BRINKS AND EDGES AND WAVES

 For weeks, months, we have been hearing and reading about a red wave threatening to overwhelm the nation's and states' legislatures. Well, that was not truly a surprise as districts were mangled, gerrymandered to the extreme by GOP dominated state legislatures. However, much to the surprise of everyone, the wave went pfft! There were ripples, not pleasant ones, bringing more trash to DC and state capitols, but the wave never truly came to life. 

However, we are not out of danger. Not at all. Too many states continue to be GOP ruled, many opposing the wishes of the people- as could be seen in the right to choose questions on the ballots. Too many extremists on the left. Antisemitism rising. Anger and fear remain. The House of the nation is up for grabs and the Senate is on the brink, with one more possibility remaining, still being counted, less than a percentage point between them, and a runoff scheduled for Georgia. It must be noted that shockingly so many voted for Walker, a patently dementia challenged morally repugnant man, swept into possible office via the Kemp vote.

The nation remains on the brink. It remains divided though perhaps not as badly as we feared. That remains to be seen. There are enough baddies elected to continue to stir the pot, sending out fresh rancid aromas and viral lies and infections. Budd. Vance. Greene. Johnson. Perry. Goetz. Even Pence as he now loads the dice with fresh retakes on his 'heroism' on Jan. 6. Pfft to that too.

There are more brinks and edges awaiting us, some already there, drowning our republic where once there was secure, dry land. The Supreme Court is overwhelmingly partisan at present, buoying the hopes of radical conservatives who care naught for the people other than the 1% and their donors. Now we hear that four of these so unqualified judges went to a gala dinner of the Federal Society's, (a blatantly backwards thinking conservative organization), 40th anniversary convention -Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett - after overturning the right of choice. Shame on them and shame and woe on us. We enabled their appointments as well as so many, too many, on the lower federal courts - for lifetime -as our wobbly brink continues to crumble and rumble, ominously. These are the ones remaking our laws, retrogressing our society, joined by two more on the bench - Thomas, the pervert, and Roberts, a weak man indeed. Previous giants of the Court are wailing up there, confused, sad, worried.

Internationally things are not looking any better, with a stronger real fear of devastating actions taken by a madman abetted by his magnates desperate to keep their fortunes intact. They are the ones pushing the wave of repression sweeping Russia, as the ghost of Stalin chortles with glee, only afraid that his record numbers of imprisoned and disappeared will be broken.

In the meanwhile, we hear threats of tactical nuclear weapons. Of chemical warfare newly ordered by Putin, of awful, outlawed, immoral means of war, including kidnaping of children, arrests of civilians, torture, the massive destruction of the infrastructure of a nation bravely beating them back, at great property loss and horrible, awful human loss, 80,000-100,000 soldiers dead, wounded or missing, on both sides. And that does not include civilians. Where will it end? Will a wave of new warfare consume the globe?

Do not think that these possible rogue waves, these sharp edges, these unsteady brinks are nothing to you, not part of your life. Learn and think otherwise, know otherwise. Brittney Griner was one of many women sports figures who play overseas during off season so as to earn money as their salaries are massively below those given to male sports figures. Grabbed for nonsense, imprisoned for months for nothing, sentenced to a cruel inhumane fate, now being delivered to it, incommunicado. Nine years in a brutal penal prison of the Russian gulag, where she will be a target for the criminals who actually run the camp, a tall woman of color who stands out, unused to the freezing cold and the brutal lifestyle and work at the prisons. 

Where is she? Where will she be? Will American representatives be able to see her? Will she survive? My heart goes out to her - and know that any one of us traveling abroad is fodder to the maw of political fighting. Seeing her face cuts me to the quick, as I stand here powerless to do anything for her.

WE MUST BRING HER HOME.

 ALONG WITH THE OTHER POLITICAL PAWNS THERE.

WE MUST MAKE IT RIGHT!

WE MUST!

Edges and brinks and waves remain. Troubles and woes flit freely through the air, refusing to fly away. Why should they when we have such inadequate leaders and too many nasty people.

WE are the ones who must smooth the rough sharp edges, reinforce the brinks and calm those waves. 

If not us, then whom?

OH THE PLANS OF MICE AND MEN

  Or we can use the Yiddish version which reminds us that men plan as G-d laughs. In other words, we can plan down to the last degree, the last possibility we can think of and then watch it all come apart as the danger to it came from a totally unexpected direction. There is no such thing as 100% surety on anything other than those two old staples - death and taxes.  From Bosworth Field to the Revolution to 1848 to the Civil War and all the wars of the 20th century well into the 21st, defeat happens. Victories happen. At times we are not sure as to how those states and conditions ever came into being.

Last night we stayed up late watching, waiting, pacing, and thankfully, the baby never arrived here but went elsewhere. I feel guilty as other people took the brunt; nevertheless, I am grateful and breathing easier. 

The other results we were watching were those still uncalled, the balance of power hinging on the results. One side wishes to advance aid and progress, infrastructure, more inclusive safety nets, keep Social Security and Medicare, keeping millions of the elderly - including me - alive. The other side wishes to tamp down on everything with their base suffering the results as their aid from the federal government dries up while their so-called leaders live high on the hog as restrictions on illicit gains, ugly gains, immoral gains, as safety rules are thrown aside, trampled upon. 

As for other rights, to choose, to control one's body, be it male or female, to be served and treated with dignity and honor, no matter the lifestyle chosen other than a criminal one (Hear that so many GOP twisted members.) To be able to vote, freely, without blocks and interference. To defeat intimidation at the polls, and in simple words - return to an America of hope and dreams and strivings to reach those goals and create a positive future, inclusive for all.

The viciousness of some GOP MAGA election denying traitors to America and its ideals, are whining and creating myths and conspiracies that never were other than in their own twisted bizarro minds and souls. They are uncaring as to the results of this dastardly and evil, yes, evil, behavior. 

Read below the words of one politician who lost an election and the grace with which it is faced. Would that all could and would react accordingly.

“We have too much hate. We have too much anger. There's way too much fear. There's way too much division. And that we need more love. We need more compassion. We need more concern for each other. It's important things. We need forgiveness. We need grace. We need reconciliation. We do have to leave the age of stupidity behind us. And I have a privilege right now … to concede this race … because the way this country operates is that, when you lose an election, you concede and you respect the will of the people.”

It would be so nice if we planned optimistically, positively, and then were able to properly handle changes in those plans. 

Thank you, Tim Ryan for those words and to Mehmet Oz and Tudor Dixon for similar words and attitudes. Their party affiliation does not matter - only their grace and examples of what should be.

Mice and men. Huh!

SIXES AND SEVENS

  Or rather simply confused and still racked with fear, of the known and unknown. Still, a spark of hope grows brighter - at least politically. As for Nature, well, she certainly seems a bit ticked off at Florida and plans to slam it but good! Apparently, Nature knows, even as too many Floridians do not, that DeSantis and Rubio are not the best picks and yet here they are. Even as so many election deniers were trashed, these two came rolling in. Bad news indeed.

The good news was that the prediction of a "red wave" was to go unfulfilled. The threats to our democracy shredding plaints of election rigging did not go over well. Apparently there remain a distinct number of sane Americans who know the truth and voted accordingly. However, it remains a sad, bitter dangerous fact that too many election deniers are hanging on, remaining in positions of power with nefarious plans intact. Our democracy remains in a state of peril, existential threat and we must remain alert and defiant of any plans afoot now or in the future to remove our rights, turn this country into an American version of Hungary and its nasty ruler. But thank heavens, the GOP MAGA crew is in a state of 'catatonia' according to some political pundits. Long may they remain there, sink deeper even into it.

It remains yet unknow whether the GOP will gain control of the House and Senate on federal and state levels. Along with their maniacal plans for 'revenge', taking off after Democrats and any American who opposed them, violence advocates are comfortably absorbed into current GOP   thought. It is their weapon of choice.

Yes, we have made great strides, with the repudiation of many threats to American democracy, but the threat remains, continues apace.  Vigilance is required. Right to choose seems to be validated by the people with hopes now that the Stone Age GOP dominated state legislatures will reconnect with the populace and act accordingly. We hope. We pray.

Meanwhile, life imitates art and Nature reflects the roiling uncertainty and threats of violence as soon to be Hurricane Nicole barrels down upon Florida's heavily overdeveloped Palm Beach area. Tens of thousands have been evacuated, uncertain of the future. We ourselves are in NY, watching worrying, trying to figure out how bad will it be? Will our condo be okay? Will our friends and neighbors be okay? 

 Capricious weather, so late in its timing, reminds us that there is related, reflected capriciousness and imminent threats in the most unnatural equally violent world of politics. And we had better pay attention. 

Let us all hope, pray, remain one with our countrymen, hope we are on a better path, that more and more will begin to fathom how deep we were, and remain, in the throes of inconceivable peril, environmentally and politically.

Let us all track the path of the storm Nicole and hopefully avoid too much danger to life and limb, to destruction of infrastructure. Let us be able once again finally to stand as a leader in and to the world, reassure them that we are back and here to stay. That will only happen if we keep a sharp eye on the snake oil dealers who mesmerize with their words and chants.  If not, well, just look around at our tattered and torn nation, the threats to our democratic state. Right there. Still there. Still living. Not fatally wounded yet. 

It is upon us to do so.

May we all be safe through the hurricane of Nature and the hurricane of life.

IMPACTED THINKING

 This is where grammar enters the ring. Is the word impacted used as a verb or as an adjective. One says that something has an effect on thinking, while the other says that thinking is already impacted much like compacted, a blockage in play that is equally as life threatening as an untended impacted bowel. In this instance, you make the decision. However, in full disclosure, when Rubio says that the Pulse massacre played a role in his decision to run, just about goaded him into running, well, his nose has grown by several feet.

“Obviously, I haven’t thought about it from a political perspective, but [the shooting] most certainly has impacted my thinking, in general, about a lot of things,”

So much for his interest in being active against violence. So much for his constant absence from votes in the Senate. So much for his thinking, as there is great doubt in many circles that his brain actually functions and indeed, might produce results of impacted thinking. Blocked from any common sense or care for morality, responsibility to constituents or anything that smacks of growing up, he needs to stop trading on his looks, find some other career. Perhaps a travel agent as he is so good about taking such 'timely' vacations with family.

Let us all do each other, Florida and even Rubio a favor and vote for the very competent Val Demings.  'nuff said.

Here are some scary figures and truly, does it matter on whose side these figures originate? One day we will perhaps truly understand that the death of one person diminishes us all. Yes, there are times that death, war originated death, will seem necessary and that is profoundly sad. However, to do body counts in glee, particularly when the enemy is actually a relative, well, it simply stinks to the high heavens.

Thanks to the overblown ego and ambitions of Putin, there is a tragic bloodletting in Ukraine. This country refuses to give up, to roll over and play dead. They will not cede a great big section of their country to the mad Putin. The world, using Ukraine as proxy, sends arms and equipment but no feet on the ground. No American blood spilled, hence the growing daring in your face isolationism of the GOP to halt aid to Ukrainians in their battle against authoritarianism for that is the truth.

Almost an entire brigade of Russians, mostly conscripts, untrained, barely any equipment, were wiped out almost instantly upon placement in the field. Over 300 dead, wounded or missing. The people of Russia begin to speak out loud, but they know the reality. The High Command turns humanity into lies and cold figures - “Due to the competent actions of the commanders, the losses among the marines over this period do not exceed 1 percent of the combat personnel and 7 percent of the wounded, a significant part of whom have already returned to duty,” “Due to the competent actions of the commanders, the losses ... over this period do not exceed 1 percent of the combat personnel and 7 percent of the wounded, ...” 

and find willing aides who further their words and impacts. Shameful.

These same people who fall into Russia's lap are the same ones refusing to answer subpoenas re Jan. 6, re Russian interference with the 2016 elections, and vow to make the right to choose a federally declared crime of murder, with prison sentences for all, cut Medicare and Social Security. And the idiots fall in line as they cheer the idea of a dismantled federal government, not thinking of the chaos afterward, including the loss of funding from that very government. Farm subsidies, FEMA, defense and security, protection of the environment and on and on. 

For whom will they cheer instead of "USA" "South Dakota, South Dakota" simply does not have the same effect. The result will be 50 struggling little entities, ripe for takeover and there ya' go. Our demise engineered so skillfully by - ourselves. How proud and grateful we will be to those who led us into the wonderful world of death by fire, drowning, starvation, dehydration, hostile people and environments. How blessed we will be! Idiots!!

And Trump, scofflaw of the highest magnitude, says he will probably run again. Just great.

Impacted thinking.

Oh, help!!!!!!!

Oh, look, salvation at hand.

Those 'UFOs' we thought we saw are actually Chinese drones out to save us from the Russians - and ourselves.

Again how lucky can one get?

"WE WERE SIMPLY SHOT"

  These are the words of a survivor of a battalion of Russian conscripts, sent into battle without equipment, and died, as the cannon fodder they are so blatantly thought of and used, by Putin and ruthless frightened Generals, and compliant field officers.

"When it all started the officers simply ran away."

Ironic, is it not, actually brutal in understanding, application and interpretation, for we here in America, have also been shot. Not literally, then perhaps even more painfully and long lasting, a dangerous foreboding for our nation. We have been shot, by our neighbors, the bullets shredding our nation, our supporting pillars established in our newborn years. As for our officers, well, they too have run away, disappeared, left us, the citizens, leaderless, along with disabled motors and incompetent broken steering system. 

So we drifted, aimlessly, the currents carrying us hither and thither. Into the void came other leaders or those purporting to being so and they have steered us into dangerous waters. Worse is that while many of us understand the danger, can express it succinctly yet powerfully in very simple words, perhaps in desperation, exhaustion, turn to those fakes. These are the very ones who will exacerbate the situation, make things worse for us as we are progressively stripped of our rights, our hopes, our dreams.

“She’s lying all the time, ... “so I just don’t trust her.” (re Boebert) and so many more.

“I don’t like anybody now. I think our freedoms are under attack, I don’t like either party,” he stated. "I think Boebert is kind of crazy. But I don’t think the other party has any better options. I’m just tired of them attacking each other. I just wish they would do something for our country.”

“I just think she’s sometimes off the deep end," he continued. "She sounds like she’s trying to push that we need to be ruled by religious belief.”

"and may sit out the election."

" more focused on attention than getting stuff done. And rather than take the time to actually come to the table with her constituents or anyone who opposes her,”  " if I feel stuck on if it’s just between a Democrat and Republican and I don’t agree … I’m not going to vote.”

These are the words of folks, just like me and you, caught in a terrible, monstrous, ever growing, unstoppable eddy. It is swallowing all we have gained, stood for, represented in historical context and in simple daily life.

America is no longer. Not in its current configuration. Not with these liars, cheaters, ruthless, treasonous fake leaders leading us into perdition. The leaders we once looked to are gone, retired, resigned, simply gone with but a few remaining. 

Instead, we cheer the false, the dangerous, as we shift our worries onto them. Uselessly, for they are the foxes, and we are the chickens, trapped in our coops, defenseless, apparently, against all attacks designed to demolish the structure. Once again, hatred has become acceptable, even commendable. Tattered, but quickly morphing into political mantras, are the veins of hate, of bias, racial, ethnic, religious. The same mantras which have torn this globe apart too often. We have learned nothing from history. Nothing positive at all, even as the ways of prior fascist dictators are studied and emulated by those who would attain their hateful, threatening goals. No holds barred.

"Vini. Vidi. Vici."

I came. I saw. I conquered.

We have been told these were the words of Ceasar as he contemplated the conquered territory of Gaul. As humanity accepted blood and entertainment, sops to their hunger, physical, emotional, moral, and so we are doing today. We are turning a blind eye to all that is wrong - that we so deeply KNOW is wrong, yet on we go. We deny its relevance to us, tune out, turn off, abdicate responsibility, begin to chant the mesmerizing chants of mobs, and allow this manufactured current to take us places we should not be. 

We have designated ourselves as cannon fodder.

We have been seen, been conquered, and the enemy came from within.

We have one of our possibly last opportunities to change this current. If we vote the correct way, the one that will keep us in safe waters, if we unite and keep the truths of history before our eyes, and in our hearts and heads, there is a hope, a chance, to rescue our nation.

We can do it. 

We can turn back the tide.

We can.

If we truly wish to.

Do we?

Cannon fodder no longer.

WHY IS THIS NIGHT...

      Oops! Wrong holiday. Still have almost half a year for that one. However, the question of why something is different from what is usual, typical, to be expected is quite relevant now. Why is this time in history so different from other periods, yet at the same time so similar, almost mirror images.

Why is this election different from all other elections in the history of this nation? There have been times of corruption, of vote buying, of voting right denials but the threats today to elections, a bastion of to this country's democracy, are basic, simple, and calls violence, the spilling of the blood of fellow Americans fill the airwaves and print media.

Trump, that demented, tortured soul, who has already incited violence and open rebellion, now says he is "very, very, very probably" going to run again, Lord help us. His murmured date of announcement is Nov. 14, the day he is supposed to testify live at a J6 hearing. His followers, enemies of democracy, are setting aside three days, Nov. 14 - 16, so as to be ready to fulfill his barely hidden threat and encouragement, plans even, to make his statement "we can do it again" and "better". 

What again? Not the election, I fear, but rather the rebellion, this time with more preparation, more open allies, including traitorous governmental figures, and rampant violence throughout the nation. Aided by his dumb as a stump Junior, nevertheless dangerous to and for us all.Will there be a replay, and if so what will be the end? Will we have a nation, of our own 'oblasts, a state of perpetually waged war that leaves nothing and no one left standing?

Not since the Civil War I have we faced such a threat, decimation of a nation as it was conceived and fought for. The question that should be ringing. clanging, knelling, is what have we wrought? How have we allowed this to happen? How have we chosen leaders who never ever understood nor aspired to be true leaders?

This weekend we celebrate a family wedding with other happy occasions on the horizon. How disconcerting, disturbing, to find that there was extra security on all Jewish institutions this weekend as the FBI had firm knowledge of a possible attack. attack! Planned. Even as some corporations cut off celebrities for blatant, violent, malicious, antisemitic statements, the very air is blue with the venomous outpourings of haters, with a dramatic rise in antisemitic attacks, physical and verbal. When? Till when?!

Does this not say it all?

"the reaction to anti-Semitism is not as knee-jerk as it is with a lot of groups. And I think the danger here is this crosses the entire political spectrum … all walks of people. Anti-Semitism is racism and racism doesn’t matter, it comes in all shapes and forms. This is a problem but this group is unique for one reason. They are uniquely targeted for conspiracy theories. So you don’t see this with any other group where they are pitted against, they’re pretty much made to feel that this group is uniquely more [of a] problem for things you don’t have. And so it continues to do that and sometimes it gets a pass. "

These haters target all, other than themselves, not understanding that in doing so they are setting the same limits, the same denial of service, the same disaster of authoritarianism upon themselves. Tired of the protesters of Medicare and Social Security, Biden called it like it is. 

"Social Security and Medicare as a "promise" made to generations of Americans. "Socialism. Give me a break, what idiots." 

Frankly, without Social Security and Medicare, we would be living in far more straitened circumstances and as for me, unable to pay the medical expenses, including horribly high drug costs, already difficulty to pay, well, I would be dead! Simple as that.

So yes, idiots indeed.

If only people would think.

If only.

Should we check for pigs flying - or despair that never will we see such a sight?

WORDS WORDS WORD!

  "The pen is mightier than the sword." How often we have read or been told about that adage. As kids we wondered, how could words be mightier than a punch or a slap? Adults were nuts! Well, we were probably correct about adults, and unfortunately too many of today's adults continue the "nut" path, have chosen incorrectly, foolishly, dangerously, but be that as it may, words are indeed powerful. Words, when examined, particularly in historical context and analysis, tell the story of humanity.

There are words of love and words of hate. There are words of hope and words of despair. There are words of encouragement and words of discouragement. There are words of praise and words of debasement. There are words of retrogression on the path of humanity and words of progress. 

The words we choose to use, to believe, to feel, are the words that lay out our history. WE are living historical figures, as much as Washington or Reagan, for we, the little people, can join together and change the words and the atmosphere they engender, their import and direction. WE have the responsibility to use words carefully, positively, rather than in a negative and/or hurtful manner. That is not always achieved, and I include myself within that crowd. Words from small - minded people can lead to big, bad changes. Reference- Jan. 6, Donald Trump, Putin, Ginnie Thomas, AOC, Omar, etalia. Too many to list, too many period.

Hateful words appear to be the currency of today. Harmful words are the favorites of bad people, of deluded people not truly understanding history and its imperatives and the power of words to instigate the bloody use of swords and violence.  That is where the adage comes in, for without the words, good or bad, there would remain a status quo, a static paralyzed humanity, unable to move forward or back. 

Incumbent upon us is the responsibility to history to interpret words, to explain, to understand their potentiality, for good or bad and react, behave appropriately. There are words of today's currency which drive me, for good and bad, for hope and despair. I ache at the potential of harm and abasement awaiting us and indeed already too much in play. Using words to intimidate too many from voting, from feeling free to do and say what is right. I hope, with every breathe I take that at least there are many now who are expressing the dangers of the day, perhaps too late, but we can hope.

 Perhaps there are enough of us to successfully halt the downwards, dangerous slippery slope from crashing us all at the bottom. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is hope in our recognition of the danger of damaged personalities using dangerous, inciting words, hopping on the bandwagon of anti-humanity, antiprogress. Luddites of the moral world. These are the people who would drag            humanity back to the swamps and caves, and the words always of hate, of violence, of sword and lance over pen and peace. 

Read the following collection of words and perhaps they will strike a spark of increased determination within one's soul to safeguard ourselves, our families, our nation, our world, our beleaguered planet. Inspire us to address progress, righting wrongs, protecting our environment. Simply doing the best we can do. Read and wonder why, at this stage of the game are we facing these manifestly existential dangers which we should have long ago been vanquished.

" ... argued that in just six days, America could see the beginning of the end of it all.

“A historian 50 years from now, if historians are allowed to write in this country and if there are still free publishing houses and a free press, which I’m not certain of,” he said. “But if that is true, a historian will say, what was at stake tonight and this week was the fact whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”

“We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away,” ... six nights from now, we could all be discussing violence all over this country. There are signs that that may happen. May God forbid. That losers will be declared winners by fraudulent election officers or secretary of state candidates or governors or state legislatures.

We could be six days away from losing our rule of law and losing a situation where we have elections that we all can rely on. ... the foundation stones of a democracy."

 "Shortly after returning home from the Insurrection at the US Capitol, the defendant sent a message [saying] 'I can honestly say I had a great time," she said. "Referring to the insurrection, Mr. ... said 'This is what we need.'"

“Done,” Graham replied without hesitation. (as he donated to Bolduc, a clear danger to democracy, a bigot, antisemitic to the extreme and a fascist at heart, soul and mouth.)

Graham again asked viewers for money to” stop the crazy." (Think about that.)

"Another batch of emails obtained from John Eastman shows Donald Trump's lawyers were counting on U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas to help them disrupt Joe Biden's election win, and their certainty raises new questions about his wife's role in the scheme." (A judiciary corrupted at the highest level!)

The terrible need for this statement, from the UN that is yet being challenged as wrong, refusing to see the truth as prominent as the noses on faces.

 IHRA’s working definition, “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Till when dear Lord, till when?

Will humanity ever learn the correct path, the proper words, the truth? 

You answer the question - in all honesty. 

PLEASE READ FOR THE HEARING

  For various reasons I could not manage to get this to the Hearing today re the medical building. If someone could get up and read this for me as I cannot be there, I would be most grateful.

The question at hand is more than concern re a change made to a building. It is one that concerns our status quo, our lifestyle, plain and simple.

When this building was set up it was to "service the residents of Century Village" and has done so for all these years. It has a physical location in the very heart of the Village, seen almost immediately upon entry to the Village from Haverhill. It is large, yet not intrusive, a regular part of life here, be it using the PT available, or the doctors, the drugstore, meeting place, special presentations, or simply using its parking area especially during show nights. People use the lots, the walkways around the building, equal to an easement that becomes legal after several uncontested years.

Now it is proposed that this building become off limits to residents, to ignore the massive private entity in the heart of the Village. Think not only of the inconveniences, but also of the change to life here. A change which will set off a division among residents and increase angry feelings which can grow into truly ugly statements and actions.

Suddenly this building is to morph into a blockade in the Village, an ugly overbuilt one, trashing the grassy areas, intruding upon the walkways, crossing limits to property allowing for the rural atmosphere we treasure here in the Village. The ugly fences to be built, the damage to the Village aesthetics, the possibility of rupturing the borders of the lake, the huge expense to move a pumping station at a time when the Village is under great financial stress, false statements that the building will be open on Saturday - bosh!! That and the lifestyle of the group requesting these changes are diametrically opposed to the truth of the reality. 

Cars entering their synagogue courtyard, children running around there - and there will be many children. Women in "immodest" clothing walking among men entering the synagogue building - not compatible and as owners they can change the rules especially as they are also requesting the ability to change things without following current procedure.

Furthermore, the statement about the availability of the lot on Saturdays is a crock. Cars are driven to the synagogue before Sabbath, left overnight, and used to drive home after Sabbath ends. Now picture the traffic jam, the inevitability of multiple cars in an accident as many cars are coming to the clubhouse, the lot needed for spillage, versus the cars exiting, to return home, using the same two lanes, the same turnoff and CRASH! It is inevitable. And tragic. And this will go on every day and night.

Finally, to say there will be rules in place, well, as a group, there have been numerous instances and troubles with rule acquiescence here in the Village particularly re construction, re safety of others, re the use of pools by naked men, by constantly offering to buy pieces of property so as to enhance the separateness they seem to crave. When one buys here, one implicitly agrees to abide by the rules of life, for life, in CV. If one's chosen lifestyle cannot be meshed with that of the Village there are plenty of areas to choose from. Without rules fair to all, without the inclusiveness we now have, with a greatly diversified population, well, CV will not be what it is supposed to be. That is a tragedy indeed.

Please know that there is no antisemitism here, as I too am an Orthodox Jewish woman who moved here with my husband twenty years ago and with buying, accepted to abide by the rules and the ethos of the Village, So must we all.

Commissioners, please turn down the request, today and on November 28. Please. It would not be a good thing for the Village to agree to these requests. Especially without a massive revision, with concern for the residents of the Village and our needs as well. Thank you.

WHEN AND WHY

  Put 'when' in the proper place in a sentence and the meaning, the connotation will change. It is a word with great flexibility and usage. For this posting, we are asking what happens when. The 'when' we are using is one of timing and environment. It is a situational when, a warning when, a plaintive when asking, pleading, calling for someone, anyone, to hear and see and understand the 'whens' of our times.

When a ship is ripped away from its mooring at the dock, the marina, wherever, its stability and survival are quite questionable. When the power of   Nature slings that mammoth yacht miles inland do we internalize the meaning of the 'when' moments? Do we see wiped out areas of housing and rethink our planning and building regulations? Do we become cognitive of the new and immediate challenges we are facing, go proactive or do we insist on repeating the same errors of the past, emulating the definition of insanity and stupidity? 

Why, when the truth is not only out there, but quite obvious, smacking us in the face, do we sit inert, or repeat the same errors of the past 'whens' which brought us to this current 'when' we are facing. Note, that in addition to Nature 'whens', the word and its import also refer to political and social 'whens'. Certainly, those 'whens' are of great weight, even as we persist in powering on down the road of errors, of ignorance assumed and real, and when we hit the barrels at the dead end of that road, we sit there, stunned, wounded, wondering how the hell this happened. When did they go wrong?

That when actually includes many whens. When did we lose national sanity and elect a most visibly damaged man, dangerous to us in his dementia and outsized ambitions along with his followers, to public offices all over the land? Why did we do so and why do we persist in championing these outrageous attacks on our society? Why do we now accept truth as lies and lies as truths? When did that become the lingua franca of the day?

The whens and the whys continue to accumulate, much to our distress and survival as America, the one we are proud of, the one with a critical role to play in the world. The amassing hills of political sludge grow dangerous in their heights and instability. Our basic rights, our underpinnings of the nation, its very history are being buried under the leaking dripping sludge hills - of our own making. We have done this to ourselves and are now living the consequences.

When a nation turns back to a violent time in its history, when guns were openly worn and used, where the law and its representatives were scarce upon the ground; when violence usurped the power of the true authorities; when those same authorities either cooperated with that theft or were unable to overcome it, we had institutional violence. Just as we do now. Guns are more openly allowed, and shootings increase. Instead of a finger thrown at a road rage incident, it is now a bullet that flies through the air with much more permanent and egregious damage. When a student will shoot and kill to express dissatisfaction with it or the kids or the teachers or parents, the unhappy worker or employee. As for terrorists - open season is on!

Worse than everything else, is the loss of a basic foundational cornerstone, the corruption of the judiciary, particularly at the supposed to be highest level, The Supreme Court. It has openly endorsed and supported extreme right-wing views. This support has led to attacks on our very rights, basic rights. The right to control one's own body. The right to make our own decisions as to lifestyle. The right to expect service. The right to vote freely, without intimidation. The right to be safe from hate and bigotry. The right to be free from ancient hates resurrected for a 'when' it serves a cynical, as usual, corrupt purpose. The right to be safe, free, to live a decent life. The right to dream.

When and why have these rights been abrogated? And why do so many deluded think this is proper, correct, for their benefit? It boggles the mind.

When a federal judge calls out the Justices (a misnomer indeed) of the Supreme Court, re the Second Amendment decision of theirs, I begin to hope that all is not lost. Read his words and challenge. 

“This court is not a trained historian,” ....

“The justices of the Supreme Court, as distinguished as they may be, are not trained historians,”...

“And we are not experts in what white, wealthy and male property owners thought about firearms regulation in 1791,” ...

The Bruen decision, he said, requires him to “play historian in the name of constitutional adjudication.”

" ... ordered the parties, including the Justice Department, to brief him on whether he should appoint a historian within 30 days. “Not wanting to itself cherry-pick the history, the Court now asks the parties whether it should appoint a historian to serve as a consulting expert in this matter,” he said."

Yes, there are many whens and whys. Some will never be understood, some will wreak havoc and irreversible damage upon our society. Some harm will be repaired, but first and foremost - we must acknowledge that our decisive time of severe when and why nature and questions and attacks upon it are here. As is a powerful potentially fatal when and why time on us as a nation, as a society. Now. We must rise to the challenge, keep our nation safe and maintain the ideals and cornerstones of its raison d'etre.

 When- now. 

Why - because it is the right thing to do.

 If we are to survive as a true democratic nation -the United States of America, this challenge must be met. It is an unpleasant time of when and why, but denial does not make it go away. It only makes the job all that much more difficult.

A THING OF THE PAST

  This statement was contained within a commentary re the blue post office mailboxes. Disappearing under cover of night or whatever, they are deemed useless, anachronistic, a "thing of the past".  Actually, it is more a sign of the times in a most negative manner.

Granted, even as they are a convenience to some, to many, particularly in elder communities, they are annoying things demanding expensive servicing and are plump, tempting targets for mail thieves. Boxes harder to break into, limiting these boxes to areas of a denser elderly population might be some solution ideas, but to tear them out of the fabric of life for whom these conveniences are threads of life is not a good idea. Surely, USPS can come up with some good ideas, amongst their spate of terrible ones, costly ones that did more harm than any good at all, headed by a terrible partisan mail czar who did the bidding of Trump and ignored the needs of the population. Seemingly minor, yet so important to quality of life for many. Too many to disregard.

It is said that Harvard has a 'personal' score for admittance that includes a subjective evaluation, apparently looking for "integrity, courage, kindness, and empathy". Humpf! Would that these character traits, so rare, increasingly so among our "public servants" would be a must in qualifying for fitness to run for office. Ha! Would that not be wonderful?!

These almost outmoded traits are missing in much of our leadership. The results are clear and terrifying, especially as too many of the masses choose 'leaders' who are not, spout lies, and mis/dis information reaped from twisted social media. We watch in bewilderment and fear at the rise of violence in our society, targeted at groups and politicians who disagree with one's views. We attack basic rights within this country, rights in place for centuries or decades as we improved and progressed as a society. Today? Discarded at ever increasing tempo.

 Yet again, another morning on which I wake up to more antisemitic activity, growing ever bolder, more vicious, and more frequent, with the violence meter ramping up. This time it was in Broward County, but the place makes no difference. It is here. It is spreading. It draws different lines (oh, those lines, again) as identifiers. 

As Jean Valjean questioned himself, "Who am I?", so I question myself. Who am I? I am an American, proud of my country, blessed that my ancestors had the courage to take that perilous leap into the unknown, as lone teenagers to boot! I am also a woman of the Jewish faith and do not hide that fact. I am proud of my identity as a Jew, for my belief, for the structure it gives me, for the enrichment of my life, for the drive, the imperative, to improve the world, hopefully to leave it a tad better for my being here. I champion social safety nets even as I push for more responsible oversight, honest oversight, in spending. Ensuring that the money is spent where it is needed and not in the pockets of crooks and thieves of public funds. So... who am I? I am an American Jewish woman hopefully, helpful, progressive, with an open approach to all - other than haters - and reasonably proud of it all. I hope and pray, and state firmly, that none of the above identifiers are a thing of the past.

Most unfortunately, society has demeaned itself, allowing the rougher, more violent opinions to take supreme place. It makes room for the false, dangerous leaders. It accepts violent anger and support for lies over truth, pleasant or not. It attempts to return to things of the past, outmoded antagonistic, selfish society destroying mantras which are of no positive use for any. Even, especially, for their proponents.

The Hill writes of "shameful moments". This refers to the shame of humanity as Chamberlain and supporters, had to choose between shame and war. They refused to look back and forward and chose shame. As Churchill allegedly stated, “The government had to choose between shame and war. They chose shame. They will get war too.” 

We too, must make difficult choices. Yes, it is costly to support Ukraine, but they are dying for us, yes US, for Russia is our deadly enemy, headed by a demented megalomaniac, a twin of Trump, our own home-grown dangerous dictator wannabe. Yes, life is a tad unpleasant for too many now and terrible for too many others, encased in wars of eternal pace and duration, deprived of basic needs and always in mortal danger. However, there are many, especially Americans who whine about money and inflation, make excuses to validate their hatred, but who, in fact, are doing quite well, and fill the stores and the online sites buying, spending. 

We must make sure that we do not have our moment of shame, for with that shame comes the inevitable war, all the worse for having been willfully denied, foolishly, uselessly for so long. If we would only know within ourselves, deep into our bones that talk, truthful evaluation, respect for our fellow human beings, for the environment, for responsibility to take care of the earth, our home - for all - there would be no shameful moment, no inevitable war.

We are at a crossroads, a vital, life distinguishing or life extinguishing crossroads. G-d help us if we make the wrong choice and go skipping off down the wrong one. We are literally playing with fire, juggling the very atoms of existence, and we refuse to face that truth. To our detriment. Even as the juggled items begin to fall out of rhythm and there one goes........

LIFE, LIVED WITH HONOR,

                     MUST NOT BECOME 

                               A THING OF THE PAST.

 

LINES AND LINES AND LINES

 Anybody else out there tired of the overuse, the uselessness of the drawing of lines? Don't cross them, goes the warning, and when indeed crossed, what happens? A great big nothing. Should one cross that oh so very terrifying red line, well, it actually now carries as much potent threat as does the line - "Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins ". Yet it is considered the most threatening verbal warning ever.

On the other hand, when used too late in a growing conflict with overflowing words replete with threats galore, the threat has actually amounted to zero. Sounds of fury rising to the puffery of hot air. Hence one being warned re the final outrageous deed ignores it, secure in the record of futile recent reactions. Suddenly, though, it is put up or shut up time and the guns begin to roar. And people begin to die. The lines were drawn.

The University of Georgia and the University of Florida condemn the antisemitic statements projected on the walls of the TIAA Stadium. Big whoop as once again, the antisemitism, real, growing ever more violent, is yoked together with "other forms of hatred and bias". Let us draw a line there, please. 

Every time that conflation takes place, it waters down the fact that this particular hatred is virulent and seemingly eternal, and in this case, from coast to coast, organized by the "Goyim Defense League", goyim being the name some call non-Jews. It is a word from the Bible, meaning nations other than Jews, though in the promise to Abraham, the term, "goy gadol" - a large nation - is used. When the word 'goy' is used with venom, well, that is reserved for a violent, Jew hating perpetrator of violent acts. In this case, if the shoe fits, well there it is on your foot! Own it or stop it!

Lines were defied for too long during the time of the American Revolution. Lines were defied in the War of 1812. Lines were defied before WWI and again pre-WWII. Lies are being defied, horridly so, by Putin, perpetrated upon Ukrainians and his own people and yet, there goes another line, almost on a daily basis. So why would we expect him to stop when warnings are bursts of hot air amounting to big nothings on the part of the West.

Nancy Pelosi was supposed to be beaten to death. Not home, her husband took the beating, and the GOP says 'oh, dear, the violence must stop'. Really? Ya think! But on the other side of their mouth, with their split tongues, they maintain their violence inciting, encouraging speech, drenched in vitriol that consumes the listeners. Out they go to beat, shoot, stab, kill, to vandalize, threaten and frighten.

Never before has an entire political party of the mainstream turned on that proverbial dime and become a party plumping for violence, condemning all who oppose the change, who refuse to pimp out their honor, their souls. Never before, to me and many others have the initials GOP stood for hate. I often voted Republican but now, cannot trust any to be honest enough to vote with conscience rather than fear and lemming-like behavior.

We need new lines, or better yet, new reactions to the crossing of these lines already in place. Let us show that lines can be real, vital, useful. Violations of law- consequences. Disgusting behavior - consequences. Stupidity - there must be a regulation here, cutting out dumb as a stump candidate a la Walker, and others. Those spouting violence and bigotry - eliminated from competition and office.

Something. Anything. Or we are lost, beyond all hope of rescue. Not a pleasant picture or thought to contemplate- and then live,

BATTLES AND WARS AND WHERE DO WE GO FROME HERE?

  In any case, perhaps the question should be if and whether there will be a place somewhere to go. A place in time and space that will allow for a positive future for humanity, rather than a Mad Max life where there are no rules other than survival at every and all cost. 

Maria in West Side Story sang of a somewhere, a place where they and all, could be free to love. Rita Moreno sang even more poignantly in Spielberg's remake and reinterpretation as it became clear just how long this hatred between and among groups has gone on, the futility, the harm, the violence it engendered, the tears it produced and the uselessness of it all.

We humans cannot seem to let go of this baseless hatred. This animosity plays no favorites, reaping any and all from all sides, whomever falls into the shadow of death wielded from the deadly scythe. Battles are won and battles are lost, combatants never realizing that the war itself, is always lost. Always the deaths, the horrific wounds, the damage to infrastructure, lives ruined with no hope or recourse of aid; thus, battles are not important.  What is important, vital, a must, is to understand that we must recognize and address the underlying seeds and roots of these battles and wars. Then, only then can we look forward to a better world, one where we turn our energies and minds to repair the world, to undo the damage we have inflicted upon it. However, that is exactly what we ignore, and the wars, the killings the hatred continue to ravage our hopes and destroy the future. For sure, we have met the enemy and it is most definitely us.

You know I love being right. Most people do. However, I do not like being correct when it means danger and violence, more blood and fury, more useless, fatal stupid holding on to ideas and thoughts which long ago were beyond their selling and usage dates. Yet, we persist, don't we? We emulate the behavior of toddlers who love to run into the street and never mind oncoming vehicles.  Supposed adults, we too persist in similar self-destructive manifestly unprofitable behavior.  

Why is it that after a beautiful Sabbath with family with family and friends I open the news to yet more antisemitic remarkets by yet another athlete, 

 "shared a tweet on Thursday linking to the film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" on Amazon Prime.

— features several antisemitic tropes, including "more extreme factions of the Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially antisemitism." 

... known for referring to European Jewish people as the "synagogue of Satan," and promote the belief that Jewish people are responsible for slavery. ... "Jewish slave ships that brought our West African negro or Bantu ancestors to slave ports owned by" Jewish people, "

I feel helpless and hopeless. I feel frightened.

I read more of the incident with Nancy Pelosi and her husband, beaten terribly, a substitute of a crazed antisemitic white extremist, incited to this behavior by those faulty beings of the GOP and their ilk, those who push lies, push violence, push treason. Where have we gone as a nation, as a signpost to humanity that there is hope, that there is goodness? We have lost our way, lost our ideals. Jan. 6 was their first major coordinated attempt to fulfill their renegade wishes. Almost successful, and perhaps actually so, the violence, the stink of their treason continues to permeate the very air we breathe, and its violence, its bloody aims remain with us, unfortunately. I predicted this, I spoke of it, I warned. I pleaded, and here we are.

We must also understand the possibilities of the future. Do not think they have given up, raised a white flag. Far from that. We must take another lesson from the past and maybe, just maybe, if we understand its import for us, we can stave off yet more violence, civil war in this land. Understand now, do the right and necessary now, protect the rights of all, or lose it all. That is the stark and only choice.

A Prussian Marshal said, long ago, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy,"

The Jan. 6 corruption runs deep, wide and high. Their Plan B is there, make no mistake about it. It is already in play.

We must have Plans B to Z  if we are to save ourselves, our country, its future. Think about battles and wars. Who actually wins? Is there truly a victor. Wouldn't we be better served if we focused on solving our issues, the rotten seeds, rather than trying to eliminate them and their vitriol through ultimately useless, costly, bloody war?

HAND IN HAND THE ABOMINATIONS WALK TOGETHER

 It appears that the poorer side of humanity persists in recreating itself in whatever version will work. Infact, it does quite well. It has learned to submerge when necessary and when to come back, in full power and its own despicable glory. Well, folks, this is now the status quo, even worse in contemplation, as the greatest attempt at translating, transferring hate, as an emotion, into hate as genocidal action was almost successful. Further attempts with other groups followed this dark path and we have simply tuned it all out, particularly as it seems to be somewhere other than here, in America. 

How many more groups must be added to this shameful list before we finally learn. Before we truly understand that hate cannot be neutralized via false words and sentiments. It cannot be isolated from other hates and forms of repression. In fact, they buoy each other, creating an evil synergy. When will we ever learn? When will we ever feel, know, internalize the awful truth that genocide, hate, oppression are the worst of humanity, a signal, a lighting of the way down the darkest paths humanity can, has, and will walk. Again, and again. Unless we extirpate its roots from within, deep down and once and for all. 

Today, we are witnessing the very ugly return of this evil companionship. Terribly, horribly, awfully, sad, and yet there it is.  Marching hand in hand, haters and oppressors, those who have already begun again to spout the words of hate and those who strive to deprive all of basic human rights. Certainly, the rights we have long championed here in America and are now in danger of extinction. 

Read some of the following quotes and opinions and if your danger radar does not ping wildly, well either you agree with this or you simply refuse to see, hear and accept the truth, preferring to avoid unpleasantness -until it is too late.

Michigan running back Donovan Edwards shared an antisemitic tweet featuring Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.... The tweet read, "Jewish people will literally tell you that they want you to kill your own and humiliate your women simply because they have children to feed."

 Former Vice President Mike Pence claimed during a Wednesday appearance on Fox Business that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution does not protect Americans from having other people's faiths forced upon them. Americans have no right to freedom of religion.

The armed, uniformed right wing extremist, terrorists actually, who are intimidating voters in Arizona.

Re the GOP and Black candidates: (feel the anguish and despair in the words.)                  "I think the sad thing about this is, you know, Herschel Walker is woefully underqualified for this job and the only reason he was chosen and also supported by Trump is that Raphael Warnock, the senator in Georgia is Black and they wanted someone who was Black to confront him, to oppose him."

"Because we can't tell each other apart," said Goldberg " "Just because we see a Black person does not mean we do 'monkey see, monkey do. And I'm sure that you don't know how insulting that is, but let us just say to you, don't ever say that again because you look ignorant as hell. "

"A leading scholar of election laws says."...the evolution of an increasingly conservative Supreme Court with a skeptical approach to voting rights and an emerging record of upending precedents means that the current interpretation of the right to vote is no longer a sure bet."

Bret Stephens in his column, writes re reporting on antisemitic actions and words -"At times, the reporting has all but accused Jews of bringing the violence on themselves, with lengthy stories about allegedly pushy Jewish neighbors or rapacious Jewish landlords. At other times- such as after the attack in January on a Texas synagogue by a British Muslim man who traveled 4,800 miles to get there -reporters seem to have gone out of their way to find non-antisemitic motives for nakedly antisemitic actions."

Does this ever end? Apparently not.

Is there any difference between hatred and bias against Jews and hatred of Blacks or Asian or whatever group tickles the ugly thoughts of ugly people? 

The answer is a resounding no.

 The time has come to stand up for what we believe in, what we need, what humanity needs. No one else will do it. ' It is as always, upon us.

We will either reap the results with joy or we will weep at the results in despair.

The time has come to take a stand. To make a decision. The side of the angels or the side of the devil?

Today I was horrified to read these articles and reports. It is worse than I thought. I am truly frightened for the rest of my life and for the generations to follow.

COMMON GROUND

 Comon meaning a shared view or precept that is supported by most people of a society or culture. These common grounds range from holidays and laws to traditions and foundations of society. They are trivial and of utmost importance. Most importantly, they are shared. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, his important pamphlet during the time of revolutionary American colonies. In it was the nascent seed of democracy, a huge concept for the time, and a reminder to us of what democracy means, how we achieved it, with its faults and virtues and how it can be lost. Unfortunately, we are treading on quaking grounds, the earth shivering beneath our feet as we endanger that hard fought, hard won, hard maintained democracy. Its survival - questionable. and indeed, a shared concern today.

More and more of the 'thinking' strata of society write, talk, of the imminent danger to the democracy of our country, its very much threatened survival, and the dramatic, possibly never to be returned, loss of America and in fact, the world, as we know it. Proof of pudding? Simply glance through a political map of the world and note where each country is fighting to install, reinstall, or protect democracy vs. the forces allied against it. Scary, far more real than Michael returning each and every Halloween! This is real. This is a substantive life changing event to a degree we apparently, as a society are having difficulty in truly fathoming. Worse? Actually desirous of such a change. Scarier.

Justice Kagan pointed out how high this uncommon ground has penetrated in this country -to the highest level of the judiciary system.

 "On Friday, she had said she was hopeful but reserving judgment on whether a court dominated 6-3 by conservatives can again find “common ground."

The people have lost trust in what should be one of the last bastions of democracy. Not now. No longer. As is constituted today, polluted, its dignity and mission demeaned by the arrogant incompetent, bigoted appointed judges of Trumpian era, the Court will never again be the fore of positive societal change it has been in some revolutionary decisions. Today, forget about it, as these 6 conservative judges buy most heavily into the stiff retrogressive culture thinking now blooming in this country. Their answer to everything appears to be collusion with the forces of their partisan belief and a pronounced partisan influence on decisions made and cases undertaken.

The shared and common ground of American society seems to have split in two. To such a degree that friends and family have been split, and politics is verboten in family and social meetings and in places of business. This is the stifling, chilling, mortal effect of autocracy. Its end version is a physical enforcement of speech control, manifestly not a good thing. In a new reality the more violent, crazed, bigoted, violence the language is, the higher this shameful person is ranked. As a society, we have turned upside down for too long and the time to right ourselves is upon us, has been upon us for some time.

Actually, truthfully, dismally, blood chilling reality - we have already lost the first skirmishes and have gone on to lose bigger battles wherein democracy opponents, under the guise, favoritism, of the GOP, antidemocracy, lie believing and professing acolytes of the Trumpian world have moved into positions where they can - and will- and have changed the path of democracy, rendered our entire voting system a very sad joke. Democracy? With rights to vote, to control one's body, to love and marry one's choice, disappearing in this country, democracy is already disappearing, under heavy life threatening attack.

The end? 

Or not.

The deciding factor?

US!

 

"AMUSINGLY LAWYERLY WEASEL WORDS"

 How apt are these words for so much of what has gone on in this country particularly in the halls and byways of political life. So much for the supposed scholarly reveals on the GOP side, as liar after liar purports to blow the roof off the hidden 'truth' - manifestly not the truth - and reveal the ugly underworld of the GOP instead. So much for the quality and the character patently missing among these tattered remnants of a once upon a time respectable, patriotic, reasonably competent entity. 

This is what troubles me a great deal. Paul Ryan, not one of my favorite people as I disagree greatly with his luddite safety net opposition, got it right and it frightens me. He said,"

 “new swing voter in American politics is the suburban voter and it’s really clear the suburban voter doesn’t like Trump but they like Republicans.”

“So I think anybody not named Trump, I think is so much more likely to win the White House for us"

If that does not frighten you, then understand what those words actually reveal and the terrible future it portends if they come true.

The "for us" is not for America as a whole in achieving some kind of uneasy political balance, but a victory for the GOP. End- Stop. The partisan GOP. The same GOP which sanctions bigots, haters, incompetents, and those who, frankly, belong in some kind of treatment program where they can be disillusioned of their autocratic spouting and possibly restored to sanity. A large step, but maybe, just maybe...

However, that is not in the plans of the GOP. They threaten to 'go after' the Democratic Party. They do not disavow Trump openly; instead, they praise him and his ideas, support his lies and viciousness. With obvious mental difficulties of all sorts, from lack of a working brain to complete absence of any positive character trait, on he goes and on they go.

They are indeed weasels, poisonous, vicious in their attacks and plans. Vicious in their complete disregard of honesty, for true care of the nation, the responsibility they undertook the minute they ran for office and/or swore an oath. Now if feels as if they have taken an oath of loyalty in a deal with the Devil and are supporting his acolytes - Greene, Jordan, Johnson, McCarthy, Cruz, Rubio, DeSantis, and on the other side, AOC, Omar, Tlaib, and America has gone totally off the track. At least the Democrats sideline them as much as possible, call them out for some outrageous statement. However, not so in the GOP, as they do the very opposite and tout their value every chance they get or manufacture. Their goal is to "take" the country. Then what? And then what. I ask despairingly.

When the outrageous false story is told of a political attack on a GOP supporter, the truth is ignored. The man beaten was a White Power extremist, well known, and there is no connection to Cruz or Rubio other than in their twisted minds and crooked tongues. Frankly, these extremists hang around the GOP these days. given warm welcomes, seen as allies to "take" America. Members of their greatly dysfunctional family. The only honest GOP members are in hiding, resigning, or torpedoing their careers as they speak openly. Too few of those. Too bad for America.

If I sound a bit over the top, I am. How can we accept this state of being? How do we allow, support, even solicit these corrupted people who have no concern for the very people they count as their base. How does this base continue to willingly wear the blindfolds, the ear plugs needed to convince themselves that those who would harm them are the ones they support. How does this continue apace?

Why is a Party so obvious in its plans continue to function as a 'patriotic' party. Frankly, they are uncaring of and for America, only for themselves. Openly supportive of a corruption of the judiciary system, they have enabled through lies and omissions, to pack the Court and so many lower   courts with partisan incompetent judges. Judges? They shame the word. Thomas and his alleged collusion with his extremist lie spouting spouse, his openly, spit in your face granting Graham sanction, the truth of his perversion which came out during his initial hearings. The blind endorsement of male privilege at that time, continuing to our times.  Endorsing him and Kavanaugh over the anguished truth telling tones of their victim. There they sit, Thomas in all his now talkative glory, vindicated by current disgraceful behavior by the body politic. 

Why do women, educated, thinking, feeling, women who carry the burden be prevented from choosing their course of decisions, vote for the very ones who treat them as garbage.? Why and wherefore is it permissible to reimagine, redefine women as chattel, with no rights? 

Why do those who need aid, or who supposedly think of themselves as forward thinkers, support them? Because they are GOP, and the GOP must retain power? For what? For the destruction of American society as we know it? As we wish it to become? Democracy or autocracy. The choice is upon us. NOW. Not soon, not a bit later, but right now. In a few weeks and even today as we early vote.

 Truth? An endangered species. A fading concept. Perhaps the truth in this case will not set you free but instead put you in an orange jumpsuit? A well-deserved sartorial necessity.

Will we not rid ourselves of these destroyers of the dream? Will we rescue the future for our kids, or shall we consign them to misfortune and dictatorship? Those are the choices. Unfortunately. But there it is. The truth. 

No more weasels. Enough!