......where do things now stand? In a word or two, things stand in a bad, no...terrible, situation. The world has begun to cut itself off into separate paranoid pieces of territorry and we, the USA, have followed right along. The sad thing about this is that all this supposed isolation is useless, even worse, for it will give some people a false sense of security even as the virus runs rampant through civilization.
The virus is here. It is everywhere, doing as most new viruses or strains of one, do and is spreading into people who have no antibodies against it. Some die. In this case, the death rate is 3.4%. Is it rising? We will not know until more time passes. But we should recognize that all our desperate and hamster running the wheel kind of tactics will do nothing other than increase the tension and worry.
It is here. There is no way to contain it at this point. What needs to be done is to recognize the truth and take steps to handle the crisis, the same one that Trump has poo pooed from the beginning, always several steps behind.
We should have had a plan in place. We did not. We should have had a stockpile of N95 masks, gloves, gowns, beds, isolation facilities, wards awaiting patients, but we did not. We knew about this virus years ago according to scientists but funding was cut and I bet you cannot imagine by whom. We should be speaking the truth about this damned thing, but we are not. Hence the confusion and the angst that it gives rise to and the stupid steps taken to address the problem.
Contrary to Trump calling this a foreign virus, that is ridiculous. It is not a nefarious plot by some vague enemy of ours. They, too, are suffering. It is not a revenge attack by former or mistreated and angry allies. They, too, are suffering. It is what it is. It is a virus, one of the many now threatening to overwhelm humanity as we crunch the world of animals and humans together, far closer than it should be, and as a rsult - COVID-19 and other viruses that have hit us. There have been before this and there will be more after this. The point is that we should prepare, could have prepared, but as Trump cut the science funding, we truly began to deepen the slit in our own throats, the one we self inflicted. And still, even as Dr. Fauci spreads and speaks the truth, Trump continues on his blundering and ineffective path.
In a game of international dominoes, they are beginning to fall, toppling one against the other. Saudi Arabia has a demented power crazed Prince who has thrown yet another right hook into the chin of humanity. An oil war? Now? When demand is shrinking as the economy shrinks? As layoffs are beginning to spread, including right here in the USA? We knew this was coming and all the tantrums Trump throws, roaring that Mnuchin should basically bury Epstein and the Federal Reserve Board will not help as there are simply no jobs, no work for these people to do and down they go. And all the other related jobs, the stores, the restaurants, the car dealerships, the amusement centers- all these will go to as people will not have the funds for it. Collateral damage will be terrible.
Worried about a bear market? Worried about a Recession, even a Great one? Feh! We are beyond that, and I worry about a Depression. I remember the stories my parents told me of the hunger, the less than bare necessities that people had - or did not. They spoke of the depressed state of the people, the hopelessness, the fear,and truly, the only reason that economic depression ended was WWII. Do we need another war? Dang, but I hope not! But with this dude in office who the hell knows what the future holds for us.
I believe that I am past the frightened for myself stage. I will do the best I can to stay safe but I truly believe that is a hopeless task for unless one has a bubble suit and knows how to eat only uncontaminated foods and use safe items, well, here we all are in the same soup bowl. Ain't no one getting out of it safely, avoiding that spoon coming to get us. What needs to be done is to change the ones at the helm of the ship of state. We need to get this man out and replace him with some thinking people who can find other things to do rather than play golf on a day the whole mess goes spiral here in the country.
We need help. Period. From whence does that help come? From ourselves, from our own initiative. From our scientists. And as the verse goes, when we look for that help in a time of distress, as we raise our eyes, look up, we know that G-d will play a role here - in our belief, in our behavior, in our survival and it does not matter by what name we call G-d, for it is the same entity.
So my friends out there, be safe, be wise, be calm, try to get home and be with and treasure family, and support our scientists in this crisis and in others that will follow. Choose wiser leaders. If we plan better for the next one there will be no need to panic, to carve the world up into pieces, no threat of turning into a Mad Max world. Be of courage. Have spirit and hope. And wash those hands!
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
??????????????????????????????????????????????
That row of question marks appears to be the response to other questions. What the hell is going on here? Everywhere? Is there a chain, a relationship, between events that would help explain the whole mess, the confluence of so many things happening at the same time with the same feeling of helplessness as a response, albeit as truly a non responsive answer as one can get!
Look around at the world. Look around at the country. See the response, or lack thereof, to the whole coronavirus mess. We appear to have regressed to the Middle Ages and the Black Plague, as helpless in the grip of COVID-19 as the world was then. But there is no excuse for this situation, none at all, other than incompetence, unpreparedness in the face of something we knew was coming down the pike, and sheer stupidity and selfishness.
For several years before 2016 a selfish mantra took over the world. Individuals chased those dollars and euros as if there was nothing else worthwhile. College education became more and more out of the reach of middle class, for there was not sufficient income in their household but too much for a needs scholarship, and the costs, the lifelong loan burden was just too much, leaving so many of our young saddled for life with a life damaging debt.
Society began to crack, in all countries. The wealthy often became the uber wealthy, drawing away from the rest of society. They built huge homes all the while more and more people became homeless, unable to afford the purchase price or even the rent. Feasting in posh restaurants, all the while so many in the world, including right here in America went hungry, trying to ignore the cries of children and their own empty stomachs.
A layer of callousness grew over society and then along came an authoritarian wannabe who achieved his goal via dirty tricks, appeals to the base of society, and to GOP members who wished to see a different society, one that would retrogress to pre modern times, no women's rights, no voting security, no assurance of a government that looked out for its people rather than for the fatcats. The world, particularly the USA under Trump, ignored the harm we were inflicting on our planet, existential harm, and regulations were overturned. Even when the world realized some of this, and in no little part thanks to a 16 year old who was then attacked by our schoolyard bully, Trump, our country remained in the world of troglodytes, seeing and wanting and doing only what was good for these selfish fatcats and these whimpering despicable GOP Congressmen and women and Senators. Even the courts of the country were affected, perverted, with the wrong people.
Even as we ignored science, the obvious evidence of a clear and present danger within our biological world as well as the economic one, there were other plans in store for us. We should have been prepared for we knew there would be, sooner rather than later, a pandemic, but it cost money to figure out defenses. It took a belief in science which would affect the wallets of the fatcats as they raped the earth in their greed, and that orange person in the WH just loved it.
So ignore it we did, and here we are, with a virus that is threatening the world, crashing markets, rending apart transportation, commerce and distribution paths. Why? Because we sat on our thumbs and rotated, and the result? Well, where are you? Like me, cancelling flights? Sitting home as events are cancelled? Worried for the future - and what that future will be?Cursing the authorites who did worse than nothing, actually encouraging this to happen with and by their neglect, their no planning rather than even poor planning. And then we hear how the sniveling cowardly Republicans go ahead and test themselves even with no signs! Over people who are awaiting testing but there are no tests available?!!!
For today, we have a contest of two geriatric individuals, both with weakened minds, albeit I am not sure if the Demented One ever had a working and competent mind and for sure, he has no empathy with anyone or anything other than himself and his economic wellbeing. He even goes so far as to pervert science, insisting on his version rather than on the truth. The truth in anything is anathema to him. And what the heck does he think he is doing wearing that stupid red hat with a political slogan, even as he is supposed to be acting as a President of the entire country?!!!
Lots of questions and even some explanatory answers, but seemingly no answers that will get us out of a rising crisis, a dangerous crisis. The only help left is one that moderate Republicans are realizing and they join in voting with the Democrats who cannot tolerate any more of this man, but is it enough and in time? For that I have no assurances at all. Let us hope we get Biden in - should he make it through the virus issue safely, and have a good VP running mate, a woman, a bright and competent and strong woman. For me, that is Klobuchar, but I would agree with Kamala Harris as well for the job.
Questions, questions, questions, but answers, answers that will solve the problem? For that I only have one - get rid of Trump and his coterie of fellow creeps and then let us start rebuilding our country the right way, return a safety net, regulate the environment, the waters, the air, the earth beneath our feet. Spend funds here and not on a ridiculous Space Force which resembles Star Trek! This is not a game we are living in; it is real life. No matter how many red hats the man wears, no matter how much hatred he gins up, no matter how he lies about his knowledge, his capabilities, his genius, we all know the truth. So.....final answer?
VOTE HIM OUT!!!!
Look around at the world. Look around at the country. See the response, or lack thereof, to the whole coronavirus mess. We appear to have regressed to the Middle Ages and the Black Plague, as helpless in the grip of COVID-19 as the world was then. But there is no excuse for this situation, none at all, other than incompetence, unpreparedness in the face of something we knew was coming down the pike, and sheer stupidity and selfishness.
For several years before 2016 a selfish mantra took over the world. Individuals chased those dollars and euros as if there was nothing else worthwhile. College education became more and more out of the reach of middle class, for there was not sufficient income in their household but too much for a needs scholarship, and the costs, the lifelong loan burden was just too much, leaving so many of our young saddled for life with a life damaging debt.
Society began to crack, in all countries. The wealthy often became the uber wealthy, drawing away from the rest of society. They built huge homes all the while more and more people became homeless, unable to afford the purchase price or even the rent. Feasting in posh restaurants, all the while so many in the world, including right here in America went hungry, trying to ignore the cries of children and their own empty stomachs.
A layer of callousness grew over society and then along came an authoritarian wannabe who achieved his goal via dirty tricks, appeals to the base of society, and to GOP members who wished to see a different society, one that would retrogress to pre modern times, no women's rights, no voting security, no assurance of a government that looked out for its people rather than for the fatcats. The world, particularly the USA under Trump, ignored the harm we were inflicting on our planet, existential harm, and regulations were overturned. Even when the world realized some of this, and in no little part thanks to a 16 year old who was then attacked by our schoolyard bully, Trump, our country remained in the world of troglodytes, seeing and wanting and doing only what was good for these selfish fatcats and these whimpering despicable GOP Congressmen and women and Senators. Even the courts of the country were affected, perverted, with the wrong people.
Even as we ignored science, the obvious evidence of a clear and present danger within our biological world as well as the economic one, there were other plans in store for us. We should have been prepared for we knew there would be, sooner rather than later, a pandemic, but it cost money to figure out defenses. It took a belief in science which would affect the wallets of the fatcats as they raped the earth in their greed, and that orange person in the WH just loved it.
So ignore it we did, and here we are, with a virus that is threatening the world, crashing markets, rending apart transportation, commerce and distribution paths. Why? Because we sat on our thumbs and rotated, and the result? Well, where are you? Like me, cancelling flights? Sitting home as events are cancelled? Worried for the future - and what that future will be?Cursing the authorites who did worse than nothing, actually encouraging this to happen with and by their neglect, their no planning rather than even poor planning. And then we hear how the sniveling cowardly Republicans go ahead and test themselves even with no signs! Over people who are awaiting testing but there are no tests available?!!!
For today, we have a contest of two geriatric individuals, both with weakened minds, albeit I am not sure if the Demented One ever had a working and competent mind and for sure, he has no empathy with anyone or anything other than himself and his economic wellbeing. He even goes so far as to pervert science, insisting on his version rather than on the truth. The truth in anything is anathema to him. And what the heck does he think he is doing wearing that stupid red hat with a political slogan, even as he is supposed to be acting as a President of the entire country?!!!
Lots of questions and even some explanatory answers, but seemingly no answers that will get us out of a rising crisis, a dangerous crisis. The only help left is one that moderate Republicans are realizing and they join in voting with the Democrats who cannot tolerate any more of this man, but is it enough and in time? For that I have no assurances at all. Let us hope we get Biden in - should he make it through the virus issue safely, and have a good VP running mate, a woman, a bright and competent and strong woman. For me, that is Klobuchar, but I would agree with Kamala Harris as well for the job.
Questions, questions, questions, but answers, answers that will solve the problem? For that I only have one - get rid of Trump and his coterie of fellow creeps and then let us start rebuilding our country the right way, return a safety net, regulate the environment, the waters, the air, the earth beneath our feet. Spend funds here and not on a ridiculous Space Force which resembles Star Trek! This is not a game we are living in; it is real life. No matter how many red hats the man wears, no matter how much hatred he gins up, no matter how he lies about his knowledge, his capabilities, his genius, we all know the truth. So.....final answer?
VOTE HIM OUT!!!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH .....ALL......TODAY?
It seems almost from the beginning of recorded time that parents have had it out for their offspring. There was the famous quote from Egypt that sounded as if written for a modern day magazine. Teens have often rejected, at least for a time, the lifestyles of parents, of accepted and acceptable society and so it has continued through today - and into the future - should there be one!
Everyone needs to feel some bit of control over their own lives and will respond accordingly to their perception of that independence. With the problems of today's world there has been a lessening of that independence and a subsequent alienation and even hostility towards society and its rules. That alienation, hostility, however, is often emanating today from adults who feel disenfranchised, even damaged, by society, all leading to the danger of anomie, of anarchy, of a decided hostility that leads in turn to a search for, if not independence, than someone, something, that will lead them somewhere, often not a very good place, all in the name of security in troubling chaotic times. Such are the times of today.
When one has leaders who should not be leading, there is trouble. When one has a sub level with no moral or even physical courage to withstand the ruin, the evil, of those above them, well, then we have a society in trouble. Such is what we have today, but there is a light now, at least one light, and perhaps this light can inspire others to hoist their pants, find their voices and morality, and speak out against the evil we now have in that White House, now so deeply stained by the derangement lurking inside and forever leaking out into the world at large.
A mayor in Michigan, on the eve of the primary, spoke out. He now looks towards the defeat of Trump, stating that he would vote for Biden because Trump is "deranged". Hallelujah!!!Now if the committee of Republicans who are also speaking out about Trump's outrageous behavior and speech joins together, well, there is a hope for positive change for us. That is, if we have a new President who will work with others, who will reinforce strengths, shore up weaknesses, who will choose a strong VP candidate so as to reassure the country that should anything happen to the President in these turbulent times, there will be a good alternate waiting in the wings. Gruesome thought? Perhaps, but a necessary one, when the candidates on all sides are almost as old as Methusaleh!!
We can combat the ruthlessness of a Putin who will do anything to weaken the States even as his BFF fawns all over him. The economy has severe cracks going deep into the heart of it and society. The market explodes in the wrong direction and each temporary upsurge is followed by a deeper cratering. The confidence in and of society is dropping with each blow. It is a dangerous time for us, the country and the world.
But there is hope. The mayor in Michigan. The votes of educated white women in the suburbs. The votes of people of color for Biden, for a Democrat, rejecting the old poison of prejudice and hatred. The auto salesman who remembers his own homeless days and provides a safe shelter at night for people to come and sleep in their cars, not worry about people chasing them away or worse. The insistence on helping others, on facing up to reality, the voices of Democrats in the House and Senate who feel for the people, who vote for the people.
Full disclosure, I would vote for a Republican if he/she were the right choice, but at present the GOP has abdicated any right to claim decency, caring, concern for the little people, anything, in fact, other than their deranged support of their demented, ignorant, egotistical, sociopathic and oh so dangerous President.
So what's the matter with people today? Nothing that a wakeup call cannot restart. Nothing that clear thinking will not help. Nothing is permanent yet, though it is amazing - and demoralizing - to go back over these past four years and understand the permanent harm that Trump has done to us as Americans, as citizens of the world.
Robin Williams shouted, " Goood moooorning, America!". Time to wake us up again. Someone. Anyone. Perhaps a copying of the Mexican example and have a day without women so that benighted men, the cowards of American society, will realize our importance. Perhaps a scenario of what our future could be, should be if we continue on this path. Something. Anything, but time to wake up America!!!! It is well past morning time, closer to sunset, and the sun is waning.
Everyone needs to feel some bit of control over their own lives and will respond accordingly to their perception of that independence. With the problems of today's world there has been a lessening of that independence and a subsequent alienation and even hostility towards society and its rules. That alienation, hostility, however, is often emanating today from adults who feel disenfranchised, even damaged, by society, all leading to the danger of anomie, of anarchy, of a decided hostility that leads in turn to a search for, if not independence, than someone, something, that will lead them somewhere, often not a very good place, all in the name of security in troubling chaotic times. Such are the times of today.
When one has leaders who should not be leading, there is trouble. When one has a sub level with no moral or even physical courage to withstand the ruin, the evil, of those above them, well, then we have a society in trouble. Such is what we have today, but there is a light now, at least one light, and perhaps this light can inspire others to hoist their pants, find their voices and morality, and speak out against the evil we now have in that White House, now so deeply stained by the derangement lurking inside and forever leaking out into the world at large.
A mayor in Michigan, on the eve of the primary, spoke out. He now looks towards the defeat of Trump, stating that he would vote for Biden because Trump is "deranged". Hallelujah!!!Now if the committee of Republicans who are also speaking out about Trump's outrageous behavior and speech joins together, well, there is a hope for positive change for us. That is, if we have a new President who will work with others, who will reinforce strengths, shore up weaknesses, who will choose a strong VP candidate so as to reassure the country that should anything happen to the President in these turbulent times, there will be a good alternate waiting in the wings. Gruesome thought? Perhaps, but a necessary one, when the candidates on all sides are almost as old as Methusaleh!!
We can combat the ruthlessness of a Putin who will do anything to weaken the States even as his BFF fawns all over him. The economy has severe cracks going deep into the heart of it and society. The market explodes in the wrong direction and each temporary upsurge is followed by a deeper cratering. The confidence in and of society is dropping with each blow. It is a dangerous time for us, the country and the world.
But there is hope. The mayor in Michigan. The votes of educated white women in the suburbs. The votes of people of color for Biden, for a Democrat, rejecting the old poison of prejudice and hatred. The auto salesman who remembers his own homeless days and provides a safe shelter at night for people to come and sleep in their cars, not worry about people chasing them away or worse. The insistence on helping others, on facing up to reality, the voices of Democrats in the House and Senate who feel for the people, who vote for the people.
Full disclosure, I would vote for a Republican if he/she were the right choice, but at present the GOP has abdicated any right to claim decency, caring, concern for the little people, anything, in fact, other than their deranged support of their demented, ignorant, egotistical, sociopathic and oh so dangerous President.
So what's the matter with people today? Nothing that a wakeup call cannot restart. Nothing that clear thinking will not help. Nothing is permanent yet, though it is amazing - and demoralizing - to go back over these past four years and understand the permanent harm that Trump has done to us as Americans, as citizens of the world.
Robin Williams shouted, " Goood moooorning, America!". Time to wake us up again. Someone. Anyone. Perhaps a copying of the Mexican example and have a day without women so that benighted men, the cowards of American society, will realize our importance. Perhaps a scenario of what our future could be, should be if we continue on this path. Something. Anything, but time to wake up America!!!! It is well past morning time, closer to sunset, and the sun is waning.
Monday, March 9, 2020
WAR WAR? WAR!
We have been at war now for the longest period of time ever. In fact, we are beginning to rival European history with their Hundred Years War or Thirty Years War. And in all cases, nothing was ever fixed in a permanent and satisfsctory manner and wars continued, possibly taking a break of a few years or so. WWI actually never really ended and all the years afterwards merely led to WWII and then post war issues.
The nations of the world then took to boasting that there were no more wars, but actually, that was a lie. NO!!!! YES!!!! The major powers might not have fought openly after the Korean War, but fight they did through proxies, through violent machinations, through spies, through encouragement of global unrest.
Then, of course, we had the explosive global growth of terrorism, so much so that we named it The War Against Terrorism. Not much success there either if we take a look around the world and see the kidnappings, the raids, the horrific mass murders, the expulsions of people from nations, mass arrests,and just keep on going. No, war, has never stopped, blind as we might be, looking away, turning away, so the voices that echo with pain, with bewilderment, with grief are simply not heard.
Now, now we here in America have created our own horrific and terrifying war. No, there is no physical shooting - although there have definitely been shootings, but even so, let us keep that in the realm of terrorism right now, blending into the war we are now having.
So what war is that, exactly? It is the war that apparently has been declared on the part of what used to be the GOP, a political opponent of the Democratic Party, but nevertheless, all Americans engaged in the hearty pursuit of political rivalries and policies. So what is the difference now, one might ask? They are still rivals, yes? Oh, yes, they are, but with a dangerous distinction. They appear to be rivals in the stadiums and arenas of ancient Rome, tearing at each other, planning campaigns to "crush" them, practicing martial routines and plans, sending out spies as if the Democrats were the Enemy! We have only to say there but for the grace of G-d, for the GOP appears to have gone nuts! Off the deep end.
Led by their self described "stable genius" - not so far off, as he is as dumb as an ass and belongs in that proverbial stable - this further self described "savant" continues to wreak havoc, spout lies and more lies, until there is a never ending stream of them, permanently pouring forth from that twisted mind and mouth. Abetted by sub generals such as McConnell who plans his attacks well, who marshals the forces of other ignorant and dangerously incompetent and biased judge appointees, who blocks the literally hundreds of bill for the country that the Hou]use passed, but the GOP refused to attend to, spending their time, energies and megabucks on attacking the Democrats as if they were, indeed are, the Enemy.
The cannon fodder are recruited at his rallies, shaped to rouse the masses, to rile them up until they act as a mob, a truly frightening senario. Mobs tend to stop thinking and only roar for blood. That is seen in their chants, from locking people up to worse. Then their puppeteers further manipulate them through social media. Take the supposed incident of Biden endorsing Trump, making him look senile. But wait. The meme left out the rest of the sentence which said that Trump would be relected unless we run a positive campaign. Hmmm, disinformation a la Russia, and no wonder, since they were invited in last time and then stayed, stinking like unwanted guests and three day old fish.
This disgusting reek has now attached itself to the GOP. It appears that they have forgotten that we are all Americans, no matter the political viewpoint, the competition. Instead, they have suborned perjury, lies, underhanded and illegal manipulations, corrupted appointees until the mass of them are working for him and themselves,rather than for the people.Typical autocratic behavior from the top down, not an American trait or value.
So yes, we are at war, one declared by the GOP on the rest of America. The judiciary has been infiltrated and corrupted The legislative branch has sunk to a yesman department, a toothless tiger, while the executive branch is too damn close to a total autocracy for my comfort and for the comfort of any true American. But at least there is a silver lining. Cruz and Gosar are entering self quarantine due to exposure at a extreme right wing gathering. Ha! Something turned around and bit them in the ass, for if the GOP and its head, Trump, had tackled the problem of COVID-19 properly, we would not be in this awful threatening mess. Goes around and all that!
So yes, we are at war, like it or not. Trump et al have turned this campaign into a bloodbath and I am truly perturbed about the future should G-d forbid this man and his ilk be returnend to the White House. I fear that the war will have been lost before people were even aware of it, and democracy will be no more. The media is already under severe attack. Lies are now accepted as the truth. People have been brainwashed, acknowledge his gross errors and flaws, yet make excuses for him, accepting from him that which they personally would never countenance. Truly, we are under siege with one side using each and every, all, tactics they can dredge up. The enemy? US!!!!!
War has been declared. We were just not aware of it. The enemy pulled a stealth march and attack as we stayed behind our own faulty Maginot line. Now we need to come from behind. Will we? I truly hope and pray that we do. So should you.
The nations of the world then took to boasting that there were no more wars, but actually, that was a lie. NO!!!! YES!!!! The major powers might not have fought openly after the Korean War, but fight they did through proxies, through violent machinations, through spies, through encouragement of global unrest.
Then, of course, we had the explosive global growth of terrorism, so much so that we named it The War Against Terrorism. Not much success there either if we take a look around the world and see the kidnappings, the raids, the horrific mass murders, the expulsions of people from nations, mass arrests,and just keep on going. No, war, has never stopped, blind as we might be, looking away, turning away, so the voices that echo with pain, with bewilderment, with grief are simply not heard.
Now, now we here in America have created our own horrific and terrifying war. No, there is no physical shooting - although there have definitely been shootings, but even so, let us keep that in the realm of terrorism right now, blending into the war we are now having.
So what war is that, exactly? It is the war that apparently has been declared on the part of what used to be the GOP, a political opponent of the Democratic Party, but nevertheless, all Americans engaged in the hearty pursuit of political rivalries and policies. So what is the difference now, one might ask? They are still rivals, yes? Oh, yes, they are, but with a dangerous distinction. They appear to be rivals in the stadiums and arenas of ancient Rome, tearing at each other, planning campaigns to "crush" them, practicing martial routines and plans, sending out spies as if the Democrats were the Enemy! We have only to say there but for the grace of G-d, for the GOP appears to have gone nuts! Off the deep end.
Led by their self described "stable genius" - not so far off, as he is as dumb as an ass and belongs in that proverbial stable - this further self described "savant" continues to wreak havoc, spout lies and more lies, until there is a never ending stream of them, permanently pouring forth from that twisted mind and mouth. Abetted by sub generals such as McConnell who plans his attacks well, who marshals the forces of other ignorant and dangerously incompetent and biased judge appointees, who blocks the literally hundreds of bill for the country that the Hou]use passed, but the GOP refused to attend to, spending their time, energies and megabucks on attacking the Democrats as if they were, indeed are, the Enemy.
The cannon fodder are recruited at his rallies, shaped to rouse the masses, to rile them up until they act as a mob, a truly frightening senario. Mobs tend to stop thinking and only roar for blood. That is seen in their chants, from locking people up to worse. Then their puppeteers further manipulate them through social media. Take the supposed incident of Biden endorsing Trump, making him look senile. But wait. The meme left out the rest of the sentence which said that Trump would be relected unless we run a positive campaign. Hmmm, disinformation a la Russia, and no wonder, since they were invited in last time and then stayed, stinking like unwanted guests and three day old fish.
This disgusting reek has now attached itself to the GOP. It appears that they have forgotten that we are all Americans, no matter the political viewpoint, the competition. Instead, they have suborned perjury, lies, underhanded and illegal manipulations, corrupted appointees until the mass of them are working for him and themselves,rather than for the people.Typical autocratic behavior from the top down, not an American trait or value.
So yes, we are at war, one declared by the GOP on the rest of America. The judiciary has been infiltrated and corrupted The legislative branch has sunk to a yesman department, a toothless tiger, while the executive branch is too damn close to a total autocracy for my comfort and for the comfort of any true American. But at least there is a silver lining. Cruz and Gosar are entering self quarantine due to exposure at a extreme right wing gathering. Ha! Something turned around and bit them in the ass, for if the GOP and its head, Trump, had tackled the problem of COVID-19 properly, we would not be in this awful threatening mess. Goes around and all that!
So yes, we are at war, like it or not. Trump et al have turned this campaign into a bloodbath and I am truly perturbed about the future should G-d forbid this man and his ilk be returnend to the White House. I fear that the war will have been lost before people were even aware of it, and democracy will be no more. The media is already under severe attack. Lies are now accepted as the truth. People have been brainwashed, acknowledge his gross errors and flaws, yet make excuses for him, accepting from him that which they personally would never countenance. Truly, we are under siege with one side using each and every, all, tactics they can dredge up. The enemy? US!!!!!
War has been declared. We were just not aware of it. The enemy pulled a stealth march and attack as we stayed behind our own faulty Maginot line. Now we need to come from behind. Will we? I truly hope and pray that we do. So should you.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
NIGHT
"Stars, hide your fires;
Let not night see my black and deep desires."
Shakespeare, Macbeth
How often do we think that we need to shed a little light on the subject at hand or conversely, try to hide it within the darkness of night, of obfuscation? We think we might have gained a victory or even hidden a disaster, but the stars, be it daylight or nightime, in whatever form necessary, generally expose all deeds, and as oft stated - the truth will out.
The unfortunate thing about this, darkness, truth, exposure, is that we often think we will never be exposed; we can continue on treading the wrong path, confuse all and win the game. But life is not a game and roads must be chosen and trodden very carefully. Unfortunately, lately, and perhaps more correctly, for quite some time, we have chosen the wrong roads and never looked back at the detritus we have left behind or even seen it and ignored it. We have allowed the darkness of night to cover all, not the softness of a darkness but a harsh and coarse darkness, an enemy to goodness and light rather than a friend to mankind.
Consequently, we are struggling in an ever darkening world. We have been hit on all sides with disasters, both manmade or driven and of Nature. We are wallowing in a swamp of confusion for it appears to be that no one among our supposed leaders, or those who have presented themselves as such, have the slightest inkling as to how to proceed, and the worst of all these leaders? Yup.Got it in one - Trump.
It seems right now that the disaster of the moment is coronavirus or COVID-19, a virus with at present a 3.4% death rate, quite a large number, especially when one figures out the huge masses affected by this virus in record time. It is a wave that is sweeping the globe, frightening all. Leaders were confused, but at least some had plans and spoke the truth, recognized the truth and are taking harsh, but necessary steps to try to at least hinder the spread, give mankind time to find a vaccine or even proper treatment for it.
But while Italy locks down its North, its economic engine, a drastic step, it is the right step, for Italy is inundated. Contrast that to the American response, or rather the lack of response as that Demented One speaks out of the wrong side of his body and tells lie after lie, one ignorant, poisonous statement after another. It means nothing. It will blow over. By April it will be gone. There will be a vaccine in two weeks. There are enough tests out there and our health system and professionals are ready. Only a few are affected and they are getting better. All this as we stand at the threshold of a major health disaster. We cannot even seem to get it right with cruise ships. The answer right now, harsh as it might be, is to shut down the cruise ships. Period. Until we have some answers. And Pence going around trying to cover up for his boss, stumbling almost as inelegantly, is of no use. None whatsoever.
I recently read a novel which included descriptions of sociopaths and psychopaths. Full disclosure, I truly could not see the major definitive difference between them, but they are both rotten to the core and certainly not good leaders to follow. And yet, what do we have?
"Lack of conscience manifests in their absence of attachments to other people." (psychopaths)
"A sociopath's primary defense is omnipotent control....wielding power."
Now, folks, tell me who that reminds you of? I will let you guess, but all this quest for power by this man, his cyberbullying, despite his wife's 'vaunted' Be Best program, his name calling, his trashing of people left and right and inbetween, his lack of concern for any and all other than himself, and his drive to maintain and grow his power - well, this is night, the darkening of the fires of the sky, the waning power of the stars to disclose all.
The truth is the truth and plans must be laid, put into action if we are to remain viable as a people and a nation. Meanwhile, we live in a vague world of know nothing leaders who care naught for the people they are presumed to be serving.
It is a dangerous world, one where we are left with no answers and no one who cares to give us any in the first place. So we bumble along and ask ourselves if we should fly, go to another city, take that vacation, live - or huddle in close and closed quarters, hoping and praying that this will be better, some day, hopefully soon. And in front of my eyes I see the closing scene of that series about dinosaurs where the family huddles together, shivering, as the weather turns frigid and there appears to be no end other than oblivion for dinosaurs, all the while as they repeat to themselves that it will end, it has to end.
Well, folks, nothing ever has to end unless it is brought to an end. We appear to be at a loss to bring anything to an end other than our decency, our trust and confidence in government and simply the use of brain power to handle a crisis. Why, at this point in time,when the virus appears to be spread by cruise pasengers, people who fly, people with some money, are we throwing all our resources into catching illegals who have been living here, contributing here, for years? It does not make sense. None at all. And yet, there we are.
And where will we be in a month? In a year? Wonder what the odds are as played by the English betting system or the Vegas odds setters?
Meanwhile, laughter always helps so here is one laugh. Apparently, Halle Berry and Sarah Palin are distant relatives. When asked about that, Halle Berry responded thusly:"She may be on the tree, but she 'AINT invited to the cookout."
Perhaps we all need to go over our guest list, our nation's list as to whom they invite to cookouts and then send them elsewhere. Trump could go back to his gilt laden hotels, all the better to go bankrupt again, financially, that is, for he is and has been morally bankrupt for quite some time already. Time for the likes of all those whimpering GOP Senators to go home and do their own grilling. But no more cookouts on our backs. And let us demand some proper leadership and guidance. NOW! Time for the stars to emit their beautiful fire. Time for night to end and daylight, day, clear and bright, to come forth once more.
Let not night see my black and deep desires."
Shakespeare, Macbeth
How often do we think that we need to shed a little light on the subject at hand or conversely, try to hide it within the darkness of night, of obfuscation? We think we might have gained a victory or even hidden a disaster, but the stars, be it daylight or nightime, in whatever form necessary, generally expose all deeds, and as oft stated - the truth will out.
The unfortunate thing about this, darkness, truth, exposure, is that we often think we will never be exposed; we can continue on treading the wrong path, confuse all and win the game. But life is not a game and roads must be chosen and trodden very carefully. Unfortunately, lately, and perhaps more correctly, for quite some time, we have chosen the wrong roads and never looked back at the detritus we have left behind or even seen it and ignored it. We have allowed the darkness of night to cover all, not the softness of a darkness but a harsh and coarse darkness, an enemy to goodness and light rather than a friend to mankind.
Consequently, we are struggling in an ever darkening world. We have been hit on all sides with disasters, both manmade or driven and of Nature. We are wallowing in a swamp of confusion for it appears to be that no one among our supposed leaders, or those who have presented themselves as such, have the slightest inkling as to how to proceed, and the worst of all these leaders? Yup.Got it in one - Trump.
It seems right now that the disaster of the moment is coronavirus or COVID-19, a virus with at present a 3.4% death rate, quite a large number, especially when one figures out the huge masses affected by this virus in record time. It is a wave that is sweeping the globe, frightening all. Leaders were confused, but at least some had plans and spoke the truth, recognized the truth and are taking harsh, but necessary steps to try to at least hinder the spread, give mankind time to find a vaccine or even proper treatment for it.
But while Italy locks down its North, its economic engine, a drastic step, it is the right step, for Italy is inundated. Contrast that to the American response, or rather the lack of response as that Demented One speaks out of the wrong side of his body and tells lie after lie, one ignorant, poisonous statement after another. It means nothing. It will blow over. By April it will be gone. There will be a vaccine in two weeks. There are enough tests out there and our health system and professionals are ready. Only a few are affected and they are getting better. All this as we stand at the threshold of a major health disaster. We cannot even seem to get it right with cruise ships. The answer right now, harsh as it might be, is to shut down the cruise ships. Period. Until we have some answers. And Pence going around trying to cover up for his boss, stumbling almost as inelegantly, is of no use. None whatsoever.
I recently read a novel which included descriptions of sociopaths and psychopaths. Full disclosure, I truly could not see the major definitive difference between them, but they are both rotten to the core and certainly not good leaders to follow. And yet, what do we have?
"Lack of conscience manifests in their absence of attachments to other people." (psychopaths)
"A sociopath's primary defense is omnipotent control....wielding power."
Now, folks, tell me who that reminds you of? I will let you guess, but all this quest for power by this man, his cyberbullying, despite his wife's 'vaunted' Be Best program, his name calling, his trashing of people left and right and inbetween, his lack of concern for any and all other than himself, and his drive to maintain and grow his power - well, this is night, the darkening of the fires of the sky, the waning power of the stars to disclose all.
The truth is the truth and plans must be laid, put into action if we are to remain viable as a people and a nation. Meanwhile, we live in a vague world of know nothing leaders who care naught for the people they are presumed to be serving.
It is a dangerous world, one where we are left with no answers and no one who cares to give us any in the first place. So we bumble along and ask ourselves if we should fly, go to another city, take that vacation, live - or huddle in close and closed quarters, hoping and praying that this will be better, some day, hopefully soon. And in front of my eyes I see the closing scene of that series about dinosaurs where the family huddles together, shivering, as the weather turns frigid and there appears to be no end other than oblivion for dinosaurs, all the while as they repeat to themselves that it will end, it has to end.
Well, folks, nothing ever has to end unless it is brought to an end. We appear to be at a loss to bring anything to an end other than our decency, our trust and confidence in government and simply the use of brain power to handle a crisis. Why, at this point in time,when the virus appears to be spread by cruise pasengers, people who fly, people with some money, are we throwing all our resources into catching illegals who have been living here, contributing here, for years? It does not make sense. None at all. And yet, there we are.
And where will we be in a month? In a year? Wonder what the odds are as played by the English betting system or the Vegas odds setters?
Meanwhile, laughter always helps so here is one laugh. Apparently, Halle Berry and Sarah Palin are distant relatives. When asked about that, Halle Berry responded thusly:"She may be on the tree, but she 'AINT invited to the cookout."
Perhaps we all need to go over our guest list, our nation's list as to whom they invite to cookouts and then send them elsewhere. Trump could go back to his gilt laden hotels, all the better to go bankrupt again, financially, that is, for he is and has been morally bankrupt for quite some time already. Time for the likes of all those whimpering GOP Senators to go home and do their own grilling. But no more cookouts on our backs. And let us demand some proper leadership and guidance. NOW! Time for the stars to emit their beautiful fire. Time for night to end and daylight, day, clear and bright, to come forth once more.
Friday, March 6, 2020
SHALL WE DANCE, ONE - TWO - THREE
Yul Brinner played the King of Siam in the unforgettable The King and I and it was my great privilege to see him in that role in his last shows before his death. He was a man looking for truth, looking for answers, not knowing the questions, trying to meld his traditional world and the new world, the 'scientific' world that he knew his country needed to enter. Dancing with Anna was one of the most emotional moments of the presentation.
Dancing. Yesterday, rummaging in a drawer, I found a shirt evidently bought at a concert of Aztec Two Step, a favorite duo of mine. No memory of buying it but there it was, with the slogan, "We are dancers all".That sentence ran through my head all day like the proverbial worm of the mind. I thought about it and the dances we all do as we dance through life, sometimes in tune, in step and at other times badly misstepping, tripping on our own two feet and killing the toes of our partners. Worse, sometimes we never apologized, while at other times the apologies were not enough, not accepted.
Recently, we have all been dancing at a long and tiring dance of candidates. What a miserable dance. Shame on us that our lack of learning to dance has affected us so enormously at this late time in life. After a most diverse slate of hopefuls we are down to three old men. Two will face off for Democratic candidate, and the other, the sadly broken man-child of the Republicans, will be the opponent. For President!
Shame on us that the record breaking election of a black man for President did not lead to a woman as President. Yes, you are right, Hillary won her election with a majority of popular votes, the way we know all elections are supposed to be won or lost. Evidently, though, we are still using the antiquated Electoral College and hence, the Demented One now in office. Hence the troubles of the country and the world. Hence our severe unreadiness for a pandemic, or at a minimum a severe epidemic nationwide. Instead, for comfort and advice we get an ignoramus who speaks of politization of a virus, a wish for "millions to die" - from his mouth - so we know who is actually thinking those thoughts, lies about numbers of ailing, dead, readiness of testing and quarantine facilities, and the market not just tanks, it has crashed down to the basement with all the sub basement floors ready and waiting.The dances will be sadly and greatly impacted as seniors gather for final dances through life. No counting off one- two- three- as they pick up a rhythm, for the rhythm is jangly, atonal, and ear splitting.
The sanest candidate was a woman, Klobuchar. The one with the most plans and not shooting from the hip, was a woman, Warren. But here we are again. Back at the ranch with the three caballeros whose retirement time has long come ago. What is the matter with us that we keep on choosing orchestras and band leaders who have no rhythm, who cannot catch a tune for their lives, whose feet are periodically still being inserted in their mouths in bad cases of foot and mouth disease! We have not time for this, being inundated with blaring instruments, shouting rappers, slow dancers just off that one note, and so many left feet that we wonder how some are still standing!
Nor are the wallflowers any help at all. In fact, they add to the disharmony, to the clashing of not only feet, but souls. They harm and damage badly the spirit of The King and I and we, the people of the country, are left standing there around the dance floor, unable to participate, only root for someone, anyone, who can get us out of this arhythmic world. Sad dancers we all are indeed.
So now, under bad circumstances, we must pick a partner for not just the next four years, but for many years and decades to follow if our world is to stand the tests of time and new musical notes. We actually have no choice, do we? With Sanders and Biden left, the only choice is Biden with preferably a talented and capable woman as VP, such as Klobuchar, steady, waiting in the wings, ready to step up to pick up the tune right in step and in rhythm. Trump is a never, never, never again. He is the worst partner ever, in fact, not actually a partner at all, for he dances to his own bizarre music heard only within his fractured mind, and his feet are stomping, have stomped, and will continue to stomp all over our country, its traditions, its Constitutional government, over decency andgoodness, trashing the dance floor all the while until it will collapse under out feet as well.
We are dancers all. Dancing can be learned, improved and music has always been a calming factor in life. Shakespeare knew that as music was used to calm Caliban in The Tempest. We appear to have many Calibans, uncivilized creatures who care naught for anyone other than themselves and their reaching and achieving more power and a fatter wallet. Please! Please! Let us choose our dancing partners more carefully, as well as the music for dancing. It is our last possibility of sanity and rescue.
For those of you voting today in CV for UCO officers, well, you need to dance as well. The dancers who have been at UCO for so long, morphing into supposedly new dancers at meeting after meeting, who denigrate all others,anyone who dances differently, who demands to be allowed to dance - well, these stale offstep dancers need to go. We need to hear fresh, clean music for our dances now for the major issues coming up that will determine the future of more dances, the efficacy and joy of our future dancing.
Please, think carefully. Time for a new band leader. Time for new members of the orchestra. Time for new dancers at meetings that govern the Village. Time to dance! With joy and confidence. Time to hear the sweet music, not the jangly music of discord and nastiness, not here in the Village nor in the nation at large.
Meanwhile, stay healthy. Keep on dancing.
Dancing. Yesterday, rummaging in a drawer, I found a shirt evidently bought at a concert of Aztec Two Step, a favorite duo of mine. No memory of buying it but there it was, with the slogan, "We are dancers all".That sentence ran through my head all day like the proverbial worm of the mind. I thought about it and the dances we all do as we dance through life, sometimes in tune, in step and at other times badly misstepping, tripping on our own two feet and killing the toes of our partners. Worse, sometimes we never apologized, while at other times the apologies were not enough, not accepted.
Recently, we have all been dancing at a long and tiring dance of candidates. What a miserable dance. Shame on us that our lack of learning to dance has affected us so enormously at this late time in life. After a most diverse slate of hopefuls we are down to three old men. Two will face off for Democratic candidate, and the other, the sadly broken man-child of the Republicans, will be the opponent. For President!
Shame on us that the record breaking election of a black man for President did not lead to a woman as President. Yes, you are right, Hillary won her election with a majority of popular votes, the way we know all elections are supposed to be won or lost. Evidently, though, we are still using the antiquated Electoral College and hence, the Demented One now in office. Hence the troubles of the country and the world. Hence our severe unreadiness for a pandemic, or at a minimum a severe epidemic nationwide. Instead, for comfort and advice we get an ignoramus who speaks of politization of a virus, a wish for "millions to die" - from his mouth - so we know who is actually thinking those thoughts, lies about numbers of ailing, dead, readiness of testing and quarantine facilities, and the market not just tanks, it has crashed down to the basement with all the sub basement floors ready and waiting.The dances will be sadly and greatly impacted as seniors gather for final dances through life. No counting off one- two- three- as they pick up a rhythm, for the rhythm is jangly, atonal, and ear splitting.
The sanest candidate was a woman, Klobuchar. The one with the most plans and not shooting from the hip, was a woman, Warren. But here we are again. Back at the ranch with the three caballeros whose retirement time has long come ago. What is the matter with us that we keep on choosing orchestras and band leaders who have no rhythm, who cannot catch a tune for their lives, whose feet are periodically still being inserted in their mouths in bad cases of foot and mouth disease! We have not time for this, being inundated with blaring instruments, shouting rappers, slow dancers just off that one note, and so many left feet that we wonder how some are still standing!
Nor are the wallflowers any help at all. In fact, they add to the disharmony, to the clashing of not only feet, but souls. They harm and damage badly the spirit of The King and I and we, the people of the country, are left standing there around the dance floor, unable to participate, only root for someone, anyone, who can get us out of this arhythmic world. Sad dancers we all are indeed.
So now, under bad circumstances, we must pick a partner for not just the next four years, but for many years and decades to follow if our world is to stand the tests of time and new musical notes. We actually have no choice, do we? With Sanders and Biden left, the only choice is Biden with preferably a talented and capable woman as VP, such as Klobuchar, steady, waiting in the wings, ready to step up to pick up the tune right in step and in rhythm. Trump is a never, never, never again. He is the worst partner ever, in fact, not actually a partner at all, for he dances to his own bizarre music heard only within his fractured mind, and his feet are stomping, have stomped, and will continue to stomp all over our country, its traditions, its Constitutional government, over decency andgoodness, trashing the dance floor all the while until it will collapse under out feet as well.
We are dancers all. Dancing can be learned, improved and music has always been a calming factor in life. Shakespeare knew that as music was used to calm Caliban in The Tempest. We appear to have many Calibans, uncivilized creatures who care naught for anyone other than themselves and their reaching and achieving more power and a fatter wallet. Please! Please! Let us choose our dancing partners more carefully, as well as the music for dancing. It is our last possibility of sanity and rescue.
For those of you voting today in CV for UCO officers, well, you need to dance as well. The dancers who have been at UCO for so long, morphing into supposedly new dancers at meeting after meeting, who denigrate all others,anyone who dances differently, who demands to be allowed to dance - well, these stale offstep dancers need to go. We need to hear fresh, clean music for our dances now for the major issues coming up that will determine the future of more dances, the efficacy and joy of our future dancing.
Please, think carefully. Time for a new band leader. Time for new members of the orchestra. Time for new dancers at meetings that govern the Village. Time to dance! With joy and confidence. Time to hear the sweet music, not the jangly music of discord and nastiness, not here in the Village nor in the nation at large.
Meanwhile, stay healthy. Keep on dancing.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
HAIR RAISING FRIGHTENING PLAIN OLD SCARY!
Such are the times we live in. Yes, you are correct if you state that we have lived through other times such as this. The Spanish Flu at the end of WWI. The polio epidemic that continued to sweep the nation. Really bad flu years. But this is different. Quite different.
The governments of those times actually tried their best to correct the situations, without bluffing, without name calling, without preposterous statements, without personalizing it. They simply rolled up their sleeves and got to work and success was both met and evasive, but no one blamed the political opposition. No one heard any politician claim that, for example, FDR had adult onset polio due to machinations by the Republican Party. The flu epidemic was not described as setting the "world aflutter". And even as these responses were not perfect, and had to work with the science capabilities of the times, there was a national unity. Yes, people were frightened, but there was no panic, no shelves being stripped bare in the stores.
Trump is responding or not responding to this health emergency in typical fashion. He thinks he can boss it away, rule it out, attack it verbally with his usual ignorant language. This will not work, but look at how he admires the responses of dictators round the world. Look. Worry. This, to me, is the hair raising part, the truly scary part of this whole thing. And in the meanwhile, the states and cities are left to handle this mess on their own, and the defensive and offensive tactics are worrisomely uneven across the nation.
People look towards their leaders for leadership. Duh!! But we are seriously lacking in this area. Look at that idiot Goetz, from Florida, much to my shame and despair. He comes to the House in a gas mask, unobtainable by the masses, not needed actually, and whines how the House floor isa petri dish and the people in the most danger are the members of Congress! Unbelievable!! This is the selfishness, the lack of public service ideals and values that we now have and that is more hair raising than the virus. The virus will eventually be beaten back, another will take its place, such are the conditons of the world as we crowd animals and humans together.
However, the political changes, the dictatorship actions and expressions - be afraid. Worry. That is what will not go away if that man retains office. The lies, the obfuscations, the manipulations of data and of people, the ignorance of basic leadership and understanding of what steps to take in a crisis. The use of a crisis to advance personal gains. The personalizing of the crisis, of the virus, into an attack on him and just look at the attitudes of Xi, of Kim, of Erdogan and understand how close we are to having our own homegrown dictator, right here in our own River City Nation!
There is no intellectual capacity for this man to understand what the hell is going on. He is getting scolded and tutored by his own party members - to little, too late, for what did they expect they would have now , now that they have given it all away to him, ceded their own powers to check the harm he does and will continue to do. What they forgot about were the consequences to us all as they blindly, defiantly, refused to publicly chastise him and shed him from our government. Now - we, the people, suffer.
This hatefilled thread continues to run through government today and will do so for many decades to follow as the benches are filling up with backwards thinking, biased , incompetent, unqualified judges, other than their blind following of extreme views and old hateful memes. LGBTQ are in trouble and that trouble will drip down towards the rest of the nation. If a religious entity can legally be allowed to discriminate, claiming religious objections, well think about it. What if my religion teaches that slavery is okayed by the Lord? What if my religion states that women are to be chattels, locked in houses and excluded from public life? That women have no sayso regarding their own bodies? What if my religion states that children should go into the working world at age 10? How far does this go? Afraid yet? If not, open your eyes and think. Deep thoughts.
America is under attack and not necessarily from the virus alone. That is an organism with no thoughts or instincts other than survival. It is transmitted without its okay. But the mess around it, well, look towards the humans who are supposed to be handling it. Look at their other behavior, words and characteristics. Bad juju here!
Bad indeed.
So what now? Should people over 60 go home and stay there along with pregnant women as was suggested in a stricken city? Shall we set a law regarding age and exposure? The whole thing is rife with tension, fear of the unknown and fear of the known. Lord knows I have no clue as to handle this, but I, for sure, did not put myself up as one who can handle these national crises and international troubles, but Trump did and we stupidly bought into it. The wrongs and the mistakes are clear. At least in Virginia Trump served a useful purpose as the voters there, from top to bottom economically, just about had enough of him and voted with their fingers and their feet as they stood waiting to vote and filled in their choices. A beam of light. Let us hope there are many more and let us hope further that we all stay safe, healthy, free of this virus, and may our scientists be left alone to find a vaccine and treatment for it. That is what we need, as people, as a nation, and as a world.
The governments of those times actually tried their best to correct the situations, without bluffing, without name calling, without preposterous statements, without personalizing it. They simply rolled up their sleeves and got to work and success was both met and evasive, but no one blamed the political opposition. No one heard any politician claim that, for example, FDR had adult onset polio due to machinations by the Republican Party. The flu epidemic was not described as setting the "world aflutter". And even as these responses were not perfect, and had to work with the science capabilities of the times, there was a national unity. Yes, people were frightened, but there was no panic, no shelves being stripped bare in the stores.
Trump is responding or not responding to this health emergency in typical fashion. He thinks he can boss it away, rule it out, attack it verbally with his usual ignorant language. This will not work, but look at how he admires the responses of dictators round the world. Look. Worry. This, to me, is the hair raising part, the truly scary part of this whole thing. And in the meanwhile, the states and cities are left to handle this mess on their own, and the defensive and offensive tactics are worrisomely uneven across the nation.
People look towards their leaders for leadership. Duh!! But we are seriously lacking in this area. Look at that idiot Goetz, from Florida, much to my shame and despair. He comes to the House in a gas mask, unobtainable by the masses, not needed actually, and whines how the House floor isa petri dish and the people in the most danger are the members of Congress! Unbelievable!! This is the selfishness, the lack of public service ideals and values that we now have and that is more hair raising than the virus. The virus will eventually be beaten back, another will take its place, such are the conditons of the world as we crowd animals and humans together.
However, the political changes, the dictatorship actions and expressions - be afraid. Worry. That is what will not go away if that man retains office. The lies, the obfuscations, the manipulations of data and of people, the ignorance of basic leadership and understanding of what steps to take in a crisis. The use of a crisis to advance personal gains. The personalizing of the crisis, of the virus, into an attack on him and just look at the attitudes of Xi, of Kim, of Erdogan and understand how close we are to having our own homegrown dictator, right here in our own River City Nation!
There is no intellectual capacity for this man to understand what the hell is going on. He is getting scolded and tutored by his own party members - to little, too late, for what did they expect they would have now , now that they have given it all away to him, ceded their own powers to check the harm he does and will continue to do. What they forgot about were the consequences to us all as they blindly, defiantly, refused to publicly chastise him and shed him from our government. Now - we, the people, suffer.
This hatefilled thread continues to run through government today and will do so for many decades to follow as the benches are filling up with backwards thinking, biased , incompetent, unqualified judges, other than their blind following of extreme views and old hateful memes. LGBTQ are in trouble and that trouble will drip down towards the rest of the nation. If a religious entity can legally be allowed to discriminate, claiming religious objections, well think about it. What if my religion teaches that slavery is okayed by the Lord? What if my religion states that women are to be chattels, locked in houses and excluded from public life? That women have no sayso regarding their own bodies? What if my religion states that children should go into the working world at age 10? How far does this go? Afraid yet? If not, open your eyes and think. Deep thoughts.
America is under attack and not necessarily from the virus alone. That is an organism with no thoughts or instincts other than survival. It is transmitted without its okay. But the mess around it, well, look towards the humans who are supposed to be handling it. Look at their other behavior, words and characteristics. Bad juju here!
Bad indeed.
So what now? Should people over 60 go home and stay there along with pregnant women as was suggested in a stricken city? Shall we set a law regarding age and exposure? The whole thing is rife with tension, fear of the unknown and fear of the known. Lord knows I have no clue as to handle this, but I, for sure, did not put myself up as one who can handle these national crises and international troubles, but Trump did and we stupidly bought into it. The wrongs and the mistakes are clear. At least in Virginia Trump served a useful purpose as the voters there, from top to bottom economically, just about had enough of him and voted with their fingers and their feet as they stood waiting to vote and filled in their choices. A beam of light. Let us hope there are many more and let us hope further that we all stay safe, healthy, free of this virus, and may our scientists be left alone to find a vaccine and treatment for it. That is what we need, as people, as a nation, and as a world.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
BLACK, WHITE, GRAY
The world is full of many colors. These colors evoke different reactions in people, much depending upon nature, nurture and circumstance. However, more than colors, there is a huge world based on three shades: black, white, and gray. That world can be confusing, particularly to those who are rigid, for better or worse.
Robert Frost wrote: "...though there is no fixed line between wrong and right, there are roughly zones whose laws must be obeyed."
Think upon the meaning of those words. Life is not clearcut. Yes, murder is wrong, but what about self defense? What about revenge for a heinous crime for which there appears to be no punishment forthcoming? What about the theft of a loaf of bread for truly hungry children. In days of yore - and not so long ago - people could be sentenced to hang for that, no matter the age of the 'thief'. Where is right or wrong here and how do we know what must be obeyed and what has leeway within its zone?
This zone is the gray zone. It is not so clear within that space and the lines are blurred. These zones change within different time spans and can be confusing to one studying history or society's changes, particularly if we judge the past by the modern times and its rules of acceptance or not. Moreover, these black, white, and gray areas are to be found at all levels of government, of human interaction and there is no getting away from that fact, like it or not. If we ignore that, we become rigid, judgemental and progress is halted, if not destroyed. Society becomes stagnant and the whole gestalt is just 'off'.
On Friday we have elections here within the Village. The sad thing about it is that nothing has changed for ten years. The same faces are in the running, the same arguments are made, and the nastiness, particualrly on one side continues. Activities of democracy, particularly those which encourage citizens at every level to speak up and out, are criticized, even if it is under barely disguised intimations. People here are warned that those who "disrupt" meetings should not be elected. But what are those interruptions other than the words of speakers who waited their turn, suffered through repetitive interruptions by the chair - a major no-no, by the way, - and then spoke up about dissatisfaction, other ideas, new ideas or questions re some very gray areas of our local governing body. Though names might not be mentioned, they are there, very clearly and all this done on a supposedly thinly disguised blog which purports to be the blog of the Village.
Last night we receivd a phone call urging the delegate within our household to vote and then the zinger - vote for the incumbent. Okay, so calls are part and parcel of election process, are they not, but there is a difference here. Only the incumbent has the list of the delegates. Only the incumbent had their phone numbers even as requests for these same numbers have always been denied, claiming privacy!!!! Truly? So is it that privacy works only for one side and not the other? Furthermore, it is very unclear as to the physical site of thecalls? Was it from a private home or from the office of UCO itself? Dark gray here, folks, very dark gray.
There are so many major issues in this round of elections that it would require a book to list and explain. Suffice it to say that there must be change, there must be notes of decency injected into this Village and its governing body and we must insist on more oversight and enhanced transparency. There is too much at stake. Too many futures at risk. We must use the expertise we have here in the Village in a much better way, stop wasting money on outside sources. We must get going already on a major lifeline agreement for our Village that is up very soon and will require great and many discussions and negotiations. There have even been outside governmental offices called in to destroy - or try to- the opposition.Who is to say what will happen during this round for there are no black and white safeguarding lines here at all. Not good.
And then we turn to the national news. The country is torn. The world is torn. It is in the throes of revolutions on all sides, be they violent or within the courts, with many of those courts and public officials biased and set up as much as possible. Here in America we are overturning our own Constitution, ignoring the real and present danger to our democracy, stupidly, with great ignorance, cheering on those who are throwing away our guarantees of fair and just government, of checkand balances. Of right and wrong.
This present administration has been just about the worst ever as far as honesty, competence, forethought and decency. It has been a turbulent four years and I fear the end result after another four years should this continue. We already have much damage to undo, to reverse, if possible, and to try to reunite this country once more so that we are not Republicans or Democrats or Socialists, but Americans. Period. Those who can agree to disagree in proper form, free of vile name calling, of threats, of lie after lie, of honesty and caring, of understanding of consequences. A new wave for the country, once more valuing honor and decency, a return to traditional American values of progress, of social safety nets, of immigration, for like it or not we need new people or our entire system will collapse!
Rules are rules and laws are laws. One is supposed to obey them for a lawless country is an abomination. However, though something might be legal it is not necessarily moral and it is then that the black, white and gray colors enter the fray. First and foremost, our laws must be moral. They must be made with the best of thought and intentions. They must be flexible and able to be amended. They must be fair and they must think of and plan for the future. This, my friends, we most emphatically do not have at the present time. Instead, we have a supposed leader who is immoral, corrupt, morally perverted and an ignoramus of the first degree. This, at a time fraught with physical and moral danger. This when we have a new disease with no antibodies to it, with a mortality rate of 3.4% - more than the flu -not a good time at all for him and his creepy sidekicks. Not a good time for us.
One can choose one's boundaries, but know that no one is exempt from the consequences of these decisions. Winning sides become losing sides, anger thrives and grows, burns ever fiercer, and we doom ourselves to a vicious cycle. Please, on whatever level of governmental voting, let us think of the good, the bad, the lines which must not be crossed, and vote the right way, the good way. As simple as that.
Robert Frost wrote: "...though there is no fixed line between wrong and right, there are roughly zones whose laws must be obeyed."
Think upon the meaning of those words. Life is not clearcut. Yes, murder is wrong, but what about self defense? What about revenge for a heinous crime for which there appears to be no punishment forthcoming? What about the theft of a loaf of bread for truly hungry children. In days of yore - and not so long ago - people could be sentenced to hang for that, no matter the age of the 'thief'. Where is right or wrong here and how do we know what must be obeyed and what has leeway within its zone?
This zone is the gray zone. It is not so clear within that space and the lines are blurred. These zones change within different time spans and can be confusing to one studying history or society's changes, particularly if we judge the past by the modern times and its rules of acceptance or not. Moreover, these black, white, and gray areas are to be found at all levels of government, of human interaction and there is no getting away from that fact, like it or not. If we ignore that, we become rigid, judgemental and progress is halted, if not destroyed. Society becomes stagnant and the whole gestalt is just 'off'.
On Friday we have elections here within the Village. The sad thing about it is that nothing has changed for ten years. The same faces are in the running, the same arguments are made, and the nastiness, particualrly on one side continues. Activities of democracy, particularly those which encourage citizens at every level to speak up and out, are criticized, even if it is under barely disguised intimations. People here are warned that those who "disrupt" meetings should not be elected. But what are those interruptions other than the words of speakers who waited their turn, suffered through repetitive interruptions by the chair - a major no-no, by the way, - and then spoke up about dissatisfaction, other ideas, new ideas or questions re some very gray areas of our local governing body. Though names might not be mentioned, they are there, very clearly and all this done on a supposedly thinly disguised blog which purports to be the blog of the Village.
Last night we receivd a phone call urging the delegate within our household to vote and then the zinger - vote for the incumbent. Okay, so calls are part and parcel of election process, are they not, but there is a difference here. Only the incumbent has the list of the delegates. Only the incumbent had their phone numbers even as requests for these same numbers have always been denied, claiming privacy!!!! Truly? So is it that privacy works only for one side and not the other? Furthermore, it is very unclear as to the physical site of thecalls? Was it from a private home or from the office of UCO itself? Dark gray here, folks, very dark gray.
There are so many major issues in this round of elections that it would require a book to list and explain. Suffice it to say that there must be change, there must be notes of decency injected into this Village and its governing body and we must insist on more oversight and enhanced transparency. There is too much at stake. Too many futures at risk. We must use the expertise we have here in the Village in a much better way, stop wasting money on outside sources. We must get going already on a major lifeline agreement for our Village that is up very soon and will require great and many discussions and negotiations. There have even been outside governmental offices called in to destroy - or try to- the opposition.Who is to say what will happen during this round for there are no black and white safeguarding lines here at all. Not good.
And then we turn to the national news. The country is torn. The world is torn. It is in the throes of revolutions on all sides, be they violent or within the courts, with many of those courts and public officials biased and set up as much as possible. Here in America we are overturning our own Constitution, ignoring the real and present danger to our democracy, stupidly, with great ignorance, cheering on those who are throwing away our guarantees of fair and just government, of checkand balances. Of right and wrong.
This present administration has been just about the worst ever as far as honesty, competence, forethought and decency. It has been a turbulent four years and I fear the end result after another four years should this continue. We already have much damage to undo, to reverse, if possible, and to try to reunite this country once more so that we are not Republicans or Democrats or Socialists, but Americans. Period. Those who can agree to disagree in proper form, free of vile name calling, of threats, of lie after lie, of honesty and caring, of understanding of consequences. A new wave for the country, once more valuing honor and decency, a return to traditional American values of progress, of social safety nets, of immigration, for like it or not we need new people or our entire system will collapse!
Rules are rules and laws are laws. One is supposed to obey them for a lawless country is an abomination. However, though something might be legal it is not necessarily moral and it is then that the black, white and gray colors enter the fray. First and foremost, our laws must be moral. They must be made with the best of thought and intentions. They must be flexible and able to be amended. They must be fair and they must think of and plan for the future. This, my friends, we most emphatically do not have at the present time. Instead, we have a supposed leader who is immoral, corrupt, morally perverted and an ignoramus of the first degree. This, at a time fraught with physical and moral danger. This when we have a new disease with no antibodies to it, with a mortality rate of 3.4% - more than the flu -not a good time at all for him and his creepy sidekicks. Not a good time for us.
One can choose one's boundaries, but know that no one is exempt from the consequences of these decisions. Winning sides become losing sides, anger thrives and grows, burns ever fiercer, and we doom ourselves to a vicious cycle. Please, on whatever level of governmental voting, let us think of the good, the bad, the lines which must not be crossed, and vote the right way, the good way. As simple as that.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
MARSHAL EARP, WHERE ARE YOU?
Well, here we go. A classic situation of confusion, anger, fear, and a growing lawlessness that can very quickly grow and develop into an all encompassing state of being, for us, here in the USA and all around the world.
The husband of an LA district attorney is forced to hold a gun on a mob of protesters by their home. They use the Black Lives Matter as a reason? An excuse? to behave in mob type behavior and this is happening more and more. We have forgotten the times that the law was totally compromised in so many towns, villages and cities, when bribery and vigilantism were the names of the game and the games of the times.
It was a frightening time, with duels taking place at the proverbial dawn or high noon. There was no one to trust. Then along came heroes, some, many, with clay feet, but at least on the side of law and order applied in a rational, sane, law abiding manner. Today, we question whether we have these same lawmen for how many have been compromised, shut down, fired, for actually doing their jobs. The Justice Department has been compromised beyond repair at this point while under the demented rule, yes, rule, of Trump, his appointees and abettors.
But the elephant in the room is that huge area of concern. What has happened to our Constitution in the name of it? How has it reached this point wherein the Congress, under the amoral, vicious, manifestly dumb rule in the Senate by GOP stooges, has given away its own power, its own checks and balances in the system, given all power to the executive branch now under the control of a dangerous sociopath of demented mind and those who control him or cannot control him. Take your pick, for the result is the same - a growing lawlessness in the country. And it is getting even worse as manifestly angry at the world, illegal appointees are defying the law, the courts, and joining in on the merry dismemberment of that once upon a time Camelot - us!
The judicial branch is the same, as the Trump appointees, unqualified, incompetent, biased and extremely partisan, also give away the store. They state that McGahn is exempt from subpoena by Congress. They extend this privilege to the rest of the crooked gang hence from now on ANY President will be able to defy Congress for it has become a paper tiger, along with the paper lions and bears. Just defy the courts as well.
Now that the morons are once again determined to nail Hillary to the cross, they are after private servers and emails. Never mind the same actions by Ivanka the First. Never mind the violations of the law by so many others. Just keep beating a dead horse hoping that the uninformed, the great unwashed base will fall for it again, even as they have been forgiving of Trump et al for their criminal behavior, greed, raids on the public treasury, destroying the environment, etc., etc., etc.
We, all around the world, seem to have lost perspective. We have engaged in violence, in ruthless attacks on the fabric of society as we drill down on migrants, on immigrants running from mortal danger, terrifying threats, hunger, natural disasters, and have closed our hearts and pockets to them and, indeed, to all those in need of aid. The private efforts to relieve this are simply not enough, never meant to be, for this is a governmental issue, a societal issue, not that of a few people fighting the evil deluge without preservers or life vests.
As for Nature, well, it is running parallel with Man. Just as we are blowing ourselves up, so, too, is Nature. Volcanoes spew boiling lava and poisonous gases. The cliffs in England fall into the sea. The ice at the Poles melt away, causing flooding all around the globe, even as low lying areas, and entire island nations are inundated, almost being swallowed up in their entirety. Food and water shortages are rising. The oceans have become dumping grounds for plastic debris, creating floating , massive islands of garbage, killing the life within the waters, adding to the food shortage in the world.
Where, oh where, are the heroes of which Bonnie Tyler sang with that raspy voice? Where are the Texas Rangers of today, the Marshal Earps of yesteryear? No Lone Ranger. No singing Gene Autry. No Rifleman and adorable son. Where are they all? Will they reappear after the dust settles, if it ever will, or will it be too little, too late by then?
I wish I had answers, or better answers, but I do not. It is as if we are living in a new Middle Ages time of darkness, of illiteracy, of uncaring, of running from new plagues, society dichotomized beyond repair until new standards arise. Do we have time for that? Will we make time for that? Can and will we meet the challenge? Input your answer here, for I fear my answer is not the one you wish to hear. Sorry. The truth hits hard, does it not?
The husband of an LA district attorney is forced to hold a gun on a mob of protesters by their home. They use the Black Lives Matter as a reason? An excuse? to behave in mob type behavior and this is happening more and more. We have forgotten the times that the law was totally compromised in so many towns, villages and cities, when bribery and vigilantism were the names of the game and the games of the times.
It was a frightening time, with duels taking place at the proverbial dawn or high noon. There was no one to trust. Then along came heroes, some, many, with clay feet, but at least on the side of law and order applied in a rational, sane, law abiding manner. Today, we question whether we have these same lawmen for how many have been compromised, shut down, fired, for actually doing their jobs. The Justice Department has been compromised beyond repair at this point while under the demented rule, yes, rule, of Trump, his appointees and abettors.
But the elephant in the room is that huge area of concern. What has happened to our Constitution in the name of it? How has it reached this point wherein the Congress, under the amoral, vicious, manifestly dumb rule in the Senate by GOP stooges, has given away its own power, its own checks and balances in the system, given all power to the executive branch now under the control of a dangerous sociopath of demented mind and those who control him or cannot control him. Take your pick, for the result is the same - a growing lawlessness in the country. And it is getting even worse as manifestly angry at the world, illegal appointees are defying the law, the courts, and joining in on the merry dismemberment of that once upon a time Camelot - us!
The judicial branch is the same, as the Trump appointees, unqualified, incompetent, biased and extremely partisan, also give away the store. They state that McGahn is exempt from subpoena by Congress. They extend this privilege to the rest of the crooked gang hence from now on ANY President will be able to defy Congress for it has become a paper tiger, along with the paper lions and bears. Just defy the courts as well.
Now that the morons are once again determined to nail Hillary to the cross, they are after private servers and emails. Never mind the same actions by Ivanka the First. Never mind the violations of the law by so many others. Just keep beating a dead horse hoping that the uninformed, the great unwashed base will fall for it again, even as they have been forgiving of Trump et al for their criminal behavior, greed, raids on the public treasury, destroying the environment, etc., etc., etc.
We, all around the world, seem to have lost perspective. We have engaged in violence, in ruthless attacks on the fabric of society as we drill down on migrants, on immigrants running from mortal danger, terrifying threats, hunger, natural disasters, and have closed our hearts and pockets to them and, indeed, to all those in need of aid. The private efforts to relieve this are simply not enough, never meant to be, for this is a governmental issue, a societal issue, not that of a few people fighting the evil deluge without preservers or life vests.
As for Nature, well, it is running parallel with Man. Just as we are blowing ourselves up, so, too, is Nature. Volcanoes spew boiling lava and poisonous gases. The cliffs in England fall into the sea. The ice at the Poles melt away, causing flooding all around the globe, even as low lying areas, and entire island nations are inundated, almost being swallowed up in their entirety. Food and water shortages are rising. The oceans have become dumping grounds for plastic debris, creating floating , massive islands of garbage, killing the life within the waters, adding to the food shortage in the world.
Where, oh where, are the heroes of which Bonnie Tyler sang with that raspy voice? Where are the Texas Rangers of today, the Marshal Earps of yesteryear? No Lone Ranger. No singing Gene Autry. No Rifleman and adorable son. Where are they all? Will they reappear after the dust settles, if it ever will, or will it be too little, too late by then?
I wish I had answers, or better answers, but I do not. It is as if we are living in a new Middle Ages time of darkness, of illiteracy, of uncaring, of running from new plagues, society dichotomized beyond repair until new standards arise. Do we have time for that? Will we make time for that? Can and will we meet the challenge? Input your answer here, for I fear my answer is not the one you wish to hear. Sorry. The truth hits hard, does it not?
From: Duane
Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2020 11:05 PM
If I could vote, I would clearly vote for you. Having a Treasurer in office with no qualifications for the post is outlandish. The necessity to hire and
pay someone to do his job is preposterous...I wish you the best!
I hope that your message goes out to all of the delegates. I have seen in the UCO Reporter the number of delegates who do not attended the meetings. Is
this a sign of apathy?
Good Luck in the election!
|
 |
|
Vote for Ed Grossman, CPA for Treasurer,
Save thousands every year!
|
Monday, March 2, 2020
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE.....YOU KNOW THE REST
....the more things remain the same. Right and wrong. We need to add in another factor. Yes, things seem to replicate themselves. We appear to move from crisis to crisis with barely breathing room between, yet there are differences. For some, we seem to have an answer or an approach that works, at least to an extent. However, for others, well, as one elderly acquaintance told me, "Nobody knows nuttin'!" And ain't that the truth!
Every year it seems as if we have some health crisis, be it SARS, MERSA, another form of the flu, a fungus in the hospitals, and now COVID-19. Signs are often similar but require some different treatments and some have none other than supportive measures. What is really of interest to me is the description of those to whom the virus is most deadly - elderly, chronic conditions and compromised immune systems. Hello, me!!
Okay, so I, and many others, have no death wish at this particular moment, but I bet most people who fit this description are breathing a sigh of relief as they think of their children and grandchildren. Most of them are thankfully, in better health than we are and if somebody has got to go, well, the words speak for themselves, do they not? Sounds funny, but it is a more natural process of selection, is it not? So yes, we have made preparations, bought paper items, cleaning goods, staples of food, wipes, etc. just as if we are preparing for hurricane times so the actions were not weird, just a tad earlier than we normally do these things. But the questions and emails went almost non stop to the kids, urging them to take measures. And, as usual, they listened with haf a mind, no surprise, correct?!
So now what? Are we going to shut down the world? Have we reached an apocalyptic moment? Are we going to see armored cars, motorcycle gangs roaming a deserted earth, seeking control of the last food warehouse around? Are we looking to see TV and movie stories in real life? Is this to be a time when we have the need and the opportunity to revamp and rebuild society in a better manner?
I think not. I do think this thing will spread and I do think that states with larger than normal elderly populations will see more deaths, but I also know that when pushed, humans can be amazing and an answer can be found - I hope. But this is a message to us. We need to focus on the truly important and we need to pick and follow leaders who have more sense, more knowledge, more ability, to lead us into a future fraught with the unknown and the dangerous. We are living in times where science fiction and fantasy are coming alive and we need to deal with it.
Remember the scenes in shows wherein huge swarms of ugly, frightening drones swoop down on the rebels fighting for freedom, and the rebels shoot at the drones but mostly run from them? Well, read of the mass of killer drones sent in by Trukey, into Syria, against Russian forces and please, tell me you shudder, with fright, with a bitter sense of waste, as we spend money to destroy, to follow a scorched earth behavior, rather than use that ingenuity and energy to fight the ills and the wrongs of human life, the need to fix the earth, to deal with melting ice caps, with growing shortages of food and clean water, but we do not. Instead, we waste it all and personally, I see no end in sight.
We have an overgrown, tantrum throwing, demented person running for office who keeps the barriers low, who seeks to find a low base to support him, to keep up the level of smoldering unhappiness and angst and should he lose, which oh, please, let that happen, what will be then? That sense of uncertainty, that sense of not knowing exactly what to expect as normal behavior seems to have fled the planet, well, that is grinding away at our souls, at our need to know what is what. We need to find people who do know something, who remember what it is to be a public servant, who remember that the wrongs, ills and evils of society are not meant to be replicated, but rather fought against and defeated.
So let us pray. Let us work our fingers to the bone. Let us hope and wish and plead and do whatever we must if we are to change the path of this earth, wobbly on its axis, bring it round to a point wherein we can actually see hope, see a more civilized behavior and attitude towards and with others. Whatever metaphor you prefer, be it a clock ticking, the hands moved to a danger point, or sands running quickly through an hourglass, or dangerous sci-fi images breaking into reality on a broken planet - whatever - we need to build and project a brighter future where dangers such as COVID-19 are able to be mastered, where plans are laid for defense, for cures, for true societal needs - for a future! Please, somebody somewhere know somethin'! Soon!` We are so looking for a person to trust, but let us please, be careful in whom we place that trust. The wrong person is existentially dangerous to us. At least let us know that about life and let us begin with the right first steps. Vote for the person who puts our needs ahead of his/her personal ones, who looks after the nation ad not his/her own wallet. We know who that is, so let us do the right thing and hope we are not too late.
Every year it seems as if we have some health crisis, be it SARS, MERSA, another form of the flu, a fungus in the hospitals, and now COVID-19. Signs are often similar but require some different treatments and some have none other than supportive measures. What is really of interest to me is the description of those to whom the virus is most deadly - elderly, chronic conditions and compromised immune systems. Hello, me!!
Okay, so I, and many others, have no death wish at this particular moment, but I bet most people who fit this description are breathing a sigh of relief as they think of their children and grandchildren. Most of them are thankfully, in better health than we are and if somebody has got to go, well, the words speak for themselves, do they not? Sounds funny, but it is a more natural process of selection, is it not? So yes, we have made preparations, bought paper items, cleaning goods, staples of food, wipes, etc. just as if we are preparing for hurricane times so the actions were not weird, just a tad earlier than we normally do these things. But the questions and emails went almost non stop to the kids, urging them to take measures. And, as usual, they listened with haf a mind, no surprise, correct?!
So now what? Are we going to shut down the world? Have we reached an apocalyptic moment? Are we going to see armored cars, motorcycle gangs roaming a deserted earth, seeking control of the last food warehouse around? Are we looking to see TV and movie stories in real life? Is this to be a time when we have the need and the opportunity to revamp and rebuild society in a better manner?
I think not. I do think this thing will spread and I do think that states with larger than normal elderly populations will see more deaths, but I also know that when pushed, humans can be amazing and an answer can be found - I hope. But this is a message to us. We need to focus on the truly important and we need to pick and follow leaders who have more sense, more knowledge, more ability, to lead us into a future fraught with the unknown and the dangerous. We are living in times where science fiction and fantasy are coming alive and we need to deal with it.
Remember the scenes in shows wherein huge swarms of ugly, frightening drones swoop down on the rebels fighting for freedom, and the rebels shoot at the drones but mostly run from them? Well, read of the mass of killer drones sent in by Trukey, into Syria, against Russian forces and please, tell me you shudder, with fright, with a bitter sense of waste, as we spend money to destroy, to follow a scorched earth behavior, rather than use that ingenuity and energy to fight the ills and the wrongs of human life, the need to fix the earth, to deal with melting ice caps, with growing shortages of food and clean water, but we do not. Instead, we waste it all and personally, I see no end in sight.
We have an overgrown, tantrum throwing, demented person running for office who keeps the barriers low, who seeks to find a low base to support him, to keep up the level of smoldering unhappiness and angst and should he lose, which oh, please, let that happen, what will be then? That sense of uncertainty, that sense of not knowing exactly what to expect as normal behavior seems to have fled the planet, well, that is grinding away at our souls, at our need to know what is what. We need to find people who do know something, who remember what it is to be a public servant, who remember that the wrongs, ills and evils of society are not meant to be replicated, but rather fought against and defeated.
So let us pray. Let us work our fingers to the bone. Let us hope and wish and plead and do whatever we must if we are to change the path of this earth, wobbly on its axis, bring it round to a point wherein we can actually see hope, see a more civilized behavior and attitude towards and with others. Whatever metaphor you prefer, be it a clock ticking, the hands moved to a danger point, or sands running quickly through an hourglass, or dangerous sci-fi images breaking into reality on a broken planet - whatever - we need to build and project a brighter future where dangers such as COVID-19 are able to be mastered, where plans are laid for defense, for cures, for true societal needs - for a future! Please, somebody somewhere know somethin'! Soon!` We are so looking for a person to trust, but let us please, be careful in whom we place that trust. The wrong person is existentially dangerous to us. At least let us know that about life and let us begin with the right first steps. Vote for the person who puts our needs ahead of his/her personal ones, who looks after the nation ad not his/her own wallet. We know who that is, so let us do the right thing and hope we are not too late.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
A WONDERFUL WOMAN
A lovely woman, wonderful, late 50's. A pity she died from the coronavirus. Oops, wrong person. It was a man. I hope he was wonderful too, but how does a major organization supposedly dedicated to the fight against this virus make such a grievous error and then the idiot repeats it, along, of course with his sickening and deranged attempts to push COVID-19 off on the Democratic Party. Yup. First they added to our troubles with their debate, where they evidently caused the sheer madness of over 3,00 points down the chute in the market and then, well, then, they wished for millions of deaths from the virus so they could bring downTrump. Uh huh. I kid you not. The man is insane and vicious and his attempts to fight this coming pandemic as it spreads throughout the country, well, read and think and speak for yourself and vote accordingly.
The reactioin was fierce. One Congressman warned off Trump and Junior as well, telling them to keep their distance, while others raised their voices in outrage. How could someone stoop so low and state that someone wishes the deaths of millions. Or is it that Trump is channeling Hitler and other mass murderers more and more, thinking like them more and more? Not a good sign, folks, not at all.
The question raised is - what do we do to get rid of this man? Edward II simply stated his wishes re Thomas a Becket and off went some loyal followers of the King and killed the dude whereupon he became a veneratted saint. That extreme behavior is not asked for here. All we are wanting here is for the man to pay the consequences of his so many misdeeds, his inappropriateness, his treasonous behavior of inviting foreign interference and his financial crimes, violations of the emoluments clause ad infinitum ad nauseum. All that in addition to the fact that he is an admitted pervert and certainly suffering from some form of dementia. Could be familial as his children, particularly Junior, just jumps the shark about every time he opens his poisonous and vile mouth.
So what to do? Do we all need to race into action, shouting, holding placards, marching? Well, yes and no. It is good to be visible but an English poet once wrote that "they also serve who stand and wait." So stand upright and proud and know your plans. Serve at the right moment as you fulfill the duty and right of democracy and vote. Vote him and his cadre out. Vote America back in. Vote Democratic, as it seems that the entire GOP as once was known has disappeared, with all present ceding total control and obediendce to Trump. Sickening, and moreover, dangerous to our existence as a democratic country called the United States of America This man and his slimy ilk have done much to divide this country rather than keep it united.
We have ceded much to others, given away the store. For what? Our market tanked. Individuals such as myself have lost our lifetime savings to the tune of at least 10 - 11% and will it return? Who knows and remember, at this point manyof us are not in it for the long run any longer. Our short run is upon us. Now.
So what about elsewhere? We are pulling, secretly, troops out of west Africa where the threats and the violence are ramping up quickly. We have signed a treaty with the Taliban, remember them? Remember their horrendous behavior with civilians? With women? So now they promise to be nice nice and not be mean to prisoners or opponents of the Taliban. Really? A promise? And for that we pull out after 18 bloody years, the loss of so many, the lives ruined of so many and the fears of the women of Afghanistan unaddressed, unguaranteed, and when the oppression starts again? When the schools for girls are burned to the ground? When women are relocked inside their homes, not allowed to work, to learn to read, to become whatever they wish to be? What then? What then? What has this all been for? I hang my head in shame in front of all the gravestones, the wounded for life, those who lost so much, their families. For what did they fight? What have we gained?
Voltaire wrote that "G-d is on the side of the big battalions." Cynical, but true, for history is written by the victors and it takes a long, long time for it to correct itself. But big battalions do not make right nor safety. It is the use and the implied use of these battalions that keep the just in place and the unjust out of office. These battalions are not the armed forces, the power to be used by dictators and ruthess leaders. They are the people. The people of the country. Those who stand and wait or act at the right time, who protect the country. These are the batttalions that we need to act come primaries and the big one in November. These are the battalions who have to impress on all public servants that they serve the peple even as they serve at the pleasure of the President. Their loyalty is owed to the people and not to a ruthess amoral and immoral demented person who is out only for himself and for no others. The nonexistent woman was wonderful indeed, and so will be all the other real people who die in this epidemic, who suffer from it, in so many ways as the consequences will be harsh, already are, and the people in charge cannot figure out how to get out of their own way, to fight their way out of that proverbial paper bag. We are in trouble. We had better recognize that and do what we must.
Make America Great? Keep America Great? It already was and will continue to be despite the efforts to the contrary by Trump et al, despite their false patriotism so dangerous to us. But we need to act in November and in all that leads up to it or America will not be so great any longer.
The reactioin was fierce. One Congressman warned off Trump and Junior as well, telling them to keep their distance, while others raised their voices in outrage. How could someone stoop so low and state that someone wishes the deaths of millions. Or is it that Trump is channeling Hitler and other mass murderers more and more, thinking like them more and more? Not a good sign, folks, not at all.
The question raised is - what do we do to get rid of this man? Edward II simply stated his wishes re Thomas a Becket and off went some loyal followers of the King and killed the dude whereupon he became a veneratted saint. That extreme behavior is not asked for here. All we are wanting here is for the man to pay the consequences of his so many misdeeds, his inappropriateness, his treasonous behavior of inviting foreign interference and his financial crimes, violations of the emoluments clause ad infinitum ad nauseum. All that in addition to the fact that he is an admitted pervert and certainly suffering from some form of dementia. Could be familial as his children, particularly Junior, just jumps the shark about every time he opens his poisonous and vile mouth.
So what to do? Do we all need to race into action, shouting, holding placards, marching? Well, yes and no. It is good to be visible but an English poet once wrote that "they also serve who stand and wait." So stand upright and proud and know your plans. Serve at the right moment as you fulfill the duty and right of democracy and vote. Vote him and his cadre out. Vote America back in. Vote Democratic, as it seems that the entire GOP as once was known has disappeared, with all present ceding total control and obediendce to Trump. Sickening, and moreover, dangerous to our existence as a democratic country called the United States of America This man and his slimy ilk have done much to divide this country rather than keep it united.
We have ceded much to others, given away the store. For what? Our market tanked. Individuals such as myself have lost our lifetime savings to the tune of at least 10 - 11% and will it return? Who knows and remember, at this point manyof us are not in it for the long run any longer. Our short run is upon us. Now.
So what about elsewhere? We are pulling, secretly, troops out of west Africa where the threats and the violence are ramping up quickly. We have signed a treaty with the Taliban, remember them? Remember their horrendous behavior with civilians? With women? So now they promise to be nice nice and not be mean to prisoners or opponents of the Taliban. Really? A promise? And for that we pull out after 18 bloody years, the loss of so many, the lives ruined of so many and the fears of the women of Afghanistan unaddressed, unguaranteed, and when the oppression starts again? When the schools for girls are burned to the ground? When women are relocked inside their homes, not allowed to work, to learn to read, to become whatever they wish to be? What then? What then? What has this all been for? I hang my head in shame in front of all the gravestones, the wounded for life, those who lost so much, their families. For what did they fight? What have we gained?
Voltaire wrote that "G-d is on the side of the big battalions." Cynical, but true, for history is written by the victors and it takes a long, long time for it to correct itself. But big battalions do not make right nor safety. It is the use and the implied use of these battalions that keep the just in place and the unjust out of office. These battalions are not the armed forces, the power to be used by dictators and ruthess leaders. They are the people. The people of the country. Those who stand and wait or act at the right time, who protect the country. These are the batttalions that we need to act come primaries and the big one in November. These are the battalions who have to impress on all public servants that they serve the peple even as they serve at the pleasure of the President. Their loyalty is owed to the people and not to a ruthess amoral and immoral demented person who is out only for himself and for no others. The nonexistent woman was wonderful indeed, and so will be all the other real people who die in this epidemic, who suffer from it, in so many ways as the consequences will be harsh, already are, and the people in charge cannot figure out how to get out of their own way, to fight their way out of that proverbial paper bag. We are in trouble. We had better recognize that and do what we must.
Make America Great? Keep America Great? It already was and will continue to be despite the efforts to the contrary by Trump et al, despite their false patriotism so dangerous to us. But we need to act in November and in all that leads up to it or America will not be so great any longer.
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