wants? Well, this man is not to be trusted and there already have been backsteps taken in his so called deals so how is one to trust him and what he says?
The answer is that he is not to be trusted and until something is absolutely concrete, such as the Dreamers getting stamped, official papers that they are now legal, then lay low, people, lay low. And that goes for anything and everything else.
In his world the words of science, the facts of science, are ignored, hence there is no global warming, hence there are no consequences and we have seen larger hurricanes before! Or so he says. This is a time when we are now seeing three storms/hurricanes at one time, following dangerously along the same lines as Irma, with another major hurricane threat before people have not even returned home in many cases or the curb is still overflowing with ruined items of people's lives. And yet, now he says that the US will not leave the Paris Accord. It is time to make up his mind for us.
A huge border wall. Transparent too so no one gets hit on the head with a bag of dope thrown over it!! Fluctuating loyalties. Resurgence of neo Nazis. The gall of people who hang signs Slaves 4 Sale, or that racism is an integral part of America and its values. How do these people sleep at night? But there is one good side from all this. With Bannon and his hateful and hatefilled people going after the rest of the Republican Party, perhaps the Democrats can get their act together and surge forward in 2018 and take advantage now of everything they can . Including the Circuit Court judges which Trump is trying to load up with stark strict conservatives, young ones, who will tie up any American values, any decency, for decades.
The truth of the matter is that Trump could really care less about things, only those that affect his bottom line. He is busy ripping off the government and the taxpayers as he charges them exorbitant rates for people to stay at his hotels, as he continues business, just as he continued it during the campaign, just as his family and aides did and all the while, the investigation grows. When will it finish or make a statement? When his term is over? And he will go laughing off to the bank?
And I am tired of reading about Melania. So she wears heels all the time. So she is a fool for that. So she wears exorbitantly priced clothing. They can afford it. So she gave out a couple of sandwiches and the world poured praise on her head. Truly, such a great and gracious act! She has made her deal with her husband and whatever it is, that is her deal to live with and her son to take care of, as does any mother. Until she does something noteworthy, like gainsaying her husband in a powerful manner or stepping to the forefront in some important area, leave her out of it, sundress or not.
So how's the weather? Ugh!! Another area of what the hell is going on. Should we stay? Should we go? Should we do both in a quick turnaround? Check the airline. Wow, all booked up already. But the spaghetti lines says it will curve. But then again, maybe it won't and a trough will push it or not! And what if it goes to NY and we ran there? Were caught there for Sandy as we were there for a wedding. Not pleasant in a cold house with no heat. And what about all those doctor appointments? Are they even open yet?
Oh the questions to ask and the answers to give. Where the hell is that Xanax!
Friday, September 15, 2017
WHO'S ON FIRST, WHAT'S ON SECOND AND FORGET ABOUT THIRD!
Sorry a tad late this morning but here goes. Do not even try to unravel what the heck is going on inside that man's head. Whatever I read was 'unread' not too long afterwards and yes, we truly are living in Bizarro land. Well, perhaps if we look up to the skies long enough we will see Superman come along to untangle this mess!
How many times can a person change his mind - small as it is - and expect people to believe him. Only the selfsame deluded people I guess.
So there is a deal re DACA. Nope, there isn't. Yes, there is, but nothing about the wall. Yup, there is. Yes, there are bad people on the other side so hence Trump's statement of condemnation. Nope, time to condemn the bad guys who carry the wrong flag. Nope, no way, yes, way, when the Senate is going to pas a resolution and he had better sign it or stir up the whole mess again.
Oh, and do not forget the telling moment - on all the men there - when Pelosi, a powerful woman, had to shout over the voices of the men who had decided to shout and talk over her. Guess the inbred trait of men to overtalk women goes all the way to the glass ceiling so next time this comes up in a business report -listen. It is true.
So maybe we need to go back and readdress all those other decisions, especially immigration. Perhaps we can get him to back out of some of his hateful decisions and let us not forget about taxes. There is a 'great' reform coming. Yup, just a tad short on details. And as for the rich. Yup, big cut and do not forget the 15% cut in corporate taxes. But nope, no cut for the rich and wealthy. If they have to pay, then so be it. But nope, back out of that again as the latest plan had a huge black hole cut for the wealthy and let us not forget to eliminate the taxes on estates over $5 million.
As for the whole idea of tax reform, for sure it is needed, but not in a one page plan. The tax 'reform' he wants is one similar to that of Reagan and that did not work out at all so then more tax reform was needed to at least get us back on track and by the way, who is going to pay for all this necessary aid and the rebuilding of infrastructure not just in the hard hit states but all over the country. certainly not the wealthy as their taxes are cut. But here is an idea, let us eliminate all those pesky deductions that the middle class is so fond of, such as interest on mortgage, sales tax and on we go.
Shall we continue? These hurricanes are like never before seen - or so he admits - and then he goes on to support Pruitt and Zinke and all those idiots who deny the sights of their eyes for there is 'no' global warming, no climate crisis. We have been warned about these people in the bible, those who have eyes but do not see.
This man has got to go and with him all the rest of these benighted aides and appointees. We need to check under the hood of these people, examine their brains, talk with them, to understand what makes them tick. What makes a Spicer or now a Sanders stand up there and confirm lies with a straight face. What makes them so willing to embarrass themselves in front of the world. And by the way, I saw Spicer in a talk show and he was able to laugh at himself and the mockery of him and he looked relaxed. There is a good side to quitting!
But there is a good side to this. When Hill spoke it out loud and clear or rather twittered, that Trump is a white supremacist, she and others refused to back down and they defied ESPN, causing that station to back off. The truth must be stated about this man before we cross the point of no return. (And just as an aside, that stands true for CV and David Israel and his crew.)
Who can be trusted to deal with that Korean lunatic, shooting missiles off as quickly as unwrapping a piece of gum. What will be when the missile misfires and actually hits Japan or does create some "dust and ashes" here in our mainland.
Can we trust our own homegrown lunatic to take care of this? No way, especially if it will put him off his greeting with fellow businessmen staying at his Trump hotel, as he just did? Or conferring with those dictators he feels such a bond with?
We are in dire straits indeed with a man who is clueless re true values, re patriotism except as how he can use it to his advantage, has no moral values, and just goes on and on with his own plans to enrich himself and his family. But hey, do not forget the major issue of the size of his hands for that was the topic of discussion when he went to give out a few hoagies in Florida. Again the hands!! This man is beyond beyond! Maybe we should tweet a world wide SOS and send it out to space as well. Someone has to hear and help. Someone.
How many times can a person change his mind - small as it is - and expect people to believe him. Only the selfsame deluded people I guess.
So there is a deal re DACA. Nope, there isn't. Yes, there is, but nothing about the wall. Yup, there is. Yes, there are bad people on the other side so hence Trump's statement of condemnation. Nope, time to condemn the bad guys who carry the wrong flag. Nope, no way, yes, way, when the Senate is going to pas a resolution and he had better sign it or stir up the whole mess again.
Oh, and do not forget the telling moment - on all the men there - when Pelosi, a powerful woman, had to shout over the voices of the men who had decided to shout and talk over her. Guess the inbred trait of men to overtalk women goes all the way to the glass ceiling so next time this comes up in a business report -listen. It is true.
So maybe we need to go back and readdress all those other decisions, especially immigration. Perhaps we can get him to back out of some of his hateful decisions and let us not forget about taxes. There is a 'great' reform coming. Yup, just a tad short on details. And as for the rich. Yup, big cut and do not forget the 15% cut in corporate taxes. But nope, no cut for the rich and wealthy. If they have to pay, then so be it. But nope, back out of that again as the latest plan had a huge black hole cut for the wealthy and let us not forget to eliminate the taxes on estates over $5 million.
As for the whole idea of tax reform, for sure it is needed, but not in a one page plan. The tax 'reform' he wants is one similar to that of Reagan and that did not work out at all so then more tax reform was needed to at least get us back on track and by the way, who is going to pay for all this necessary aid and the rebuilding of infrastructure not just in the hard hit states but all over the country. certainly not the wealthy as their taxes are cut. But here is an idea, let us eliminate all those pesky deductions that the middle class is so fond of, such as interest on mortgage, sales tax and on we go.
Shall we continue? These hurricanes are like never before seen - or so he admits - and then he goes on to support Pruitt and Zinke and all those idiots who deny the sights of their eyes for there is 'no' global warming, no climate crisis. We have been warned about these people in the bible, those who have eyes but do not see.
This man has got to go and with him all the rest of these benighted aides and appointees. We need to check under the hood of these people, examine their brains, talk with them, to understand what makes them tick. What makes a Spicer or now a Sanders stand up there and confirm lies with a straight face. What makes them so willing to embarrass themselves in front of the world. And by the way, I saw Spicer in a talk show and he was able to laugh at himself and the mockery of him and he looked relaxed. There is a good side to quitting!
But there is a good side to this. When Hill spoke it out loud and clear or rather twittered, that Trump is a white supremacist, she and others refused to back down and they defied ESPN, causing that station to back off. The truth must be stated about this man before we cross the point of no return. (And just as an aside, that stands true for CV and David Israel and his crew.)
Who can be trusted to deal with that Korean lunatic, shooting missiles off as quickly as unwrapping a piece of gum. What will be when the missile misfires and actually hits Japan or does create some "dust and ashes" here in our mainland.
Can we trust our own homegrown lunatic to take care of this? No way, especially if it will put him off his greeting with fellow businessmen staying at his Trump hotel, as he just did? Or conferring with those dictators he feels such a bond with?
We are in dire straits indeed with a man who is clueless re true values, re patriotism except as how he can use it to his advantage, has no moral values, and just goes on and on with his own plans to enrich himself and his family. But hey, do not forget the major issue of the size of his hands for that was the topic of discussion when he went to give out a few hoagies in Florida. Again the hands!! This man is beyond beyond! Maybe we should tweet a world wide SOS and send it out to space as well. Someone has to hear and help. Someone.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
AND AGAIN.....DO WE NEVER LEARN?
Thumbing thru some papers and magazines yesterday it struck me, not a new thought, that among the nations of the world, large and small, even Moslem countries, we are one which has never had a woman as head of government. Not even a second place position. We had rather put an imbecile in office, a man with no brains, no experience, illiterate, lacking values and morals that we as a nation support - but he is not a woman! What does that say about us as a nation?
Not much!
Today the nation is struggling to recover from devastating hits. We had the terrible fires in the west and then two awful hurricanes that destroyed state after state and left many with no homes, nothing left other than to start all over again and the only positive thing is that there could have been more fatalities. Not really sure if that is truly a positive as any death is a tragedy.
And right at the moment that these events were occurring two more dangerous fools, Limbaugh and Coulter, were denying the whole thing, saying it was made up, that it was only a light rain, nothing doing - but somehow Limbaugh managed to leave, to evacuate. Hmmm, goose and gander? Again? It seems that today if one is to be a Republican in good standing, one must deny Nature, deny the facts, deny all that puts us in danger, even unto the point of destruction.
I thought these natural disasters would have taught us a lesson but evidently it did not fully take. There was a huge benefit show put on by celebrities, with the theme as expressed by Beyoncé as “Natural disasters don’t discriminate. They don’t see if you’re an immigrant, black or white, Jewish or Muslim, rich or poor…We’re all in this together.” That is so true, and to see that in operation were some of the heartwarming moments of these hurricanes and aftermath and yet, there is still a divide between people. A ship was chartered by Marriot to go to St. Thomas and pick up stranded people but it turned out that ONLY those registered in the Marriot there were taken and they left behind about 35 Americans, old and young, who were not guests. Really? Really! So now we are openly distinguishing between people by money and rank? Oligarchy rules. Just ask Trump.
And the disgrace continues as the Supreme Court now backed up the ban on refugees. I am ashamed at being American at these moments but this is what we can now expect as the Supreme Court is now a biased instrument of the government.
Nor does it end there. Remember the whole DACA mess? Yup, that one of so recent effect and fame. Remember the promises made by so many of the politicians, so many crocodile tears shed? Well, it is now lost in the mess of politics in the Senate and the Republicans are stumbling over themselves as to what to do and when and how to entangle other issues with it. Suddenly we are hearing of gangs again. These DACA kids are achieving, working ,contributing people, Americans, like it or not, and not gang members and what the hell is the matter with Republicans? Does one sign on the dotted line to lose heart and soul upon joining this political party? What happened to the moderates? What happened to the party of old or has it ceded all to the extremists?
So is there good news? Well, Rebel Wilson won her suit in court. Something. But seriously, why do we keep turning to the nasty, to the wrong, to the bad? Please note that I have mostly let the two D's alone, Donald and David, in the hope that they will both step up to the plate, but I am watching. Donald is now planning a big hoorah political style campaign now to about 17 states to push for his so called tax reform and what a misnomer that is if one ties reform to positive steps. It is not reform. It is not good for the people of moderate means, only the rich dudes - again - and why is he planning to go off hoorahing when there are people who desperately need help. A visit to these areas means nothing if not followed up by aid in capital letters and major actions. Well, in the name of comic relief, let us hope that Melania leaves her heels behind. Sorry, could not stop myself on that.
We have such a long way to go and I wonder if we will ever get there. I certainly hope we do, but there are doubts, serious ones. We all need to work together. Please. We need to regain our souls, our values. Please. We are getting ever more lost upon the wrong paths. We need a new Waze, a new GPS of the soul and quickly too!!
Not much!
Today the nation is struggling to recover from devastating hits. We had the terrible fires in the west and then two awful hurricanes that destroyed state after state and left many with no homes, nothing left other than to start all over again and the only positive thing is that there could have been more fatalities. Not really sure if that is truly a positive as any death is a tragedy.
And right at the moment that these events were occurring two more dangerous fools, Limbaugh and Coulter, were denying the whole thing, saying it was made up, that it was only a light rain, nothing doing - but somehow Limbaugh managed to leave, to evacuate. Hmmm, goose and gander? Again? It seems that today if one is to be a Republican in good standing, one must deny Nature, deny the facts, deny all that puts us in danger, even unto the point of destruction.
I thought these natural disasters would have taught us a lesson but evidently it did not fully take. There was a huge benefit show put on by celebrities, with the theme as expressed by Beyoncé as “Natural disasters don’t discriminate. They don’t see if you’re an immigrant, black or white, Jewish or Muslim, rich or poor…We’re all in this together.” That is so true, and to see that in operation were some of the heartwarming moments of these hurricanes and aftermath and yet, there is still a divide between people. A ship was chartered by Marriot to go to St. Thomas and pick up stranded people but it turned out that ONLY those registered in the Marriot there were taken and they left behind about 35 Americans, old and young, who were not guests. Really? Really! So now we are openly distinguishing between people by money and rank? Oligarchy rules. Just ask Trump.
And the disgrace continues as the Supreme Court now backed up the ban on refugees. I am ashamed at being American at these moments but this is what we can now expect as the Supreme Court is now a biased instrument of the government.
Nor does it end there. Remember the whole DACA mess? Yup, that one of so recent effect and fame. Remember the promises made by so many of the politicians, so many crocodile tears shed? Well, it is now lost in the mess of politics in the Senate and the Republicans are stumbling over themselves as to what to do and when and how to entangle other issues with it. Suddenly we are hearing of gangs again. These DACA kids are achieving, working ,contributing people, Americans, like it or not, and not gang members and what the hell is the matter with Republicans? Does one sign on the dotted line to lose heart and soul upon joining this political party? What happened to the moderates? What happened to the party of old or has it ceded all to the extremists?
So is there good news? Well, Rebel Wilson won her suit in court. Something. But seriously, why do we keep turning to the nasty, to the wrong, to the bad? Please note that I have mostly let the two D's alone, Donald and David, in the hope that they will both step up to the plate, but I am watching. Donald is now planning a big hoorah political style campaign now to about 17 states to push for his so called tax reform and what a misnomer that is if one ties reform to positive steps. It is not reform. It is not good for the people of moderate means, only the rich dudes - again - and why is he planning to go off hoorahing when there are people who desperately need help. A visit to these areas means nothing if not followed up by aid in capital letters and major actions. Well, in the name of comic relief, let us hope that Melania leaves her heels behind. Sorry, could not stop myself on that.
We have such a long way to go and I wonder if we will ever get there. I certainly hope we do, but there are doubts, serious ones. We all need to work together. Please. We need to regain our souls, our values. Please. We are getting ever more lost upon the wrong paths. We need a new Waze, a new GPS of the soul and quickly too!!
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
FAITH, HOPE, DESPAIR, NUCEAR HOLOCAUST
Today's papers are filled with the news of more flooding even as we are thankful that it was not worse. We read that the Republican Party is falling apart, ripped apart by its ostensible head, Trump. We read of their people resigning and unfortunately these are mainly the moderate ones, leaving the extremists in office. Those are the same people who will stand and tsk, tsk about Houston and Miami and Jacksonville, and then deny climate change, deny the harm that people have done to the earth and to our future existence. These are the same people who cheer on that imbecile Trump as he signs away programs set up to build infrastructure able to withstand these monster storms, as he signs away any and all environmental protection laws, as he denies the facts of science.
With some people we are back to the denying of any science that does not fit in without a crack into our religious beliefs. In fact, we have many who will push their own faith and its tenets on us and those who will come up with out of the box reasons for these storms, but certainly not global warming. So Ann Coulter blames Houston's Harvey on the fact that they elected a gay mayor. Evidently she has the powers to control the weather!!! Another, Zinke, a Secretary, says yesterday that the statues of Confederate generals are the same as the memorials to those who fell on 9/11. Excuse me while I choke and throw up.
This idiot states that basically they are equivocal. How? And how can they say this with a straight face. Worse, they go on to say that if we take down all these monuments we will be going into worse days even as we are doing so now for we have taken down all the statues of Jesus and are not obeying the precepts of our faith. Well, excuse me, but these generals no more represent me than the statues of Jesus for those belong in churches and not on public grounds. One can be an atheist, one can be a non Christian and still be a wonderful person. Where are these thoughts coming from? Why? And what to expect in the future. Frightening.
But Breitbart rips those who did not carry an even more militaristic tone yesterday. Instead of mourning, instead of promises to seek peace amongst the nations of the world so that this does not happen again, instead of saying we need to do better, all mankind needs to do better, speakers were taken to task for not using trigger words. Well, I, for one, am glad they did not for we are already too close to a nuclear holocaust as the game of chicken between the two lunatics continues. Who will be the first to blink and will that blink be as the button is pushed? Only these two characters know and I am not even sure about that.
Meanwhile, Trump and family are even more entangled in a web of their own making. Trump participated in deals with Moscow even as he ran for office. His kids are ensnared in similar messes. They are in over their heads in politics and the country and we are the ones who suffer as a result. Will Trump throw Jared under the bus? What about Ivanka, who by the way, is totally useless, even dangerous in her ignorance and mistaken thinking and opinion that she knows it all.
And meanwhile around the world we continue to slaughter each other. Sects of Islam wage homicide on each other for it is worse than war. They attempt ethnic cleansing on their own Moslem fellows. In the jungles of the Amazon the lust for gold leads miners to slaughter innocents, uncontacted tribes and then boast about it. Palestinian children are still taught to hate the Yahud and yet another family was beaten up in France, with their attackers calling them Jews. Well, yes, they are, but does that mean they deserve to be beaten?
Charles Blow wrote yesterday in the Times of the despair he has at what is happening, at the harm Trump is causing and planning even more. Yet he remembers the faith of his mother who told him that we can move on to a better time, just have faith. But the despair of those who see Trump and his damage, who cannot figure out why otherwise rational people voted for him or did not vote at all, - this despair is real and deep.
He takes hope that for sure he will not get a second term. He takes hope in the possibility that we can limit his damaging effects of his first term and even better, perhaps his first term can be shortened. But it is hard. Very hard. I know, for I am among those who cannot understand how he got in office and highly suspect that it was thru chicanery, lies, hacking and interference by his business buddies.
Where is America today and where will it be tomorrow. We saw yesterday with its memorials and tears. Do we need more? Do we need to be in a 16 year war with no end in sight? Do we need to talk of more war? Do we need to present all our weapons from knives to nuclear and talk bully talk, play chicken? Kids in school actually know how much better it is to talk and reason so where did the supposed adults lose their way?
Faith. Hope. Despair. Even worse.
We must choose and we must act.
With some people we are back to the denying of any science that does not fit in without a crack into our religious beliefs. In fact, we have many who will push their own faith and its tenets on us and those who will come up with out of the box reasons for these storms, but certainly not global warming. So Ann Coulter blames Houston's Harvey on the fact that they elected a gay mayor. Evidently she has the powers to control the weather!!! Another, Zinke, a Secretary, says yesterday that the statues of Confederate generals are the same as the memorials to those who fell on 9/11. Excuse me while I choke and throw up.
This idiot states that basically they are equivocal. How? And how can they say this with a straight face. Worse, they go on to say that if we take down all these monuments we will be going into worse days even as we are doing so now for we have taken down all the statues of Jesus and are not obeying the precepts of our faith. Well, excuse me, but these generals no more represent me than the statues of Jesus for those belong in churches and not on public grounds. One can be an atheist, one can be a non Christian and still be a wonderful person. Where are these thoughts coming from? Why? And what to expect in the future. Frightening.
But Breitbart rips those who did not carry an even more militaristic tone yesterday. Instead of mourning, instead of promises to seek peace amongst the nations of the world so that this does not happen again, instead of saying we need to do better, all mankind needs to do better, speakers were taken to task for not using trigger words. Well, I, for one, am glad they did not for we are already too close to a nuclear holocaust as the game of chicken between the two lunatics continues. Who will be the first to blink and will that blink be as the button is pushed? Only these two characters know and I am not even sure about that.
Meanwhile, Trump and family are even more entangled in a web of their own making. Trump participated in deals with Moscow even as he ran for office. His kids are ensnared in similar messes. They are in over their heads in politics and the country and we are the ones who suffer as a result. Will Trump throw Jared under the bus? What about Ivanka, who by the way, is totally useless, even dangerous in her ignorance and mistaken thinking and opinion that she knows it all.
And meanwhile around the world we continue to slaughter each other. Sects of Islam wage homicide on each other for it is worse than war. They attempt ethnic cleansing on their own Moslem fellows. In the jungles of the Amazon the lust for gold leads miners to slaughter innocents, uncontacted tribes and then boast about it. Palestinian children are still taught to hate the Yahud and yet another family was beaten up in France, with their attackers calling them Jews. Well, yes, they are, but does that mean they deserve to be beaten?
Charles Blow wrote yesterday in the Times of the despair he has at what is happening, at the harm Trump is causing and planning even more. Yet he remembers the faith of his mother who told him that we can move on to a better time, just have faith. But the despair of those who see Trump and his damage, who cannot figure out why otherwise rational people voted for him or did not vote at all, - this despair is real and deep.
He takes hope that for sure he will not get a second term. He takes hope in the possibility that we can limit his damaging effects of his first term and even better, perhaps his first term can be shortened. But it is hard. Very hard. I know, for I am among those who cannot understand how he got in office and highly suspect that it was thru chicanery, lies, hacking and interference by his business buddies.
Where is America today and where will it be tomorrow. We saw yesterday with its memorials and tears. Do we need more? Do we need to be in a 16 year war with no end in sight? Do we need to talk of more war? Do we need to present all our weapons from knives to nuclear and talk bully talk, play chicken? Kids in school actually know how much better it is to talk and reason so where did the supposed adults lose their way?
Faith. Hope. Despair. Even worse.
We must choose and we must act.
Monday, September 11, 2017
9/11 THEN AND TODAY
16 years ago. Seems like yesterday. A before and after. A time to heal that has never been completed. The true beginning of the division of our country. The loss of our values and the further erosion to this day. So when we commemorate those who died, those who gave their lives and the heroes of Flight 93, we need to ask ourselves if we have indeed commemorated them properly or have we squandered it.
For me it is a memory that will never fade. I have books galore about it and watch the documentaries. I have cried while reading 102 Minutes - and everyone should read it - and I cry at what we have lost from that time. I cry to realize that it is now an everyday behavior for little kids to put their little stuffed animal thru the machine, to even get patted down. What a sad world we are leaving to them.
Even worse is at the head of our government is now a man whose validity in election is questioned, whose loyalty to the country is questioned as his spider web ties to Russia and various characters there become more and more entangled, a man who represents not a single one of the American values that we should treasure, only the greed of the robber barons of the past but even they endowed philanthropic institutions and funding. What has he done other than to put his names on golf courses and buildings, all to enrich his own pockets?!
This is the same man who said he lost "hundreds of friends" in the Towers but cannot name a one. This is the man who claims to have seen thousands of Moslems and/or Arabs dancing and shouting with glee over there in Jersey City and yet there is not one bit of proof or any other sighting. another piece, or rather the beginning of the alternate reality and facts that this man puts forth. And what have we done by allowing him in.
The ostensible President and the Senate are at war with each other. Politics has taken precedence over the common good and each and every side and person is trying to prove a point, leaving the little guys up the creek. So Trump and the Democrats made a temporary deal, good till December and the Republicans are screaming foul. Never mind that it allows the country to move forward. Never mind that Trump did this with the usual not loyal to anyone or anything so once again he shifts from his ostensible party.
Now the defense bill is in the playground for the little kids to fight over and never mind what happens with the country. Now Steve Bannon is back at Breitbart and shooting his hateful stones and arrows at his chosen foes and screeching that Trump made a huge mistake by firing Comey. Never mind the facts that the truth is coming out. Never mind the shame that this is now the President who is being investigated up to and including actual chargeable crimes. And now Sessions is planning to use lie detectors searching for leakers! How about the fact that they are leaking crimes and misdeeds, doing the honorable thing but nope, not that way for Sessions. It is like the Mafia searching for those who violate Omerta.
Finally, for now, for today, we have the disgraceful DACA, throwing out Americans, kids who have contributed to the economy of the country, who have grown up here and Bannon tells Charlie Rose that nope, the country is only for citizens - no matter color, ethnicity, religion, gender or orientation - as if that is to be believed. When Rose said that immigration is part of the country, its building, its values, Bannon went into his citizen diatribe, forgetting that when immigrants came here over the centuries they were not citizens yet!!
Such is the America of today, 16 years after 9/11. Such is the America that still has good in it as we older folks reawaken and the younger kids wake up to protests. It is the America where people reach out to others to rescue those who needed help, no matter their skin color or religion or anything else - only that they were human, fellow Americans, just plain people who needed a helping hand. Which America will we have next 9/11? In the meanwhile, remember those of 9/11, take some time to sit and think, to pray for a better future where we do not have people blowing others up in the name of their god or ideology.
Remember 9/11
Which America will we choose?
For me it is a memory that will never fade. I have books galore about it and watch the documentaries. I have cried while reading 102 Minutes - and everyone should read it - and I cry at what we have lost from that time. I cry to realize that it is now an everyday behavior for little kids to put their little stuffed animal thru the machine, to even get patted down. What a sad world we are leaving to them.
Even worse is at the head of our government is now a man whose validity in election is questioned, whose loyalty to the country is questioned as his spider web ties to Russia and various characters there become more and more entangled, a man who represents not a single one of the American values that we should treasure, only the greed of the robber barons of the past but even they endowed philanthropic institutions and funding. What has he done other than to put his names on golf courses and buildings, all to enrich his own pockets?!
This is the same man who said he lost "hundreds of friends" in the Towers but cannot name a one. This is the man who claims to have seen thousands of Moslems and/or Arabs dancing and shouting with glee over there in Jersey City and yet there is not one bit of proof or any other sighting. another piece, or rather the beginning of the alternate reality and facts that this man puts forth. And what have we done by allowing him in.
The ostensible President and the Senate are at war with each other. Politics has taken precedence over the common good and each and every side and person is trying to prove a point, leaving the little guys up the creek. So Trump and the Democrats made a temporary deal, good till December and the Republicans are screaming foul. Never mind that it allows the country to move forward. Never mind that Trump did this with the usual not loyal to anyone or anything so once again he shifts from his ostensible party.
Now the defense bill is in the playground for the little kids to fight over and never mind what happens with the country. Now Steve Bannon is back at Breitbart and shooting his hateful stones and arrows at his chosen foes and screeching that Trump made a huge mistake by firing Comey. Never mind the facts that the truth is coming out. Never mind the shame that this is now the President who is being investigated up to and including actual chargeable crimes. And now Sessions is planning to use lie detectors searching for leakers! How about the fact that they are leaking crimes and misdeeds, doing the honorable thing but nope, not that way for Sessions. It is like the Mafia searching for those who violate Omerta.
Finally, for now, for today, we have the disgraceful DACA, throwing out Americans, kids who have contributed to the economy of the country, who have grown up here and Bannon tells Charlie Rose that nope, the country is only for citizens - no matter color, ethnicity, religion, gender or orientation - as if that is to be believed. When Rose said that immigration is part of the country, its building, its values, Bannon went into his citizen diatribe, forgetting that when immigrants came here over the centuries they were not citizens yet!!
Such is the America of today, 16 years after 9/11. Such is the America that still has good in it as we older folks reawaken and the younger kids wake up to protests. It is the America where people reach out to others to rescue those who needed help, no matter their skin color or religion or anything else - only that they were human, fellow Americans, just plain people who needed a helping hand. Which America will we have next 9/11? In the meanwhile, remember those of 9/11, take some time to sit and think, to pray for a better future where we do not have people blowing others up in the name of their god or ideology.
Remember 9/11
Which America will we choose?
Saturday, September 9, 2017
THUS SAYETH.....
Ever gotten the feeling lately that someone has been trying to get a message thru? First a little knock, a louder one when we apparently do not hear and then louder and louder and more and more until we finally hear.
But what do we hear? What do we learn? And even if this is 'just' Nature, does it not tell us something? Does it not tell us that we have screwed around with our world almost to the point of no return? Should we not be trying to understand that we need to protect Mother Earth, that we need to heed the cries and calls and plights of our fellow man and woman and child?
Or have we become totally deaf to what we hear and blind to what we see and turn our receptor cells of the brain off when the truth is clear? To me it has been frightening sitting here in NY worrying about what is happening down in Florida, reading reports of no contact with the Virgin Islands, with the total devastation of Barbuda and the miraculous minimal loss of life, though any loss is a tragedy. I worry about friends and family in Florida and I worry if I will have a home to return to? And then there is the guilt - thankful that this seems to have turned onto a different track, so while we will be hit with winds and rain and G-d forbid tornadoes, the onus will be on others. Less for us and more on others? Thankful but guilty? Wish the damned thing had gone out to sea and died there.
And yet the world must continue but there is the same nonsense going on. The Senate tells Trump that his foreign policy, his State Department is in a retreat from the world. That has been tried before and it does not work. We read of moderate Republican Congressmen retiring and we wonder which extremist will replace them? We wonder how people could refuse to vote for aid for those affected by these hurricanes? In what world do they live? Where have they left their hearts and souls?
Trump has stated that he finally realizes that people "f*****ing hate him!" Well. That was a big duh!
The answer. I think, is that we try to think of others before we make decisions, before we ignore them, before we demean others because they are of differing religions, colors, or orientation. The sooner we remember that we are the same underneath it all, the better off we will be. The same red blood flows in all our veins and I do believe that these disasters are teaching us that as black rescues white, Moslem turns to Jew, straight turns to gay and it makes no never mind for the water makes no difference and the howling wind does not differentiate.
So please, all of you, stay safe and let us all pray for the safety of those on the islands and for our people waiting, waiting, for the storm to hit down there in Florida. And then - volunteer and send what is needed.
But what do we hear? What do we learn? And even if this is 'just' Nature, does it not tell us something? Does it not tell us that we have screwed around with our world almost to the point of no return? Should we not be trying to understand that we need to protect Mother Earth, that we need to heed the cries and calls and plights of our fellow man and woman and child?
Or have we become totally deaf to what we hear and blind to what we see and turn our receptor cells of the brain off when the truth is clear? To me it has been frightening sitting here in NY worrying about what is happening down in Florida, reading reports of no contact with the Virgin Islands, with the total devastation of Barbuda and the miraculous minimal loss of life, though any loss is a tragedy. I worry about friends and family in Florida and I worry if I will have a home to return to? And then there is the guilt - thankful that this seems to have turned onto a different track, so while we will be hit with winds and rain and G-d forbid tornadoes, the onus will be on others. Less for us and more on others? Thankful but guilty? Wish the damned thing had gone out to sea and died there.
And yet the world must continue but there is the same nonsense going on. The Senate tells Trump that his foreign policy, his State Department is in a retreat from the world. That has been tried before and it does not work. We read of moderate Republican Congressmen retiring and we wonder which extremist will replace them? We wonder how people could refuse to vote for aid for those affected by these hurricanes? In what world do they live? Where have they left their hearts and souls?
Trump has stated that he finally realizes that people "f*****ing hate him!" Well. That was a big duh!
The answer. I think, is that we try to think of others before we make decisions, before we ignore them, before we demean others because they are of differing religions, colors, or orientation. The sooner we remember that we are the same underneath it all, the better off we will be. The same red blood flows in all our veins and I do believe that these disasters are teaching us that as black rescues white, Moslem turns to Jew, straight turns to gay and it makes no never mind for the water makes no difference and the howling wind does not differentiate.
So please, all of you, stay safe and let us all pray for the safety of those on the islands and for our people waiting, waiting, for the storm to hit down there in Florida. And then - volunteer and send what is needed.
Friday, September 8, 2017
WHERE TO BEGIN
Woke up this AM and grabbed the phone, hoping against hope that Irma had turned away, was on course to die over the Atlantic. Sadly that was not so and in fact, the news was worse and Florida will never be the same again. And no matter the spaghetti line, West Palm was to the east, the worst side, and in some cases, right there on the line or so close one could not call the distance. And the thoughts began.
Where will we go? Where can we afford to live? Will there be any chance of rebuilding or even that we will be intact? Multiply that by millions upon millions and add to that murky stew the horrific thought that friends of mine, an aunt of mine, and the thousands of friends and relatives of others are standing in harm's way.
Depressing? Frightening? and use any other adjective you find to describe the situation. I break out in tears, in worry, in fright, in deep and dark fear - where will we go? I hope and pray that the worst scenario will not happen but then I look at videos and pictures of the harm and devastation left in her wake and ..... And then I look on a website and guess what is there, and no, not talking of Jose or Katia, but of yet another wave, a big one, liable to develop, coming right off Africa. Talk of immigrants one does not wish to welcome!!!!
So to my friends and family and to all those there in South Florida and to all of us who fled to safety and stand to lose all other than our lives - pray, be strong, hope and like it or not, be realistic and plan for the possibilities. One cannot live in a room in a house no matter how nice, or in a hotel or motel. Life continues and so must we.
So, need to get my mind off this hurricane bomb waiting to explode in our midst and I think of the hatred that is out there. Bannon, the hater, takes on the Catholic Church and accuses it of making a profit!!!!! on illegal immigrants. Need to hear the invented and twisted explanation on that!!
And a right wing crazy nut fake news 'reporter' took on a kid at a protest and after abuse with ridiculous statements, the kid told him where to get off and called him a f******ng idiot! Right on!!! It is time that they realize that the water flows in both directions and we will not sit there and take it without a response, kind to kind. It appears that this is the only way to get the attention of the extremists but there is a better way. We won a victory yesterday in court when family members were included in the designation of family and the judge asked the government lawyers in "what universe" were grandparents not close relatives?
Junior trips over his own lying tongue trying to get out of his Russian mess and now we find out from Facebook that Russians were trolling the Internet with ads and statements designed to destroy Clinton and boost Trump, and all based on lies and hate and where the hell do they get the chutzpah to interfere in the elections of a sovereign country?
Then we find out that ICE was planning a nation wide raid on immigrants!!! Shades of history as we think and remember and recall all the past mass expulsions of time. Armenians, the Inquisition, pogroms, Tutsi, Rohingya, Christians, Moslems and where does it end? Is this what we have become? Are we trying to emulate the Nazis or the gendarmes or native nationalists who worked for the Nazis and went after Jews, families, anyone, in order to "do their job", but it does not work that way, and plaints that they 'have to eat, feed their families' are not good enough. But social media destroyed the secrecy and the plans - at least for now, shamed at doing this at a time of horror in the country, and yet, as Floridians, legal or not, flock to shelters, a nasty old sheriff threatens to take all with a warrant against them off to jail with a particular aim of illegal immigrants. When is enough? When?
As for the Village and David Israel, it now comes to a point. Will he do his job? Will he be there for the Village residents? The meeting was left a bit too late as supplies were scarce and getaways very difficult to arrange. Will he be prepared for those in the older wood framed buildings, in more danger of collapse than the stronger later ones? Is anyone prepared for the mass tragedy that could be Century Village, here and in the other three?
But we need to wipe out those pictures from our mind. We need to hope that Trump watches his stupid mouth and realizes what is important today and it is not a wall or chasing people or threatening good kids and then confusing them. It is realizing that climate change is here, we are a big part of it and steps, immediate steps, must be taken to alleviate the situation and in the meanwhile, how will the government help the people of these tragedies? Wishing does not make it so, only full realization of truth, proper prioritization, proper funding and a great big open heart, a return to America.
In the meanwhile, stay safe all, pray hard and those of you out of this danger zone, help your fellow Americans when it is over for this will be a devastation beyond anything we have known, and will make Harvey look small in comparison.
Will post again tomorrow night, I hope. Stay safe.
Where will we go? Where can we afford to live? Will there be any chance of rebuilding or even that we will be intact? Multiply that by millions upon millions and add to that murky stew the horrific thought that friends of mine, an aunt of mine, and the thousands of friends and relatives of others are standing in harm's way.
Depressing? Frightening? and use any other adjective you find to describe the situation. I break out in tears, in worry, in fright, in deep and dark fear - where will we go? I hope and pray that the worst scenario will not happen but then I look at videos and pictures of the harm and devastation left in her wake and ..... And then I look on a website and guess what is there, and no, not talking of Jose or Katia, but of yet another wave, a big one, liable to develop, coming right off Africa. Talk of immigrants one does not wish to welcome!!!!
So to my friends and family and to all those there in South Florida and to all of us who fled to safety and stand to lose all other than our lives - pray, be strong, hope and like it or not, be realistic and plan for the possibilities. One cannot live in a room in a house no matter how nice, or in a hotel or motel. Life continues and so must we.
So, need to get my mind off this hurricane bomb waiting to explode in our midst and I think of the hatred that is out there. Bannon, the hater, takes on the Catholic Church and accuses it of making a profit!!!!! on illegal immigrants. Need to hear the invented and twisted explanation on that!!
And a right wing crazy nut fake news 'reporter' took on a kid at a protest and after abuse with ridiculous statements, the kid told him where to get off and called him a f******ng idiot! Right on!!! It is time that they realize that the water flows in both directions and we will not sit there and take it without a response, kind to kind. It appears that this is the only way to get the attention of the extremists but there is a better way. We won a victory yesterday in court when family members were included in the designation of family and the judge asked the government lawyers in "what universe" were grandparents not close relatives?
Junior trips over his own lying tongue trying to get out of his Russian mess and now we find out from Facebook that Russians were trolling the Internet with ads and statements designed to destroy Clinton and boost Trump, and all based on lies and hate and where the hell do they get the chutzpah to interfere in the elections of a sovereign country?
Then we find out that ICE was planning a nation wide raid on immigrants!!! Shades of history as we think and remember and recall all the past mass expulsions of time. Armenians, the Inquisition, pogroms, Tutsi, Rohingya, Christians, Moslems and where does it end? Is this what we have become? Are we trying to emulate the Nazis or the gendarmes or native nationalists who worked for the Nazis and went after Jews, families, anyone, in order to "do their job", but it does not work that way, and plaints that they 'have to eat, feed their families' are not good enough. But social media destroyed the secrecy and the plans - at least for now, shamed at doing this at a time of horror in the country, and yet, as Floridians, legal or not, flock to shelters, a nasty old sheriff threatens to take all with a warrant against them off to jail with a particular aim of illegal immigrants. When is enough? When?
As for the Village and David Israel, it now comes to a point. Will he do his job? Will he be there for the Village residents? The meeting was left a bit too late as supplies were scarce and getaways very difficult to arrange. Will he be prepared for those in the older wood framed buildings, in more danger of collapse than the stronger later ones? Is anyone prepared for the mass tragedy that could be Century Village, here and in the other three?
But we need to wipe out those pictures from our mind. We need to hope that Trump watches his stupid mouth and realizes what is important today and it is not a wall or chasing people or threatening good kids and then confusing them. It is realizing that climate change is here, we are a big part of it and steps, immediate steps, must be taken to alleviate the situation and in the meanwhile, how will the government help the people of these tragedies? Wishing does not make it so, only full realization of truth, proper prioritization, proper funding and a great big open heart, a return to America.
In the meanwhile, stay safe all, pray hard and those of you out of this danger zone, help your fellow Americans when it is over for this will be a devastation beyond anything we have known, and will make Harvey look small in comparison.
Will post again tomorrow night, I hope. Stay safe.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
IT"S A'COMIN'!
Writing now as I sit in my place of refuge, away from the path of the hurricane - and hope it will not find me in NY as did Sandy. The airport was crazy with large crowds at 4:30 AM and people were rolling around looking for parking space, schlepping heavy suitcases with grandchildren taking their grandparents to safety, old sons taking even older fathers and whole families of little ones. Saddest of all were little old ladies trying to move the heavy suitcases along the carpeting in the concourse and ticketing counter. Everyone tried to figure out what to take - clothes, memories, what was important? What to save? The wedding album? A picture album? An antique and how does one choose which one?
Whenever I talk of the possibilities of Irma and what could happen, I start to shake and shiver. Not easy to picture starting all over again at 69. Not easy to think that one's life as such is over. Where to get the strength and where to rebuild that life - here, with an adult child? And yet, the people in the airport were the quietest and politest crowd I have seen there in a long time. JetBlue actually got out exactly on time and got in early - what a change. Imagine what could be done all the time!
So what did I take. First I was defiant. Nothing comes other than clothes. And then I cried at the thought of leaving everything behind. I scanned my collections, especially my Judaica and thought how I collected it, finding these things in thrift stores and estate sales. But I left them.
I kept looking and evaluating and made my choices. I took a favorite picture of my parents at an affair, smiling and looking great, close together as they were all their lives. I took a compact that my mom had given me at 16 - finally allowed to put on makeup - a little anyway. I kept it with me since then. I took my little Groot for it reminds me of the fun Gerry and I have going to the movies, chatting about it and sharing movie discussions with grandchildren. Anyway, Groot is just so cute.
And then a story for the future to laugh about. We cleaned the fridge and freezer, some of which stuff we had just bought. Then I looked at the fancy cheeses we had brought from NY on last visit and I stamped my foot and said NO and into a suitcase they went. I looked at the two containers of pickles that I loved and made a spoiled face and somehow figured out how to take them and in they went, along with a salami from my favorite company and a better smelling suitcase you never had. Inspected at security people came over to smell the appetizing aroma. The driver taking us from the airport loved the aroma. Some people took treasures and so did we, but perhaps of a different kind. Who knows what is best?
Today was not a day to talk of the aggravating Trump or David Israel. Today was a day to talk of the hurricane, of the future and what will be. It was a day to worry over friends who remain in the path and the prayers for them to be safe.
Today was a day when we all took stock of our "stuff' and all realized that losing it will or would be hurtful, painful and yes, worth crying over, but to add to that the fact that we have our loved ones and that is the best of all.
May you all keep safe. May you all not lose too much. May Irma go away, out to the east far away from us or at least lose her fierceness. Hang in there. I am praying I have a home to return to. All we can do is wait. And hope. And pray. And for my readers overseas and in the country away from Irma, add your prayers to ours and who knows? Maybe we will be heard and get the answer in a positive manner. Maybe.
Whenever I talk of the possibilities of Irma and what could happen, I start to shake and shiver. Not easy to picture starting all over again at 69. Not easy to think that one's life as such is over. Where to get the strength and where to rebuild that life - here, with an adult child? And yet, the people in the airport were the quietest and politest crowd I have seen there in a long time. JetBlue actually got out exactly on time and got in early - what a change. Imagine what could be done all the time!
So what did I take. First I was defiant. Nothing comes other than clothes. And then I cried at the thought of leaving everything behind. I scanned my collections, especially my Judaica and thought how I collected it, finding these things in thrift stores and estate sales. But I left them.
I kept looking and evaluating and made my choices. I took a favorite picture of my parents at an affair, smiling and looking great, close together as they were all their lives. I took a compact that my mom had given me at 16 - finally allowed to put on makeup - a little anyway. I kept it with me since then. I took my little Groot for it reminds me of the fun Gerry and I have going to the movies, chatting about it and sharing movie discussions with grandchildren. Anyway, Groot is just so cute.
And then a story for the future to laugh about. We cleaned the fridge and freezer, some of which stuff we had just bought. Then I looked at the fancy cheeses we had brought from NY on last visit and I stamped my foot and said NO and into a suitcase they went. I looked at the two containers of pickles that I loved and made a spoiled face and somehow figured out how to take them and in they went, along with a salami from my favorite company and a better smelling suitcase you never had. Inspected at security people came over to smell the appetizing aroma. The driver taking us from the airport loved the aroma. Some people took treasures and so did we, but perhaps of a different kind. Who knows what is best?
Today was not a day to talk of the aggravating Trump or David Israel. Today was a day to talk of the hurricane, of the future and what will be. It was a day to worry over friends who remain in the path and the prayers for them to be safe.
Today was a day when we all took stock of our "stuff' and all realized that losing it will or would be hurtful, painful and yes, worth crying over, but to add to that the fact that we have our loved ones and that is the best of all.
May you all keep safe. May you all not lose too much. May Irma go away, out to the east far away from us or at least lose her fierceness. Hang in there. I am praying I have a home to return to. All we can do is wait. And hope. And pray. And for my readers overseas and in the country away from Irma, add your prayers to ours and who knows? Maybe we will be heard and get the answer in a positive manner. Maybe.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY
I had a posting all ready in my head, waiting to be typed, went to bed and woke up to horror, seeing the possible path of Irma. And I thought again of all I wished to say - the horror and the hypocrisy of Trump and Sessions re the Dreamers, trying to tell us of their anguish. Well, they can take that and shove it as far as I am concerned. I thought of the violations of our rights, of our safety regulations they are cancelling and then I turned to Irma.
Irma is an example, a horrific one, of what will continue to happen as we desecrate more and more of the rules of Nature, as we keep changing, for the bad, our climate conditions, as we continue to refuse to recognize what has been done and what now must be done. But right now, those on the islands, and I remember the shacks we saw on Antigua and the horror grows for there is no way to survive in them - my prayers are with them.
And I see the new track, the new proliferation of the ensemble tracks all congregating in my neighborhood - and who the hell wants them!! And I am frightened to death. For several reasons we had to go up north now, thank G-d, and I will not be here for the impact at the moment of it, but my heart and soul are with all my friends here, all the people we have met during our years here, and I think of the parting statement that all say now, even the doctor's scheduler who calls to cancel. "Stay safe. Stay safe."
And that is what I desperately wish for us all. Hunker down. Share the water. Hold hands. Be with someone with hurricane windows and shutters and hope they hold. But no one ever planned for these winds, for a Hurricane Cat 4 or terrible 5. Have your meds with you. Plan for survival for more than three days. and let us keep pushing that track over into the Atlantic far away from us.
I hope and pray that we do not lose all we have in this world and I cringe and cry inside at the thought. But even more important is that none of us lose a life. And I pray, Lord, that You look down upon us, Your terrified creations, and think again over what is to happen. Look down and give us a break! Lessen its power and impact. Keep us safe. Keep us whole. And let us hopefully learn a lesson, a powerful one indeed.
Irma is an example, a horrific one, of what will continue to happen as we desecrate more and more of the rules of Nature, as we keep changing, for the bad, our climate conditions, as we continue to refuse to recognize what has been done and what now must be done. But right now, those on the islands, and I remember the shacks we saw on Antigua and the horror grows for there is no way to survive in them - my prayers are with them.
And I see the new track, the new proliferation of the ensemble tracks all congregating in my neighborhood - and who the hell wants them!! And I am frightened to death. For several reasons we had to go up north now, thank G-d, and I will not be here for the impact at the moment of it, but my heart and soul are with all my friends here, all the people we have met during our years here, and I think of the parting statement that all say now, even the doctor's scheduler who calls to cancel. "Stay safe. Stay safe."
And that is what I desperately wish for us all. Hunker down. Share the water. Hold hands. Be with someone with hurricane windows and shutters and hope they hold. But no one ever planned for these winds, for a Hurricane Cat 4 or terrible 5. Have your meds with you. Plan for survival for more than three days. and let us keep pushing that track over into the Atlantic far away from us.
I hope and pray that we do not lose all we have in this world and I cringe and cry inside at the thought. But even more important is that none of us lose a life. And I pray, Lord, that You look down upon us, Your terrified creations, and think again over what is to happen. Look down and give us a break! Lessen its power and impact. Keep us safe. Keep us whole. And let us hopefully learn a lesson, a powerful one indeed.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
FROM THE MOUTH OF HARDY
"If a way to the better there be, it exacts a full look at the worst." Thomas Hardy
It does not take a genius to understand how applicable this statement is to and for our times. We have seen the worst, certainly in recent days, and we are for sure looking for the good, for the better and often seemingly doing so in great desperation these days.
Just saw a list of our reserve funds for various big ticket items and what we need to add to these funds this year to keep on track. Simple, yet if followed carefully, it leads to financial and physical stability and an assurance that one is prepared. Unfortunately this is what we do not have with CV here in WPB. There is no accounting for reserve funds under David Israel. I have hope now that we have an outside accountant who will not play games - hopefully - and promises that next month he will show how much money is actually allotted to exactly what needs. Hopefully, this will take place and I bet David is shivering in his back office, wondering what will be when the people realize how little is actually there for what we will need, from roadwork to fence work to infrastructure to legal fees for a new agreement for which we are pathetically behind in set up and prep, for anything and everything that a small town needs. See, this is not a 'campus'. This is a town, a village, of people who wish to have a steady and good administration but we do not have that. We are seeing our worst, but the better is yet to come. And there is still the business with the old golf course, the waterways in our village and more. And with an inept administration and blinded minions, we are in deep, to our necks.
As for the bigger picture of the country and the world, well, history has certainly showed us the worst of mankind, particularly with mankind's own creation of the horror or the issues, but certainly we are rivaling at some level. Have we seen the worst? Oh, yes, so let's see.
We now have the worst president ever in modern times. Yes, there have been other corrupt ones, inept ones, selfish ones, but this one is rivaling them all. We have one at the head who is inept beyond words and has stumbled knowingly or otherwise into disasters of his own making. He does not know what to do and the very inexperience of which he boasted is now his cross to bear. And ours too.
Driven by personal and selfish needs, the interests of companies are trampling on the needs and interests of the people. We have lost the heart and soul of our country and have stood in front of the world in shame as we chase after people, grabbing them off the streets to throw them away, to toss them out, ripping families apart. We stand in shame as we allow haters to march and chant against Jews, who paint nooses on African American property, who flaunt the flag of an enemy we once thought we had defeated. We claim history is inside granite and metal statues, worshipping them as of days of old, forgetting that history is in the words, deeds, experiences and lessons learned from it.
It is this very history that should have shocked us at the arrest of a nurse doing her job, following a Supreme Court ruling that a blood sample cannot be taken without consent or warrant. The manhandling and arrest of this nurse and the sight of hospital guards standing there and allowing this to happen, with the sounds of her screams echoing, sends a shudder thru any thinking person. Will we once again allow people, allow ourselves, to stand by while injustice is perpetrated?
And we are not done yet. Despite the shouts, cries, pleas and cruelty of it all, today Sessions is set to announce the official policy on DACA and the Dreamers. Over 800,000 young people who are teachers, students, military people, engineers, medical personnel, and yes, even a few rotten apples - but all Americans, for here they have grown up and here they have built their dreams just as all of our families have done, have become part and parcel of our economy and country and woe upon us if we throw them out. Woe upon the split and divide that will arise. Woe upon us for what it says about us to the world. Woe upon us for what it says about our heritage and values. Woe upon us that we allow bigots such as Sessions and Trump and their followers to set this tone and these actions for all Americans. At least we have people who are already setting up protests and legal alternatives against this heartless and harmful plan.
We have a foul mouthed ranter who has now gotten us into trouble almost over our head as we draw nearer and nearer to a nuclear war or at the very least an economic war that will wreak havoc on Americans and crack the global economy. But Trump must keep shooting off his stupid inexperienced and ignorant mouth. And there is no one there to shut him up, to tape it shut. And in the meanwhile, the bean counters are figuring how many dead will we have and the jerk from North Korea is shlepping his ICBMs closer to the coast, all the better to shoot you, my dear.
And more of the worst is here. We have all read of the political officer in the armies of the fascists and communists and lookee here. Now we have the insertion of a Trump aide who knows little or nothing about the environment except for his dangerous beliefs that there is no climate change and certainly humans have played no art in it. He is the one to now approve all grants and dispensation of money for programs and has given the order to eliminate those two words - climate change - from any and all papers of the EPA. So forest fires, floods, mammoth hurricanes and yet another one coming along to Florida and running into other states, droughts and the increasingly rare adequate supply of clean drinking water, the melting of the ice packs - nope, no climate change. Just ask this moronic administration.
So have we seen the worst, that which we must see according to Hardy if we are to be able to see and know the best? Scary to say, I think there is more 'worst' to come. We have not yet reached the bottom of the barrel, the worst of all scenarios and I dread its coming, its certainty of arrival, if we keep on this path. So will we? Will we prove Hardy's statement true? Dear G-d in Heaven. I hope not. Please endow us with some more sense, some more compassion, so that we will know the right path when we see it, when we will remember our compassion for our fellow beings, and when we show proper care for our planet upon which we all live. And for which we have no substitute. Dear Lord - help us.
It does not take a genius to understand how applicable this statement is to and for our times. We have seen the worst, certainly in recent days, and we are for sure looking for the good, for the better and often seemingly doing so in great desperation these days.
Just saw a list of our reserve funds for various big ticket items and what we need to add to these funds this year to keep on track. Simple, yet if followed carefully, it leads to financial and physical stability and an assurance that one is prepared. Unfortunately this is what we do not have with CV here in WPB. There is no accounting for reserve funds under David Israel. I have hope now that we have an outside accountant who will not play games - hopefully - and promises that next month he will show how much money is actually allotted to exactly what needs. Hopefully, this will take place and I bet David is shivering in his back office, wondering what will be when the people realize how little is actually there for what we will need, from roadwork to fence work to infrastructure to legal fees for a new agreement for which we are pathetically behind in set up and prep, for anything and everything that a small town needs. See, this is not a 'campus'. This is a town, a village, of people who wish to have a steady and good administration but we do not have that. We are seeing our worst, but the better is yet to come. And there is still the business with the old golf course, the waterways in our village and more. And with an inept administration and blinded minions, we are in deep, to our necks.
As for the bigger picture of the country and the world, well, history has certainly showed us the worst of mankind, particularly with mankind's own creation of the horror or the issues, but certainly we are rivaling at some level. Have we seen the worst? Oh, yes, so let's see.
We now have the worst president ever in modern times. Yes, there have been other corrupt ones, inept ones, selfish ones, but this one is rivaling them all. We have one at the head who is inept beyond words and has stumbled knowingly or otherwise into disasters of his own making. He does not know what to do and the very inexperience of which he boasted is now his cross to bear. And ours too.
Driven by personal and selfish needs, the interests of companies are trampling on the needs and interests of the people. We have lost the heart and soul of our country and have stood in front of the world in shame as we chase after people, grabbing them off the streets to throw them away, to toss them out, ripping families apart. We stand in shame as we allow haters to march and chant against Jews, who paint nooses on African American property, who flaunt the flag of an enemy we once thought we had defeated. We claim history is inside granite and metal statues, worshipping them as of days of old, forgetting that history is in the words, deeds, experiences and lessons learned from it.
It is this very history that should have shocked us at the arrest of a nurse doing her job, following a Supreme Court ruling that a blood sample cannot be taken without consent or warrant. The manhandling and arrest of this nurse and the sight of hospital guards standing there and allowing this to happen, with the sounds of her screams echoing, sends a shudder thru any thinking person. Will we once again allow people, allow ourselves, to stand by while injustice is perpetrated?
And we are not done yet. Despite the shouts, cries, pleas and cruelty of it all, today Sessions is set to announce the official policy on DACA and the Dreamers. Over 800,000 young people who are teachers, students, military people, engineers, medical personnel, and yes, even a few rotten apples - but all Americans, for here they have grown up and here they have built their dreams just as all of our families have done, have become part and parcel of our economy and country and woe upon us if we throw them out. Woe upon the split and divide that will arise. Woe upon us for what it says about us to the world. Woe upon us for what it says about our heritage and values. Woe upon us that we allow bigots such as Sessions and Trump and their followers to set this tone and these actions for all Americans. At least we have people who are already setting up protests and legal alternatives against this heartless and harmful plan.
We have a foul mouthed ranter who has now gotten us into trouble almost over our head as we draw nearer and nearer to a nuclear war or at the very least an economic war that will wreak havoc on Americans and crack the global economy. But Trump must keep shooting off his stupid inexperienced and ignorant mouth. And there is no one there to shut him up, to tape it shut. And in the meanwhile, the bean counters are figuring how many dead will we have and the jerk from North Korea is shlepping his ICBMs closer to the coast, all the better to shoot you, my dear.
And more of the worst is here. We have all read of the political officer in the armies of the fascists and communists and lookee here. Now we have the insertion of a Trump aide who knows little or nothing about the environment except for his dangerous beliefs that there is no climate change and certainly humans have played no art in it. He is the one to now approve all grants and dispensation of money for programs and has given the order to eliminate those two words - climate change - from any and all papers of the EPA. So forest fires, floods, mammoth hurricanes and yet another one coming along to Florida and running into other states, droughts and the increasingly rare adequate supply of clean drinking water, the melting of the ice packs - nope, no climate change. Just ask this moronic administration.
So have we seen the worst, that which we must see according to Hardy if we are to be able to see and know the best? Scary to say, I think there is more 'worst' to come. We have not yet reached the bottom of the barrel, the worst of all scenarios and I dread its coming, its certainty of arrival, if we keep on this path. So will we? Will we prove Hardy's statement true? Dear G-d in Heaven. I hope not. Please endow us with some more sense, some more compassion, so that we will know the right path when we see it, when we will remember our compassion for our fellow beings, and when we show proper care for our planet upon which we all live. And for which we have no substitute. Dear Lord - help us.
Monday, September 4, 2017
BESIEGED ARE WE NOT?
Late today, am I? Well, it is a holiday for the working person, is it not? But there is no holiday for the sane people of America, for the sane people of the world. We stand and watch with mouths agape at the horror that is going on and wonder when we went nuts.
I read an interesting article yesterday which basically said that we are a valueless society and at best, our values that we do have are weak or incorrect. Basically it said that America has gotten what it has been asking for with the steady deterioration of values. I quote: "In the electoral reckoning, civility has been trumped by hostility, respect by chauvinism, tolerance by bigotry, truth by fabrication and deceit, privacy by exposure, modesty by exhibitionism, achievement by fame, shame by shamelessness, and bridges by walls. " Wow!! Read that again and hear the judgement upon us and you know, while there are exceptions to this, thank heavens, this is a severe and basically true indictment of us. And yes, of us, for we have allowed this to happen. We have allowed our values to be replaced by sham and harmful fake values. We have sold our souls for a fancier car, for a better tweet, for more friends on Facebook, for a fancier vacation, and for label clothing. It is only now that we have reached the peak - at least till now - and see what we have wrought, that we are finally horrified. But is it too late?
I hope not for there are many depending upon us and our courage, including the future. Yesterday there were three events that either horrified me and or scared the crap out of me. One was the H bomb test by North Korea, run by a lunatic, and we are at a game of chicken with him with nuclear arms very much in play ad look who is at our button - Trump, that lunatic and his minions. I do not trust Mattis at this point, not after his backtracking on what he said re this issue. So millions could be doomed from South Korea and Japan to Guam, to Hawaii, to mainland America. Great for sleeping well, huh?
Next, for there is always a next with this Trump, is the rescinding of the DACA ACT. To hell with the 'Dreamers". These are kids who came with parents, young, grew up here, are a part and parcel of our economy, our country and for whom business, top Republicans, education officials, and more, and just plain decent people are pleading to stop this, this horror, this betrayal. These kids know no other country. They ARE Americans. They are ours and we wish to send them away, perhaps losing the very brains that can help us, stepping all over humanity? What is the matter with us. We should all stand up in front of every DACA kid as the ICE people come to get them. They are in physical danger but we are in moral danger and that says a lot, does it not. Six months for Congress to do something. Every Congressman and woman should be deluged by letters, by calls, by tweets, by whatever means and that means demonstrations as well. And do not forget the illegals in Texas, the very same people who will be needed to repair our broken cities and there are more coming with Irma, and they are in hiding, outside of official help as they fear deportation the minute they raise their heads. Good Lord, people, what have we done? What have we become? Even being callous about it, we are cutting our own nose to spite our face!
The White House is under investigation. The Russians are not coming - they are already here, and everyday there are more dirty pieces of laundry about the lies and valueless life of the Trumps coming to the fore. This is our President? Not mine, most emphatically not. I reject him and his lack of values, his annoying family, his clueless wife, and the suckups who have sold their soul for a piece of the filthy pie. All these crises that we are facing are because of Trump. He has brought it upon us and his answer is to go to his deluded shrinking base and hold yet another election rally. Pathetic - but dangerous for us and the country.
And with all these problems, the one that affected me the most as I sat there watching, just horrified beyond words, was the video and incident with the nurse Wubbels in Utah. She was doing her job. She refused to violate both hospital and public law. The Supreme Court has backed her decision via their own decision. And yet, this woman was manhandled, pushed and shoved screaming for help right out of the building in handcuffs and shoved into a seat in a police car for twenty horrifying minutes and here we are again. We have totally lost control of our police forces. There are good people in these forces but the rest of these forces are becoming ever and ever more like the forces of dictators, of fascists and call it whatever name you wish but this must STOP!!! NOW!!!
What are we doing? What have we become? Where are we going? To what level will we sink? If you are not horrified by this incident in Utah then shame on you. The cop was not dismissed. He was not suspended. Nor were those who stood by and did not stop this massive violation of America. And yes, that is what it was and yes, it could happen to any one of us, to our kids, to our grandchildren. We must stop this. We must not speak up but SHOUT OUT, loud and clear. We will not tolerate this, no way, no how.
Souls, physical future, the nature of who we are and wish to be. Choose. Choose correctly.
I read an interesting article yesterday which basically said that we are a valueless society and at best, our values that we do have are weak or incorrect. Basically it said that America has gotten what it has been asking for with the steady deterioration of values. I quote: "In the electoral reckoning, civility has been trumped by hostility, respect by chauvinism, tolerance by bigotry, truth by fabrication and deceit, privacy by exposure, modesty by exhibitionism, achievement by fame, shame by shamelessness, and bridges by walls. " Wow!! Read that again and hear the judgement upon us and you know, while there are exceptions to this, thank heavens, this is a severe and basically true indictment of us. And yes, of us, for we have allowed this to happen. We have allowed our values to be replaced by sham and harmful fake values. We have sold our souls for a fancier car, for a better tweet, for more friends on Facebook, for a fancier vacation, and for label clothing. It is only now that we have reached the peak - at least till now - and see what we have wrought, that we are finally horrified. But is it too late?
I hope not for there are many depending upon us and our courage, including the future. Yesterday there were three events that either horrified me and or scared the crap out of me. One was the H bomb test by North Korea, run by a lunatic, and we are at a game of chicken with him with nuclear arms very much in play ad look who is at our button - Trump, that lunatic and his minions. I do not trust Mattis at this point, not after his backtracking on what he said re this issue. So millions could be doomed from South Korea and Japan to Guam, to Hawaii, to mainland America. Great for sleeping well, huh?
Next, for there is always a next with this Trump, is the rescinding of the DACA ACT. To hell with the 'Dreamers". These are kids who came with parents, young, grew up here, are a part and parcel of our economy, our country and for whom business, top Republicans, education officials, and more, and just plain decent people are pleading to stop this, this horror, this betrayal. These kids know no other country. They ARE Americans. They are ours and we wish to send them away, perhaps losing the very brains that can help us, stepping all over humanity? What is the matter with us. We should all stand up in front of every DACA kid as the ICE people come to get them. They are in physical danger but we are in moral danger and that says a lot, does it not. Six months for Congress to do something. Every Congressman and woman should be deluged by letters, by calls, by tweets, by whatever means and that means demonstrations as well. And do not forget the illegals in Texas, the very same people who will be needed to repair our broken cities and there are more coming with Irma, and they are in hiding, outside of official help as they fear deportation the minute they raise their heads. Good Lord, people, what have we done? What have we become? Even being callous about it, we are cutting our own nose to spite our face!
The White House is under investigation. The Russians are not coming - they are already here, and everyday there are more dirty pieces of laundry about the lies and valueless life of the Trumps coming to the fore. This is our President? Not mine, most emphatically not. I reject him and his lack of values, his annoying family, his clueless wife, and the suckups who have sold their soul for a piece of the filthy pie. All these crises that we are facing are because of Trump. He has brought it upon us and his answer is to go to his deluded shrinking base and hold yet another election rally. Pathetic - but dangerous for us and the country.
And with all these problems, the one that affected me the most as I sat there watching, just horrified beyond words, was the video and incident with the nurse Wubbels in Utah. She was doing her job. She refused to violate both hospital and public law. The Supreme Court has backed her decision via their own decision. And yet, this woman was manhandled, pushed and shoved screaming for help right out of the building in handcuffs and shoved into a seat in a police car for twenty horrifying minutes and here we are again. We have totally lost control of our police forces. There are good people in these forces but the rest of these forces are becoming ever and ever more like the forces of dictators, of fascists and call it whatever name you wish but this must STOP!!! NOW!!!
What are we doing? What have we become? Where are we going? To what level will we sink? If you are not horrified by this incident in Utah then shame on you. The cop was not dismissed. He was not suspended. Nor were those who stood by and did not stop this massive violation of America. And yes, that is what it was and yes, it could happen to any one of us, to our kids, to our grandchildren. We must stop this. We must not speak up but SHOUT OUT, loud and clear. We will not tolerate this, no way, no how.
Souls, physical future, the nature of who we are and wish to be. Choose. Choose correctly.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
HOBGOBLINS AND SUCH
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A hobgoblin is defined as a mischievous imp but it is often not so merely mischievous in real life, particularly when we pay attention to the end which people often forget.
Today we have too many of these little statesman who are plagued with no foresight, dangerous consistency and no forethought as well. Not a good situation at all.
As top leader or supposedly so, we have a man who goes finally to share in some of the experience of the Texans besieged by Harvey and its results and after giving out a few toys or such, he signs his name on the wall. Who cares!!! What does that do? Let him say he is going to leave the rules and legislation alone, the ones that plan for these ever growing floods. Let him admit that there is climate change and humans have done much of the cause. Let him admit that the hobgoblins of his mind have caused many a problem for these people and will they indeed get their funding for help what with Congress in such a fine mess. Will these hypocritical Republicans who voted against Sandy aid now turn around and vote for Harvey aid and right behind that we have Irma, set to devastate an area or more of the eastern seaboard - could be us, folks - and the two areas in California that are up in flames, including within the city limits of LA.
This stupid man had to be lectured about his pathetic first visit which went nowhere and even now he says he saw much happiness there. Is he truly an idiot, or a victim of his own hobgoblins of his tiny mind? Where is happiness when you are stuffed in a refugee center with little food, water a great big problem and your house and all within it destroyed? Where is the happiness when one's loved ones are missing or hurt, or trapped without medicines for grave illnesses? His two thumbs up will neither help nor signify anything worth a sou's worth of whatever!!
This man's hobgoblins will be the end of us all if he does not extirpate them from his mind and get on the bandwagon of reality, learn to get along with Congress, understand that he is his own worst enemy with his wildness, lack of forethought or indeed any thought, as he continues to throw more and more of his aides under the bus. And all we get in the meanwhile are the poisoned haters of the erupting wells of hatred, of mob psychology, of chanting men who are losers in life and who need to take it out on others and who take encouragement and direction from he who sits there in DC, the same man who was taken to task for not renting to African Americans, the same man who believes in boasting how he gropes women, the same man who appears to hate all Hispanic men as they apparently are all "bad hombres", drug dealers, rapists and more. This is NOT a leader, but one little man plagued by hobgoblins.
And this hate continues to flow downward to others in this country. We are refusing to listen, to hear each other. We believe that denigrating opponents is the right way to go for it works for many. We are increasingly allowing petty dictators to reign in their little ponds as the hobgoblins of their own pathetically small minds begin to harass others.
This hatred is abounding within the gates of the Village and without. Inside we have the nasty man who lies in a consistent manner, who throws all away if they refuse to serve him and his needs and desires. We have this man who purposely denies freedom of speech, who violates all rules of order and chairmanship, who lies as easily as he breathes and the saddest thing of all is that there are yet those who follow him and their hate grows. Even as he takes away the right of the residents to expect that their opinions will be valued. He could care less as 79 people advocated a disaster for us on Friday, a victory by three votes, leaving out the rest of those who will be here in a month or two. Sit in a meeting, an assembly, and hear the sounds and words of hate that they mutter, as they cheer his cruelty. We wonder to ourselves who would be the guards and the policing forces of the dictator state, the information peddlers - well, look no further than our own audience. Look no further than the nasty lady who sat behind me at the last meeting calling out her words of hate, her filth, the same lady who several years ago called me a "Jewish bitch". Yes, I am Jewish and yes, I could be a "bitch" if the situation calls for it, to be forceful and firm, but the two words do not belong together, certainly not in the way she puts them. Big Al, may he rest in peace, came over to ask why I had yelled at her and after I explained it to him, he told her to sit down and be quiet or be thrown out.
And that is what we must do. Throw out the haters. Throw out the liars Throw out those who would do and see harm done to others. Throw out those who propagate this disease. Turn them away and remember that they are closer than you think. Last year I and others reported shots fired at the synagogue. Because I was involved, David accused me of lying. That alone makes me hate him even more, for his lies, for his nastiness, for his carrying things to extremes so what will he say now when several cars were vandalized in the synagogue's parking lot yesterday afternoon, including the Rabbi's car. Where do these hoodlums come from? They come from the mouths of the supposed leaders who themselves spew hatred and while they do not smash windows - at least for now - they do encourage others to do so.
Hatred is a contagious disease. Those who spew it forth, who encourage it, should themselves be met by hatred - of their deeds, of their philosophy, of their imagined vision of a future country and political entity for this hatred knows no bounds, none at all. None are immune to it or from it or by it - and that means YOU. Think about it honestly. Look deep within yourself and face the truth. We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go and we can easily backslide. Do we really want to see the future plagued by hatred and fighting? These hobgoblins can indeed grow into giant proportions and that does not bode well for us, does it?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A hobgoblin is defined as a mischievous imp but it is often not so merely mischievous in real life, particularly when we pay attention to the end which people often forget.
Today we have too many of these little statesman who are plagued with no foresight, dangerous consistency and no forethought as well. Not a good situation at all.
As top leader or supposedly so, we have a man who goes finally to share in some of the experience of the Texans besieged by Harvey and its results and after giving out a few toys or such, he signs his name on the wall. Who cares!!! What does that do? Let him say he is going to leave the rules and legislation alone, the ones that plan for these ever growing floods. Let him admit that there is climate change and humans have done much of the cause. Let him admit that the hobgoblins of his mind have caused many a problem for these people and will they indeed get their funding for help what with Congress in such a fine mess. Will these hypocritical Republicans who voted against Sandy aid now turn around and vote for Harvey aid and right behind that we have Irma, set to devastate an area or more of the eastern seaboard - could be us, folks - and the two areas in California that are up in flames, including within the city limits of LA.
This stupid man had to be lectured about his pathetic first visit which went nowhere and even now he says he saw much happiness there. Is he truly an idiot, or a victim of his own hobgoblins of his tiny mind? Where is happiness when you are stuffed in a refugee center with little food, water a great big problem and your house and all within it destroyed? Where is the happiness when one's loved ones are missing or hurt, or trapped without medicines for grave illnesses? His two thumbs up will neither help nor signify anything worth a sou's worth of whatever!!
This man's hobgoblins will be the end of us all if he does not extirpate them from his mind and get on the bandwagon of reality, learn to get along with Congress, understand that he is his own worst enemy with his wildness, lack of forethought or indeed any thought, as he continues to throw more and more of his aides under the bus. And all we get in the meanwhile are the poisoned haters of the erupting wells of hatred, of mob psychology, of chanting men who are losers in life and who need to take it out on others and who take encouragement and direction from he who sits there in DC, the same man who was taken to task for not renting to African Americans, the same man who believes in boasting how he gropes women, the same man who appears to hate all Hispanic men as they apparently are all "bad hombres", drug dealers, rapists and more. This is NOT a leader, but one little man plagued by hobgoblins.
And this hate continues to flow downward to others in this country. We are refusing to listen, to hear each other. We believe that denigrating opponents is the right way to go for it works for many. We are increasingly allowing petty dictators to reign in their little ponds as the hobgoblins of their own pathetically small minds begin to harass others.
This hatred is abounding within the gates of the Village and without. Inside we have the nasty man who lies in a consistent manner, who throws all away if they refuse to serve him and his needs and desires. We have this man who purposely denies freedom of speech, who violates all rules of order and chairmanship, who lies as easily as he breathes and the saddest thing of all is that there are yet those who follow him and their hate grows. Even as he takes away the right of the residents to expect that their opinions will be valued. He could care less as 79 people advocated a disaster for us on Friday, a victory by three votes, leaving out the rest of those who will be here in a month or two. Sit in a meeting, an assembly, and hear the sounds and words of hate that they mutter, as they cheer his cruelty. We wonder to ourselves who would be the guards and the policing forces of the dictator state, the information peddlers - well, look no further than our own audience. Look no further than the nasty lady who sat behind me at the last meeting calling out her words of hate, her filth, the same lady who several years ago called me a "Jewish bitch". Yes, I am Jewish and yes, I could be a "bitch" if the situation calls for it, to be forceful and firm, but the two words do not belong together, certainly not in the way she puts them. Big Al, may he rest in peace, came over to ask why I had yelled at her and after I explained it to him, he told her to sit down and be quiet or be thrown out.
And that is what we must do. Throw out the haters. Throw out the liars Throw out those who would do and see harm done to others. Throw out those who propagate this disease. Turn them away and remember that they are closer than you think. Last year I and others reported shots fired at the synagogue. Because I was involved, David accused me of lying. That alone makes me hate him even more, for his lies, for his nastiness, for his carrying things to extremes so what will he say now when several cars were vandalized in the synagogue's parking lot yesterday afternoon, including the Rabbi's car. Where do these hoodlums come from? They come from the mouths of the supposed leaders who themselves spew hatred and while they do not smash windows - at least for now - they do encourage others to do so.
Hatred is a contagious disease. Those who spew it forth, who encourage it, should themselves be met by hatred - of their deeds, of their philosophy, of their imagined vision of a future country and political entity for this hatred knows no bounds, none at all. None are immune to it or from it or by it - and that means YOU. Think about it honestly. Look deep within yourself and face the truth. We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go and we can easily backslide. Do we really want to see the future plagued by hatred and fighting? These hobgoblins can indeed grow into giant proportions and that does not bode well for us, does it?
Friday, September 1, 2017
HUMANKIND - SO WHERE HAS THE HUMANITY GONE?
Dog eat dog world. Every man for himself. We have all heard those sayings and even have seen them in action. Yes, one can be forgiven in trying to push onto that last truck out, or getting out the door in a fire, as miserable as that seems, but, and a great big but, when have we turned into a land of people who eat others for breakfast, who forget that others are people too? It seems that we have suddenly burst out into tribes, and this tribal mentality is dangerous and lacking in humanity.
First we went after the illegal immigrants and there is some justification there if done properly. Preferably, immigration should be legal but if we are honest, we know that it is not always so and circumstances make it so. So we have those running away from fighting in native countries, from famine, from gang warfare, from subjugation because of gender or religion or orientation, and from plain old grabs for power that have gone ballistic.
If these illegals are guilty of crimes and by that I mean violent and/or major crimes, then by all means, deport them. However, being guilty of driving without a license because they cannot get one, or a taillight or one of these minor issues and the person is a productive member of society, with family, with a job, with a home, then what are we doing? Why are we throwing out contributing members of society?
And among those 'illegals' are the children, brought here as minors, some as tiny babies or toddlers, children of 7 and 12, coming with their parents, and they know no other country. All they know is America and they have the same dreams as legal children - school, job, a good and productive life. They are not, as Trump would have you believe, a bunch of crime ridden people so why now do we have the threat that Trump is going to cancel DACA. It is bad enough what else is going on, but this? And why, to show his ultra conservatives that he is still one of them?
Why have raids in the middle of so many disasters in the country, with hurricanes and floods and more on the way? Is this what we have come to, a police state that flourishes no matter the times and the events? When Germany was losing the war, at the very end, when military wisdom said use trucks and fuel and trains for the military, Hitler was insanely stuffing Jews and Gypsies ad other 'criminals' in those very vehicles, using that very same fuel in a mad race to annihilate them. Is that what we are doing in a lesser, though similar vein of thought? What else are we to think when we hear that Clarke, the bigot, the alleged murderer of babies in his jails, is resigning preparatory to taking a job in the Trump administration? Sickening.
Why do we hear of taxes being cut, huge and major cuts but for whom? For the corporations that already are sitting on $2 trillion dollars and they certainly are not spending that on new jobs are they? Why are we looking for other ways to make up that loss of income, looking for it in the pay of the working class and middle class, threatening to tax their 401 accounts. Why do we hear now that Trump is going to balance the budget on the backs of civil service workers and cut a slated pay increase? Why is he after deductions such as real estate when often this is the only deduction the person has to try to alleviate one's tax burden? Why is he and his trying to kick those who already are down?
Overtime pay, medical care, positions filled so questions can be answered and needs filled , all that and more is what we now have or do not have in a once upon a time government FOR the people. The swamp critters have moved in whole hog into the administration and humanity has gone out the door.
That same lack of humanity is seen in other areas as well. We have the riots, the threats to kill those with whom one disagrees, we have minorities bodily threatened, existential threats, and we have clear disregard for those in the electorate. Even here in CV we have David Israel trying to push thru measures and contracts that are emphatically not good for the electorate. He does so with full contempt for their intelligence as he feels he is always able to put one over on them. Todays' vote for the swap is just one example of it even as he disregards the vote of the delegates in the previous assembly to table it for a few months, until we have more delegates return.
But no, again he tries to cheat the villagers. Again Trump and crew try to destroy the values of America. Again we forget the people. Again we forget and forgo our humanity. Where has it gone and when has it turned so bad? It is frightening and bodes no good for the future. Time to make a firm stand. Time even to go out and do more than just stand there impotently as we are beaten down. Time to be forceful in our rejection of this lack of humanity. What and how? That is up to the people. But there are legal ways to do this. There are legal ways to gather and make our voices heard. There are legal ways in which we can raise our voices and wield our power. We just have to make use of them. POWER TO THE PEOPLE - AGAIN!
First we went after the illegal immigrants and there is some justification there if done properly. Preferably, immigration should be legal but if we are honest, we know that it is not always so and circumstances make it so. So we have those running away from fighting in native countries, from famine, from gang warfare, from subjugation because of gender or religion or orientation, and from plain old grabs for power that have gone ballistic.
If these illegals are guilty of crimes and by that I mean violent and/or major crimes, then by all means, deport them. However, being guilty of driving without a license because they cannot get one, or a taillight or one of these minor issues and the person is a productive member of society, with family, with a job, with a home, then what are we doing? Why are we throwing out contributing members of society?
And among those 'illegals' are the children, brought here as minors, some as tiny babies or toddlers, children of 7 and 12, coming with their parents, and they know no other country. All they know is America and they have the same dreams as legal children - school, job, a good and productive life. They are not, as Trump would have you believe, a bunch of crime ridden people so why now do we have the threat that Trump is going to cancel DACA. It is bad enough what else is going on, but this? And why, to show his ultra conservatives that he is still one of them?
Why have raids in the middle of so many disasters in the country, with hurricanes and floods and more on the way? Is this what we have come to, a police state that flourishes no matter the times and the events? When Germany was losing the war, at the very end, when military wisdom said use trucks and fuel and trains for the military, Hitler was insanely stuffing Jews and Gypsies ad other 'criminals' in those very vehicles, using that very same fuel in a mad race to annihilate them. Is that what we are doing in a lesser, though similar vein of thought? What else are we to think when we hear that Clarke, the bigot, the alleged murderer of babies in his jails, is resigning preparatory to taking a job in the Trump administration? Sickening.
Why do we hear of taxes being cut, huge and major cuts but for whom? For the corporations that already are sitting on $2 trillion dollars and they certainly are not spending that on new jobs are they? Why are we looking for other ways to make up that loss of income, looking for it in the pay of the working class and middle class, threatening to tax their 401 accounts. Why do we hear now that Trump is going to balance the budget on the backs of civil service workers and cut a slated pay increase? Why is he after deductions such as real estate when often this is the only deduction the person has to try to alleviate one's tax burden? Why is he and his trying to kick those who already are down?
Overtime pay, medical care, positions filled so questions can be answered and needs filled , all that and more is what we now have or do not have in a once upon a time government FOR the people. The swamp critters have moved in whole hog into the administration and humanity has gone out the door.
That same lack of humanity is seen in other areas as well. We have the riots, the threats to kill those with whom one disagrees, we have minorities bodily threatened, existential threats, and we have clear disregard for those in the electorate. Even here in CV we have David Israel trying to push thru measures and contracts that are emphatically not good for the electorate. He does so with full contempt for their intelligence as he feels he is always able to put one over on them. Todays' vote for the swap is just one example of it even as he disregards the vote of the delegates in the previous assembly to table it for a few months, until we have more delegates return.
But no, again he tries to cheat the villagers. Again Trump and crew try to destroy the values of America. Again we forget the people. Again we forget and forgo our humanity. Where has it gone and when has it turned so bad? It is frightening and bodes no good for the future. Time to make a firm stand. Time even to go out and do more than just stand there impotently as we are beaten down. Time to be forceful in our rejection of this lack of humanity. What and how? That is up to the people. But there are legal ways to do this. There are legal ways to gather and make our voices heard. There are legal ways in which we can raise our voices and wield our power. We just have to make use of them. POWER TO THE PEOPLE - AGAIN!
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