(#6212) The republican party is killing our democracy!

      The criminality surrounding just about every aspect of the trump cabal is being ignored by the majority controlled republican congress and republican party generally. Which means they are complicit in the trump injustice! You can quibble all you want around the edges of every disturbing revelation but the consistency of these revelations is undeniable. Clinging to the hope that every allegation against trump is fake, retribution, and or just coincidence is now a delusion. Protecting a criminal mind with lascivious intent along with verifying nefarious character and behavior is so long past a stretch as to put whomever defends him into the same category. Which is what I personally do.
     I will not argue nor debate those who cannot admit his dishonorable conduct, past and present. I just call them out for being his bootlickers as such. They get taken aback by my approach but their reaction to what I know as the truth is irrelevant for me and cuts to the chase in most of their initial responses. The supporters of trump at this point will get nothing of civil logic from me. They know what they are doing and are beholden to doing it. Nothing I can say or do will change their disservice to our democracy so they get nothing but ostracization from me.
     I have tried to reason with republicans ethically and morally to no avail. Not one ah ha moment. So banished to the crassest truthful form of communication with me they are cast. Like with anything that requires remorse, the one needing it must find their way to it. I cannot force them to choose to be human like, they must want it. As to the rest of us I wish us good luck as we attempt to thwart the worse of what republicans are still allowing trump to perpetrate on us all. Hopefully there will come the ah ha moment for them at least enough of them to begin to reverse the reign of trump and his democracy destroying inhumanity!

(#6211) The crossroads of aging

      Ignoring my own aging is not an option when it seems like too often something life changing is about to occur. The inevitability of growing older and losing physical and mental strengths is not for the weak. Having to accept a, what I will call a diminishing, is a real struggle. It is much easier for me to evaluate logically when it is happening to someone else than it is to evaluate my own devolvement logically. I tend to dismiss my slowly deteriorating abilities precisely because they are slowly leaving. Kind of like the frog in the slowly boiling pot not recognizing the rising temperature until it is too late.
     I get all the logic of how my own lessening is real but until it hits me in ways that are stark I tend to not notice in serious ways. I truly am a victim of my own incomplete personal analysis precisely because I am failing to accept my own mortality. It isn't from laziness or inattention, it is from not being used to winding down as it were. I have always been building myself up in mental and physical ways only to see myself as of late just maintaining and/or declining. Somewhat like a child throwing a tantrum I don't want to age! Aging is taking away from me possibilities that I have yet to come to know. In other words I am not ready to move onto another time line paradigm where doing less is a great part of the protocol.
     Now I am not at the age yet where life stops being purposeful and sprinkled with achievement. However, I am at an age where restrictions previously not even considered are now part of the calculus. The easing out of the rigmarole of life is daunting. Being thrust out of the rigmarole of life is nearly devastating. Both are occurring and neither is particularly welcome. I work hard to keep an order to my life that allows me to live as I hope but changes are keeping me a bit off my normal expectations. In my mind I am still nimble enough to continue to walk my personal tightrope but with fewer options as aging is becoming a greater obstacle to keeping my balance.

(#6210) Curing our ailment

      I was just thinking about how when we dislocate a shoulder and the pain is high, but the only course to take is to cause more pain by having a medical professional carefully pull the arm to relocate the shoulder. More pain to cause less pain. Now that reminds me of fusion, less energy to create more energy, Anyway, back to the subject. What we have in our body politic is a disjointed event that needs correcting. Trying to manipulate a cure to it outside the bounds of our procedures and practices is a dangerous consideration. we need to apply the proper method to the ailment so as it heals correctly without further damage.
     Which is why we need the republican party that is now in the majority of our government to do the correct thing and apply the laws that we have to our problem. That is the way out of this and could save the republican party going forward. To me it is a win/win situation where the ailment gets cured through impeachment and the republican party can claim a lot of the credit for saving our democracy. This particular ailment will have some blood letting aspects to it as the culpable that ignored and obstructed the actual fact of the ailment will have some cost to pay but that is how justice works regardless of wealth or political party.
     We may be trading one ailment for an other given the vice president is a jackal himself but the process is the proper one. One ailment at a time unless of course two impeachments occur nearly simultaneously if warranted. Then the speaker of the house johnson would inherit the presidency and that is again another ailment needing attention. At least there is a way to begin healing that does justice to our constitution. Considering there is an election in November that will at this point most likely change the speakership of our house possibly waiting to impeach until then is a way of altering the outcome for a more favorable healing of our body politic.

(#6209) A vote last night in Texas reaffirms our blue wave rising!

      We democrats were expected to win last night in the 18th Texas Congressional District and we did as the only two remaining candidates were democrats. The vote I am referring to is the vote for a state senate seat in Texas, district 9. No democrat had won this district in the last 35 years. As has been the case in nearly every special election since November 2024 is that democrats have been overperforming pundit expectations in wins and in close losses. The win last night in the special election for state senate was no different. A democrat will old this seat now because of a 15 point victory. Double digit increases for democratic candidates is a trend that is uninterrupted regardless the jurisdiction, win or loss.
     The message of these strong democratic gains, even in dark red districts, foretells the inevitable. The trump regime/cabal is in trouble with the electorate nationally. The consistency over many months of democratic strength has to be worrisome to all republican candidates everywhere. They were given notice by we the people that we were not in tune with their democracy destroying agenda but they didn't listen So they pushed forward with their trump agenda and achieved many of their goals. But that cost them and the cost is stifling. We the people have found our voice and with that we are also voting our voice.
     This coming midterm election is going to be a rout if republicans do not swiftly reverse themselves and stand on the side of we the people, The republican party has had many opportunities to realign their agenda but have been cowed into submission by trump. We the people will not be cowed and those who are cowed will find that they no longer have the majority support of we the voters. The blue wave election I referred to in the title is as real as it gets and will spare no one who is still standing in front of it. Know this, the blue wave is happening. What we don't know as of yet is how crushing it will be. I wouldn't bet against it being so massive that an absolute crushing of republicanism is its effect!
     

(#6208) Less than 16 hours left of our 2 day protest!

      Yesterday was full of school walk outs and work stoppages around the country. I was particularly proud of our west coast student walkouts that were coming up in my news feed. I have no doubt that the rest of the country had their moments of pride as well. I saw a lot of bot activity denouncing the student walkouts as just cutting class but what these robotic automatons don't get is that exercising the rights guaranteed in our constitution is a lesson of tremendous value. The students were practicing the two dimensional aspect of their learning and it is always healthy to put action to principle in a three dimensional way. What that told me was that our youngest preadult generation is well and good with protecting our democracy!
     Of course Minneapolis was the epicenter of overwhelming work stoppage, school protesting, and large gatherings in the streets. The last time Minnesota was in the crosshairs of trump in his first term as president, George Floyd was murdered and the trump allowed racism was heavily confronted. Why trump has singled out Minnesota again someone will have to explain to me but with trump I don't hold to coincidences. The pettiness and vindictiveness of trump is surely a huge factor. Whatever the reason though he picked on Minnesota and Minnesota once again is pushing back hard on him. Apparently he didn't like the outcome last time and is trying to beat Minnesota into some type of submission.
     I don't know how today will play out but I do know that we the people are done playing trump's game. Our intent today is to show up and speak the truth in voices full of volume. We are on the correct side of history and our democracy. Anywhere and everywhere protests will occur, large and small will all carry similar messages: Stop harming our people and those we love and care for. Stop taking our rights away without our permission. Just stop protecting lawbreakers because they give money while bending their knee to trump! The current trump cabal is leading America into an abyss of recklessness and suffering and we are done with going along with it! As we protest we will stand firm on shaky ground. We will repel the smothering by barricading ourselves against ourselves. We will not fade nor shrink. We the people are done with liars and fools who would be kings!

(#6207) Our 48 hour national strike began this morning!

      Whatever all of us can do to add to the protest of trump and his wrecking ball cabal is primed to begin. I know many cannot afford to lose one hour of work let alone a whole day but many of us can afford to do that and should do so for all those who can't. Because we are in this together. Democracy is built upon we the people being the force of greatest action. Our 48 hour clock has little more than 40 hours left on it so all we can accomplish, in some cases doing nothing, and in other cases as much as we can, is happening right now. No buying anything. No working where we all can contribute as possible. No school classes for today and then protesting peacefully everywhere but with energy!
     Not just here in America either. Everywhere an obstruction to trump and his horrific intent can be administered. Our intent is to survive and conquer the deranged trump and his hatred for human rights for all. After all he is the worst of what humanity could produce. His proclivities are lewd and criminal. His ambitions are ruthless and brutish. His compass is not driven by any morality it is driven by his appetite for whatever thrills his guts! So what are we to do as the mass majority of a civilized nation? We cannot in conscience take him out, nor can we plan such a solution. So we must take what our constitution allows us and go all in on it.
     Using the levers of our rights that we still have and demonstrating them with full effort. Today and tomorrow is that moment. No shopping, no working and massive protesting and protecting our rights. This is our policy for the near future until we can uncover ourselves from the stench and weighty decomposing filth trump has delivered as our destiny. We Americans are not this low as trump would think. We are greater than the worst he sees us as. We have a way to show him just how wrong he is in stepping on our necks as a reward to us. He must know that we the people are not some floormat he can scrape his shoes on and walk away from. Today and tomorrow will be our response and it is my hope that he gets his comeuppance to our power like he never imagined!

(#6206) The general strike for the next two days is this

      Tomorrow, Friday January 30, and Saturday January 31 are two days of opposition to trump and his policies of terror. On Friday we the people all over America are going to not shop, not go to school, and not work. Same with Saturday but including organized events. The purpose is to increase accountability for the two murdered Minnesotans who are being portrayed by trump as terrorists. That lie is being rebuffed but the continued silence by too many republican officials is unacceptable. There is also the republican Congressional attempt to increase funding for the ice thugs which is complete ignorance when considered with their ruthless activities. The more we stop doing our business the more the congress sees we are not putting up with their blind allegiance to trump!
     Undergirding all of this is the relentless attack by trump and republicans to deny us our basic right to protest. By making protesting unsafe the trump republicans are trying to silence us into submission. That cannot happen as it is the only way for our grassroots voices to be heard. When we are denied the right to speak publicly we are being denied the foundation of our democracy. The vast majority of us will not let that happen without resistance and Friday and Saturday are our opportunities to express that. The real power broker voices in trumps head are the billionaire class and any harm to their profit bottom lines like work stoppages makes them question the wisdom of supporting a criminal and pedo rapist.
     The more pressure we the people put on the billionaire class the more we move the needle toward our side. Tomorrow and Saturday may well be the beginning of the end of trump or it will further divide the wealthy from the working middle poor class into a much more aggressive position. None of us want the latter but we had better not be dismissed when the many of us are at the end of our rope. Peaceful but energetic protest is our weapon of choice and if those who are against we the people decide to ignore us then the stakes will only get risen to another level. The fact remains to be seen so let us hope that the cool heads in our nation prevail and we stick to our commitment to our Constitution!

(#6205) We need to teach each other how to fight and keep our democracy!

      Our American melting pot culture has lost some of its identity. Sure we are from all cultures world wide but once we decide that America is our home we need to know what that home represents and what price must be paid to keep it. First off never miss voting. Voting is our voice even when we don't want to vocally speak others will do that for us when we vote. Traditionally we Americans have been lax in our duty to vote. I am ashamed of this as it is the only way we Americans can directly influence democratic principles. Averaging about only 50% of our eligible voters turning out for elections is to me criminal. We should have a bonus for voting while a cost for not voting. Significant enough to light the fire under our butts!
     Our younger generations coming up in schools need more opportunities to learn about how our government and our democracy operate. One civics class in 12 years of basic schooling is not cutting it and should also be supplemented with basic law, criminal, and justice classes. Freedom has a price and every generation  must learn how grave that cost is. Democracy is like a tool that needs constant oiling. We must practice it with not only reverence but with diligence. Much like eating and breathing, democracy needs our attention. It must go everywhere we go like our wallets and purses. We can never take a break from our readiness to protect it.
     I know this sounds like a lot of work but like anything worthy of doing, protecting our democracy over some little bit of time becomes second nature. So much so that it is instinctive to respond when democracy is threatened. That ideal of living in a society where we are protected from forces that live to harm is most accomplished when we are all in tune with our better natures under democracy. As we older Americans fade into our ancestry, the younger generations need to know what importance we can leave them. Nothing in life is greater than passing on the courage and wisdom of keeping our democracy evolving and safe. A most precious duty to teach and to learn!

(#6204) We will out resolve him!

      I had my doubts last time he was president whether the many of us who didn't support him would survive his presidency. I was actually seriously considering whether to leave America and go live in Canada. But after a little bit of time I decided that staying to regain our democracy was more important than my own disgust at what fools we Americans proved to be. Anyway, I am a patriot to democracy and that is very strong within me. The second time he was given power as a president naturally I was gut punched over it but nonetheless still ready to fight against his looming overthrow of our democracy.
     This past year of his shitshow has only convinced me that he is not as formidable as he would like to present. His attack on Minnesota has proven to be weak in comparison to the response Minnesotans forged. In many ways Minnesota has reminded me of Ukraine and how they said fuck you to putin with courage and resolve. Same with Minnesotans. They braved the ominous thugs of ice and did not let them run rampant among their communities. Even though two Minnesotans were murdered on video, Minnesotans defied the aggressors with even more resolve to protest. We see now how the energy of Minnesota has made trump backtrack and even remove his lead nazi like disrupter.
     We also see that trump is beginning to play nice with Minnesota officials because he is being told he is losing his base over his aggressive forceful moves. The cracks have been there within the maga base but now they are widening so trump is trying to go into damage control. Will it be enough I don't know but the result is that protesters accomplished what protesters usually do. A change! It is my hope that we the people keep protesting and speaking out against the anti democratic acts trump and his bootlickers never stop fomenting. I am still a firm believer that a full national day of work stoppage is how we get the message to trump that we the people are the power here in America, not his septic desire to rule over us!

(#6203) Blue and purple states need to deploy their national guard

      What is and has happened in Minnesota is not over. Given the evidence, if a state has not turned over sensitive voter data to trump then their states are a target for ice occupation. There is practically no voter fraud at all and where there is it is nearly all perpetrated by republicans. So the only reason for compiling the voter data under trump is for him to use it to target his democratic opponents. Once he can establish who is voting democratic he can then use the levers of the federal government to harm those voters as he sees fit. We all know trump is an egomaniac and will use force where he thinks he can so the deployment of state national guard troops is necessary buffer.
     The people of Minnesota have given the rest of we the people the blueprint for obstructing trump and his ice thugs. Thugs they are since they are being obedient to orders outside the law and are illegal. We know from history that the gestapo, hitlers thugs, that once hitler was eliminated his thugs were tried, found guilty, and executed. The same goes for ice thugs. Once their leader trump has been deposed they themselves will face legal charges for their "just following orders" behavior. In the meantime we the people throughout our nation need to prepare our state defenses against them.
     With the Minnesota national guard used in conjunction with police, the protestors have legal protections that keep the ice thugs from running rampant among them causing chaos. Protecting protestors is a constitutional guarantee even though the trump ice thugs defy that protection. The state national guard is a shield that is necessary from an out of control federal administration that has only harm and suffering as a protocol. The trumps are after the voting rolls of states who will not give them to them as a safeguard to their citizens. The trumps are using their ice thugs to thwart that and we the people need to thwart the ice thugs. Blue and purple state governors, call up your state national guards in conjunction with your police and allow them to protect our protestors!

(#6202) Something has to give!

      The pressure has been building since his inauguration and has not let up one bit. A steady expansion of our outrage and disgust is being measured. How long before the lining holding it all in gives into physics and burst into chaos? We who are being pressured know this one thing about trump. He will not back down from his intent. So it will be up to we the people to either explode into pieces or relieve the pressure in some way that is sufficient. I think of trump as a man on a suicide mission with no account to his inevitability. He will take us all with him if that is what it takes. When he is referred to as Nero fiddling as Rome burns it is not enough. He is also hoping to take the world with him.
     In the series Agents of Shield, the character Ruby is collared with the title of destroyer of worlds. This is how I think of trump because he is purposefully aiming to do just that unless he is salved by our obedience to him. He is a megalomaniac with no real guardrails at the moment. Those who could help to depose him are too cowardly to confront him because their fear is vastly greater than any courage they may think they have. Yet they are the obvious key to ending this nightmarish hellscape trump is thrusting upon us.
     Of course there are extrajudicial ways of dealing with him but that would require an intent to disregard our constitution and act out of barbarism. A "good of the many is greater than the good of the one" type scenario. The better path is the one where the republicans in the House and Senate find their nerve and activate it into an impeachment. Disbanding the whole of the trump administration so that law and order remains the foundation of our democracy. This crucial moment now is so demanding that an overwhelming call from the ground up is critical. What is going to happen next if we don't? Something even more heinous and avoidable? The republican party owns this mess and they should be the ones leading the charge to clean it up now!

(#6201) Minnesota is the blueprint

      I heard a nearing middle aged colleague at work after finishing his lunch say, and not in a flippant way, "well back to the plantation". Someone said his name in a shocked kind of way which stopped him and then he said this. The owners of the company make millions while we the workers make pennies. How is that not a plantation? His comment has stuck with me for a week now and it is still rolling around in my head. Not that I haven't known some form of definition like this for most of my life but because he is a man of color and his perspective demanded a thoughtful consideration. I know it is different than when slavery ruled and people were treated as property. Yet the analogy is to me overwhelming.
     I know he said those words out of frustration due to his own work ethic and a much less than comfortable pay. For me though it struck a chord because it was a statement that any one of my colleagues could have made and been perfectly correct within the sentiment. We the working middle poor class are a tool that to the wealthy have convinced themselves have no spirit or soul within us. Just a need to survive. So they toss us pocket change while placing the folding money into their wallets. After what Minnesota showed us yesterday the wealthy have got to be on high alert. I have been calling for months for a work stoppage all over America to show the wealthy and their trump led political cabal that we the people are the real power in America.
     We have seen similar results in other countries where the flooding of the streets amid work stoppage has changed political administrations. There is no doubt in my mind that a similar approach will do the same. There will be a death throe by those in power but it won't be long before the throe turns into capitulation. We the people together are the mightiest force on our planet all we need to do is to prepare ourselves for it then demand a new beginning. One where we the people are not drudging through life on empty promises and pocket change. We can do this just like Minnesota did yesterday!

(#6200) My two older brothers have passed but they still remind me of who I should be

      My older brothers, Jim and John were pretty much my world growing up. We were about 2 years apart so they were close enough in age to me but they had a leg up on experiences. Of which I benefitted from through their behavior. I got to see how they went through difficulties that were coming up on me. So insight there was helpful and saved me some missteps. Not only that but they were caring enough to share things I wasn't able to witness or be aware of happening. Now I wasn't any kind of obvious precocious child but I did try to get ahead of things in order to be prepared. Having Jim and John as mentors was a big deal for me in my navigating early life.
     For one thing I felt secure in myself so that I could relax and be me while also focusing on my learning. There were very few external confrontations that deviated me from my own curiosity driven objectives. When there were confrontations, my brothers offered their advice and it was up to me to display the courage needed to overcome my trials. Throughout my life my older brothers were available to interact in ways that were mostly helpful sometimes not. We grow up and go out and live our lives with expectations but those expectations are not always possible. Same with relationships. Sometimes my solution to a problem is in direct contradiction to their needs and vice versa.
     However in sum, my brothers were a huge positive part of who I was at the start and who I have become now. Even in their passing they still affect how I think and feel. My memories are priceless at times when I remember similar situations to what I am going through now. How they responded in their way to questions with answers full of resolution and conviction. Their particular honorableness in standing up for what was correct and good still highlights in my mind. What they both taught me was that noble idealism is a real thing when we practice it and the defense of it is part of that practice!

(#6199) The help from without

      We the people are the help from within. What we keep doing to deny trump his vengeance against our democracy is crucial to remaining one. What is also helpful is the determination of those outside our borders who are our allies to stand up for the democracies their own nations love. With foreign leaders and their citizens standing up for democracy the world is showing trumps that ending democracy won't happen on their watch without a fight. Pressure from within and pressure from without. That is how we squeeze the infectious pimple and make it pop!
     The analogy is icky but appropriate to what trumps are. They mask themselves are intelligent but they are but greedy. They call us names of every stripe yet their souls are empty. They want what they can have without regard to the cost to others. I call the trumps locusts. They go from one field of life to another devouring and destroying. They are not content with enough, they have to have it all! There is no conscience there only lust. they want what they want and anyone who gets in the way gets steamrolled. That is their modus operandi. What we the people of America and the people of the world have learned is that by uniting against the trumps we have a chance to stop them.
     When we the people are too big an obstacle the trump swarm of locusts look away from us and to other opportunities. What we the too big an obstacle must know is that we cannot let them go another way. We have to block them in and keep them contained. We are not there yet with unity but it is building and needs to keep building before the swarm gets too big for us to stop. No more normalizing anything the swarm does to harm us. No more accepting the fate they have for us. No more trumps eating at the heart of our democracy. Every day is a battle against the swarm and will be until they have no where to turn but back into and against themselves!

(#6198) The personas of Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Obama

      The greatest presidents of my lifetime, John Kennedy and Barack Obama, with Dwight Eisenhower a close third. I am not quite old enough to have had Franklin Roosevelt as my president, but I will include him anyway because he might have been the greatest. I rate presidents by their effectiveness with ordinary citizens and the world at large. Like with Roosevelt conquering the national poverty the previous republican president Hoover left him. Not only conquering poverty and building a middle class of outstanding opportunity but then chasing down and destroying a world nemesis in the fascist nazi Hitler. He didn't do it on his own, Supreme Commander General Eisenhower was the tip of the sword, but Roosevelt masterminded the American solution with unwavering devotion to democracy.
     Every one of these presidents I admire surely were fallible but not out of some trickery or intent. They honestly strived to shepherd our American society with class and honor. Barack Obama gave us grace and dignity under a cloud of racism spawned by the republican party yet he held his head high and fought for the American working middle poor class, while also destroying the leader of the 9/11 attack. John Kennedy although flawed somewhat in his personal life never transitioned that into his public life. "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!" Kennedy spoke these words 65 years ago yesterday. And even in that inspiring charge he led all of us to the eventuality of landing on the moon before the 1960's decade ended.
     Although I said little about Eisenhower, he is much admired by me for creating our national highway system and taxing the wealthy with fair proportionality. Even though Dwight was a republican he did what was best for all Americans not just the wealthy. These four men all had a persevering ambition to make America into more than what they knew. They didn't throw around slogans that had little to do with their behavior, they created realities where only dreams existed before them. These four had one thing in common that is most admired by me. They never were in it for themselves. The nobility of honor and sacrifice was their protocol and that is why my own life is better because of them.
     

(#6197) No sitting on the fence!

      Either you are for trump and his design to end democracy or you are defending democracy against him! There is no middle ground here. No turning away and hiding behind ignorance. Every one of us has to decide which side we are on. Now you may laugh at me and say fuck you I will do whatever I want. Okay, then do that! However, doing nothing is actually aligning with trump. Being neutral is allowing the status quo to continue. Just know that if you choose to ignore this moment in time you are actually part of the problem on the wrong side! So again, we each need to decide which side we are on! Democracy? Or the end of it!
     This isn't some game or false alarm. This is the real deal and the future will depend on what each of us does right now going forward. Will America be the bastion of liberty, freedom and justice or will we succumb to a conman and his vision of tyranny? For me the choice is simple. I am of the Nathan Hale school of fighting to my last breath to save for our children the beautiful foundation of a nation with human rights evolving into a more perfect union. I already know what tyranny looks like. It is a subservience to others who have no master. Being like property is a scourge and tyranny is all about others being like property.
     We Americans have proved that we are fallible. Twice we have elected/appointed a person as our leader who is not a leader but a taker. Not only does he take but he demands that no one contradict him. His mind is not of a uniter, his mind is of a divider. He thrives in chaos and havoc. He creates messes in our society and in the world and then proclaims that he is the only one who can clean them up. His proclamations fall short of cleaning up the messes he created and they stay unfixed. The evidence is everywhere and anywhere an honest person would look. So just know that all of us are accountable and no one gets to sit this one out without being labeled as one side or the other.

(#6196) Breaking the republican narrative

      The trump gambit to destroy democracy in America has a cost attached to it. If trump fails in his nefarious ambition the truth of the republican party is exposed. Even more so even his attempt is exposing the truth about republicanism. It is a harsh wasteland with few democratic principles surviving. The American electorate is getting an eyeful of the harm trump is injecting onto our society. There is no subtlety nor nuance to hide behind. The only ones who cannot admit to the reality of things are the stubborn, stuck in a cognitive dissonant loop, where the truth cannot be accepted regardless of logical discomfort!
     We are well into that paradigm and the electorate is opening it's eyes. Given the results of the special elections all over the country we see a shift from the republican narrative from tepid trust to outright disgruntlement. We democrats are haphazardly fighting back but we don't have a clear leader to guide our potential. Some are emerging and that is good as long as trump does not succeed in creating the havoc and chaos he needs to martial  grave force against we the people. As it is now trump and the republican narrative is fueled by falsehoods and lies coming from the White House along with an army of bots commenting favorably on news posts toward anything trumpism. We the people are recognizing the bots as propaganda but they are relentless.
     What we the people are able to do is coalesce around each other, while at the moment lacking a formidable vibrant caring leader. The grassroots momentum we the people have built doesn't necessarily need a great leader to succeed but it would provide clarity where not all is absolutely clear. That is the truth of where we are. We democrats are strongly united and are building a massive independent party unity. Even dissatisfied republicans are joining us to the tune of a real detriment to republicanism. The reason for the massive opposition to trump and republicans is that they are not able to hide their hatred narrative for democratic principles and that my friends is a bridge too far even for many in their own base!

(#6195) Why does trump protect pedophiles?

     According to marjorie taylor green trump told her on a phone call that a lot of his friends would get hurt if he released the epstein files. Okay, take that for what it is worth but in reality it is trump himself that likely would get hurt by the release of the files. Let us presume that trump himself is not in the epstein files. I know, that is almost illogical to presume but let's do it anyway. Why would trump knowingly put himself at risk of being one to obstruct crimes by others? Does that make sense to anyone? He is all about himself so for him to suddenly want to defend pedophiles seems other worldly. 
     So I stick with my assumption that trump is definitely in the epstein files. He is protecting himself which in reality is the most likely outcome. There have been numerous declarations by women who were girls at the time about trump and his controlling lascivious behavior. Yet these declarations seem to fall on deaf ears when it comes to republicans and their oversight duties within Congress. So not only is trump protecting the release of the epstein files which he told green would harm his friends but the republican majority in Congress is protecting trump by not investigating the claims of several American citizens who have claimed they had been harmed by trump.
     If you don't get why this is being as it is just know that the power the republican party now controls will go away if trump is legally exposed as a pedophile and or pedophile protector. The republican power brokers will not let that happen as long as they can get away with it. As criminally filthy this subject is the strategy of trump and his bootlicking allies is to create chaos in other sectors of our democracy. Creating international incidents and state conflicts to move our attention away from the filth of pedophilia and it's coverup. It was the coverup that got republican nixon and likely will be what gets trump as well. We must not stop trying to get the truth out about what is in the epstein files!

(#6194) Now trump says he was just joking about cancelling the midterms. I don't believe him!

      I have had to see his persona for the last ten years and cannot I recall him joking. He is a joke for sure but for him to make a joke is not something he does. Apparently he got immediate negative feedback from too many after floating the idea of an election cancellation that he had to come up with something that would somehow justify his unamusing threat. First of all a sitting president shouldn't be "joking" about our constitutional rights at the bone marrow level. Our vote is all that stands between us and anarchy. With me the idea of him joking is ludicrous. He was testing the waters for reactions. He didn't like the result so immediately tried to cover up his intent.
     From what I have learned from him over the years is that he is disjointedly focused on his own ambitions. He may occasionally offer some wanted outcome for we the people but it is only an illusion. He plays at the carrot and stick game well. Although the thought of it being a game to him invokes an anger within me because his thoughts and desires constantly turn into harm for others. He hits us hard with the stick to follow his demands and then once in a while he offers us some natural right we deserve anyway and then forgets about it. He has become seasoned in his con on we the people and although it was shocking to realize it is proving even more difficult to escape from.
     As each day draws closer to the midterm elections on November 3rd, the more desperate trump becomes. He doesn't want to lose his majority in Congress albeit slim as it is. So what are his alternatives? He can chance that the mood in the nation will change toward him. He can somehow try to rig state elections. Or he can create havoc and chaos in the states in order to implement some sort of martial law where he remains in control and there are no elections for him to worry about. It does seem like he has chosen the martial law gambit. As he has already started in Minnesota. As the weeks turn into months and his approval numbers grow worse that actually signifies to me that he is planning a coup like option similar in intent to January 6, 2021.

(#6193) If no midterms, no representation!

      That trump floated out loud a cancellation of the midterm elections proves that he is trying to overthrow our democracy. Our nation is not at war nor are we under some catastrophic event. The only purpose trump could have for trying to cancel the midterms is for him to retain control of Congress. He knows that he will lose partial control of Congress, possibly lose full control of Congress. So his plan to keep Congress under republican control is to thwart our democratic process of electing our representatives. If we are not allowed to elect our representatives then we are forced to live under authoritarian rule.
     I for one will not accept the loss of our democracy without a fight. No one person like the nefarious trump will take from me and mine the freedoms, liberties, and justice our foreparents fought to the death to give us. I am no coward when it comes to laying it all on the line when our democracy is being taken. I will join with like minded American democracy loving patriots to repel and remove any obstacle to our precious system of government. There will be many who will not live up to our heritage and that is regrettable but one of them will not be me. No one has the right to take 250 years of our blood, treasure, and sacrifice and throw it away on their own desire to be a king.
     I have said this for years and it is still true. If trump cannot be the king of America then he will burn America down. Now all of us must accept what we will do when that moment arrives. Stay in an illusion of safety by bending a knee to a sick fuck or fight back against him regardless of cost. There will be no other choice. I had hoped he would have been defeated in 2024 so that this choice never came into being but nothing to do about it now except to face our reality. Nothing in our current reality is safe so thinking there is a way to ride this out without committing to one side or the other is delusional. Prepare now for your choice then accept your outcome as a hero to democracy or a coward to a degenerate bully, It is that simple!

(#6192) Decent folks from every political party are rallying against trump!

     Let me get this out of the way right now! We many democrats warned everyone else for years that trump was in politics specifically to usurp our democracy from us. He is of the demented mindset that we Americans are just childish with too much allowance and he wants to stop that. His idea is to make all of us worse off so we appreciate the little he will give us.. His hard core, not love but contempt, is his guiding light. Which explains why he is harming not only those who voted against him but those who he tricked into voting for him. He truly believes he is better than anyone else and should therefore rule over everyone else.
     Which is why now there are those who supported him and rallied to elect him are now backing off supporting him. Many are even coming out against him but there is a cost for that. That trump is a bully and does not hesitate from bullying, those who do speak against him will incur his painful wrath as a rule. Our society is such that our civility is baked into our behavior so no one will stand up to him in a way that threatens his actual being. So how do we exist in this environment where his word is more powerful than our response to it? We stop what we are doing and face him. Regardless of the outcome we the people are the only defense to his continuing onslaught to destroy our democracy!
     The outside world is watching how we Americans handle our own mess and although our mess affects them they are mostly waiting for us to clean it up. Just like we mostly wait for them to clean up their messes. The problem we have here in America is that the folks in the republican party who are the current majority power are not good folks as to honor and principle. They cower more than stand up for respect, fairness, or dignity. So many of them are dependent upon trump for their livelihoods as well. They sold their souls early on and are now paying the price for their ignoble dealings. Those who didn't sell their souls but are dependent upon trump for their jobs are hitting a critical juncture where they either keep moving forward with trump or finally cut their losses and join the civilized world and help remove him now through available means.

(#6191) The vast majority of we Americans are standing up to trump

      Through bullying and threats, trump thought he could get his way once back into our presidency. For the most part in the first months of his reign he did actually but now he is finding out that his ability to coerce is failing. More and more the American electorate is not having his demands we act and behave as he sees fit. Nor do we accept his demands that we tear at each other. What he is finding out is that he is the brunt of our focus and not in a happy way. What he is trying to do by weaponizing ICE is a complete backfire. his goons have killed an American woman for trying to leave a confrontation his goons initiated.
     That one moment is as large as the George Floyd murder in trump's first term. The Renee Good killing has sparked a massive backlash against trump that not only serves to put life to our shock of her insidious murder but also serves as an outlet for the many other despicable acts trump has allowed in his name. So instead of trump being heralded as some kind of savior by preying on our prejudices, biases, and fears, he has awakened our better natures. Many of us have been calling on our electorate to remember our duty to democracy and the principles that are it's foundation. This call is being heard and the many of us are now engaged in rebuffing the trump agenda to divide us from each other.
     Our constitution does not allow us to depose of such a cad as trump. We are basically stuck with him unless his base in the republican party start to turn on him. That isn't where we are at least yet, but many in his base want him gone. What we the people are left with is the next election generally called the midterms. Those elections are not until next November 3rd so the building up of our resolve to hamper trump by retaking Congress from his bootlickers is our charge. We are well on our way with that as the special elections sprinkled along up until this November have been large swings to democrats. There is no doubt a major backlash to trump is coming and that is what we must make sure takes place!

(#6190) Think of America as your favorite sports team

      I hope this helps those who are oblivious to what is happening to our team America. With trump as the team captain of our American team, he is in cahoots with putin, the team captain of Russia. What trump is doing is behind the scenes colluding with putin to throw the game. We team America used to sit atop the world standings as an undisputed leader. With democracy as our strategy, we dominated most every game we played. We didn't always win every contest but we didn't let an occasional bump in the road stop our dominance. No other country has a record like ours so when it comes to odds for winning we are always the favorite.
     Thus the hook trump is trying to hide from us. We see his deception however because those of us who pay attention to the day to day workings of our democracy are not fooled by his slow but steady dismantling of our treasured form of government. Many do not see what is happening which is why I am writing in this analogous way. Our team is being hampered and hamstrung by the trump cabal to weaken our resolve to maintain our dominance. No longer are we the prized trophy in the display case. Our democracy is shifting before our eyes into an authoritarian state where thugs under the questionable veil of color of law, are harming and detaining our citizens at will.
     All the while in Ukraine we Americans are abandoning the fight for democracy there. Instead trump is immorally shirking our promises to Ukraine that we would protect them from Russian invasion. From broken promises to dismantling democratic institutions within America, trump is fixing the contest so that his preferred outcome is more likely than not. What he gains from fixing the fight with Russia is still uncertain, but let there be no doubt, it won't be good for team America. When my favorite team is taking a fall the only solution is to wholesale remove all those involved. Which is where we are now with the trump cabal!
     

(#6189) Our younger democrats are our future now!

      The republican party has gone batshit crazy and that is where we are now. Our democratic party has not allowed our brightest stars to emerge from the shadows of some of our older leaders. That is holding us back. Our older leaders are past due in many cases and are not thinking about how best to hold and expand our democracy. The old ways of nuance to create laws is dysfunctional, working to build consensus by watering down policies is a compromise too far! We need leaders who are bold and clever and we democrats have many of those who are not in position to implement their strategies.
     Our older democrats are not full of the zeal and vigor required to force strong ideas into being. We need people like Mamdani. Cortez, Beshear, Buttigieg, among many more who are young and talented enough to bring not only democrats out to vote but all those fence sitting independents that make up the largest voting block, 45% of our electorate. Those independents are largely made up of our younger voters. We need to let them define what our democracy will look like going forward as our older generation is not able to give them the fighting chance to realize their pursuit of happiness.
     What we older folks who have been fighting for what we could achieve with democracy, need to understand is that our younger generation is a brilliant collection of better intentions with the energy to make them come true. We the older need to let them run while being available to assist in any way they need. Not what we need but what the younger generations need. It is time for us who are not young anymore to get out of the way of our prodigies and let them master the difficult with the knowledge we have passed onto them and with their own insightful power to breathe life back into our democracy!

(#6188) We the people must force trumps hand!

      We the people need to take whatever action we can allow ourselves to confront and block trump from his nefarious agenda. The recent video showing the killing of a woman in her car through the way it was done is galvanizing previously uncommitted voters against trump's regime. His regime is sticking to alternative explanations concocted despite what we see with our own eyes. That is how tyranny develops by telling us not to trust what we see and only trust what the tyrannical tell us. The many of us are not having it. With protests springing up in every corner of America the bait and switch by trumps is being ignored.
     The No Kings march last year was revealing and now the protests against the strongarm tactics of trump's gestapo like ice is adding even more determined emotion to the protests. Even some of the bootlickers in the republican party are hesitating to promote trump's unbelievable narrative. It isn't just the ice demonstrations here at home that are attracting some lackeys in the republican party to see trump's nonsense but it is in the foreign affairs arena where trump's constant barrage about conquering other nations is getting a confounding head scratch from them. I am hoping that the republican party is about to get on board with putting an end to trump and his henchmen before all of us are embroiled in so much danger that none of us will ever be safe again.
     I have been saying for many months that we need a day of work stoppage where we all come out and protest in every city and town in America. A full blast of our grievances against all that trump and his regime have taken from us. Where no media in the world can disguise our intent. We the people are the true power here in America and we need to own it now! The longer we go down the path of least resistance the closer we get to trump actually becoming a dictator instead of him just trying to be one. It is up to we the people to stop trump and his agenda of taking our freedom, liberty, and justice our nation is still proud to call our democracy!

(#6187) All my posts lately have been a string of tirades against trump!

      I am not sure it is healthy for me to be using my brain cells defining the unnatural creature trump. Yet words need to be expressed in order for our national conscious to be clear. I find it most distressing that we allowed the criminal in chief to reign over our national government once again but here we are. I would rather be talking about how Ukraine is getting our best and Europe's best support to drive putin out of Ukraine. I would rather be talking about how jobs are growing every month by the hundreds of thousands. I would rather be talking about how health care and child care are being expanded despite republican attempts to destroy them.
     I would like to be talking about sports teams and our rivalries and surprises in their play. I would rather be feeling satisfied that democracy was winning the world over to freedom. There are so many things I would be satisfied about, equality, opportunity, advancing understanding in the great field of nuclear fusion. Climate change initiatives that could be prospering right now instead of being dismantled. I would be talking about how we are moving toward ending poverty everywhere we are allowed to try. I would be well satisfied that women would be in charge of their bodies and not some republican politicians because they demand the lessening of human rights for our women.
     If our democrat had been elected the worst days we would have had would have been caused by problems with our climate but even then our national FEMA directors would be on the spot to help rebuild from natural disasters. Otherwise a booming economy and a generally agreeable mood would be settled over our nation. There would be no nazi like ice out in our communities harassing and harming our citizens. Criminals would be brought to justice instead of lording over our government and streets. How we escape this dystopian existence and herald back toward a utopian one is our charge. That way I and others won't be under such a relentless brain cell barrage that continues to destroy our happiness.

(#6186) The longer this goes on the more emboldened trump gets

      This is all on the republican party. They are trying to squeeze every bit of their unpopular agenda out of trump before he gets uncontrollable. Well I have a message for republicans, trump is already uncontrollable. The only thing left to do now is for republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court to put an end to this charade of trump acting out being king of America. The damage he is causing here at home and in the world at large is greater than any benefit left republicans may hope to get. He is unpredictable and dangerous. He is above the law so there are no guardrails on his decisions.
     He flaunts his power as if it were ordained by a god. He has no measure of fear because he thinks he is immortal. He has tested the waters of constraint and found them wanting. He knows he can do as he pleases and no one will force him to stop. It won't be long before he decides that no one is safe from his power and starts proving it. He has no inclination to be a good guy, just a guy who can take as he wants and discard it as he uses it up. He grew up in privilege and has only grown more accustomed every advantage under the sun. The republican party has allowed him to prosper on our dime and they are the ones who must make him pay.
     We democrats are fighting alone against him and it has been a slog. With the republicans protecting trump the worst we can do is temporarily block and delay his fantasies. The republicans must come join we democrats like yesterday in Congressional votes that began a bipartisan attempt to derail trump. As more republicans find their courage the rest of them may be inspired as well. It will take both democrats and republicans to bring down the greatest threat to humankind since atomic power. Removing trump from office as quickly as possible would be a saving grace for all who seek to live a life pursuing happiness.

(#6185) Will we Americans, frog, jump out of the rising heat of trump, pot?

      The parable of the frog and the heating pot is appropriate here. We Americans are being subjected to increasing pressures from the trump administration that has the effect of disarming us because of the constant turmoil. The chaotic provocations are coming one after another. Almost like it is a strategy to knock us off our footings concerning the issues we are working to expose about trump. His denial to release the full epstein files is given a pass because he is ramping up his atrocious agenda. His attack on Venezuela is now mostly ignored by the media since his Ice inspired murder in Minnesota.
     The denial of ACA subsidies have also had to take a back seat but the persistent democrats in Congress are at least working to forge through the trump obstruction. What trump is doing is hitting us with all kinds of malfeasance cloaked as necessary. His plan is simple to me. Hit us relentlessly with shocking maneuvers to jolt us from our clarity. The constant barrage of incredulous behavior turned into action is messing with our ability to keep it all straight. Our messaging is late when the next abomination comes into play. As he strings us along he gets further into his plan of keeping us chasing after yesterdays news. It is working for him as justice is a grind and trump, even though slow, is slithering along faster.
     I don't mind using/mixing metaphors when trying to grasp ahold of an emotional concept and this is one of those times. trump is the head of the deadly snake and without him the snake is nothing more than a Garter. The snake idiom for trump is appropriate as it is a cold blooded serpentine creature who only has deceit and ungratefulness as motives for its actions. Removing the head of the snake is the solution but how is the problem! All I know for sure is that we frogs in the heating pot are in real danger so the problem needs to be solved post haste! Another tragedy is just around the corner and if we don't find our courage and plan for implementing it then the snake will soon have its cooked meal!
     
     

(#6184) trump removes the joy from life

      Every time I go on social media I see some dastardly announcement about how the trump cabal is making life harder for everyone in the working middle poor class. From my own experience, it isn't just the hit to our socioeconomic struggles but it is a psychotic hit to our better natures. The feeling is deflating to the point of numbness. Gone is the happiness I used to feel upon waking when the day could have all kinds of opportunities for laughter. Gone are the days when I see other human beings and they brought out their smiles first. What I see now is a despondency that overshadows any attempt at good will.
     We humans are at our best when we live in and about our better natures. We find the joy in life because it is available. We seek it out in order to share moments that otherwise would be less so. I would say like now but now is even worse than just the absence of joy. Now is the heavy curtain of a darker time that instead of bring out our better natures brings out the doom of failure all around. How we let this creature trump have control of our society is beyond me to explain. A lot of us saw the dangerousness of him and tried to warn others but we were not believed.
     So now here we are in an existence that has a pall of apprehension and demoralization. The likelihood of it remaining this way is high so what can be done to change the eventuality of it? A break in the rule of trump is all I can think. Because trump himself will not change as we have seen everyday of his rule. Before a change in our society can occur a change in leadership must happen. How that comes about is the problem needing to be solved. It is a mighty problem, let there be no doubt. We cannot wait for nature to solve our dilemma, we need a plan that has all the logic of possibility with the action of a determined mind. A solution that does not infringe on the joy we hope to bring back about. Good luck to us, all of us!

(#6183) The ends don't justify the means!

      Breaking national and international law is not justification for getting results. Otherwise everyone would be doing it to reach their goals if needed. The do as I say and not as I do hypocrisy does not work under a democracy! Personally I wanted maduro removed like I want other tyrants around the world removed but not through extrajudicial means. If we start to recede from civilized behavior the wild west paradigm will be our reality. I know that the republican party would love that for America but they are not the ones who expect to be harmed by it. They want the rest of us to bear the brunt of pain and suffering as some kind of mentally sick satisfaction.
     I do blame republicans for all of this division in our nation. Instead of embracing diversity and being tolerant to real life turmoil, they choose to turn away from it and focus on their own desires. We here in America have ample opportunities to better ourselves and help others along the way. But not if we keep electing public officials who only want to create division and some kind of class distinctions. Instead of progress in areas that afflict all of us they wish to maintain the status quo and/or revert back to troubled times where the fear of dying is always present. Instead of helping humankind become an existence worthy of living they make existence a drudgery of failure and despondency.
     Never in my lifetime have I experienced such a chasm between two main political parties as we have today. The republicans are haughty and oblivious to harm. We democrats want to reduce harm. The distinction is as clear as ever! Yet the worst of what humanity can produce seems to be unclear to too many Americans. When the people in the republican party disregard the rule of law and the foundation of society to achieve any goal they think they deserve, the rest of us and the world as well suffer from their ideal of any means justifies an end. If that doesn't stop immediately then the consequences will be graver than just arguments.

(#6182) Every democracy loving billionaire needs to roll their sleeves up and help save our democracy

      I don't care who you are or if your wealth is a bit dicey. What I do care about is saving our democracy. So all who would rather live in a democracy and are not engaged in a most prioritized way then get there now. So everyone with wealth needs to put some of it aside to support every democratic candidate everywhere. The time for just sitting out the coming election is long past doing. Every American who has wealth needs to spend it wisely this coming election on whatever democrats need to do to secure our democracy. The republican party wealthy donors are not hesitant to spend at will for their demigod democracy ending trump and his lackeys. 
     This is the moment that is staring us all in the face. No one will be able to slide away from a decision. So get out in front of it and do your damnedest to win this election for every democrat who is up against any and all vulnerable or even safe republicans. Our democratic wealthy will lose much more than democracy if we don't succeed. The republican party has become a party of locusts. devouring everything in their sight and desire. Resources will flow to them and especially away from anyone not licking their boots. This is a moment of survival so the wealthy who do support democracy had all be keen on making sure democracy survives. Because as we already see, it won't under trump!
     The republican ideology of crushing everyone not a particular type and kind of republican is real. So either accept being subjugated with loss of human rights and discrimination based upon subjective criteria or strengthen your resolve and do whatever it takes to support we fighting democrats and our mission to save 250 years of American democracy. Our work is cut out for us but with our wealthy doing all they can the rest of us are able to mobilize and motivate our national constitutional loving base and new converts to the voting booth. Much needs to be done and with all of us doing what we can do best, then the outcome is better in our favor.

(#6181) trump justifies committing a coup in Venezuela like his buddy putin does with Ukraine

      How eerily similar it is that trump wants Venezuela like putin wants Ukraine. They are going about it slightly differently but the genesis of it is the same. Russia claims Ukraine is theirs because of some previous arrangement they had in Ukraine, much like trump sees Venezuela as American because of previous American companies ties to Venezuelan oil. It is an imperialism that has been on the wane for more than a century brought back to life by two tyrannical figures. The geopolitics of what is going on suggests that putin and trump have a hidden agenda to help each other even though they seem to be at odds with each other.
     If I can see through their ruse then it won't be long before it becomes obvious. I am not saying it is fact but that the idea isn't unthinkable when put into a more panoramic overview. The US through trump has been holding back on supporting Ukraine as trumps part of the deal while Russia will only use words to declare their unhappiness at trump's invasion of Venezuela who is an ally of putin. Funny also how the vice president of Venezuela is currently in Russia as trump went in to kidnap maduro and now declares that the vice president is the leader of Venezuela instead of the true democratically elected president, Maria Corina Machado.
     The wild card in all of this is China. They get 80% of Venezuela's oil exports and had a delegation in Venezuela during the coup. It is also unclear whether the Chinese delegation is safe. If putin and trump can justify taking a sovereign nation at will then China will have the green light as well to take what they claim as theirs. The current murkiness of all of this foretells a period of uncertainty that may well lead to a further destabilized world. How all this plays out will be unknown for some amount of time but in the meantime the civilized of us need to break the will of the tyrannical imperialists or we will all be subject to their emboldened whims!

(#6180) We the civilized need to keep our focus!

      In exactly 11 months we are going to have an election here in America. As the polling stands now the republican party is facing a wipeout in the voting booth. Not only are they not going to take away vulnerable democratic seats but they are most likely going to lose somewhat safe republican seats. Such is the angry sentiment from the American voting base. Well several hours ago trump began his republican reclamation project. Instead of the American public focused on trump's vile pedophile proclivities and a worsening national economy trump is trying to change the narrative by illegally flexing our military might.
     This is no surprise to me since whenever republicans get into trouble with their domestic failures they like to distract with military conflicts. Same old same old. The unfortunate victim this time is Venezuela. Even though a war criminal like maduro is removed from power, the way trump did this was wholly unconstitutional. Congress alone has the power to declare war. With trump initiating a coup in Venezuela he has bypassed Congress to act on his own direction. He is not a dictator. The presidency is a co-equal branch of government. By leaving Congress out of his decision he has overridden our constitution and installed himself as the sole decision maker as to war.
     Many republicans will crow about trump and his illegal coup because a tyrant like maduro has been removed. Yet Venezuela is a sovereign country not some wild west scenario where all can come to claim. For whatever good may happen much more harm will occur. There is now the realization by Congress that truly they are neutered and silenced by trump. If that is their desire, then they have sold out democracy and should all be removed themselves through the voting booth. It is early in all of this but this much I know. There was and is no good intent by trump for this coup and he will hope we forget about how badly our economy is functioning while distracting our anger at the multiple allegations of his pedophilia.
     

(#6179) I am concerned about muskrat!

      Whatever musk did to help trump overcome a massive popularity disparity before election day in 2024 is my concern. I am not sure what he did either illegally or deceptive, it worked. So the same now is the case with trump and his massive unpopularity. What will musk do to guarantee a republican hold of the House and Senate and many state races? My best guess is some kind of electronic malfeasance. I don't know but I have a gut feeling. Anyway, the numbers are against republicans now as we have seen over the last many special elections. Even where democrats lost they only lost by small amounts when in the past we have lost by much larger numbers.
     I know that trump has seen what id going on and will have musk back into the fold doing whatever mischief of illegality he can hide from the public. There is no check on trump/musk since republicans control all three branches of government. I do not hesitate to believe republicans would do anything within their power and outside their power to hold onto power. For them holding power by any means is a cost they are more than willing to gamble. Given the stakes all I can think about is how we the people combat the coming manipulations that are in my mind no doubt to be done. I do not trust the voting machines unless we get a copy of our ballot from them that we can keep.
     When I send in my mail ballot I always take a picture of the votes I cast and the ballot number. Short of that how will we know how our votes are counted? I do trust my state of California for the most part to be free and fair in the counting. But other states that are beholden to trump are not a given to be fair, so we must have a plan to prove our votes. Which means each of us must vote early so that there is little time between us voting and the election office obtaining our votes. Then getting a copy of your ballot's identification number is key or taking a pic of it with your phone. Just so we the people do not doubt our votes were counted properly. That is where I think musk can have an influence by rigging the machines in a way that is not detectable. I don't trust republicans one bit to count our votes properly when it comes to trump and his puppet musk!

(#6178) 2026, the year in which we know what to expect!

      Let me just say happy new year to all who read this blog. 2025 was a tough year to live through if you have a decent bone in your body. If you don't have a decent bone in your body then last year was as good as it got for you. However, the vast majority of us are good folks deep down and although we were knocked down a couple of times we got back up and continued fighting. If you were like me you didn't celebrate the new year in any traditional way because of the disheartened feeling most of us carry around since the last presidential election. Those that did celebrate with vigor in my neighborhood were the ones who are oblivious to the feeling of losing our democracy the rest of us have or are uncaring in ways that speaks to their own personal human deficiencies.
     I am not saying it is wrong to celebrate the new year, I am just saying that if anything it should have been a subdued one. Because most of us are still in the gut punch mode. Regardless though we are now into the new year and the gut punch phase of what happened in 2024 is receding. What is coming into its voided place is a growth of optimism about what is going to happen in November when the midterms take place. We know the momentum has shifted away from republicans in a dramatic way. We know that many federal courts are still hindering trump and his bootlickers in important ways. What we also know is that we the people are not frivolous in our feelings about reversing the damage republicans have done. We are furious and that is not going to stop!
     What we also know is that trump is going to lie and cheat everywhere he can and that we know is fact. That isn't a question any more after all we have been through in 2025. We know that we are done with him and nothing he does going forward will ever change our minds. All of us must remain vigilant to the cheating that is surely coming like with mail in ballots not being postmarked upon the day of mailing but when it is actually looked at in the post offices. Why would anyone change that distinction if they weren't trying to deny some mail in ballots? We know about it though so mail in your ballots way early or deliver them to your county drop boxes or public election offices. We the people must stay on our toes so that this coming election is the true protection of our democracy!

(#6177) It is still early on this last day of the year but we survived 2025

      The year of devastation is about to end and a new year about to begin. The beauty of the new year is that we are now beyond the depressing realization that trump and republicans control all our government. What became a silver lining was the backbone of our federal district and appellate judiciary, minus the majority republican supreme court. We began to build hope after the trumps unveiled their brutal vision for our society here in America. Also we saw a string of victories in special elections that defied trumps in an overwhelming manner.
     The trend away from republicans is still in force. Which highlights our hope for 2026 and the rebirth of activism against harming people. With the courts and we the people, 2026 is shaping up to be an onslaught of rebellion against the republican party. Which should lift the spirits of all of us gut punched from the results of November 2024. It is the last day of 2025 and yet I am already in 2026 in my mindset. Something awful could happen today and I know trumps are capable of doing anything destructive at any given moment but I don't have that impending doom feeling any longer.
     What I do have is a swell of hope for what is coming with we the people. Everywhere people are turning their backs on the republican party which could signal a blue wave tsunami riding so high that practically no republican incumbent is safe come the midterms. I do temper my enthusiasm for the vote on November 3, 2026 but not because I fear an attitude shift away from punishing republicans but from what deviousness trump and musk may accomplish through outright cheating. That is my concern, not the will of the people, but of the desperation of republicans who have no check on their power hungry thievery!

(#6176) Disregard the noise strategized to distract

      Never let it leave your mind that the republican party is doing nothing for the working middle poor class. Well except opening up work slots in the fields for harvest. If you can call that helping us. Most of us are unable to work as field hands because of the nature of the work along with the need to be extremely efficient in order to make poverty level wages. So if back breaking work for little pay is your thing then the republican party is for you. So what else is there that can be considered even remotely beneficial to the working middle poor class?
     Bonus checks for troops to encourage staying in the military. Is it a cost worthy of practical self preservation, I say yes by the way, considering republicans are saber rattling all over the world. If war mongering with insufficient purpose is your idea of helpful then the republican party is for you. The republican party is also showing all of us how to break the law and get away with it so there is that. However the many of us do not see that as beneficial when we all easily could become the victims. But for those who do see that as beneficial well then the republican party is for you. If trying to change attitudes about having sex with young girls is okay with you then again republicans are your friends.
     I am really trying hard to find any policies that actually help the working middle poor class. I am not succeeding at all. However if you are wealthy then all is rosy in your world as the republicans cannot stop falling all over themselves to continue to make your lives enriched. So as republicans lie about their leadership skills and attack democrats with disinformation and lies it does all boil down to how we defend ourselves from their noise. I tune them out completely. If they ever did do something for the working middle poor class I would find out quickly enough but at this point still nothing comes to mind. So despite any noise from them I am settled in to promote and advocate for our democracy strictly through democratic candidates.

(#6175) There will be no peace deal with Russia

      Russia states that the Donbas region and Crimea are part of Russia while Ukraine says impossible. So how does trump think he can ameliorate these two polar concepts? Ukraine is bound by its constitution to maintain its territorial integrity which prohibits President Zelenskyy or any other future leader of Ukraine from ceding any Ukrainian territory to any other country, Meanwhile the invader putin is adamant about keeping the spoils of his invasion. Naturally to anyone the position of putin is the one that is tenuous but with an ally like trump, putin is confident he will have his demands met, not Zelenskyy.
     Which is why no peace deal will come from trump. The only way trump can get a peace deal if he betrays democracy and somehow forces Ukraine to bend the knee to putin and give him his demands. Ukraine has already shown that they will not do that no matter the influence trump may think he can prevail upon Ukraine. There is nothing that will come of this latest attempt by trump to serve his master putin and his wishes. Some minor details may be advanced but the sticking point of Ukraine's total sovereignty remains. In a just world Russia would remove itself from Ukraine and then settle their differences through negotiations.
     So once again all the blather from trump about a deal, there will not be one. We all know by now that trump is so full of himself that every time he sets out a scenario of achievement it is fantastical and unattainable. This is just another example of his narcissism run amok. What Ukraine must keep doing is building its arsenal outside of what the United States has previously offered and continue to protect itself while attacking inside Russia in ways that cripple putin and his bloodlust for imperialism. Nothing trump can do in his own mind is even remotely possible in the real world of a dictator putin trying to overthrow a democracy like Ukraine!

(#6174) Don't over think this, remember the basics!

      When it comes to Ukraine, putin invaded! He is the one who started the invasion that has now gone on for nearly 4 years. So when he tries to play the strongman and orders others to do his bidding then remember that he is the catalyst for more than a million deaths so far just in this invasion. He doesn't get to dictate terms about the harm when he is the cause of the harm. Same with trump here in America. He is the one who removed Roe v. Wade and the protections and rights it gave women to choose their destiny over their own bodies. He also cut food stamps and Medicaid for the poorest among us. He did that! So just remember the actual reality both putin and trump caused.
     We the opposition to putin and trump don't need some pretzeled logic to convince others that they both are a cancer to our body politics and our social orders. Both are anti human rights. Both are prejudiced against races that are not white. Both abuse the rights of females. Both are tyrants who see themselves as lords over all. Both have taken a sledgehammer to the economies they oversee. Both are despicable creatures whose private lives stink of immoral behavior. Both of these men need to be confronted with their obvious failures and in an unrelenting way. Keeping it simple and straight to the bone.
     I have made my outlook clear on civility with these two. They get no benefit of the doubt anymore because they have shown they abuse civility as a weakness. That is the nature of brutes. They only look for advantages they can take and don't look back at the harm they leave behind. To unseat them we need to hit them hard on the decisions they are responsible for making. Like putin invading Ukraine and sending more than a million of his countrymen to their deaths there, while also killing tens of thousands of civilians in Ukraine! Or like trump charging tariffs on products that we the working middle poor class must pay. Stick to the facts right up until the next election and let the basic truth of things decide our future!

(#6173) I am so embarrassed about how we treat our citizens here in America!

     Instead of being a world leader in being a democratic society our society has been infiltrated by misinformation and from the greed of the wealthy. They view their good fortune as a privilege they can easily deny the rest of us. Instead of giving back to make life easier for all of us who are a part of their success they put up roadblocks to keep many of us from advancing. Too many have to stay in poverty because the wealthy cannot find their compassion. Not all the wealthy but way too many are not about being good stewards of democracy. Instead they are intent on increasing their own wealth while denouncing everyone else as lazy or radical.
     They don't want to be known as philanthropists of good hearts, they want to be alone at the top of the wealthiest mountain. Where they can look down upon all who cannot be them. What happened to these folks that they are not allowing themselves to be a in the community of human beings? They shelter themselves in fortified spaces and only travel with small armies. They see everyone as an enemy probably because they treat everyone as an enemy. They think life is some game where only those with all the resources are allowed to be free. I don't know where they learned this but it does speak to their inability to be real human beings.
     I am in my seventies now and have never felt the need to be wealthy or separated from humanity. I believe that the best of what a human being can become is the only path any of us should ever take. Where how we feel about what we do is inspirational not condescendingly apathetic. Where we move to better the world even in the little things we do each day instead of devising plans that harm the many for no other reason than we are immune to their suffering. The wealthy really do puzzle me. Who are they trying to impress and for what reason? As I go about my day with everyone I meet I am a positive force that by default gets smiles and hellos wherever I go. To me that is true wealth!

(#6172) There is no compromising with the power hungry and their deviant proclivities!

      The sooner everyone understands that there is no success in trying to be civil with those who are not willing to hold deviants to accountability, the sooner we get to restoring decency to our nation. The trolls and bots that are filling up comment boxes in our current news stories are there only to disinform and rile up division. They are the strategic work of tyranny and unfortunately the republican party. However unfortunate the fact remains and is why not only tyranny needs to be defeated but the republican party as well. It isn't just a defeat both need either. It is a trouncing unlike they ever thought could happen to their privileged asses.
     We the people who are the vast majority of human beings in our society are the true power in existence. We are defined more explicitly as the working middle poor class. There are a lot of folks who are wealthy outside our group who align with us and are always welcome to join in the fight for democratic values. There are also those who are not working and who live below poverty levels who are only able to exist because of the help from the working middle poor class and who are also welcome to join our fight. All of us together are a formidable force no matter how much wealth, greed, lust, and selfishness is thrown at us by those who by design work to subjugate us to their vile will.
     We the people have begun identifying the gross and brutish behaviors within many who are taken to dominate us. The time spent between identifying the harm and taking action against it is what we are living through right now. How much time will we spend girding up our angry resolve to stop them is the only question now. With me the time spent between knowing the cause and reacting to it is almost instantaneous. Yet this isn't just me it is all of us who can see the facts. So here I am waiting for the avalanche of a response to begin. The best of humanity is what we need at the forefront of all of our lives in perpetuity. Yet we are human and not automatons. But in this current situation we need our honor and noble intent to rise up and knock down the worst of what humanity has created!

(#6171) We the people need to stand up with what is left of our democratic guardrails!

      The institutions that are still not compromised are not enough to stop the strongarm of trump! We the people need to flex our might to support what is left of those public servants and institutions unwilling to acquiesce to the trump march to dedemocratizing our government. He is skillful at picking off his opponents one at a time so that a solidarity cannot form quick enough to abut his nefarious actions. Which falls to we the people, the last line of defense against a force not seen in our democratic republic in it's entire history. As like with Ukraine, a coalition of the willing to defend democracy is the charge of we the people. Enough posturing and looking away! The time is now!
     I have been saying for nearly a year that a mass general strike is needed to force his convenient bootlicking allies to reassess their positions. They are afraid of him too but if we create a larger fear within them of us then they will, like the weasels they are, turn away from him to soothe our wrath at them. But for any of this to actuate we the people need to get our shit together. Too many of us still have not got a reasonable clue as to the danger we are in. A fifty state approach to work stoppage has to be organized. Some states will be easier to persuade and some harder but with all who are willing to participate it could well help bring in those who are as of yet unaware of the true danger to our democracy.
     It isn't just a work stoppage that needs to happen but our messaging about what we are demanding must be clear and concise. I know what must happen but not the details as much so others are needed to clarify why we are not going to let our democracy fall to a deviant subversive. We must also make sure our voter registrations are intact for the midterms. When we know we are on the voter rolls then our duty is to make sure everyone of us votes. Not vote out of convenience but out of a desperation to salvage what is left of our democracy. 100% of our voters voting is a goal but we know not all will. But if we don't turnout more than 90% of our vote then we the people may shamedly find out that only 250 years of democracy is our American legacy!

(#6170) The traditions of Christmas I like but as an atheist I am tempered

      Throughout my youth the traditions of Christmas were the excitement in the tree of gifts. The smells of baking and cooking were aplenty during the month of December. The going on drives in the car to look at all those who were inventive in their Christmas light displays. It just seemed like the normal drudgery of life elevated a bit during this holiday season. Those are my memories. We were not a religious family at all so there were no teachings nor indoctrinations of Christianity involved in our home, well except for Christmas songs. We were a good family so the absence of religious doctrine wasn't even missed.
     As I am older now and each Christmas comes around to this time of year I have not changed much but as a single man with no wife or children in my life I don't go in for the tree and it's childhood meaning for me. It really is just another day for me like all days in my life. However I do enjoy the season with happiness because Christmas is about all the others who do celebrate it with some vigor and reverence. I wish all a very good holiday season regardless of belief or non belief in religion. When asked to attend some Christmas function I am pretty good at saying no. I am to begin with not as social as I was when I was much younger and still exploring the wonder of life.
     So the practice of me living each day regardless of social holiday acceptance is the default within my existing system. The hope is that at least once a year we can all see the beauty in bringing joy to someone other than ourselves. So Christmas can serve a larger purpose than someone's accounting bottom line. Like any yearly celebrated ritual the event itself is larger than the mystery of it. I choose to see Christmas through the eyes of younger me when each morning waking up I would go lay down near the tree and just stare at the lights, ornaments, and presents, Wondering at the possibilities. We who were raised with little to be hopeful about at least for me had parents who struggled mightily to do their best to give us something that at this time of year inculcated a happiness.

(#6169) Our blue wave momentum must stay righteously angry at republicans!

      I say this because some times I get so overwhelmed with what republicans are constantly doing to us that I get numb. It is like what Russia is doing in Ukraine, throwing waves of soldiers at the front line no matter how many of the Russian soldiers survive. They call it meat wave attacks because the strategy is to wear down Ukrainian defenses. Just as putin doesn't care about the lives individual soldiers trump is the same here with our citizenry. They both are ramming through as much division and destruction as possible so that they can, in putins case, add on to his trophy's, while with trump it is do break down our democracy so he can rebuild his own trump kingship.
     The only ones working actively to stop both are true democratic forces. In Ukraine the democratically elected government is fighting for their lives against the transcontinental bully Russia. With we here in America the fight is waged by we democrats and independents who value democracy over anything trump is trying to install. Over the last many decades the republican party has not been transparent about what their democracy reducing agenda was. But now it is all out in the open. Through republican maneuvers corporations are now people and can contribute to political campaigns effectively nullifying we the people. Roe v. Wade was dismantled, and Medicaid is facing life threatening cuts.
     Our blue wave momentum is alive today because of these and many more republican working middle poor class resource and rights cuts within our society. It is 11 months until the next election on the federal level and what our blue wave could do is heartening. We just need to keep the pressure on for our blue wave to succeed. That will take action, dedication, and emotion in the form of righteous anger. The fuel for this anger is our knowing that harming people is wrong when we could be helping people. We cannot become complacent and start accepting some kind of defeatist fate the republicans hope to throw around our necks. We are free human beings and must never allow those who would treat us as anything less to succeed!

(#6168) Just like in Ukraine we must fight with all our ability!

      It is coming up on 4 years in February of fighting in Ukraine. What Ukraine has shown is that no matter the odds against them nor fear they are not to be denied their courage. The onslaught by putin that has cost Russia nearing 1.2 million Russian lives attacking Ukraine is overwhelming in scope but not in mindset. Ukraine just keeps on ending Russians who would turn Ukraine into a Russian servant state. What Ukraine has achieved to this point is absolutely incredible. Not only in their resistance to invasion but in their creativity to fight in ways Russia is not expecting. Ukraine has shown the world that the will of its people is greater than any dominance on paper!
     We here in America are experiencing something less grave than what Ukraine is experiencing although potentially it is equivalent in outcome. We here in America are under attack by the current administration. The programs and policies we have adopted over the years to help even out our society are being wiped out. Not only that many of us are being rounded up under the guise of immigration directives. It is almost like the current administration wants to water down dissent against them in any way they can. However what they are finding is that the anger they are installing into our society is backfiring against them. Not only are they rousing the democratic base, but they are alienating the independent base, and many within the republican party.
     We have seen the trend of independents swing back to democrats in the last many special elections in overwhelming numbers not just by trickling amounts. It doesn't matter which area of the country either. Independents have seen that their trust was violated by this administration and are not prone to continue to support them. The rest of us are still fighting with what we can muster for the next 37 months and are feeling the weight of it. Yet that weight we feel now will only grow exponentially if we do not persevere. If we do not keep fighting! As Ukraine is surviving heading into the fifth year of defending their country we Americans are nearing completing our first year and must look to the valor of Ukraine to see we cannot give up no matter how bad the odds are against us!

(#6167) The older we get the harder it is to fight all the time

      I am sitting here with my head in my hands and my eyes closed. Not only do I have busy activities at my home but I also work part time. At 70 years of age I know what it is I am feeling. It is a tiredness that extends beyond just the usual needed sleep. It is a weariness in my soul that has dampened my spirit. Like I have always done, I push past it and keep moving forward, yet it is still holding me back. I always think about older folks who are a lot more vibrant than I who are well into the 80's. Yet it isn't so much a physical tiredness but a mental one. I have so much expectation for myself and those around me that the constant frustration of going backwards too often is slowly diverting my best foot forward.
     Many of us have spent most of our lives fighting for what makes our existence better and at some point we had hoped to settle into our later years with some comfort and ease. But that is not the case for me anyway. I don't enjoy what I should because there is so much still wrong out in front of me. Yet I am no spring chicken any more. I don't have the vigor to battle for what is just with the same hubris. I do still wage effort at solutions but not with the unlimited emotive power of being on the correct side of honor and principle. I truly feel the difference in how I am now and how I was 50 years ago. Where now I had hoped the youth of the world would be picking up the slack of our battle we see disappointment more so than accomplishment.
     The youth are trying but their lack of understanding history and the what will be will be attitude of too many of their parents have contributed to not only a stop to progressive evolvement of our society but a backsliding toward scenarios we have already fought and defeated. So not only am I tired from the battle physically but I am also tired mentally by the inability of we the people to aspire to live noble lives. We allow ourselves to be deceived to the point of losing everything to that deception and then not finding the courage to break from it even when we see the light and it is still easily possible. That is what breaks me down the most, the loss of integrity too many of us are too eager to embrace!

(#6166) Everything I do is purposeful!

      I used to think as a teenager that I was insignificant with no real validation for my life. I had some tragedy befall me when I was younger but those were close to me but indirect and not directly associated with my own experience. Sure my father dying when I was 6 was a bit traumatic but we hadn't known each other very well since he was separated and divorced from my mother for a couple years before his death. No, I was unsettled in my soul about my purpose in life since I could not really relate to all the passion around me in others. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized that my purpose was just me being in this existence, like it is with everyone else. I didn't need some great miracle to justify who I am, I just needed to live with the knowledge that I mattered just like all of us matter.
     That insecurity about myself was probably my worst enemy. It held me back when the future was anywhere I wanted to live within it. When you feel less than it breaks your confidence and spirit. But soon I learned that no one was given a purpose in life. We are to understand that we are the purpose and then immerse ourselves within it. That is where I am living today with the total confidence that it is where I belong. No more do I doubt my thoughts and actions because I have tailored them to fit my principles of being better and even sometimes best. I think what I live because it is the truth within me. There is no intentional harm to myself or others in any of my thoughts. Now I may be angry with some and wish them ill but that is because they are intentionally harming others.
     Aside from the wrong doers on our planet, the rest of us, and it, is magnificent. The beauty in our existence on a planet nestled within a Universe that is so vast, cold, and unlivable is almost a dream come true. How fortunate I am to exist in this paradigm where the opportunities are so boundless, is beyond priceless. We are all part of the most incredible existence known to anything and anyone ever. That is a fact no one can dispute with evidence. Each one of us is simply by being here an amazing entity. What I am doing with my amazing entity is purposefully putting my better and best out there of me as offerings to everyone else. It is my honor to share this planet with all who like me want the best for all of us because we have been given the best known to any history ever!