BATHROBES AND SLIPPERS

   I think if I had gone to law school and become a lawyer, I would now be hiding my head in shame for the disgrace, the criminal, yes, criminal, behavior of those lawyers who continue to reach out to defend a man so obviously a clear and present danger to the public, to the nation, to the world. Lawyers are doing their job when they defend one accused of a crime; however, they are not to suborn perjury, to aid and abet in the whitewashing of crime. Particularly true when those plans are ongoing, with not even a glimmer of halting, and indeed, ongoing for a planned future that will be the death of all that is America, all that could possibly give us a better future. 

Intent. "The concept of intent is often the focal point of Criminal Law and is generally shown by circumstantial evidence such as the acts or knowledge of the defendant. In Criminal Law, criminal intent, also known as mens rea, is one of two elements that must be proven in order to secure a conviction (the other being the actual act, or actus reus)"

That is the legal definition of intent in criminal law. In my humble opinion and in the minds of many others, the intent was clear. Is crystal clear. The intent was to destroy this nation, its hallowed history of peaceful transfer of power, something no other nation had been able to do since inception.

 Was there intent!  Read, watch, decide for yourself. Here are the words of a judge in a hearing re this case.  “The illegality of the plan was obvious.” Then watch the emotional struggle of a well- known conservative judge who stated that this behavior, these actions of Trump and enablers, were a "clear and present danger to democracy".

Mental state. Well, herein is, in my pseudo lawyer opinion, the only path that man has to take if all were right in this world, if criminals, particularly in this case, were to receive the punishment they deserve. And truly, not even that, for how does one measure such an audacious, ambitious, crooked plan - to overthrow this nation's government, to spit on the Constitution, to damn the Declaration of Independence, to renounce all that we are supposed to be, to spurn history, to initiate the millions upon millions of Americans into the dreary, gray, hopeless, dangerous world of autocracy. Particularly when the ruler is insane, and demented - two different things.

 If he were to use insanity as a defense, then we could simply lock him up and then go after those who knowingly, condemned by their own confession in hearings and/or interviews and/or in their own books. They KNEW. THEY KNEW! They told him that his plans were worthless in legal manner. They are condemned, become accessories when in their own timelines we know the timeline of " ... documenting what he had been told, and when, about the validity of his election fraud claims and the legality of his strategy for hanging on to power." 

It is not enough for a chronic liar, one who does not distinguish between truth and lies, who confuses  the two according to his fractured mind, or does he - to free himself from the consequences of his own actions. In any case, that man knew and knows exactly what he was doing, what he planned, what he almost achieved, what he continues to rant on ad infinitum, ad nauseum. He is as insane as Hitler, hoped to follow in that man's path, only here in America. 

Insane? Yes. Criminally insane? Not in legal terms, not with the warnings and cautions of those who told him over and over that he had lost, and certainly not re his dastardly plans for the Capitol and his opponents there. Opponents? NO - they were enemies to him, deserving of death. Insane? Yes, but intent - in bucketfuls. Here come the robe and slippers.

Gigante of Mafia fame, carried out a campaign to prove his insanity, walking around outside with robe, pajamas and slippers. Kind of failed, though, did he not? Most deservedly so. Trump can emulate him to the nth degree, but being a megalomaniac, a narcissistic personality, having treasonous desires and plans to make those desires a reality -nope, not legally insane. Certainly, even if he were, he would then be in the category of criminally insane and need to be locked up - forever, as he will never change his broken song. Nor his spots. Nor his stripes.

Folks, we need to get real. Were we to allow him to wiggle his ugly self off the hook, off his own petard, well, we have then aided and abetted him. We have encouraged those who came loaded for bear, who desired blood, who believed they were justified in hanging political enemies of Trump, who beat the crap out of police guarding the Capitol - even killing them. That cannot be. That cannot stand. Not if our country is to continue to stand.

Killing one's parents and then asking for mercy as an orphan is not a winning gambit. Nor is acting insane, pursuing lies as a winning campaign tactic. Confusing people as to truths and lies is not a legal excuse. That man is demented. His mind is definitely demented, as is his black soul. He is as dangerous as a hungry black bear defending her cub while in your living room, heading to the kitchen - where you are, armed with a salad fork. Nor is the guy outside, who invited the bear in, who went along with the plans, a hero, if he finally calls 911. Pence took his own damned time, questioned lawyer after lawyer re his ability to change the election results. It was not out of courage, of doing the right thing, but of him having enough sanity to know that he would be in lots of trouble if he spurned the law, historical truth. He had no desire to be the straw that broke the country's back. Hero? No. But wiser than Trump? Yes. Thank goodness for that.

However, we cannot continue this way. We must face up to the truth, ugly as is. Whether we acted, believed in that attempted coup, its most frightening almost success or we wished to go bang a few of their heads, or we were apathetic, well, the blame is on our shoulders. To not act, to not be careful, watchful, inevitably leads to a loss of the privileges we have, is a denial of the values of our forefathers, a spitting on the blood of those who gave their lives, or suffered ghastly war wounds and memories. 

That is not acceptable. Absolutely not. We cannot have an insurrection again.

The only way to stop this in its tracks is to lay blame and punishment where it belongs, and then begin a huge program to reweave the fabric of this country, so that we are once again

"ONE NATION, UNDER G-D, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."

THAT AFORESAID CHIN NEEDS A SHAVE! BADLY!

  When is enough, enough? When or better, what, will it take to crawl through that hairy chin and reach the ears and eyes of those seemingly, willingly and willfully, blind and deaf to the truth. The immutable truth of Jan. 6 or1/6 as it is now referred to. Or is the awful truth that they indeed recognize the truth, the validity of the findings of the Committee, but continue on their crooked, deceitful paths all the better to achieve their awful ambition - the overthrowing of the legitimate government of these United States and the death of democracy. Worse, they would do so with the installation, the crowning, of a manifestly demented, cruel man, as the Ruler for Life, the first of a new royal line.

Months, years, ago, I warned, wrote, of the "clear and present danger" that Trump and his adherents represented to us, the nation. I said it was a real danger, not theoretical, but front and center. Over time, the danger he posed grew even clearer as demented, deluded, and so many evil people joined his camp due to fear and/or greed and obscene lust for power, to hang onto the coattails of one who looked to be a permanent fixture in the Oval Office, the soon to be crowning room of the States.

Awful to contemplate. Horrid and frightening to realize how close we came to this. Simply watch the struggle of a dignified Judge Luttig to gain control over his emotions as he testified to the overwhelming knowledge of how close we came to destruction.   A "clear and present danger to democracy". Clear and present. CLEAR AND PRESENT. Where were our eyes, our ears, our love of country, our loyalty to the land, the nation, which enabled our predecessors to build a new life of hope for their children - us? Where and when did we take that wrong turn, the one which had a dead drop on one side, a rock cliff on the other, and only one lane in which two-way traffic had to pass, to cooperate lest all be dammed, blockaded and certain death to many who came that way.

Nor is this struggle over. Far from it. The man continues to shout, his ugly, raspy voice ringing through the weakened foundations of the nation, causing them to shake and shiver, causing us to stumble and fall as we try to make our way to safety. As we pick a hesitant path through the IEDs of that man and his awful White Extremists groups.

• Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, a Republican
• Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, a Democrat
• Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, a Republican
• Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado, a Republican
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a Democrat
• Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia, a Republican
• Rep. John Rutherford of Florida, a Republican
• Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, a Republican
• Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi, a Republican
• Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, a Democrat
• Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, a Republican
• Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a Republican
• Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, a Democrat
• Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, a Republican
• Are you gaining an understanding of how deep in the muck we are? This is only a partial list and does not contain the Senators who placed themselves in this rather dubious and evil pack of cowardly hyenas, as they gorged themselves on the growing pile of detritus, the dying embers of a once proud world leader, a proponent of democracy and equality, even as it stumbled. Even as it picked itself up to try again and succeed. Joining this infamous list of traitors are those who enabled this madman to pursue his plans, almost to the point of success, all those of the government, of its institutions, advisers, lawyers, who disremembered where they lived, their responsibilities owed to the nation, to themselves and their families. To the past and the present and future.
• Time is fluid. While we cannot regain lost time, we can either make it up somehow, or cause further loss as we strangle possibilities. The story of this nation will be polluted with the filth of those who would deny it, even as they chanted their supposed patriotism for it. Lies, all lies, and the shame and tragedy of it all is how long it continued, how it continues to the present day, fly in the face of all logic and reality. How confused we are as to how to handle it all.
• Face the facts and the hard decisions necessary to purge these traitors from our midst. Indict and convict. Force required appearance by subpoena. Throw the book at them, giving them the longest terms in the most hardened prisons, a due punishment for the peril they subjected the nation to suffer. Throw away the key after locking the door. Educate those indoctrinated with his poisons. Educate for the positive rather than the negative. Allow thoughts, ideas, arts, to blossom. Realize that we are all the same beneath the skin tone and how little that skin tone actually means. Enforce the equality of genders - long overdue. Build and rebuild this nation, true to the bold ideals of 1776, updated to modern times, protected by modern weapons against modern threats. Rejoin the world, defend the world, be brave and honest in dealings with enemies and support our allies. Work to decrease the gap between the 1% and the rest of us.
• All difficult, but all possible. If we grind away at it; if we work hard, knowing that a future for our children will be there for them. A good and positive one, rather than the one of dead environment, a lawless world, and apocalyptic conditions.
• Those are the choices we have. Either we cooperate on that narrow two way - one-lane - road or we lose it all. Simple. Dreadful to contemplate. Beautiful if realized in actuality.
• Do yourself a favor - watch the hearings, be horrified at the truth unveiled, and resolve to be part of a better nation, a better world.
• A better you.

NOT BY THE HAIR ON MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN!

 Yes, folks, we are in the realm of fairy tales, only these are rewritten to fit the tastes and needs of a perverted group of very dangerous children, resembling the turned savage boys of Lord of the Flies, a modern fairy tale. That fairy tale documents the deterioration and turning of a group of stranded British schoolboys, whose introduction to the reader is the sound of Kyrie Eleison. Yes, the introduction of the theme of religion backing horror, the perversion of G-d to fit twisted thoughts and plans.

This is a common theme of the Extreme Right these days as they jump headfirst into the swamp of political religion, into the land of upside-down fairy tales, those with no "happily ever after" ending. Most definitely not. The question before us now is this: are we too enmeshed in this new revision of traditional fairy tales to ever recover?

Fairy tales set up moral values for society along the same path of Aesop's fables, but with more story line. The authors of these tales, famous or unknown, knew that religion and government do      not mix very well; hence there is very little to no mention or use of religion within them. It is usually based on values, courage, honesty, and truth, with appropriate rewards and punishments. True beauty is to be found not only via outer appearance, but also within, as in that of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

Unfortunately, today we have an entire political party, within the entire spectrum of its members, turning to these revised tales, to the ugliness within, to the temptation to take it up to the next level, and for what? For the sake of Power. To do what? To rule. Simple as that. And if it takes the likes of Boebert, well, then so be it.

  "unrighteous politicians, these corrupt, crooked politicians" and to install "righteous men and women of God" in their place.  "We should not be taking orders from the government, the government needs to be looking at the church and saying "how do we do this effectively?"

Are you running scared yet? If not, well take a look at what awaits us if we do not wake up, shake off our apathy, ignorance, and even the sneaky desire to go along with these dangerous people, well, we are lost. As is democracy.

Next up for the GOP - the rise of De Santis, a true Fascist if ever I saw one. 

• that's because he's learned all of Trump's lessons.
• The expert added that DeSantis 'doesn't have the baggage of Trump,' and could rally voters."

  All the creepy theories and policies of Trump, the same megalomania, the same use of the power of government to wring the life out of democracy, to use power to blackmail, to force all to go along with his ever so wrong in every which way policies, from LGBTQ+ to Special Olympics, to the right to wear masks, the right to choose, to control one's own health and body issues, to the last letter of every textbook, to the ruthless pruning of any book which encourages thought. With a better looking outside than Trump just imagine "Oh, The Places HE will Go". Not where we want to go. Most definitely not.

Along the line, the theme of seeing what we wish and unseeing the truth, we have all these "patriots" singing in ringing tones and high decibel level, of their "true patriotism". Oh, for sure. Only a patriot could plan and carry out a special tour of "The Winter Palace" i.e. the Capitol, suborn members of Congress to commit treasonous action in aiding this plan, and have a document entitled "1776 Returns", a complex, down to the last itty bitty nitty gritty detail to takeover the government, its buildings of law and order, of legislature and justice, and completely overthrow the legitimate government of this nation, the destruction of democracy, never to return. Oh, most definitely patriots! You think!!

For sure, they swear, with the power of those hairy chins, "we are patriots". The Democrats are making it all up. For sure! All those guilty of active enablement of Trump. All those guilty of doing nothing!! All it takes for evil to succeed is to maintain that idea of no action, just bug out. Ignore the truth. Ignore the danger to the nation. Abandon responsibilities owed to the people of that nation. Forget honor. Forget anything except your own skin, afraid, like a little child, to call out the bully.

Thus, the nation suffered, the world suffered, became more chaotic, more depressing, economies tanking due to inaction and delay, because of a lack of courage to call out that Russian megalomaniac, Putin. Because we have ALL of us, fallen down on the job, laid down our tools and called it quits. We have either picked up our marbles or abandoned them and have discovered, much to our dismay, the consequences of inaction, of not following the truth of the adage - "Do the crime, do the time".

The video laying out all the plans of the Proud Boys, and all its nefarious allies, should have turned your hair gray, and if already so, then even grayer. 

We are looking at corruption that has eaten away at the core of our values. Rotten and rotting more even as we speak. We are facing a crisis such as we never have faced before, not even the Civil War I qualifies. Yes, we might actually have to fight to retain our country and its government. No, it is not a perfect government. No system is perfect, for that is not human. But a true democracy honors the humanity and the rights of all. It does not attempt to restrict, to take away, to denigrate, to urge and practice evil and hatred, nor pander to the very worst of us and in us.

We have lost our way. Even the house built of brick is being blown over by the strong breathes of the wolf. In fact, there are very many wolves surrounding us, the pack growing by leaps and bounds as society rots, falls prey to the false, to the lies, to the very things that will damage us beyond repair. There remains a modicum of hope. But we must allow hope, accompanied by honor and honesty, with courage alongside, to fly out of its imprisoning box. And we must fly along with it. No other choice remains. Not any good ones.

AND THE BEAT GOES ON

  Unfortunately, very much so. The eternal question is for how much longer? When will people get the message - or worse, they have gotten the message, albeit, tragically, the wrong one. What will it take to make this horrid, murderous, bloodshed inciting canard, along with collateral hatreds, just go poof! Go away, never to return.

The answer, and yes, blowing in the wind as it spreads rapidly, crawling out of hidey-holes, oozing out of woodworks rotten with them, out of closets, and new initiants, eager to join in the 'fun', get their share of the 'glory' and goods. What, you are asking, is the topic around which I have apparently skirted? Okay, antisemitism, and now half of you out there go yawn, yawn, again, the same old nonsense. 

Well, unfortunately, it is not the same old, same old, while at the same time it is. Tragically so. As Rod Serling used to say, "Do not turn off your television". Do not shift to some game you play. The massive growth of violent antisemitism, its whitewashing as it is hidden behind words of flimsy disguise, well, this is no joke. Nor is it paranoia. Nor is it imaginary. No, the blood of Pittsburgh worshipers, the blood and pain of those attacked for the crime of WWJ - Walking While Jewish - the rabid hatred of the New Left towards Israel and any idea of the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland, a refuge, of their own - well, the sum total is frightening. Beyond words, almost to the point of paralysis.

Imagine you are intending to take a long, costly flight to pay honor, to share in the grief, with others of your family, at the burial place of your extended family. You are not even sure at all exactly where, and indeed, even who, is buried there, but you do know that there are definitely enough for you to undertake that holy visit. Imagine, walking through a terrible, frightening surroundings, simply to get to the site- and there, you are halted, rudely stopped in your tracks. 

The site is closed to you! Never mind any reason; it is simply closed. Moreover, you cannot continue   this voyage to honor your many relatives but must instead exit the cemetery. Now, imagine this is not a place of greenery, of honor, of serenity. No, no need to imagine, for this cemetery is a killing ground, a site of one and a half million plus of your extended family destroyed in the most malevolent manners possible. You even know that there are members of your immediate family here, grandparents and greats, children, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends - yet you are banished. Go away! Not wanted! Not allowed! Juden Verboten!!

It is traditional for students in the gap year, studying in Israel, to take a trip around Yom HaShoah, the Day of Holocaust Remembrance. The trip is not a fun one, rather a frightening hesitant walk through a valley of blood, tears, echoing cries of horror, pain, heartbreak, and confusion. What was this hell they had arrived at? Who are these people, with barking, fangs dripping dogs, the shouting, My Papa, Mama? The names of children shred the air. Bubby, Zaidy? The cries of pain, of loss ring. They darken the souls and hearts, even destroy any trace of humanity within those leash holders and screaming uniformed personified evil.

Finally, you manage to creep, tiptoeing, crying, the tears pouring unnoticed, unstoppable, down your face, the memories of your parents coming alive within you, the stories becoming reality. Finally, painfully, you reach the site of the massive murderous institution - the ovens, the crematoria which spew smoke and ashes 24/7/365. Night and day. The air rife with the stink of burning humans, the hopelessness carved into the faces of those striped pajama clad semi-humans. You are told this is your fate, or this is where your family is, now and forever gone.

Finally, you are here, where you can honor these victims of hatred, these victims of the seemingly eternal Jew hatred, antisemitism raised exponentially. The greed of the murderers and surrounding villagers who sell water to those waiting to die, to grab the last hidden pieces of heritage, of hope, as they barter water for blood. As they promise to deliver a note, or accept a baby through the trees, that hole in the wire. As they take the money and ignore the promises. Hurt upon hurt, each incising deep into the hearts of those awaiting unimaginable death. For that is what it amounts to. And you yourself now burn to pray, to weep, to mourn, to vow this would never, ever, recur.

And you cannot. You are forbidden. You are shouted at, denied, the tones the same as the ringing harsh tones of the forefathers of these supposed security guards. Whose security? What are they forbidding? Are these students, these young ladies going to tag the walls of the crematoria? Are they going to have an ash fight, pick up the remaining pieces of bone, unburnt, never to go away, and throw them? Perhaps they should have at that moment, giving the owners of these particles of bone a final shred of revenge!

But they never would engage in such sacrilege at the site of the murder of their family, immediate and extended. No, these young ladies from Darchei Binah, a seminary in Jerusalem, were simply there to pay honor and homage, to serve as the new recipients of these echoing memories, these haunting eternal cries. They were the vessels to ensure that this would never, ever, ever, be allowed to repeat. Never! Denied. Denied entry. Denied the right to mourn, to pray, to honor, to cry, to learn, to feel history, to understand their role in history. 

DENIED. DENIED. DENIED.

NO FURTHER WORDS ARE NECESSARY.

YES, TAKE HEART.

  So sorry for the late posting but had to go to the vampires for blood. All ok now and folks, indeed take heart, there are good people out there. Strangers who simply do good for others in need without thought of benefit or recompense. I know because we came across a whole bunch of these wonderfully helpful and caring people yesterday.

We began a day's worth of travel what with a connecting flight, were prepared with food, lest we get stuck somewhere as what happened several months ago and set out. Our daughter was great, walking us to the check-in and bag drop and thank the Lord for her insistence as the parking lot to the counter was huge!!! And the bags were many and heavy! As an aside I do not quite understand how our luggage gets even tighter and heavier on the way back after we delivered all that we had packed for whichever child it was. One of the imponderables of life! Could be worse.

With priority we skipped the line, the TSA was empty and there was Clear anyway, and off to the gate, plenty of time to settle down with the paper. Uh-oh! Gerry returns with water but no NYT!  Then we were taken down the ramp and there we stood - no power on the plane. 20 minutes later we were backing up, to find out that there was a short or a circuit breaker blew, whatever. We had to wait, for when, if when - one of the imponderables as well. My wheelchair person was terrific, stood there with patience and did not want to leave until the whole issue was settled, just in case we had to go elsewhere.

In the meanwhile, I needed to change clothing as the pants were uncomfortable. Well, that was a challenge as there were no family bathrooms, so I had to do it alone, in a stall, and yup, no handicapped one with bars to steady me. Well, it took a long time, and when Gerry came to check on me, a lovely woman volunteered to find me and check. She did, and not only that, when I was about to finally retie my shoes, she said not to worry, for she would do it for me. Blessings on her head.

Uh-oh, a long delay, over an hour and even then .... And there it was, the elephant in the room - our to be missed connecting flight. It was in Atlanta, the biggest airport I have ever seen, with gates often literally miles away, via walking, escalators, more walking, elevators, more walking and pant! pant! you were there. Aha! A piece of luck. The pilot must have taken a short cut in the sky, or passed the speeding limit, for we reached Atlanta with 15 minutes to spare. Next luck, the gate was 11 gates away, a looong walk in the huge airport, but this woman was unbelievable. "Oh, no," she said. " We are getting you home; You are making that plane." And off she ran, yes, ran, and I could not believe it. We passed by others from the plane also making their way hurriedly to the connecting flight. And we made it!!!!! More than that. the people at the gate actually stood aside, no argument or grumbles, and allowed the wheelchair through! Wow!!

Final miracle of the day -our luggage actually came with us, not being held for the 8 PM fight on which we had been rebooked. And they came off the plane as well! Surely, a day of miracles. Three lovely women, an alert luggage handler with compassion, an accommodating pilot and cabin crew, and not to forget the man who chased me down to hand me my mask which had fallen out of my pocket.

Yes, folks there are good people out there and no questions of qualification were asked. No one cared what political party one belonged to or religion or color of skin, or any other trait. It was simply a stranger, many strangers, helping another. May these people live good lives, and may their honest goodness be repaid a hundredfold. 

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG GOES THE BUOY!

 Yes, I know the correct word is 'trolley'; however, in this case it is buoy. A buoy is built to withstand all weathers at sea, giving warning of harsh conditions, of imminent danger, of approaching obstacles. It is most important for the welfare of seafarers and is not simply a cute image of a bobbing thingamajig in ocean waters. 

Well, our personal buoy is clanging away, its bell sounding, shrieking, hammering at our ears as we limp closely by in our foundering ship of state. Danger ahead! Danger on the sides! Danger behind and danger all around. So where does our leaky ship go for safe harbor? Is there, in fact, any safe port for it, to spend some time in drydock, as its damages are repaired, hopefully in a permanent, democracy friendly process.

The sad but true answers here are "Who the hell knows?" with an attachment of great shame - "Who the hell cares?" Have you either heard or said yourself in recent days "I am done with it. It really does not matter anyway. It is over." Worst case of dangerous apathy, as with every such statement, with every such deaf and blind citizen spouting these words, maintaining that outlook, the buoy clangs ever harder, a desperate Hail Mary attempt to wake up the country to the most existential peril it has faced since our almost defeat during the War of 1812 and our tragic Civil War, when we were attacked from within, just like now!

Yet another report of more white supremacists planning a riot at a Pride rally, another attempt to pull the country back to a regressive, oppressive time, to infuse even more violence into our already violent society. Hey, what the hell is the response. 5 dead, 27 wounded, a barber shot because someone did not like his haircut, all over this weekend, nearly 20 young people killed this year in Columbia, but what the hell, not in my world - until it is! Turns out there are fewer and fewer ports of refuge, safe haven for our ship on the violent raging high seas. Worse, we are totally unprepared to handle these conditions, to come through intact, better, stronger than ever. Nope. Not at all.

Bennie Thompson, Liz Cheney, are heroes of our times, along with their compatriots on the 1/6 panel. 19 million watched, most with expressions of horror on their faces, as the detailing of the results began, as format laid it all out, disclosing the very well planned too close to success coup attempt upon our nation. Today, this morning will begin the true detailing of Trump's treasonous connections, up to his miserable neck planning, inciting, pushing, as the near certainty of criminal responsibility and prosecution grows. In my humble opinion, for what it counts, if this country is ever to heal, that criminal prosecution of Trump must take place. 

Today, more of the ugly truth is exposed to the light of day. The thought of how close we came to a dangerous new world is frightening. Were Trump to have gotten what he wished for, to go to the 'rally' with his violent, armed fellow traitors, the opinion is that the coup would have been victorious. Who knows how many of our legislators would have been slaughtered? Imagine the sight of Pelosi and Pence at the end of ropes, beaten Senators and House members; that is those who were not complicit in this turn of traitors upon our nation.

Expert commentators on fascism, terrorism, said that for a coup to be successful, the leader needed to be there. Trump even had a plan to be taken there, but thankfully the Secret Service refused. 

• "coups require their leader to be present to anoint them under a "new order."

Former President Donald Trump's presence at the Capitol during the January 6 attack would have been a critical factor in accomplishing a successful coup that day, "

Are you shaking yet? Do you hear the frantic clanging of the cracked Liberty Bell, this time not stopping till thoroughly broken? If not, please open your eyes and ears to the tragedy we narrowly averted. Intertwine that information with the laying out of Trump's mad desires and plans and his continuing attempts to subvert the system to enhance his power grab, to take office once again -  this time till death do us part. Even today he is planning to "attack" all possible opponents to his once again destructive run for office, even more demented than the first time around. Hear, deeply into your brain and heart, what he intended, what he so mightily, frantically strove for, enticing, ordering, threatening others to buy into his nefarious needs and treasonous plot. And continues to do so.

So indeed, "Clang, clang. clang goes the buoy. Up and down our ship of state goes, reeling under the mammoth waves attempting to take it down. It shivers and shakes, the mad clanging deafening, chilling, warning. Will we heed that warning? Will we repair that foundering ship of ours? Will we be able to silence that incessant clanging or will it go on forever as the ship goes down?

The answer is up to you and you and you and me, and all the 'mes' of the nation. Make your horror known to the legislators, to the Department of Justice, to the world. Let it be known that the bells of liberty will continue to sound strong and firm, loud, louder than the clanging buoy. 

Again, "G-d shed His Grace on thee". My country, your country, our country. The America we are meant to be.

"E Pluribis Unum" Now and forever.

NO, LATIN IS NOT DEAD YET!

  Throughout life I have read, been told and advised, that Latin is a dead language. Even as we use pithy Latin phrases to explain human behavior. Even as we study its roots in teaching vocabulary, the better to understand the origin of words, to understand letter and spirit of a term. The world today can very well be explained via two phrases.

"Sequere pecuniam".  "Qui bono".

Four little words, and all is clear and understood, a growing recognition that the great plans of Trump which failed so resoundingly, can be traced back to these four words. To that, to make it even clearer, add "Scientia sit potentia" and "Furibant desiderium potentia". To make life even simpler, one explanation, in plain old everyday English will suffice. The man is a frigging dangerous idiot with cruel, selfish, criminal streaks, and is most definitely a traitor to his country. Amen!

Okay, so the definitions. Follow the money and there you will find who benefits. Someone had to fund the voyages of all those criminals and duped fools to DC. Someone had to pay for the headquarters of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Someone had the wherewithal to provide spears, shields, vests, and instigating people who pushed the mob along, who shouted encouragement and phrases, who knew to build, just "having" the material necessary to build a noose. Someone, or someones, funded it and they are the ones who benefit. In my opinion, seek and find in the data banks of the GOP on every level and in the offices and slimy lairs of bigoted Neanderthals, long past their due dates, as they use anyone to further their ghastly goals and opinions.

Each and every one had a finger in the pie, all the better to consolidate their power, their mad desires, their crazed impetus to gain more and more power, to subvert the ethos of their country, to have life and death control over all. Furibant - see the 'fury'?

Finally, knowledge is power. It works both ways. If we are to have an understanding of what happened not only on Jan. 6, but over the past decade,  certainly the past five or six years, and the potential for more, then we must gain knowledge of the enemy. Who they are, what they want, how to stop them, how to defuse the dangers they represent. Apparently, they or their secret bosses and funders have done their homework and have gained knowledge of the darker side of society and civilization. They have moved forward, or is it backwards, and achieved more success than is safe.

"18 U.S. Code § 2381, which states: "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason..."

That man is the leader of it all. A buffoon? Yes. And so was Hitler, until he was not. The Bundestag a living symbol of German democracy? Yes, until it caved. Our Houses of Congress, great, until now rotten with traitors, seeking pardons for the crime of treason, which they know very well is exactly what they did. "treason squared" what it is termed, appropriately so.

And how much sharper, deeper, is the wound to country when the traitor, the lead one, is ostensibly one supposed to serve the citizens of that country, to be their leader, not a selfish bastard, rife with alleged criminal accusations and investigations. How much more can we take with a DeSantis running behind him, overtaking him, as he runs with the same nasty platform instigating regression of society, cancellation of advances and rights, thrusting more and more out of society, outcasts  from the camp of humanity. 

Considered a "rising MAGA star" I fear for us, for the world, should he ever win. "Scientia sit potentia" We know all about him, the detriment he is from Florida where he serves, if that is the proper term, as governor, and we know all about the chaos introduced into our world, cynically stressed and aggravated, by the originator of MAGA.

Folks. watch those hearings. Listen to the words, see the anguish, understand the reality, and the implications. Know, with every fiber in your body, with every cell in your heart, mind and soul, that if we do not prosecute the traitors, big and small, if we let the big one off the hook, well, we will reap what we have sowed. 

To state that if we prosecute there will be civil war - I truly do not think so. I believe enough will snap back to reality and hang their heads in shame and confusion. Those who do not, who raise arms against their country -there is an answer to that as well. Were not the seven who were murdered by these insurrectionists, these rebels who wished to destroy your life as you live it, not enough? How many more must suffer from trauma? How many more times must we stutter and cough as we try to explain this to our kids, stumbling over our own hypocrisy? How many more must fall? 

You know very well that to not prosecute is to hand the country over to these people, these traitors, these turncoats, these despicable creatures on a par with the worst traitors of history, from Benedict Arnold to Quisling, to everyday people who secretly go along with hateful statements and policies and policies, seeking their own power.

Let the punishment fit the crime.

CARNAGE AND CHAOS

  Surreal, yet not. Unbelievable, yet very much so. Old news? And new news. The question? How do we stop the world and get off? The answer? We cannot. 

What we can do is hitch up our pants and get down to the basics. What are those? The simple truths, the recognition of truths, the immediate ceasing of lies so blatantly clear, obvious, yet remain trampled upon and denied in the name of ..... ; do not rightly know exactly the name,  but Carnage and Chaos come damned close! Too close, yet there it is. In black and white, or perhaps red is the better, more accurate color.

A great white shark is pinged 14 miles off the coast of southern Florida. A mammoth alligator lies right there, beside a pool, full of kids. “Not me missing it the first time trying to see what was happening."  Unfortunately we were and are, far too many at this point, continuing to see not what is right there! We refuse to recognize the danger, glaring, obvious, obscenely pulsating with  anticipation of the blood-feast to come.

Whose blood, you ask, shocked, unable to assimilate that fact, that threat on a very, very, most frayed thread, taut with strain, imminent failure, is pushed beyond all possible weight load. Shockingly, we actually find some would be rescuers appear, try to strengthen the thread, wrapping new ones around the old, reinforcing it, holding it together so the weight strain is reduced and those needing to be rescued can be pulled back, up and over the cliff's edge. 

We were, are, the blind, the unseeing, the people, the country, the democracy, hanging by a very thin and tired thread. We are the ones who remain blind to the imminent danger awaiting us, with open jaws and sharp teeth, all the better to kill democracy. Even as the brave Capitol Police officer states, in a tone of horrid awe re the "carnage and chaos" that was Jan. 6. A date that too, will go down in infamy.

A second sneak attack on our country, only they both were not sneak attacks but rather well planned, long planned, aimed at the heart and soul, the very existence of this nation. One big difference. One was by a foreign country; the other was internal.  “I was an American standing face to face with other Americans asking myself… how we had gotten here?”      

"Enemies foreign and domestic", only we failed, shamefully, to block it, to see the truth, to anticipate the unthinkable, yet realistic probability, that a sitting President, recognized by many as incapable of being in control of this country, a manifest  existential danger, and his enablers, would attempt to overthrow the government, turn traitor. Dragging along  all those who came to join this insurrection, because "Trump asked me to come, told me to come. I believed him.

Yes, even as the likes of Steve Bannon warned us "there would be hell to pay" that day, we kept the blinders on. Even as that madman traitor performed his imitation Hitler inciting speech, even as he told the long gun, spears, armed to kill mob members to "fight like hell", even as it grew into a too real attempted coup, the safety net failed, heroes were hurt, killed, the Capitol violated. A noose built in the yard, with hunters aiming to kill as many legislators as they could, with Pence and Pelosi the prized prey. We were lost in a sea of savagery.

"Ameria, America, G-d shed His Grace on thee." We surely need it. Even as we face yet another demented 'leader' of a powerful nation who believes he is a reincarnation of Peter I, intent on Russian expansion, we must also encounter and defeat those domestic, within our very citizenry, who have aided and abetted in driving deep wedges into our very foundations.

No, this is not a packaged for TV hearing, a series, but rather the damned hard truth that we must recognize and face. More important, we must ensure the future of this nation, of democracy, by fixing the rules, making it impossible to ever do this again; to be sure that our leaders are that, not traitors, inimical to our very existence. We must keep the fox out of the henhouse - and out of our home as well. We are equally as well tasting and desirable to that menacing, ghastly fox.

  "I kind of took it up to just be whining, to be honest with you.”

And then he, Jared Kushner, walked away, ignoring his responsibility in having the nation reach this point. 'Whining' indeed. Avoidance of responsibility? Oh, yes. On his path to Miami, yet another creep joining our resident creeps already here, led by yet another growing danger to democracy, DeSantis. He plays dirty politics, blackmailing, threatening, to get his way, even threatening the Special Olympics if they did not shut up!

For this nightmare to be over, we do not need sleeping pills. Far from it, we need some No-Doze, to be alert, ever on guard, against those who would destroy us, burrow from within in a mad, mad, desire for power, more power, and more after that. Collateral damage? Matters not a whit. Never.

Fellow Americans, we absolutely need to watch these hearings. They are real, painfully so. Hear the truth. Recognize it as such. Endeavor with all our might to forestall a repetition of this violation of our soul. Internalize the warning that we have received, that we must ever be on guard. We need to learn the lessons of history. We are called upon to be brave enough, honest enough to admit our errors and do better, be better. Talk with each other. Be Americans!! The alternative? We certainly do not want to go there.

"My fellow Americans" Has a nice ring to it, does it not? Long may it be so.

UPON MY BIRTH DAY

  No, I did not make a typo in the title. After all, is not a birthday celebration one that commemorates the birth day, the day when one is born, the day the world changed, noticeably or not, as one entered the world at large. Thus, here I am on my day of birth, contemplating not my navel, but the world I am living in, the world which batters at me and my former certainties. The world which has rewarded me in so many ways, even some once unthinkable, unimaginable. And yet, there they are.

It is a world I could never have imagined when I first became more aware of the passage of time. I can recall sitting in second grade as we learned about centuries and how they change. I figured out I would be the great age of 52 at such a time and I was in awe. Could that be? Would that be true? That old? Wow!!

Huh! There is old and there is old. I am at the second old at present. 52 is now the age of babies. Younguns' making their way through life. But not to think that I envy them. I have lived a mainly good, rich life, if not monetarily, then spiritually, involved in many things, open to thinking and rethinking and wonder of wonders! Me, the original failure at home arts -knitting, sewing, painting, etc., well, things do change. I now paint. Yup. Abstract. Landscapes. I work with wood, beautiful exotic woods whose existence I had never known about and salvaged wood, wood with character that  comes with age and usage. Kind of like me!!

Now my paintings hang on the walls of offices and homes - and not merely in family homes! My beautiful multicolored cutting boards are in use, though many claim they are too pretty to damage! Not to worry, they are well conditioned! My woodwork wall art, also abstract, with meaning inspiring it, creations for usage at desks, as perfume trays, as jewelry and whatnot boxes. Now, I am venturing into glass and mosaics in a serious manner. What the heck is the matter with me! My art teacher of high school years must be sitting up there scratching her head in bewilderment. Not to forget my friend who generously aided me in passing that course!

Home is wonderful. My kids have grown into mature, helpful and committed members of their communities, of excellent reputation. Their children are the gems in the crowns and the best to share little 'jokes' on the in between generation. Love it! At the right time, we hope to be blessed with great grandchildren and my cup runneth over. Add to that the colorful sprinkles of friends, old and new.

Most important of all is that our marriage, undertaken by two stupid kids without those proverbial two pennies to rub together, has lasted, through the joys and sorrows, the accomplishments and disappointments, and after 55 years we are stronger and better than ever. John Legend's song, wherein he sings of giving one's all to oneself and to the beloved partner, loving the "perfect imperfections" is perfect. Those foibles which annoyed so at the early years have grown into family jokes. We have weathered the storms, will face the new ones as they come along, hand in hand as we have done since our high school years.

As for the world out there, well, what is there to say; it is frightening. We never thought we had to worry hat America would cease to be America. Never. Unthinkable. And yet, here we are with   public hearings,  commencing tonite, regarding an averted, violent attempt to overthrow this government, to subvert democracy and install  autocracy. It is a difficult world in which to maneuver, as we add to that equation, pandemics that never go away, only add more to that murky  soup. We live, as one person put it, in an Age of Rage, frightening, a threat to life, literal and figurative, as mass shootings proliferate even as thick skulls refuse to legislate sane and safe gun controls.

We live in an era rife with advancement even as we fall back into old dangers and hatreds. We recycle anti everything, refuse to recognize the humanity of anyone not "like us" for whatever that means! Religion has been perverted again, claiming god is on their side and demands that all follow their words of that god. Well, my G-d says otherwise, but how to convince these benighted souls? A question of the ages.

Anyway, today is my birth day, my birthday, and surrounded in person and on line, via phones and various Apps, along with friends and family, well, it truly is a birth day to celebrate. At least for me.

UNBREAK

 To unbreak is an interesting, though essentially useless concept. Once broken, something cannot be made whole again. Oh, you say I am wrong. Of course, things can be fixed, mended - almost as good as new. And there we have it. Almost. An interesting concept too and far more valid than 'unbreaking' something broken, be it in one piece or many.

In breaking things, gravity and accidents play no favorites, no distinction between a Ming Vase and the one you picked up for $2 at the local thrift. Nope, drop them and Crack!! Done and done. No unbreaking there. But is there a possibility, even a probability of mending other things in life? Can we unbreak as a personal, even group, or national act?

Yes and no. Every year, at opening day and night, student and parents, were on the receiving end of my standard anti bullying and anti-raw and hurtful language. The rhyme "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never harm me - or hurt me"- as the variation goes. Wrong! So hugely, manifestly wrong, wrong, wrong!

Each and every one of us can think of a time, perhaps more than one, when words slipped out the mouth and there you were, standing there, looking at the damage you caused. The hurt expression, the wounded target of your words, as tears, anger, disappointment, whatever, descended upon them. No, that hurt can never be 'unbroke'; that hurt remains for a lifetime, always in the background and during times of 'dirty linen' washing comes back at ya' in spades!! Unbreak? Nope.

Aha! Apologies are raised. Oh yeah, as useless as a third armpit! Usually forced, is there anything of value within? No, again. And again, no. Almost guaranteed that the one who apologized will redo his wrong and the target will be hurt exponentially. Furthermore, this uselessness does not end in the hallways of schools, or corporations, or the home.

 Uh uh! Try international. How many times has the losing side had to apologize to the victorious countries, how wrong they were, how misguided their leaders were, and oh, so sorry, for your dead and wounded, for your destroyed lives and broken country. Oh, yeah! And if you believe that, simply wait a few years or so and the whole business is reenacted, only this time with 'more advanced' machines of war, all the better to kill and maim, to destroy and 'unbreak'? No. Back at the same rodeo. No, to 'unbreak' is nigh unto impossible.

Pertinent question. How are we ever to beat back bias, hatred of all types, and none would be surprised at the creativity of the human mind in its mad, self-destructive drive to gin up categories and targets of hate and bias. The answer? It is called education. We teach to the good, urge cooperation, explain the wrong done, role play, think, and think again. And know, that beneath all that veneer of civilization, the ugliness roils, awaiting a chance to arise again, free from its fetters, and wreak havoc once more.

We hope and pray that teaching and honest preaching, proper actions, are practiced by all. That they take root and become the norm. We hope to bury the ugliness beneath mounds and mounds of heavy coverings, all the more difficult to slither out. But to unbreak, to conquer it forever, to erase the hurt and resultant damage? No. We need to simply understand that, address it, and hope and pray for the best.

And remember, words can hurt as much as sticks and stones, causing greater more damaging and regrettable consequences. 

Those consequences are unable to be unbroken. Still think I am wrong? Okay, now go read the damage words - words - cause via social media. Simply words, a conglomeration of printed symbols. Yet they cut sharper, harder than the stick and stone, not that I approve of that either unless we must fight. There are those times - usually resulting from words that hurt, that cut, that instigated and entitled. 

The results? Don't ask - simply look around, delve within and understand.

 

143 SHEEP

  Nope, you guessed wrong. Not talking about the followers of the wannabe fascist ruler of America, a la Ron DeSantis. Those sheep are real sheep, 143 of them, who ran wildly, crazed by the imminent threat of serving as breakfast, lunch and supper for wolves.  Instead, in their undisciplined terror, they killed themselves, as they fell into a deep gully. So why mention this? After all, have we not all seen via the movies and TV how a herd of animals, crazed by a perception of threat, real or not, sparked by one of the herd, run themselves right into death anyway.

Why? Here is why. Because at times the most apt descriptive term for recent behavior by the human herd, the unthinking, undiscerning, desperate and crazed, knowing something is for sure wrong, and so they run. Into the flames rather than merely the flying embers. The danger level spikes, yet on they run. Straight into the hands of the 'enemy'. There is an old saying which explains this phenomenon. The sheep, running from being eaten by the wolf, run directly to the farmer - who then eats them anyway. Gulp! In more ways than one.

We are the sheep. We have been battered, beaten down by the past decades. Led by a buffoon, we lost our way, as people and as nation, been locked away, banned from movement, unable to be by our loved ones, run ragged by the everchanging rules and laws, threatened by the torrent of the gun crazed, truth denying herd, deserted by our supposed usually self - described leaders, and we are lost. Time and time again we run directly at an enemy equally as voracious as the original one and, well, we die anyway.

We retreat into childish behavior. We hope, as  misbehaving children do, that we will either go undiscovered or go scot-free from all consequence. We retreat to the mournful state of being echoing the words of an old Jill Sobule song, "Wish I had my mother to rock me to sleep." So do I. So do many of us, but alas, we must all grow up and face the nasty world on our own two legs.

Most of us are either numbed, deafened by the constant barrage of bad news, or are hyper aware, seeing threats where there are none, and unseeing of actual, very real, threats. We are those 143 sheep, unknowing, lacking thought, blindly following poorly chosen leaders into gullies of life which are draining us, depleting us, and the end, well, not good. Not at all.

 The question which arises is this: Can we, will we, rise to the call and save ourselves? Will we pay attention to the hearings of the Jan. 6 committee,  face the truth? Face the facts - there are traitors among us who have betrayed us, betrayed our nation, denied our history and true mantras. Will we face, as Liz Cheney stated, the "chilling" truths of that day and these times? Will we become far more aware of the corruption of our systems and institutions of government, the cynical defiant rulings of a minority of radically conservative GOP dominating state legislatures, passing laws infringing, violating, our personal liberties, our  bodies? Which increase the rising chances of being shot walking down the street, the growing lack of faith that we can actually avoid both the wolves  and the gullies. Are we totally lost?

I hope not. Even as we lose faith, as hope falters, that little bird, locked in Pandora's box, does hang in there. WE need to hang in there for ourselves. There are no gods on Olympus who will come arunnin', to pull us out of our own self- created muck and mire where we have buried our optimism, our can-do American trait, our positive attitudes. Lost in the sands of time, stomped upon by our misguided stampedes through life in our times. 

In short, we are broken. We have been broken by outside forces but equally as much by our own inner shortcomings. Yet there is hope. WE have faced hard times before in our history. We have come through, faced down, defeated those who wished otherwise, who worked so diligently to keep on breaking our bones. We cannot allow this to continue. Instead, take heart in the words of a famous American author, Ernest Hemingway, who wrote in A Farewell to Arms, this passage, these heartening words.

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places."

Lord knows we have many broken places. But we must remember that we can be strong at just those places. We have no other viable choice, must take it and run with it. Leave behind extremists on both sides of the spectrum. Leave behind those who espouse despair and violence. Leave aside those who aside would institutionalize hatred and bias ever more vehemently, a return to the not so good old days.

We must be stronger. WE MUST.

I NEVER SEE ANY OF IT

  After reading the papers and magazines, or checking online, social media, I wonder. Why is it that though airlines have claimed they have faced belligerent passengers, I never see anything of the sort. Not denying their reality, I am forced to wonder whether the issue was one which could have been resolved before it caught on fire, before turning into a raging, out of control scorched earth incident.

We have traveled quite bit these past few months and again this weekend. The airports were jammed, new absolutely ridiculous policies were instituted at some places requiring one to stand in two lines before luggage was taken. Time was passing, people were staring at watches and phones, then craning heads to eye the lines.  Tension high. Frustration when a set of passengers would have a list of questions, all the while the minutes passed.

In the concourse, it was crowded with people, luggage, pets, carriages, wheelchairs, baby carriages, groups trying to stay together and people flying through the crowds to catch their planes. All we saw and heard were people making way, all ready to accommodate the needs of others. No shouts, no indignation, even helping others. Top of the wonder list? People were wearing masks, or not. No one said boo about it. Mind you, this is the same topic which has caused great division in the nation - or so we are told.

Thus, I wonder. Perhaps we have allowed the troubled minority, who wish to benefit from unrest, raise their profile, their self-importance, are interviewed or pictured on TV are the ones who incite these ramped up incidents. Not surprisingly, we now find many of those same people in politics. Be they from left or right, they are crazed with the possibilities of power and wealth.

Proof of the pudding? Check the Republicans and the steering committee of South Florida. People charged with the insurrection of Jan. 6 are prominent members! Check the crazed malevolent governor who blackmails and punishes those who disagree, especially publicly, with any of his policies - and he is considered to be a leading GOP candidate for President. Perhaps then I will be so lucky as to see the reality of his possible success - G-d help us all.

We must face the truth. The reason why we are in such bad shape as a nation is because we have allowed the non-thinking mouth breathers to drag along those who should know better, who excuse the bad for finding some little piece of policy they agree with. And then destroy anyone who disagrees.

For that matter, the Democrats, while still better than the GOP, are allowing dregs of the "progressive" - and read thaw regressive, biased newer arrivals into politics. The louder they scream, the more frightened I get, particularly when their mouthings are coated with ugly layers of antisemitism and refusal to acknowledge Anything good about Israel.

I am getting to the point where I will emulate the Duke of Verona and call down a pox on both their houses. But what and who will provide the desperate need for leadership, positive, responsive and productive.

Maybe you know. But be ruthlessly honest and examine deep into your heart, soul and mind. I will be searching as well. Good luck to us all.

Please note that due to a Jewish holiday I will not post again till Tuesday morning. Enjoy these two postings of today and backread to catch up. 

EVEN ET?! OH NO, NO, NO, NO!

 Is nothing sacred any longer? Are all our cherished modes of thinking, realistic or not, going to wither to dust? Leaving us bereft, bothered and bewildered! With all the recent and not so recent troubles plaguing us, now we must worry that among the myriad planets out there, discovered or theoretical, there are a likely four who pose a threat, be hostile to the "People of Earth".

Seriously? Ever increasing power and threats posed by hurricanes and other "unnatural" natural events. Politicians who cannot get their heads out of their rears long enough to catch sight of the cascading existential problems headed our way. At ever increasing tempo. Disillusionment and radicalism on both sides of the spectrum. A middle collapsing as bombastic hot air eats away at its foundations. And whence our powerhouse thinkers and think tanks, our vaunted scientists who can save the world?

Not to worry. They are protecting us. How, you ask, as pandemics ravage the earth; as monkeypox becomes the latest contender for the title; as humanity is doing a great job destroying itself? Creating its own hostilities with enough power within to destroy this planet before any gun toting aliens come a hunting the humanoid races of Earth! Oh, Balderdash!!! No finger pointing, bicycle riding ET will overcome our Space Force!

Let us sensible humanoids peruse the real world and let our worriers re aliens invading us, perhaps using our bodies as growth centers! Who knows! Just return to the movies of the fifties for education re the nefarious plans and varieties of hostile ET invasions. Oh, it is all out there, if only we would look! And where the heck is Rod Serling just when we need him the most? Wait! Methinks I hear a familiar tune, Oh, could it be? Rescue at hand?

Next up? The unfortunate reality that is Ukraine  right now. Once again I veered off the common, wistful thinking that for sure, Ukraine will win this war. Oh for sure it will not and this morning I read the first column that now calls out the clothier of the naked Emperor! No, not a fairy tale ending.

 Merely a continuing deterioration, invalidation of the integrity of Ukraine. Top that off with the lesson the world has great difficulty in understanding: Appeasement NEVER works. Bullies only understand or react to might, to force, being put in place via a lesson so strong that there are no more attempts to wage war upon the integrity of the world. With our late, wishy-washy response, we hung the valiant defenders of Ukraine out there to dry, or worse. We put on blinders, refused to follow the bouncing ball to the final note of a failing song, valiant, but unfortunately doomed from the start.

Using the mantra of Sherlock Holmes, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”  this analyst deduced, rightly so, that a change in the wording was necessary. Now it is “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable unpalatable, must be the truth.”  Russia, in the throes of its destructive ambition to recreate The Russian Empire, will not back down. It will not surrender the Crimea. Nor will it be forced out of territory gained since Feb. 24. 

It will savor its victories, an economic success in capturing the industrial heart of Ukraine, much of its farmland, and gained its long desired contiguous access to the Black Sea. Finally, it has gained lebensraum, as the enormous numbers of fleeing citizens leave room for substitution (a la Hitler) and the new stock of kids to retrain, reeducate, cut off from parents, new fodder for the next land grab. And why not? Success breeds success. Georgia. Moldova. Ukraine. Ukraine. Chechnya and other slave states, and on and on. Not such a merry, merry-go-round.

So, here goes this blogger's forecast for the near, the very near, future - providing we do not blow ourselves up before. Russia is a quick, cynical learner. It learns from its mistakes, changes tactics, gains victories and goes unchallenged and/or stopped in her malicious track

America becomes more of a paper tiger, beset by myriad internal problems unresolved for decades with no end in sight. It has become a weak, struggling country, riven with division and hate. The Era of American Power is long gone. America has been downgraded to the category of countries needing help and support. Sad, so sad. The death of a "noble experiment". The death of democracy, the rise of autocracy, as even the monarchy of England falls victim to changing tides of politics and reality.

The vacuums resultant from these massive geopolitical changes are taken up by China, crazed with power, with population to spare, with ambitions long suppressed, bursting forth with renewed vigor and financial capabilities unlimited.

The rest of the world, fragmented by ever changing borders, by violence within and without, are left to shift for themselves. Populations face periodic starvation and the destruction left behind by awful events of Nature. Not a pretty world.

Look! Up in the sky? NO, not Superman, but those long-awaited aliens, possibly, probably, hostile to the planet of humans. Concerned by wild, uncontrolled development or rather devolvement of Earth, they felt an urgent need to come forward. 

Well, by that time it might actually be a welcomed event. Who knows? Perhaps the Shadow knows. Certainly not us. Certainly not our "thinkers". In fact, how many are actually thinking at all?

REALITY CHECKS

  And there you have it. Reality checks have become a lost art, a skill of the past. Today people simply blunder on, creating their own reality, insistently advocating that their most definitely not real reality is indeed the truth of the matter. Sound complicated? Well, it is, for how does one deal with, talk with, reason with, those who have abandoned truth. Instead, what they champion is extremism in defense of not liberty, but the very opposite. It is a reality which devalues human life, all life. Finding a manageable, build upon handhold in this war of words and sanity is nigh onto impossible, percentages of finding them growing dimmer every single hour. The increasing speed with which false reality is overtaking the truth is incredible.

That, my friends, is the reality today. We have collectively, apparently, lost our minds. Fewer and fewer appear to be in working order. Now that might be okay if not for the true reality, a deep-set rooting of "nonrealism" into our governmental bureaucracies and mandates. The spouters of this garbage are actually among the lawmakers, the arbiters of our reality. Sad. Frightening. That is the reality of today.

"Bill Gates wants people to eat artificial meat that was grown in a 'peach tree dish' and that the government is going to probe your bowels for remote surveillance." 

As good a summary of her inane verbiage as I have come across. As a teacher of literature, writing, vocabulary, and their connections to history and its truths - I shudder, deep and long. My despair monitor is screeching wildly as we enter the red zone of danger.

Can a leader be one who says such things? Apparently so, for the true definition of a leader, of a true lawmaker has devolved so, such that the lower we go, in the new reality, it apears to be the higher we go. The more outrageous, racist, sexist, murderous and hate filled words - the better. Such is the new nonreality morphed to reality.

Yesterday, June 1, was Children's Day in Ukraine. For what? The increasing statistics that reflect the horror of a reality too unreal to be accepted as such - and yet it is. The cause of it all - the criminal invasion of one country, Ukraine, by another, Russia, under a disconnected Putin, who wishes a return to a time of Russian imperial power.   Realistic? Should not be, and yet, there it is. 

 We are told Russia is losing the war. Aha! Savaged, ravaged infrastructure and humanity means winning? Ever increasing loss of further territory is winning? A country drowning in the blood of its people is winning? Depending on the very limited patience of other nations is winning? Every day another day of victory undeniable for the Russians as they continue their destructive path and to hell with the world? Winning? Differing realities at war here and we must be realistic. Unless and until there is a stronger consequence for Russia, she will continue on, the great big Bear eating all in front and alongside. Three months, going strong. Reality.

Not to forget our own country, the heretofore blessed United States of America. What has become of us? A country which allows its people to eat others, to devour children, bystanders, as it has resolutely decided to be resolutely useless in prevention of these repetitive horrors. No, guns are not the issue, states one 'leader'. What is?

“So something has happened to our society. I go back to abortion,"

“It's a mental illness problem. Can't get rid of the guns. Criminals don't care. Good people don't commit the assaults,”   {Uh huh!}

Ron Desantis. Donald Trump et al. GOP. NRA. Ted Cruz. White Power extremists. Gun crazed gangs. Proliferation of assault weapons. Lack of civilized, humane gun laws.

Take your choice, one or more. Choose your stand. Choose the nonreality reality of the Great Big Lie policy or choose the correct one.

 'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.'

We need no more militias. The National Guard and the Reserves fulfill that. Members of them and our armed services do not bring their own weapons as they are provided with them. So whence the right to own assault weapons, free every damned day to slaughter, to maim, to cripple, to destroy lives?

 In fact, in true reality, the 'militias' we have today are all or mostly from the extreme wings of society, though in this new reality of ours they are actually becoming an accepted representation of middle of the road! Reality? Reality. Not pretty. Yet reality.

The gun problem of our society has become a focus point of anger. It invokes passion. It requires a realistic approach to a compromise, a strong law or set of laws, governing ALL states, (in what reality is that), where rifles for hunting are allowed, handguns of sanity are allowed - after thorough investigations. Crack down on the sale of illegal guns and the purveyors of these weapons of murder and mayhem.

Yes, this issue raises temperatures. Civil discourse is nigh unto impossible when one stands in front of bloodied bodies of children, or people living their lives until..... Or simply watching the news. I believe we have now set a record, one which we could have done without, of a daily mass shooting. Does it ever end? Will it ever end? Or are we so hung up on falsehoods that we excoriate a mayor simply despairing, using foul language, a word found in a common lexicon of daily conversation, like it or not, to decry, to proclaim, to curse, to beg, to plead, to demand, to beseech an end to all this bloodshed. She answers a 'so calm, reasonable' individual who spouts the usual meaningless garbage excuses, and says, and then responds,

“I am so sick and tired of the stupid, useless rhetoric by jack a**** like you when it comes to gun regulation. F****** sick and tired of mass murders if OUR F****** CHILDREN,” “It's time for the majority who know that gun permits and banning automatic weapons is COMMON F****** SENSE. So yeah, F*** YOU.”

“Seriously people… you should be WAY more upset that elementary students were gunned down in their classroom than I used the F-word. #priorities #momsdemandaction,”

People, we have got to choose. Which side do we champion? Will it take a tragedy that hits home in a very personal way, G-d forbid, or are the daily tragedies enough to make us all understand the deep division gun control has caused in our country, along with the ridiculous mask and vaccine politization. An inability to discuss rather than argue and shout, and a growing intolerance on either side, both pushing extremes, do naught other than exacerbate the matter and make it ever more impossible to reach a sensible solution.

The TV nightly portrayal of dead bodies and dead body counts of the Vietnam War, redressed to fit modern times. Shame on us. Shame on society for sitting still on this. Shame on those who discount the value of children, of less importance than their assault rifle. After all, they are the future militias that will defend us against.....them? No one else is coming here to destroy, to defeat us. The truth, the reality, is that we are doing a damn good job all by ourselves. 

That is the reality in truth, not the nonreality reality which seeks to find its way into an ugly, life extinguishing warped reality.

That is the ugly truth. That is the ugly choice facing us, demanding an answer NOW.

That is the true reality of our times.

HAVE YOU WONDERED TOO?

  As one walks or runs or crawls through life, eyes open or shut, there have to be an issue or two which pique the curiosity button. These are issues large and small, important or not, though there is one thing in common. That is the fact that every single one of these "wondered" about topics can and does affect the lives of people, the many or the few. However, when it affects you, personally, the wondered issue looms large, at times blocking vision of the very answer about which we wonder.

Take a drive along the byways and roadways of Florida, even perhaps limiting it to Southern Florida. Anyone who has lived here, settled here, within the past decade or two, had surely had a time or two, at the very least, when wondering about the quality of life, the value of change invaded the mind, became a mind worm, unable to be ejected.

When we came here, buying in 1998, the environment here was so different. Southern, that crazy busy road now, was a two-lane road with a huge meridian separating them. Gradually, it was expanded, until finally the raised roadway of today was built into existence. Good and bad. Good, for it did ease some traffic, but bad as it encouraged the development of land which until then had remained rural, pristine, beautifully forested land. Now, more traffic as well. 

Now, there are developments, to deny the true word. Rather small cities have sprung up all along Southern, the canal alongside widened, and houses, some of which had been in families for generations, disappeared. It is the dwindling few who resist the lure of money, insist on remaining on their land, in their compound and kudos for them. For when temptation is there, life changes for all of us. 

Wider streets and highways only invite more building, until it seems to me and many others that every single piece of 'empty' land is subject to total removal of all trees, with a replacement via  ridiculous palm trees which do nothing for the shade, for the looks, for the air, for anything, other than serve as sops to the law of tree replacement. Next, the ticky - tacky houses, all alike, all built so swiftly that concern is there for quality. Having rented houses in various vacation areas, the poor quality of homes built in a hurry, to take advantage of the perceived need for both residential and vacation homes, I can see, and indeed know, the pitfalls of these rapidly developed, miles and miles and miles, acres, of destructive elements, unwanted by most, other than the powers that be, who wish for money, money, money, via taxes. Even as they give all sorts of perks to the builders. Even as our way of life is so greatly damaged. The very reason most of us moved here is disappearing before our very eyes.

So drive that highway. Think about the people living in the homes now exposed to the highway, negatively impacted, the highway right there almost literally at their doorstep. What has this done to them and their way of life, their business, as their nurseries are now exposed, becoming useless as a means of employment and economic support. So they sell their homes, we allow more development, more homes are taken for the sake of mammoth highway widening projects which never seems to end, inviting more development. The cycle just never ends, much to our detriment.

Collateral damage abounds. Poorer quality of the air we breathe. Beauty deteriorated, parks diminished, agricultural preserves poached by greedy developers and their enabling legislators. Heat rises as we concrete over all that arable, beautiful land, and for what? For homes that sit empty most of the year? For homes that cost the world plus, leaving people under severe economic pressure? For homes that will be abandoned as in 2008, when they become impossible to maintain and pay for? Then what? We are still at a loss, with land destroyed, with crime inducing abandonment, with despair growing, with nose thumbed at Mother Nature, always a dangerous sport. Never a good idea. We are reaping the consequences already.

Moving on, we must wonder about the "good guy with a gun" theory, the answer, we are told, to the "bad guy with a gun". Really? What about the supposedly good guy who cracks, or who finds a possibility now to indulge that weird impulse he has always had? What about the rising road rage and suddenly, the good guy with the gun shoots the good guy in the 'offending' car, with a good guy gun? What about the not so good guys, the challenged guys, who can now get control of a gun? Assault rifles? No good guy reality or possibility there. None, if we are to maintain, retain, sanity and safety.

Are we actually serious about this reprehensible and moronic proposal? Allow all to carry out in the open, strapped to the nines? Keep the guns legally allowed, bought after investigation, in the drawers and closets, locked away from the kids, and there is your safe proposal of good guys with guns. Yes, in Israel more people walk around with guns as a terrorist attack is always an imminent concern, but even then, the gun permits are regulated, strict. Assault rifles? Yes, for soldiers, not for the rest of the population. 

Seriously, good guys with guns? How'd that work out for us as the West developed? Good guys with guns, needing, wanting, land for their immigrant families, for the families of eastern US citizens, for ranchers and farmers. Using their 'good' guns for bad, crossing lines, blurring lines, until gun regulations were in place. "Well regulated" militia is the wording in the Constitution. Let us abide by this cherished document.

Many, many ideas and topics of concern needing wonder, needing deep pondering, and soon. Lest the wonder topics become true intruders into a sane, comfortable, good life for all. A life which allows for dreams which do not destroy the dreams of others, the wonder of others as they raise their families from the poverty line and see the world and its possibilities anew. Why can we not wonder about that, how to achieve it, rather than wonder how to 'get ours' before any other? As we strap on our "good guy" guns and go out and destroy, oops! another good guy with a gun and a temper.

Wonder indeed, but action always an improvement - if the action is appropriate and positive - for the many, rather than the few. Our responsibility here is to watch the legislators, take care of the land and environment, teach our kids the right ways of a good life, and for the sake of all, put down those damned guns!!