SHAKEN TO THE BONE

  

 For almost a decade we have publicly been exposing the rot that festered beneath the surface. The surface itself was aboil all by itself, but little did we know, or want to know, or expose what we really did know, re the horrifying consequences of the path we were on. Where was it taking us? Why were we allowing this to happen? Why was there so much denial and why so much support? Was this a new trend in this country or merely the outing of an ugly truth? 

For the same amount of time, I have been writing of the crisis facing us here, of the dangers of extremism, first mainly from the right and now unfortunately from the extreme left as well. Both extremes of the political world wish to destroy this country. Oh, the name might be the same, or not, but certainly the body, the ethos, of this America will be no more. There will be no room for dissent. There will be no room for the dissenters. In fact, we will or can expect to have a repeat of the worst aspects of humanity. We will have our own Hitlerian era and folks, I am shaken to the bone.

Why so terribly shaken now? Because it has gotten much worse with a statement by a Senator, a SENATOR of this country, numbered among the members of Congress, the ruling legislative body of this country. The body which has the power to change our world - and it already has, not to the good either. But to have a Senator, Ron Johnson, state this so clearly, so blandly, so nonchalantly, well, folks if your bones are not rattling, if your radar is not glowing then I can only say that you, and we, are lost. Totally and completely.

Read Johnson's words, his statement of what should be, should already have been in place. Understand the hatred within, the attitude, the knowledge, the knowing that he can freely state this, will not have to retract, so poisonous is the air in our country today. No, instead he will have those who will cheer him on, who will take his most egregious vile statement, dilute it for the present, and over time, and not too much time, the idea will seep into the consciousness of the electorate, of its 'rightness' and there we will be. Get on line, get on the train, get in the chamber, for you do not deserve to live. Not among us, not away from us, not at all. Shaken yet? Read his words below.

"is angered Democratic voters are allowed to go to church, college, and be employed by those institutions and even the federal government, saying they have “infiltrated” these essential areas of American life and many others... "what this entire election is about is fighting for freedom.” (and whose freedom is that, I ask)

"...liberals, Democrats, and anyone on “the left” as he put it, do not have an inherent right to participate in American life on an equal footing as Republicans."

"And he accused Democrats of “infiltrating” American life four times."

“The press is so unbelievably powerful and the left has infiltrated every institution of this country,” Johnson told Levin.

“They started with the college and university system. So they control college of education and journalism and law. And they’ve infiltrated every agency. They’ve infiltrated religions. They’ve infiltrated everything and now we’re seeing the results of that.”

“That’s why our nation is literally on a precipice. We’re at a hinge point in history,” Johnson declared.

“We have to win this election and we have to win many more because we’ve got to push them out of these institutions and return some normalcy, return the values that made this country great,” Johnson, echoing the trumpist mantra, concluded.

Yes, this man who has celebrated with Russians on various occasions, including on a July Fourth, this man who was not supposed to run again, but has done so as he saw the changing, more receptive electorate. He has decided to inject more of his venom into the nation. And succeeding.

 There has been no denunciation of him by any Republican spokesman or member of the Party or Congress or anywhere. Nowhere! I hope that today there will be a reaction, at least one, somewhere, anywhere? But I doubt it. It is the same as with Trump.

There will be excuses. There will be the acknowledgement of a man gone derailed, along with the "but...." as some obscure point is made, thus excusing his words and praising some manifestly unimportant something or other. Yes, Mussolini made the trains run on time and Hitler rejuvenated the German economy. At what cost? Are we willing, even wanting, to pay that cost, that possibly unrepayable, unredeemable cost?

The most frightening thing about this is that I am more and more hopeless of any possibility, probability, that we can avoid this. The momentum has grown in strength, openness, and duration. That ugly snowball of hate and repression grows daily, hourly, and for every 'spokesman' who refuses to speak, well, we know the rest.

I have been told by some that I was out of line, exaggerating, over the top. Well, do you think that any longer?

Shake, my friends, shake hard and long. If you do not hear the rattling of your bones and the bones of your neighbors, then perhaps you are a part of the problem rather than a hope to solve and resolve this mortal enemy -of our own, within and among us. The rot from within, the poison preventing a dream for our children. Existential, real, ugly, bloody, unthinkable, yet here we are with his words. 

Understand the consequences of "not allowing Democrats among us", not anywhere, nowhere! And where do the 'nowhere' people go? What happens to them? Think it impossible? Ten years ago, would you have predicted our current state of being? Would you have expected, foretold, the invective within, the deep chasm separating Americans, one from another, the real live possibility of the demise of this country, no more an America.  

And yet, here we are.

Shake, my friends, shake.

DO WE? EVER?

  The rest of the question follows right along. Do we ever learn? Do we ever take an example, a warning, and follow it through to the final outcome? Do we ever change our behavior in response, in a thoughtful answer? Will we ever learn, indeed? Unfortunately, I believe that our ability, our desire, to respond thoughtfully, to learn from past and present errors, to tailor behavior to necessities exposed by questioning the realities of the day, is quite limited. Nor do I see a solid chance of that fatal defect, of not learning from our actions, and words will improve soon, if ever. Woe upon us if we do not correct, immediately, this threat to all that we hold dear and close to heart.

Look around. Yesterday was 9/11. 21 years ago, we were attacked. We suffered major blows, blood and death filling the air, horrendous pictures. The never to be ever erased from the mind's eye of people falling, jumping, from the towers in desperate search of rescue or relief from fire. The heroic efforts of people within sacrificing their lives to save others, or remain with friends, or to carry people down that long descent. The firemen and police rushing in where brave men fear to tread indeed. Yet, have we forgotten, so quickly? So terribly ignoring all that we learned so forcibly, against our desires? Will we ever learn to take the proper things to heart and cut out the nonsense, the grandstanding, the growing, fatal, hypocrisy of wannabe leaders? Do we ever? Will we ever?

I am not optimistic. One, ONE, ad in the pages of the NYTimes in remembrance and salute to those gone, murdered. ONE!! No big story of front-page importance and relevancy re the Memorial. Little, barely there articles buried on inside pages, even as we know, truly know, that the world was changed after September 11, 2001. Forever. And ever.

I can still smell the air, see the burned pieces of paper float down over Queens and Brooklyn. Watch in horror as the huge wave of crushed buildings, cars and people, washed over downtown Manhattan. That crumbling was more than buildings; it was the beginning of the crumbling of a nation and its reserve of power, of concentration, of pure and true patriotism, of a good America following the paths begun by the Founders and all those who came here through the centuries to build a nation and their lives. With hope, success, the ability, difficult as it might be or actually was, to do that indeed. Or to reset for their children. No, we lost our nation in that crumbling, in a wave of poison which resonated down the years and frankly, despairingly, I see no end to its destruction. None. 

Yesterday we read of other terrible and/or life changing and life destroying events and movements. Queen Elizabeth II was being mourned all over the world, for she represented what is no more. A true leader who put country over self, who took on a role which demanded sacrifice. Young as she was, she did exactly that. She held a country together, more than I can say for our supposed leaders down the years of her reign, other than perhaps JFK and Lee Oswald took care of that possibility.

 Even worse is the deep, dark disappointment felt when the heroic response of some turned to ashes years later as they pursued benefits deriving from their initial responses, turned to the Dark Side, threw away their Light Sabers and fell, no, eagerly jumped, down a long, deep hole of selfishness, greed, hypocrisy, anger and what all. Nothing good. Nothing hopeful. Nothing that extended a helping hand to pull us out of the new wave of poison enveloping this nation. In fact, they swallowed and breathed deeply and pushed others to do the same.

Thus, twenty-one years later we had a mob of supposed patriotic Americans attack a building which symbolized this nation. They wished to literally lynch "enemy" members of Congress. We now have a rabid electorate only able to imagine chewing the "enemy" to pieces, but that enemy, those enemies, are our brothers and sisters, our friends, our fellow Americans. How have we fallen so low, retrogressed so far? Will we ever stop, and will that possible stop be in time? Do we know? Do we even care? Or have we given up?

For three nights - September 18, 19, 20, PBS will air Ken Burns' powerful documentary The United States and the Holocaust. It is a meaningful report, facts known, but long hidden and denied. It is a warning that this horrendous hatred of Jews continues to manifest itself all over the world and right here in our own land. It is a hatred which would deny the reality, the necessity, the right, of a Jewish state called Israel. It is a hatred which continues to physically attack Jews and their buildings wherever they are found, a hatred which demands that Jews be restricted, even better, continue the job of Hitler to the end.

That insane hatred grows apace and envelops more within. There is no end to it. There is no light at the end of the tunnel; in fact, we are still racing to find that tunnel, seeking some relief and refuge. The question is - will refuge ever be found? Will there never end a need for that refuge? Will the carnage of hate ever end? Will the blood flow, the hemorrhage ever end?

I have no definitive answers. I have no idea, actually, little to no hope of things ever getting truly better. Certainly not with the caliber of leadership we have, accept and even expect. No, we have a long, long way to go before we can even come back to a time of possibility. But not until we fix ourselves. Not until we repair our damaged judiciary. Not until we educate properly, allow freedom of thought and speech, but not speech of hatred and instigation. Not until we remember that we are Americans all, black, white, pink, red, yellow and who the hell cares? It is all a matter of melatonin and evolution. That is all. The be all and end all of it all. And as for the invocation of G-d on our side, well, He could care less re the Name he is given or the manner of worship. All He and His angels care about is the worsening aspects of His creations, the abuse of his other creations, and they wonder, they despair - will they ever learn? Will they ever improve? Will they ever meet and beat their potential?

Will they? Will we? Do we have a chance? Do we? Do we?

PROVERBS 21:15

  "When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to the evildoers." From Proverbs, part of the huge treasury of Judaic religious writings, the book of Proverbs, or Mishlei, as it is called in Hebrew, is a guide to positive behavior and traits, warnings re evil behavior, ands notices to all that there are consequences, delayed though they might be. It is not an instructional volume of religious laws, but rather a universal code for proper, wise, beneficial behavior and society. And so relevant.

Think of what is going on in the world today. International or domestic, chickens have come home to roost, be the roosts large or small, the consequences are becoming clearer and clearer, though obstacles to justice, to amends, do block the way and impede a clear vision of the proper pathway to and for a positive, contributory life. Even as many of us despair at the thought, the fruition and application of proper consequences, proper accounting for harm done, by egregious misbehavior, by crass thumbing one's nose to others, we can be assured that when push comes to shove, it will be there.

We are seeing that. A poisonous website collapses in a financial mess, damaging reputation and opening up yet another path to criminal and civil litigation, yet another addition to the myriad numbers of legal troubles coming down the pike, closer and closer, to the most manifestly deserving shame on us President we have ever had in this country. The worst presidential administration of our past does not come close to the horror of the most recent past one. None.

Unless we do something about that, unless we actually call all into accounting, and pay out what is due, the terror felt by the evildoers will affect us as well. Complicity, silence as acquiescence- all have their billings due date. We must demonstrate to   creditors and debtors alike, that we have hitched ourselves up to the proper wagons, the correct horsepower, the enlightened viewpoints, and are on our way to what should be, what should have been, to keeping the integrity of the nation and its dream intact. To punish those who would shred the integrity and break, shatter, the dream of America.

In the interim, we wonder in fear, re a justice system corrupted by the evildoers. Even as we wonder whether or not we can protect ourselves from that awful situation, there are signs of hope. People are beginning to speak out loud of what has been done to the judiciary system demolishing, defying its necessity of being impartial, nonpartisan, with knowledgeable judges who know whereof they speak. In the meanwhile, we are stuck, badly, most harmfully by the awful new judges appointed by Trump, our former traitor president, and approved by acclaim of the deteriorated, corrupt GOP led by the hypocrites McConnell and McCarthy.

To hear that some bills have been called, that attorneys most untrue to their sworn oaths, to the behavior of an officer of the court are now in the same pot of boiling water, ahhh, some satisfaction. However, until the cause of it all, the instigator of it all, and his court advisers, face their judges of proper stature and reputation, face the truth of what they have done, the job is not over. They must be exposed to glaring sunlight as the dangers they posed and continue to pose to this nation and its continued existence as is supposed to be.

"Mene, Mene, T'kel Oopharsen" 

You have been counted, weighed, and found wanting. 

What came after was the destruction of the mighty empire of Babylon.

Lord, let us escape that judgement due, reform and atone for our misbehavior, our dangerous behavior. Allow us yet another chance to do better. May we all take the time to thoroughly examine our own behavior, where we, as individuals went wrong, how we contributed to the mob psychology and temperament that almost succeeded in destroying us. Only then can we move forward. Only then can we repair the damages and rebuild, bigger, better, in a nonpartisan, pro America, American attitude. 

"Yes, we can", says Bob the Builder.

"Yes, we can, yes, you can", shout our boosters looking down upon us.

"Do not waste our spilled blood" call out the wounded, the dead, of the defenders of this country.

We owe everything to those who came before and to those who would follow us.

If we allow them to do exactly that in a just, welcoming land. In America. The Golden Land. The Golden Mountain. The haven, the realization of the dreams and aspirations of people. No choice, folks. None at all, if we are to do the right thing, call in accounts due and set up new accounts, new guidelines, new hopes for a better world for those we leave behind.

It is upon us to do the right thing.

REQUIESCAT IN PACE

  Rest in peace. A fitting end to an extraordinary woman who stepped up to a burden of awesome weight and responsibility, the weight of generations upon her shoulders, the survival of an ancient monarchy, - and she met and conquered it. Highly regarded throughout the world, this is, was, not a woman who was attacked on personality nor personal foibles. She remained, ever, a Queen, in every sense of the word. Through national crises, through family catastrophes, she stood firm, dignified, and always had the welfare of her nation, the stability that was her responsibility, as foremost, even as she bypassed easy paths out. Truly, though the phrase of the title has a strong tie to the Catholic Church and the Queen was Anglican, this is a woman who most definitely has earned the blessing of wishing her an eternal resting in peace.

While we do not know what Charles III will bring to his monarchy, I do not believe it will be the same. His mother was the only queen 80% of the nation knew and she was beloved. Her son, not the same at all. I, quite frankly, fascinated with British history, am a tad perturbed by his choice of title. Charles I was beheaded, a major shock to the system, and England was immersed in terrible times before and after the beheading. Charles II was a bad King, not uniting the nation, which was the reason he was recalled. Now what will his descendant, Charles III do? Will he be a good king or not. Will he prove the necessity, the usefulness, the positivity of continuing this monarchy or will he empower the antimonarchists? Time will tell, though I wonder how or if his mother will rest in the afterlife, in peace, as she watches what follows the end of her reign.

Certainly, there are few of her caliber in the world's leadership ranks. The other reigning monarchs of the world are in smaller, less influential countries, lead quieter lives, or have been found to be antiquated anachronisms and the monarchy dissolved. Good? Bad? Who the hell knows in this crazed world of ours where morality is more honored in the breach than in the keeping, where good and bad are conflated and 'leaders' honored for behavior and crimes most egregiously calling out for consequences up to and including incarceration. 

Our leaders have failed us. I hope that at night, in this world, they do not rest in peace, for their foibles, their inadequacies, are existentially threatening, certainly negating, our ability and privilege to rest in peace. Worried about today's world, we are even more troubled, at unrest, as we contemplate a miserable world we are leaving behind for our descendants.

 Reading of the discovery of two quite likely hospitable planets I groan, more chaos, more turbulence, merely a transfer of the idiocy that has befallen the people of this planet Earth, as we proceed to destroy two more. Unless we learn new ways, forgo our stubbornness in perceiving the true reality, the true difficulties, and learn to pick and choose carefully, realistically, always with the benefit of humanity in mind, rather than the individual, well, hope is slim indeed.

What has happened to us; how have we fallen so low? Why have we left, by the wayside, ditched, in the drowning mud and detritus of a nation gone wrong, all our once noble dreams? How has this come to pass, and can it be alleviated, even turned around? Only G-d and His Prophets know, and despite the claims of some to being the spokespeople for G-d, their god, they are empty cannisters making lots of noise, producing only harm and negativity, incapable of anything positive or worthwhile. There appears before us nothing more than a big empty chair, noticeably empty, vacant of a befitting occupant, unoccupied for too long, the seat of a true leader, a person who has sacrificed much for the good of the people. A most difficult task, an awesome responsibility, yet for us to rest in peace, to live in peace, it is incumbent upon us to find that someone, a good someone, not an evil man out for the good of himself, his henchmen, spouting poisonous words, pushing hatred and falsehoods, and only serving to lead us deeper and deeper into hostile quagmires.

Closer to home, here in the USA, why must a leader be forced to call out a noisy, dangerous group of people who have turned upon this nation and once fellow Americans.  Biden says, “They’re entitled to be outrageous, this is a democracy,” he said, but added: “Good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from, but history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty and justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy.”    He reminds us of their true level -and their right to be so, but do they have the right to turn traitor, to destroy this nation? I think not. Despite his reminder that “Look, everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”   we must be sure that their innate idiocy does not perpetrate permanent harm to us, to the fabric of the nation. The nation's integrity as a nation, for as a free, powerful, positive force in the world must remain always there, ever present in reach and ever in use.

I have not 'rested in peace' at night, nor in the daytime for quite some time. Nor have many people, and I wonder what our national           heroes, sung and unsung, are thinking as they sit around the clouds, watching, sadly, what has become of their dream. 

We must not fail them. We must not fail ourselves. We must not fail our descendants. 

Past, Present and Future are in our hands.

May we emulate the qualities of the good leaders, even the great, even the faulty, human ones who nevertheless contribute to the improvement of mankind. Let us recognize and reject, turn away from the fakers, the evil, the nasty, the incompetent. The evil, and yes, there is evil in and among us.

 Choices, before we can rest in peace.

Requiescat, Queen ELizabeth II.

WHEN

  If you are a reasonably sane person, especially in this crazed world of ours, then you, as I do, wish one day to open your eyes after a good night's sleep and find that the past decade has been an awful nightmare, a rendering of a country that might be, a warning, as many dreams are. Dreams often indicate, when our guard is down, what is bothering us, personal and otherwise. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to this national nightmare of ours which actually has been revealed as a living daymare, an ongoing, ever growing, ever more worrisome daymare of critical import. 

Every morning, every night, I painfully check the news. What is happening? What has happened overnight or just revealed about yesterday's ongoing? How bad is it? Yes, I do not expect any longer to see positive, reassuring news, for even the so called 'good' news derives from bad news. It is a constant atmosphere of dread and concern, of distrust as to the future of this nation and the individuals within. 

Fighting foreign wars shrinks when compared to the horrific image of waging domestic wars, real, live, bloody fighting, here on home grounds. Between Americans and former Americans who have turned to the dark side, followed the wrong leaders, chosen to abdicate responsibility and control over their own lives. Totally and completely. Actively and/or passively. The result is the same, the complicity the same degree of guilt.

Truly, though I am known to express my opinion, popular or not, I wish I could write bubblegum and fairy tale blogs. Some do, maintaining they are contributing to an easing of the tension of this country. Perhaps. Gloom and doom do need a contrast if one is to remain sane. However, ignoring reality, denying its connection and relevance to one's life, to the lives of nearest and dearest is a sham, for one cannot outrun life. Even the most hidden, off the grid, loner or survivalist can expect to be discovered, for there is no denying nor escaping reality at some point or other. Many times, too late to undo the resultant damages of omission and commission. We are forced to eat the cake we have baked and find, to our horror, that it is sawdust, not a sugary, chocolatey confection.

That growing pile of sawdust is ever more dangerous, teetering and tottering, off balance with a constant dumping of more. More than ever before. We can stop it - I hope, but the road is difficult, the slopes almost vertical, the effort required massive, almost too much to contemplate.

Yes, while we can look out there and sniff contemptuously or angrily, seek to lay blame on the culprits - Trump, Barr - even as he pontificates now, though up tohis neck in filthy enablement, McConnell who hides now, mumbling some excuse, all the fascists in the Senate and the House who have cut their ties with democracy and America. All the Johnny comes lately who have refused to accept the truth until it is impossible to ignore, with screaming headlines, horrific in possibilities for both present and future -as well as a rewritten past. Unfortunately, the possibilities are almost innumerable, the causes many, though we overlook the one closest to us - the person reflected back at us via the mirror.

Top secret documents, held in boxes, mixed with personal records. Indignation not that the wrong, the evil, has been uncovered, but that people actually did their job, refused to accept faulty speechmaking claiming lifetime rights in a presidential role though manifestly not one. Should never have been one. That is upon us, folks. We invited this man into the White House, foolishly or maliciously, it does not matter for there he was and thinks he continues to be and doing his damndest  to get back there. A clear and present danger to this country. I repeat: a clear and present danger.

Most depressingly, as I look around, read the stories, hear the quiet but firm expositions of legal experts, from right to left, I despair. Almost to a one, there is agreement that the judge is, shall we say, not of the highest caliber nor intelligence, answered two questions re her qualifications at a fake hearing - has she ever been guilty or associated with sexual problems and behavior. Really thinking too hard re Kavanaugh and the ever-present creep, Thomas? Where have we gone? How did we get here, to this tragic, dangerous farce of a free, independent, nonpartisan justice system? What a sad joke on us. 

Her legal basis is faulty, misspoken and misquoted, her language so partisan that it fairly shouts out at us. What a great system. Do the crime and then get someone to say uh, uh. Accusing and prosecuting such crime might be harmful to the criminal's reputation!!! Is she for real? The orphan pleading for sympathy as an orphan though he himself killed his parents?   "mindful of the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances presented.'" A sickening farce, a contemptuous attitude towards the relevancy of courts, their inability to withstand incompetence and downright dangerous partisanship, active acquiescence to the entire gestalt of this disturbing affair. How backwards we have traveled. To our shame. To our detriment. Much to our own self-induced, self-created, self-enabled peril.

So as the man continues to ply his filthy, guilty pathways, parades a Melania lookalike with him, over fifty years age difference, gag, as he boasts re his wonderful status as a "perfect physical" specimen - and excuse me while I barf - we are presently at an impasse. Will he be indicted? Will he ever do the time for the crime? Will we, America, prove true to our ethos or will we fall down on the job, abdicate responsibility, and finish the Age of America, a mere faded imitation of the Age of Greece, or the Age of Rome, or the Age of Hitler, the Age of Putin? Where are we in our responsibilities? Where the hell are we!!!

Where, when and how will this be overcome? Can we overcome the accumulated harm, the strong rerooting of bias and hatred, the fake right to do so, the restriction of rights to those we deem inferior to us? Will we? If so, please, please tell me when? When!!!

HERE WE GO LOOP DE LOO, HERE WE GO....

  Are we caught up in an eddy which threatens to overcome all defenses and bear us down to the depths? And what depths are awaiting us? Can we resurface from there? Will we emerge sane, whole, changed, but not in a negative manner? One hopes. One prays. However, like it or not, we here in the USA are finding out, much to a sane person's regret, that the good ole USA is not what it was, nor will it ever be again. Too much blood spilled, figurative and literal, too much animosity exposed, too much rot in the foundations and bearing walls. Rot reduction will be difficult, if nigh unto impossible to 100% and the cost will be immense in every aspect of the battle.

Yes, it is a battle. It is not the rather harmless silly dance of the loop-de-loo. No, it is a dance which carries just beneath the surface, the terrible costs, the breaks in sanity of a society gone mad, lost its moorings and is drifting, ever faster away from safety. The danger awaits nations and all people if they leave their guard down, if they fall victim to the mesmerizing tactics of the evil. 

Unfortunately, we are at that stage and yes, Trump is evil. MAGA is evil. Those who continue to maintain their support for Trump and his ugly cohorts are either allowing true selves to emerge or are fooling themselves. Thinking that ok, he is a bad person, his traits are certainly overwhelmingly on the wrong side of the border, but, still. Still nothing!! 

 His supporters must admit the errors made, or still cannot see the truth of Trump. Biden finally spoke it out loud, though as far as I am concerned he did not go far enough. Semi-fascist? No- full blown fascism. Right here, in good old River city and every city in the nation. Time to cut the connections and fight, yes, fight, to regain at least a chance to reach something of what was and try to rebuild, to reform connections, to shake everyone out of the trees they have climbed, from the outer, weak limbs they are standing on, risking life and limb in stubbornness and misplaced pride and anger.

We must admit the truth. We must acknowledge that we have allowed the crooked politicians, the ones out for themselves, choosing extreme paths and tactics to gain adherents and publicity, to gain the upper hand and misshape our country into an unrecognizable, hostile shape. We must choose our companions carefully for the old adage of lying down with a dog and getting up with fleas is true enough.

Keeping company with extremists on both sides needs a scaling down or a pox on both your houses. The mostly crazed "Squad" of extreme and hate filled left is equally as bad and evil, as potentially harmful and dangerous as the extreme right wingers of the GOP, the vastly changed once respectable, honorable Republican party. WE, in the middle, of the middle, have ceded control to them and gained only trouble for all that.

Time to denounce extremists of both sides. Time to stop the repetitive nonproductive dance of loop-de-loo and get on with the practical so deeply needed right now corrections. The left must be reasonable in demands, understanding that change is needed, equity still needs fine tuning, though not over tuning. Most important, they must drop their hate filled diatribes and rants of antisemitism and anti-Israel content. 

The right must realize that no, Boogaloo Bois is an evil movement, affiliated with a platform of antigovernment deeds, of violent overthrow of said government, a group of maddened, overgrown white men in long beards, cradling their collection of guns and shouting out with anger but nothing there. Only other misfits, affiliated rebels of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, ugly names for ugly people. No answers, only troubles. 

We are with whom we associate. We must choose our social associates more carefully, more judiciously. Else, pay the consequences. Which we are. Most terribly so. We must bite the harsh tasting, acidic bullets we have been given and fight with all our might to stomp down these rebels, these anti-American Americans who cannot appreciate what we are, what we were and what we are supposed to be.

First things first? Stop these ridiculous dances and wasting time with Trump. Cut out those who would interfere. Throw out this Judge and her opinion, for what business and authority does she have to rule as she did? She is a spoiler, and we must root them out, unearth them from their hidey-holes, cleanse the government of traitors, and get us back on track.

Harsh? Yes. But I cannot see any other way. Rotten apples and such adages are there for a kernel of truth embedded in them. We have to weed out the rotten apples, apply the law with both letter and spirit and get the job done. All this infernal delay is hurting us very badly. Decisions that need to be made, sanity that must be restored, sociability that is a necessity of a working nation - all require restoration in proper format, laying out a return highway to America, the one we ask G-d to bless. Let us give Him something worthy of His blessing.

Soon.

Time is running out.

The dancers are tired.

"STUPID, DRUNK, AND BRUTAL"

  That is how the current quality of Russian soldiers in Ukraine is described by a retired American general. Not difficult to believe, though generalizations are not necessarily correct. Apparently here, judging by the tens of thousands of civilians killed, kidnapped, forcibly removed, the brutal rapes, and the targeting and destruction of civilian infrastructure, that statement is true. 

Russians have always been known for their brutal ways in war, and we continue to see their brutality in related spheres. There is cold, calculating indifference to the awful consequences of an explosion of the atomic reactor. They wage war in a delusionary attempt to return to the days of glory of a Russian Empire. Nor do they care who gets hurt in their deranged scheming, including innocent victims, pawns in a cruel game of chess.

It is now 200 days that Brittney Griner has been held prisoner in a gross miscarriage of justice. There is no legal system in Russia that can be trusted, perverted and corrupt as it has become, returning to days of yore, under communist dictatorship. Putin's doings, enabled by the greedy, the corrupt, the fearful and the timid - and those who stand by and do nothing. To do nothing is to be complicit in whatever evil takes place.

Think not that we here in America are immune to this systematic corruption, of standing aside, of good people doing nothing to combat creeping evil, the fascism, that is overtaking too much of our national soul. Once a sure and proud bastion of democracy, we have tragically lost our way, groping in an ever-deepening darkness that cloaks too much that is wrong, that allows too many to hide within its foreboding shadows from whence to perpetrate evil and destruction upon our nation, upon us.

We have allowed more and more elimination, denial, of rights. We are increasingly pushing for a straight up and down ethos wherein only white, extreme Christian nationalists are to rule. All else are second class citizens - if that. Our system of government is cracked, shattered in delicate nodes. Our justice system has in the same way, at the same pace, become corrupt as well, Under Trump more biased, almost illiterate ignorant judges have been appointed whose main qualification is loyalty to Trump above all else. No matter the truth. No matter the danger to the nation. No matter how obvious the perversion. Take stock of the judges he appointed, the biased most patently unqualified named to Federal positions for life! From the lowest federal courts to the Supreme Court, where we are so 'blessed' to have ignorant, sexual perverts, or religiously battered, biased judges not worthy of that title. And their harm persists.

The most egregious example of this is a judge that Trump appointed, now declaring that a 'special master' be appointed to do a job already done, quite well, thus slowing down the investigation of Trump's criminal behavior and deeds, forbidding any further movement in that investigation till such time that the special master is done. When? Who the hell knows. Perhaps never!  

 A redundancy manifestly unnecessary and of great benefit to Trump. She speaks of his executive privilege, even though he is the 'ex' here and the current President has not waived privilege. 

But the best is the line that it might embarrass him, taint his reputation!!! Really? Truly? Where has she been lo these many a year! Does she not see the forest for the trees of his own planting? He has done that so well, all by his miserable self. He called upon rally goers to applaud a Jan. 6 insurrectionist who dresses like Hitler. This man has done more damage to our nation, past, present and future, in his years running and in office and then out, than anyone ever did -and that includes the Civil War. So great and unlimited are the consequences of his actions. I believe he knew exactly what he was doing in his deranged desires. Taint his reputation?! For shame, Judge. For shame! 

Somehow, we must overcome this block by this partisan judge, and I hesitate to use that title for her. Adherence to truth, to nonpartisanship has been dumped overboard, bringing to the surface the scum of cult loyalty above all else. Truth, honor, the nation, the survival of democracy, the rejection of fascism, of no import to her. Shame! You have tainted your own reputation. You stand with a bared soul in front of the world. In front of the nation. In front of your family. In front of yourself.

Stupid, drunk and brutal? People, let us look with clear vision into that mirror of self and soul. We are seeking an answer and I hope for the sake of all, for the sake of the future, a good one, that we answer properly. Our own game of Jeopardy with one question and one answer. Our lives depend on it.

STUFF

  Of late, it has become the fashion to denigrate "stuff", the physical possessions we surround ourselves with. The physical items which take up so much room and so much energy. This is the 'stuff' which the elderly are increasingly being depicted as troubled about, wondering what will happen to their 'stuff'.  Who will care for it? Will they feel burdened by the task of final destination of and for all that 'stuff'. The who and the why of the 'stuff'. All entangled in one big, enormous emotional mass.

Today, on POV on PBS there is a most wonderful presentation re stuff. It is the story of one woman dealing with her mother's stuff of life, perhaps the hidden treasures or the accumulation of nonsensical faded memories which have no connection to her life. To keep or not? To examine or not? How to manage the guilt of disposal? Do we equate disposal of said 'stuff' to callous disposal of the parent whose stuff it was? What do we do and how do we feel about it?

But first, what is stuff? It is the physical reminders, of a life once vibrant, alive with interests and opinions. It is a past to be held close so as to maneuver through the present and future in a more sure-footed manner. Or it is junk. Who cares for that old stuff or the miniature animals or the collection of Judaica of old. After all, there are modern versions, sleeker, more appealing in looks, and on and on. The excuses grow. Where to put it, store it, distribute it, make final decisions, call in a disposal company or seek the advice of an estate manager? And who wants this burden in the first place!! Do we get angry with our parents for dying and leaving us, adding to the burden with the rather overwhelming task of 'stuff'? Why was all this collected anyway?

So, stuff. No, not merely items coveted by the collector. These are items of interest, of culture, of tradition, of recognition of beauty and value. Without these collections of 'stuff' the glories and disgraces of the past would be gone, into a mist, and the loss will be ours, unable to be compensated as to that very substantial loss. Full disclosure - I am a collector of stuff'? 

These collections vary, ranging from the holy to the secular, from the more important to the seemingly trivial. From Judaica, of which we once had much, much, more, to butter mold variations, a collection of food choppers and the ingenuity of the early ones, testimony to American brains and determination. Traditional rite items such as seder plates from England in the 1800's, a style and topic of artwork, and books galore. Not only paperbacks, but rare ones, expensive ones, ancient and antique, well used, a gathering of tears at the sight of holy books of the millennia juxtaposed against the many shelves of Holocaust related literature, fiction and nonfiction. The collection of novels, literature, taught and annotated by me, items too precious for me to discard, lent to the kids as they studied these same books, and now what? To the dust heap, to a recycling factory or to be kept on a shelf for another generation studying new and old classics?

The choices are many. The decisions are difficult. How to discard items that actually are part of family history, of pieces of the souls and hearts of deceased family. How to decide fairly, how to know, just know, what is better - monetary value or the emotional package of another, perhaps less striking item. What about all the stuff!!! 

It is a delicate topic between parent and child, even involving older grandchildren. In what way can we effectively pass on who we are, who we were, via this 'stuff' of our lives? Do we distribute now or discard now? Can we avoid arguments after we are gone, avoid the acidic accusations when there are material disagreements? Even as we recognize the problem, even as we actually shed some of the stuff, there is much we cannot do. Some are too meaningful to us, while others are less so, but of newer interest, still very much relevant to us, even as we develop new interests thanks to COVID!  My paintings or wood creations? Should I even care, simply enjoy them and their making now and who cares for later? Do we donate, and then watch as that same doorway also is the ingress of new items that caught an eye, tickled the fancy and interest, or was exactly what one had been looking for. How to walk away from a true find? How?

I am looking forward to the show tonite, complete with laughter and tears. I am one of those elderly parents who will definitely be leaving behind the accumulations of our life together, of my own mementoes, my own stuff from my parents. I will try to pass on the loss felt through my life after signing so much away after a parent's death. One does not realize how deep and tight are the memories attached to 'stuff'. So, yes, while stuff is overrated at times, it is also valuable, definitely integral to a smoother transition from past to present to future.

I am proud of my 'stuff'. So is my partner in crime! We hope that the kids understand and are already encouraging raids on our stuff, to join the stuff they already have in their respective homes.

Stuff is the gossamer strings of the web which binds us all together. It is firm yet flexible, allowing for growth, for evaluation, for change and for understanding. Such is the stuff of life.

NOPE, NOT SIMPLE

 Life is not simple. Nor is it meant to be. Nor can it ever be, certainly not for a full lifetime and not in a life which offers choices. For sure, life goes on even when there are no choices, but is that what we really aspire to? A life where all choices are made for us, not necessarily for us in any kind of 'good for us' manner or intent, in content and outcome. 

That life is called slavery. That life is called dictatorship, not benevolent either! That life is mostly a life of drab existence, where there are no choices to be made, all being scarce, denied to the little people, with access to resources strictly limited. Hence - go to work, slave away, earn a pittance, and struggle to find and be able to afford food and other necessities of life. For more than a very basic level, a life must be able to have choices.  No choice life is not a good one. At all. 

So now explain to me why so many among us in a country where there is so much choice available, even if some might have more choice than others, why, are so many of us choosing the route of growing limitation of free right of choices. No, not only for the right to choose, though that is obviously a major ticket item. Rather it is the ability to choose a career, a level of living, what is needed to achieve it. Where to live. To be able to find shelter, not merely 'adequate' but more than that. A life where our children will have choices. A life with a good future possible - for all.

A life with positive choices and potential, demands initial positive traits. It requires education so that one might make informed choices. It requires that the education be sound, open for discussion, honest in presentation. It requires access to that level of education for all, be it blue collar, white collar or any other color collar we can think of.

It demands respect for all humanity. That respect and value of all is not a limited 'all'. Religion, race, ethnicity, economic level, skin color, whatever appears to separate us must be shown to be of negligible importance if one is to be honest, if society is to advance. Ability to be who one is, is of utmost importance, perhaps the deciding factor in a society with choices.

Again, what difference does it make what name one calls a deity or not at all. What does it matter whether I worship on a Saturday or Sunday or Friday or not at all. What difference does it make if my family originated in one country or another. What should matter is one's value as a human, eager, able to join in a perennial uphill battle to keep earth's population in a good way, along with a viable hopefully long-lived planet. We are failing at that task. In both tasks. We have crossed the line too many times, limiting choices, making the wrong choices, and "OVERDUE" has come in the mail, or email or by Pony Express. Again, mode of delivery matters not; what does matter is what we have done, and how we are going to fix the mess we have so ably, yet ineptly at the same time, created. Choices have led us here. Simple as all that.

Why we have made those choices is a mystery, yet all too clear as well. People are inherently selfish, looking after Number 1 first, last and always. Hopefully, more have evolved from that basic level of life and moved on to include others within our shall we say, 'sacred' circle. Too many have not, or stopped growth at a low level, seeing those outside the circle as unimportant, as of little to no value other than how they provide for a good life for that limited circle. Too many of us have not yet absorbed the truth that we are all one, all condemned or blessed by life on this planet. It all depends on our choices. OUR choices. The choices others make for us, choices that we might have ceded to others. Bad juju there.

Good choices, meant to advance humanity, of necessity, must eliminate selfishness, a deeply ingrained trait within humans. Sometimes I wonder if somewhere along the line we threw that goal of goodness for all, for equity for all, jettisoned it, threw it into the wind, like chaff in a wheat field. Now we are reaping the terrible consequences, even as we follow that same life limiting path.

Will we ever learn? Will we never learn? Do we actually wish to learn? Are we capable of learning? My choice, or rather, truthfully, my hope, is growing weaker over time, is that while not hopeless, we are on that road. In the meantime, we must all take account, a deep dive not into our finances, but into our moral bank, our futures bank, the future for sale not in NYSE or NASDAQ, but in our lives, or homes, our hearts.

Yes, take joy in your life, in the lives of those within your circle. However, we must not forget the circles of others and the most important fact that we are actually one circle within many, all re-formed to be one huge circle. Disney's lessons might be simplified, but true they are. If only our oh so sophisticated, jaded minds would recognize that.

 There is a mantra that goes something like this: 

Me against my brother.

My brother and I against the family.

My family and I against the clan.

 My clan and I against other clans.

My clans and I against the tribes. 

My tribes and I against the nation.

 My nation and I against the world. 

- and where does this end? ET around? Little green men? Are we meant to be at war with ourselves, with others? Is that what we choose?

Think about it. Might change your mind in surprising ways. Simple as all that, yet not so simple at all.

OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOKS

  Most of us have had overdue library books, at least once in a lifetime and probably more than that. I know I have. The overdue fines could amount to a tidy amount, but now there is no fine; just return the books so others can enjoy -or not - that same book. Great system and I am thankful for it and the wonderful staff of our libraries. In fact. a special shoutout to the staff at the Okeechobee branch. They don't come any better than that.

However, a great big spit in your eye tripping over your own tongue has earned a long, loud halloooooo! Anybody home? Apparently not and let's look at why they have fled the coop and if wishes were granted, would never reappear in public ever again. Ever! You do the math. An overwhelming amount of time and effort to regain possession of papers that were never Trump's in the first place. Many calendar pages have been turned over, whilst these national secrets have been on vacation, a forced one, hanging around in boxes, in drawers, and who knows where else. Giving them back was a certainty to never take place, so the law was called down upon the thief and his gang of destructive fumblers, and now they do not like it one bit. They have stupidly placed themselves in legal jeopardy. What the hell gives with these people? Brains not working? Missing several decks! It just does not make sense.

That is until one realizes that the siren call of an autocrat must be obeyed. One falls into that habit because it is profitable or comfortable or because of fear; whatever the reason, it is not permanent, and the sky does fall in and on these autocrats and autocratic systems. Check history for that. It is at that point that there are two groups. One flees the stinking, sinking ship. The other plays loser hardball, builds ratlines for escape even as they continue to support and justify and defend the indefensible.

First, they want all documents public. Now they want all documents unpublished and don't we know why. Trump has many, many overdue books, shall we say, and I bet we could probably find a book or two from his childhood or school library. Overdue, because he claimed it as 'his'. Ever and always. Stripes never change. Nor do his evil traits and wickedly forever planning and living in his own reality, always struggling to make it so. Laws be damned. Reality be damned. Full speed ahead and if one is in the way, too bad! Under the wheels you go. Any wheels will do. Bus, truck, bike, whatever.

But wait. There is a breath of sweet air, of correct air, of true and finally expressed out in the open. Trump and his crew are inimical to democracy, to survival of this country as such, for obedience to proper, moral laws, for the continuing service and role of America as the leader it is meant to be. Now, we are shamed in front of the world. Now we must come from behind. Will the MAGA deluded adherents foil this righteous behavior, or shall we finally have a call-in of bills long overdue for payment? Will they finally acknowledge the existential threat they posed for our nation and accept the consequences? If they continue to try to avoid, well, time for the big guns.

Not real guns, though they are certainly quick to claim guns acomin' for them - even as they flaunt their own stockpiles. What is meant is that finally, no more "say it ain't so, Joe". The Joe at the head of the country has finally realized that he cannot stay mute on this obvious threat. He had to come out swinging, arms ready, heart and head ready, knowing what we must do and a determination to indeed do so.  

The truth:

Donald Trump is a traitor to the nation and to his oath.

MAGA followers have lost their way.

MAGA people have lost connection with reality and their countrymen.

Laws have been broken, flaunted in their breaking. 

Violence has become a tried-and-true weapon and platform and will continue to be, until and unless they are shut down.

Trump now threatens McConnell, saying they must "do something" about him. Typical threat.

There is a too long, almost impossible path ahead of us. It will take determination, knowing all the while that if we fail at this task, we fail the world, ourselves and family and friends.

Time to collect the fees for the overdue books.

Time and fines long past due.

"HE'LL BE FINE"

   The truth, though, is definitely otherwise. He, meaning Trump, will not be fine. Nor will we; nor will the entire country and world at large. There is a point beyond which there is no going back, certainly not without terrible cost and consequences. Be assured that I am not talking about money in terms of cost. Rather, I am referring to the cost in blood, in lives taken and/or ruined, beyond repair, beyond redemption. A country gone to hell in a handbasket of our own foolish making.

I wonder, I truly do, about the contents of the water and air we breathe and ingest in this country. More so, apparently, in some areas than others, but still, sometimes it seems the only explanation re the mass movement of off thinkers, of mistaken thinkers refusing to admit their error, brain dead others, and downright mean, nasty individuals who find themselves only among other losers, such as Proud Boys - manifestly not, nothing within them to be proud of - or Oath Keepers, of the same ilk. 

Moreso, what other kind of explanation could explain the rise in so obviously unqualified candidates running on GOP ticket. Some are just plain old stooges, running where there is nobody else, or in an area where there is no competition, particularly in the sparsely populated states. However, how do we explain the candidates such as Mastriano or Walker where there is competition? Has the GOP totally gone off the tracks or are they resigned, taking the path down to total reformatting, an end to the Republican Party as we once knew it. My lord, but they are either nuts, filled with hatred that knows no bounds, intellectually greatly challenged or some such combination of factors. I can find no other sensible definition of the fall of a once mighty, proud, truly patriotic political party, whose modern presentation spits in the face of some of the greatest people in American history.

Walker, questioned as to his rather obvious mental deficiencies, rants on forever re bikes, maintaining that his is "not bent". Humph to that! As for Mastriano, well, it is up to his state to reject this man who wears a Confederate uniform, a symbol of hate, a sign of bigotry and a desire to return to a time we have romanticized, falsely, stupidly, dangerously, 'forgetting' the 'other' truth -the bloodshed, the families split apart, the degradation of humans via slavery - both owners and slaves. 

That word alone sends bad, bad chills down my back. And should do the same to you. And most certainly, think not that slavery is gone, a tale of old, nothing new. Wrong, so wrong. Slavery exists, under open usage to false representations, not to forget the slavery of the concentration camps, where the slaves were openly worked to death, beaten to death, starved, shot, tortured - free reign as the government was the chief instigator of it all. And the world, including the USA, stood still for it. As it continues to stand still re the slavery (forced labor) of the Uighurs in China, prisoners of the Russian gulag, or simply members of the 'wrong' religion or sect of it.

No, Trump will not be fine. Nor will the country. Nor will the world. Not unless we all stand up for what is right, not what we wish nor what is our present reality. That reality is a mean, nasty one, based on the worst traits of humanity. It is a world of bullying, rampant among adults even as we try to weed it out amongst the kids. Hypocrisy at its worst! As we mourn the loss of a once proud national ethos, attempts to correct our errors, to acknowledge our deficits, there are those who are frustrated at those same moral deficits within the GOP. 

Some will not vote if Trump runs again. The mere thought of that criminal running for President, along with acolytes twisted with the same deficits as Trump's, along with those who will go along with all that is wrong, the easier path, the more profitable path, well, my blood boils and my soul shakes. How could this be? How could we have allowed our country, our nation, imperfect, but eager to fix these imperfections, even if imperfectly so, how could we have allowed this degradation of pride, of truth, of honesty, of a patriotism that blares its falsehood. More important, why? Why the hell!!!!

“If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C.; in New York; in Atlanta; and elsewhere,” Mr. Trump said in January at a rally, “because our country and our elections are corrupt.”

These are not the words of a true leader, one who values his nation, who wants the best for it.

Nor are these, a very thinly veiled threat.

“People are so angry at what is taking place,” Mr. Trump told Fox News. “Whatever we can do to help because the temperature has to be brought down in the country. If it isn’t, terrible things are going to happen."

 Graham made a similar threat, stating there "will be riots" if Trump is arrested. Shame on him, and shame on a nation that would support this venom and invective.

As one person put it, to correct the mess of ours, “Unfortunately, ... “in this country, it’s looking like it might be a long road.”   

People, time to stand up and be counted among the if not, righteous, at least better for us than the perverted present GOP. That misnomer should be removed now, for it shames the true GOP, what once was and what should be again.

" ...evidence that the former president took steps to conceal his illegal possession of classified documents. In doing so, the filing said, Trump defied a grand jury subpoena and "likely" attempted to obstruct the DoJ investigation."

This is not a true leader. Not a true President of this country, sworn to defend it from enemies within and without. If he were true to his oath, he would have removed himself - now. Then. Ever and always.

You know that proverbial rope, at the end of which, in moments of great frustration, we state that we are at the "end of the rope", hanging at its end? Well, remember it well, for I see it swinging there, blowin' in the wind, in a tragic cycle which bodes no good for anyone. No one. No one at all.

I WANT MY BA-BA!

 Seriously, what the hell are we working with or dealing with? Shocking and obvious is the lack of brains and thinking power at the highest ranks of government, both former and unfortunately those who remain in seats of power despite reprehensible behavior and words, despite their most clear abuse of right and privilege, even as they turn against this country in a most unfortunate and dangerous turn of events. What have we allowed, enabled, much to our detriment?

The crude boor who used to occupy, shamefully, the highest seat of power is an overgrown toddler, seeking to test the limits of his power over those who live in the same house. They have taken away his ba-ba, limited access to his 'passy', and refused to continue to indulge his worst tantrums. In typical selfish toddler behavior, he threatens to bring down the house on those who refuse him. Either do what I want, or I will make you pay is the mantra heard spewing out of his mouth and the mouths of his co-conspirators and enablers. 

 The latest indignity laid down in front of us is the blustery threat, though all too real - and well he knows it - to destroy all unless his possessions are returned. Posthaste. His most prized possession is not Mar a Lago, but the Oval Office, or rather the Residence within where he can safely throw his tantrums and inflict torment on all unfortunate enough to be caught up in his shenanigans and dangerous machinations. That would be the entire nation. 

He unbelievably demands "reinstatement as the rightful President" or a new election - STAT! ASAP! And if not, well, check back on the lovely clearly implied threat found within his missive to Garland and/or the words of Lindsay Graham who, enmeshed in his deeds and efforts to overturn the Georgia election results, has also turned to ridiculous claims of immunity or else- and here comes the violence threats again. Sickening, pathetic, yet dangerous. Joining in the lovely parade of 'statesmen' caught in a web of their own making, hoist by their own petard, are Ron Johnson and Jim Jordan, along with McCarthy, should be there McConnell, Perry, Cruz, Rubio, that fascist De Santis, Abbott and myriad numbers of others. 

They and their fellow travelers should be called the RAD - Republicans Against Democracy Party rather than the GOP. Republicans, or should we say RINO Republicans as they do not come anywhere near the traditional dignity and respectability, viability, possible, viewpoints and platforms of the true GOP. They are the fakes. They have usurped this party and sent it headlong into shame. They are the dangerous ones who pose a danger to our democracy, eating away at it from within. Most dangerous for those - us - being eaten alive even as some actually applaud it, even as the sound of the teeth, the rending of the fabric of the nation, grows ever louder, ever nearer. More difficult to overcome. Harder to bring back democracy, to eliminate the possibility of such a drastic turn of events and people again.

The man is a crazed, demented bull in that proverbial china shop, breaking all things to his left, his right, behind and in front of him, no control, no safety valve, no shutoff button. The time has come for the nation and its representatives in the form of Garland and the Justice Department to put an end to the constant intrusion of delaying tactics, suborned biased judges who have no connection to the case at all, other than being appointed by Trump.

We all must take a deep breath, prepare ourselves for a rough year or two, even fraught with threats and possibilities, perhaps probabilities, of violence, and then rejoice as the man dons an orange jumpsuit, dyed especially to match his complexion.

Enough already. We are allowing him to make a farce of justice, to make a joke of the Constitution, to defy the principles of the Declaration. Most dangerous, is the split in the firmament of our nation, 'united' draining fast even as divided, angry chasms form, apparently bottomless and impossible to be bridged.

Give the infant his ba-ba wrapped in a receipt from the prison canteen, have done with him. Let us get on with the much needed, desperately needed, most difficult work of a successful reconstruction, a reuniting of this country, convincing all that despite all that has gone on before, we remain one. We are the United States of America. Once we were, or came ever closer to it, and we can do and be that again.

G-d Bless America. From Sea to Shining Sea.

 

LALALALALALALA

  Nope, not a typo, nor a sign of waning sanity. What it is, is a visual representation of the physical act of placing hands over ears and making noises to block out the words of another, the descriptions of things we would rather ignore than acknowledge and deal with, in a reality-based manner. This is truly not such a mature manner in which to confront troubling issues, is it? Even so this has been the ongoing theory of crisis management over the past decade, more so with Trump on the loose. Sense and nonsense have become terribly interchangeable, unrecognize a such and the damage is ongoing and multiplying. With no end in sight.

America has lost its collective mind. The statements that issue forth from supposed leaders, so obviously not, grow more and more absurd, theater of the absurd in reality. In reality, not a very good reality. From worries about the Queen across the pond, to discussions of the might be power of a former president, to games of deadly chicken, and representatives of the nation most definitely not, well, lalalalala.

I believe my point of relief this morning was reading of the return of cargo pants to the fashionably accepted world. Oh, yes, pockets! Most designers think women do not need, nor deserve, pockets, forcing them to take along a travelling purse in the form of a man and his pockets or shlep a heavy bag causing numerous issues with backs and shoulders and spines, never mind the inconvenience of it all. I intend to hunt down a pair, comfortable, moderate, plain old comfortable.

But while we are celebrating the return of some sense to fashion, what do we do with the existential issues, far weightier than what we will wear for the next few seasons - as if I gave a damn as to that answer! What do we do, what plan do we have in place to deal with issues become so egregious in manner and presentation that they pose a true existential risk to our future, to the future of the nation and the world as we know it, or perhaps as we wish it to be. Ahhh, the benefits of wishful thinking.

I wonder if we recognize the truth any longer. Hogan makes the so underwhelming acknowledgement that there is "no question" that there are "some signs" of authoritarianism in the GOP. Well, hallelujah and amen to that. Many a day late and many dollars short, but there it is, perhaps the first open acknowledgement of a truth that has been visible for quite some time to those who recognize the bare state of the self-proclaimed emperor and his sycophantic retinue. What we will do with this acknowledgement, where it will take us - somewhere or nowhere - only time will tell.

However, the elephant in the room, that big old trumpeting pink and gray elephant, bears down on us, even as we ignore it. It refuses to be consigned to an enforced silence, waving his trunk around and tossing his ears and head, until we do pay attention to the truth. Moreover, that we do something positive, constructive, reformative, rejuvenating with that truth. Will we get the message? Will we understand the necessity for the proper response, for urgent reality checks? Only the good Lord knows for sure. Not even sure of that.

Senses have gone numb, rusty with disuse. GOP members refuse to back away from the toxic traitor to the nation, even as the truth is revealed in all its ugliness and betrayal of trust, violations of sacred oaths. They question redaction of information that would place people in jeopardy for their lives or damage the balance of the world as the powers that be hold each other in check, unbalanced as that might be, via actual, unpublicized knowledge of nefarious plans afoot and the thwarting of the worst and most dangerous of them. At least there are some remaining grains of intelligence among the guardians of our nation. We must pin our diminishing hopes on them.

So, you ask, why do we care about a queen across the sea? Because of what she represents, the hopes of a nation under siege, a gallant, brave, leader, of the sort we rarely even get a glimpse of any longer. It will mean a huge sea-change for England and the world, for a country that will retain its balance, never retuning fully after two disastrous wars which drained its population and finances, or go to the extremes and once again, a pitched battle between constitutional monarchists and Cromwellites. Further destabilizing an already way off balance world - and that includes us, on this side of that ever-smaller pond.

Are we ever going to hitch up our collective pants, cargo or not, and reformat this massively ill formatted world or are we going to continue on this destructive, declasse one we have apparently chosen right now? Why do we accept, even some cheer on, the crude behavior of self-appointed, self-serving 'leaders'? In reaction to the revelations of the sins of his father, in resentment re the redactions, Junior posts a picture of his grossly overweight, sloppy father, a black redaction symbol over Senior's genital areas, along with a comment of "Redact this!" Yuck! How do I get that image out of mind?! Is this the sad level of future America?

Think I will return to a few more lalalallas and then head out on a search for the new cargo pants. But first, perhaps a bit more sleep, "perchance to dream" of a country, a world, once more in a steadier balance, where public service attracts the best of us, not the least of us. A world where hope reigns, where life is better for all, where progress is valued over regression and suppression.

Folks, down with the hands, lower the voices, and let us get back to work on a path of sanity, of positivity, where the songs that ring through the air are replete with words of sense, of goodness, of idealism, of rose-colored glasses and glasses half full, not half empty. Can we, please? For the sake of us all?

YES, IT CAN HAPPEN HERE; IN FACT, IT ALREADY HAS

 First, the apology for tardiness. Went to sleep late, caught up in the latest jigsaw puzzle so.... Warning for those interested in these devilish things - they are addictive, massively so. In any case, now for the meat of today's blog, a much more serious, for real topic that has eluded many, or turned away from in an understandable denial of its ugliness and truth and the foreboding omen it portends for the future.

For decades, centuries even, America has had the inclination to hide its eternal antisemitism. Oh, we all knew it was there, but if one kept silent about it, similar to the way the word cancer was never spoken aloud, it would really not be there. Toddler behavior, closing one's eyes - and mind - thus making something disappear at will. Well, sorry, folks, this is not going away. In fact, it has grown rampantly over the past decade and more, to the point of violence. To the point where people have hidden their Jewish themed jewelry, taken to wearing baseball hats instead of the Kippah, the traditional head covering of observant Jews, and there is fear now at every Jewish institution and gathering. Lessons of security, of how to fight against an invasion, an armed terrorist and I wonder, who is kidding whom here.

How does one fight or prepare to defend oneself when jumped suddenly on the street, or a victim of a drive by shooting, anonymous in perpetrator, or the huge amount of garbage, dangerous, vile, that is rife throughout social media, with new sites appearing daily, sometimes hourly, boasting of their hatred and their plans. It is no longer hidden, as these vicious critters march openly, in uniforms, in public shouting of operations and plans, in their arrogance. It is defiant, open, ugly and quite frankly, frightening, so very much so at its growth and deep roots within the American community.

You will say but Jews have done well here, have found refuge here; yes, but it all comes at a cost. For too many years, Jews have taken to the idea that to hide one's identity, to change names to less "Jewish' ones, to ignore the historical truth of our survival against all odds, to deny the links in our historical 'chains', - that is the way to go, they feel. I understand that urge, that inclination to hunker down, but it does not work. History has taught us so, terribly so in its eternal ugly truth.

America is no different. It can happen here, and in fact, as the title states, is already happening. The insidious creep of policies of anti-rights for all who are different, the growing ugliness of the extreme white Christian nationalist movement; unfortunately, are doing quite well, damn them! The growing desire to silence all that one opposes, to deny reality, to deny existence, to deny peoplehood of those who walk a slightly different path through life is alive, thriving, glorying in their newfound acceptance and even respectability. State after state has been invaded by these dangerous termites, eating away at what makes America, America. Think not? Read on.

Yesterday I read one of the most dangerous news stories ever, at least for me and for all Americans, if only they will see the truth, take off their blinders and know what we all face, as Americans of all stripes and colors. Florida has an open fascist as its governor who delights in terminating all rights he does not like. Women? Feh. No right to control their own bodies, make their own decisions. Nope, for if they do, away they go. Murderers! Gay, lesbian, non-binary, transgender - well, you can join his trash heap and the people he has consigned to it. Doing quite well, thank you, he says, smug smile and all.

Here is the scary fact. Teachers have been placed in job shaky worlds. Say something wrong and off you go; this as the teacher shortage has grown by leaps and bounds. A student raises a question re oppression, re slavery, and whether it was right or wrong, morally speaking, and shhhhh, no talking about that. Stinks of 'woke' theory. No can do. Talk of the Constitution and the rights it gives to all - another no-no, unless phrased properly with nothing falling upon those who would deny those rights. In fact, they have, historically and right now, our present day. It has not gone away. Not at all.

Have teachers refused to follow these directives? Nope. They say, almost to a one, that they will have to compromise, walk gingerly through this new minefield, accommodate, they say. Echoes of history. How easy it is now to get this accommodation. How easy it was for teachers of Nazi Germany, of fascist Italy, to accommodate the constant flow of antisemitic rules. Fire the Jewish worker. Take away Jewish owned businesses and stores. Segregate the Jewish child at the back of the room, shame them. Force them into separate classes and then separate schools and then no school at all. And then no life at all. All allowable, made possible by the accommodating, getting used to, these new rules. 

After all, it is the law. Right? We are, most of us, law abiding, probably teachers more so, as rules are important in the classroom and life itself. They teach kids to think, teach them truths, about the difference between legality and morality and the historical crisis and clash between the two. They thrill to see their 'kids' grow in understanding, in independent thought, in patriotism and love and hope for a country fair to all. But now? Verboten!! Now, they accommodate.

How easy it is to accommodate. How easy it is to go along. How easy it is to look away, to do as ordered. Ugly echoes resound through the air, of tragedies past, present, all the while sending unfortunate hints of the future. 

Unless we refuse to accommodate.

Unless we understand the different burdens and difficult choices between legality and morality.

Unless we grow to understand the historical imperative, in its ugly truth, as well as in its beauty when done right.

Before our photographs and videos become the same haunting memento mori of those monumentally soul searing ones of the Jews of Europe and North Africa between 1933-1945 - and the sentiment and deeds remain. Healthy as all, right there in the same world and in our country, my America, though there are too many who would deny that.

Accommodation is not an option.

Never! 

Never Again.

Not here.

Not in America.

But is that the truth?

Are you sure?

Are you really. definitely sure?

FINALLY

 Or should it really have a question mark after it? Will we ever be done with this whole mess, with the shame of centuries, with the glaring exposition of America's devolvement? Can it, in fact, ever be fully resolved and what will it mean for the future; what precedents does it set, good and bad? Can we hold strong, finally pull together as a nation should the worst -or actually, the best - occur and Trump finally pay the myriad dues he owes to the nation, at least in the form of prison, no country club, please. Additionally, a massive fine such that will truly hurt the family quite a bit in the pocket, possibly avoiding future damage of and by the Trump family as each poisonous offspring has to 'wrassle' with a new normal. And if they are provably complicit in his evil shenanigans, which they certainly were, then the price must be paid by them as well, in terms of jail time and personal fines.

The nonsensical plaint that we are hearing, being threatened with, actually, that to try and convict this man and his co-conspirators, is dangerous for the country, that it will release a huge toxic cloud over us, with fighting in the streets, bloodshed, possibly a final split in the nation, irrevocable, permanent. What nonsense. Bah, humbug! 

We already have had fighting in the streets. We already have had bloodshed, unto and including murder, by the insurrectionists. We have had violent offshoots of these horrific extreme right wingers, but it will not, must not, stop us from doing the right thing. Those who decide to continue their rebellion, their treason, well, their fate awaits them. We MUST, absolutely must, do what is necessary to maintain the integrity of this nation, its role in the world, its standards, its historical responsibility to its residents, even to the world. 

To excuse a person from crimes committed sets a bad example for future criminal politicians and civil workers. No, working for the government should never be accompanied by a get out of jail card. This is not a game of Monopoly. This is real life. Actions have consequences. Do the crime, do the time. A mantra we must observe, apply in ALL circumstances. If not, well, we are truly and forever lost. 

Government positions will be sold and bought, criminals will run this nation, along with the ones already in place, and do not forget the sexual perverts in place already. They will have carte blanche to do whatever their twisted hearts and misshapen souls desire. WE, the little folks, it is a major 'screw you' to us.

No one, absolutely no one, is above the law, not in a democracy, true to its mandates. Yes, there are times with mitigating circumstances, but wanting to hold position to satisfy one's bloated ego does not count. Greed, in asserting that all he touches, all he wants, are "MINE!", not acceptable.

 Open, blatant, contemptuous behavior in anyone cannot be tolerated; most certainly not in the very one who is supposed to, sworn to, defend this nation from enemies within and without. What a crock, when the 'defender' is the very enemy within! What a crock indeed, when he is the one wielding the scissors, the evil, wicked blades shredding this nation's fabric, aided by his twisted acolytes, hanging around for the crumbs he sheds, like the shark and its attendant school of fish hanging around for his leftovers.

We are not to be parasites. We are not to be disrespected, made null and void, invisible in the setting of standards, in building a better, ever evolving society. We cannot allow that. We cannot tolerate that. We have already crossed so many Rubicons that I have lost count. Unsealing affidavits! Unheard of in these cases, yet here we are. A traitor President!!?? Enablers, a huge crowd of them? Hordes of mob crazed people desperate to do something to better their grievances, real and imagined, good and bad, not acceptable. Not compatible with a true democracy where violence is not the answer.

I wish this were gone from our national screens, from the constant acidic eating away at our unity, at the worsening situation in the world because, due to, the machinations, the incompetence, the sheer perversion of that former, never should have been, president who turned the proper world upside down without a plan to recorrect. No one desires this gone more than I, well, ok, probably him as well, but then again...

Biden said it correctly after a heckler, roundly and soundly booed by the audience, claimed again, forever, the lies of the stolen election. Biden shut him down, urged the people to let him go, out the door, and then said, 

"Folks, ignorance knows no boundaries, but we never gave up,” Mr. Biden said to applause. “We never gave in, and we’re delivering for the American people.”

Yes, despite the twistings and turnings of the GOP, the Democratic party have served the nation, getting legislation passed to help the little guys. Think what could be, what should be, if the liars, the criminals, the twisted of the GOP were gone, the party once again, yes, different than the Democratic Party in some issues, but always, forever, pro the people, pro America, able to stand on the steps of that besieged Capitol and sing, together, in full throated voice and emotion - G-d Bless America".

If only.

If finally.