"NO NEW WARS"

      And so it begins - or ends - or picks up in the middle - or from wherever, so confused are we as to exactly where the hell we are. What we do know is where we want to go, or better, where we need to go. No choice about that. No confusion about that, at least in the minds of sane people.

Our new President, Joe Biden - and doesn't that feel good to type and say! Our new guy in the WH has a tough job, complicated by the mess, the purposeful mess, left behind by the outgoing - thank the Lord Above! - administration, as they refused to transfer power properly. They hid critical information, appointed new people right at the finish line, and enacted new rules and actions totally polar opposites of the Biden aims and goals.

Trump, in  a typically cowardly manner, released a taped farewell address - and good riddance! Totally scripted for him, he did not go off script, but there are certain phrases that just, to use an old expression, blow my mind! Here is a great one, the inspiration for the title. "I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars,"

Really? Truly? He stands there and spouts off this crap as a parting gift to the American people? No new wars?! He has started the biggest one yet, the war of the Americans, Civil War Part II and this is neither a tv series nor a streamed program. He came to office and drove shims and expanders into every crack in the firmament of America. He drove them deep and expansive, all the time.

 He created his "movement', that cursed group of like minded people who saw persecution and conspiracy in every little thing they did not like. They saw Satanists and pedophiles, conspirators, in every shadow and mote of whirling dust. They were and are and will remain paranoid to committable degree, and will remain so until somehow, someway, sanity returns and prevails. When? Not any time soon, unfortunately, for so deep are they into this morass of their own creation and thinking. They think something is, when it really is not.

What do we do until this mess of Trump and his enablers of the GOP is cleaned up? I really do not know. Way above my pay grade. Way, way above. I guess we just carry on. We support the new guy in town who has begun in a good  manner. He is calling upon his experience and his own sanity. He is working with his VP, Kamala Harris. He has new personnel in mind, stalled in their confirmation by a still damaging and hypocritical McConnell. He knows that the pandemic, the economy, the mood of the nation, are tied together. He knows that employment and prosperity will return when, and only when, there is a comprehensive program to beat the virus and allow confidence to return to the people. They will feel safe walking into stores. They will feel safe to provide the so necessary foot traffic for small businesses. They will gain new employment as it goes on, introducing more money into the economy and there will be hope.

But all this hope for the future, all the plans, all the ideas, all will be for naught if we do not corral these conspirators, these traitors, the instigators of this new war that Trump has wrought. Hell, throw them in prison and throw away the keys. Once a traitor, always a traitor. Some things can never be changed. Our only path is to stop them in their path - permanently. No more of this: “It begins for real Jan 5 and 6 on Washington D.C. when we mobilize in the streets. Let them try to certify some crud on capitol hill with a million or more patriots in the streets.”

No new war? He started the most problematic one ever, one that can literally blow this world apart. We need to shed ourselves of this man, his adherents, and his twisted and harmful and dangerous philosophy, his "movement". No more. No more ever again. Time for all Americans to wake up and realize that we are all in the same leaky lifeboat now and if we do not work together, if we do not restore sanity to all our citizens, then we will all drown together. That is it.

Let us begin a new era, one of healing and building back unity. Let us have done with the inciteful rhetoric of Trump, a most damaged man. Let us push out all the hypocrites of politics who put themselves above the needs of the nation. Let us have done with the reeking odors of corruption and incompetency of the Trump administration. Let us return to the time when we would hear all out, disagree in a normal manner, not go ballistic and conspiracy hunting, and let us have America back again. 

Congratulations to the incoming Biden administration. Congratulations to the people of America as we return to sanity, cleanse our house, and go forward again, a beacon of light and hope to the world, a leader once again.

 

500 MILES

      Remember the plaintive tones of that song, a man longing for his home, its comfort, yet so far away, almost unreachable. 500 miles in a time when people did not hop on planes so easily and finish a journey of 500 miles almost with a snap of a finger. Seems laughable, quaint, but today we have other distances that seem to be almost as unattainable, if not even more so.

500,000. Dead. By February. If not more. 23 billion plus. Infected. Countless others. Families and friends of the victims. Trillions and trillions. The dollars lost in our shattered economy. Millions. The unemployed. More millions. The number of American children going hungry.

500 miles? A mere drop in the bucket. But is that really so or is that merely a metaphor for hopelessness, despair, giving up? See, it matters not the mileage, but the attitude of the driver or the pilot or those looking, needing, to make a journey, to complete it to its end. Once, once upon a time, not that long ago, we, in  America, had a can do attitude. Strained in recent years, it was torn to shreds during the corrupt and corrupting Trump years and that 500 miles before home is reached seems nigh unto impossible, a pipe dream of the truly idealistic.

Where do we go from here? Where is the path to seek and follow? In fact, is that path a figment of wishful thinking, or is there yet some hope left in the heart of Americans. I do not know. I waver between the idealism that has stuck with me through the cynicism, through the despair, through the desperate times when it appeared that all was lost, and would continue to be so, and between the more realistic and sour position that we are never ever going to be America again. Too far gone. Too enmeshed in our own selfish goals, too brainwashed, too twisted to ever untwist and find our way home.

Caught up in the winds of a broken world, too many have given up and turned to the scapegoating of timeless history, finding the 'guilty' ones, truth having nothing to do with it at all. It is simply a way to throw off guilt and give way to the most base of human emotions. We demean those scapegoats, make them untermenschen, less than human. They are not to be considered of any worth, of any import, and thus open to hurt and violence and even extermination. All without any guilt. Free for all. Guilt free mayhem.

This is what has led up to the insurrection on Jan. 6. This is what has led to the ridiculous beyond words and dangerous beyond understanding, statements that all of those present were actually anti Trumpers in disguise and if not, were the deluded Trump followers who were apparently too stupid to once again realize they were being led by the noses. Really now? How can anyone believe that and yet, unbelievably so, fantastically so, they do believe.

The investigators arrest the insurrectionists, and find the military connections, the infiltrators of the current armed forces, most frightening indeed. Those 500 miles from home grow exponentially to trillions of miles, too far to ever overcome, too far to defeat, too far for hope to keep up with us. But wait. When Pandora's box was opened, the ills of the world flew to freedom, to plague humanity, but - hope remained with us.

So despite the defeating numbers, despite the crap, the ugliness of some, the worry that not only can it happen here, but that it already IS happening - despite all that, we can shrink those 500 miles to a walkable distance. When the current slimebag of history is ejected from the WH, when he departs without fanfare, the biggest sore loser of history, a traitor to his own country, we will have our opportunity to make it right. Despite his disgusting and most cynical pardons, a wave of them at the last moment, of crooks and criminals, all with gain for him and his equally sleazy family, we can stomp on that, make it unimportant, and go on from there.

That will take a giant effort on the part of the American people. We will have to put aside the venom of recent years. We will have to reconcile. We will have to overlook the dangerous brainwashed feelings of too many and hope they will see the light. We will have to reach out, to build new and sturdy bridges to family and friends who were so mistaken. We will all need to return to sanity, no more plans to assassinate public officials, no more over the top demands and tweets. No more induced bitterness that played so well for Trump et al.

Only with a massive self examination and national healing process can we take all the numbers found in this posting and turn them into manageable figures. Only then can we be America. Again. Always. My country once more. Your country once more. Again. For always.

IS GOOD EVEN RELEVANT ANYMORE?

      The times are as confusing today, meaning many todays, as ever was in history. There are armed militants, -  no, terrorists, rebels, insurrectionists - descending in force upon multiple state capitals. More are coming, we are told. DC, the capital of our nation, is under siege at the very moment that we should be celebrating a path to the return of national sanity. Video has caught the organized core of the disaster on January 6 with the rest of the mob stating they are listening to Trump, and follow along with the apparent organizers. We are a nation under siege from its own wayward citizens, under the ridiculous name of "boogaloo", surely an affirmation of their permanent position of toddlerhood, even as they play dangerous games with guns.

We are a nation under siege from a virus that will have us crossing the 400,000 mark of dead, and all that in less than a year. We are struggling to feed families, house people in the cold, meet health care needs, and we should be fulfilling those demands even as we are under threat, existential threat. What the hell!!! WHAT THE HELL!!! Hence the question of the title, for does the concept, the meaning, the importance of 'good' have any relevance anymore in our devolving society and what does that mean. What does it portend for the future.

According to Immanuel Kant, there is only one thing that can be called "good". That is a 'good will'. And what is that? That is the innate desire, drive, necessity, whatever, to do what is moral because, and ONLY because, that is what should be done. Period. For no other reason than that it is moral. Thus it follows that doing something following the moral law is tainted if one does it for other reasons, such as gaining profit or personal gain somehow, from the doing of it. In other words, mixed motives introduce a taint that spreads, that becomes an eddy of growing size that engulfs society, leading, I believe, to less of the moral law and more of the immoral gaining strength. Less of the concept of good and even the valuing of 'good'.

So look around at us today. Ignore the rest of the world for the moment, though they too are caught in this growing reeking eddy of immorality. Start with the drama of today's America, possibly within its last days as such, one way or another. Even should we defeat the forces of immorality here, imposing 'moral law' back on society, or stressing its importance, we will have changed forever. We were attacked from within. We are now vetting the troops in DC brought in to protect the country and its continued existence. Why the vetting? Because there is fear of the traitors within! Goddamn!!

So does 'good' and 'good will' count today? It should. We should be having a huge opposition to this attack because that is the right thing to do. Is that 'good will' tainted by what we have to gain ourselves from it? Possibly? We will gain a continued existence of our country, albeit one wounded terribly with and of life altering seriousness and consequences. But it will be, nonetheless,  a manifestation of the 'good will', of 'good' for us, for society. Certainly it is better than the evil wishing to be let in the gates, to chew us down, to corrupt and demoralize, to grind good to dust in all its manifestations and motivations.

And here we are. I plead with all those out there, those still enamored of Trump for whatever fantastical reasons one has made up. I plead with you to come back to this dimension and see the truth. See his evil nakedness, the lizard skin beneath. The man and his self avowed "movement", his followers, urged by the leader of that 'movement' to go be wild, to use force, to destroy the country - they are the total antithesis of good. Good, even without pure philosophical standards, does not allow Auschwitz shirts. It does not allow hatred and mantras of kill the other, be it Brown, Black, Jewish, or Democrat. It seeks the good and welfare of others because that will lead to the good and welfare of self. And society. And life.

Shake it off. Desert and abandon the falsehoods that have plagued this country for the past five years, growing in consequence, almost to the point of no return. Perhaps we have reached that already. But we do have a chance if the good, the concept of good, of good will, the  practicing of it, is accepted and taken upon our shoulders, into our heads and hearts, into our very souls, as the mainstay of a fair and progressive society that desires to take care of all within it, to seek the good. Simple - and as complicated - as that.

DIDJA' EVER?

      Ever suddenly look around and wonder where the heck you were? How the hell did you get there and where were you going in the first place? Did you even want to go there at all? So why are you there now?! And help! Get me out of here, consumed your emotions? Just there in the corner of your mind was the whisper, "where is everybody else?"

Alone, in the dark or in the light, the feeling of loneliness pervaded all. If there were no one to see you and no one for you to see, then did they really exist? In fact, did you really exist or was this just a dream, a monumentally mean prank of whatever life truly is? You felt just like that toddler reborn who played peek a boo, so excited every time the person reappeared, for he then was real, and so were you.

Well, hate to burst everyone's baby bubble, but that is really a simplified example of a philosophy called solipsism, one where nothing matters other than the self. Hence, one can only be sure of one thing - that your mind exists. Nothing else is sure, so, following the arrows, making decisions that appear to be best for you is the moral thing to do. Anyone not there in your mind is of no consequence, for does he actually exist? If not, then why worry about him or indeed any other person. Directly related is the fact that if you are not in the mind of another, then you do not exist for him, and your importance will have no weight in his decision. Practical? Selfish? Sensible? Go know!!

So now what? Are we back in Philosophy 101? Are we going to have to struggle through the obscure language and quaint structure of these differing thoughts? No, for actually it appears as if this philosophy, this way of thinking, these selfish - or are they merely sensible if this is indeed the case - these decisions are the rules of the day. If we are to understand our environment, then we must understand what drives it if we are to prosper within it, be safe and secure.

Think I am nuts, too little sleep last night? Possibly, but seriously, look around at the behavior of those around you, of our presumed world leaders. How are they making decisions? Yes, there are good people in the world who have evidently accepted you are real and have decided, selfishly or not, that you may be considered as existing, hence the benefit for themselves is to care about others in their circle of reality. So there is pleasantness there, always a good thing.

On the other hand, think of some famous people you might have heard of, or even know. Now c'mon, you know who comes to mind, instantly. Along with a host of other people whom I wish I could just poof! out of my mind. If only that magical thinking of the toddler years were so easily adapted to the adult years or is it that too many adults maintain that magic in their own heads and twisted minds, cleave to solipsism, to the detriment of all else.

When has that man ever made a decision that took other people into consideration? On January 6, 2021 he became the first president of America to commit treason. Why? Because he simply viewed it as the best decision for him. Let others spill blood. Let others be hurt. Let people even be killed for his benefit, for did they really exist in his world of his own greatly deficient mind? Let others pay the bills when they came due, for in his world, no bills ever had to be paid by him. So much for that magical thinking. I look forward to a different reality for him and soon!

Even of more effect, he dragged others into his magical world, for every single one of the GOP members of the House and Senate followed him, a dark and evil Pied Piper who convinced others that morality is of negligible value, of no consequence. Only what is good for oneself. So screw the oaths taken, screw the people, and just hang on to the power one already has. Vote as a matter of conscience? What a sad joke on all of us. The GOP has no conscience left at all, only hypocrisy remaining as they run from their own misdeeds, secure that in their solipsistic word all will be well for them at the end of the road. Not a single one of them stood consistently steady these past five years.

 Now, like the rats they emulate, they try to flee the sinking ship, flee the stink of Trump, as I heard it called. But some stink always remains, like that of skunks and the only thing to do then is to throw away the cause of the remaining stink. Will the electorate have the sense and the courage to do so, or will they continue on in the dangerous and troubling path they are on right now. They either deny their past words, their past inadequate actions, or remain stubbornly solipsistic to their very innermost core. The country appears to be preparing for the second choice. Frightening.

Is there no comfort, no reprieve possible? Is there any hope that these adult infants will ever grow up and adopt honesty, truth and progress as their mantras? Who the hell knows and no one will ever truly know unless we do a deep dive into understanding the truth of ourselves. That will not be pretty, Not by a long shot. However, since we are talking of philosophy, here is a statement by an author and philosopher whose words I do not always agree with, but in this case I do. We need the meaning and the hope of these words. Definitely.

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." 

Albert Camus.  

Chew on that for a bit. Hope it makes the boo boos we all have just hurt a bit less. Maybe.

BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA!

     Remember that song, a tune out of a more innocent age, an age when what is going on today would have been unthinkable. Sure, there were problems. Sure, there was always an ongoing case of disgrace among politicians, but never ever was there a question about treason or insurrection. The wildest groups of the 60's and 70's were angry at the government, true, but did not want to abolish democracy, only improve it, make it more responsive to the people. Went about it the wrong way, some people died, people could not hear them above the noise, but, they did force through some progress and changes. And the nation continued. Democracy reigned.

Today is different. The people involved in the insurrection, the people who plotted it out, who have plans for the oncoming week, the people who took on the responsibility of finding their chosen victims among the personnel within, well, they need to be hit with the full power of what the law has available. Benedict Arnold will not be revived among us. Not now. Not ever again.

There is an uncaring part of the herd who just went along, either looking for violence, or not understanding the true impact of what they messed around with. Did they not think? Did they not understand the ramifications? Did they not feel the shivering of our foundations , reeling under the impact of their behavior?

 Truth is, I believe that many of those in the mob were transformed into mob zombies, under the spell of that demented man, Trump, under the misguidance shall we say, of the mob leaders who knew exactly what they were doing. Their inner brakes just imploded as they went along, beat those in their way, vandalized and shattered 250 years of a miracle.

There was no innocent song of the times, no bossa nova to blame, for this was a poisoned romance of violence and fascism, of hatred and death, of goals of returning to a time of the past that should long ago have lost its relevance and attraction. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were not now giggling youngsters who met and married, the nation's adored couple. The innocence of a nation, the remaining shine left on it, tarnished on Jan. 6 in  a great hurry. Truthfully, there was not much left to tarnish after five years of a twisted campaign and an increasingly bizarre and dangerous administration.

No, today no one was dancing to the notes of the bossa nova. Today there is no longer that innocence, that sense of optimism, only a pall of despair and exhaustion. For the sake of us all, for all Americans, for the world, which longs to return to some former level of status quo, we need to hear some tonal music again, not the atonal and harsh note we move to now. We need to clean out the instruments so they ring loud and clear.

The task will not be easy. The notes will sometimes fall sour and harsh upon the ears and hearts, for there is so much invective out there. It will take time and hard work. It will take a regrowth of American optimism, a we can do it attitude unique to Americans. We need to be able to strut again once more, head high, shoulders back, confident in our goals and aims, in our roads to achieving them. We need to be honest with ourselves, to understand what we must leave behind and what new tunes must be written. We must be ever vigilant lest today recur tomorrow.

Unfortunately, in order to regain some footing, some room on the dance floor, we must respond harshly, chase some people off that floor, for there is no room for them. Not anymore. The criminal insurrection that took place, that remains viable, must be crushed. Punish the perpetrators, the planners, the rabble rousers. Force the resignation and/or firing of those legislators who clearly signed up for this, for overturning the election results, for inflaming the mob. They have no place in a government of democracy. Free speech, yes, Even hurtful speech, but no physical insurrection. No threats of nooses and plastic flex. No threats of doing more. No crushing of officers in doors. No more. Punishment to the fullest extent of the law is necessary if we are to prevent this again.

Once this is understood, we can begin with a new musician, with a new band , with a new orchestra, with new tunes, new music in the ears of those formerly deafened to it. That is the only way. Hypocrisy is dangerous and we have seen the results and now have the shame of 15,000 troops plus security forces in DC, all to guard the transfer of power. A third world banana republic. Shame on us. Hear the fracturing notes being played and then try to hear the better notes underneath. Truly a new life for Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

And back to life must come those otherwise intelligent people who fell under the mesmerizing words and tones of Trump et al. Never understood how they turned off their brains in that area, but unless they were actively involved in this travesty of history, we need to hope and pray that they return to sanity, rejoin the nation, drop their words filled with poison, and become American once more.

Maybe the bossa nova can be revived. 

 

BLAME IT ON THE SHOE!

     We all know the many adages re shoes. If the shoe fits. Walk in another person's shoes. The famous glass slipper. Plus, of course, we all 'feel' the burden and hurt of shoes that do not fit well at all, that hurt us with every step we take, every move. Yet those shoes remain on due to what? Stupidity? Cupidity? Ambition? Lack of morality? Cowardice? So perhaps what America needs is a mass new shoe fitting day, perhaps finding that shoe salesman of yore from Stride Rite who took the time and attention, had the patience, to fit the kids right and sure. And walking in  a straight path.

With the current GOP, a misnomer soon to be, for the GOP, the famed Republican party, the party of Lincoln, is dead. Toit. Finished. Kaput. Just dead. Their soles are flapping away from the body, the heels are worn down and away and there are huge holes in whatever sole- or should I spell it soul- remains. The shoes, this pitiful imitation of a famed old political stance, pinch the feet, and strangle that soul.

Evidently there is a tightness in the fit of these shoes that prevents a blood flow to the brain, to the heart and to the soul. It causes too many to forget conscience and to vote ambition. To make decisions based on fear of losing a seat rather than on what is morally right, what is the damned absolute truth! The stink emanating from the rotten feet wearing those rotten and rotting shoes cannot be hidden by any odor eaters in existence. The damp and mold found within these very shoes have reached the heart, killed off the decency within and left us with cold fascistic, calculating, imitation human beings and their deluded followers who follow a man, rather than a country. Yes, these shoes of the GOP have led them to forgo the loyalty they should have to our country, to America, and transferred it all to loyalty to a man, or what remains of one.

The shoes worn by the MAGA people are horrific in appearance. They are spiked with danger, with awful goals, with murder in their every step. Organized to attack the Capitol, to do physical harm, even unto murder, to people within, to damage and vandalize not just a building, but a symbol of America and vandalize, shall we say, the legislators who 'bothered' them, found within.

Mealy mouthed, one and most, for there were a few who finally found a dimming last piece of humanity of conscience, recognized the treason of Trump, his part in the instigation of their ongoing insurrection. This attempt to overthrow the government, to usurp power from the people and become the Trump Republic is ongoing, with many outgrowths of more planned violence on tap for this coming week. I do not know about you, but I am checking every shoe in my closet, throwing out those tainted with this anti democratic taint, and keeping only the shoes whose fit gives me comfort and aid.

I, and so many others, are disgusted to our very core, at the behavior of the GOP members who refused to condemn Trump, and who very obviously, refused to accept any responsibility for the damage their own words incited, for words can and do hurt. Words can kill, instigate murder. Particularly when paired with those vile shoes. Personally, I, and many others believe all these people who aided and abetted, who lit fires and fed the fuels, and who actively or passively partook in the waters of rebellion and insurrection, of attempted murder, are guilty of treason. Period!

If one watched the pre-taped video of Trump speaking, what a crock! He used words he does not even understand and were he to be given a word check, he would fail. He spoke in reasoned tones, probably after a zillion takes. He spoke words that he contradicts the very next second both verbally and physically. Speaking of his "movement' gave me the creeps. At least he is somewhat muzzled now, though the damage is irreversible and long lasting, threatening the very continued existence of this country as a democracy.

Finally, for those who recognize the yearnings, needs, and hopes of immigrants to this country, the usurpation of the shield and shoes of Captain America shouted out their fascistic dreams and plans. Along with shirts of "Camp Auschwitz", sending shivers of fear through the bones of every Jewish person, and, in fact, any decent person, was accompanied by a fake Captain America, the antithesis of what those two Jewish boys had created, and imbued their hero with.

I close this posting with excerpts from Jack Kirby's son and shared on Jake Tapper's show. Read them and think. Read them and feel. Read them and react. Read them and be aware of what shoes are on the feet of too many attackers from within. Read them ad understand the imminent danger we face from enemies within. Read them and understand what is at stake.

"My father, Jack Kirby, along with his partner Joe Simon, created Captain America in 1941. Perhaps the most iconic symbol of patriotism since the 'Spirit of 1776,' Captain America has stood as a symbol and protector of our democracy and the rule of law for the past 79 years. he was created by two Jewish guys from New York who hated Nazis and hated bullies. Captain America stood up for the underdog, and, as the story as written, even before he gained his strength and prowess from Army Scientists, always stood for what was righteous, and never backed down," Kirby wrote.

 "Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump. Where Captain America is selfless, Trump is self-serving. Where Captain America fights for our country and democracy, Trump fights for personal power and autocracy. Where Captain America stands with the common man, Trump stands with the powerful and privileged. Where Captain America is courageous, Trump is a coward. Captain America and Trump couldn't be more different.

If Donald Trump had the qualities and character of Captain America, the White House would be a shining symbol of truth and integrity, not a festering cesspool of lies and hypocrisy. Several of our presidents held the same values as Captain America. Donald Trump is not one of them."

So, to recap: Captain America thinks fascists are bad.

BEST ONE YET!

      Want to know why there was an hours long delay until Trump called in for more security? Why it appeared to be a time lag between incitement, riot and security to meet the attack? Go ahead. Think deeply. Wonder why a sitting President would allow his administration to be under attack? Think why a sitting President would sit there and allow 'his' people to attack others who were also 'his' people? Ponder deeply, because these are questions that appear to have no answer - until one takes in the whole picture and then one sees the power of the evil working that day, the power of the cynicism, the corruption, and worse, it has not stopped yet.

Here is an apparently easy answer. Know why Trump could not be reached and encouraged to send in security to beef up the defenders power? Simple. Shame on us that we did not understand this from the beginning. Wait for it...... He was too busy watching it on live TV and could not pause it so as to make the necessary calls. Hence, the deaths. Hence the shock.

 Hence his achieving yet another record - going to be the first President to be impeached twice!! Should have been convicted on that one, but the same GOP members who voted to still overturn the election results, still back a traitorous President, refused to convict, marched lockstep, good little Nazis, one and all, and enabled this evil and demented caricature of a man to endanger the whole kit and caboodle! Every single one of them should be in the dock along with their master, for they, too, as the good little Nazis they continue to be, followed orders. So did the insurrectionists out there busy beating on the inadequately staffed security forces.. And no, they are not rioters. They are rebels, looking to overthrow this government, this country's democracy, and planned heavily for it. Do not take their plans for this coming week lightly. It can become a true pitched battle between loyal and disloyal troops and people, both literally and figuratively setting the country and the world on fire.

The more I see of the videos, the more I understand how well planned this was. There were security forces who allowed them in, who shared selfies with them. There were heroic forces who fought back, doing their duties, even unto the point of death and injury. The insurrectionists out there were well organized. There were weapons, bombs, distraction techniques, plans to switch tired pushers and heavers to fresh one. There were plans, easily spotted.

 Find the video with the man with a crutch at the head of a heaving mass of maddened mob participants. With that crutch he hit the police defending OUR Capitol. With the crutch he led others to attack with flagpoles, with devices, with anything available - or perhaps with what they were told to bring with them. This man and his fellow rebels knew when to duck and hide, burrowing into the crowd, allowing them to get smacked while they regrouped. And watch the heaving stop on a dime when he raised his crutch horizontally, a signal to halt for the moment. 

Damn them!!! Damn the GOP who were spineless and hypocritical and dangerous for the past five years. Damn Trump for bringing us to this point where he has enough hypnotized, unthinking zombies to actually take part in an insurgency, in an attack on our government - supposedly HIS government. Damn them for the future of fog and danger they have left for us. Damn them to eternity for the harm, the permanent existential harm they have inflicted upon us.

"Stop it. It's over. The election is over,"

A simple statement of fact. An acceptance of reality. Why could this sentence not have been engraved on Trump's miniscule brain, mind, tv screen, prompter - whatever would work. Why? Because it took until yesterday for McCarthy to tell Trump that simple truth. When the demented one ran on, foaming at the mouth, complaining - the gall - that it was antifa!!!! - this from the man who initiated, who planned, who relished, who denied reality at the cost of lives, well, he was told another simple truth.

It's not antifa, it's MAGA. I know. I was there,"

Would that this man had never run. Would that we had not had the Electoral College which gave the popular vote loser the win. Would that we could have erased him and his years of damage and ruin to us, about us. Would that the GOP had retained some semblance of humans, of morality, of courage, of decency and had agreed to throw the man out, to release papers, to testify, to do their damned jobs!! Would that he would have been convicted by the cowardly GOP Senators. Would that he would have been the object of a 25th Amendment. Would that he could and should have been muzzled, leashed, handled well, but he was not. He was enabled, encouraged, even enjoyed and idolized and here we are!

I hope we get thru the next week and two days safely. I hope that we can not only undo the damage he has done, but move on from there. I hope and pray that America returns to her senses, that we unite once again, that people wake up and wonder what the hell had come over them! I hope, I hope, and I hope. Best one yet. I hope.

OF THE OAK TREE

     First, let me apologize for the tardiness of the blog posting. We were waiting since 4AM this morning to get an appointment for the vaccine first dose. If not so serious, it would be funny - the jam of cars, the use of two lanes one direction, the overwhelmed organizers and sheriff's deputies. And yet, due to their hard work and despite the semi panic of the people waiting, due to the incompetence of our government, for a shot, this was a success. However, the doses are too few for the Village so.....

But anyway, just returned, victorious, with an appointment, so on to the day's blog.

There is an old Irish saying that the oak tree must remember that it is cut down by a wedge of its own wood. In the Bible we are warned that the worst enemies are the ones that come from within our own midst, our own people. Throughout history, the Quislings, the moles, the traitors, have been despised, men of no loyalty to country or family or friends and neighbors, living lives of lies, leaving hurt and anguish behind.

The enemies that sacked the Capitol, who came armed for war - and that is what it was, make no mistake about that - planned to do physical harm to building and people, looking to literally hang Pence, Pelosi, Schiff, and anyone who got in their way. They killed police officers, deliberately, in cruel and painful manner, destroyed and vandalized, and left this country in shock.

But why was there such a shock? It has been clear as day as to what was coming. The oak tree that is America, the strong and proud tree that shelters the world, that welcomes all between its branches, under its canopy, that provides comfort and hope to the world, has been under attack for five years. These attacks have been enabled by liars, by ambitious and dishonest people out for their own good, and never mind the people, the Capitol and  the beauty of our oak tree.

At a lecture yesterday on evil, particularly that of the Nazis and in fact, all cults of personalities, the parallels were obvious, but, as was noted, the evil that is closest to us is the evil that is hardest to perceive. Oh, no, not us, never us, but oh, yes, can be and is us. It happens when we allow concerns that we have to overwhelm us, and to look for both a scapegoat and a leader. They choose the victims viciously, demeaning them, degrading them, ranking them as subhuman, unworthy of protection and certainly not of any worthy thinking. Their flawed leader mesmerized them, fools them, molds them into mobs, promises pie in the sky, urges they take action, and they fall into a mob person, dependent on others for directions and behavior.

This is what happened here and continues to happen. Our oak tree is being hit with many wedges on many sides at the same time, all constructed  of its own wood. Our own Americans are chopping away at their own tree, the very tree they are convinced they are protecting. Even as they chip the roots and the branches at the same time, they continue to think they are right. So vicious do they become that others begin to be too afraid to speak out against them and their evil leader. Yes, evil. Evil exists in this world and evil has attacked our oak tree.

By allowing Trump and his negative mobs, his physically violent mobs, his mobs filled with haters and violators of human rights, of no compunction to resist harming others, to chopping away at the oak tree, to get away with all this over the five years, well, here is the end result.

But wait, for I am incorrect. This is not the end. The end is planned for the following week when their conspiracies and plans are to come to fruition. Rebellion in all state capitals, attacks on buildings and people. Arms and ammunition. Who knows, perhaps the same nooses they erected in DC. And as for the nation's Capitol, they will be there with faces distorted by anger, twisted by hate, ugly with intent to do harm, kill, murder. Do not think that was not the intention of the first insurrection, for it was and is for the next and the next and the next until they feel they have victory.

They are the enemy amongst us. They are led by a demented psychopath who cares naught for anyone other than himself and his inflated version as a winner, even as he is the biggest loser of history. He will go down as the traitor President, the only one in our history. He will go down in history as the cause of so many deaths via his feeble response to the pandemic. He will go down as having the most incompetent, corrupt administration. He will go down as the president who incited insurrection in the very country he vowed to protect.

But that is exactly what the enemy within is like, what they do, what they plan, and never think it cannot happen, not now, not here, not to you and not to your loved ones. It can, most certainly, and is happening right now - unless we become ever vigilant and prevent such another one arising as soon as we kick this one into the street, into the sewers where it belongs and refresh and renew our oak tree. Throw away the wedges made from itself, for we are better than the enemy within. Remember that. Be strong and brave and be not afraid to speak out.

 

WHERE ARE WE?

      Knowing where one is on the map is an important part of knowing and getting to where one wants to go. However, we must also remember that too many people do not rely on advice and direction and/or choose the wrong destinations and end up where they should not be. Worse, they often take along others who do not know better or who should know better. And then we have the deniers of the obvious, shivering in their bathing suits as they pass the sign to Arctic Circle, claiming the signs are the wrong ones here, not them. Fake sign! Denial of reality.

Worse for the world, for us here in America, is the strained efforts of those who voted for Trump to continue to support him, even unto today, days after he incited an insurrection, days after he openly became the first president ever to turn traitor to the country and its people, riling up those under his evil spell, and actively take part in trying to manage a coup, to overthrow the democratic aspects of this country. Not so much anymore, America the Beautiful. Nope. There was too much ugliness underneath the ever thinning out ground cover.

The pen is mightier than the sword. How often has that adage been promulgated. That included the power of words, the unfathomable attraction that people have to the Big Lie, a philosophy which actively makes use of repetition and exaggeration of untruths, to the point where they totally displace the truth, as if it never had existed. The words of these lies are used by dictators and would be dictators around the world, and none today are better at it than Trump and his adherents. But he has been caught up in the nest of his own dastardly words and deeds, hoist by his own petard, but, a major but - is it too late for any repair work, any work that can return this nation to the one nation, one country, it is supposed to be. We need new directions and maps.

In the midst of a major pandemic, in the midst of perhaps a Great Great Depression, we are headed by the most incompetent and uncaring administration ever. Worse than Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Harding, this administration has most egregiously been the most incompetent, uncaring, corrupt and corrupting one ever in our history, particularly when the president himself clings to enemies , alienates allies, and could care less re the harm he has done and fostered, not only in the present, but unfortunately, will persist into the future. A bitter future at that.

So who caused this? Who allowed this to happen? Who were the blind that could perhaps now at least glimpse the truth? And who are those that continue to enable this man described as a dangerous psychopath, a megalomaniac, bizarre, and out of his mind. More so than any other president in our history, there is genuine concern that during the next week and a half this man could, in his madness, destroy the world - literally, with the power of his thumb and office and , as the vernacular goes, 'push the button'. Ashes to ashes.

Many are now looking backwards and wondering how and why they ever supported this man? How did they not see the truth? Or did they and proceed anyway? Good for this, or good for that, and never mind his weirdness. He is just different, we were told, a fresh breeze. So is the wind that results from a firestorm or a nuclear blast, and neither of those winds are helpful and neither was his "freshness". Continuing to defend him and his sniveling enablers, they watched, confirmed their choices though they knew the truth in their hearts, perhaps too proud to admit his nakedness, reassured by the actions of irresponsible legislators, and the unbelievable conspiracy he and his planned, carried out, defended, caused the death of four, the destruction of the confidence of a country, raised its fear factor beyond description or end, and even interfered with the everyday life of people and this country as they endangered planes in flight.

This was not spontaneous. This was not a sudden push via his words, though they for sure played a major role in the growth and use of violence during the insurrection - which is not over yet. They came loaded for bear, the country being the bear. The cubs - the legislators who still had some sense within their heads. Arms and ammunition were found on the insurrectionists, in their cars, megaphones and plans, allies in the building to open doors to allow them in,  orderly transfers of people for fresh might to push open doors, to crush a doing his job Capital Police, to underestimate the number of security personnel needed on hand, the slowness of response, the viciousness, the noose hanging in the chamber, the threats to all who did not adhere to their version, Trump's version, of the right thing to do - even to chanting "Death to Mike Pence" - ain't that a twist! Now it is known that they plan further disruptions this coming weekend and a major attack on Inauguration Day. Armed even more. Tempers raised to the burning point, to the point of implosion, the destruction of our country.

Time to wake up, to shoulder and accept the blame where it belongs, to plan for our survival and better future than our present. Now that Congress is going to hear the stories of UFOs and other such formerly classified data, perhaps we will find that he is indeed an alien. Hmmm....that would explain a lot!! That orange skin. That weird hair. The inability to read or write or spell or punctuate or make sense. The inability to use his supposed mother tongue, English. Hmmmm. Stranger things....

Seriously, though, there are and were many forces and factors here, but certainly one of the biggest was the bad, oh so bad, choice of too many, though not the majority, to support this guy, to back him up as he began his four year meltdown, refuse to admit their error in all that. Even today for some. Even as they support a man and his ilk, people who wear shirts reading Camp Auschwitz. People who carry the Confederate Flag, another time when there was a rebellion, a civil war, and much of it fought over slavery. Is that what we are supposed to wish to return to, to live again?

As for myself, I refuse to accept guilt. I have fought against this man from the beginning. For four years I have railed against him on my blog, (Estherblogspot.blogspot.com) almost daily, even worse, predicting what would happen, even unto the blood in the streets. Told I was too extreme, told I was exaggerating the dangers, but unfortunately I was proven correct. Wish I were not. But it was out there for all to see, a logical and obvious plan. Too many simply refused to see the truth, dressed him in clothing not truly there. Now they wonder? Now they worry? Well so they should but where are they now? Have they truly woken up? Have they accepted their enabling roles, their willful blindness and deafness, their intellectual shutdowns? I have not too much hope, for people are too prideful, too unwilling to admit error, particularly when that error was HUGE!

Told you so does not make me happy, only even more worried ad concerned. I love America, proud to live here, to be a citizen of the best country in the world and yet.... where is that America, my America? Please answer me if you can find it. I do ask for directions, willing to accept logical and good ones, ones that take the correct roads, avoid going off the shoulders, the ones that get us to where we need to go and be. Our proper stance and role in the life and preservation of this country and the world.

TWO AMERICAS? ONE AMERICA? DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

      LeBron James said that, "We live in two Americas and yesterday was a prime example of it." He stated that if one could not see that, then one needed to take some steps backwards in order, I guess, to gain what he feels is a proper perspective. Yes and no, but let's examine further.

Most of the mob were Trump people. Most were White, most carrying flags of yellow and flags trumpeting Trump. (Sorry for pun.) Some American flags were here and there, but as with all the flags and pennants, they were there mostly for the weapons they were, used as spears pointing at guards and security officials or used to crash through windows, and then do further damage inside. I did not see that Black people there were singled out for violence, though perhaps that would have been difficult to do in such a scene.

A serious question and/or statement here is that if it were a mostly Black or anti Trump rebellion, how would the rebels, the insurrectionists have been treated? Would they have been let through so peacefully as they streamed through the doors as if on a tour? Would the doors that had been locked been opened to allow more in, as that happened? Would the desecration and the vandalism that took place have been tolerated or would it rather have caused a more violent and immediate response on the part of security. In fact, what was with security and why was it so pitifully, perhaps criminally and purposely, kept so low and inadequate with their response soooo sloooow?

I think that, perhaps, based on previous protest marches - not rebellions - there was definitely more violence and physical confrontation with security personnel here. That was not the same here until somewhat later and even then it did not match that of the protest marches even though this was an open attempt to overthrow this nation's government, a coup attempt on par with a banana republic Third World country and shame on us. Shame on our reaction to it. Shame on us that it took this literally existential threat, the open culpability of the presumed leader of this country, sworn to protect us from enemies within and without, for people to finally react.

How did they react? Well, let's see. Upon reading reports, it appears that the Republicans were the first to shove and push their way out of harm's way as THEIR people swarmed in. Their people who followed the path lit for them by these cowards, with their words, their endorsement of a demented man, their slavish obedience to him, their indecent attempt to retain power, money, position and rescind any forward movements we had made prior to Trump taking office. It appeared that the brains and independent thinking capacity, the moral standards of the GOP, had all but disappeared, down the drain into the sewers, followed by the madness of their behavior. Their words led to this. Their actions led to this. Their support and enablement of Trump led to this. Their lies and shredding of truth led to this. And they still refused to acknowledge that, using mealy mouthed excuses and even returning , once they were safe, to the same old vicious, misleading and inciting canards.

So would it have been different if the mob were Black Lives Matter or allies of them? I think yes, but that is not the point that needs to be made. The point is that we have devolved into such an America and the two Americas are really the one of mostly fair play, of people trying to do the right thing, to move forward, making progress, and this America of the past five years, including the year of campaigning when his dementia and lack of moral standards were out there plain as day, bright as the sun. And threatening as a Hurricane Category 5.

We need to meld our people back into one America. An America where the President is not the Supreme Traitor. An America where fair play is once again respected and people attempt to keep to it, to strive for it, to correct errors and to do so in a lawful manner. It is an America where loyalty is to the Country rather than to a man in a cult like situation. An America that is not in danger from within, from those within who allow, encourage and even invite in the enemies from without.

It is an America where the rats are recognized as such even as they now flee, - too little too late, too meaningless, too useless, - the ship upon which they rode via their own free will and choosing. Impeach or 25th Amendment? Should have been done on day one and in fact, there never should have been a day one for him and his ilk. This is what their day one has led to, an inevitable breakdown of law and order, of true patriotism and instead we had a mob of violent zombies, doing as instructed, then turning back, shutting down, upon word to do so from their leader. How awful an event. How totally unthinkable. And yet, here we are.

Just muzzle the man, dope him up and let the rest of the administration keep an even hand on the till and avoid any more threats of disaster to this country they have so damaged, so sabotaged. Those leaving - now! - good riddance to bad rubbish for this is so hypocritical. You all knew the truth of the matter, but refused to admit his nakedness, perpetrating ruin and havoc, divisiveness on the country. Perhaps to the point of no return. 

I so long for that America where I can once again pledge my allegiance, sing the anthem with feeling, know that this IS my America once more, that we have at least made some strides on the road back to sanity. That this is the America that can leave behind the attention getting and demanding toddler and his incompetent caretakers and return to an America which focuses of what is necessary. Beat the pandemic. Work to avoid such another. Fix the shattered and tattered economy. Get food back on the tables of Americans, the kids back in school, secure roofs over their heads, their parents and adults back at work, hope in the hearts and goodness in the soul.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under G-d, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

My America. Your America. Our America. One America. We move forward, Mr. James, much better than taking steps backwards. We have gone backwards enough. Time to return to forward movement. To America. 

CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY

       Alan Paton wrote this iconic novel many, many years ago regarding South Africa. Powerful, tragic, inspiring, it set in motion discussions and changes all over the world, even if some took more years to achieve. But for the past four years the country in mind should have been ours. Actually, it should never have been ours, but the insane behavior of a demented man, enabled, encouraged, tolerated and catered to by power hungry politicians, by morally vacant  and cowardly representatives, crooked administration appointees, cronyism and the vilest children of a First Family ever, played right into an eagerly awaited tragedy on his part and another type of tragedy for our country.

“For four years we have witnessed turmoil in America, but nothing quite like this,” “This is exactly what was feared, but in no way is this a surprise. It has been fueled by the president’s rhetoric, and it’s increasingly clear, this nation has not healed the wounds, it has simply amplified them,”

Shame on us as that is what the world has thought of us and our destiny for the past four years and for how much longer? We will never be the same. We cracked. Plain and simple. We had a revolution, an attempt to overthrow this government of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, a country that was a miracle of history, a tiny, disorganized conglomeration of thirteen colonies against a giant of the world, England.

For almost the entire time of the campaign and term of Trump's, I have been speaking, writing and shouting about the inevitability of his insanity, his inhumanity, his utter concentration and focus on himself, to the exclusion of all else. He was a Hitler by another name, a man so consumed with his own importance, a genius in his own mind, but certainly not in any reality that we know. Perhaps in another dimension, one in which he lived within his own damaged and twisted mind, but not ours. And yet, here in this dimension, we suffered, our country  repeatedly pounded with blows from him, blows that might as well have been struck by the power of Thor's Hammer. Our future doom was present and clear, able to be seen by any and all who had clear vision. And tragically, by those who pursued it.

And there they were yesterday, being rushed out of their respective Chambers as the rebels, the insurrectionists, the treasonous traitors, broke into the Capitol of our nation and swarmed like the dangerous rats they are, carrying the viruses grown in them by the encouragement and feeding into it by the same Republicans who now claimed all innocence and shock. Blaming Trump, they avoided mentioning the acts of their support, their enablement, their fear, their all consuming ambition and desire to retain positions, their implicit and complicit participation in all this. Their words were just as guilty as the actions of the day. Their own words came back to bite them in their respective asses, yet there they stood, holier than thou, going "tsk, tsk" - the cowards and liars they all are.

The country was imploding and exploding as around it, in state after state, rioters invaded buildings of government, threatening, shouting, "This is war" - and yes it was and yes it is. This is war on our country. So cry, our beloved country. Cry with deep heaving sobs, ripped from our very souls, for if we do not do what needs to be done, then we are done, our fabric ripped permanently, a beginning of the end to this country as it is, as it is supposed to remain. We have allowed a dictatorially ambitious madman to dictate to us, to void all that is moral and right, to roll back all legislation that worked to insure rights for all, fair play, sane environmental policies, broke alliances with friends and hooked up with enemies as Trump prostituted himself with his new BFFs. The world laughed at us yesterday even as they shrugged their shoulders, for they knew this was coming, this was inevitable.

One cannot always outrun the consequences of one's actions and words, of the inflammatory qualities they espoused in all they did and said. One cannot outrun either, the fact that there will be bills to pay - and yesterday they all came due. So I sat there in my chair, or paced the floor, ranting, crying, shouting, the dreaded "I told you so" being heard in the air, the anger and the sadness. The tears and the fears. The wondering if this was the end of us.

Think not that lessons were learned by, as one politico called them, "Retrumplicans", for this is what the noble party of Lincoln has devolved into and shame on them and a major loss for this country. Never did I hear one Republican legislator admit their portion of the guilt. Never did they say mea culpa, heaping the blame all on their master. Even as 6 Senators and 121 House members voted to continue the objections to the election results. Even then!!!!

We must insure that proper blame and responsibility is laid at the feet of those who are guilty. We must treat the insurrectionists of yesterday as traitors to the country, committing treason, using violence to overthrow this country's legal process of government, and need to pay the price. Blood in the streets I warned and blood there was and will continue to be unless we are firm in our follow through. Just as the new government of this country slammed down on the adherents of Shay's Rebellion in our early years, we must do the same now. We must. Truly, sadly so.

The people of Judea sat on the banks of the rivers of Babylon, ripped their clothes, assumed all the manners of mourning, put on sackcloth, ashes on their heads, weeping for their loss. Are we to do the same? Are we to face this exile within and without our own country. I am distraught as are so many others. Perhaps this shock to the system will set us straight. Perhaps we will be honest with ourselves and be proactive, as we should have been yesterday, with proper security and whomever was in charge of that needs to be asked some pointed questions indeed.

This is not over. Invoking the 25th Amendment now and removing Trump from office is delayed years from when it should have ben applied, right after his first demented ranting and tweeting. Too little, too late is where we are at present and where we hopefully move forward from. The future is at stake. Describing his present behavior as insane, now, is way late and almost useless. Even as he will go down as the first President Traitor, we remain in this awful place in time and history ourselves

May we all come through safely and triumphant, sure of our country and its future. May we all have the strength, physical, mental, moral to succeed in the hard work awaiting us. While yesterday I asked if you would be my neighbor, today I am not so sure. I do not trust you any more. Prove yourself. Support the country. Cause me to cry my beloved country no more. 

ON THE EDGE

      First thing when I woke up was to check the news. Who won? Found out we were on an edge again, Warnock a winner and Ossoff too close to call. That in itself is a victory against a powerful Georgia machine, especially for a quite new kid on the block. Even should we be disappointed, we still have acquired a tie in the Senate and a tie breaker in the person of our VP elect, Kamala Harris. And herein is the edge upon which we are standing, ground crumbling beneath our feet, and the only thing to do is to stabilize it and then take new measures to fix the mess. But stabilize first.

That, my friends, is a difficult row to hoe. The United States of America is no longer looked upon by the world as a stable nation. A Democrat in the WH and a majority in both branches of Congress is not necessarily a stabilization on a permanent basis. There are too many splits and cracks in the party itself and its members from right to left must join  together, all giving a bit, compromise - a word long lost from the lexicon lo these past four nasty years.

Can they? Will they? Or will power run through crazed and impatient minds needing so badly to set things right - to pick up the chairs, put them by the tables, and put food on that table and breadwinners around it, with children happily chatting as they eat their fill and ramble on about school that day. The temptation to cram through all sorts of hasty bills is strong, but thought must be involved and lots and lots of care. Preparation of defense from crazed extremists on both sides of the political aisle will be urgent but have we the energy to do this. This four year battle has sapped the energies of the nation. 

Nor are we done with immediate issues. DC is filling up with crazed fanatics urged on by a demented toddler who knows he has lost, denied the reality and acceptance of it, whispers and shouts and throws tantrums re coups, military takeovers, shredding the Constitution, treasonous behavior and on and on. Grown men and women - who definitely know better - turned into sniveling craven cowards with no moral spine or compass, losing true north, and the mess they have created is leaving an impermeable mark on the soul of the nation.

So we are on the edge. We need to look deep within ourselves, turn ourselves inside out. Measure our values, those that are left anyway. We must dig through our memories for a time when at least some politicos remembered their oaths to serve and protect, to honor and obey the Constitution, to put country before Party. Dim memories, but nevertheless, still there. Some of us have gone over the edge already, but there are enough remaining to pack down that crumbling edge and rebuild better, stronger, upon it.

Many of us have changed individually along with the changed nature of our country. Good and bad, depending really on the changes, but some of these changes are permanent. Will the Proud Boys fade back into the sewers, the crevices from which they came? Will the anti-fas of violence return to calmer, more reasonable and reasoned ways? Will we discard the good changes along with the bad?

I, myself, have changed. I became far more enmeshed in politics, paying intense attention to its ups and downs, to its changes, to the impending destruction of democracy in this land unless we did something to stop that decline. I found that I had to find other things to do to keep sane during these stressful times during which there were fewer options. Social life was curtailed, movies and theaters, a love in my life, were shut down. Even libraries were shut and then limited and eek! books! Families were kept apart, children fearful of infecting and even causing the death of their older parents and grandparents. These same parents and grandparents longing to hug the physical form of these kids, not only their Zoom images.

We found ways to make do, to even meet on a limited basis with friends and family. It demanded extraordinary measures, but was possible to achieve, safely. And we dug deep within and found new interests and abilities, new hobbies and took pride in what we accomplished.

 Personally, for some strange reason, never before encountered in my life, I had an urge to take up wood crafting, furniture refurbishing and renewal, on a small basis. I have now completed several projects, my work going around the country to family members who asked for them, and my 'workshop' - i.e. living room and dining room table, lanai, and second bedroom, are now filled with projects in progress, those completed and on walls, or awaiting shipping, and the materials and needs of this hobby or more than a hobby? 

I have gained enormous pleasure and pride from it. This is the same pride and pleasure, along with the hard work, the willingness to spend on what we truly need to move forward - this is what we need. But first, clean up the mess from before, keep motives as pure as possible, the surroundings and motivations as pure as possible, and let us all put on American hats, wave American flags, sing American songs, be Americans, one and all, as we move back and off the edge, even as we fix it, extend that edge into more room, more thought and care in our doings and desires.  

Edges can be changed. We need to change it positively, with true patriotism and rational differences of opinion and behavior. Simply put, Mr. Rogers said it all as he sang and removed his outside shoes and put on clean inside shoes and zipped up his sweater, keeping warmth inside. That same warmth, that same attempt to keep things clean - along with the question asked with a hopeful tone, a smile and extended hand - "Won't you be my neighbor?"

BASTA! BASTA!!! BASTA!!!!!

      Basta! Enough! Maspik! Genuck! Spanish, English, Hebrew, Yiddish. The same thing. The same needs. The desperate cries of enough already; how much more, now much farther will you go in the name of destruction of this country? Nine weeks after the election and here I am, still sitting here in the dark, writing alone in the wee hours of the nite, worrying, fretting, nervous as hell, untrusting of all reassurances otherwise, that this demented man, this fascist and his fascistic comrades, his partners in crime, will finally pull the last foundational brick out and down we will go, like a losing game of Jenga. Only this is no game and there is no reset.

The utter gall, the utter treason, the treasonous President who was never ever my president, all have conspired to make a coup no different than those of any banana republic Third world country or, for that matter, the takeover of Hitler and the political shenanigans of Putin, Trump's BFF. The thought that we could be at the last gasps moments of American democracy, the rotten and ugly end to a noble experiment in human history, I just feel as if there is no end, no answer, no cure and no hope.

Sorry, but all the reassurances that the courts have spoken, that the suits are all bogus, that the lawyers need professional rebukes and discipline, that legally, Trump et al are stymied in their efforts, that Pence will not, cannot, legally, refuse to open the envelopes and count the electoral ballots - well, since when does this administration work with legal in mind? The answer to that is a resounding Never!!Ever!! Basta!!! Enough!!

The Devil's Spawn chuckles away in Georgia when asked about his behavior come Wednesday. The brown shirts of Hitler have morphed into the Proud Boys, all ready and charged up to do their Fuhrer's bidding - come to DC, the capital of the nation and run amok. Have fun and not to forget, "I will be there." And the blood will flow. Will the police do their jobs? Will troops be called out? Will the anti fa and basically all democracy supporters clash, Civil War redux with exponential violence and bloodshed and consequences? Or will the Capitol Police be called in to drag Pence the traitor out, replacing him with Grassley and let the country get on with its business. Ask me, well, I have no faith anymore in the right thing. No more.

The answer the deluded, dangerously deluded and implicitly aiding and abetting Trumpites answer all claims of horror at his statements, his efforts to overturn the election, his criminal conversation with Georgia, one of many criminal acts of his during his most awful term in office - well, their answer is that all politicians are inherently no good, evil at heart and the Democrats are no angels. What a fallacious statement. If there are robbers, thieves, gangbangers and white collar crooks galore in a city, does that make it okay to make excuses for the next one who joins in the party or does he have to pay for his own individual sins? The answer is obvious, but not to Trumpites, those deluded pathetic beings. Those dangerous creatures who keep on their blindfolds, and like the deluded cave dwellers of Plato, think the false, dark shadowed world they live in is the real world and misinterpret everything.

We have so many real problems, almost unsolvable problems that must be tackled, a mess left from and because of Trump and his incompetent bunch of criminals, and we have no more time to waste on his treason. Lock HIM up and throw away the key. How much more can he be allowed to endanger this country, to actually, possibly, succeed in staging a coup? In my head - quite a possibility and that keeps me up at night.

COVID-19 and all variants of it. The busted economy. The crisis of a society left to rot for four years. A population so heavily divided that one doubts that it can ever be realigned fairly. People are being evicted, going hungry, jobless, hopeless, children suffering, here in America - and an apartment in Tribeca sells for $37 million dollars. There is something very wrong in that, very, very, wrong. China. Iran. The Middle East. Genocide on an ongoing basis. Russian interference in our elections and invasions of our computer infrastructure. Climate change. Environmental change. Floods and droughts. Ocean flooding and increased desertification. Too much population to feed and water. Too much greed and incompetence. So much wrong and so little right.

Alex Trebek spoke to his audience after death via a prepared speech for his last few games he hosted. He asked for a kinder, gentler world, for all to reach out. But today, while there are those who do indeed reach out, there are too few who do so in a friendly and helping hand manner but rather have arms and weapons in those outreaching, grasping hands.

I was so hopeful when Biden won. I thought I would be able to stop worrying so, along with so many others who thought as I did. Today, we are all waiting for the Inauguration and G-d willing, and people willing, a peaceful transfer of power, proper indictment and trials of all these crooks and traitors, including Trump and Pence, Pompeo and Barr and all the rest. But will it be? Will it happen? Will we be able to turn our attention to where it so desperately needs to go or will these demented souls continue to push and shove and lie and fight for that which is not there? Which is not theirs.

I would so much rather be a Pollyanna than a Cassandra, but the times rule and I hear the voice of Cassandra, the warnings she spoke of, and I so hope they begin to fade as of today with a defeat of two creeps in  Georgia, a certification already of Biden's win, tomorrow, and an Inauguration on Jan 20. I hope, I pray, I worry, I wonder.  

SLAM!! WENT THE DOOR

      How appropriate at this time of year to talk - or write - of a situation where there is no room at the inn. We are in the midst of several crises where either there should be no room, certainly so, but there is also a situation where there should be, but is not. Both need to reverse the status quo or we are in deeper trouble than we ever anticipated, existential troubles of proportions the likes of which we have never faced before, a battle of principals, ambition, neglect and death.

With the numbers climbing rapidly - no, way beyond that - we apparently are killing off our own population. The other day I said 400,000 before end of month and wow, but that was lowballing it. I can see the figure of half a million dead, and quite realistically and possibly, even probably, way more than that. The situation is that desperate and there is no room at the inn - the hospitals - that are overflowing with patients. Dire medical conditions  other than the virus are being denied entry or are not even going as people are simply afraid. Medical personnel, from EMTs to orderlies, to maintenance to medical people are exhausted, worn out and the energy well is dry. Or sick themselves.

Then we have the long term COVID, the lingering and debilitating aftereffects and the damage to our economy that all this has caused. The same economy that has ramped up evictions - in the middle of the winter - foreclosures, literally, no room at the inn. Slam!!! goes the door to all that is necessary for life. Slam!!! goes the door on hope.

This is the same door we should have opened wide when COVID hit. We should have welcomed in the truth, the scientists with the knowledge to beat it, the companies that would prepare and produce the vaccines, the plans and infrastructure necessary to distribute these vaccines in a timely and orderly manner. Instead we went SLAM!! to the door. Instead, we went SLAM!!! to the people.

There is another door, one that needed to be slammed long ago, five years ago, but certainly, absolutely, four years ago and more so over the years till now. There sits a caricature of a human being in the Oval Office, a man who has opened every door he could find to disgrace, to danger, to disaster for America. He has subverted any principle of democracy, every ounce of trust in too many about the elections and the value of trust in free and defined elections. He has threatened officials who refuse to go bad along with him, even as the smell, the nauseating reek, of rot emanates from the WH in ever increasing amounts.

Time and again, never ending streams of vitriol poured from his mouth. Time and again we saw one after the other, falling under his sway, afraid of him, and the GOP deteriorated into a political party too closely related to fascism, to overthrow of government, to the end of us. Too often did we see grown men tolerate tantrums and behavior they would not accept from their own toddlers at home, let alone a grown man supposed to be the leader of the free world. Time and again he evidenced strong proof of his growing dementia, his strong mental illnesses, his so total incompetence for the job. Yet, the GOP not only went along, but buried themselves in the same muck, enabling, appeasing the man who would bring down this country and its democracy - and who continues to do so.

This is a door which certainly should have never been opened and once done so, should have been slammed back, with vigor. This country has no room at the inn for the 140 or more Representatives, the 12 or more Senators, the Vice President!!! who would gladly, happily, toss this country on the garbage heap of history for the sake of their ambitions, stinking, reeking ambitions that corrode every door that needed to be kept shut, allowed no entry to them and indeed, they should have been pushed out of that inn. They needed to be and continue to be condemned, along with their master or puppet - not sure at this junction- and charged with treason, for they are indeed traitors, long ago having crossed the entry slab into that dangerous room.

We have opened and closed doors in exactly the wrong combination. Even today we still have people who see the numbers, see the bodies, hear the stories, watch the tears flow, and yet they continue against all reality to cry hoax as they wreak havoc upon us. There is no room at the inn for this, for it is the proverbial shouting of Fire! falsely, in a crowded theater. Surely, we are allowed to protect ourselves, insure our safety, defuse the hacking of other governments into our infrastructure. These people have turned precautions into political deadly footballs, meshing the wrong doors, meshing incompetence at the arrival desk, and here we are.

Come, he says, he urges. "It will be wild," he rants gleefully, as he thinks ahead to his imagined version of blood on our streets and retention of his office. He will not see reality. But he will have to go. That is a definite, but the GOP continues to reap the deadly dangers they have sowed and now some wonder what the heck they have done. Beware, it is often said, of what you wish for. Well, they ignored that warning and here we are with wrong doors incorrectly open or shut. Sir Walter Scott warned us re practicing to deceive  - in the vernacular - it ain't good!

I despair of and for our country. I wonder if there is any true way to stage a comeback. I wonder if or ever the GOP will face the truth of what they have done. I wonder if the people who fell under the witchy spell of Trump and his enablers, his sniveling moral cowards, if they will ever be able to return to sanity, to acknowledge the damage they allowed and even cheered on. I wonder if and when we will ever learn how to open and close doors properly.

HORSERADISH

     ."To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish" This is an old Yiddish proverb and just think of its applicability to the world of today, the world we live in, like it or not. Horseradish, for those not in the know, is a red or white semi solid sauce used on food to enhance taste, especially gefilte fish. It can be sweet or truly powerfully strong, depending upon additives to the original base of the root vegetable. No one could beat the hand ground white horseradish my Zaydie made for Passover! No one could stop the tears raining down the face as the mouth was set on fire. And isn't that the name of the game!

That is the name of the game of life living in  a horseradish world. Life now can be very bitter, so strongly so that we are overwhelmed by it and its problems. From  a death rate that is climbing exponentially, and 400,000 seems now to be an underestimate as we already crossed 350,000 dead, and the hospital system of LA is on its last toe, never mind its last leg. This situation is mirrored all over the country as the bottles of bitterly strong horseradish fly off the shelves of life. People are dying again at a crazy rate, families are gasping with shock, stunned by the sudden death of their loved ones, alone, comfortless in a sterile hospital bed, and that horseradish is going down the throats with a burning such as we have never seen before. 

Unfortunately, we are not alone. No, not the aliens that people are once again reporting on sightings, but not alone in the dire presence of death and dying. For example, Israel has lost almost 4,000 dead to this pandemic and in a country of 9 million, think of the percentages and know how large a number, how big a blow it is. Such is the fact all over the world, now living in a bitterly acerbic bottle of horseradish. It appears that the bottles of sweet horseradish are nowhere to be found. Will they return? Can they return in our new world?

In such a dangerously ill and afflicted world there are more bitter states of being to follow. We have an acknowledgement that the world as we knew it prior to 2020 will never return. There is talk of a Great Reset, a change in the dynamics and paradigms of the world's nations. There will be a global consensus in attitude, a realization that lines on a map are not walls that stop viruses and other ills. It is time, people say, that we recognize this and fight dangers together, pool resources, and grow together in an endangered world, the horseradish world we worms live in. 

It is all the more complicated and threatening when we realize that there has been a reaction both before and after this new thinking. It is almost time here to learn the new salute, as a group of Republicans, if they can have any ownership of that name, as they have so shamed that name, shamed its leader of all time, Lincoln, have attacked the very foundation of democracy right here in America. 

It is the most blatant, obvious and dangerous attempt to install dictatorship in the country, one wherein a demented man will be indulged, allowed to throw tantrums in private and online, even as the rest of the conspirators run the country. Away with voting rights. Away with equality. Away with civil rights. Away with any attempts to treat people fairly. Away with justice. On with a ruling class, a new American declared aristocracy worse than even Metternich could have designed!!

There is now a group of Senators and ones soon to be who are advocating, despite all realities, all thrown out lawsuits, all reasonable answers, despite everything, who are determined to overthrow this country, and that includes the man I have been warning about all along - the Devil's Spawn, Pence.

As far as I am concerned, these people are traitors to this country. They have advocated locking up people and shooting them, execution style, and well, they need to look in the mirror. All I hear nowadays is that there is nothing they can do "legally", but so what! Since when do these people stop at the line that demarcates and separates legal from illegal. The overthrowing of a legal and legitimate government is treason, is illegal, and yet these traitors are girding themselves openly for their attempt on January 6, the culmination of all their false and dangerous accusations and campaigns to screw all Americans, including their deluded supporters who will be the first to suffer lack of economic resources, health care, educational opportunities and a future for their children. Does anyone out there realize this, understand this, feel the deep and abiding ache in the gut, or are we drowning in that bottle of horseradish that the world now resembles?  

The violence that accompanies overthrows of government is already here. The Proud Boys await the day when they will riot and terrorize in DC. Their allies await all over the country. The homes of both Democratic and Republican so called leaders have been vandalized, by angry and hopeless citizens who feel the despair in which they are immersed, the bitter taste of that horseradish, wondering where the sweet variety has gone and why it has gone?

It has disappeared because too many have become complacent and believe that we need not be vigilant in protecting democracy in this country and around the world where it is quickly becoming an endangered species, almost at the extinction level. It has disappeared because we do nothing until finally we will not be able to do anything.

People, from the heart, I plead with you to be awake and alert, to understand the existential danger to democracy that now exists. For too long and for too many times, Jews have lived in worlds of horseradish, unstable worlds of danger and disaster, of uncertainty and death, of hopelessness and despair. We have seen the Jewish people almost wiped out time and time again, yet the world has learned nothing and genocide in its many realities continues on. Nor does it stop, for hatred and violence feed themselves, on themselves and consume all in its path, even as the horseradish turns more and more bitter, unsure of footing, and an end to all that is sweet and joyful in life.

We have already begun this new year with a continuation and worsening of 2020, the year we all hated and endured for too long. Let us clean off these miserable bitter bottles and substitute the sweet ones, the ones that provide good taste, good enhancement of the pleasures of good food and families and friends around with whom to share the joys of life. The train is leaving. Which cargo will be left behind for us to find? Time is running out to find out and do the right thing. Now.

  

MADE IT?

     Did we really? Are we over the hump or is it not even in sight. Will there be a sea change over the next few months or are we smoking or drinking too many meals? Is it a pipe dream or is it real? Can we make a difference or are we caught in currents over which we have no control? Do we take on the mien of an optimist or shall we walk around with the frown lines of a pessimist? Do we even have that luxury of making a choice?

There is proof on both sides of the matter. At first glance we see no hope. Speeches re the pandemic, now driving our shattered economy, our broken spirits, our dreams turned nightmares, are securely in the pessimist camp. Almost 20 million infections and growing at an amazingly overwhelming rate. We will hit the figure of 400,000 dead within a matter of days if this continues. There are spoilers of vaccines, errors of injections, a broken system of transport and inoculations, and all this has to be done double! Based on the current situation, bad news!! Amazingly bad.

But on the other hand we have the optimism, the attached to reality optimism of Biden and Harris. Yes, it will get worse before it gets better, but the better is in sight, is possible, is realistic if, if, we make that effort to actually work towards it. The necessity of it, the determination to secure that goal is evident in the words of Jennifer Lopez last night. "2020 is almost over. We made it."

We also have reminders around us, if we but look hard and long, and can find remnants of a more decent, shall we say, friendlier, less warlike political world. There is evidence that there are still people out there with dignity, who sigh, as so many of us do, over the shocking lack of standards re governmental honesty, role modeling, anything positive re governing and its adherents. Adam Schiff is such  man, and his seemingly mild, "It's not Okay" says it all. “You might think it’s OK,” he proposed to his Republican colleagues. Then, more in sorrow than in anger, he said, “But I don’t think it’s OK.” It contains within those three words the angst, the anxiety, the resignation, the desperation and the determination to stop this, to turn the country around, to take the chance that we have been given.

There is some hope, a glimmer of hope, a tiny dot of it, that there are Republicans who will grow  spine and a moral sense of conduct and beliefs and act on them. Ben Sasse is such a one, though he has too often talked the talk without the follow through of walking the walk. However, at this point, any sign is good. “Let’s be clear what is happening here: We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage,” Mr. Sasse wrote. “But they’re wrong — and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”

What he says is so true and unfortunately not enough of us see the truth of it. The GOP, under the destructive leadership, if it can be called that, has attempted to break the democracy of this country and has just about succeeded. The crisis will not end with the Inauguration, but will rather continue, and we must be ever vigilant to stamp and stomp out these fires that endanger us so. Freedom, yes - rebellion - no!

Ominous rumbles in the Mideast. The president turning on Jared (HA!) China and Russia treating us as an insignificant nation. A broken and shattered economy. A new generation looking into a future that seems hopeless for and to them. A country which has turned its back on its welcoming immigrants.  A deterioration of American can do spirit, work together spirit. A period of decades needed to clear the benches of incompetent backwards thinking Trump appointed judges and the damage they are doing to our ethos.

People reaching out with food, with shelter, with tutoring, with job offers. A new and enthusiastic generation concerned with politics and how to use it to make the system better, more responsive, more constructive rather than destructive. A new awareness re the climate and the environment. A growing distaste for the ugly hatred that has become PC. Vaccines and better planning. New hopes. New dreams. New possibilities.

The choice is clearly and starkly there. We need to make it. We need to make the right one. It is as simple as that. Making it to 2021 is not magic. Nor is the hard slog ahead of us. But it can be done. It truly can. It must. Else all these sacrifices have been for naught. I cannot believe that. I will not believe that. Nor should you.