All of the above words of the title are used to explain our present Federal government, and as far as I am concerned, much of the down ballot levels as well. Something has gone missing from our country, from those who have chosen to become representatives of the people - but are not. Something nasty has infected the souls, the brains, the ethical system of too many people in this country and we are left with the current poor representational pickings and a dismal future. That the present is awful goes without saying.
Warning after warning, plea after plea, cries from the heart - all whispered, then spoken of , then shouted about- and nothing. Nothing until it is almost too late - or are we there already?
Frightening is the term I would use to sum up all the title words. How did we get here and so fast, so quickly that an enormously dysfunctional administration has been in office for almost four years and the country is so much the worse for it. We have lost all trust. Fair play is as outmoded as jousts with lances unless one jousts with lances of evil motivations and results.
We have a President who is systematically dismantling all the safety precautions of our governmental systems. Independent Inspector Generals, those who watch the watchmen of the country, independent and objective, are being cut down by an almost weekly Friday night long knives attacks, so reminiscent of dictatorial governments, and replaced by more administration stooges, ill equipped for the job nor inclined to do anything positive to fix that and to uphold the responsibilities of the office.
Lindsay Graham, weak chinned and empty of moral values McConnell, and the rest of the GOP in the Senate were rude and crude in the last year of Obama's term when they even refused to talk with Garland as part of the Supreme Court appointment process. They used some garbage never heard before about last term no appointment rules. Sheer trash and wouldn't you know it. Today, Graham, he of the insane and child frightening face, full of hate, now states that the conditions are different so it can and will be done. Thank you for wishing someone dead, you creeps, for no judge with a heart will resign, certainly not RBG!! In any case why is it different? Because no one of them votes for qualified, rather only by political viewpoints and today the Senate is held by the GOP, hence it is okay to appoint a judge. Such crap. It is one rule, one law, yet the GOP makes its own, based on lies, on things that never were, on the basis of winning, rather than better for the country. How did we ever get here? How do we dare include these dangerously unqualified judges in the same category of Brandeis Frankfurter, Marshall, Warren etc. We have done well before so what happened?
What happened was a growth of the selfish theory, that no one counts more than oneself. And in pursuing that thought, the country grew apart. Weak points of unity sheering off, crumbling down, and no, idiotic Eric Trump, the cookie crumbles, not the chips!! We see now a reversal of the protection movement wherein the environment was to be saved from our destructive behavior, that our children were to be protected from dangerous cancer causing chemicals, that our mountain tops were not to be torn off in the name of dirty energy coal.
We had rules against nepotism, cronyism, political appointments in professional positions but they were stepped on and over, thrown into the heap of bad historical judgements and the mess we are in is the result. Lies are seemingly the response. We had no pandemic rulebook? Oh yes, we did.We had warnings, but they were ignored under the mouth, brain and viewpoint of a mentally damaged, infantile narcissist.
Blame was to always be deflected onto someone else, even stating openly that he takes no responsibility. How different from Truman who had his desk placard with "The buck stops here. " Lies are and seem always to be the currency of the day, and screw the people the operating mantra. Huge fraud and mismanaging public funds, using them to shore up companies not needing nor truly qualified to get it.
SBA unable to help all those terrified and desperate small business owners, for their personnel had been cut, nonprofessionals were brought in and the money was shifted elsewhere. DeVos sent her funding over to religious and private schools who then thanked the Lord for it. Well, I am all for female power, for offices, but sorry, DeVos is not G-d!! What a thought!
Some of his own party have woken up and call his behavior a "threat to accountable democracy", particularly his latest firing. He damns and demeans anyone who has a criticism of his deeds, his inane and infantile tweets and why the hell is he not busy being presidential rather than being busy as a schoolyard bully?
Evidently, the business practices he allegedly used as a private person, fraud on taxes, shafting his subcontractors, are all okay and to be in use in his personna as president, G-d help us. It seems there is no end to his depth of nastiness or depravity, no end to his accusations of others of conspiracy talk and deeds, anything that will shift attention away from his dangerous incompetence and his lack of concern or care or empathy for fellow Americans.
I am not an Obama fan. There are certain policies where we part paths, but the man survived Trump's onslaughts and nasty lies and accusations, endeavoring to be a President. The picture of his face as he spoke to a virtual gathering for graduation was so telling of where we stand as a nation. His sadness comes through loud and clear. His eyes tell the true story of America today and the America of tomorrow if we do not throw these imbeciles out of office, fix their damges and proceed carefully, with truth, fair play, seek unity, and rejoin the world, assume our proper role as a leader of the Free World, defender of Democracy, purveyor of Justice, always seeking and willing to improve ourselves.
Until this can be, until we all pull together, do try to do the right thing, vote for whose who care, who are honest, who feel for the people, and as always - Be Well Stay Safe.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Friday, May 15, 2020
NO NEW BLOG TODAY
Due to a medical emergency there will not be any posting today. I will be back with a new post on Sunday
Thursday, May 14, 2020
WHAT LIES BENEATH
Today, most people are walking around as if they are preparing for a career of robbery, identities hidden beneath the masks. People walk right by friends and neighbors because masking hides identities and identifying features. It hides who we are, allows for a certain freedom of action - as long as the masking continues to work. However, it also allows for masking to hide the truth. What truly lurks beneath those masks?
Masking is a cause of limited interaction and that is fine for today's infected world, but what about when it is not? How does one converse with an 'unknown'? How does a child recognize a mother beneath those all enshrouding total burkas? Or is that the point? These maskings of all types cause a separation among the strata of society, unleash a certain wild streak, for who will know who it really is beneath that mask?
Yet we must wear those masks, for our safety and for the safety and continued viability of the human race. But what truly is beneath those masks? What does it mean when the highest oficer in the land and his underlings do not obey the rule of the land, refuse to wear masks? What messasge do we get from that behavior?
We humans mask ourselves up every day of our lives. We self isolate when we do not like one group or another. We try to appear as if we are a friendly 'monster' a la Nessie of Loch Ness. We try to portray ourselves as reformed monsters, like Godzilla fighting for the human race, but then again, in the next movie he is the enemy, plotting against it or battling another reformed monster. We humans are forever wearing masks and go figure. Why can't we just be honest with ourselves and others?
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here..." The Tempest. Shakespeare knew from the beginning of his writings that there are monsters beneaeth human forms, human masking up. Always, there are obvious villians, but always, too, there are 'good' people who are unmasked at the end of the play as the play reaches its denoument. That is a fact of society today with an interesting twerk.
Today the outer masks of society are the dividing grounds of society. Those who hide their faces beneath mouth and nose masks are the good people of society, who try hard to insure its safety, who follow these sane and necessary rules. Those unmasked are the evil devils, escaped from Hell, wreaking havoc upon us. A defiant attitude, government is here to destroy us, we are the great unwashed, victims of society, even as they push violence, politicize the mask and indeed all truths that defy their twisted views and deeds.
How did we get here? How do we allow an ignorant yokel, a dangerous buffoon, one who "ponders injecting disinfectant into a body", who lies with every breath and inbetween, who is functionally illiterate and obviously suffering from some form of progressive dementia to 'lead' this country into the levels of Dante's Inferno. How and why have we allowed the villians of society to unmask freely yet cover and mask those who are the positive side of society?
There are no answers as far as I can tell. I am as puzzled as the next person. The situation has grown so, or degraded so, that numbers are twisted or ignored. Predictions of 25% unemployment should make one's hair stand up. Over 80,000 dead in the States, rising quickly to the 90,000 mark and a prediction of at least 147,000 by August 4. Warnings of serious harm to society if we do not follow the dictats of science. Pleas to stop the rush to disaster. The total moral vacuum of the GOP as they condone perversion, insider trading by their own Senators, invading the Justice Department and making Barr their puppet, always there to justify and defend Trump rather than his true job - the safety and law for the American society at large, not the one existing within the confines of the WH.
As those with any sense wear the masks, the rest have drawn a virtual mask over their true intentions. The mask serves as a target and incitement for them. These are the people of the extreme right, those who shoot 'others', scream anti Semitic remarks, violate the sanctity of houses of worship other than their own. These are the ones who are masking their evil intentions even as they scream for 'liberation, for liberty" as their twisted leaders, Trump et al, lead them further into the very depths of the Hell they escaped from, only this time bringing others along who are suffering under this oppressive atmosphere, this evil miasma covering the country.
What lies beneath, what lurks below, are the evil aims of this group of people who boldly unmask themselves and their goals, as they deem all others mentally deficient, unable to discern the truth. But Jared let it out two days ago when he slipped and the truth emerged, ignorance and danger rearing their ugly heads.
He and the others are mulling, plannng, how to mask their objective - to cancel the election in November - thus making it easy for a takeover of the country. Ignoring their lack of knowledge, that nobody can cancel the election, certainly not anyone from the Executive branch, certainly not he or Trump, his daddy in law so beneficial for him. But the danger screams out to all of us. Are we paying attention to the true faces of these people even as they cover over their devilish ends with a mask of humanity?
Masks are inanimate objects, used as tools by those who need them or who see a malevolent purpose to them. We, the good posse with the white or red or blue masks, must chase the bad dudes with the black hats and the black bandannas. We must unmask the truth whatever and wherever it is to be found. If we do not, well, then what lies beneath, what lurks below, will rise to the top, the scum of society, of the human race, becoming its elite as they lead us to perdition.
We have been warned of these truths all through the ages, masks have been used in various manners through the eras of human history. They have proven to be our weak point as well as a strong point - depending upon how it is used and who does the leading.
Until we recognize these truths and act positively, proactively for our own safety, for humanity. it will be difficult to do what we must - yet we must. So always, as we fight these eternal battles of good and evil, of hope and despair, always remember to Be Well and Stay Safe.
Masking is a cause of limited interaction and that is fine for today's infected world, but what about when it is not? How does one converse with an 'unknown'? How does a child recognize a mother beneath those all enshrouding total burkas? Or is that the point? These maskings of all types cause a separation among the strata of society, unleash a certain wild streak, for who will know who it really is beneath that mask?
Yet we must wear those masks, for our safety and for the safety and continued viability of the human race. But what truly is beneath those masks? What does it mean when the highest oficer in the land and his underlings do not obey the rule of the land, refuse to wear masks? What messasge do we get from that behavior?
We humans mask ourselves up every day of our lives. We self isolate when we do not like one group or another. We try to appear as if we are a friendly 'monster' a la Nessie of Loch Ness. We try to portray ourselves as reformed monsters, like Godzilla fighting for the human race, but then again, in the next movie he is the enemy, plotting against it or battling another reformed monster. We humans are forever wearing masks and go figure. Why can't we just be honest with ourselves and others?
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here..." The Tempest. Shakespeare knew from the beginning of his writings that there are monsters beneaeth human forms, human masking up. Always, there are obvious villians, but always, too, there are 'good' people who are unmasked at the end of the play as the play reaches its denoument. That is a fact of society today with an interesting twerk.
Today the outer masks of society are the dividing grounds of society. Those who hide their faces beneath mouth and nose masks are the good people of society, who try hard to insure its safety, who follow these sane and necessary rules. Those unmasked are the evil devils, escaped from Hell, wreaking havoc upon us. A defiant attitude, government is here to destroy us, we are the great unwashed, victims of society, even as they push violence, politicize the mask and indeed all truths that defy their twisted views and deeds.
How did we get here? How do we allow an ignorant yokel, a dangerous buffoon, one who "ponders injecting disinfectant into a body", who lies with every breath and inbetween, who is functionally illiterate and obviously suffering from some form of progressive dementia to 'lead' this country into the levels of Dante's Inferno. How and why have we allowed the villians of society to unmask freely yet cover and mask those who are the positive side of society?
There are no answers as far as I can tell. I am as puzzled as the next person. The situation has grown so, or degraded so, that numbers are twisted or ignored. Predictions of 25% unemployment should make one's hair stand up. Over 80,000 dead in the States, rising quickly to the 90,000 mark and a prediction of at least 147,000 by August 4. Warnings of serious harm to society if we do not follow the dictats of science. Pleas to stop the rush to disaster. The total moral vacuum of the GOP as they condone perversion, insider trading by their own Senators, invading the Justice Department and making Barr their puppet, always there to justify and defend Trump rather than his true job - the safety and law for the American society at large, not the one existing within the confines of the WH.
As those with any sense wear the masks, the rest have drawn a virtual mask over their true intentions. The mask serves as a target and incitement for them. These are the people of the extreme right, those who shoot 'others', scream anti Semitic remarks, violate the sanctity of houses of worship other than their own. These are the ones who are masking their evil intentions even as they scream for 'liberation, for liberty" as their twisted leaders, Trump et al, lead them further into the very depths of the Hell they escaped from, only this time bringing others along who are suffering under this oppressive atmosphere, this evil miasma covering the country.
What lies beneath, what lurks below, are the evil aims of this group of people who boldly unmask themselves and their goals, as they deem all others mentally deficient, unable to discern the truth. But Jared let it out two days ago when he slipped and the truth emerged, ignorance and danger rearing their ugly heads.
He and the others are mulling, plannng, how to mask their objective - to cancel the election in November - thus making it easy for a takeover of the country. Ignoring their lack of knowledge, that nobody can cancel the election, certainly not anyone from the Executive branch, certainly not he or Trump, his daddy in law so beneficial for him. But the danger screams out to all of us. Are we paying attention to the true faces of these people even as they cover over their devilish ends with a mask of humanity?
Masks are inanimate objects, used as tools by those who need them or who see a malevolent purpose to them. We, the good posse with the white or red or blue masks, must chase the bad dudes with the black hats and the black bandannas. We must unmask the truth whatever and wherever it is to be found. If we do not, well, then what lies beneath, what lurks below, will rise to the top, the scum of society, of the human race, becoming its elite as they lead us to perdition.
We have been warned of these truths all through the ages, masks have been used in various manners through the eras of human history. They have proven to be our weak point as well as a strong point - depending upon how it is used and who does the leading.
Until we recognize these truths and act positively, proactively for our own safety, for humanity. it will be difficult to do what we must - yet we must. So always, as we fight these eternal battles of good and evil, of hope and despair, always remember to Be Well and Stay Safe.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
SNAKE OIL
Guess we are indeed returning to the days of yore, when fishy looking guys with an assistant roamed the streets and byways of America, rural and urban, carrying with them the magic elixir that would cure all ills, from melancholia to hang nail, from stomach tumors to diptheria. These were the purveyors of snake oil, fake medicines, many mostly alcohol and/or laudanum, which robbed Americans of their money, their health, their trust - and sometimes their lives. It was a victory for the smooth talker, the sham personality, and a defeat for the truth.
Today, people still fall for the snake oil and its purveyors. Why? Because they need to believe something, anything, that is better than the real news, better than the realization that as advanced as we seem to be in medicine, there is so much we still cannot do, cannot cure nor protect people. That is a hard realization, so then we turn to an alternate world, a world where there is Fake Data, False Media, Alternative Facts, magnificent achievements, ignorance and a willingness to believe someone, anyone, who will show how things are better and getting better every day. In every way. Never you mind about the facts in real time, in a reality tethered to the truth, for the snake oil salesman has a better world for you to see. Truth is highly overrated in this world.
The snake oil universe is populated with new thinking or lack thereof. It declares a free for all for criminals, particularly those engaged in politics. It seems they are so very, very busy that they have no time to respond to questions, to document requests, to subpoenas and certainly the president cannot be held responsible for his own actions, even the criminal ones, for to be the president evidently means full immunity, the Capo of all Capos.
We have the biggest ever snake oil salesman in office right now and so many deluded souls who follow him tightly, wishing so hard for these false claims, these dangerous claims, to be true, for to think otherwise is too painful. But listen carefully to their words and their methodology. "'Ware, there be monsters!" There be the destroyers of our country.
An utterly bizzare idea is introduced slyly via a backwards media, TV, radio, social media or all at once. First the outliers are the ones who shout the words. Then someone from the snake oil seller joins in, seeming not so strange anymore as people have been hearing about it for a while. Example? Fine. The nation is drowning in deaths, in infections, in economic disaster. By August 4 we are predicting 147,000 deaths from the virus, a hell of a long way down a road of death from the "few" who were to die according to the snake guy, Trump, to the new numbers and probably more as the resurgence grows.
So, distraction needed. Introduce "deep state". Supplement wth a new term which has nothing behind it other than hot air and desperation as truth is overtaking the lies. Call it "Obamagate" and pull out all stops, incite hatred and violence, tack your hopes on this, pulling hard for the defeat of the enemy! But the enemy is us. It is our neighbors, our friends, our family, our daughters. The people who refuse to swallow that snake oil are delegitimized, demeaned and debased, painted as liars and fools, even as those names belong to the snake guy and crowd.
But fellow citizens of an endangered country, there is far worse ahead. A mid thirties dangerous doofus, proven to be incapable, a pal of nepotism and cronyism, of corruption, of the principle of 'money rules', one who never follows through on any of his savior ideas, this man now says he is unsure, "unable to commit one way or the other". Commit to what, you ask? To holding the November election on time, to holding it at all. To keeping that failed snake oil guy in office. For how long? Forever, for life, if one reads and hears carefully, reads between the lines, and understands that the wild statements made all along, about emulating dictators who are in office for life, well, follow through and now we have the exact words. Openly. Brazenly.
Open treason. Open planning to shred the Constitution, the Declaration, to upend history on its head, to force the snake oil down the throats of all, to proclaim that Truth is Lies. That War is Peace and all other poisonous ideas. Snake oil slithering its way towards the ultimate goal of the salesman and his crew - to rule the most powerful country of the world and its derailment, its destruction.
We already have armed militias openly defying the government , even as the very same government crosses the street and encourages this very perilous defiance. Armed insurgency. Folks, I have long warned about a civil war here, a war which could rend the world asunder, pull the countries of the world into the powerful swirls of its eddy. Living elsewhere is no answer, for every man, woman, and child on this planet stands within the danger zone. There is no untieing of knots here, no slicing the Gordian Knot, without consequence, no downing the snake oil without the poison of it ruining us, killing us.
The snake oil saleman, his followers, the armed home grown militias, the defiance of the law, the rewriting of laws meant to protect and replaced by rules that will kill our children, ruin the environment, all this must go. We must insist - no, ROAR - that there will be an election in November, 2020, despite all efforts otherwise, to destroy this country.
Folks, there is much work to be done, particularly if we are to undo all that has gone before in this perversive attempt to fool and rule the world. No mistake: this snake oil crew is dangerous to life and soul, to our lives and the lives of independent countries all over the globe, to democracy, to hope, to dreams.
We must vote in every election between now and November and overwhelm the oily people in the big one. If we do not, well, we might have to use his oh so vaunted Space Force and have them find us a new home out there in space. This home, this globe, this America, will be no more. Instead, the air will be reeking of the vile odor of snake oil, of the emissions from the corpse of democracy, from the death of any and every thing that is good and fair.
We must be strong.
We must defend the truth.
We must never succumb to the snake oil nor its salesman.
We must vote, by mail, by being there.
We must, above all - Be Well and Stay Safe.
Today, people still fall for the snake oil and its purveyors. Why? Because they need to believe something, anything, that is better than the real news, better than the realization that as advanced as we seem to be in medicine, there is so much we still cannot do, cannot cure nor protect people. That is a hard realization, so then we turn to an alternate world, a world where there is Fake Data, False Media, Alternative Facts, magnificent achievements, ignorance and a willingness to believe someone, anyone, who will show how things are better and getting better every day. In every way. Never you mind about the facts in real time, in a reality tethered to the truth, for the snake oil salesman has a better world for you to see. Truth is highly overrated in this world.
The snake oil universe is populated with new thinking or lack thereof. It declares a free for all for criminals, particularly those engaged in politics. It seems they are so very, very busy that they have no time to respond to questions, to document requests, to subpoenas and certainly the president cannot be held responsible for his own actions, even the criminal ones, for to be the president evidently means full immunity, the Capo of all Capos.
We have the biggest ever snake oil salesman in office right now and so many deluded souls who follow him tightly, wishing so hard for these false claims, these dangerous claims, to be true, for to think otherwise is too painful. But listen carefully to their words and their methodology. "'Ware, there be monsters!" There be the destroyers of our country.
An utterly bizzare idea is introduced slyly via a backwards media, TV, radio, social media or all at once. First the outliers are the ones who shout the words. Then someone from the snake oil seller joins in, seeming not so strange anymore as people have been hearing about it for a while. Example? Fine. The nation is drowning in deaths, in infections, in economic disaster. By August 4 we are predicting 147,000 deaths from the virus, a hell of a long way down a road of death from the "few" who were to die according to the snake guy, Trump, to the new numbers and probably more as the resurgence grows.
So, distraction needed. Introduce "deep state". Supplement wth a new term which has nothing behind it other than hot air and desperation as truth is overtaking the lies. Call it "Obamagate" and pull out all stops, incite hatred and violence, tack your hopes on this, pulling hard for the defeat of the enemy! But the enemy is us. It is our neighbors, our friends, our family, our daughters. The people who refuse to swallow that snake oil are delegitimized, demeaned and debased, painted as liars and fools, even as those names belong to the snake guy and crowd.
But fellow citizens of an endangered country, there is far worse ahead. A mid thirties dangerous doofus, proven to be incapable, a pal of nepotism and cronyism, of corruption, of the principle of 'money rules', one who never follows through on any of his savior ideas, this man now says he is unsure, "unable to commit one way or the other". Commit to what, you ask? To holding the November election on time, to holding it at all. To keeping that failed snake oil guy in office. For how long? Forever, for life, if one reads and hears carefully, reads between the lines, and understands that the wild statements made all along, about emulating dictators who are in office for life, well, follow through and now we have the exact words. Openly. Brazenly.
Open treason. Open planning to shred the Constitution, the Declaration, to upend history on its head, to force the snake oil down the throats of all, to proclaim that Truth is Lies. That War is Peace and all other poisonous ideas. Snake oil slithering its way towards the ultimate goal of the salesman and his crew - to rule the most powerful country of the world and its derailment, its destruction.
We already have armed militias openly defying the government , even as the very same government crosses the street and encourages this very perilous defiance. Armed insurgency. Folks, I have long warned about a civil war here, a war which could rend the world asunder, pull the countries of the world into the powerful swirls of its eddy. Living elsewhere is no answer, for every man, woman, and child on this planet stands within the danger zone. There is no untieing of knots here, no slicing the Gordian Knot, without consequence, no downing the snake oil without the poison of it ruining us, killing us.
The snake oil saleman, his followers, the armed home grown militias, the defiance of the law, the rewriting of laws meant to protect and replaced by rules that will kill our children, ruin the environment, all this must go. We must insist - no, ROAR - that there will be an election in November, 2020, despite all efforts otherwise, to destroy this country.
Folks, there is much work to be done, particularly if we are to undo all that has gone before in this perversive attempt to fool and rule the world. No mistake: this snake oil crew is dangerous to life and soul, to our lives and the lives of independent countries all over the globe, to democracy, to hope, to dreams.
We must vote in every election between now and November and overwhelm the oily people in the big one. If we do not, well, we might have to use his oh so vaunted Space Force and have them find us a new home out there in space. This home, this globe, this America, will be no more. Instead, the air will be reeking of the vile odor of snake oil, of the emissions from the corpse of democracy, from the death of any and every thing that is good and fair.
We must be strong.
We must defend the truth.
We must never succumb to the snake oil nor its salesman.
We must vote, by mail, by being there.
We must, above all - Be Well and Stay Safe.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
MOMENTS AND MOUTHS
I had a hard time figuring out the title for today's posting. The news was rich with so many tempting tidbits. Could it be the meeting of the moment that Trump boasted about, that we met the moment, faced off with the virus and are prevailing? I kid you not. We evidently are living in some other dimension, for the facts reveal that the virus rate is spiking, now finding fertile ground in the heartland.
We have certainly not prevailed, for despite the stringent efforts to hide the data, the truth, as usual, the truth outs itself. "All throughout the country, the numbers are falling rapidly." Or so he states, even as the WH people run around like chickens without heads as the virus came to its doors. The numbers are rising, rapidly. The virus is busy ravaging the world, infecting us here as well, and Fauci and WHO say that we are not done. Not even beginning.
In fact, it will not truly be met, be manageable till we hit about 70% of the population, a mark of 'herd immunity'. Not quite sure what that means to we elderly and otherwise people in more peril than others as we cannot assume that will be fine for us. So we will need to continue to isolate? To cut off physical contact with family and friends? To skulk around stores in masks and gloves, shy away from people? No, we have not prevailed. We have not met the moment.
What we have met is the enemy and it is us. It is our leadership. It is people like Stephen Miller, so active and influential in the Trump putrid petri dish, that he has induced people into visons of wishing him ill, unto death. He has laundered the memes of right wing extremists and brought them into the mainstream, an integral part of Trump's message and campaign, allowing the hate to grow and grow. Yes, he has met his moment and is glorifying and wallowing in it.
We have met the moment when the disrobing and the baring of the truth is happening, but where do we go with it? When we have people such as McConnell who stated that "(Obama) should have kept his mouth shut", that he is classless for speaking out and criticizing Trump's pathetic and dangerous pandemic policy, well where do we go from here? When we have confessed criminals being declared not guilty, when the AG himself is doing that, when the DOJ is perverted and twisted until it is an open, free law firm for Trump and his merry band of criminals, well, who needs to shut mouths and who needs to open them? I still see before me the nightmarish, frightening face of Graham at the Kavanaugh hearings, so intense, so much a mask of anger beyond all points of sanity. The screaming that emerged from that ugly face was beyond belief. The words, a betrayal of our American values, a betrayal of the people of America, a betrayal of all women. So who needs to keep the mouth shut?
In the meanwhile the cowardice and hypocrisy of the WH is unbelievable. Now they are wearing masks. Not enough that they are tested every day and sometimes more than once, even as the rest of the country goes begging for these tests, and meet the lie extraordinare- that we lead the world in testing - or that Trump now stands back in shrubbery at his shameful 'briefings'.
Yet he persists in his lies. He refuses to admit that he is wrong, grieviously and dangerously, life threatening wrong in this policy and basically in all else. He has turned back our efforts at trying to fix the mess we have made of this world of ours, discarded legislation meant to insure the health of the people, of the growing and exposed children, keep the air and water free of chemicals, keeping the land fertile and available, not being built upon and scarred by big business, by big energy companies.
Oh yes, we have met the moment and it is right there in DC. Encouraging, though, is the news that at least 54% of the population feel that this WH is releasing false information, misinformation. I only wonder why it is not more. Frightening how many still fall under his spell, even as he lies, demeans, never shuttng his mouth, much to our detriment. His prejudice raises its ugly head, his foulness outed by his own words and yet, he goes on.
When a reporter for CBS news asked why he approached the whole pandemic issue as a world competition (which we are losing - my words), he tells her, an American of Asian origin, here since she was two, that she should ask China that question. When asked why he said that, would he have asked it or told it to another reporter, not Asian, he turned to his usual obfuscation and says it was a nasty question. Why does it matter, she asked, meaning why should her physical appearance matter in the exchange, Trump, the coward, shut the briefing down. So who needs to shut mouths?
Almost 2,000 former DOJ employees file a petition against Barr. Fauci states that this will be ongoing and the vaccine and its distribution and efficiency with all groups of the popuation are big issues to tackle and meet. Yes, meet and prevail, but in truth. In fact.
We need to meet the truth, not shut mouths, when politics rears its ugly and life threatening head in the virus war. Not giving funds and help out because more blue states will receive than red?! What the hell!!!!!! Is that how we judge now? Is that going to be our defining moment? Will all of us keep our mouths shut, not protest, not throw this creep and his ilk out of every office in the land?!
Will we allow, will the newly unbalanced Supreme Court, allow his claim that the sitting president is immune from criminal charges while in office,and shut the door, no, slam the door, on revealing the ugly truth of this man? Not even bothering to lie that he is innocent of charges, just immune to them!! Such a role model. Were he to have a portrait in his attic, a la Dorian Gray, well, that is the bogeyman personified! The nightmare face in the dreams of children and today, of adults.
No, we have not prevailed in the moment, over its disastrous effects upon our society, our very lives and our future. No, we will also not keep our mouths shut! Never!!
What we will do is continue to resist him and his twisted plans and vote him and his out in November. We will speak up at every moment we can. We will insist on the truth. Always. Most important and urgent, we will Be Well and Stay Safe. Always, in every moment.
We have certainly not prevailed, for despite the stringent efforts to hide the data, the truth, as usual, the truth outs itself. "All throughout the country, the numbers are falling rapidly." Or so he states, even as the WH people run around like chickens without heads as the virus came to its doors. The numbers are rising, rapidly. The virus is busy ravaging the world, infecting us here as well, and Fauci and WHO say that we are not done. Not even beginning.
In fact, it will not truly be met, be manageable till we hit about 70% of the population, a mark of 'herd immunity'. Not quite sure what that means to we elderly and otherwise people in more peril than others as we cannot assume that will be fine for us. So we will need to continue to isolate? To cut off physical contact with family and friends? To skulk around stores in masks and gloves, shy away from people? No, we have not prevailed. We have not met the moment.
What we have met is the enemy and it is us. It is our leadership. It is people like Stephen Miller, so active and influential in the Trump putrid petri dish, that he has induced people into visons of wishing him ill, unto death. He has laundered the memes of right wing extremists and brought them into the mainstream, an integral part of Trump's message and campaign, allowing the hate to grow and grow. Yes, he has met his moment and is glorifying and wallowing in it.
We have met the moment when the disrobing and the baring of the truth is happening, but where do we go with it? When we have people such as McConnell who stated that "(Obama) should have kept his mouth shut", that he is classless for speaking out and criticizing Trump's pathetic and dangerous pandemic policy, well where do we go from here? When we have confessed criminals being declared not guilty, when the AG himself is doing that, when the DOJ is perverted and twisted until it is an open, free law firm for Trump and his merry band of criminals, well, who needs to shut mouths and who needs to open them? I still see before me the nightmarish, frightening face of Graham at the Kavanaugh hearings, so intense, so much a mask of anger beyond all points of sanity. The screaming that emerged from that ugly face was beyond belief. The words, a betrayal of our American values, a betrayal of the people of America, a betrayal of all women. So who needs to keep the mouth shut?
In the meanwhile the cowardice and hypocrisy of the WH is unbelievable. Now they are wearing masks. Not enough that they are tested every day and sometimes more than once, even as the rest of the country goes begging for these tests, and meet the lie extraordinare- that we lead the world in testing - or that Trump now stands back in shrubbery at his shameful 'briefings'.
Yet he persists in his lies. He refuses to admit that he is wrong, grieviously and dangerously, life threatening wrong in this policy and basically in all else. He has turned back our efforts at trying to fix the mess we have made of this world of ours, discarded legislation meant to insure the health of the people, of the growing and exposed children, keep the air and water free of chemicals, keeping the land fertile and available, not being built upon and scarred by big business, by big energy companies.
Oh yes, we have met the moment and it is right there in DC. Encouraging, though, is the news that at least 54% of the population feel that this WH is releasing false information, misinformation. I only wonder why it is not more. Frightening how many still fall under his spell, even as he lies, demeans, never shuttng his mouth, much to our detriment. His prejudice raises its ugly head, his foulness outed by his own words and yet, he goes on.
When a reporter for CBS news asked why he approached the whole pandemic issue as a world competition (which we are losing - my words), he tells her, an American of Asian origin, here since she was two, that she should ask China that question. When asked why he said that, would he have asked it or told it to another reporter, not Asian, he turned to his usual obfuscation and says it was a nasty question. Why does it matter, she asked, meaning why should her physical appearance matter in the exchange, Trump, the coward, shut the briefing down. So who needs to shut mouths?
Almost 2,000 former DOJ employees file a petition against Barr. Fauci states that this will be ongoing and the vaccine and its distribution and efficiency with all groups of the popuation are big issues to tackle and meet. Yes, meet and prevail, but in truth. In fact.
We need to meet the truth, not shut mouths, when politics rears its ugly and life threatening head in the virus war. Not giving funds and help out because more blue states will receive than red?! What the hell!!!!!! Is that how we judge now? Is that going to be our defining moment? Will all of us keep our mouths shut, not protest, not throw this creep and his ilk out of every office in the land?!
Will we allow, will the newly unbalanced Supreme Court, allow his claim that the sitting president is immune from criminal charges while in office,and shut the door, no, slam the door, on revealing the ugly truth of this man? Not even bothering to lie that he is innocent of charges, just immune to them!! Such a role model. Were he to have a portrait in his attic, a la Dorian Gray, well, that is the bogeyman personified! The nightmare face in the dreams of children and today, of adults.
No, we have not prevailed in the moment, over its disastrous effects upon our society, our very lives and our future. No, we will also not keep our mouths shut! Never!!
What we will do is continue to resist him and his twisted plans and vote him and his out in November. We will speak up at every moment we can. We will insist on the truth. Always. Most important and urgent, we will Be Well and Stay Safe. Always, in every moment.
Monday, May 11, 2020
RUBBER AND GLUE, LAUGHING AND CRYING
Life today can be compared to an amusement park. At times we are on a merry - go - round, slowing and speeding up, at times almost out of control. Other times we are on an insane roller coaster, the drops of which have never been seen before, the climbs so steep that one wonders if the cars will succeed in reaching the top or will they fall back. What dangers await the riders? What unknowns have been programmed in, each ride being different from the previous one and indeed for each rider.
World wide we appear to have some of the same experiences. From one side of the globe to the other, the virus has gobsmacked us but good. Live in the Uraine? Live in Turkmenistan or Russia? Live in Sweden or Italy? Anywhere, it all just seems the same with society facing a virus that seemingly has no borders, no ends to its powers to corrupt and attack each and every part of our body. It is different in each victim, thus making treatment more difficult, no matter where you live, no matter whether your ride on that merry-go-round is a horse or a yak. It seemingly can rise to bite you at will. And there is no knight on a white horse, lance at his side, ready to ride in and save us all. Just not there. Not yet.
So we are tired of spinning around. Tired of dealing with the inefficciency of the government, of people playing politics and chess with our lives. proving points, putting one over on the other side, getting a leg over or ahead and then trumpeting the victory in major tweet storms. Our adults act as children, fuss and whine, while the kids adjust. A twisted ride indeed. A ride definitely adversely affected by corruption and incompetence.
At the other end of this amusement park are the bold ones, those who refused to give in, who refused the mask, the social distancing, for they are the invincible. While the other side is glue, all seeming to stick to them, the illness growing despite precautions, despite obeying of the laws, the coaster riders dare fate to attack them. Nope, it won't, for they are rubber, and all bounces off. Well, they were and are so wrong.Somewhere, somehow, during one of the many ups and downs, hairpin turns, they, too, have been struck, caught unawares though they were warned and chose to ignore it all. Hubris takes a mighty toll indeed.
So in this gluey world where we fear tiny microscopic droplets, hunch our shoulders away from others, what do we do for relief? How do we ease tension that works on us, that could take us down the wrong slope at the wrong angle? The answer is in the creativity of the human being. Yes, we are facing a plague that appears to be unbeatable. We cannot stop it nor cure it with any certainty. We cannot predict its final course nor when that might be. We cannot state with any definite good news feeling that we know when that so needed vaccine will be ready, safe, mass produced, enough for the world, with a plan for distribution down tothe last outlying villager or the hermit in the desert and the crowds of the cities. Enough to defeat this plague and others to come.
But until then what? We laugh, and I am sure most of us have laughed at the words of the mothers who are tired, frustrated, the fathers who are bewildered at what goes on when they are not home, what is truly required to keep a household on an even keel. Music, art, Zoom, What's App chats, distance visits with masked and distanced people talking with friends.
We volunteer. We bring food and hope to shut ins, to elderly, to mothers with young kids, to kids who need some new diversion.We man the food banks. And we act and react as communities, from the dancing on the balconies of Israel to the nightly clapping at 7 PM in NYC for all those keeping us alive, at their own peril - from grocery workers to nurses. From med students rushing their school to doctors, nurses and all hopital workers exhausted by the round the clock intensive care. We thank the guys who deliver the food we do not have to go out for. We love those stores open for our food and necessity shopping.
We think, we hope, we pray, and this side of us is rubber. We are bouncing back. We are taming those up and down horses. We are learning to control and temper some of those angles and speeds, curves and downslopes, ease the upslopes on the roller coaster we are all riding.
When the choice is laughing or crying, the better medicine is laughter. We mourn our friends and loved ones who have left us, torn from us, we pray for them, but we also must laugh at the antics of some, of the cleverness of others. Most important, we have learned that we MUST prepare for the future, not allow corruption, cronyism, inefficency, greed and sloppiness to harm us again. We must allow that realization to stick to us like glue and then bounce back on that strained and tired rubber matting, but bounce back we must and will. No alternative to that is acceptable. None.
So today, as we pray for yet another friend in the ICU, we also tell stories about her and others that make us laugh through our tears, sending that laughter and love winging through the air to her and to all the victims.
And we do our part by not being moronic, dangerously so. These are life and death times and politics should play no role here, though unfortunately it has been injected into it, slowing the horses and rusting away the braces of the coaster structure. We must stop that. Our lives depend upon that.
We must be here for the now and the after. To do that we need to do two things especially right.
We need to BE WELL and STAY SAFE.
World wide we appear to have some of the same experiences. From one side of the globe to the other, the virus has gobsmacked us but good. Live in the Uraine? Live in Turkmenistan or Russia? Live in Sweden or Italy? Anywhere, it all just seems the same with society facing a virus that seemingly has no borders, no ends to its powers to corrupt and attack each and every part of our body. It is different in each victim, thus making treatment more difficult, no matter where you live, no matter whether your ride on that merry-go-round is a horse or a yak. It seemingly can rise to bite you at will. And there is no knight on a white horse, lance at his side, ready to ride in and save us all. Just not there. Not yet.
So we are tired of spinning around. Tired of dealing with the inefficciency of the government, of people playing politics and chess with our lives. proving points, putting one over on the other side, getting a leg over or ahead and then trumpeting the victory in major tweet storms. Our adults act as children, fuss and whine, while the kids adjust. A twisted ride indeed. A ride definitely adversely affected by corruption and incompetence.
At the other end of this amusement park are the bold ones, those who refused to give in, who refused the mask, the social distancing, for they are the invincible. While the other side is glue, all seeming to stick to them, the illness growing despite precautions, despite obeying of the laws, the coaster riders dare fate to attack them. Nope, it won't, for they are rubber, and all bounces off. Well, they were and are so wrong.Somewhere, somehow, during one of the many ups and downs, hairpin turns, they, too, have been struck, caught unawares though they were warned and chose to ignore it all. Hubris takes a mighty toll indeed.
So in this gluey world where we fear tiny microscopic droplets, hunch our shoulders away from others, what do we do for relief? How do we ease tension that works on us, that could take us down the wrong slope at the wrong angle? The answer is in the creativity of the human being. Yes, we are facing a plague that appears to be unbeatable. We cannot stop it nor cure it with any certainty. We cannot predict its final course nor when that might be. We cannot state with any definite good news feeling that we know when that so needed vaccine will be ready, safe, mass produced, enough for the world, with a plan for distribution down tothe last outlying villager or the hermit in the desert and the crowds of the cities. Enough to defeat this plague and others to come.
But until then what? We laugh, and I am sure most of us have laughed at the words of the mothers who are tired, frustrated, the fathers who are bewildered at what goes on when they are not home, what is truly required to keep a household on an even keel. Music, art, Zoom, What's App chats, distance visits with masked and distanced people talking with friends.
We volunteer. We bring food and hope to shut ins, to elderly, to mothers with young kids, to kids who need some new diversion.We man the food banks. And we act and react as communities, from the dancing on the balconies of Israel to the nightly clapping at 7 PM in NYC for all those keeping us alive, at their own peril - from grocery workers to nurses. From med students rushing their school to doctors, nurses and all hopital workers exhausted by the round the clock intensive care. We thank the guys who deliver the food we do not have to go out for. We love those stores open for our food and necessity shopping.
We think, we hope, we pray, and this side of us is rubber. We are bouncing back. We are taming those up and down horses. We are learning to control and temper some of those angles and speeds, curves and downslopes, ease the upslopes on the roller coaster we are all riding.
When the choice is laughing or crying, the better medicine is laughter. We mourn our friends and loved ones who have left us, torn from us, we pray for them, but we also must laugh at the antics of some, of the cleverness of others. Most important, we have learned that we MUST prepare for the future, not allow corruption, cronyism, inefficency, greed and sloppiness to harm us again. We must allow that realization to stick to us like glue and then bounce back on that strained and tired rubber matting, but bounce back we must and will. No alternative to that is acceptable. None.
So today, as we pray for yet another friend in the ICU, we also tell stories about her and others that make us laugh through our tears, sending that laughter and love winging through the air to her and to all the victims.
And we do our part by not being moronic, dangerously so. These are life and death times and politics should play no role here, though unfortunately it has been injected into it, slowing the horses and rusting away the braces of the coaster structure. We must stop that. Our lives depend upon that.
We must be here for the now and the after. To do that we need to do two things especially right.
We need to BE WELL and STAY SAFE.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
ARE WE THERE YET?
There are some things that are universal though the language mght be different. Ride in a car with a child - some adults too - and for any ride longer than 30 minutes one will hear the inevitable: are we there yet?
That same question is relevant to the state of affairs today and where we are being led, herded, with amazing, though terrible for us, success. That meme goes along with the echo of the Phantom as he intones his statement of "the point of no return". Put these two together. Add a dollop of conspiracy paranoia and lies, top it off with a huge helping of prejudice, not of returning, for it was always there, but rather the uncovering and newly politically correct expression of virulent prejudice, and cover it all with a pronounced and open case, the worst ever in our country, of dismantling of our government, of our democracy, of our traditions, of our world shaking Constitution. Outcome: the rendering of all our protection, our history, our rights, our dreams and hopes for the future into useless sludge. The question: are we there yet?
I truly hate to say it, but I fear we are there. No more yet. We are here. Not a good place to be on the informational map of our huge country. There are no redeeming features here, no ice cream stores to quiet the tremors, the fears, the growing oppression, the boldly open moves that are being made as the government and its various organs are rendered ever more useless, dangerous to the rights of the citizens and residents of this country. Worse even, for we have no place to turn for aid, as the very people presumed to be neutral, promise to be neutral, above politics, defenders of the people, not the president, well, they have turned on us, severely so.
We have morphed into our enemies. We reject justice, pardoning and freeing convicted, even self confessed criminals, subverting law and order. We trample on the rights of others, vilifying them if their deeds offend those attempting a takeover of our country and its very ethos. Did I just type "attempting"? So incorrect. It is no longer an attempt, but rather a successful political move and movement, much to our detriment. Are we there yet? Oh yes, we are, manifestly so. Do we have a chance or is the echo of the Phantom's "point of no return" growing ever stronger, louder, terrifying, dooming us to a hopeless, gray future, the future portrayed in doomsday movies ansd series, as it overpowers all other raised voices?
There is a frustration and outrage in the country. There is bewilderment and disbelief. That we have indeed "reached" there is astounding. It took long enough for the presumed influencers of society, even the brighter ones, to realize where our path has taken us. The picture becomes ever clearer. The resemblance to horror grows apace.
Shouts of racial hatred, violent deeds perpetrated on the hated groups, traditional 'others', the very damned boldness of those who support these poisonous growths in our society. The City Council of San Antonio, Texas, passed a resolution condemning hate, prejudice, hateful speech. "...put forth the measure, which states that hate crimes, discrimination and aggression against Asians and Jews are on the rise as the groups are blamed for the virus's spread." The esteemed Senator from Texas, one who ran for president recently, took them to task for that very deed, claiming there is no racism, terms of Chinese virus are not hate inducing expressions, a sign of that very much out there prejudice. Bizarre. Terrifying. Ominous. And here.
Jewish institutions are defaced, along with the so tried and true traditional cemetery vandalism. Asians are on the receiving end of frightening words. But nope, not there yet, according to Cruz, according to the mouth and very words of Trump. I suppose we need to have a step up in the power of the violence if we are to see the truth before us. Book burnings are always good for a big show, bonfires of truth. Ever more violence in actions of hatred. Beating up people, always a good release of frustration. Correct?! Separation and roundup, and finally consignment to oh so wonderful camps, places of vacation and useful work for the state. Places where we have condoned the growth of the whole mess, from burning books to burning people.
Think it cannot happen here? It already has, several times. From the horrifying treatment and official policies to Native Americans, the attempts to wipe out their cultures, even unto today, to the immigration laws passed to limit eastern Europeans - read mainly Jews - and Asians from entering the USA, finally dooming millions to beyond belief torturous death - men, women and children, babies, the elderly, mothers and their young, separating out those men and women strong enough to be of use as a slave. We did the same with the Japanese, pushing them into derelict camps, no dignity, poor food and medical care, then taking the best of their young men into a heroic unit to fight in the war, rescuing their haters many times. Oh yes, it has happened and will continue to happen here if we allow this situation to continue. We are here. Not yet, but now.
We have a President who should never have been allowed into office. Besides lack of brain power of any quantity at all, he is a hateful, divisive man who thinks of and values only himself and demands crazed loyalty and blindness, abrogating all humanity and sense from his administration and thus, from the country at large. He has destroyed us and will continue to do so. When Pelosi says, aggravated,"I don't have any idea what the President does," I understand, for he does nothing presidential, but we do know what he does. That is to fracture our country and then put it together in some twisted form, all the better to endorse and insure his Ruler for Life of this once wonderful country. Anyone opposed? Under the wheels of the bus you go.
"...don't waste your time or mine on what he says," Pelosi says and I understand the underlying reasoning. But she is wrong. We need to pay attention to him and his blind benighted sycophants, the citizens who eat up his hatred, or those who cannot see the truth for the blinding of their eyes with his supposed new clothes. The man is naked before our eyes and we refuse to see how dangerous, how inimical he is to our country.
We are facing the largest, most powerful threats to our surviving as we are. Our unemployment rate is overreaching that of the Great Depression. The supply chains of food, of medicine, of products needed for business and manufacturing, our goodwill - all are gone, destroyed by that man and his incompetence and the hubris of his supposed administrators. With the "savior" Jared at point, we know what we can expect and we do need to pay attention, act upon what we see, hear, and understand, as uncomfortable as it will be and is right now.
I do not know what the world will be like should we ever defeat this plague upon us and any to follow. I do not know what the future will be if we allow this man and his ilk to remain in office as he continues to dismantle our country. I do not know that, but I do know that "are we hear yet?" can be answered with a Yes. We are here. We are almost at the point of no return. Everything I have written, warned about, is now being acknowledged and predicted, warned about by wiser, more well known people. It is frustrating, for I do not understand why it was ignored for so long, why we stuck our heads in ever deeper holes in the sand. I guess it was easier than facing the truth and our complicity in allowing this to happen. But we do admit it now so we must act before we are lost in a gray, oppressive, devoid of all hope, world.
In the interim, until and unless we wake up, think carefully. Open eyes, ears, and mouths rather than shutting them to the truth, unpleasant and frightening as it may be. Otherwise, we are lost. We are here, not yet, but now, noses touching upon the demarkation of the point of no return.
At the very least, have sense. Be well. Stay safe.
That same question is relevant to the state of affairs today and where we are being led, herded, with amazing, though terrible for us, success. That meme goes along with the echo of the Phantom as he intones his statement of "the point of no return". Put these two together. Add a dollop of conspiracy paranoia and lies, top it off with a huge helping of prejudice, not of returning, for it was always there, but rather the uncovering and newly politically correct expression of virulent prejudice, and cover it all with a pronounced and open case, the worst ever in our country, of dismantling of our government, of our democracy, of our traditions, of our world shaking Constitution. Outcome: the rendering of all our protection, our history, our rights, our dreams and hopes for the future into useless sludge. The question: are we there yet?
I truly hate to say it, but I fear we are there. No more yet. We are here. Not a good place to be on the informational map of our huge country. There are no redeeming features here, no ice cream stores to quiet the tremors, the fears, the growing oppression, the boldly open moves that are being made as the government and its various organs are rendered ever more useless, dangerous to the rights of the citizens and residents of this country. Worse even, for we have no place to turn for aid, as the very people presumed to be neutral, promise to be neutral, above politics, defenders of the people, not the president, well, they have turned on us, severely so.
We have morphed into our enemies. We reject justice, pardoning and freeing convicted, even self confessed criminals, subverting law and order. We trample on the rights of others, vilifying them if their deeds offend those attempting a takeover of our country and its very ethos. Did I just type "attempting"? So incorrect. It is no longer an attempt, but rather a successful political move and movement, much to our detriment. Are we there yet? Oh yes, we are, manifestly so. Do we have a chance or is the echo of the Phantom's "point of no return" growing ever stronger, louder, terrifying, dooming us to a hopeless, gray future, the future portrayed in doomsday movies ansd series, as it overpowers all other raised voices?
There is a frustration and outrage in the country. There is bewilderment and disbelief. That we have indeed "reached" there is astounding. It took long enough for the presumed influencers of society, even the brighter ones, to realize where our path has taken us. The picture becomes ever clearer. The resemblance to horror grows apace.
Shouts of racial hatred, violent deeds perpetrated on the hated groups, traditional 'others', the very damned boldness of those who support these poisonous growths in our society. The City Council of San Antonio, Texas, passed a resolution condemning hate, prejudice, hateful speech. "...put forth the measure, which states that hate crimes, discrimination and aggression against Asians and Jews are on the rise as the groups are blamed for the virus's spread." The esteemed Senator from Texas, one who ran for president recently, took them to task for that very deed, claiming there is no racism, terms of Chinese virus are not hate inducing expressions, a sign of that very much out there prejudice. Bizarre. Terrifying. Ominous. And here.
Jewish institutions are defaced, along with the so tried and true traditional cemetery vandalism. Asians are on the receiving end of frightening words. But nope, not there yet, according to Cruz, according to the mouth and very words of Trump. I suppose we need to have a step up in the power of the violence if we are to see the truth before us. Book burnings are always good for a big show, bonfires of truth. Ever more violence in actions of hatred. Beating up people, always a good release of frustration. Correct?! Separation and roundup, and finally consignment to oh so wonderful camps, places of vacation and useful work for the state. Places where we have condoned the growth of the whole mess, from burning books to burning people.
Think it cannot happen here? It already has, several times. From the horrifying treatment and official policies to Native Americans, the attempts to wipe out their cultures, even unto today, to the immigration laws passed to limit eastern Europeans - read mainly Jews - and Asians from entering the USA, finally dooming millions to beyond belief torturous death - men, women and children, babies, the elderly, mothers and their young, separating out those men and women strong enough to be of use as a slave. We did the same with the Japanese, pushing them into derelict camps, no dignity, poor food and medical care, then taking the best of their young men into a heroic unit to fight in the war, rescuing their haters many times. Oh yes, it has happened and will continue to happen here if we allow this situation to continue. We are here. Not yet, but now.
We have a President who should never have been allowed into office. Besides lack of brain power of any quantity at all, he is a hateful, divisive man who thinks of and values only himself and demands crazed loyalty and blindness, abrogating all humanity and sense from his administration and thus, from the country at large. He has destroyed us and will continue to do so. When Pelosi says, aggravated,"I don't have any idea what the President does," I understand, for he does nothing presidential, but we do know what he does. That is to fracture our country and then put it together in some twisted form, all the better to endorse and insure his Ruler for Life of this once wonderful country. Anyone opposed? Under the wheels of the bus you go.
"...don't waste your time or mine on what he says," Pelosi says and I understand the underlying reasoning. But she is wrong. We need to pay attention to him and his blind benighted sycophants, the citizens who eat up his hatred, or those who cannot see the truth for the blinding of their eyes with his supposed new clothes. The man is naked before our eyes and we refuse to see how dangerous, how inimical he is to our country.
We are facing the largest, most powerful threats to our surviving as we are. Our unemployment rate is overreaching that of the Great Depression. The supply chains of food, of medicine, of products needed for business and manufacturing, our goodwill - all are gone, destroyed by that man and his incompetence and the hubris of his supposed administrators. With the "savior" Jared at point, we know what we can expect and we do need to pay attention, act upon what we see, hear, and understand, as uncomfortable as it will be and is right now.
I do not know what the world will be like should we ever defeat this plague upon us and any to follow. I do not know what the future will be if we allow this man and his ilk to remain in office as he continues to dismantle our country. I do not know that, but I do know that "are we hear yet?" can be answered with a Yes. We are here. We are almost at the point of no return. Everything I have written, warned about, is now being acknowledged and predicted, warned about by wiser, more well known people. It is frustrating, for I do not understand why it was ignored for so long, why we stuck our heads in ever deeper holes in the sand. I guess it was easier than facing the truth and our complicity in allowing this to happen. But we do admit it now so we must act before we are lost in a gray, oppressive, devoid of all hope, world.
In the interim, until and unless we wake up, think carefully. Open eyes, ears, and mouths rather than shutting them to the truth, unpleasant and frightening as it may be. Otherwise, we are lost. We are here, not yet, but now, noses touching upon the demarkation of the point of no return.
At the very least, have sense. Be well. Stay safe.
Friday, May 8, 2020
BOTCHED!
Al Gore used the term and he is so right. He said that we are going to see a botched reopening. He is so right and that is so frightening. No one argues that we will have to, at some point, open the economy, but there is a right way and a wrong way. There are decisions that are life and death, yet they are being made with a callousness that is beyond all belief.
Where do these crazed statements and deeds arise? From Republican officials and their camp followers, the extreme right, who could care less about anyone other than themselves. Ironically, they will die as they expose themselves but it is not they that I worry for but rather for those innocents who are exposed to the spread of contagion because of these idiots.
We have botched a whole lot of things, have we not? We have a mayor of a large city, Las Vegas, who callously offered up the lives of its citizens as a control group for a reopening!! How nice of her, volunteering during this time of crisis! Did anyone bother to ask the citizens? No, for they do not matter in this botched up world of ours. People count for nought here unless they increase someone's bottom line or strengthen the strangling power hold of some muckety muck.
Even as we attempt to reopen, we have threatened the survival of our health responders. Instead of the respite we wish to have, give them a chance to reboot themselves, get some PPE despite the totally messed up and insane supply system that Jared, the savior of the world, has set up, we do the opposite. No transparency, no efficiency, no anything, “The thing that is upsetting is the process at the federal level. There’s no transparency. We don’t know who made the decision, or how it has been done. The process is just a staggering injustice,” What am I supposed to say?” Only more actions and inaction that will backfire on our nurses, doctors, EMTs and all associated with helping the afflicted. But who cares, right? For he is safe in the WH, tested all the time, testing those around him, even as millions of others go without tests, without knowledge, dying without a tear from that Geni-Ass in the WH.
Meanwhile, the fabric of the nation continues to fray. Any issue that Trump is opposed on is deemed an attack by Democrats - amazing the power they have even as he stuffs the federal bench with dangerously incompetent troglodytes! Our entire system of justice, the top organization in that field, the Department of Justice, AG Barr, have been suborned by Trump and now we have the decision on Flynn. What a great world for a criminal, chief of whom lives you know where. Your choice, but here is a comment from one expert:“I’ve been practicing for more time than I care to admit and I’ve never seen anything like this."
We are living in a nation that is so botched up that it is literally dying in its present configuration. Trump has been tieing up all things, as much as possible, as much as he can pervert and ignore the laws, or get his dangerously weak Republican zombies in the Senate to vote his way, to ignore the truth, to set up the nation for a takeover. No, I did not just jump the shark, for his actions are clear. Any and all who disagree with him are dangerous, deemed so by him. They are hounded, demeaned, villified, all the while he lays blame upon them even as HE fails in his policies.
The nation is in danger and few are willing to speak out, speak up, face his abuse. People are turning away from the news because they cannot tolerate his nastines and failures, but they must pay attention. If not, we will soon find ourselves in a civil war, in a nation shattered - and make no mistake about it - we are in the midst of cracking, fracturing, shattering.
We must put an end to this. We must vote them out, recall the incompetents on the bench, deemed so by life and the ABA. We must return or reset our clocks, our values. We must make it so that a man jogging is not shot for RWB- or running while anything else other than some bigoted, benighted, lowlife who resents all others than himself. We need to rid ourselves of officials who ignored the whole thing until a graphic video went viral and there they were - caught!!
If we lose this nation, this once upon a time imperfect beacon of democracy and hope for the world, it will be on us. Yes, he and his ilk are manifestly smeared, up to their necks, even over their heads, with and by their deeds, their policies, their nastiness, their disregard for law and Constitution, for tradition, for justice, but we have the vote. WE HAVE THEVOTE. Never mind the roadblocks that are being set up , to prevent those who wish to see him gone, from voting. Get those mail-in ballots. Fill them out. Get them to the counters. Defy attempts to deregister you. American citizen? You have the right to vote. Fight for that right when it is threatened.
We have turned the wrong way, lost our purpose and direction; we and the world are suffering for it, but we can turn it around, if we but only care and try. The voice of the people is powerful when focused on the right, the just, the true American way. And remember, those of you who read this from countries around the world, these facts affect you as well. Keep your countries on the right and true, for facts are facts.
Let us remember that come November and even until we get there!! Speak up. Make your displeasure heard in the offices of Washington politicians,in the phones of local officials. No one else will fight for you, for us, if we are apathetic about the whole thing.
In the meanwhile - Be Well Stay Safe
Where do these crazed statements and deeds arise? From Republican officials and their camp followers, the extreme right, who could care less about anyone other than themselves. Ironically, they will die as they expose themselves but it is not they that I worry for but rather for those innocents who are exposed to the spread of contagion because of these idiots.
We have botched a whole lot of things, have we not? We have a mayor of a large city, Las Vegas, who callously offered up the lives of its citizens as a control group for a reopening!! How nice of her, volunteering during this time of crisis! Did anyone bother to ask the citizens? No, for they do not matter in this botched up world of ours. People count for nought here unless they increase someone's bottom line or strengthen the strangling power hold of some muckety muck.
Even as we attempt to reopen, we have threatened the survival of our health responders. Instead of the respite we wish to have, give them a chance to reboot themselves, get some PPE despite the totally messed up and insane supply system that Jared, the savior of the world, has set up, we do the opposite. No transparency, no efficiency, no anything, “The thing that is upsetting is the process at the federal level. There’s no transparency. We don’t know who made the decision, or how it has been done. The process is just a staggering injustice,” What am I supposed to say?” Only more actions and inaction that will backfire on our nurses, doctors, EMTs and all associated with helping the afflicted. But who cares, right? For he is safe in the WH, tested all the time, testing those around him, even as millions of others go without tests, without knowledge, dying without a tear from that Geni-Ass in the WH.
Meanwhile, the fabric of the nation continues to fray. Any issue that Trump is opposed on is deemed an attack by Democrats - amazing the power they have even as he stuffs the federal bench with dangerously incompetent troglodytes! Our entire system of justice, the top organization in that field, the Department of Justice, AG Barr, have been suborned by Trump and now we have the decision on Flynn. What a great world for a criminal, chief of whom lives you know where. Your choice, but here is a comment from one expert:“I’ve been practicing for more time than I care to admit and I’ve never seen anything like this."
We are living in a nation that is so botched up that it is literally dying in its present configuration. Trump has been tieing up all things, as much as possible, as much as he can pervert and ignore the laws, or get his dangerously weak Republican zombies in the Senate to vote his way, to ignore the truth, to set up the nation for a takeover. No, I did not just jump the shark, for his actions are clear. Any and all who disagree with him are dangerous, deemed so by him. They are hounded, demeaned, villified, all the while he lays blame upon them even as HE fails in his policies.
The nation is in danger and few are willing to speak out, speak up, face his abuse. People are turning away from the news because they cannot tolerate his nastines and failures, but they must pay attention. If not, we will soon find ourselves in a civil war, in a nation shattered - and make no mistake about it - we are in the midst of cracking, fracturing, shattering.
We must put an end to this. We must vote them out, recall the incompetents on the bench, deemed so by life and the ABA. We must return or reset our clocks, our values. We must make it so that a man jogging is not shot for RWB- or running while anything else other than some bigoted, benighted, lowlife who resents all others than himself. We need to rid ourselves of officials who ignored the whole thing until a graphic video went viral and there they were - caught!!
If we lose this nation, this once upon a time imperfect beacon of democracy and hope for the world, it will be on us. Yes, he and his ilk are manifestly smeared, up to their necks, even over their heads, with and by their deeds, their policies, their nastiness, their disregard for law and Constitution, for tradition, for justice, but we have the vote. WE HAVE THEVOTE. Never mind the roadblocks that are being set up , to prevent those who wish to see him gone, from voting. Get those mail-in ballots. Fill them out. Get them to the counters. Defy attempts to deregister you. American citizen? You have the right to vote. Fight for that right when it is threatened.
We have turned the wrong way, lost our purpose and direction; we and the world are suffering for it, but we can turn it around, if we but only care and try. The voice of the people is powerful when focused on the right, the just, the true American way. And remember, those of you who read this from countries around the world, these facts affect you as well. Keep your countries on the right and true, for facts are facts.
Let us remember that come November and even until we get there!! Speak up. Make your displeasure heard in the offices of Washington politicians,in the phones of local officials. No one else will fight for you, for us, if we are apathetic about the whole thing.
In the meanwhile - Be Well Stay Safe
Thursday, May 7, 2020
STALKING HORSES
Everybody has a stalking horse in life, many with more than one. Not the crazed stalker who plagues an individual, but those things in life that haunt us, problems that are often beyond our ability to control, yet they affect our very lives and our quality of life. Sad to say, I find that as I age, I have more stalking horses in my life and they often reach that life or death level. (Full disclosure: my kids say I have a worry gene.) But be that as it may, I believe my stalking horses are akin to those of many others in these perilous and chaotic times.
First and foremost these days is that damned virus. It is not death so much as the manner of death, the swiftness with which it strikes, the nastiness of its death and its possible length. There are so many unknowns about it that there is almost no way in which to guard against it other than isolate. Even then, one slip, known or unknown, could signal the end.
Nor is isolation the final answer as it simply slows the spread, trying to give our exhausted medical personnel a handle on its treatment and care for affected individuals. It will neither go away, nor get tamed, without more understanding of its growing complexity and a vaccine that all must take with no nonsense about anti vaxers!!
We were woefully unprepared as a nation to come to grips with this health crisis though we knew it was coming one day soon. When it did, we continued to ignore it, shoving aside health experts, denying the truth of their words, appointing morons to run the supply chain and allowed corruption to rear its ugly head once more in this terminally ill administration.
So yes, I have a stalking horse in my life. It is the death this virus confers on its victims, the aftereffects on its survivors. It is the frustration felt when I cannot hug my kids or a friend long unseen other than on Zoom or Skype. It is the not knowing of how, when or where, if ever, this situation will change. It is knowing that every day my odds lessen. It is knowing that with all my underlying conditions, catching this is death. Period. Though my kids assure me that we are doing all the right things - isolation, gloves, masking up, distancing, cleaning up when we go out, but there is no solution to the question of how to visit safely yet allow for physical contact. No answer at all. Will we ever kiss and hug again?
It is knowing that this administration has been exacerbating the whole mess, this one and all else. We are handing out money, printing it, as if there were no end to it, as if it will retain its value through all this. It is the huge level of national debt we have and growing, what with the heinous tax cuts for business and fatcats, proposed new ones, unemployment payments to record unemployed, virus checks. How the hell will we ever be able to cut this down. What with necessary spending to get us out of this mess, with infrastructure rotting away, where will the funds come to pay for this?! It is the horror of facing a Great Depression and a Great Epidemic at one and the same time, worse than ever. It is knowing that there is no way this administration will successfully handle this and a great stalking horse as to the consequences.
It is the stalking horses of repetitive history that threatens. We should be hearing the sound of many galloping hooves, feel the shaking of the ground beneath us. Been there, done that, yet here we go again. Watch and sense the rise in prejudice, the anti "other" feelings on the rise, the political divide on this life and death issue, as if this damned thing knows politics or cares!! It is the messed up food chain, growing worse, with crops being plowed under as food pantries and banks are besieged by record numbers, as more people go hungry, more than ever before, as our food workers in every aspect, every link, of this chain sicken and die. So, question -better to die of starvation or disease? Or a combo version!!
It is the knowing that unless we change horses here, now, in midstream, we will never get to the other side. The incompetence, to a criminal degree, the cronyism that awards life and death contracts to the wrong people, those who qualify by being friends of the Geni-Ass, the nepotism. We can go on and on, but bottom line is that we are a mess, dropping further and further into a deep hole, cutting ourselves off from the world. Should they discover a cure first, guess who willl be last in line, right after the pets and the bee killer hornets!!
It is the manifest fear that stalks this land of ours, this ever more fragile democracy, as the Constitution is flouted left and right, the system of government shredded on a daily basis, and a major Party ceding control to an evil, immoral would be Life Dictator, with a family to inherit. Just like all the governments and countries newly descending, once again, to dictatorships and tyranny. Watch The Plot Against America on HBO to see what happens with one change of history, one misstep on the wrong path. Not very good for the inhabitants either. Just check the pages and scenes of the media of hunger riots, of starving children and their equally starving parents, the wastage of fields and life itself.
I would bet that the fear which stalks me, all its categories and reasons, applies to the rest of the world as well. We are all parents, family members, care for someone or something, idea, even a pet. Most of us value life, cherish values. But somehow we went wrong. Somewhere we took a wrong turn, trusted where no trust was earned nor deserved; thus, here we are. Yes, fear stalks me for many, many reasons. I fully confess: I am frightened. I fear for today and I fear for all the morrows to come, or will they?
In the interim, as best as one can, please be well, stay safe. Try to value one another, for hate, hatred of others, is destructive of all and evil the enemy of all mankind.
BE WELL. STAY SAFE.
First and foremost these days is that damned virus. It is not death so much as the manner of death, the swiftness with which it strikes, the nastiness of its death and its possible length. There are so many unknowns about it that there is almost no way in which to guard against it other than isolate. Even then, one slip, known or unknown, could signal the end.
Nor is isolation the final answer as it simply slows the spread, trying to give our exhausted medical personnel a handle on its treatment and care for affected individuals. It will neither go away, nor get tamed, without more understanding of its growing complexity and a vaccine that all must take with no nonsense about anti vaxers!!
We were woefully unprepared as a nation to come to grips with this health crisis though we knew it was coming one day soon. When it did, we continued to ignore it, shoving aside health experts, denying the truth of their words, appointing morons to run the supply chain and allowed corruption to rear its ugly head once more in this terminally ill administration.
So yes, I have a stalking horse in my life. It is the death this virus confers on its victims, the aftereffects on its survivors. It is the frustration felt when I cannot hug my kids or a friend long unseen other than on Zoom or Skype. It is the not knowing of how, when or where, if ever, this situation will change. It is knowing that every day my odds lessen. It is knowing that with all my underlying conditions, catching this is death. Period. Though my kids assure me that we are doing all the right things - isolation, gloves, masking up, distancing, cleaning up when we go out, but there is no solution to the question of how to visit safely yet allow for physical contact. No answer at all. Will we ever kiss and hug again?
It is knowing that this administration has been exacerbating the whole mess, this one and all else. We are handing out money, printing it, as if there were no end to it, as if it will retain its value through all this. It is the huge level of national debt we have and growing, what with the heinous tax cuts for business and fatcats, proposed new ones, unemployment payments to record unemployed, virus checks. How the hell will we ever be able to cut this down. What with necessary spending to get us out of this mess, with infrastructure rotting away, where will the funds come to pay for this?! It is the horror of facing a Great Depression and a Great Epidemic at one and the same time, worse than ever. It is knowing that there is no way this administration will successfully handle this and a great stalking horse as to the consequences.
It is the stalking horses of repetitive history that threatens. We should be hearing the sound of many galloping hooves, feel the shaking of the ground beneath us. Been there, done that, yet here we go again. Watch and sense the rise in prejudice, the anti "other" feelings on the rise, the political divide on this life and death issue, as if this damned thing knows politics or cares!! It is the messed up food chain, growing worse, with crops being plowed under as food pantries and banks are besieged by record numbers, as more people go hungry, more than ever before, as our food workers in every aspect, every link, of this chain sicken and die. So, question -better to die of starvation or disease? Or a combo version!!
It is the knowing that unless we change horses here, now, in midstream, we will never get to the other side. The incompetence, to a criminal degree, the cronyism that awards life and death contracts to the wrong people, those who qualify by being friends of the Geni-Ass, the nepotism. We can go on and on, but bottom line is that we are a mess, dropping further and further into a deep hole, cutting ourselves off from the world. Should they discover a cure first, guess who willl be last in line, right after the pets and the bee killer hornets!!
It is the manifest fear that stalks this land of ours, this ever more fragile democracy, as the Constitution is flouted left and right, the system of government shredded on a daily basis, and a major Party ceding control to an evil, immoral would be Life Dictator, with a family to inherit. Just like all the governments and countries newly descending, once again, to dictatorships and tyranny. Watch The Plot Against America on HBO to see what happens with one change of history, one misstep on the wrong path. Not very good for the inhabitants either. Just check the pages and scenes of the media of hunger riots, of starving children and their equally starving parents, the wastage of fields and life itself.
I would bet that the fear which stalks me, all its categories and reasons, applies to the rest of the world as well. We are all parents, family members, care for someone or something, idea, even a pet. Most of us value life, cherish values. But somehow we went wrong. Somewhere we took a wrong turn, trusted where no trust was earned nor deserved; thus, here we are. Yes, fear stalks me for many, many reasons. I fully confess: I am frightened. I fear for today and I fear for all the morrows to come, or will they?
In the interim, as best as one can, please be well, stay safe. Try to value one another, for hate, hatred of others, is destructive of all and evil the enemy of all mankind.
BE WELL. STAY SAFE.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Old dogs and new tricks. New dogs and old tricks. As for humans, well, nothing much ever changes, does it? The old, the rejected ideas, the cheating, the lying, the corruption, always manage to stay hale and hearty beneath the surface veneers and bust through that veneer with growing strength when troubles brew.
It is so simple, the answer, but all avoid it, trample on it, relegislate laws so it does not have to be. What? Transparency. Bad things grow in secret, waiting their turns, always building, building, waiting, biding their times until society is ready to accept once again. And when is that? Usually when society is in crisis. People are tired, physically and emotionally. People are looking for some knight to rescue them, to fix the problems. All, of course, without too much interference with their daily lives. Not too much thinking either.
The first thing to go is transparency. Light helps the truth. Darkness not. Cronyism, cheating, corruption, special interests, all have their best moments when the public is shielded, blocked, from the truth. It is only when whistleblowers endowed with courage and valuing truth, come to the fore, and their reward for this valiant moment? Usually, disgrace, shaming, demotion, firing, a pariah in the society of the time. Where? All over. In any society, big or small.
Take a condominium association that has had bad rumblings. People 'know' that something is wrong, their upkeep and maintenance off, their finances truly rocky, but does anyone investigate? Nope, for if the truth will come out, one , someone, anyone, will have to stand up against the power of the association, face their mouths, their nastiness, becoming an outlier, a lonely place to be.
It is not an easy choice, yet some have that courage, that strength to be able to live with the unpleasant consequences of their truth exposures and not be thanked for anything, even if and when their ideas are acted upon, put in place after some time, when things are smoothed over. But the whistleblower in society? He/She will never regain the same place, never win the approval of the majority, never live down a reputation of a troublemaker, even as that reputation is laid upon him by the target of the whistleblowing!
At every level we see the consequences of lies, of the growth of opaqueness, of the drawing of the curtains against the light of the truth, of the vicious hectoring of the truthteller. The entire Trump administration is prime example. Every single person who has told the truth - the naval officer, the health people, the members of the inner circle, the latest courageous one fired for his truth exposure - and it never stops. It begins to wear on people but rather than insist that transparency return, they shrug shoulders, wanting to be left alone in their own personal lives and struggles. Let another handle it.
But there is no other. Everyone is too tired, too busy, too sick, too troubled or actually pleased with the status quo, benefitting from its corruption and bad governmental tactics. So there the person remains, on the edge of a precipice, to tell or not, to jump or not. To know what is coming, yet go ahead with it all. Fear is the prevailing emotion of this society. Fear of loss of power, of position and prestige, such as it is, of loss of wealth, of whatever makes them tick.
As a result, we are in the mess we live with now. Open the cities, the country. Over 70,000 dead and growing, this from just a few people, maybe three, that was predicted. By the geni-ass. Never mind that the plateaus are bumping up again if we leave out the big cities such as NY and Chicago who were tough on their citizens and did the job. Never mind that over 20,000 and more will sicken each day and thousands, thousands, will die, again, for how long? The truth? We will never know it, for it is hidden, people afraid to speak out, subpoenas denied, laws broken, and the cronyism that benefitsfrom all this, well not to worry, for it is hale and hearty.
Now to a more local issue. Even as we have good local examples such as James, of West Palm Beach, we also have the Commissioners of Palm Beach who are fussing, wanting to open the county, even as more are still dying, even as we have such a large population of the most vulnerable. Why? So people can swim in dangerous pools? So it can spread, even in its new more contagious mutations, even as we have no vaccine, even as we ignore what successful countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Israel have done. We are fools. Those of us who will charge out there, throw away the masks, forget the gloves and who has time to wash so often, well, unfortunately it will not be just you who get ill, but also the one to whom you spread it, who sicken and die. Live with that! If you can.
Finally, how about the Village. Ed Grossman has been fighting for truth, for exposure to the light of day, for full transparency, for years, the chief opponents allegedly being Israel, Black and all the sycophants who love to hang around the UCO building, 'basking' in the aura of 'power' of their officer buddies. Things are never done in a straight line and manner here. By laws are ignored or changed, always to make it more difficult to oust or protest the powers that be.
The Village has suffered for it. Huge divisions in the residents. Ignoring new demographics, UCO officers rarely coming to shows though I must exclude David Boas from that for he always is there, sharing in the Village entertainment, out there, mingling, as compared to others. The money situation of the Village is shrouded in more coverings, denials, resistance than any other area. Israel has denied the Treasurer and the auditor of the Village any information, leading to the resignation of a long term CPA auditor and an increasing cloud cover over our finances.
We are spending monies that should never have had to be spent, making up for poor contracts such as the road repaving. These days we are repaving patch by patch, an expensive process. I also wonder how many more things we can find to expend even more funding for the guardhouses and the UCO building. I have lost count of the times the foliage around it has been totally revamped, or the repainting, presumed upgrades, etc. Meanwhile, there is a growing shabbiness of some associations who are undermanned, overrented, populated by the elderly elderly who cannot manage the responsibilities any longer. They seem to count and matter only during election time when suddenly there are boards and delegates. Interesting!
Anyone who asks questions that might even cross over a danger line for the powers that be are blackballed from serving in UCO and its extensions. They are shamed with names, with nastiness from the dais, shut out in the cold, denied their rightful roles within the Village, within UCO and Ed G. is a prime example. Read the letter he has made public, written by the auditor to David Israel. Ask questions. Raise a racket!
I do not know when, if ever, will we humans be able to rid ourselves of these selfish people who find a place for themselves in politics, in big business, who play the ropes and control their puppets. Can we? Will we? Until such time we must be ever vigilant, for the consequences are ours to pay.
In the meanwhile, my friends, prepare for future waves, be well, stay safe.
It is so simple, the answer, but all avoid it, trample on it, relegislate laws so it does not have to be. What? Transparency. Bad things grow in secret, waiting their turns, always building, building, waiting, biding their times until society is ready to accept once again. And when is that? Usually when society is in crisis. People are tired, physically and emotionally. People are looking for some knight to rescue them, to fix the problems. All, of course, without too much interference with their daily lives. Not too much thinking either.
The first thing to go is transparency. Light helps the truth. Darkness not. Cronyism, cheating, corruption, special interests, all have their best moments when the public is shielded, blocked, from the truth. It is only when whistleblowers endowed with courage and valuing truth, come to the fore, and their reward for this valiant moment? Usually, disgrace, shaming, demotion, firing, a pariah in the society of the time. Where? All over. In any society, big or small.
Take a condominium association that has had bad rumblings. People 'know' that something is wrong, their upkeep and maintenance off, their finances truly rocky, but does anyone investigate? Nope, for if the truth will come out, one , someone, anyone, will have to stand up against the power of the association, face their mouths, their nastiness, becoming an outlier, a lonely place to be.
It is not an easy choice, yet some have that courage, that strength to be able to live with the unpleasant consequences of their truth exposures and not be thanked for anything, even if and when their ideas are acted upon, put in place after some time, when things are smoothed over. But the whistleblower in society? He/She will never regain the same place, never win the approval of the majority, never live down a reputation of a troublemaker, even as that reputation is laid upon him by the target of the whistleblowing!
At every level we see the consequences of lies, of the growth of opaqueness, of the drawing of the curtains against the light of the truth, of the vicious hectoring of the truthteller. The entire Trump administration is prime example. Every single person who has told the truth - the naval officer, the health people, the members of the inner circle, the latest courageous one fired for his truth exposure - and it never stops. It begins to wear on people but rather than insist that transparency return, they shrug shoulders, wanting to be left alone in their own personal lives and struggles. Let another handle it.
But there is no other. Everyone is too tired, too busy, too sick, too troubled or actually pleased with the status quo, benefitting from its corruption and bad governmental tactics. So there the person remains, on the edge of a precipice, to tell or not, to jump or not. To know what is coming, yet go ahead with it all. Fear is the prevailing emotion of this society. Fear of loss of power, of position and prestige, such as it is, of loss of wealth, of whatever makes them tick.
As a result, we are in the mess we live with now. Open the cities, the country. Over 70,000 dead and growing, this from just a few people, maybe three, that was predicted. By the geni-ass. Never mind that the plateaus are bumping up again if we leave out the big cities such as NY and Chicago who were tough on their citizens and did the job. Never mind that over 20,000 and more will sicken each day and thousands, thousands, will die, again, for how long? The truth? We will never know it, for it is hidden, people afraid to speak out, subpoenas denied, laws broken, and the cronyism that benefitsfrom all this, well not to worry, for it is hale and hearty.
Now to a more local issue. Even as we have good local examples such as James, of West Palm Beach, we also have the Commissioners of Palm Beach who are fussing, wanting to open the county, even as more are still dying, even as we have such a large population of the most vulnerable. Why? So people can swim in dangerous pools? So it can spread, even in its new more contagious mutations, even as we have no vaccine, even as we ignore what successful countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Israel have done. We are fools. Those of us who will charge out there, throw away the masks, forget the gloves and who has time to wash so often, well, unfortunately it will not be just you who get ill, but also the one to whom you spread it, who sicken and die. Live with that! If you can.
Finally, how about the Village. Ed Grossman has been fighting for truth, for exposure to the light of day, for full transparency, for years, the chief opponents allegedly being Israel, Black and all the sycophants who love to hang around the UCO building, 'basking' in the aura of 'power' of their officer buddies. Things are never done in a straight line and manner here. By laws are ignored or changed, always to make it more difficult to oust or protest the powers that be.
The Village has suffered for it. Huge divisions in the residents. Ignoring new demographics, UCO officers rarely coming to shows though I must exclude David Boas from that for he always is there, sharing in the Village entertainment, out there, mingling, as compared to others. The money situation of the Village is shrouded in more coverings, denials, resistance than any other area. Israel has denied the Treasurer and the auditor of the Village any information, leading to the resignation of a long term CPA auditor and an increasing cloud cover over our finances.
We are spending monies that should never have had to be spent, making up for poor contracts such as the road repaving. These days we are repaving patch by patch, an expensive process. I also wonder how many more things we can find to expend even more funding for the guardhouses and the UCO building. I have lost count of the times the foliage around it has been totally revamped, or the repainting, presumed upgrades, etc. Meanwhile, there is a growing shabbiness of some associations who are undermanned, overrented, populated by the elderly elderly who cannot manage the responsibilities any longer. They seem to count and matter only during election time when suddenly there are boards and delegates. Interesting!
Anyone who asks questions that might even cross over a danger line for the powers that be are blackballed from serving in UCO and its extensions. They are shamed with names, with nastiness from the dais, shut out in the cold, denied their rightful roles within the Village, within UCO and Ed G. is a prime example. Read the letter he has made public, written by the auditor to David Israel. Ask questions. Raise a racket!
I do not know when, if ever, will we humans be able to rid ourselves of these selfish people who find a place for themselves in politics, in big business, who play the ropes and control their puppets. Can we? Will we? Until such time we must be ever vigilant, for the consequences are ours to pay.
In the meanwhile, my friends, prepare for future waves, be well, stay safe.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
CHOICES
There are books where the reader is allowed to make decisions for the characters. First a starter plot is laid out and then the choices - and their consequences - begin. From pauper to king, from citizen to wandering fugitive, sudden twists of fate, all is there, depending upon one's choices. Of course, there were those who peeked, looking to find out their future and change it if they could.
Many people state they would like to know the future, be able to make changes to it bychanging their decisions in the present, but will it? Or are the choices we make so engrained in our upraising, in our nurture and nature, that we will end up in the same position in a same future? Yet another possibility - if it is unchangeable, such as a disease, can I better prepare for it, make different decisions than if I had not known of my fate? All the what ifs, or couldas, shouldaa, wouldas of life.
Within our choices are the keys to our beliefs and character. What do we value? What comes first in our list of priorities? Where, when and how do we value others in our spheres of action and life? Here, my friends, is where today's world enters with a bang!!
The decisions of today are rife with life and death situations. It is definitely strange and at times a bit oppressive to sit home or pick outings very carefully, limit physical contact with others, friends and family included. For grandparents it is probably the most difficult thing to do, and for children of aging parents there is also worry - are they listening, isolating, following rules, prepared with supplies and food? It is exhausting to anyone at present as we live these newly changed lives.
So we make decisions. Our presumed leaders make decisions that affect ours. These decisions are not fully accepted by some and the whole condition and degreee of 'unknowingness' is compounded when our leaders make choices, rescind them, change them. This wishy-washy temperament leads us to feel insecure and questioning our own choices. Do we change them, go out, go visiting, take off those suffocating masks or get a supply of them, a better one, keep our distances andwhat happens if and when we do not? Aha! The $64,000 question.
At the bottom of it all is this: what are our values? How much do we value not only our lives, but the lives of others who could be adversely affected by our decisions? At these dangerous times, times of fracture in the country and yes, the world, what do we do? Do we trust our leaders, their supposed experts, their plans, their grasp of the future? Or do we question and try to chart our own way?
I cannot and do not trust this administration or in fact any Republican politician to make the proper decision, certainly not those that will keep me and mine safe and alive. They fail to understand the consequences of their choices and they choose to give in to violence and extremism, to groups of anti social people, to those who revive the ancient and sickening canards that the Jews are instigating this, wishing to kill all other than themselves, or that a certain group of people are dirty, carry disease. Finding echoes in your mind? Sending shivers down your spine? Rending your heart? It should do all those and more.
Choices have consequences. I understand the economy must open up at some time. I do. I know the struggles of those without employment, having been there, done that during my lifetime, but it must be done in a safe manner. This is not what is happening. People are behaving as thoughtless creatures. They must go to the beaches? They must hang together in groups at a party? They must remove those masks because they are annoying? No, they do not have to and should not, but they make their choices and the idiots upstairs make choices too, ones that are adversly affecting us in life and death futures and choices.
So what's a few thousands between friends? So what if the death toll now begins to rise again, negating our slowing it down through hard sacrifices? So what if the death toll rises by June to double that of today? What is the big deal between 1,500 and 3,000 mortalities, for after all, most were probably old or ailing or just weak! So therefore we can now remove the safety rules at nursing homes, for so what if thousands more die there? The callousness of these decisions, the inhumane negating of the value of life for and to others, the disregard of the grief of mourning friends and loved one, the members of a family ripped asunder from the fabric of their lives!
Thus we have the so casual raising of deaths that might befall us. First it was just a few, maybe three. Then it was okay, a few more, then 10,000 and not one to two million, and then the graph spiked - 20,000, 30,000, 50,000, 60,000 and now we are being urged to think positively, that 100,000, even 200,000 is better than a million, so be appreciative of the idiot's behavior and management?!
Choices. Those we make for ourselves. Those others make that affect us. Those choices that are life and death, for us as well as for others. We need to think carefully for now and the future. How do we need to prepare? We were woefully not this time around, engaged rather in a game of self delusion and magical thinking. If we closed our eyes to it, then it does not exist.
How wrong we were, how terribly wrong, and how incapable Trump has proven to be. How morally he is guilty of at least being an accessory to manslaughter before and after the fact, if not legally as well. He and his should be, for at their feet lay all the dead now piled up in funeral homes, buried in mass graves, or waiting their turn to be buried. Choose carefully before you choose to flout the safety rules. Choose wisely for it is not only your life in peril. Choose carefully this time around, a better and wiser person, one who cares for others rather than only opening his golf courses again and how quickly can he spin his own wrong words and misdeeds, poor choices, into something else!
To be well and stay safe we must think ahead. We must make the better choice. In the meanwhile, be careful.Weigh the choices.
Be well. Stay safe.
Many people state they would like to know the future, be able to make changes to it bychanging their decisions in the present, but will it? Or are the choices we make so engrained in our upraising, in our nurture and nature, that we will end up in the same position in a same future? Yet another possibility - if it is unchangeable, such as a disease, can I better prepare for it, make different decisions than if I had not known of my fate? All the what ifs, or couldas, shouldaa, wouldas of life.
Within our choices are the keys to our beliefs and character. What do we value? What comes first in our list of priorities? Where, when and how do we value others in our spheres of action and life? Here, my friends, is where today's world enters with a bang!!
The decisions of today are rife with life and death situations. It is definitely strange and at times a bit oppressive to sit home or pick outings very carefully, limit physical contact with others, friends and family included. For grandparents it is probably the most difficult thing to do, and for children of aging parents there is also worry - are they listening, isolating, following rules, prepared with supplies and food? It is exhausting to anyone at present as we live these newly changed lives.
So we make decisions. Our presumed leaders make decisions that affect ours. These decisions are not fully accepted by some and the whole condition and degreee of 'unknowingness' is compounded when our leaders make choices, rescind them, change them. This wishy-washy temperament leads us to feel insecure and questioning our own choices. Do we change them, go out, go visiting, take off those suffocating masks or get a supply of them, a better one, keep our distances andwhat happens if and when we do not? Aha! The $64,000 question.
At the bottom of it all is this: what are our values? How much do we value not only our lives, but the lives of others who could be adversely affected by our decisions? At these dangerous times, times of fracture in the country and yes, the world, what do we do? Do we trust our leaders, their supposed experts, their plans, their grasp of the future? Or do we question and try to chart our own way?
I cannot and do not trust this administration or in fact any Republican politician to make the proper decision, certainly not those that will keep me and mine safe and alive. They fail to understand the consequences of their choices and they choose to give in to violence and extremism, to groups of anti social people, to those who revive the ancient and sickening canards that the Jews are instigating this, wishing to kill all other than themselves, or that a certain group of people are dirty, carry disease. Finding echoes in your mind? Sending shivers down your spine? Rending your heart? It should do all those and more.
Choices have consequences. I understand the economy must open up at some time. I do. I know the struggles of those without employment, having been there, done that during my lifetime, but it must be done in a safe manner. This is not what is happening. People are behaving as thoughtless creatures. They must go to the beaches? They must hang together in groups at a party? They must remove those masks because they are annoying? No, they do not have to and should not, but they make their choices and the idiots upstairs make choices too, ones that are adversly affecting us in life and death futures and choices.
So what's a few thousands between friends? So what if the death toll now begins to rise again, negating our slowing it down through hard sacrifices? So what if the death toll rises by June to double that of today? What is the big deal between 1,500 and 3,000 mortalities, for after all, most were probably old or ailing or just weak! So therefore we can now remove the safety rules at nursing homes, for so what if thousands more die there? The callousness of these decisions, the inhumane negating of the value of life for and to others, the disregard of the grief of mourning friends and loved one, the members of a family ripped asunder from the fabric of their lives!
Thus we have the so casual raising of deaths that might befall us. First it was just a few, maybe three. Then it was okay, a few more, then 10,000 and not one to two million, and then the graph spiked - 20,000, 30,000, 50,000, 60,000 and now we are being urged to think positively, that 100,000, even 200,000 is better than a million, so be appreciative of the idiot's behavior and management?!
Choices. Those we make for ourselves. Those others make that affect us. Those choices that are life and death, for us as well as for others. We need to think carefully for now and the future. How do we need to prepare? We were woefully not this time around, engaged rather in a game of self delusion and magical thinking. If we closed our eyes to it, then it does not exist.
How wrong we were, how terribly wrong, and how incapable Trump has proven to be. How morally he is guilty of at least being an accessory to manslaughter before and after the fact, if not legally as well. He and his should be, for at their feet lay all the dead now piled up in funeral homes, buried in mass graves, or waiting their turn to be buried. Choose carefully before you choose to flout the safety rules. Choose wisely for it is not only your life in peril. Choose carefully this time around, a better and wiser person, one who cares for others rather than only opening his golf courses again and how quickly can he spin his own wrong words and misdeeds, poor choices, into something else!
To be well and stay safe we must think ahead. We must make the better choice. In the meanwhile, be careful.Weigh the choices.
Be well. Stay safe.
Monday, May 4, 2020
13 SECONDS 4 MONTHS 100,000
Fifty years ago today we had 13 seconds that changed the world. America was being ripped apart by growing anti war protests and then the unthinkable. Armed National Guard troops were called out to Kent Stae University in Ohio and faced off with a growing group of college kids, many the same age as their 'opponents' facing off with them. And in 13 seconds we had the first true crack in the foundation of our country. 9 students shot, one permanently paralyzed, and 4 dead. The iconic photo of a presumed student screaming to the heavens over the body of another student shook the world. It shook the government. It shook America. And it shook the family housholds that made up America.
We do not have 13 seconds here. Instead, we have six months and ongoing. Since December we knew that something was going on in China, despite their attempts to play it down. Why we scream about that I do not know, for our government did the same thing, with that idiot Trump ignoring it, or tossing out numbers of possible dead, increasing the numbers nonchalantly as the crisis grew. In January he already had briefings but truly, nothing was done, nothing said to the public of the looming monster poised to devour the country's citizens. And here we are, six months later and the crack begun in Kent fifty years ago has now enlarged into a deep, apparently bottomless abyss as citizens face off other citizens, as their very lives are placed in jeopardy.
The absolute silence of the shooting's immediate aftermath was echoed all those years later by the first moments of silence, of shock, on 9/11, of disbelief that such a thing could happen. We mourned, for a while, as a nation united, headed by a man who grew into his job at that point.
Juxtapose that man with what we now have, a crass man who dared to have a 'Town Hall' at the Lincoln Memorial, comparing himself to that President who truly ws a wartime President and who accepted, dealt with, and mourned the consequences of all decisions made. He took upon himself the responsibility of making those decisions, owning up to them, as opposed to this one who refuses, openly, to take any responsibility. Lincoln honored the nation's dead even as the Demented One throws out evergrowing figures of the projected virus dead and never mind those damaged for life from its aftereffects. All with no end in sight. And does he mourn? Oh no he does not, for these mean nothing to him, only calculations in his desperate race for a continued stay in office where he can continue his dismantling and ruination of our country. So what's another 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 or 100,000 between friends, right!!!
Over and over he contradicts his own mouth, his own words. Over and over again he lies. "We're building supply lines, we have the final vaccine". No we do not. We are not even close and has anyone even dared to mention or remark that we might never have that vaccine, only find some medicines that alleviate some of the virus effects. Remdesivir is no cure; it only alleviates the symptoms in mild to moderate cases, shortening recovery times, but does not prevent it nor save those severe cases. When, when, are we going to demand the truth? When, when, are we going to finally develop citizens who refuse to be led by the nose by this liar, this dangerous life opposing man? Who could care less about anyone or anything other than himself and possibly some of his children.
"I've never seen death like this," he states. Well, let the blame fall where it may, for it is on his shoulders that it will fall and has fallen. He casually perverts and twists a supposed informational town hall into a political rally and plea, almost threat, to re-elect him, G-d forbid.
His own officials contradict his dangerously foolish lies and one by one they are silenced, pushed to the side, forbidden to testify, challenging the powers of the legislative branch of government, the checks it is supposed to perform on a power crazed President. Worse, we allow it, even welcome it in some households, ignoring the facts, blind to the truth, that this man, in four years, has eroded the civil rights of Americans more than any other person in our history. He has come the closest of any President of bringing this country to its knees, of encouraging prejudice even as he blames it on others. But the hate, the filth, comes directly from him, his actions, and his words.
Our help now comes from the state levels where the governors have the guts, the moral strength to take on this man and face him down for the benefit of their citizens, but even then, some back down at times from his threats to cut them off or worse. He encourages open rebellion against the state governments, encouraging protests. He pushes visits to beaches, 'cause there is evidently nothing wrong. "They can go some of the time and not all the time." Does this geni-ass understand that all it takes is one second, one droplet, and now we have community spread again? That there are no healthy times to go stand around in a crowd, to wade and swim in waters that have been polluted by the sputum of others?
Birx is worried. Fauci warns. Trump lies. What does he care, for he is in a cocoon, tested several times a week as are all his buddies and sycophants, any visitors to him. Easy to be bold behind the front lines, right? And no, Jared is not the be all and end all as I have yet to see one thing he has truly accomplished and carried out to a final and positive constructive conclusion.
As our dead grow in numbers by leaps and bounds, as the bodies pile up like trash in a garbage strike, as we wait with bated breath for new growth of dead and ill as areas open up too early and too much, as we watch this man and his ilk shove blame onto others, as they refuse to acknowledge their own criminal negligence, we wait. We wait for death to come knocking on our doors, or worse, G-d forbid, on the doors of loved ones. We wait as the ass Pompeo says at one and the same time, that no, it was made in a Chinese lab, but no, it is too complex for that. As if he has any scientific knowledge nor any integrity left!
Yet we are not done. Trump uses federal funds to enrich fatcats and big business. The rules are broken and/or manifestly unfair, unclear.We threaten Chinese trade lines even as the majority of our electronics, medicines and ingredients, PPE, all come from there. So, of course, let us just antagonize them more and more, forget about your former love affair with Xi, for now he needs to be your sacrificial goat, all the better to shift blame onto anyone and anything, other than himself.
We need to avoid our own 13 second equivalent. We need to save our country. We need to dig deep down and find our unity and pride as Americans. We need to focus on the important and not the trivial. We need to be well, stay safe. Under this man? Difficult, if not impossible. Remember that as you vote.
Be well. Stay safe.
We do not have 13 seconds here. Instead, we have six months and ongoing. Since December we knew that something was going on in China, despite their attempts to play it down. Why we scream about that I do not know, for our government did the same thing, with that idiot Trump ignoring it, or tossing out numbers of possible dead, increasing the numbers nonchalantly as the crisis grew. In January he already had briefings but truly, nothing was done, nothing said to the public of the looming monster poised to devour the country's citizens. And here we are, six months later and the crack begun in Kent fifty years ago has now enlarged into a deep, apparently bottomless abyss as citizens face off other citizens, as their very lives are placed in jeopardy.
The absolute silence of the shooting's immediate aftermath was echoed all those years later by the first moments of silence, of shock, on 9/11, of disbelief that such a thing could happen. We mourned, for a while, as a nation united, headed by a man who grew into his job at that point.
Juxtapose that man with what we now have, a crass man who dared to have a 'Town Hall' at the Lincoln Memorial, comparing himself to that President who truly ws a wartime President and who accepted, dealt with, and mourned the consequences of all decisions made. He took upon himself the responsibility of making those decisions, owning up to them, as opposed to this one who refuses, openly, to take any responsibility. Lincoln honored the nation's dead even as the Demented One throws out evergrowing figures of the projected virus dead and never mind those damaged for life from its aftereffects. All with no end in sight. And does he mourn? Oh no he does not, for these mean nothing to him, only calculations in his desperate race for a continued stay in office where he can continue his dismantling and ruination of our country. So what's another 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 or 100,000 between friends, right!!!
Over and over he contradicts his own mouth, his own words. Over and over again he lies. "We're building supply lines, we have the final vaccine". No we do not. We are not even close and has anyone even dared to mention or remark that we might never have that vaccine, only find some medicines that alleviate some of the virus effects. Remdesivir is no cure; it only alleviates the symptoms in mild to moderate cases, shortening recovery times, but does not prevent it nor save those severe cases. When, when, are we going to demand the truth? When, when, are we going to finally develop citizens who refuse to be led by the nose by this liar, this dangerous life opposing man? Who could care less about anyone or anything other than himself and possibly some of his children.
"I've never seen death like this," he states. Well, let the blame fall where it may, for it is on his shoulders that it will fall and has fallen. He casually perverts and twists a supposed informational town hall into a political rally and plea, almost threat, to re-elect him, G-d forbid.
His own officials contradict his dangerously foolish lies and one by one they are silenced, pushed to the side, forbidden to testify, challenging the powers of the legislative branch of government, the checks it is supposed to perform on a power crazed President. Worse, we allow it, even welcome it in some households, ignoring the facts, blind to the truth, that this man, in four years, has eroded the civil rights of Americans more than any other person in our history. He has come the closest of any President of bringing this country to its knees, of encouraging prejudice even as he blames it on others. But the hate, the filth, comes directly from him, his actions, and his words.
Our help now comes from the state levels where the governors have the guts, the moral strength to take on this man and face him down for the benefit of their citizens, but even then, some back down at times from his threats to cut them off or worse. He encourages open rebellion against the state governments, encouraging protests. He pushes visits to beaches, 'cause there is evidently nothing wrong. "They can go some of the time and not all the time." Does this geni-ass understand that all it takes is one second, one droplet, and now we have community spread again? That there are no healthy times to go stand around in a crowd, to wade and swim in waters that have been polluted by the sputum of others?
Birx is worried. Fauci warns. Trump lies. What does he care, for he is in a cocoon, tested several times a week as are all his buddies and sycophants, any visitors to him. Easy to be bold behind the front lines, right? And no, Jared is not the be all and end all as I have yet to see one thing he has truly accomplished and carried out to a final and positive constructive conclusion.
As our dead grow in numbers by leaps and bounds, as the bodies pile up like trash in a garbage strike, as we wait with bated breath for new growth of dead and ill as areas open up too early and too much, as we watch this man and his ilk shove blame onto others, as they refuse to acknowledge their own criminal negligence, we wait. We wait for death to come knocking on our doors, or worse, G-d forbid, on the doors of loved ones. We wait as the ass Pompeo says at one and the same time, that no, it was made in a Chinese lab, but no, it is too complex for that. As if he has any scientific knowledge nor any integrity left!
Yet we are not done. Trump uses federal funds to enrich fatcats and big business. The rules are broken and/or manifestly unfair, unclear.We threaten Chinese trade lines even as the majority of our electronics, medicines and ingredients, PPE, all come from there. So, of course, let us just antagonize them more and more, forget about your former love affair with Xi, for now he needs to be your sacrificial goat, all the better to shift blame onto anyone and anything, other than himself.
We need to avoid our own 13 second equivalent. We need to save our country. We need to dig deep down and find our unity and pride as Americans. We need to focus on the important and not the trivial. We need to be well, stay safe. Under this man? Difficult, if not impossible. Remember that as you vote.
Be well. Stay safe.
Sunday, May 3, 2020
ANCHORS
Imagine yourself floating peacefully, on deck of a magnificent yacht, surrounded by beautiful blue, sparkling, calm waters. A wonderful way to spend a day or a week, but suddenly the yacht is flipped over by a freak superwave and you find yourself underwater, not knowing which way is up, floundering, your breath running out. How did this happen? Why did this happen? How to get out safely, finding a way back to safe waters, calm waters, and reanchor in this new safe harbor. How? Where? Those are major questions that do not always have easy answers, or indeed any.
I love the peacefulness of the ocean at rest, the calmer waters and manageable waves, the sun warm on the skin without burning, and the ssshhhh of the water. It is calming as no other sight in the world, lending itself to thought, to mindfulness, to hope and confidence. Yet it can quickly turn threatening, dangerous, so the question is: where and how do we find safe waters in which to anchor?
It is a natural need and want to anchor one's life and those of loved ones in a safe harbor, venturing out into unknown only if well prepared and informed. Safe harbors allow for civilization to grow, for the beauty of arts and cultural activities, for that which makes life useful, productive, enjoyable and progressive.
Today we find ourselves with no safe harbor. They have all turned on us, and we find ourselves on a new huge ocean of rogue waves, ugly waters, a sky blustery and gray, and major leaks in the hull. Our engines are working at low capacity and our tools prove to be useless as we find ourselves facing new configurations and combinations of obstacles, unable to find nor reestablish that safe harbor. No matter where we point the boat nor where we find ourselves, those harbors of safety are gone, our previous knowledge useless to a large degree.
Add to that the human factor. We seem to be unable to work together in a common cause and without that, we are nowhere. We behave as "partisan combatants" as we are warned against that by former leaders. We are told by a present day leader that "We are never getting out of this" if we do not change our behavior, our patterns of life.
Even as we rock, roll and plunge in the waters, a toy in its power and majesty, there are those who refuse to heed the words and the warnings. They know better, they think - or do not think - and encourage rebellion, endangering not only themselves and others, but life itself.
Worst of all is when the ostensible leader of a country, in defiance of all that is safe, wise, tested and true, enmeshed in his own cocoon of safety, unlike the citizens of the country, encourages these dangerous people in their behavior. He tells them to "liberate" themselves and their places of living, to forget the danger they are creating, to ignore their own selfishness and ram through the lives of so many. And then he boasts about his words and deeds. Certainly, an inducer and encourager, an enabler, of anti social and dangerous behavior.
The very first principle of life, of safety, went out the door, wrapped in stones and chains, and sank to the bottom, with constant new weights dropped on it. The value? Truth. Honesty. Lies became the currency of government and too many were sucked under by the force of the waves of lies, even as they latched onto these lies in hopes of saving themselves. Unfortunately, we find our roiling waters even worse than ever.
Suddenly we find useless and antiquated ideas and theories thrust upon us as possible answers to our situation. They do not work. Then the responses and suggestions to overcome the angry waters are inverted, never again to meet the oncoming danger to our remaining safe harbors, to our endangered existence with the one weapon that will work - the truth.
Instead, falsehood has become the currency of the day, paper oars to use instead of powerful engines, lies the daily words of the day as plain and unvarnished facts are totally falsified, so much so that we all find ourselves overcome, inundated by new heights and powers of evergrowing and ever more powerful waters and waves. We are drowning. We are dying. In droves. And the numbers are fudged, as if the waters are not proof enough, as if the piles of bodies awaiting disposal, burial of any kind, are clearly seen, packed in morgues, in trucks, no room, no time for burial or mourning.
Even as we splash uselessly in those dangerous waters, we shout, protesting, that the numbers were given to us and "Numbers never lie...they don't contain hidden agendas or shades of gray. They're pure and true." But in our fears we forgot. We forgot that "It isn't until people start meddling with them, spinning ad shaping them, that they become dishonest." Thus, we, the people, find ourselves adrift with very little help around, certainly not in the very near future.
Worse, what if help never comes? What if the waves never stop? What if safe harbors become a thing of the past? What if help comes but not before life as we knew it, even as we know it now, will be no longer? No magic medicine, no magic vaccine, no knowledge at all that will calm these waters and the death rates. Those numbers that do not lie - well, they will be with us, even as we attempt to cobble together some type of floating city, clinging to life in a vastly changed ocean, unable to find safe harbor.
Part of this is a natural event, for viruses exist. Part of this is carelessness of mankind, forgetting or ignoring the boundaries between man and the world of animals and Nature. Part of it is sloppiness, greed, the need for power by some, the cruelty of man to others. The percentages do not matter; only the consequences. And do not forget the causes. Do not forget the arrogance of man and his defiance of the rules of nature, of the truths of life and existence.
We forgot them, ignored them, lied about them until it was and is(?) too late to calm those angry waters. Yet we must try. We must learn how to tame these waters, make our amends and learn to value truth and the calm encouraging waters and world it can produce, allow to thrive.
It is up to us, We must make wise decisions. We must look to the truth, as things are, not as we magically wish them to be. We must color within the lines and venture out of them carefully, with forethought and preparation. It will be a differnt life, but it will be life. We will be able to hug our loved ones, to chat with friends, to walk freely down the street or on a trail, shop with no bare shelves, just different ones, but we can survive. We need the will and the way and the way is truth, unity, wise leaders, and cooperation. Only then will we be able to once again be in true calm waters, live in safe harbors.
In the meanwhile, do your best in these difficult times. Try not to whine, for others have it worse. Cooperation is the word of the day and that, along with the truth and good, honest, knowledgeable leaders will bring us through these roiling, boiling waters to where we will always be well and always remain safe. In the interim, that is the mantra of the times: Be well, stay safe.
I love the peacefulness of the ocean at rest, the calmer waters and manageable waves, the sun warm on the skin without burning, and the ssshhhh of the water. It is calming as no other sight in the world, lending itself to thought, to mindfulness, to hope and confidence. Yet it can quickly turn threatening, dangerous, so the question is: where and how do we find safe waters in which to anchor?
It is a natural need and want to anchor one's life and those of loved ones in a safe harbor, venturing out into unknown only if well prepared and informed. Safe harbors allow for civilization to grow, for the beauty of arts and cultural activities, for that which makes life useful, productive, enjoyable and progressive.
Today we find ourselves with no safe harbor. They have all turned on us, and we find ourselves on a new huge ocean of rogue waves, ugly waters, a sky blustery and gray, and major leaks in the hull. Our engines are working at low capacity and our tools prove to be useless as we find ourselves facing new configurations and combinations of obstacles, unable to find nor reestablish that safe harbor. No matter where we point the boat nor where we find ourselves, those harbors of safety are gone, our previous knowledge useless to a large degree.
Add to that the human factor. We seem to be unable to work together in a common cause and without that, we are nowhere. We behave as "partisan combatants" as we are warned against that by former leaders. We are told by a present day leader that "We are never getting out of this" if we do not change our behavior, our patterns of life.
Even as we rock, roll and plunge in the waters, a toy in its power and majesty, there are those who refuse to heed the words and the warnings. They know better, they think - or do not think - and encourage rebellion, endangering not only themselves and others, but life itself.
Worst of all is when the ostensible leader of a country, in defiance of all that is safe, wise, tested and true, enmeshed in his own cocoon of safety, unlike the citizens of the country, encourages these dangerous people in their behavior. He tells them to "liberate" themselves and their places of living, to forget the danger they are creating, to ignore their own selfishness and ram through the lives of so many. And then he boasts about his words and deeds. Certainly, an inducer and encourager, an enabler, of anti social and dangerous behavior.
The very first principle of life, of safety, went out the door, wrapped in stones and chains, and sank to the bottom, with constant new weights dropped on it. The value? Truth. Honesty. Lies became the currency of government and too many were sucked under by the force of the waves of lies, even as they latched onto these lies in hopes of saving themselves. Unfortunately, we find our roiling waters even worse than ever.
Suddenly we find useless and antiquated ideas and theories thrust upon us as possible answers to our situation. They do not work. Then the responses and suggestions to overcome the angry waters are inverted, never again to meet the oncoming danger to our remaining safe harbors, to our endangered existence with the one weapon that will work - the truth.
Instead, falsehood has become the currency of the day, paper oars to use instead of powerful engines, lies the daily words of the day as plain and unvarnished facts are totally falsified, so much so that we all find ourselves overcome, inundated by new heights and powers of evergrowing and ever more powerful waters and waves. We are drowning. We are dying. In droves. And the numbers are fudged, as if the waters are not proof enough, as if the piles of bodies awaiting disposal, burial of any kind, are clearly seen, packed in morgues, in trucks, no room, no time for burial or mourning.
Even as we splash uselessly in those dangerous waters, we shout, protesting, that the numbers were given to us and "Numbers never lie...they don't contain hidden agendas or shades of gray. They're pure and true." But in our fears we forgot. We forgot that "It isn't until people start meddling with them, spinning ad shaping them, that they become dishonest." Thus, we, the people, find ourselves adrift with very little help around, certainly not in the very near future.
Worse, what if help never comes? What if the waves never stop? What if safe harbors become a thing of the past? What if help comes but not before life as we knew it, even as we know it now, will be no longer? No magic medicine, no magic vaccine, no knowledge at all that will calm these waters and the death rates. Those numbers that do not lie - well, they will be with us, even as we attempt to cobble together some type of floating city, clinging to life in a vastly changed ocean, unable to find safe harbor.
Part of this is a natural event, for viruses exist. Part of this is carelessness of mankind, forgetting or ignoring the boundaries between man and the world of animals and Nature. Part of it is sloppiness, greed, the need for power by some, the cruelty of man to others. The percentages do not matter; only the consequences. And do not forget the causes. Do not forget the arrogance of man and his defiance of the rules of nature, of the truths of life and existence.
We forgot them, ignored them, lied about them until it was and is(?) too late to calm those angry waters. Yet we must try. We must learn how to tame these waters, make our amends and learn to value truth and the calm encouraging waters and world it can produce, allow to thrive.
It is up to us, We must make wise decisions. We must look to the truth, as things are, not as we magically wish them to be. We must color within the lines and venture out of them carefully, with forethought and preparation. It will be a differnt life, but it will be life. We will be able to hug our loved ones, to chat with friends, to walk freely down the street or on a trail, shop with no bare shelves, just different ones, but we can survive. We need the will and the way and the way is truth, unity, wise leaders, and cooperation. Only then will we be able to once again be in true calm waters, live in safe harbors.
In the meanwhile, do your best in these difficult times. Try not to whine, for others have it worse. Cooperation is the word of the day and that, along with the truth and good, honest, knowledgeable leaders will bring us through these roiling, boiling waters to where we will always be well and always remain safe. In the interim, that is the mantra of the times: Be well, stay safe.
Friday, May 1, 2020
BUBBLES AND POUCHES
No, these are not new pet names, but rather two terms used in the ongoing pandemic. Along with them we have 'leapfrogging', a term used to try to explain what common sense should have made clear long ago. The problem with all these terms and, in fact, much of the news these days, particularly that emanating from the WH, has huge sprinklings of not fairy dust, but doubt and uncertainty.
"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." This saying, of unknown authorship, seems to be the guiding mantra of the WH today and indeed for the past three and a half years. The truth is that societal outlier, long ignored, wasting away by the roadside, recognized by very few. In fact, it is as if truth has disappeared into the 'old files' lot, those files long ago discarded and/or deemed unimportant - or damaging, needing to be hidden.
So what are the pouches of the title? On the day after Trump stated that deaths will not exceed more than 50,000-60,000, a figure topped that very day, the federal government placed an order for over 100,000 "human remains pouches" - body bags. Again a lie, again an attempt to deny the truth to the public, again a deep aversion to truth, any truth, which will negate the positions and false statements of Trump and his spokespeople.
And Bubbles? Nope, not some ditzy exotic dancer, but a new concept that actually could work, but also signals a new path for the country and the world, not necessarily a good one for the long term future. It could change the political and economic landscape in a drastic manner. It is a term which can go from micro to macro.
At the lowest level, it might mean that two families choose to make a bubble: - only these two families will interact with each other during this or any other such time. It can grow into a regional bubble, wherein say, several states willl make plans together in terms of trade, of travel, of economic and other ties. It could even have regions within regions creating and interacting within their own bubbles. Finally, we can have international bubbles wherein countries will limit travel to and from their countries to only those from the bubbled countries other than for business, and that, under strict, maybe even harsh, terms.
Now think of the then futuristic novels of 1984 genre. The world split into three major bubbles, always at war with each other, always with the governing mantra of any bubble being the lie, the story to obfuscate and eliminate the truth. It did not matter whether the 'truth' changed from one minute to the next for that was the 'truth' of the moment. Ring any bells?
Our countries would be different, perhaps not even existing any longer. Our whole thinking would have been changed, and all to suit the few in power as the rest of the population labored away in horrendous and hopeless situations, always kept in the darkness of ignorance. We must be wary of these trends, insuring they do not shred society, even as we return the economy of the world to working order. But understand that the concept is out there, well advanced in talks between New Zealand and Australia, both countries which have basically surmounted the pandemic with very few new cases. And why is that? Because they listened. Because they trusted their leaders. Huh!!
Finally, we have the idea of leapfrogging, jumping over, skipping steps, on the way toward some promised goal, even if neither realistic nor safe, demanding of great care and supervision, much thought into implementation, and planning for glitches. That certainly is not, any of it, a boasting point for this administration and as for future ones - only time will tell. But it all signals for a beware sign, trouble ahead, slippery when wet, or any other matching warning.
In a most immediate application, Fauci warns of the dangers of leapfrogging in opening up the economy, in lessening the restrictions on societal interactions. If we are careless, leapfrog over necessary steps, we will face a rebound, a second, third or however many waves there are, of this or any new pandemic coming down the pike. In the desire to jumpstart our shattered economy, the temptation is there, the need great, but the safety issue is primary. If we skip that, if we lessen the restrictions too quickly, if we do not reshape society and employment then we will lose the battle.
As usual, the issue has divided on partisan support, with the Republicans discounting the human safety needs, with big corporations and their lobbyists pushing for a full start, 0 to 60 in 30 seconds, while the Democrats are stressing that all must be meshed together carefully, with supervision and safeguards for the spending of these massive and tempting funds, for their proper distributions and for the betterment of the people.
We must learn or relearn the recognition of truth, the necessity of truth. We must demand transparency and not increase the use of fear, of punishment for the 'crime' of telling the truth, for revealing the lies, for pulling back the curtains of falsehoods and fake stories, particularly those which glide over the truth as is rampant in this administration, which do not serve any purpose other than to divide the country into an almost irreparable chasm of differences and hatred.
There is no getting around it. This is a time of mammoth societal changes, of recognitions that the world we knew only last year, is no longer and will never return. The configurations of society will, must, change. But we must not lose our humanity, our values of truth, of honor, of righteous behavior, of caring for others, of a strong safety net, of a long delayed ending of prejudice, a recogniton that we are all on this space orb together. If Trump talks of his Space Force and his 'Operation Warp Project', jumping, as usual, leapfrogging, into his space on this issue, then we are in trouble. Pushing drugs and not yet there vaccines into production before safety testing, well, look for new 'truths', new stories, altered to define new histories.
Process and procedure. The necessary path to follow, despite the urgency. What goes too fast, with too much leapfrogging, will kill more than before, increase pressure on the world to change in its political divisions and unions, and certainly, more "human remains pouches' will be needed and ordered. Corners must be cut very carefully and by as little as possible. There are lives at stake and we must not kill more in the name of saving others in a path that might never even work.
Furthermore, I do not know about you, but in an administration whose leader suggests using an injection or pill or drink of cleaning agents such as Lysol, as a means of 'disinfecting', well, I need to know what is in that vaccine, who has taken it already, and finally, how will it be distributed fairly and safely. Not an easy task, for any administration, but in particular for this one, headed by a 'stable geni-ass'.
In the meanwhile, follow the rules, keep your distances safe, wear protection as annoying as it is, and certainly, do not drink the new version of that infamous Kool-Aid! Think before jumping into action. Think of safety. Think truth.
All the while - be well, stay safe.
"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." This saying, of unknown authorship, seems to be the guiding mantra of the WH today and indeed for the past three and a half years. The truth is that societal outlier, long ignored, wasting away by the roadside, recognized by very few. In fact, it is as if truth has disappeared into the 'old files' lot, those files long ago discarded and/or deemed unimportant - or damaging, needing to be hidden.
So what are the pouches of the title? On the day after Trump stated that deaths will not exceed more than 50,000-60,000, a figure topped that very day, the federal government placed an order for over 100,000 "human remains pouches" - body bags. Again a lie, again an attempt to deny the truth to the public, again a deep aversion to truth, any truth, which will negate the positions and false statements of Trump and his spokespeople.
And Bubbles? Nope, not some ditzy exotic dancer, but a new concept that actually could work, but also signals a new path for the country and the world, not necessarily a good one for the long term future. It could change the political and economic landscape in a drastic manner. It is a term which can go from micro to macro.
At the lowest level, it might mean that two families choose to make a bubble: - only these two families will interact with each other during this or any other such time. It can grow into a regional bubble, wherein say, several states willl make plans together in terms of trade, of travel, of economic and other ties. It could even have regions within regions creating and interacting within their own bubbles. Finally, we can have international bubbles wherein countries will limit travel to and from their countries to only those from the bubbled countries other than for business, and that, under strict, maybe even harsh, terms.
Now think of the then futuristic novels of 1984 genre. The world split into three major bubbles, always at war with each other, always with the governing mantra of any bubble being the lie, the story to obfuscate and eliminate the truth. It did not matter whether the 'truth' changed from one minute to the next for that was the 'truth' of the moment. Ring any bells?
Our countries would be different, perhaps not even existing any longer. Our whole thinking would have been changed, and all to suit the few in power as the rest of the population labored away in horrendous and hopeless situations, always kept in the darkness of ignorance. We must be wary of these trends, insuring they do not shred society, even as we return the economy of the world to working order. But understand that the concept is out there, well advanced in talks between New Zealand and Australia, both countries which have basically surmounted the pandemic with very few new cases. And why is that? Because they listened. Because they trusted their leaders. Huh!!
Finally, we have the idea of leapfrogging, jumping over, skipping steps, on the way toward some promised goal, even if neither realistic nor safe, demanding of great care and supervision, much thought into implementation, and planning for glitches. That certainly is not, any of it, a boasting point for this administration and as for future ones - only time will tell. But it all signals for a beware sign, trouble ahead, slippery when wet, or any other matching warning.
In a most immediate application, Fauci warns of the dangers of leapfrogging in opening up the economy, in lessening the restrictions on societal interactions. If we are careless, leapfrog over necessary steps, we will face a rebound, a second, third or however many waves there are, of this or any new pandemic coming down the pike. In the desire to jumpstart our shattered economy, the temptation is there, the need great, but the safety issue is primary. If we skip that, if we lessen the restrictions too quickly, if we do not reshape society and employment then we will lose the battle.
As usual, the issue has divided on partisan support, with the Republicans discounting the human safety needs, with big corporations and their lobbyists pushing for a full start, 0 to 60 in 30 seconds, while the Democrats are stressing that all must be meshed together carefully, with supervision and safeguards for the spending of these massive and tempting funds, for their proper distributions and for the betterment of the people.
We must learn or relearn the recognition of truth, the necessity of truth. We must demand transparency and not increase the use of fear, of punishment for the 'crime' of telling the truth, for revealing the lies, for pulling back the curtains of falsehoods and fake stories, particularly those which glide over the truth as is rampant in this administration, which do not serve any purpose other than to divide the country into an almost irreparable chasm of differences and hatred.
There is no getting around it. This is a time of mammoth societal changes, of recognitions that the world we knew only last year, is no longer and will never return. The configurations of society will, must, change. But we must not lose our humanity, our values of truth, of honor, of righteous behavior, of caring for others, of a strong safety net, of a long delayed ending of prejudice, a recogniton that we are all on this space orb together. If Trump talks of his Space Force and his 'Operation Warp Project', jumping, as usual, leapfrogging, into his space on this issue, then we are in trouble. Pushing drugs and not yet there vaccines into production before safety testing, well, look for new 'truths', new stories, altered to define new histories.
Process and procedure. The necessary path to follow, despite the urgency. What goes too fast, with too much leapfrogging, will kill more than before, increase pressure on the world to change in its political divisions and unions, and certainly, more "human remains pouches' will be needed and ordered. Corners must be cut very carefully and by as little as possible. There are lives at stake and we must not kill more in the name of saving others in a path that might never even work.
Furthermore, I do not know about you, but in an administration whose leader suggests using an injection or pill or drink of cleaning agents such as Lysol, as a means of 'disinfecting', well, I need to know what is in that vaccine, who has taken it already, and finally, how will it be distributed fairly and safely. Not an easy task, for any administration, but in particular for this one, headed by a 'stable geni-ass'.
In the meanwhile, follow the rules, keep your distances safe, wear protection as annoying as it is, and certainly, do not drink the new version of that infamous Kool-Aid! Think before jumping into action. Think of safety. Think truth.
All the while - be well, stay safe.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)