AND DOWN THE ROAD.....

     One person said to me that Friday is the end of the world as we know it. Think about that. I do not believe that we will implode, at least on Friday, but think of all the battles we are fighting all over again. The Republicans shout "repeal and replace" without a replacement plan and the Democrats counter with "Making America Sick Again".
      Days away from becoming the supposed president of ALL Americans he gets into a Tweet battle, of all immature things to do, with black leaders, with affronted and appalled white leaders, with plain old people who are disgusted with his statements, denigrating a civil rights hero and by extension, all that we have accomplished in the sphere of civil rights Now we are back in the front line, not only for African Americans but for Latino and for women and for sick Americans and for workers. In fact , the only people who seemed to have done well with this man are the Fat Cats, the very people who gutted laws are now in charge of them!! So down the road...?
     Where on this possible road do we find a place to stop and deal with a president who is compromised with or by accusations of off standard dealings with the enemy. His statements about how good Putin is, how much he hopes to forge a great relationship with Russia even as he denigrates our allies of NATO, well, where do we go from here? His own nominees are refuting him about Russia and with all the lies and accusations back and forth, we are endangering our country, our democracy, our faith in our country and its authorities are weakening. As one person put it: Trump has brought us to the point where he is just about  saying: "there is no such thing as truth, only a battle of opinions proffered by different actors, each of whom strives to be the loudest." So exactly whom to believe, whom to trust?
    When a country is caught in such a dilemma, when there is not trust, then there arises a person who says that he is whom to trust and only him. Law and order - of his preference - becomes the given state of being and we voila! have our own homegrown fascism. Is this where the road is headed?
     And what about the lies of more jobs? So far all the statements have been shall we say misapplied statements. Fiat has these plans from at least two years ago. Carrier still plans to lose about three quarters of the approximately 800 jobs 'saved" and this is through planned automation. Now we have a man who threatens BMW. Is he going to threaten all and every company and country in the world? And we have tried protectionism before - it does not work and more jobs will be lost via this philosophy than through any other way. And of course, all will be planned with the benefit of the companies in mind. Never forget that and if you need reminding then just check who is paying for the Inauguration costs. Why the big companies - that's who, not the little guys, not the politicians who have grown some moral ones and are staying way.
     So this morning a good friend, one whom I admire, sent me a joke, an anecdote basically telling of how a man called Donald played a nasty trick on several hundred people, scamming them,  conning them out of hard earned money, buying a worthless chance at a worthless item and then boasted about it - and that Donald is now moving into the White House. G-d forbid, but I fear he is correct. While I believe this anecdote was a boast for his supposed cleverness, to me it simply displayed the fact that this Trump, this Donald,  is a con artist, a grifter, who cheats people and walks away without a backwards look. This is sad - unless this same story says that my friend has finally accepted the truth about this travesty of a president elect. I hope so.
     In any case, down the road does not look so good for us, does it. So what are we going to do about it? I am not going to lay down and play dead or roll over. Nope and neither will many others. There is always a way, always hope.

DUMB? NAIVE? TRAITORIOUS? OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE? OUT OF HIS MIND?

     I do not know about the rest of you but I am getting more and more frightened about what a Trump Presidency means to all of us, personally, as Americans and as citizens of the world. I cannot figure out if the man is just dumb, incapable of understanding anything that is not presented in words of one syllable or less or is he purposely acting this way. He is a showman to be sure, but most showmen are full of bluff and hot air and signify nothing.
     He masquerades as a business man and boasts that he will run the government and the country in the same manner and certainly has gathered all the Fat Cats and all the critters of the swamp around him but, and a big but - is he such a capable businessman? his businesses owe millions upon millions of dollars to banks all over the world including those that belong to not such friendly powers such as China and Russia. He is constantly going bankrupt and has lied in his business dealings a la his Trump University. Is this the success that he will bring to us? Lord help us if so!
     He denigrates the intelligence community of our country and puts them up as second place to Putin and Russia. He boasts of how he is such good buds with Putin, just about having an international bromance! And what is worse, he has zero sense of humor and is beyond extreme in his sensitivity to criticism and humor that pokes fun at him.
     And why is that? Usually that is because one is highly immature and very not confident in his own self and abilities to do the job. What is he going to do for the next four years when hopefully the media, all aspects of it, will realize that they need to ignore his stupidities and outrageous behavior and hone in on his lack of everything - no sense no policies, no consistency, no maturity, no intelligence, and perhaps no loyalty to his country but only to himself, his family and his businesses.
     He certainly had better develop that sense of humor and grow up. If you have not yet seen the SNL skit Saturday nite with Alec Baldwin then go google it or get it on demand. It is hilarious with his faces and gestures and mannerisms right there - including his nonsensical statements. He also had better tell Sean Spicer to develop one too! And get off his high horse.
     One cannot be a true President of the United States unless one appreciates it and her needs. One cannot demean our allies such as NATO and praise our foes such as Russia. One cannot lie in a ridiculous and dangerous world where his lies are blatant and dangerous. For example, are we all so stupid as to accept that pile of papers as real? I hope not and certainly no one was shown any piece of it and as for his lawyer, well, she is his mouthpiece. Period. End of story.
     I read why some women voted for him and I nearly barfed. Hillary was a murderer?! His lies are excusable even as they excuse deeds worse and more egregious than anything that  Hillary had done. The same complaints against Hillary, most of which were lies, are excused in his forum and after all - "deep down he is a good man" and he will grow up. Really? Deep down? How far are we expected to go and what do we do while we dig and dig and never hit oil? And grow up? Gimme a break. Now I am nauseous.
     The spontaneous applause for Hillary. The refusal of celebrities to attend his Inauguration. The Women's March. The worry over his racist and misogynistic remarks, his constant turnabouts  - I am scared, very much so and I am tired of those people who make excuses for him and for all his errors and statements. He is not in kindergarten anymore and his every world and emphasis can affect the whole world so those who voted for him and those who are still closing their eyes and making excuses - open those eyes and admit your unease as well. The time is fleeting.
     And if you do not face the facts and the truth then you are in bed with a sexual predator and a man with no morals, no ethics. That is YOUR President!

    PLEASE NOTE THAT I AHVE A HOUSE FULL OF COMPANY AND MY POSTINGS MIGHT BE LATER IN THE MORNING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

     What happens next?
How do we deal with an incoming President who has the lowest approval ratings ever?
How will we accept government by Tweet?
How will that work - or not?
Is there provision for the removal of a sitting President for mental incompetence or mental disease?
How do we define respect?
Is respect a mutual act?
“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results,” Mr. Trump said

How do we evaluate such lies? Atlanta is the district for John Lewis, including the CDS, Buckhead, etc.
"all talk, talk, talk, no action." That was yesterday, and today - see above! How do we mesh these ups and downs. And then - Lewis should help Trump!!
How do we separate truth from fiction??
How do we help teach an adult to act like one and as one?
Have we elected a president or a family?
Office of the First Family? Really?
Is he going to meet Putin on his first foreign trip? Really? C'mon!!
Uh-oh! Rumors are that Moscow is not happy with the nominees and their statements re Russia. BUT - are they telling the truth or are they following the lies and path of dishonesty as their boss?
Will they go against their boss?
Who will take care of the millions who will be losing their healthcare soon? Or will we be adding jobs to the coffin manufacturing sector for Trump to boast about?
When, oh when, will we ever see Trump's tax returns?
When, oh when, will we ever see his complete health evaluation?
When oh when will we ever see a detailed policy report?
Is it a never on that because it will be shown that he has brain deterioration of some sort or another?
So forget any details in a sane and organized manner.
What has happened to ethics and its place in our government?
Will there be a free for all for the 1% as we install the first complete Cabinet of multimillionaires and billionaires ever!?
Should we consult or do research into the apocalyptic movies and shows of corporation run countries? Why not?!
How have we allowed a sexual predator into this office?
Will we be able to shout ":YOU'RE FIRED?"
Oh, How I wish that!!
Will we ever be able to sit down with friends and discuss politics again? Right now the rule before any gathering is "no politics". Why is that? Should not be.
Why are all Trump's sins excused or written off especially as the same ones were blasted at Hillary - even if they were not true - and his are!!
What has happened to "government of the people by the people and for the people"?
What has happened to the Republican Party of Lincoln?
Why have the Parties become the be all and end all of politicians?
Where has true patriotism gone?
Where have all the celebrities gone for the Inauguration?
Divestment? Really?
Honesty? Really?
Class Act? Really?
Government by the lowest common denominator - is that what the Constitution states?
When do we step up gun control in a  realistic manner or do we have to wait for more mass shootings? Or better yet, do we allow full and complete gun carry laws so all the better to have mass shootouts at high noon?
Will we step on the outbreak and triumphant cries of the extreme right wingers who propose to fix all problems by hate, murder and expulsion? Wait a minute - haven't we heard that before? Haven't we lived thru that before!!!
How many more times do we have to se a video of violence totally uncalled for as police arrest a young black man in his own car, accusing him of theft and take him down violently? Say that just this morning! Remember the law of goose and gander.
When will there be a law about mental competency as a qualifying step towards running for office?
Will we all have to learn Russian as the new first language?
Are we truly to become a puppet state of Russia?
What is the policy now on nuclear disarmament or has that gone by the board?
What principles are to guide our country now?
Will we become one of the human rights abusers?
Will we truly lose our way?
Will this be the last elected President in an American election or has that already happened with Obama?
Is Trump truly a legitimate President? I have asked that along with many others - including John Lewis so understand why Trump is angry?
Will all opposition to the President have to stop because evidently he takes it personally, never mind the history of political criticism of all past ones?
Freedom of speech, of the press, anyone?
Is Hillary Clinton the truly elected President and has it been truly stolen from her by machinations of the Trump camp along with their allies, Russia and Putin?
Never mind where's Waldo - the question is now - Who is Jared Kushner? Who are Don and Eric? Sounds like a comedy team but not really funny.
What is the best advice for Trump now other than resign- "Dude, just stop!"
By the way, here is a local question - read the report on My Village website and then ask - why are we contemplating this disaster of Atlantic Broadband and why are David Israel and Ed Black pushing us here? And why, by the way, does it seem that Ed Black has a zillion titles here in UCO. VP. Chief Security Officer -wow! Cert Alert Chief, Investigations, and on and on. Ahhh, the trickle down theory of government!

GENUS HORRIBILUS

     Where oh where is that wand I purchased at Universal? Wonder if its magic will work as well outside the Park. Perhaps I should get the kids to use it as they were a whole lot better at it than I was!
     We have now come across a segment of humanity that needs a new genus name assigned to it. Its leader here in the United States? Why Trump, of course. I have never come across such a being in my lifetime. Yes, there have been other nasties throughout the history of mankind, but this is a live character, one who can take down the world as we know it. "We are the world" - remember that song, the gathering together of people all over the country? Well, today we need to have another phrase added - "we are its destroyers...."
     Ludicrous - and I do not mean the rapper - horrible, mean and cruel, liar to the nth degree, cheap showman, big baby, dangerous hater of all that is not him and his, ethically challenged, morally empty, spoiled brat who never grew up and I could go on and on, but the most important thing about this specimen of genus horribilus is the danger he and his present to the world.
     We are now seeing his possible administration people and one after the other has said opposite things. They all tell how they have NEVER had a discussion on these very important issues. Wow!!! That would be like hiring a teacher onto staff without asking questions re viewpoints and knowledge and experience and philosophy of education and what makes children tick! The whole sphere stinks, reeks, of ignorance and secrecy, of hypocrisy, even of hatred.
      "Human Rights Watch on Thursday released its annual report on threats to human rights around the world, and for the first time in the 27 years it has done these surveys, the United States is one of the biggest. The reason: the rise of Donald J. Trump." Wow!!! Did you ever in your life think that we would be in that position and while I can disagree at times with this group and their particular emphasis or lack of it, for this to be said about our country, the all time beacon of liberty, of justice, of idealism - well, wow. Yes, we have made mistakes along the way, but for us to be lumped together with countries such as Russia, China, Syria, African states of one name or the other, the new Philippines, Malaysia - well, I am totally appalled and nauseous.
     And why have we achieved this dubious distinction? Here is their answer to that. ".... his path to power, in a campaign marked by “misogynistic, xenophobic and racist rhetoric,” could “cause tremendous harm to vulnerable communities, contravene the United States’ core human rights obligations, or both.” Dear Lord in Heaven! Are we at this point and where does it end?
     Will we end up as in Germany where they have now declared that the attempted arson of a synagogue, stopped because of a sharp eyed 13 year old, was okay, because it actually was not an act of anti Semitism but an expression of free speech, of anti Zionist feelings? I guess in that context we can excuse Krystal Nacht as well!
     And that hate does not stop with anti Semitism. Women are great targets. So are people of color. So are immigrants. So are the poor. So is the middle class. Instead, let us celebrate nationalism to the wrong degree. Let us allow the haters a big voice. Let us lie through our teeth and follow the example of the one modeling all this.
    So he finally has a press conference and then says nothing, or actually worse than that, as Trump's ignorance, inability to even complete one full sentence, to stay on point, to say something, anything than could reassure those of us who are frightened to death of what his presidency will mean for us here in the country and for all of us in the world. Not there!
  Ethics? Never heard of that evidently. Oh, he wheeled out a table full of files and papers. Uh huh, so what? Did any one of those files get opened? Uh-uh. No one could touch them and why? Because, frankly, I believe there was nothing, nada, zilch in those files other than blank papers or nonsense. And who the hell does all this on paper anymore, anyway, especially such a huge undertaking - which never got underfoot in the first place! Donate profit from room rentals, really, and who determines who decided the profit - or is that under "audit" as well? Who decides what happens to the money and income from TV rights, from golf courses, from sales of items and we could go on and on as well right here.
     Genus horribilus indeed. Vomitatious, evil, "Wrong!Wrong!Wrong! Sniff, sniff. Well, it will all be "fantastic" a great thing and why - because I am Trump, the great wizard.., whoops, wrong fantasy tale. Would that all this were a fantasy and we would be saved from disaster.
     “Just snatching it out from under them and it’s gone. I think that there’s going to be a mighty rumble in this country, an outburst of anger and fear.” This was said about this misbegotten push to take medical coverage away from millions and leave them with nothing. So here is exactly what I am afraid of - that people will despair at the situation. They will despair at the lack of moral courage of supposed lawmakers. That they will despair at any peaceful way to solve all this and then what is left? People, wake up. Speak up. Speak out. Call your representatives. Look into your souls and ask if this is really what you expected or wanted when you pulled the lever and remember - there is no mandate here for he lost the popular election. Word!!

I AIN'T YER HONEY!!!

     Incident after incident. Report after report. Tragedy after tragedy. One ruined life after another. One more university campus after another, embroiled in scandal. One more frat house boasting of ratings of those "objects" in front of them. Boasting lists. Snide comments. Targets to be acquired. Fake praise and pedestal comments. Mothers who are "cherished", yet sisters who are shackled and strangers who are dehumanized. Drudges of a household, given allowances! yet who are considered as not working!
     Babe, baby, honey, dear, hon, sweetheart, mother of my children, gal, hey you and shall we continue. Names of affection are to be treasured, yet they are being applied to the worker next to you, to the stranger in the street for there is no dignity of a better name. Ma'am, Madam, Ms., Miss or any other honorific -but where are they?
     Who am I? I suppose you had better guess by now or you are part and parcel of the problem. Women have been abused since time immemorial. In fact, in societies where it was a matriarchal line of command, the men did their best to overturn it, change it, to their own detriment. It was women who were held on those damned "pedestals" even as they were raped, taken violently, all in the name of "love", of religion.
     Soon terms of affection began to be used as terms of insult, of demeaning intentions. It was okay to term any woman as less than one because after all, they were dear and honey and baby - even when you did not know them. They were infantilized, "deadultified", robbed of their dignity.
     They became prizes of war, sex slaves, a piece of trash to be used as public plumbing, kidnapped en - masse, sold and trafficked, parceled out as prizes for the supposed hero warriors, given contraception to avoid pregnancies so they could continue to be raped, thrown to the side discarded as easily as an old shoe when no longer worth anything in the eyes of their captors - or husbands, or fathers or any male in commanding position.
     Control over their own destiny? Ha!! A sad and cruel joke. No, they are so honored that they must be kept in shrouds if they are to be allowed to go out of a home or even in the home. They cannot drive, cannot take a trip, be treated by a doctor, get a job - at least not without male consent. And we are told that this is because the male members of our family are so loving of us, so caring for us, so aware, evidently of our intellectual lack, that we must obey them.
     And even in so called more advanced societies the situation is no better. A young lady is given drugs and kidnapped, shuffled off to a room with a waiting crowd, each one eager to take his turn at raping her, but their mothers will say they were taught to honor women, her son loves her, has a sister - and yet, there we are.
     Professors swap grades for a feel, for a sexual interlude for after all, it is their right, is it not? Athletes are given free range of action for think how useful and profitable they are to the university. Even when punished, rarely so at that, their fines are negligible, they are not removed from campus and there are basically no impacts upon their lives. The victim? Oh yes, she might have to leave, she suffers from PTSD, a valued life is ruined but ya know, that's life and she probably asked for it, ya know. As for celebrities or even our president elect - female bodies are there for the taking.
     And how about bodies. This same abused victim, this same raped woman or child, yes, even a familial child, who becomes pregnant as a result of rape and/or incest, is told that nope, she has to carry that child to term, for it is a soul, blessed by G-d, she is meant to serve as a vessel for this child, and no, she cannot have control over her own body and abort this fetus. Nope, for society knows best what is right for her. She is a woman after all, a mere woman. Or perhaps she needs to be sent off to bear this fetus to term in shame, mistreated in the home for unwed mothers, worked in cruelty, even at religious homes, but no abortion, oh no.
     And then this abomination is born and then what? Are there social programs to help this mother, a mother without her consent? Are there programs to help her feed this child, any other child she might have? Are there governmental aid programs for child care? Is there help to aid this woman in getting a job, for job training? And is there any respect for this woman or indeed any other woman at work? Are they being paid equal wages? Are they being hired for what their education and experience qualify them or are they shuffled off to a pool of secretaries and low wage and low consequence people? Why is that glass ceiling still there, sealed as tight as ever for the most part.
     So, you know who you are, we are not your honey, or your babes and your supposed pet names are actually being used as terms of denigration and contempt and don't we know it! So Petey Boy - shut the hell up and go back to your cave of shame for I ain't your honey, and do not dare to use it and think you will get away with it. And for the rest of you men, examine your own behavior and vocalizations and that is not to say that one cannot have affectionate names for one's wife or daughters, but they must come from love and respect, truly so, and not cynically so. Do not sing praises of the ideal woman and then trash yours. Teach your sons, be role models for them in a good way. Respect the personhood of all women for men are not here to judge them nor to lock them up because men are weak and cannot withstand, evidently, the least little bit of inclinations of a sexual nature. They cannot even look at little girls without thinking these things evidently and don't I get nauseous at that!
    Yes, we are your honeys, your dears, your sweethearts, your partners in life, your co-workers and even your bosses at work. So please treat us with the respect we deserve for we are people, equal - and yes, even better than you at times, for that is the human condition. So we sing of I am woman, hear me roar. We sing our fight song, the better to make it right, we sing how all this will make us stronger, how we will rise up and most of all how we will survive!
     There is much of the way to go on the right path here for us all. Those of us who are lucky and blessed enough to have a loving husband, to have had some positive work experiences, to have raised good sons who respect their wives and daughters, those of us who are blessed this way - well, we must work to ensure that these rights of ours, this equality, must be permanent, enshrined in hearts and minds and souls and in the laws of mankind, tacit and stated, stated as such in the laws of the states and countries and all political entities.
    So, honey, yes, you, mister, follow me. And dear, be prompt about it! Like that? Neither do we.
    

HOW TO CHOOSE?

     Woke up thinking to write about one topic and then read the news and uh-oh, another topic came up. So how to choose? Which is more important? Which raises my inner temperature? Difficult choice, actually, especially when both are close to my heart, but let's go with the national security one, the goose and gander one, the one which inherently points out the whole crock of this recent election and shouts out about the dangers facing us.
     Throughout the campaign we were receiving daily, sometimes hourly, pieces of "news" that would roil the situation. These are graced with the categorization of "fake news" which more simply can be called LIES. You know, a rose by any other name.....We pride ourselves on being sharp, on being foolproof, yet how many jumped on the band wagon, eager to believe all they heard, particularly if it spoke against Hilary, accusing her of dastardly deeds, never mind the proof or the timing. Wonder if these people had been in  my class and had been exposed to the bandwagon/propaganda unit if they would have been so gullible?
     Comey, the FBI director was quite okay with  his conscience at releasing all his "news" despite being in the middle of a so called investigation. Timing is everything, you see. And yet, yesterday, when caught with his pants down, holding onto information harmful to Trump, suddenly the investigation precluded any release. Yet we all know that there is almost nothing held secret for long in today's environment.
So what's up?
     I have long used the term Manchurian candidate with regard to Trump. I have long stated that he is a puppet of Russia, in particular his best bud, Putin. And today we have information about x rated video of him with prostitutes in Russia in a hotel room. "Kompromat" indeed! We are told that the Russians have compromising material and information about Trump re financial and personal status. We already know that Trump owes money to approximately 150 banks worldwide. These are serious allegations indeed and Trump's reaction - shouting on his Twitter account. Getting old already. Can the man never stand on his own two legs and stand up as a man and face people? Can he ever tell the truth?
     Yesterday I finally saw, for the first time, the video of him waving his hands around and making ugly sounds as he imitated a disabled reporter - right to his face! Ugly does not begin to cover the scene and yet this man has the gall to deny it! He never said it! He never did it! I think not.
     We have appointees who lie through their teeth and why not, for their boss does it all the time! They will uphold the law, they say. Really? And when pressed to answer whether they would do that if the law were inherently wrong, we got the obey the law business again. Seems to me I heard that, we all heard that before, "I was only following orders" again? Again? When will we hear someone say I will do what is morally right? Ever? Certainly not with this gang of billionaires. Certainly not with our having a shadow president of what 35 or 38 years of age who will continue to have his fingers and thumbs into his business and please, do not tell me that ceding them to his brother and mother makes a difference!!
     And this situation is the same for all the nominees. Where are their ethics papers? What has happened to their holdings? How do we make sure we are governed by honest and impartial as possible people who have the interests of the nation at heart and not their own financial well being? Certainly not within the Trump administration. Not at all.
     This flying in the face of all that is proper and right carries over into every other area. If we disrespect all who do not have "our" money amounts, if we disrespect people based on gender, orientation, color and physical condition, then how can we have a good and moral administration? These are minimum requirements for any administration and while none are perfect, perhaps we should remember to always go forward and not turn the clock backwards on what is acceptable and moral, good, and not evil. People are allowed to vote because they are allowed to vote. Period. There are no exceptions if the voter is a citizen in good standing (felon laws aside and there is room for questioning there as well). Government officials are subject to the law, same as everybody else, and if they violate the trust they have been given then out they must go!
     And goose and gander, folks. What is demanded of one person, one candidate, must be demanded of the other. No exceptions and certainly there needs to be a level of intelligence that people need to pass before they can run for office! Have we elected a brain deficient morally lacking person as our president? G-d help us, and let us all save ourselves as best we can. At present what we have is a president elect who for sure, gives rise to many laughs as he is just so out there in his behavior, in his statements, in the facial and physical gestures he makes, in his denials of truth in his own tweets, but that is not his job, to provide us with amusement, rather he is supposed to provide us with careful and thoughtful leadership and it ain't there, folks, it just ain't and what is more, it is not there in dangerous times and so on whom are we to rely? With whom can we develop trust? And are we to look forward to censorship of our media? A limitation on freedom of speech? A Hollywood that will be limited to propaganda films that glorify him and his henchmen? Where does it all stop? And never think that this country is immune to the dangers of fascism. Never!
     I am sad, and worried, apprehensive and wondering. Where did we go wrong? Where did we allow one who garners support from hatemongers to have such power? How did we elect one who has a potty mouth and predator behavior, the soul of a grifter and the ego of a child? And why are we afraid to talk about him? And why have good friends made pacts not to talk politics with each other? We are supposed to be the UNITED States of America and yet we all know that is no longer the case. Like climate change, have we reached the tilting point or is there yet hope for us, for the USA of the future?
     I am praying and hoping and working for the latter. Why not join in, speak up, speak out, see the truth as it presents itself and stop turning blind eyes, purposefully blind eyes, to the deeds of this person and his crew. Yes, you can be ashamed at your pick, but now try to make it better by overcoming the hate he engenders, the financial misdeeds that we can be facing, the inherent unfairness to huge segments of society. If we all do not work together, well......

STATUS QUO?

     So what is the status quo around the world, particularly in the areas which most concern me - not good at all. I pick up the paper, open some websites and I find that we have continued to retreat into the Middle Ages. Multiple Jewish community centers and day schools received bomb threats. Will this ever end or are we fated to relive these fears and threats for all eternity? And how much of the blame for this increased series of threats can be placed directly on the shoulders of our president elect, he who appreciated the support of the alt right, a fancy name for the extremists and yes, there are extremists of both sides, not just Islamic ones!!
     What are we to do with all this hate that manifests itself around the world. Look at Africa and I so clearly remember the wars that savaged the African countries in their attempts to gain independence and then in the struggles to realize that tribal differences should not make a difference and yet, here we are with dictators, with tribal and clan wars, with wars between Arabs and Christian areas and it goes on.
     Now we also see a Europe that has reached back into its not so far off past and revived to quite a lively degree the anti Semitism which runs thru its veins. And to help it along we have a Breitbart spokesman, a former priest, who just loves his job!! On the other hand, we have a Berlin landmark lit up with the Israeli flag after the horrific truck attack in Jerusalem. And yet we have these feelings and questions : "And again we heard the strength in the words of the people who spoke and who declared that we will not give up, we will not succumb, we will not be afraid.
We will continue to do our best to light up places of darkness even when they are so so dark.
This is our land. We are here because God told us He wants us here. Sometimes (or maybe ALL the time) that is reason enough."
     And at this time we so desperately need the leadership of a stable government and president right here in America and we are getting just the opposite. We have a man with no filter, who drives the days of his staff with his inane and dangerous tweets, with a man who thinks that his most important responsibility is to tweet revenge and insults at those who criticize him. Should he not be thinking why they say these things and how he can improve relationships? Yup, but nope, for what he does is plan how to get his billionaires club into his positions ready to tear our country down, worries about no one as he aims to rip apart the ACA and leave literally tens of millions without medical coverage and every medical aspect is screaming out for this not to happen. Yet he is so busy trying to pull the wool over every American's eyes, employing his son-in-law, bypassing ethics and bypassing information needed to be handed in, bypassing any and all decency, not even trying to hide these things. And always the ridiculous and infantile remarks back to those who poke fun or question his deeds. Every president of the country has been subjected to complaints, to ridicule, to caricature, to whatever, yet this man cannot take it. His ego is that thin! President Trump? Feh!!
     We have fake claims and credit taken where none is earned. Fiat Chrysler had their plans in place for years already. Jackie Ma and his Alibaba are not creating jobs, any more than Ebay has done by encouraging sellers and buyers but where are the jobs with benefits? Where are the solid career jobs? Nowhere from Trump, that's for sure!! It is the emperor's new clothes with him every livelong day. The job data has been favorable these past few years but not due to him, certainly not.
     We now have five nasty Russians blacklisted and what will Trump do? Will he listen to his bud, Putin, and allow these criminals and human rights violators back into our country, free to walk around, perhaps even visit with their new best friend.
     And do not think that things are better here in the Village. We have a man fixated on getting his broadband and its chosen company into the place running over the feelings and expressed votes of the residents and delegates. Who the hell is this Atlantic Broadband and why are we signing on for ten years of them without a work record that we can rely upon? Why are we paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to CSI for "advice" and we did not even pass this contract thru the DA and no, David, it needs to be. Renewing a contract or renegotiating does not make it immune to the process. Only your twisted thinking and ethics.
     We are told the figures for it but uh huh, there is no telephone charge in there or ability to include it for His Holiness, David Israel, has decided unilaterally so, that people do not need it as they can use their cellphones. Well, there are thousands here who wish to have a phone other than their cell so why must they be forced into multiple contracts and increased costs with Atlantic, another $25 a month for phones? We have two cells, phones with Comcast and a landline for the times when all is out, a la hurricanes! Why can this not be continued and one cannot substitute phones as utilities for broadband as the utility.
     If we wish a better contract with Atlantic well, we have to add a $1 to the cost to pay for the TIVO machine. Truly a bargain. Why? Why is it not gratis. Then we are told it is either EPIX, a waste of a channel or HBO when we all know that Atlantic wanted EPIX as it was cheaper for them and David went along until there was much outcry for HBO. He ain't there watching out for our good, only his own ego and needs.
     And then, of course, we have the question of service. We get - a statement or promise of a wire maintenance program. Uh huh, but how many will be here to service it and any problems there are, particularly as this is a new set up. We have zillions of ATT, Comcast or Xfinity trucks in the Village every day doing whatever, be it installing or servicing or upgrading or whatever. How many trucks will be here and available from Atlantic? And a guy will be stationed here? Really? One guy? Hope he knows how to get along without sleep and by the way, how do we know that all this will be ready in a timely manner and what if not, as is most likely? And what about advances along and thru the years. My Comcast service has certainly improved and upgraded, we love their X1 box and the clarity of programming and guess what - we also can stream too, and nothing is crashing so bet on  another horse for that, David. And where are the papers requested by another resident? What are you hiding?
     And while I have your attention, what is with the fact that the new buses will not be ready till March sometime? Do we get a rebate, a break for using older buses and not what were promised to us? Why were we not told that there would be a delay when the voting took place? Another hiding the facts from the people, huh? Shame on you and shame on us that we continue to allow you to remain in office. David and Donald. Sounds like a comedy team, but is more like a tragedy at the end of it all.
     Welcome to 2017 and a good year to us all.

MESSAGE TO GRACIE, THE ONE WITH NO GRACE.
     Your messages finally need a response as this one was pretty nasty with actually no cause behind it other than the ugliness in your soul. How you could possibly read anything in that post about the ugliness of prejudice, anything other than sadness and pleading, is beyond me. Guess that soul or lack of it took you over once again.To be brief, - you are a nasty ugly bitch and would that you stop wasting the power on my computer with your ugliness. Your loving friend - NOT!

NOT JEAN VALJEAN

     That character asks of himself, "Who am I?" and comes to the conclusion that he is who he is, what he makes of himself, that while society certainly has a role in our composition, ultimately we are who we are, who and what we make of ourselves. The burden of morality, of responsibility comes to rest on our shoulders. When his nemesis, Jauvert, realizes this, he despairs and kills himself.
     This is a time when we must all ask ourselves that same question and examine the results. We must ask of ourselves deep and insightful questions and come up with truthful, perhaps hurtful answers. I asked that we ask ourselves those questions, to look inside ourselves yesterday and often enough in other postings, and see if we cared for the results.
     It boggles my mind how blind and antagonistic people have become. There has developed an aura of bitterness, a sourness to people. No longer do we have that cheerful and rosy optimism which separated Americans from the rest of the world. We had a New World view and stood out from the Old World tiredness and hopelessness. But no more. And why is that?
     Perhaps we have become too entitled and when that entitlement does not become fully fulfilled, then we resent that and look to blame someone, something, some idea. We look to someone, anyone, who promises us that he/she alone can and will restore that entitlement. We look away from the undertones, from the nastiness that accompanies this person, from the extremists who support him, and we only see someone who will carry our flag. But he doesn't.
     We refuse to see that the true colors of this person's flag are not our colors at all. We refuse to see that this person actually cooperated with our enemies in order to gain position, We refuse to see that this person is a demagogue. We refuse to see that the morals of this person are nonexistent. We refuse to see that there is a lack of intelligence and finesse, here, only the crudity of a street fighter who never really had to fight in the streets but always had others to send into the fray for him.
     So we rant about emails from the opponent but look away or excuse treasonous behavior, comporting with the enemy. We look away at his vulgarity, his use of name calling , like an infant in his behavior and forget that we would never allow that in one we do not favor. We forget that there has always been a tradition, an irreverent attitude here, towards all our politicians. We have caricaturized them, satirized them, for this is America, and we have even abused them verbally and always they have taken it, knowing from whence it comes and came - the traditions of a proud country, a proud people, who had the courage to throw off the restraints of a demagogue mother country and become an independent country, a country which stood up for right, which took on the older nations of the world and came out ahead and even taught them a few things, a country which became a leader of the world, to whom other countries looked towards for help, for guidance, for leadership and yes, even for morality. But what happened?
     Well, we now have a presumed leader whose very leadership of position can be questioned. Does an election won via interference by a foreign country count as being valid, especially as that country is our foe. This country played the populace quite well. Mazel tov to them and woe upon us as we have become a puppet state of Russia.
     This leader cannot take what he dishes out. He gets vengeful and ultra nasty if called to answer, if insulted in any self perceived way. Who resorts to the behaviorisms of an adolescent who is a blowhard, an entitled spoiled brat with not much between his ears other than ego, yet somehow he has convinced others to vote for him, to fawn upon him and to excuse all that he does and when one knows that he truly is wrong - they back away, literally and figuratively from acknowledging that and that is the reason why all these Trumpers will not debate, will not allow themselves to be called to task for what they have perpetrated upon our country - upon themselves.
     So we now have a Tweeter, a man with a very limited vocabulary, a man of physical gestures of making circles with his fingers, sniffing loudly through his nose, a wad of orange hair, just a base person, who sends out his minions when he decides his dignity has been abused. So his press secretary to be says or rather whines that Trump is not treated with respect. Well, guess what? In order to gain respect one must earn it and one must give it as well, to others. That is a lesson every teacher knows from nursery to post graduate! Why does he not? And I, for one - actually for one of many - will not tiptoe around him. Never!
     Ask yourself these questions and wait for your honest answers, hurtful though they might be. If asked who you are, and you answer with a name of a religion, then delve deeply into those religious beliefs and see if they support what we now have, the sentiments and the statements, the behavior and the deeds. If you describe yourself with a nationality, then ask yourself what does that nation stand for, what does it mean to be that nationality and what responsibilities devolve upon you as a result. And are you proud to acknowledge "Who AM I?" when all is said and done.
     At the Golden Globes we had an actor of dignity and courage who said it all, stood up to the disgrace who is now to be our president , G-d help us. I am just waiting for the return on that brave statement, the threats, the ugliness, the infantile remarks. When Meryl Streep was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille award, she spoke and here is part of what she said. Her courage, her dignity  - we should all aspire to reach that level.
     "When Trump was shown apparently mocking a disabled reporter: "There was nothing good about it, but it did its job," she said. "It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can't get it out my head because it wasn't in a movie, it was in real life. That instinct to humiliate when it's modeled by someone in a public platform, it filters down into everyone's life because it gives permission for others to do the same. ... Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose."
    Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? And whom do we wish to be? May G-d have mercy upon all of us for we surely will need it.

THE UGLY HEAD.....

     Sorry, not that head. Noooo, not that one either.Talking about the ugly head of prejudice for what happens when this head is exposed or utilized is truly ugly and demeaning and costly.
     Saw the excellent movie last week of Hidden Figures, about the basically hiding and underutilization of female black or African American women in the early 60's during the early part of the  space program at NASA. I never heard of this taking place, the open discrimination during a most heroic program of our country. I was a kid at this point and do not think I could have done anything to change it, but it boggles the mind to think that so late we were still so backwards and stupid, foolish. Why?  Prejudice is costly in so many ways in addition to its ugliness.
     The good Lord made us all. I do not see anywhere that it states that because one is one color or shade that he/she is consigned to a particular status in life or limited in the rights of a human being. I do not see where it is even economically sane and productive to maintain that status so for those who have no religious beliefs, well, here is the humanistic side and if one does not have that, then here is the economic side of it. How much talent, how much brains, how many inventions, how much improvement of the human condition have we lost due to prejudice? Think about that. Go see the movie and while you are watching, think about the double discrimination here - the women.
    Women have been discriminated against for lo these many millennia. Yes, there have been some enlightened countries and thoughts, but overall, well into the twentieth century - actually right into the present day, women are often treated as chattel, to be sold, to be violated, to have few , if any, rights as a person. Children of 9 are sold into slavery/marriage to old men. Human trafficking is alive and well and how many people have turned a blind eye and/or an open pocket to this phenomenon?
      And it seems as if nothing helps. For how many years have we either been allied to countries, fought for them and yet the women are still abused, tormented, subjected to vicious and unfair laws, victims of "honor" killings which in my mind are exactly the opposite. Women all over the world need to unite, to bind themselves together and fight for what is right. No more mass gropings such have been taking place in India, a nation which prides itself on being part of the modern world. No more acid attacks. No more unfair laws. No more unfair wages. No more loss of rights over their own bodies and health. No more!!
     And then we have the truly viciously ugly head rearing its visage in religious prejudice. We have had this over the millennia and I wonder if it will ever stop, go away, be defeated in a massive improvement of humanity. For years Christians killed Jews and Moors and for years Christians killed other Christians but they were not alone in this ugliness. Nope, for we have Moslems killing any and all who enter into their target vision. They kill Christians and Jews and Moslems of other sects, Bahai, Coptics, Yazidis and just keep looking and you will find more targets And today we have the crazy Islamic extremists who look for ever new ways to commit mass murder, such as the encouragement in the ISIS monthly magazine urging future jihadists to set the world on fire in the name of Allah, in the name of Islam. Where do we find such people? Where are the mothers who will stand up and say, not my child, not my child! And do not think that the Jews are exempt from this ever growing hatred with a few, thank G-d only a few, who seem to think it is okay to target Arabs.
    Where have we all gone astray? How has this happened? Well, it happens when we dare to think that others are not as worthy as us, not as favored, not as lucky and not deserving of anything that resembles rights. Take a look at the economic prejudice we have these days. Yes, there has always been class inequality, even warfare, but always there was a chance, slim as it might be, to advance oneself, move into a higher economic class and plan for a better world for one's children. America was such a place where this was possible; not only that, but it was almost a mandate, a significant part of the American dream. Yet today we have a larger split than ever. The poor are getting poorer and the middle class, the support of every successful society, is vanishing, chased and put down by the upper class, the 1% who see themselves as godlike, as more equal than others and sadly enough, this is the administration we are welcoming in in two weeks. We have a liar at the top who made promises knowing that he would break them yet the foolish voted for him. We have the very lobbyists whom he denigrated now being invited in to the administration with open arms. Being a multi, multi millionaire or even several billionaires, seems to be a requirement and if one was a lobbyist, well, all the better, Economic prejudice manifests itself in seriously ugly consequences and yet here we are.
     So yes, I have prejudice within me too. I admit it, but at least I am doing or trying to improve myself, particularly as I see, ever more clearly the consequences of it. Why can we not all see each other as people? Why can we not see that all deserve a fair shake in life and let talent take one where it might, but with ethics and justice. Why does one's gender matter and why must we snicker if someone is different, outside the supposed norm? Why do we think we can pass judgement on  those we feel are less than us and if not, why we just make them so!
     Prejudice is ugly, very much so. As the song from South Pacific states, one must be taught to hate. It is not inborn. We must reach for true heights rather than for the depths as we seem to be doing lately. We need to hold ourselves and our supposed leaders accountable so that there are no more Emmet Tills, no more Leo Franks, no more churches and synagogues and mosques burned, no more Matthew Shepherds, no more black kids being targeted and no more white kids being targeted either! No more wasting the human brain and the human heart, the human potential. No more standing by the windows and looking on and worse, no more taking part in this awful feeling and ensuing actions.
     A little pride in what we can be, what we should be would go a long way. Russia would no longer think it has the right to dare and do - to influence our elections, the very essence of what we are and what we are supposed to be. Out with ethics violators who think they are more worthy than others or laws do not apply to them.
     Yes, prejudice is an ugly head and needs to be cut off from our society. Humanity is better than we have become or are becoming. Stand up for what is right and be of courage when it is difficult to do so. If not, well, take a look around and what's more, take a look within, and see if you like what you see. Be honest.

DOING AND GETTING

     There is a saying that goes something like this: If you keep doing what you did, then you will get what you got. It relates closely to the definition of insane as one who repeats the same action expecting to get a different result. And yet that is what we seem to be doing here in the United States. The same actions and statements that do not bode well and yet, we keep on accepting them, ignoring the reactions of others as well.
     First we have a man who never had to answer to anyone except perhaps to his father who indulged him in his failures by raising his "allowance" every time he messed up. He developed an entitled ego, fed it in a stint in a reality show typical of the nonsensical genre, and decided that well, why not president? Why not be the ostensible leader of the world? And so here we are, frighteningly so. And it gets worse as he keeps doing what he always did and for some reason our radar that detected danger has shut down as a nation.
     Tweet after tweet, government and "policy" in loads of 140 characters, threats to those who oppose, barely literate statements with constant use of "terrific" or "great" or "fantastic" - like an adolescent who cannot think of anything else, has a small and inadequate vocabulary and a limited mind and yet, this limited dude is going to control our destiny the next four years unless we get lucky and impeach and convict him, be it on lack of ethics, breaking the law, conflict of interests or whatever - even sheer incompetence!
     Today there will be a report released that will detail as much as possible without violating classified rules as to the depth and persistence of interference in our election by Russia. Yup, that Russia, our enemy of decades, run by Trump's bud, Putin, with whom he exchanges bromance terms. There is information as to how Russian government senior officials rejoiced at the success of their misdeeds. Manchurian candidate anyone? There is a great deal of concern and worry as to how to deal with this and I say again - there is a huge area here of questioning the validity of this election and its results. Manipulating the public by a foreign entity? Scares me mightily and should frighten you as well.
     We have an erratic man who despite the big deal he made of keeping his wife and son in NY so Barrone can finish the term, this man has sent out a notice to all political appointees as ambassadors that they are out as of Inauguration. These people have children in school as well but it seems what is good for goose is not for gander and we have the pigs of Animal Farm who are evidently more equal than others. Tradition has been to allow for a more gentle move home, especially for the children affected, but humanity and tradition with Trump carries no weight evidently.
     We have a man who "said  the system is rigged on behalf of the special interests and the lobbyists" and yet take a look at his governmental appointees, the same critters of the swamp, the same critters who have been stomping on the middle class and the blue collar class through the years and who continue to do so. We are told that Mexico will pay for that ridiculous wall and yet it seems now that the taxpayers of the USA will pay for it. Humph!! I want no part of that! Certainly the money is never placed where the mouth is!
     We have a man, a stupid man of little intellect, who keeps boasting how smart he is, how much secret information he has - like the inadequate schoolchild who tries to up his presence and importance by telling everyone he knows a secret and yet really does not. We have a man whose adviser Woolsey has quit the team working on intelligence - what an oxymoron with Trump -  with not flattering remarks about the whole issue and team. And yet in 14 days we are in truly big trouble. Help!!
     We have a man who says he believes in torture and thus has given a green light to some of the worst regimes in the world to go ahead and torture openly. No problem, for the President of the United States says it is okay. Dear Lord, are we to regress so greatly? Are we to forget and denigrate the rights and worth of others? Are we going to force women who have been raped, who are victims of incest to carry the result of those actions, to carry them for nine months!!! Let a man do that and see what the results would then be!! Are we to say that all are not equal before the law, that a country of immigrants will no longer be that - might as well knock down the Statue of Liberty!
     People, the swamp is upon us, the stink of its rot is upon us, overwhelming us and we must act and defend ourselves, our rights and our country. Stand up to Trumpism. Stand up and give your politicians notice that you will not stand for this. And for the sake of us all, try to get thru to these rabid Trumpers who refuse to accept Trump's own statements and continue to make excuses for him. I promise you that if it were Obama tweeting away and running the country with inane tweets and threatening revenge on those who oppose him that these same rabid Trumpers would be shouting the roof down!
     The worse thing is that this rotten attitude filters down to the smaller entities of government. A request was made to UCO to open its books, its papers to a request made for these same papers. It is the law. and yet the delay and the waffling and the ":oh, yeah, we will get them to You" with nothing to show for it, is raising a stink here with David Israel's UCO. Is it not time that we say we have had enough of this particular swamp critter and friends? And yet people are so demoralized that we have positions going begging for the attitude is that David will toss them all under the bus, cut them out, refuse them committees and so we all await a natural end to this man's corrupt administration.  Last election we had no competition for Executive Board for it is a rubber stamp to David Israel, to Ed Black, the man behind the throne, to Joy Vestal and her pennysaver Rag, and close to half the members never show up. Swamp miasma anyone?
     We have got to shake off our ennui, our despair, our giving in to the status quo - here and in the country. We have means, legal means, to apply to the various situations. It will not be easy but it can be done - if we set our minds to it. As Bonnie Tyler sang in her great rasping voice - "I need a hero"  - and so do we all. Anyone?

THE DREAM THAT WAS

     Once there was a dream. It was called the American Dream and in that dream there was room for all- for "the tired, the poor, the hungry masses yearning to be free". There was concern for the sick and the needy members of society. There was a dream of education for all, even into the college and university level. There was a care and respect for the elderly, making sure they had the wherewithal to live in their elder days, that they had medical care. There was a dream of equal rights for all, be it voting rights, civil rights, rights in the working world and rights for people to control their own bodies. Abortion was a choice, not a crime - until it is once again.
     So what has happened to this dream? It has soured and turned into pieces of a nightmare, as rights and benefits of a positive thinking, of a dream always in progress, was turned aside, denigrated and taken away.
     I wonder what miners who are worried about their jobs will think when there is no longer any funding for black lung disease, for mesothelioma? What will they think when the very mountain tops in their home states will be ripped off and strip mining ruin the forests, the very fabric of the ground. I wonder what they will think when the mudslides come pouring down as there are no longer any trees to hold the ground steady.
     I wonder what the people who have been flooded out several times think of climate change now? Do they realize it is real or do we need more five hundred years storms coming every year? Do we need more Hurricane Sandys to hit and drown NY. Or do we need Miami to fully flood every high tide? And will we all mourn when the last glacier melts away or will we be all swimming for our lives. You know, the new streaming show Incorporated has "climate refugees" with sandy beaches at Anchorage and deserts in Spain and the French Riviera. Fantasy? Fiction? Or truth in advance if we refuse to recognize a tattered dream and how we have caused it. A new study shows that NOAA was correct in its statements and predictions  so what do we do now?
     Slowly but surely the American society of generations insured the rights of all. Voting rights, equal rights to an education, equal pay for equal work and still working on that, equal rights for those whose orientation differed from the mainstream, fair immigration laws with no more blocked and quotas on certain people and groups. And yes, we needed to be careful, especially in these times of extremists, but it is doable and we are capable. We are indeed, if we so wish it and realize that we must or else our dream that was will be the dream that is no longer here.
     Safety rules and regulations for food, for restaurants, for construction sites, against child labor, fair wages, safety in the workplace, safety for our national  parks and monuments, a plan to make the future even better, especially when it showed signs of wear and tear.
     But we have forgotten this dream or rather allowed it to be suborned by others who wish it gone and replace it with their own dream, one of callousness to the elderly, to the people of color, to people of other religions, to women and children, to people who would speak up for all segments of society. We have people who still believe that slavery was not so bad because after all, who would damage their property so no Simon Legree character existed. There is no need for ethics in the world of politics, no need to worry about conflicts of interest, for the business of America is business if I quote correctly. Let the chips fall where they may, the best will survive and rise to the top, correct? Is that the dream we wish to have now? Is that the dream we are leaving to our children?
     And yes, the dream was not perfect and always required updating and tweaks, but always it was there, in sight and the base of our country. It filled our minds and hearts and we strove to make it reality. We backslid at times but then caught ourselves and tried again, climbed back on the horses and passed the right laws and thus we have social security and Medicare and Medicaid. Thus we have a safety net for those who find themselves in need and yes, it is imperfect and there are huge holes in the net at times, but always there are people who care, who try, for that is our dream, a good country, a people who care.
     But now we have a report of four teens who beat up another, cursing and chanting anti white statements, we have people who call up two Jewish day schools in the Orlando area and threaten to bomb them and this email came from the ADL Florida Security Alert. The times they are a changing, as the song went but this is not a good change is it?
     Well, we all need to dream again, good dreams, positive dreams, friendly dreams. We need to remember that we were or are immigrants. We all came from somewhere else at some time in our family lines. But we have forgotten that, have we not? No one wishes to sacrifice safety but we also cannot sacrifice right and we must find a way to mesh it all together. As for those politicians in Washington and around the country who now wish to return to worse times, who wish to take it all back, well an article this morning stated - if you break it you own it - Pottery Barn philosophy. If you ruin the lives of all but a few, you will need to face the consequences and I must say, yesterday's full page ad urging all to prevent the inauguration of the Trump/Pence team, with its stated but not stated urge to wreak civil havoc,  well, it shocked me but then again what else can we expect. We will have a government of people whose first wish was to protect themselves, make it so they could commit crimes yet be exempt, no investigations. We have a soon to be administration that I am still unsure if it is legal, if the election was valid. We have a purported leader who lies and lies again, who boasts like an adolescent who really knows nothing and tries to hide that, who wishes to be the bully of the world. We have foxes appointed to the henhouses and we are the hens, my friends. We have people who wish to save money  -which it will not - on the backs of the elderly and the poor and indeed on anyone who does not resemble what they feel is the picture of a worthy American.
     These are scary times, truly so, and we must return to our dream. Yes, we can have disagreement but never can we wander so far off the track. That is a never! Dream again, America, dream on and fight to keep that dream, no matter who tries to take it away. Express your anger, your hopes, your wishes. Use the ballot box, email and yes, tweet away!! But if we do not remain alert and active then we all will be in a nightmare, and when will that end?

OUR "LEADERS"

     So let us take a look at the leaders of ours. Lets begin with the local ones. Rubio will now gift us with another six years of do nothingness, that is unless he decides to run for something else since he seems to find it easy to cut and run away from us. Then we have Mast, a Trump supporter all the way. Oy!! I truly hope he is good for the veterans and for the wounded, especially since he makes it his business to cut all his suits into short pants suits, the better to show off his prostheses on both legs. We know he was wounded and we respect and honor his contributions and service to his country, but do you notice anyone else doing this. Leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. And I, for sure, am wary as to how he will vote on issues that affect  us such as Medicare, health care, taxes, civil rights and we can go on, including Planned Parenthood, choice for abortion, respect for the independence and equality of women, social justice and equal treatment for LGBTQ, people of color, combat anti Semitism and ultra rightwing supporters of his and Trump and we can go on, can we not? Thank G-d we at least have some good people still left in Congress.
     And what about the Palm Beach County Commissioners? Not known for being supportive of us are they and our best person there, the wonderful Paulette Burdick, will be running out of term time and who will take her place? We really need to be watchful in this race to come.
     And hey, what about the really local dude we all know and "love" so dearly? Yup, that guy, David Israel, who seems to follow Trump in the royalty department, believing that democracy ain't so great. President for Life? Heaven help us on that, for the two of them. Here David Israel too believes in governing by secrecy. And illegality. We get an expensive hundreds of thousands of dollars expensive contract with CSI and oops, never presented to the delegates. Bad boy, David. Very bad. We get secret broadband meetings that were pushed into the open by people who do not want it or simply want to know details before agreeing to it. We have a man who accuses people of thievery!! Even as they have contracts with the very company he says they are robbing!! We have a man who cannot seem to get it right in the haberdashery department. Should he wear the same jacket every day? Should he wear his NSA t-shirt with cut off shorts? Should he wear the same three or four button down shirts with the said shorts or now we have a new outfit - Hawaiian shirts! Now I love Hawaii, but please, at last change the shirts, vary the costume and show us the respect we deserve from our supposed leader.
     As for David and Trump - we now have another twin affect. They are both erratic in their behavior and statements. Both of them have their right hand men trying to keep them quiet, stop them from making ridiculous or nasty statements but it never works all the time. In fact, just walk behind David as he walks past people he does not like and listen to the utterings made under his breath. Meds anyone? As for Trump? Cannot keep him off Twitter. And shame on the rest of the country and especially the media. We should not pay attention to them for we know they are ridiculous and mostly untruthful. No intelligence briefings. He is too smart for them. Oh yes, Putin is my best buddy. He is smart too! Oh, I know secrets and I will tell you, but not today and when "today" comes, why he has nothing to say but blames his lack of knowledge on others. He supports other countries, in fact, the enemy of his country, over his own government organs. He lies about businesses and their not moving, like Ford, and takes credit where none is due. Nice!
     Trump has severe ethics problems but do not think that he did not support the weakening, the gutting, of the ethics office. Nope, it was simply that there were too many outcries against this action and in fact Trump says they need to go but not now for now we must take apart healthcare, fix taxes - for the Fat Cats- and then perhaps we will get to the ethics office but in the meantime, just follow me and forget ethics, forget conflicts and forge ahead. And as for the deed of voting on it - Congress Republicans voted to do this in a secret move! Yup, in our democracy. Why would they think no one would notice this? Are they that arrogant? Are we to have Star Chambers as well, the secret courts of British government at one time? Where does this all end? Not in a place that is good for us.
     But we are beginning to see that we must stand up, play defense and even offense, taking the fight to his door and the doors of all the nominees, all the politicians. So NAACP leaders and supporters had a quiet sit in at Jeff Sessions office, you know the bigot nominated for Attorney General. They were arrested. Wonder what laws Sessions will support? Will it be a new version of Nuremberg Laws as the Voting Rights Act is a major target to destroy? We need to speak up, howl to the skies when we see underhanded methods and results. We maybe even ought to tweet back at Trump and his henchmen. Maybe I will learn how to use Twitter though the thought of 140 characters at a time? Not liking!
     You see, the battle is not over and it can never be over or else we will lose it all and return to a time of yesteryear when bigotry and selfishness and greed and secrecy ruled the roost.  It will not be the time of the yesteryear of the Lone Ranger. It will be a time when the little guys and gals will be screwed royal and when they try to abort the monster children this atmosphere creates, they will be told no, go fly somewhere else! It is never over until we know our rights are safe, that all is done in the open and the plug is pulled on DTS - Drain the Swamp - the fake slogan of Trump as he does the opposite and invites the swamp critters into his home - OUR HOME.
     Where are the leaders we used to have? Not perfect, but they knew what they had to do, what they were required to do and what came with the job. We cannot have a President of the country and a president of the Trump empire at the same time in the same person. One master at a time. And I believe we all know what Trump has chosen. Wonder what David has chosen - his own ego and desires and wishes or those that truly benefit the residents and their needs and their pockets? Actually, I do know. Now isn't that sad? Well, at least I am in good company as people continue to batter away at our president elect. G-d help us for we certainly need that help.

AND SO IT BEGINS OR CONTINUES BUT THERE IT IS

     Yesterday I said that I wished I would not have to say "Told ya' so", and yet here it is and here we are. For days, weeks, months, ethicists and plain old people with common sense have been decrying the ties of Trump to his businesses, his empire of projects, the ties of his family princelings and princess, even as they settle in to rule the country and perhaps even edge it into the realm of total demagoguery and less of a democracy. Tweets and threats and business visits from foreigners, denials of ethics violations, declared exemptions from rules and laws and yet, on the man goes and all the blindfolds of his supporters are remaining in place. So here we go, down a path that no one should want or be subjected to. Ethics advocates of both parties wrote a letter to him warning of the danger of his actions, or rather inactions, but I guess Trump does not read so well for no attention paid. Perhaps they should have tweeted!!!
     Congress as a hope and a help?People who say that Congress will prevent his outrageous plans. Really? What did Congress do? They have warned that today they will begin the rendering into shreds of Obamacare and as for the tens of millions of people enrolled, including the blue collar workers who think Trump represents change? Oh yeah, he does, but change that is not good for us or for them, only for the Fat Cats who will have no trouble paying for private care and so the world goes on.
     What else did Congress do in preparation for the new term? Oh yeah, they cancelled the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. Why? Too close, too much hot breath on their necks and on the neck of Trump. It will now become a tamed worn out old thing that has no power and so the crooks can really step up now! So much for change. Again!
      And while the world in general, here and abroad seem to get it, seem to understand the need to rein in excesses and to obey the rules of society even as society is attacked both within and without, Trump and followers seem to have missed the boat but actually they have caught their own boat and left us trying to catch it even as we wear no life vests and cannot swim so well. Believe it or not, the only people seemingly brave enough to keep on with the warnings, who willingly allow themselves to be counted as the media that Trump hates, people like Paul Krugman, Charles Blow, and basically solid and good thinking people, and one other group, actually a group that one would think would support Trump, one of their own characters on TV and yet not - the inhabitants of Hollywood. One after the other they supported Hillary and one after the other they have turned down requests from the Trump camp to star at the inauguration. Time after time, celebrity after celebrity. Now while I am not a great supporter of much of their lifestyle, I do admire them for these actions and their strength in resisting, so Trump is left with B and C minor celebrities, a child on the way up and a star on the way down.
     And who else realizes the truth of what is about to befall us? The people who make the shows, the producers and writers and the authors of novels. Is it life imitating art or the other way around or a mixture of both? Read a book called Law and Disorder and try to catch your breath as the author hits every nail, every hot topic right on the nose even as he writes a hard to put down thriller. Watch cable shows like Incorporated or one just recommended to us that now has us embroiled in the action and the characters. It is on Amazon and called Goliath. Three episodes so far and we hope to find the time to binge five more as soon as possible.
     But we have to live in the real world do we not? So how do we reconcile the needs of reality with the weird world of Trump, a world of ridiculous boasts, a child in an adult body who boasts how he knows secrets, oh yes he does and he is smart, oh yes he is, and he will get ya if you oppose him, oh yes he will. This is a leader? And as for the courtiers of this new kingdom, well, they are no better than they have to be and even worse, charged with rending the government into pieces and then what? Will we have a government rebuilt in the image of the Trumps, G-d help us?
     I do not know. I am actually petrified at the possibilities, at the future or rather lack of future that could be upon us soon, very soon. We have already seen signs and actions of it so what to do. Fight and fight and fight. Speak up, resist, shout and yell and push out the  politicians who think it is the same old same old time. We are fighting for our country, the very fabric of it. Your rights, my rights, the rights of workers, of children, of all, be they part and parcel of the general crowd or if they differ somehow. All our rights are in danger. Think about it. Read the papers carefully. Beware "fake news" the lies they are so good at and demand honesty from the media and truth in reporting. If not - well, we are all doomed to not such a good time, are we not?

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

    Just could not sleep tonite. Tried it all - just lying there, but the thoughts just start to roam in the mind. Tried reading till eyes tired but when I closed the book and shut the light - nothing! Just the thoughts roaming around.
     We now have a bromance going on as well as a pissing contest. Trump and Putin just adore each other, calling each other smart and clever and Trump just jumps in feet first to enhance the possibilities for Putin. He has the brilliant idea to turn back the clock, drop the computers and go back to writing and using couriers. Can't you just see all the messengers running back and forth and of course figuring out who they are would not be too hard so what? Do we then return to the days of Elizabeth I with her couriers from her spymaster and all the hijacking of these couriers, their slaughter, etc. Sounds just perfect for Trump as his logic and brain seem to be missing once more. And just how are we in today's world to go about disentangling ourselves and the rest of the world from computers unless someone uses an EMP - but that idea has already been used in several novels and guess what - one of the first things the survivors do is try to get computers working again so as to better design a recovery!! Oops!! Hey, I am no great fan of computers and often get lost in their pathways, but still, I know enough to know that they are here to stay barring any catastrophic event and they have their uses - like my blog!!.
     As for the contest.... Trump and Obama are each deciding to figure out who is the better dude so off they go on Twitter and tweet at or about each other. Trump continues to think one can govern in140 characters albeit even if one tweets several 140 tweets at a time, and Obama seems to think he should now follow suit, giving credence to this method. The two of them should grow up already. And these two are our current leaders?! G-d help us all. Perhaps they need to go back to discussing finger size and what all!!
     We have a proposed government to be that is a total non starter. None of the proposed characters have any connection to the common people, and that includes most of us - even you folks who made the grievous error of voting for Trump. Each proposed Secretary is actually an enemy of the Department he or she is supposed to head and the first aim of the Congress starting tomorrow is to dismantle  Obamacare which now has the highest number of people ever enrolled. Their plan will raise the cost of medical care to the federal government and they have no plan as to how to replace it, but go ahead they will - and then what will the blue collar workers say? Who will have their backs? Not Trump, unless it is to place that proverbial knife in their proverbial backs!
     We have a proposed president who is up to his neck, even his ridiculous hair, in contracts and projects with politicians all over the world and tell me exactly how does this not shout for impeachment as wrong, politically, morally, and legally. There are brains enough out there who oppose Trump who can think of the pathways to tread. I am sure of that. Nor do I particularly care for having non elected family members assuming roles in the administration. In fact, the only one neglected here from roles to play is poor Melania who never seems to smile or have an emotion on that face and who is trotted out at some formal events and then what, tucked away in Trump Towers till she is needed again?
     In the middle of the night I wonder what will be with the unions and the rights of the workers. Who will speak for them? Who will insure that the safety strides we have made will be retained? And who will watch out for us and the environment? How many more times do we need to see disasters of nature before one of the benighted finally says, "Oh, yeah, guess we do have climate change. Duh!!" How much more of this government by dolts and selfish people are we supposed to tolerate? What will be with public education?Women are being told to back off and away, your body is no longer your own, your needs do not concern us and as for equal pay - go suck an egg. Education, social justice, equality under the law and in action - where will they be? We will no longer sing a song about where the flowers have gone but instead will sing about where our country has gone. We will sing of a once upon a time country where people strived for the right thing, the right choices, but was corrupted by evil ogres and trolls and they have left nothing behind. Companies and businesses will rule. Go watch Incorporated on cable and tell me you do not shudder. How closely entwined are the veins and arteries of government and big business? Take a look for yourselves. What can the little guys do? March. Speak up. Call a legislator. Support legal efforts to unseat politicians. Support impeachment tracks. Insist on what is right. Do not go gently into that benighted world. Fight against hate. Fight against violence. Fight against evil unions of enemies united against the people and our country and its essence.
    We should all be very busy over the next four years and should we survive intact, or close to it, we will have a busy period of reconstruction that will rival that Reconstruction post Civil War era. We can be safe, we can survive, but it will not be easy. Told ya so will not be so easy to relish even as we all suffer. I hope to G-d that I will be wrong, but you can't prove that by anything that is going on now. Told ya so, told ya so, told ya so, told ya so, told ya so.........

 

SO HERE WE ARE - AGAIN AND AGAIN

      Was really hoping to write about the New Year, but had to return to the topic at hand, the remainder of the history I began and the new Trumpisms that just can not be ignored. Every time I think there is a chance, even a miniscule one, that perhaps, just perhaps, he could at least try to pull it off - well, there he goes again and you know folks, laugh as much as we might, this guy is President of the United States of America in a matter of under three weeks. Very sad, very frightening.
     So to return and go back in time.
     The inhabitants of Judea were scattered all over the world. No longer was there a Judean kingdom. The Exile, Galut, was upon us. And so we scattered to almost every country known to man at the time. And for the most part wherever we went we were welcomed and okay for believe it or not, there was a tolerance to differing religions as there were so many and basically, if one obeyed the laws and was loyal to the country, all was okay.      But then the world changed, religions began to downsize and others to grow and the atmosphere of tolerance began to shrivel and naturally, that religion whose believers refused to change - well, the hatred and the prejudice and the laws against them began to multiply.
     So from France in the 12th century where they had flourished to exile and bloody pogroms and from England under Edward II we had bloody York and more exile and banning from the entire country and didn't that last a long time. And from Spain  in 1492 and a couple of years later from Portugal and banned and hounded in all the Spanish and Portuguese areas in the New World, and over to the Arab lands, the lands of Moslems. Well, first it was great and in the Spain of the Moors it was a golden time but the Catholic rulers and the Inquisition took care of that, did they not? And over the centuries the Jews of the Arab lands lived schizoid lives as sometimes it was good and at others it was awful.
     And over to Europe. Awful does not begin to cover it. The Crusades were more about the slaughter of Jews as the supposed holy ones marched thru Europe, ravaged the Jewish communities and killed and maimed at will and with approval and encouragement. And this never stopped thru the centuries as the Jews were locked into new things -  ghettoes - and symbols and items of clothing had to be worn, rules were made restricting their movements, their professions, blood libel proliferated - this for a people to whom the thought of any blood in a piece of meat was  anathema!
     And yet, they remained true to their people, to their heritage, to their religion and that aggravated others for why did they not change, recognize their sins, repent and convert? And this stoked the anger of the peasants as the aristocracy used the Jews as scapegoats for the injustices of society. And again, despite all this, Am Yisroel Chai!
     And thru the centuries, no matter what, people journeyed in years long treks to see their remnant of the Temples. And Jews lived in their Holy Land. And always, the prayers for the return and always the praying oriented to the East where Jerusalem and their land were. This never changed and even when the winds of secularism and Enlightenment began to waft over the lands of the world, the eyes of the Jewish people never faltered. Always there was the longing for their land. Always there was a longing for justice and social equality and so they formed both sides of the political spectrum, with Jews in the forefront of workers movements all over the world, including right here in the USA and in the forefront as well of the banking families for money professions were all that had been allowed to them in Europe - no land nor other professions which could lead them anywhere and even when it was allowed, there were quotas on them and for entrance into universities and professional schools and yet, somehow, they flourished into the modern era, became mainstays of society, yet the taint of anti Semitism was there all along in all the classes and tiers of society.
     The New World beckoned. The "goldene medina" - the golden state - provided a refuge and a place for the future but do not think that all was perfect there for the stink of anti Semitism ran rank through the peoples of this new country as well, brought with them to this new land and yet, again they worked and lived and struggled and prospered and contributed. And Jews all over fought in the armies and were loyal to their countries, were patriotic and yet, and yet, always there was the undercurrent of distrust, from the Dreyfus Affair to rumors and hate mongerers - to this very day!
     As for the Arab lands and their Jewish communities - and for the modern times - that is for another day. Need some relief from this heavy history so over to the world of Trumpisms.
     This man just does not stop. Even when he does a good thing, and states that he supports Israel and pans Kerry and Obama for the ally betraying action of theirs or rather lack of action - in the UN, even then there is a shiver running down the spine for this is a man who turns on a dime, who thrives on people constantly patting him on the back, singing his praises and when this is not forthcoming - uh oh! Out come the threats of revenge. Out come the weird statements that have people wondering, scratching their heads and fearing where this will all lead to. And selfishly perhaps, my people shiver even more, for along with Trump came the nasty resurgence of the worst types of haters, the  neo Nazis and their ilk and trust me, folks, these people never have an end to their hate. There is always room for more!! Yet all the while there has never been a forswearing of these people by Trump and here is yet another story of this growth as a family in Arizona had their large menorah for Chanukah twisted into a huge Swastika. Anger and hatred, anger and hate, again and again so is there any wonder why Israel is so important to us? Always, there is that undercurrent, that wondering, when will that time come again that we are to be ostracized, herded, threatened, limited, exiled and killed? Even while there is a man who says he will support us, the question is - really? For how long? Will we be sold down the river if we do not agree wholeheartedly to all of the plans held in mind?
     And if one says, well, this is not really a realistic worry or threat here in America, think again. With a President who states that "And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don’t know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation.” - just how can we be sure of continued support, of an end to all this garbage when the leader is not truly attached to reality but boasts nonsensical statements that do not make sense, that tell people to go back to couriers only, he, the man who tweets everything!
     It is a hard thing to explain. It is a hard thing to see one's children actually growing fearful, never having seen or felt this before, the uncertainty about the future and the very physical safety of themselves and their children. It is hard to understand this feeling of the earth trembling underneath one's feet, even here, in America. Even here! So what do we do? Wait for Tuesday or Wednesday when Trump promise a new revelation? What? Will it be that Putin is the new Messiah? Will it be that Putin has sworn loyalty to us? To his best buddy Trump? Will he say that he is going to readmit the expelled Russians? Will he deny once more the truth of the Russian interference in the very underpinnings of our country - free and fair elections? And it must be said and wondered. Is this election even valid? Is it? Really? I, and many others, have our doubts. And in this uncertain atmosphere, ugly things can happen. Word!!
     More to come.