COMING OUT OF THE DARK

     Correct. That is the name of a powerful song by Gloria Estefan whose show we enjoyed last night, but it is more than that. It can apply to the situation we are in right now, sitting in the dark with a benighted President whose major demand is that all go his way and if not - then tantrum away.
     Much of America is presently sitting in the dark, not knowing what is coming next. Will he declare his false 'emergency' so as to grab money that does not belong to him? Will the nation stand for it if he does declare one? And yes, he is correct - there is a national emergency, but not the one he has falsely claimed. It is instead the emergency of 800,000 federal employees going unpaid, mortgages unpaid, food and utility bills unpaid, and all the people who depend on their funds are also going broke as the money tap is shut off. This is the emergency he has ginned up, caused and created.
     Along with that go the accompanying disasters. How many will get sick and die from uninspected foods and drugs. There are so many creeps out there now reveling in the rollback of regulations that one just knows that they will take advantage of the lack of inspection and squeeze more profit when no one is looking. The national parks are being trashed. I almost cried this morning as I read that the Joshua trees of the park of the same name are being cut down. That park and its thunderous silence, its vistas and topography, its very atmosphere, are amazing, almost holy and what is being done there and in other areas is sacrilege and a disaster of unknown proportions as yet. That is an emergency. 
     This is a demented overgrown child in an adult's body. Physically he appears to be an adult, but his behavior is that of a spoiled brat, an entitled brat and the country is suffering because of it. The dark we are in right now is deepened with every revelation of more garbage from him and his minions: Ukrainians at the Inaugural Ball, meddling in the Steve Wynn casino case, BFF behavior with Putin, expressions of 'love' for Kim, moronic tweets and grossly misspelled and misworded tweets and on and on. The dark is frightening. It is that dark we must come out of and soon.
     One is encouraged and sees some light when we read of the lawyers and states challenging Trump's dangerous acts and arbitrary rulings. We have some Senators at last beginning to speak out but the question is - will they have the courage and moral stamina to keep it up or will they too fold under pressure. 
     We have a madman who accuses the press of being lackeys and partners of the Democratic Party and the "enemy of the people". That is not only ridiculous, but very dangerous to our democracy when he states that. We have cronyism, nepotism, corruption, incompetence, lies upon lies and one has to go far back in American history to find as corrupt and crooked an administration. If one can be found that was just as bad!
     We are in the dark and I am afraid the dark is deepening, becoming blacker and filled with ever growing despair. Will we be able to survive as a country for two more years? Will he even allow this country to function any more as a constitutional democracy ruled not by him, but by the Constitution? Will he induce a bloody Civil War? Will the hatred he has aroused and allowed grow even worse and will more blood be shed? Will we continue to 'grow' more people willing to manhandle children and adults in need of compassion and help? Will we waste funds on doing things the wrong way, again and again?
     Time for us to be coming out of the dark. Time for us to recognize that the 'other' is a good thing to have around, to share cultures with, to find new partnerships, to grow our country, to live good lives. Let us vanquish the darkness together and rid ourselves of those who would deprive us of our America. We must beat back the darkness enveloping the country. No choice there, friends, none at all.

SERIOUS THINKING

     "What hath G-d wrought?" Often asked or verbalized during times of natural disasters, the time has come for us, the humans, to take responsibility for what man hath wrought. We were given a beautiful planet, clean air and water, beautiful vistas, mineral wealth, opportunities to better ourselves and everyone else, yet....look what man hath wrought.
     "For me a picture has to be something pleasant, delightful, and pretty - yes, pretty. There are enough unpleasant things in the world without us producing even more."
                                   Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1841 - 1919
     Renoirs are generally stunning Impressionist art, adding beauty and meaning to life. But the 'art' of mankind in general has not always fulfilled that mission, to create something pleasant, something pretty, to contemplate, to take pride in and of, has it? Just looking at the vistas of the world in general, what have we done? Nor does it matter where or when, for every country has treated  its natural environments as a continuously running feature that does not need care, and that in fact, can repair itself. We are learning otherwise.
     But nothing can compare to the ugliness of us, what we have done to others, to ourselves. We have slaughtered by the millions, mistreated millions more, nor does this seem to be lessening in any meaningful way today. Stick a pin in a map or the world, spin the globe and stop it on a whim and I bet there will be a war or rebellion or oppressive government or all, in that spot. Such is what man hath wrought.
     We can help other countries, but we can better help ourselves first if we are to encourage others to do the same. Up until recently, that was our role in the life of the world. We have abdicated that role, given up the throne, so to speak, and ceded it to bullies, both here and in the world. Trump and minions, Putin, Orbach, Duterte, Assad, Erdogan, rulers of African countries and Caribbean isles far too often - there is no lack of names to list here. So why? Why do we do this?
     There is a painting by Gaugin, I believe in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, done during his Tahiti years, that has an intriguing name. "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" If we, mankind, could only answer those questions correctly, we would, as the jargon goes, be 'in like Flynn'.
     But instead we have gone backwards. We now have threats emanating on an almost daily basis from any number of countries. Take your choice. North Korea. China. Russia. Iran. Tiny little countries who are emboldened by the behavior of the big guys. And in our country, why we bully the 'others', those we deem lesser, of no true import to our lives. So we have a president who tantrums as a toddler, except they are much cuter and learn to improve their behavior. He does not, certainly is not cute, and grows ever more demented in his behavior and mannerisms. Yesterday he was channeling our old foe, Khruschev, who also thought  banging on a table was the way to get his way. It was not.
     And in the meanwhile, there are millions of people suffering from Trump's madness, his ugliness of soul and heart. So he who can 'relate' to them, he who would get hundreds of millions of nut saving money from his father has had his agencies send out advice to the employees who are receiving no paycheck, and who are seeing their homes in danger, their children deprived of food, debts going unpaid, rent unpaid, car loans unpaid - so babysit, they are told, have garage sales, walk  dogs - I can just about contain the nausea in my soul at this cold advice, this uncaring advice, but what can one expect when a sociopath runs the country? When the Senators of his supposed shared political party do not have the courage, the honor, the honesty, the caring, to turn away from him? This is certainly a picture painting the ugliness of our souls here today in America.
     So our government, the one which is supposed to represent us, to strive for our good, now threatens to go into court to take the land away from landowners in Texas for that damned wall. We give a farm bailout because of the destructive tariffs of Tariff Man and where does it go - to a company owned by Brazil!!! Oh yeah, he loves Americans, does he not?!
     Graham has turned out to be a creep. Others have joined him or are showcasing their lack of morality and care, and the shutdown goes on. Pretty picture this is not!
     Perhaps we need to turn to art to find our true place in life, our true purpose here on this earth. "Truth is beauty and beauty truth." Remember that? How many essays did we have to write based on that statement? Did anything sink in or have we descended to that bottom level of hell where it seems that perversion and beer loving traits are the best recommendations for a Supreme Court Justice? Where a tax fraud and a severely challenged man gets to run the asylum? Where we simply do not care for each other, not as people, not as Americans, not as anything?
     Serious thinking is called for and immediately. Time is running out and I shudder to look ahead even two more years of this man and his debilitating effect on our morality as a nation. I shudder to think what will be if the Democrats cannot find their inner strength and pull together as one, united behind a good, no, great candidate and no - not Biden or Sanders - something or someone new, who can generate enthusiasm and hope. Serious thinking on call here, folks - from us and our representatives. Hound them till they realize that too. Otherwise, well, the picture ain't pretty!

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YE FREE

      The time has come for the truth. No more lies. No more crocodile tears from a man who sets up a humanitarian crisis, and yes, there is one at the border, one of his own making, and now another one building as people are beginning to go without that very much needed paycheck. But these crises are of Trump's own making, the creation of the Demented One. That is like the person who killed his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court based on the claim that he is an orphan. See, one cannot always get the cake, eat it and then demand to know who stole it and then get another piece to soothe him. Uh uh.
     Last night it was distinct pleasure to see the Capitol Steps and the audience was roaring. They poked fun at all, but mainly at you know who and his minions. But probably the biggest moment of applause was when a skit that is done year after year was performed again to a dead silent auditorium who knew what was coming but who watched with bated breath An immigrant was being hassled by an officer and finally said that he would show his papers, that he, the immigrant, was allowed to be here. Underneath his blanket he revealed a deerskin set of Native American clothing and the audience roared. Why? This is a repeated skit year after year, so why the huge reaction to the positive?
     The audience was composed mainly of senior citizens, as we are a CV. True, there were younger visitors, but mainly seniors. A good many of them were immigrants themselves, coming as adults or children with immigrant parents. They know in their very bones what it meant and what it should mean to be welcomed to this country, to look upon it as a place of safety, a haven, a place of hope. My grandparents were immigrants, coming as young adults, actually as teens, by themselves, to build a better life, to start a new family line away from the murderous prejudice of Europe. From these two kids came generations of doctors, lawyers, accountants, soldiers, social workers, thinkers, teachers, writers, techie people, artists and the list will hopefully continue and expand - generations of loyal and thankful Americans.
     Now people of a different color, of different physical appearance, fleeing from gangs, from threats, from political violence, from poverty that allows no hope, are coming. Why can they not come in? Why can they not remain here, filling roles in society? It is a crock that they are taking jobs away from "Americans". It is a lie that they are criminals of all nefarious types. And they certainly are not terrorists! Most of those come in via the airports!! And drugs? Most of that comes in via legal shipments, hidden deep within it.
     It is an awful fact, but a poll shows that 30% of Americans are thinking seriously about moving to Canada. Truly! What a depressing fact and do not think that it has not crossed my mind as well. I am truly frightened for my kids, for my grandkids, not so much for me. I have lived most of my life but these kids, your kids, our kids? I do not want any part of a government that kills children and lies about it, that hunts people down like hunted prey, only these are humans!!
     I want to live in a country where the truth is valued and when it is violated, that it is exposed for a lie and the transparency helps us grow as a country, as a people. Naive? Maybe? Maybe this old lady should know better already, but I refuse to give in to the evil side of man and speaking of that, I am sorry, but every time I look at that man, Pence, who thinks he is G-d's gift to this world, the halo of holiness he projects - well, all I see is his hair pasted down and wonder what is it with the hairdos of this administration and Pence just about reminds me of the Devil's spawn!!
     I implore all of us, demand that the Senators do what is the right thing to do. They must stand up to this evil man, these evil people, who would foist another America upon us, an America of dictatorship and hate. Demand that they act as grownups and not as tiny children afraid of the bully of the schoolyard. They must, we must, for if not ----it does not bear looking into the future.

NIGHT COMETH WINTER COMETH TAKE YOUR CHOICE

     Life imitating art or art pointing out the deep crevasses within life? Does it actually make a difference in reality? I don't think so, for either demands great efforts and strivings to insure the safety of civilization as we know it.
     Both of the phrases in the title signify times when the world imploded, when all that was known was shredded and new rules came into play. One, Night, describes a true world, a reality which seemed impossible, yet was, it existed and for far too long and actually, the stench of it continues to linger in the world of today, in fact, growing ever stronger once more.
     Winter cometh is the go to phrase from Game of Thrones, a series of fantasy novels and TV series yet based on historical wars for control of countries and thrones. Winter cometh is the phrase used to indicate the ending of the world as they know it in Westoros, ending with a bang, with an army of the dead rampaging against those who would save civilization.
     In both, the rules of civilization are trampled, people are killed as easily and meaninglessly as one swats a fly or a gnat, and there are always the same groups of people: the underclass; the embattled middle class; the soldiers doing their "duty"; the schemers and planners; the dreamers; and the combatants for the truth, for justice. Arcing over all is the organization of the would be dictator who would stop at nothing, courting disaster for the world, all to consolidate his power.
     Hate to say this, but take a look around. Night has begun to descend upon us. Think it impossible that we would intern people in concentration camps? Think again, my friends, for what do we have in the detention sites for migrants and immigrants? What do we have in the night raids on immigrant families, in their being grabbed off the streets, in being arrested in front of their children as they are dropped off to attend school? What do we have in the ruthless separation of men, women and children, fed inadequately, treated abusively and moved around in random night travels? Worry, people, worry.
     As far as Winter coming, well, that too is here already. The Winter portends and demands a supposed leader who is not! The leader feels above the law, works intensively and obsessively to increase his power and control over all else and tramples on the rights of all, even taking lives by actions and words. People go hungry. Children fall victim to starvation, cold, lack of education, loss of family, loss of hope, loss of a future.
      Well, think we are at a different point now? I do not. Just watch the infighting going on about this ridiculous 'wall'. The Demented One thinks it makes a difference if he calls for concrete or steel. What is the matter with him? Actually, he is not normal, as his brain misfires and miscalculates, even as he works to destroy all that America is and always should be. He, the illiterate one, uses the technique of Animal Farm, of 1984, of Brave New World, and raises himself over all else. He mislabels, such as by calling this a "humanitarian" crisis. No, it is not. He has made it one via his treatment of these immigrants tossing aside the traditional welcome of immigrants to this country, an artificial crisis straight from his plan book.
     He is working hard to consolidate his power, winnowing and forcing out all who would oppose him, toiling away, along with his minions who ride his coattails, to take over the 2020 convention of the Republicans and thus insure his nomination again. What about his crimes? What about his tax fraud? What about his despicable lies and lies and lies? Former Presidents point out strongly that they did not endorse a border wall. Yet he claims they told him that!! He claims to follow the Constitution even as he undermines it, destroying the system of checks and balances that govern or are supposed to govern the nation. And most frightening is his plan to usurp power from the nation, to impose his illegal rule over all, via his ginned up national emergency, his own self created disaster in the making. If you do not get frightened chills down your spine at this, then, my friend, you are not understanding history and the actions of tyrants and would be tyrants
     There is a test a proposed applicant for citizenship must pass. I highly doubt that this functional illiterate would pass or even accept the principles embodied in the questions asked. I doubt he knows anything at all. But here are a few questions and answers. Hmm...what do you think?
   

What is the "rule of law"?

Answer: Everyone must follow the law; leaders must obey the law; the government must obey the law; no one is above the law. 

The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

Answer: "We the People." 

What does the Constitution do?

Answer: Sets up the government; defines the government; and protects basic rights of Americans. 

      There are other questions of fact and reality, but these three are key to America, its very being. How do otherwise intelligent people continue to believe in the falsehoods he generates even as they are  proven false? How does he expect an economic class of people to support him even as he sees indeed how he "can relate to them", as they make "adjustments", as he says they approve his actions? How can he claim jobs when tariffs are causing factories to shut as their costs for materials go up and as they plan their moves to Canada and Mexico!! Yes, the very same countries he has cut off.

     Night and Winter are not coming They are here already and have been for close to three years. G-d help us if we allow this to continue. G-d help us if we do not demand that the people in DC do their jobs and represent the PEOPLE! He should take notice of what previous presidents have done and take the opportunity of TV time to announce his resignation. Now that would be a glimpse of the beginning of summer again,  of daylight penetrating the darkness that has begin to shroud the world.

   

ON THE EDGE

      We are on the edge, hanging by our fingertips from the ledge. The term 'hang in there' does not really serve here, for just hanging leads to more danger. So does willful blindness to a situation fraught with danger.
     The megalomaniacal behavior of Trump gets worse every day - no, let me correct that - hour by hour. Totally incapable of controlling himself, of thinking a rational thought, we are being led by this mentally disabled man right into a deep abyss, cornered in a canyon of all our making. Where do we go from here? Not a clue, certainly none that will give us hope of finding a way out.
     Yesterday he boasts that we would be in the "middle of a big fat war' with North Korea if not for him. This at the very moment when that very same country is warning us about their plans. China is being warned by their leader to prepare for war. Russia, the land of Trump's BFF is boasting about new missiles and taking American hostages to exchange for Russian criminals that are held here.
    The government is split, majorly so and now this dangerous man is threatening to really turn into the dictator he so wishes to be. The fake businessman, the one who hid his bankruptcies, who thinks his TV role is his presidential role - G-d help us - this very same demented person in the throes of deepening dementia now crows that he will get his damned wall via declaring a 'national emergency' and go it alone, finding sources elsewhere, most likely the military slush fund.
     So now what? A military coup, for I cannot see the services sitting still for this. A domestic revolt as the man talks crocodile tears that he feels with and for the employees now going without paychecks, left to swing in the wind as they hang off that ledge? A civil war with the fighting between groups of formerly united Americans and now split right down the middle as the greatest experiment in government in humankind's history goes down the toilet?
     The man is demented. Republicans who privately admit this are too cowardly to do so in public and why? Because they are AFRAID of him! This is not the way it is supposed to work. Do they think he will send out ninjas against them? What? Will it be physical punishment for disloyalty? What is going on? Since when has it been anathema for Americans, for our representatives, to differ in opinions. Why has bipartisanship grown into the self eating phenomenon it now is?
     Hanging off the ledge folks, hanging with now only nine fingers holding . The time has come for people to stand up and be brave and demand our country back again from those who would hijack it and rape our rights. Strong words, yes, but the time has come for strong people, never mind the name calling or the foul mouths, Now is the time for words that demand action, that cause action, that puts hair back on the chest and steel back in the moral spines, never mind a "steel" wall  or any wall that this man is obsessed with beyond all points of sanity. We all must demand that our representatives stand up for the right, the honorable, the necessary. Never mind impeachment. Just Article 25 the man and let us get started on bringing back the country, not in his filthy plans for it, but in the manner that we are supposed to be, a country of different people with different opinions who will work together to better the country and the world.
     Folks. seven fingers now. Time is running out. Read the columns. Check the situations. Think and think hard and bite the bullet as you accept the reality of it all. Before we get to six fingers and beyond. Time's a fleetin' and history's awaitin'. And fingers have only so much strength, especially as the concrete of the ledge crumbles.

SHAME

      Do you remember when you misbehaved as a kid and were scolded with "Shame on you"? Your head went down, your eyes became shuttered, and your shoulders slumped. Worse, when you were told that you had brought shame upon the family. Whoo!!! I can still remember such an incident and trust me, I never ever repeated that action again.
     But today it seems that we have no shame. We do and dress and act and speak as if we lived in a vacuum, with nothing affecting others. Not so, and the sooner we learn and accept that truth, the better off we will be. But learning the proper way to live is difficult and works best with models, and no, I am not advocating uniformity, only civility, compassion, and awareness that one does not live in the world alone, but shares it with countless others, including those of the future.
     Shame on us that we have deteriorated to the point that our political rallies have become cesspools of violence, physical and/or oral. Shame on us that we tolerate foul mouthed politicians and allow their foulness to permeate the air and cause others to think it is okay. From the illegitimate president on down, the airwaves have been bombarded with expletives and epithets. When new and young representatives reach DC there is no call for the use of language similar to that of Trump's. Tlaib needs to learn that. She used one of the worst, in my opinion, curse words and I will not even type it in here. Yes, she has freedom of speech, but yes, too, we need to exercise restraint in our words so that we do not exacerbate a situation that is already edgy and this new ingredient does not help push matters forward in a positive manner. Nor does a map that she displays with no Israel and only a Palestine, one that thus supports the terroristic aims found in the charters of Palestinian organizations - "from the river to the sea" - the Jordan to the Red Sea - there is no room for Israel. Not acceptable. Supportive of terrorists and this must end.
     So how do we do this with a supposed leader digging deeper into filth and corruption? How? By recognizing that the man is incapable of fulfilling any presidential responsibilities, incapable of doing the right thing and has a serious condition that will explain it. Tell me if this does not fit the man. "The Dunning - Kruger effect. Named for the two psychiatrists who discovered it, it is that 'very stupid people tend to dramatically over estimate their own capabilities. Too stupid to know they're stupid.....because the skills they lack are exactly the same ones they need to recognize their own incompetence. Essentially, it means that a lot of people who are thick as mince can have ridiculous amounts of confidence that's misplaced at best....And dangerous at worst." Very frightening, folks, extremely so. Look into the Oval Office and tell me that the epitome of this is not sitting right there - or rather tuning out in front of his TV screens!
     We have lost our way. We have decided, be it implicitly or explicitly, that we are going forward with anti immigration behavior and policies and so what if kids are killed, neglected, sickened and abused. So what, these people say. So what?! Shame! Shame!!
     We allow our federal workers to fall into a position where they are victimized by their supposed boss, turning to GoFundMe pages for financial needs. Shame on us!!
     We allow grown men and women - mostly men - to behave as toddlers, lose their moral guidelines, lose their spines and kowtow to a would be dictator of little properly functioning gray matter!! Certainly few morals.
     We allow ourselves to fall into an isolationist position which backs hatred and prejudice. People, we have been here before and had made progress away from this, so what the hell!!! Why are we turning back the clock to this? Shame! Shame!
     We shame people, attack them, when they wish to exercise their right to their own health care, to exercise control over their own bodies. In Iowa there are now billboards which encourage people to realize that the word abortion, the deed or act of abortion, is not shameful in and of itself, and people who have had one need not hide their heads in shame. In fact, the shoe is on the other foot, for those who would shame them, even kill them!
     And we shame ourselves as we cede the moral leadership of the world. As we try to wall ourselves off. As we destroy human life. As we teach indifference to others who are different from us for any reason. As we vilify an immigrant who committed a crime, forgetting that citizens do the same thing in even greater proportion, but ignore the little immigrant kid and his uncle who saved a man's life!! Shame!!!
     We have lost our way - as individuals and as a nation. We must find a way back. We need to dial down this hatred that we are embracing. We need to get rid of those who would keep us on this path and elect new and intelligent, capable, and honest representatives who remember the idea, the concept, of public service. We need to stop! Just stop. Find the proper way, the way or path of justice, for humanity, for the environment, for no more shame. Instead of being shamed in the world's eyes, let us return to a time when we could hold our heads up high and say with pride - I am an American.
     
     

FACING UP

        Humans have a highly developed sense of self preservation which often works the other way. Much of that twist time is found in the denial of reality, of insisting that it is what one wants it to be and never mind the facts. On the other hand, people can look at a situation and ask, as Kennedy urged, "why not?" Today's times are perfect illustrations of these opposing sides of humans as they face up to their problems.
     Personally, last nite was a bit of a wham for me. After having two pretty good days with PD, and enjoying a super Carpenter tribute show with a singer who sounded just like her and who presented the show with enthusiasm, the songs of the Carpenters got to me, particularly the sadder ones, remembering what was, what we wished and what the 'now' is in truth.
     I am not, none of us are, what we used to be, but never did I ever think that I would be in this situation, working harder than ever before to keep myself at least in a plateau, doing what I must, and dealing with the truth of a reality. Facing up in this situation is hard, but there it is and there it must be dealt with, like it or not. Denial does not work.
     Denial will also not work in the reality of our CV today. We are facing several crises that must be eased. The governing organ of the Village has made some seriously faulty decisions and refuses to acknowledge or face up to this. They wish to insure that they retain their 'power' to spend the money and get their way, even as their way proves so wrong. And yet, even as people speak privately in negative terms, they do not show up nor speak out publicly, thus just about insuring that the situation remains status quo. Not good at all.
     Worse than that is the new theory of government accepted by the Republican Trump Party. They have ceded all authority to him, the Demented One - and if one needs proof of the dementia, why just go get a video of his extremely bizarre first Cabinet meeting of the year and in  addition, do not forget to look at and examine his infantile negative and antagonistic pose of hands crossed across his chest. That is his go to position - not good there either! But what is worse, is that the members of Congress, particularly in the Senate, vow not to pass any bill unless they know that Trump will sign it!
     What is that all about? Since when does the President dictate to Congress. Congress is supposed to represent the best efforts for the PEOPLE and not the President. Go check it out. It is called the Constitution! But this man and his spineless morally needy minions are trying to turn this country and its governing bodies at all levels into extensions of Trump. Passing fake examples of democracy, kowtowing blindly to the 'leader - all signposts of a dictatorial country!! Hey - that is not us!!!! Never!!!
     It has deteriorated into a ridiculous and dangerous game of chicken and the heartless man who insists that all immigrants, particularly ones of color or from Third World countries are terrorists and criminal and drug pushers. Dang it, but I sure wish I could go back and deny entry to his grandfather who gave us the next generations of Trumps, such excellent criminals, cheating in taxes, in real estate, caring nothing for humanity, and the descendant sitting in the White House has no care or compassion for the workers who need their paycheck, for the citizens who need the services of government, for the ones needing food stamps and the social safety net and people, understand clearly that at one time or another we, or people we know and love need or will need that net to survive.
     Why do we not remember who and what America and Americans are supposed to be and try to be, to continue the progress we have made over the centuries and face up to the new ones such as the existential threat via the environment? And why do we think it okay to throw sand in the face of all those out there in the world and right here in America who fight for rights, for democracy, anti dictatorships, anti oppression, fight for free press, for the improvement of societies all around the world. See, in accepting Trump and his way means mud over the accomplishments of the brave people of all the Springs, recent and past. It tells people that Glasnost was for naught and the Arab Spring for naught and the countries of the Iron Curtain and their democratic achievements count for naught as all goes down the tube. Walls do not work, they do not make for good neighbors and they do not work!!!The Berlin Wall - down. The Great Wall of China - crumbling. The defensive wall of Game of Thrones - down, rubble! And the wall on our southern border - what the hell is the matter with a fence and proper immigration procedures?
     Finding video and tampering with it, trying to portray a controversial new Congresswoman as bad - what the heck is the matter with these people? First they messed it around and so what? She was in college, with the energy and joy of the young who think  they can go out and conquer it all, and even if I do not agree with some of her program, so what if she danced? Are we going to ban that too, a la a modern ban the dance movement? Thought we were done with that!! 
 Ask Kevin Bacon!
     We are not facing up to our problems, to our reality as it is and are creating our own version. But there will be no dragons, no magical fix for us. But we do have it within our power to stand up to tyranny, to moral blindness and create a better world, one with a future. With all the energies and idealism and hopes of the young in Hong Kong, in China, in Hungary, in Russia, in Israel - which by the way has been thrown under another bus by their 'fan', Trump as he said that Iran can do whatever it wishes to in Syria. So comforting to Israelis! Still maintain he is good for Israel? With all that, we can face up to it all. We can. We must. The alternative? Not a good idea to go there.

SILENCE? YES? NO?

     There are times to speak up and times to keep quiet. Most of the time, it is and should be necessary to speak out against things one deems to be wrong, or exaggerated, or unfair. Keeping silent at that point crosses the line of being complicit in the wrongdoings. Keeping quiet usually means there is an element of fear or suppression or cowardice or moral weakness or power grabbing or any number of things that are so wrong.
     Yesterday it was my great pleasure to attend a Simon and Garfunkel tribute show which used the immense talents of the Aztec Two Step duo and details from the lives of the tribute duo. To say I, and the audience, enjoyed it is to understate it, for it was tremendous. Their music of the 60's and 70's, so relevant to the times then, are so relevant today and I am just wondering what the heck that means! Personally, it upsets me, for the same problems seem to have arisen again in many cases and I wonder what we have learned from our past and why we have allowed the progress to retrogress.
     A particular point that struck home was the silence in Sound of Silence.
     "Silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might reach you. Take my arms that I might reach you." 
     Today we have people reaching out in the darkness of fear imposed silence, of uncaring silence and of nasty silence, acquiescing in its violence, in its misdeeds, in its evil imaginings and motivations. And the words that are spoken in trying to break this silence?
       "But my words like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the well of silence."
     So, on the third day of a new year it is even more incumbent upon us to break the silence. It is only when silence is broken that progress can be made. Silences about child labor, about the rights of women, about  civil rights, voting rights, immigration rights, educational rights, prejudices against all who were different because of orientation or religion or color or ethnicity or whatever could be ginned up to increase, to ramp up the hatred - all had to be broken to progress.
     On the other hand, some people should shut up, the sooner the better. We have a Demented One as President and here are the summed up comments of his discussions in his first Cabinet meeting of the year, even as the country roils on his imposed governmental shutdown, as crises begin to pile up. "About walls. About wheels. About death and sand. About Mitt Romney and Iran. About his popularity in Europe and within the Republican Party. About essentially firing Jim Mattis as defense secretary, and forcing the retiring senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake from office. And about validation from Kanye West and how his generals were “better looking than Tom Cruise.”
Warren rightfully called him an "accelerant" to basically all that is so wrong in the country today. Surely this is an example par excellence of who should keep the silence, but he does not and so it is incumbent upon us to break that silence, to show people who have taken the neon gods of today instead of recognizing them as fake and dangerous to us. Trump praises Russia for their invasion of Afghanistan, which in my opinion, truly pushed forward on the road to the current crisis. He praised them for Syria, even as they celebrated our pullout from there, thereby giving Assad back his war torn country.
     He and his coopted Party are ramming through incompetent and unqualified judicial nominees who will ruin our judiciary for decades to come. Their only qualification necessary is their extreme conservatism, even unto the point of stating that the 1954 decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education was not correct!! I kid you not! And by all means, if he feels so strongly that Hillary needs to be prosecuted for her emails issue, then make sure to goose and gander the whole matter and place the co-defendant at the table with her - Ivanka!! There are no exceptions in the courts of law, under a fair and non partisan system of law.
     Comey's statement applauding the honesty of Romney, his own statement that there is no room in the Republican tent for integrity - well, this man has learned that silence does not work. True, he opened his mouth at the wrong time and caused, or helped cause, the disaster we are now living but for the most, silences must be broken.
     Last night I caught up on the Murphy Brown Thanksgiving episode, a good one which ended on a serious note. In it, two good friends were hastily taken away on Thanksgiving Day for the crime of living for decades in the country, raising a child, a Dreamer, running a business which benefitted the community and paid taxes, law abiding people, but their crime - undocumented - put them into the pariah category. They followed the pathways of history that led humanity down tearstained roads - be it the Trail of Tears of the Cherokee right here in our country, or the slavery movement, or the forceful ejection of Armenians by Turkey or the destruction and murder of Jews all throughout history or the persecution of Christians in countries today or the expulsion of the Rohingya - and unfortunately, the list can go on ad infinitum ad nauseum. Murphy Brown spoke up even as we heard the excuse that the ICE police was "only following the orders of my government." When a government orders - orders - us to do the wrong thing, the immoral, then the time has come for voices to be raised loud and clear and determined. It is time to speak out as Murphy Brown did on her TV show.
     Breaking the silence does not always work immediately, but it gives a start, an impetus, to shift towards doing the right thing, the moral thing, the humane thing. So let us break the silence on the one hand and force the hatemongers, the immoral, the oh so wrong side of these issues, to shut down their hate filled and violence inciting negative remarks. We need to judiciously choose what silence is good and when it is not. The silence which allows misdeeds is bad. That silence which reaches out to others, well, we all know the truth, even if some bury that knowledge deep within their souls. Listen to the sound of silence. Listen hard. Listen well. Listen carefully- and then help others to heed your words and the words of so many. Silence, like cancer, grows apace, leaving harm behind and ahead. Let us attack that evil silence and let the country once more ring aloud with the proper and necessary words of life, of joy, of humanity.

A Posting about CV from the Messenger Club- my regular blog follows underneath

Did the Executive board of UCO abdicate their responsibility at the latest meeting?

The meeting was held on the 31st December and was intended to bring the new bylaw amendment proposals to the executives for acceptance or rejection. Normally such an important topic would be the subject of intense scrutiny and thorough investigation. It's sad to say that this was not the case.

After a short discussion on two amendments a motion was put forth to accept the rest of the bylaw amendment package without reviewing them .

The vote on the motion to accept the proposals was fifteen in favor of accepting the package to five against. All the UCO officers agreed to move forward without questioning, debating or reviewing just what those changes were.

There were many other Century Village unit owners in attendance at the meeting who were shocked and terribly disappointed because they had come to the meeting with high hopes and expectations of gaining some knowledge and offering some input about the proposed amendments . To say they were disappointed would be an understatement. Objections from CV residents were brushed aside by the committee who seemed only too happy to comply with the move to rush the proposals through the meeting .

It is important to note that only members of the Executive board had received copies of the proposed amendments in a package prepared by the Advisory Committee. There were no copies of the package available for anyone else . The package was forwarded to the members of the Executive board members by email, who received them a scant two weeks before this all-important meeting. Keep in mind that the two weeks included the holiday season over Christmas when people were busy with holiday preparations and visits with their families.

During this brief meeting Anita Buchanan, the chair of the advisory committee acknowledged that she had made changes to the proposed bylaws because she had received and reviewed our white paper that dealt with the issues in depth. One of the changes was very important because it was statutory violation of the sunshine laws. An obvious oversight by the committee that could have gone forward if we had not brought it to their attention. Anita was more than willing to make the changes we suggested however the executive board after a long-winded statement by a member of the executive board stating that the unit owners were in fact a vast majority don’t really care or participate in the matters concerning the village.

Another member of the executive board clearly stated that it made no difference whether the executive board examined or reviewed the proposed changes of the bylaws because any decision the executive board made doesn't matter as the issue would be finalized by the delegates. However: it was strongly emphasized to the executive board that their decision once communicated to the delegates assembly would have an extreme influence on just how the delegates would vote.

Therefore; when the executive board doesn't do what they are elected to do and states that

what they do doesn't matter, it brings up the question of why we need an executive board at all.

How do you as a stakeholder in Century Village feel about it? Can you have faith that the executive board is acting in your best interest? To walk away from such an important issue without doing due diligence leaves us wondering if the promise of electing representatives to act on our behalf is alive and well in Century Village.

The Messenger Club would like your input or suggestions on this issue. You can make a difference by replying to this message . Please send your comments to us by simply clicking on the call to action button provided on our website.

LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK

     This is the time of the year when people fall prey? victim? to various emotions. Even as they worry about the future, many turn towards the past and evaluate their lives. Were they of any value? Did they make an impact? Are there things they would change or redo? Are they proud in an overall evaluation or do they still cringe at the thought and the memories that break through?
     This looking back is particularly found among the, shall I say, aging population and I include myself very openly among them. When the end is so much closer, one often falls into a muse of the past, particularly when reminded of it.
     One of the biggest and most important questions that is asked is 'did I make a positive impact'? One looks at the family and here I can say that I am proud, pleased at how they turned out. They are contributing members of society, all in positions where the main goal is to help others. Good kids, good hearts, working minds, and raising wonderful families. Was it always so, no problems? No, for that is impossible, but the important thing is what or how the bottom line reads and I am not referring to bottom financial lines either.
     Aside from family we wonder at how we spent the rest of our lives. Did we engage in helpful activities? Did we try to help others, even as we enjoyed ourselves and did the work of our lifetime mean anything? There are times that I look back and wonder if I would have been better off working in a position where there was more money, more benefits, a pension to pay the bills after retirement, but then I hear from a former 'kid' of mine, an educational kid, and, to put it in a term that is hard to translate, I 'kvell', I take enormous joy and pride and pleasure in hoping that I played at least a small part in their achievements.  Productive members of society, proud parents, contributing members of their community, writers, creators, business folk and much to my joy, they remember me with good thoughts and acknowledgement. How much better could it be, to know that yes, even as you were teaching gerunds and prepositional phrases, or analyzing the contents of a novel, there were other values getting through as well, at the same time.
     And as I look to today's times personally, I can say that life is good. Friends, family, activities, a wonderful partner - even though no, he is not perfect - but then again, no one is (though I insist to him that I am!) But seriously, I look at life today and thank G-d that my looking back, with some cringes at some errors that I would have loved to avoid, was good, productive and helpful, contributory to a good society and selfishly, that I personally gained much joy from the interactions with the people of my past.
     But what about looking forward? Where does that put us? Right now, I believe we can look forward to two paths and one, not ever truly trod upon in this country, the road not taken, but not the one of Frost's poem, this one is to be avoided at all costs. It portends harm, danger, and existential threat to our country. It portends existential threat to the whole world, in fact. 
     That is the road of Trump and the road of hypocrites who think they can have it all. Some of them have actually criticized Trump and his actions, or resigned, unable to stomach him and his policies. But when push comes to shove, they vote like little tin soldiers, party line all the way and the rest of us, the country, suffers. Badly.
     Where has all the courage gone? Disagreements are fine, in fact, good for the nation, but when extremism comes into play, that is the moment we must turn back, turn away, and reboot. Jerry  Falwell, Jr. now states that it is "immoral" to not support Trump, Really? So does that mean that indifference  towards the welfare of others, cheating, lying, promiscuity, tax fraud, collusion with the enemy - all these are okay? Does it mean that we must award incompetence, and follow the demented leader deep in the throes of ever growing dementia?
     The answer is a most emphatic no, and perhaps one day those who support this man even though he is diametrically opposed to all that evangelicals and just plain normal everyday people feel and believe and live, one day, they will come to their senses. One day, we will return this country to its upright position, welcome new blood, new immigrants, absorb them into society and thus enhance all parties. One day we will have a caring presidential couple once again, not one who dances the night away at a gala bash even as close to a million people are awaiting their next paycheck, delayed by the intransigence and uncaring of this Demented one, people who are now having trouble paying bills, feeding their kids, taking care of elderly parents, and simply enjoying life.
    Looking forward, I see a country that does not match its image of the past. Yes, we did wrong in the past. Yes, we made grievous errors in the past. Yes, we had some awful times as a nation, but always, time allowed progress, always good people to run interference and push progress, always a concern to uphold the rights of all citizens of the country. Now? No, sorry, for there is a concerted effort to take away rights, voting rights, civil rights, the right to a good life or, as simply put, "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".
     Looking back, looking forward, we need to try to improve ourselves, to correct errors, to push for the right thing and not the selfish thing. To hope that others around the world will have the same opportunities that we generally, or at least used to afford our people. For all of us looking back, I hope you found your past life as rewarding as I did mine. For those of us looking forward, well, there is much to be done, must to research and cure, much in our march to feed the hungry, care for the needy, the children, the elderly, to form a solid social safety net, to provide opportunities to paths for good futures for all. So much to be done and no time to waste.
     Hard, yes, but so rewarding. Let us look towards that future and make sure that we choose the right leaders to walk in front and lead and light the way.

THE NEW, THE OLD, AND THE ......

     Well, we all welcomed in the New Year in various ways, but I daresay that most of us wished for a better year, a year with peace, with freedom, with humanity, and if not love, then with respect for one another. And by the way, I wish all my reader's a Happy New Year, and the same for Novy God, a new year celebration that stems from Russia - so a shoutout to my Russian readers.
     But what are we truly expecting from the upcoming year. I, for one, am desperately hoping for advancements for the treatment of Parkinson's. Selfish? Perhaps, but it is what it is. I hope for a restored balance to America, to a return to our ideals and heal the wounds that have scarred us so badly, hopefully, not beyond the point of no return, though I do have doubts on that when the Demented One continues to rant and rave and sees out the old and the new with his psychotic litany of tweets, replete with lies and contradictions, along with his typical sprinkling of blowhard nonsense. G-d help us all!
     So that is the old, but what could be the new in this area? Well, perhaps it is the increasing number of Republican figures who are being open about the disaster that masquerades as an administration. On the other hand, we have those like Graham who have fallen under the spell or fear or whatever of the Demented One and who have literally, it appears, sold their souls to the devil! A hefty G-d help us again.
     What I would love to see new this year of 2019 is a return to sanity, a return to the recognition of facts as they are and not as we wish them to be. No, Pelosi does not live in that house and no, Obama does not have a  ten foot wall around his house. Simple facts, yet the Demented One and his supporters dare to brazenly lie, and why not, as the falsehoods rebounded through the Net with deluded fools believing what was so easily disproven by FACT. But facts do not matter in the bizarre world of Trump and minions. So new, we need a return to facts, to truth, to sanity.
     I pray for a return to sanity and for leaving the schoolyard behind. Go head to head with any candidate, but do it in an adult manner, not spitting out infantile statements and lies. Be aware of the damage we have done to our relations with the world at large and how our "new" friends such as North Korea, Russia, Turkey, etc. have turned on us, taking hostages or thundering threats of doom and new capability of missiles. Let us recognize who should be our BFFs and whom we need to consign to the corner.
     A pleasurable year would start out with a steady government, not one of revolving doors and not one staffed with incompetent and greedy corrupt individuals, reeking of the swamp. it would mean that Trump finally recognized that he needs to stand up as a man, take responsibility for his errors, pay the piper for his misdeeds, and allow the country to move on. The abyss in the country right now is just about down to the core at its heart and we need to work swiftly to close the wound promptly. The Supreme Court needs to recognize that it is impartial and must remain so, not cave to the pressures of Trump, to his threats, to his ridiculous answer of executive privilege every time a question and proof presents itself. And the Senate must remember that before being Republicans of today's Party, they once were Americans first and foremost and stood up as Americans and did what must be done and this Demented One must be gone, convicted, out. 
     Government employees are undergoing a new version of slavery, working without pay, being threatened by Trump, and who knows what awaits us down this road? We need to make a u turn and get the hell off of it.
     Last night there was a wonderful version of Imagine, Lennon's song, and Madonna sang at Stonewall, Falling in Love from Presley and Like a Prayer and she was dynamite. So were her words.
        “If we truly took the time to get to know one another we would find that we all bleed the same color and we all need to love and be loved,” she concluded. “Let’s remember who and what we are fighting for — ourselves, for each other, but truly and most importantly, what are we fighting for?” she asked rhetorically. “Let’s take a minute to reflect on how we can bring more love and peace into 2019, let’s look at how we can bring random acts of kindness. Maybe we can find an opening to bring the light in. Are you ready to do that?” 
      We are so ready, are we not? As we must be. 
    Take your first steps of the year and every step that follows very carefully, and tread upon the roads and byways that bring us back to a future for us and for all of humankind.

HONESTLY!

          If ever a word has lost its meaning, its place in life, then this word in all its forms certainly can take first place. I believe that for too many people all around this country and the world, there is a distinct and distasteful opposition to the concept of honor,  of being honest and honesty itself. In fact, it appears to be that those who do engage with those terms are deemed simpletons, for why be honest when being dishonest seems to get you somewhere faster?
     Even the concept of honor among thieves, which is one of the silliest things I have ever heard, seems to have lost its effectiveness. I believe the adage of rats leaving the sinking ship is more apt today as we see the tenpins of Trump's alleged misdeeds, to put it mildly, going down as they try to save their own necks or minimize the punishments awaiting them.
     What is more, is that I have never seen, at least in my lifetime, the nastiness of the comments made by those leaving said sinking ship of state. Retired General McChrystal called Trump dishonest and immoral. An anonymous op-ed in the NYT wrote about a group of people trying to basically, rescue the President and the country, from himself and his oh so bad decisions! He has been called undisciplined (to put it mildly!), illiterate, uncontrolled and willing to do and having done illegal actions. Whew! And this is supposed to be the guide for all of America, what should be an admired figure of public life?
     And honestly, what the hell were the judges thinking when they decided that this Demented One's tweets are not governmental pronouncements and therefore documents that would either prove or disprove these tweet contents do not have to be released. With a man in the throes of dementia running his administration through his tweets, how could the judge say that?There is certainly something wrong with this ship of state indeed.
     And the effects or consequences of dishonesty continue apace. And it affects people on both sides of the aisle. People often base their votes on the words of the candidate, even if taken with a grain or a bushel of salt. But what does one do when the liar is totally avoiding the truth on a simple question of BDS - do you support it or not. Ilhan Omar replied very carefully to questions about Israel, had Jewish support and donations, and yet right after election, she openly comes out as a supporter of the BDS movement, an anti Israel, anti Jewish and anti Semitic action. Where is the honor in this woman? Nowhere to be seen, and worse, she confirms an opinion that Moslems are liars, never telling the truth and are inherently anti Israel and anti Semitic. Is this where we want to go? Is this what we wish to fill the seats of government? Honesty is demanded of both sides, honor being or  should be being the operative word here. Ilhan Omar should apologize or be immediately sidelined in the Democratic Party. Honor and honesty demand it. Honestly!
     Finally, for today, a glimpse of what dishonesty causes. We have a government in shutdown mode and a Demented One standing there with his infantile stage of development, or regression rather, threatening to keep his toys at home, trying to blame all on his opponents rather than accepting his own words of acceptance as he himself spoke them. A liar and a cheat and a most ill mannered man, but worse is the harm he is causing so many in the country. And far worse are the lies he has told and the facts as they are coming out. The economy is shuddering. Housing prices are going soft again. GM is laying off 14,000 workers, this in a nation where the President has promised jobs for all. Uh huh. And the greed this man has caused, the hatred this man has allowed to come out in the open....well, think about that.
     For the piece de resistance, look at the inner rot that has come to the surface. Now we have videos of big people pushing around little people. But these little people are not short people, but children, children who were ripped from parents, who do not understand the language, who are sick, tired, frightened, cold, hungry and shipped from pillar to post - and most of that done at night so as to avoid protests! The concepts of Night and Fog - Nacht und Nebel - from Nazi time comes right to the surface as well.
     How did we allow such people to be employed by agencies of the government or subcontracted agencies? When the Attorney General himself, Sessions, at the time, orders the separation and full speed ahead in this action, then we truly need to do a self examination, a thorough cleansing of our souls and hearts, if we can still find them. I am sickened by this behavior, sickened into the very depths of my soul.
     So where do we go from here, friends? Where do we go? How to decide? How to clean up the joint or allow it to fall down right around our ears? To be honest, to have honor, why, honestly, is that not the way to go and if difficult, well, nothing good comes easy, does it? And the harder we work at it, the easier it will become as there will be less trash to remove, fewer muddied situations to clean, and less  hate to separate us from one another. 
     Honestly, is there any other way we should go? Answer that honestly, with thought, with care, with humanity, with truth such as it is and not the twisted versions we have created. Honestly. Honor. Honest. So necessary and so scarce in the American government today and among too many of its people. Let us make a resolution tonite to thoroughly change that situation and do it honestly and with honor.
     

     

WATERSHIP DOWN

     Ever feel as if you are living inside a land filled with talking bunnies, enmeshed in uncomfortable situations? Well, that is the novel, but we are not bunnies, are we? We cannot rely on some author somewhere, somehow, at some time, coming up with the cure, the panacea, for all that is troubling us. Nope. But we can. We can if we put our heads together on the issues and realize once again that we are ONE country, one America, and we need to regain that identification rather than keep the political demarcations that have now come to define and separate us.
     First and foremost is the step we must take, to acknowledge where we have gone wrong. The constant echoing of political interference from foreign countries in our elections, the heart of our democracy, should send shivers down the spine. WE are what we wish to be, or at least should be, and not what the techies and malevolent planners of Russia or North Korea or China wish us to be. We are not to be recreated in their images nor in the images of dictators throughout the world. In fact, it is anathema to the mind to think that we could lose our democratic institutions, our rights, our very lives, if we do not wake up.
     It just about boggled my mind to hear the farewell addresses of Senators. Time after time they each addressed the need for unity, for repairing of the Senatorial environment, to fix what is wrong within our government. Yet for most of these people, particularly Republicans, what hypocrisy! So Flake mouthed off again, but when push came to shove he voted right down along the Party lines. He pulled himself out of the business by retiring, yet still blew the freedom he had to vote his conscience and instead voted his Party.
     Now, these same people are whining about Trump! Where the hell were they these past three years? How did they even allow such a person to get on the ticket, him and the dead eyes mama's boy, Pence? Why did they not speak out against his misdeeds, his ignorance, plead or beg for forgiveness for doing this to us and the world ? Why did they not admit his actual evil, that which pervaded his every word and deed? Why did they all suddenly become little chattering chickens with no moral backbone, no hint of any courage? Did he have something on all of them?
     Well, now the Democrats have the House, but in the long term of it - so what? The Senate will be free to keep stuffing the judiciary with unqualified dyed in the wool deep conservative judges who will ruin our country for decades to come. The House will have nothing to say about it.
      The House can come up with even brilliant legislation, try to rewrite the discarded protective laws, try to reinstall humanity in our immigration system, remind people that anyone who comes to our borders and requests asylum MUST be granted a hearing and not be told they are criminals or even worse, harboring those dangerous terrorists in training - the little kids!! 
     So the House will be progressive but where will the bills go when it hits the Senate with the Republican majority and even should there be a miracle and both Houses agree, ha! That demented and cold soul will veto every single one of these bills until he gets his way.
     Meanwhile, McConnell tries to play cutesy as he hides out in his home state and the Demented One now says that he is waiting for someone to come back to DC and make an agreement to restart the government. Bull…..! And then to make things even more frightening for the federal employees, most working joes just like the rest of us, are running out of money and he heaps insult on injury as he freezes their pay. So who benefitted from his "keeping the promise" to change the tax system? All his fatcats, all the crooked, the corrupt, the greedy that he brought into the smelliest swamp ever! At present he is just like his BFF Putin, he who rewards his loyal followers and then throws others under the bus if they threaten his control of the money streams of Russia.
     This government, this administration, stinks to the heavens. It pervades the very air of the country, and notice how almost none of the standard comedians talk political jokes as the situation is so edgy. They all say up front that they are not talking politics. That is awful, a shutdown of our freedom of speech as everyone has become afraid to speak up and out. It remains for the newsmen and the pundits, the late nite show hosts, to speak out. And in the meanwhile, we govern or are governed by an illiterate person who takes his guidelines from Fox News.
     Watership down? United States down? Think about it, folks. Where will we be in two years. This demented thing masquerading as a thinking and caring person plans to run again and I wonder if we will finally demand a full health examination and evaluation. Probably not if we continue on this path. Will we even survive as a true democracy if this man remains in office for the next two years? Can we survive if the two Houses of Congress are at odds with each other, as strongly and definitively as the sides of the Civil War.
     And what will take the place of the vacuum in our country and the world? China? Russia? North Korea? A union of dictators from around the world? An invasion by the countries of South and Central America, plagued by economic shutdown and starving people amid rampant violence? Oh, the scenarios are many are they not, but none are inviting. So let us get back on track beginning now, right now. Demand, demand, demand that your DC representatives do the right thing and return to being American citizens once more. Have the courage of so many in the world who are fighting the extremist and hate filled trends. Make your children and grandchildren proud of you as we rebuild the country. If not...………...

REGRESSION

     Where has all the humanity gone? Where have ideals gone? What has happened to the lessons we were taught as kids - don't lie, fess up to misdeeds, tell the truth, be kind, be helpful, think of others who need help and help them. Where have all these lessons gone?
     These days it seems that while the people of this country remember most of them, the government has decided to purposely ignore them. Trump and his minions have set poor examples for the kids of America to follow. They are told to behave, to forgo tantrums, even as they see their President do the opposite. This is bad, folks, for kids are always on the alert for parental and adult hypocrisy and when found, they rebel. The hippie movement that moved beyond into violence and the dropping out from society came about in good part because of the younger generation's perception of the lies of the adults- and here we are again.
     Interestingly enough, what we have now is the unity of the younger generation, those caught up in the violence of mass shootings and attempts to do so and the older generation, we who rebelled before in our youth and who have come to see that nope, the time to rest is not yet here. The sandwich generation seems to hold back, perhaps immersed in the struggle of life. But for how long can one remain in a self inflicted state of blindness?
     Immigrants cause trouble. They are criminals. They bring in drugs. They want to overwhelm the country and join up with MS-13. And the lies just keep a-comin'. So, a few truths. Most of the illegal immigrants have been living here for more than a decade, playing their part in the economy. They have mostly come with legal visas and then overstayed. The actual numbers of those illegally crossing the border has dropped. The caravans are not invasions, but self created safety protection, safer in a group than alone. The rules for asking for asylum have been changed midstream, much to the detriment of the applicants and much to the joy of the haters. So now, the new technique to avoid killing those mature terrorists of 7 and 8. Just mass release huge groups of migrants, no shelter available, no medical care available, no food, no water, no directions, just go! And the anticipation is that there will be trouble and oh dear lord, but they will look at us and say I told you so. Really? Perfect setup and so against our laws and our principles.
     There was a huge report, in fact a whole section, of the NYT, detailing the catastrophe we have unleashed with the rollback of regulatory and environmental legislation. We already know, too, that the shredding of the social safety net has brought about much harm, with people right here in America going hungry and that includes children!
    And worst of all is that we have an insane man as President, though I never can accept him as such what with the messing around of the campaign. This demented man never thinks, only pouts and reacts and takes his guidance from Fox News. Well, what now, when Fox criticized his ridiculous trip to Iraq and the pronouncement that we have won the war against ISIS. Tell that to the people still dying from them! And now he has joined the rest of the presidents who prematurely announced a defeat of the enemy.
     He has outed the very faces of Navy Seals, the moron, a major taboo and very dangerous action. He has deserted yet another of our allies, the Kurds, and left them open to slaughter from and by Turkey led by that model of propriety, Erdogan! He has thrown Israel under the bus at the northern border. He has alienated almost the entire free world other than the dictators growing in power across the globe. And the Russians, why they just love him as he does their bidding, and now we have Putin, the BFF, boasting about a super sonic speed missile. Oh yeah, great tidings.
     The economy throws fits everyday. The tax cut has proven to be disastrous for us as the corporations benefitted and are now able to buy back their stock, all the better to cut out the annoying voice of stockholders demanding transparency. The money that was supposed to come flooding back from offshore accounts never came and nor did the raises or bonuses or more hiring and people were actually laid off and plants and companies closed. Here and there were exceptions, but not enough and the national debt increased by 1.9 trillion dollars!!!!! Great job!
     So the grammatically challenged man who thinks to govern by tweets and TV, who cares naught for sense and intelligence, who perverted the goals and aims of the Justice Department, who is an incipient dictator, now faces the possibility of impeachment, a demand that grows from the nation as we speak, and possibly even jailtime right alongside his scurvy crew already there or on the way.
     So regression indeed is what we have undergone and the only light we have to shine on it is the free press, the free media, the voices of the people. We have the courage of the protesters and yes, there are some not so good people even among them, but the overwhelming power of voices is coming from good and  caring people who cannot tolerate the abuses and indignities of this administration.
     So let us resolve to go forward this New Year. To make progress rather than to allow for more regression. We need to return to the power of good thinking, of understanding that there are differences among people and they have to be addressed. There are LGBTQ people whose needs cannot be ignored or legislated away. There are hatemongers out there who need to be confronted, and the voices of ALL must join together and not fall prey to internal prejudices. Women must be treated as equals in society and not as playthings for men. And we must resurrect our social safety net, restore environmental and labor legislation and mend the rips in the fabric of long term alliances. We need, in short, to become what we were, what we stood for, and not for this fake 'great' hoax that Trump and his minions are trying to impose on us.
     Regression? NO, most definitely NO! Progress and a return to sanity - oh yes! We must. It is as simple as that. And as difficult as that.

SO WHAT'S NEW?

     Nothing. That is the answer. We are still in a shutdown, the President continues to hallucinate communications from federal workers who rabidly support him for the wall and happily work without pay. Uh huh. Like a child, he thinks he pulled one over on everyone with his 'surprise" trip to a war zone but it was actually telegraphed in so many ways. He can't even pull that off!
      And speaking about his trip- let's take a look at it. He knew damn well he was going, long planned, so what was this whining that he was "all alone" and he was waiting so impatiently for Melania to join him? What a crock! And what about the trip, Bonespur? Please note that the vast majority of pics are showing him surrounded by our young men and women so he is never alone and never or hardly ever seen outside, only inside buildings, and anyone with nefarious plans would have had to go through a humongous crowd. Old Bonespur made sure that he would remain safe from any physical harm and never mind the danger to his buffers! He whines that "you should have seen what we went through in the darkened plane." Really? Truly, is he going to whine about being in the luxurious Air Force One? Maybe he should go in commercial coach flight next time!
     In the end year assessments, Trump comes out as a real piece of work. We hear no more talk of 'becoming presidential' or of growing expertise or more mature behavior. We have the over 7,000 lies and growing that he has told with brazen indifference to the idea of truth and transparency. He is a President who would be dictator, the essential ruler of a country whose demands are rubberstamped by a captive Congress and Judiciary. Worst of all is the division he has caused in this country and actually, even into the world at large. He has legitimized hatred and excess as American policy, domestic and foreign and shows no regret from the harm he has caused others even as he continues to defy science and its information re climate change and environmental problems that have arisen and will continue to accelerate.
     With all his garbage behavior, with his lies, with his insanity, with his tantrums and infantile behavior, what sticks most in my craw is his war on children and the helpless. He denigrates all who do not look like him or do not have his money, funds that he received ALL his life from his father who snatched him from the brink of ruin many a time, contrary to his lies.
     He continues to shame women and crow about past behavior with them. He spits on the American basic principle of welcoming immigrants. He calls them all sorts of names and accuses them of so many crimes including terrorism. Isn't it great that we have so recently brought about the death of two 'terrorists, seven and eight, so breathe freely, America! And we continue to lock up teen migrants between 13 to 17 in highly guarded tent cities, overgrown and crowded and there are over 2,000 alone in the tent city in the desert.
     What the hell is new this year? Nothing! His backers seem to end up in jail or court, the latest being the hatemonger with the "deportation bus" who is now in jail for insurance fraud. Perhaps we need to ship him out of the country!!
     Our only hope is that Congress, the new House, can and will do what they must and very carefully. We can only hope and pray that the Republicans come back to their senses,find a moral spine and the remnants of courage that remain somewhere buried inside. We can work hard to push back the threatening growth of clouds of prejudice and hatred that are growing apace. 
    In fact, there is more of the old than the new in this upcoming year. We have made amazing progress as a nation before, and we must return to that proud heritage. We must come back to our senses. That would be a great new New Year! And by the way, for the Grinch out there who tweeted crap at Meghan McCain for her wishing her father a Merry Christmas wherever he is, go to hell, you idiot. There are so many of us who miss our parents and talk to them or send messages from the heart, many unvoiced, but there all the same so grow up, Grinch! Actually, we all need to grow up this coming year, do we not?