Thursday, March 28, 2024

(#5534) Dying with dignity

      My brother John is the topic for discussion this morning. As some of you may know John had a debilitating stroke that has taken him from his home with me to a hospice care facility. Since, very recently, I have also moved from my home and into another part of the country. So as his medical and legal advocate I decided to give another family member who is close to where he actually is the right to make decisions on his behalf with the caveat that I agree. Which as things are now I am in full agreement with this family member because we are both like minded about how the life of John should continue with care, dignity, and respect.
     This moment in time of John's condition has been arduous and less than happy for him and for those of us who care about him. But life is what it is and we who have an understanding about the emotion and patience concerning life and death issues realize that sacrifice and duty are values worthy of our time and effort. John was an important part of our lives and although he is less able to function as a member he is no less valuable as a part of our family. Since I am no longer able to be part of John's immediate circle I feel that this won't be a detriment as another family member is now going to fill as best as possible my intent toward John's remaining days with us.
     Those of us who are in a position to choose to be helpful in hard situations are filled with the knowledge that but for luck there go I. So we treat our loved ones with the same respect and dignity that we would hope would be bestowed upon us given a similar situation. We are human and as such should exemplify the best qualities that end of life care should provide. John's life is still ongoing but his decline is imminent to some degree. We don't know when but we shouldn't think of when as much as we should be thinking about how to be of service to him now. Time will take care of the rest. In the meantime John will be given a level of care that he deserves as a loved and valued member of our family.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

(#5533) Reorganizing my life

      I haven't had much time to reflect on events that have up to this point in my life shaped my outlook because I have taken myself from one location to another. I like to think of it as an uprooting of all that is me to place myself into a different environment. Both environments were and are good but this one I am now in, given all the intervening factors, is an improvement for me personally. I have finally found my soulmate and getting to her outweighed all other considerations despite them being difficult and emotional. Yet the decision has been accomplished and now it is time to put myself together here in an ordered way.
     I was able to take just my pickup truck full of the most important things in my life with me to start anew. I left behind many things that otherwise had value to me but were not necessary for my future. My truck will finally be offloaded later today and I will be able to get at some of the more nuanced items I have packed away. As of now I feel like I am just somewhat a visitor in my new beginning and when I get into my other things that are difficult to access until my truck is emptied will I really feel like I have begun to exist in my new home. I am odd that way I suppose since I am fully made to feel like this is my home but for me it is the comfort of things I am used to having at my beck and call that will bring about a complete being at home feeling.
     Once I have organized my belongings into their spaces will I know this is the new me in another space. Of course the biggest difference is that I am now loved by another and that is the overarching realization that does make me feel almost at home. By surrounding myself with what I have brought with me to simplify and make my life more efficient will I know deep down that my move is completed and my new home is settled in my heart. I am a lucky man for having found love this late in life but I am also satisfied that this love is worth all the work and effort it takes to make it real and everlasting.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

(#5532) Logically experiencing my emotions

      To begin with, I am still not perfectly well processed with my different emotions. I find that I am still less than mature when it comes to disappointment, and alternatively, satisfaction at the other end of the spectrum. I am a person who seems to like being in the middle of all emotions. Sort of like ordinary things being better for me than them being extraordinary. Yet they are not and yet I still have a difficulty being in tune with how to properly process my emotions in some areas of my life. For instance, I struggle with being congratulated for things that appear to me to be no brainers.
     I also get angry with myself for the often many ridiculous things I do counter to good common sense and logic. However, I do know that doing the simple right things at times are considered special when the circumstances are chaotic or confusing. I also know that chastising myself for the many blunders I seem to cause is a bit over the top when they are more much ado about nothing than about me and the too high a bar standards I set for myself. In other words I still haven't regulated a protocol for processing my emotions in a completely efficiently proper way. I am human and will make mistakes but I cannot use that as an excuse not to evolve my own behavior.
     I do want to say something here that may sound counter intuitive. My emotions are attached to my logic a lot of the time. I make logical decisions with the knowledge that those decisions will cause me pain, hurt, and suffering as well as happiness, joy, and peace. I cannot deny the fact that logic and emotion are intertwined in my life and for that I would never want to escape. So there is more to a human being than them being just logical or emotional. I am both because they serve each other as the beginning of a behavior that is natural and real to me.

Monday, March 25, 2024

(#5531) Updated status on my move after writing this blog post

      I have decided that I can leave this early morning after writing this blog post. I have all things packed except a few things that are right here in front of me like this laptop and some small items still on my desk. I will go to my local gas station, top off and check my tires for any need of air and then it is off to my new home up on the western side of the state of Washington. It is unique that for the last many years I have longed to go back to the Seattle area but in my mind I knew that the logistics were nearly impossible, until this last December when things moved into place that forced a life changing decision that made the impossible, possible.
     Falling in love can do that to a person even one long in the tooth like me who has never been in a committed relationship that is at the stage of marriage this coming July. There was little doubt that moving up to her was the correct option instead of her moving down here to me especially since I wanted to be up north. Getting this move accomplished required many moving parts to fall into place and that they have. Almost like a synchronicity of fate was and is at play. In other words destiny knocked on my and Judy's door and we both answered. It is hitting me a bit this morning the leaving behind but like all things in this existence very few things are designed for an unchanging.
     A few of those things that are designed for remaining the same are instincts like our compassion and curiosity. These two things are my guiding principles for living and both are about to take a prominent center stage in my life as I venture from this setting to a new one. For love in my heart and wonder at what comes next, both will help me through to a place where the best of who I am will be allowed to flourish and grow. I will have many fond memories of my time here back in my hometown where I relearned what it is to be a good human being again. Many from here will live on with me in my memories and happy those memories will be for me.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

(#5530) Last big push to get my things boxed up

      I have finished the majority of my packing the easy stuff and the hard stuff. Now it is time to find the few remaining items that are not easily noticed but just as valuable. The last minute things that are going to take careful scrutiny with a practiced eye. I have not loaded much but at least most is packed and ready to be strategically located into the bed of my truck. I thought I might need a trailer to pull what I was going to take but as I got into actually packing I realized that I could fit it all in the back of my truck with the electronics I am taking being on the back seat on the inside of my quad cab truck.
     I will finish loading today and tarping everything up water tight because I know on my 12 to 14 hour trip up to Seattle I will encounter rain as it is the season for it. Either way I will be prepared. I didn't think I would take a lot of stuff with me but it seems that I do have a lot of stuff that is valuable to me. I will probably whittle down a little more once I get to my new home. Where I am going the house is already set with everything a newly to be domesticated man could imagine. Yet there are some things that I need for how I live that must be added to the mix in however we, Judy and I, will configure. Still having simplified my life to one stuffed truck load is pretty good maneuvering.
     I, as you can imagine, am worn out from the drive to get myself leaving on the 26th, 2 days hence. Yet I have much more to do and although taking the time to sit and write this blog does my legs and back some good I will need to finish this and then get back at the process I can envision that gets me on the road for Tuesday, hopefully before midday. The rush to get this move of mine done will help to mask the feelings I have for leaving my home for another. Yet know this, I am a happy man despite the feelings of what I am leaving behind. The last great adventure of my life is about to begin and for me it is the best of times yet still to come.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

(#5529) The unrest in Russia

      As each day that Russia sends their troops to death in Ukraine the unrest in Russia increases. Russia's putin has little in the way of extra troops to end much of any uprising that is now fomenting in Russia. What is now more possible is that the people of Russia may now be ready to rise up and confront putin and his kremlin bootlickers. The Russian people need to become more involved in the wherewithal that putin is involving them in. He, putin, has already destroyed the world standing of Russia among civilized nations and caused the Russian people sufferings and hardships within their families through dead young Russian soldiers and with fewer economic considerations.
     The choice the Russian people have is stark. Either follow putin down the path of a world war or end his reign of disruption and death. The choice seems clear among those of us who are not craven murderers who care less about pain and suffering than their own false sense of superiority. The time may now be ripe with all the incursions by pro Ukrainian Russian forces within Russia causing havoc in strategically located regions within Russia. The damage they are doing is not only significant but it is serving to inspire others who were less courageous to now commit to ending the reign of putin.
     When the wrong you are doing is so devastating that ordinary people are becoming angry and fearless then the wrongdoers are in for more than they thought would come their way. The putin's of the world will soon find their avenues of escape and safety all ended. They will also learn that brutality and cruelty have a cost that they will have to pay. No one is immune to the cost benefit ratio although it may take longer to achieve for some. As the heat is turned up by pro western militia's within Russia the Ukrainians will likely find the defense of their country a little easier as the Russian troops will be even less motivated about fighting in Ukraine when their own country is being sent into upheaval from within.

Friday, March 22, 2024

(#5528) Busy day today

      On a personal note, I am very busy today gleaning through what I have accumulated for the last many decades. I am only taking the bare minimum with me to my new life and winnowing that down is a bit of a challenge. Not so much emotional as utilitarian. I am just like others before me and since that kept things I could well use in the future but didn't. Those things will go easily. The harder things to part with are the things that are still of use but are no longer required. But like all things inanimate I will let them go and if needed in the future may easily be replaced with more modern versions. I am making this move by choice and that supersedes all other considerations of my own personal preference.
     So this morning the bedroom and it's contents will be assessed and then added to the going with me, giveaway, or throw away piles. The furniture, dressers, mirror, and nightstands are going to be given away to hopefully someone with a need. I have out front of my house a pile already for "free stuff" giveaway and lots have been gone away. More to come over the next 3 days and then what is left is slated for throw away. The rest I will put in my truck to the brim if needed for the trip up north. I do believe that after my last dental appointment on Tuesday morning that I will stock my truck, nap, and then go. So I now know my departure day and that will please a certain lady up north who has been my motivator and champion to start my new life with.
     The next 80 hours or so will be a whirlwind of activity as it should be for a man who has just changed most everything in his 68 years of life. All for the better it will be with some fondness for my time here in my California, I will leave with a happy heart. My lady is passionate about who I am so changing from anything we all know to be will not occur. Here is some advice, if looking into a relationship with anyone make sure you are like minded. Nothing is harder to change than your nature, regardless of the cause. Anyway, this little bit of respite writing this blog post is about over so back to the detailed task of rummaging through my life and choosing what that looks like by Monday evening. I feel like a kid starting out in life with a great adventure before me. Here is to all of us finding the happiness we should all be pursuing. :)

Thursday, March 21, 2024

(#5527) California passed the mental health care and homeless bill into law

      The vote was close throughout whether this bill would pass even in a democratic stronghold like California. Even as we democrats are all for helping our society through the ills and obstacles of republican uncare we are still fiscally responsible. This law is based upon a bond which is a loan and needs to be repaid in the future with interest. So the vote shows us the split between our care for our fellow human beings and our concerns for affording that care in this particular form. Well as you can see the better part of our natures won over the concerns of our pocketbook. For that I am humbly excited. Because this law will actually start to reverse the increased homelessness here in our state and give other states a template in how they treat their own homelessness problems.
     When republican ronald reagan worked to eliminate mental health care for the mentally challenged in the 1960's our streets were the logical home for these folks who could not assimilate into our society with any cohesion. We here in California have been paying the price of this cavalier approach to another problem republicans would rather bury their heads in the sand over. Well in the intervening years these folks have become a staple on our streets and a harm to themselves. With even more economic mayhem republicans are causing; the chances of the working middle poor class of ending up on the streets themselves with the mentally challenged is only increasing. Between the mentally challenged and the culture of drug and alcohol addiction stubbornness a solution was needed and this law will be that attempt.
     Creating beds and outpatient treatment options to serve to diagnose and treat the root causes of mental instability is a start. Our society has a part in this as our societies are not functioning as free and fair environments that offer opportunities to all but that is for another law to be created. This one however is a major accomplishment and will start to show that our desire to solve our problems is greater than our desire to ignore them. I would hope republicans would start to realize this and join the rest of we democrats in being efficient and intelligent about solutions that are out there instead of fighting us when we only have what is best for all of us at heart.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

(#5526) NATO ground troops in Europe to fight against putin since republicans refuse to aid Ukraine!

      The idea of NATO sending ground troops into specific areas outside and inside Ukraine is neither unthinkable nor unreasonable. When French President Macron suggested the idea last week he was ignored by many but as the days have passed forward the idea is now starting to take shape. Other western leaders are starting to make plans for an invasion by Russia into their boundaries. Let me be perfectly clear here. If Russia is not stopped in Ukraine it will continue to invade in order to bolster the ego of putin. He is on a mad dash to control all of Europe if we don't stop him now.
     Which is why the many of us have been advocating fiercely for the republicans in the House of Representatives to bring the Ukraine aid bill up for a vote. The republican leadership keeps saying they are for Ukraine but their non action on the vital aid bill speaks the total opposite. I have also been saying for decades that the republican party says one thing in public and the opposite by their inaction. They know that they can fool people easily because people do not generally fact check them. Well many of us do and we proclaim it when they are constantly abusing the truth about important things that we all should be concerned about. Why too many of you out there keep supporting a republican political party that works against the values we honor like free will is unfortunately well beyond me.
     What is in store for Europe over the next many weeks is going to become obvious if the republicans continue to be successful in blocking life and death aid that will if given turn the tide of putin's invasion against him. NATO will find that Macon's idea of ground troops is not out of the question and in a short time the only real response left for civilized modern democracies to employ. The threat to Europe and the world is real as we hear from the tyrant putin and his fear mongering bellicose hot air. We in the west have but one intelligent response, arm Ukraine and let the Ukrainian military destroy the land grab of putin, or face a desperate reality where we gear up ourselves and fight a much bigger war than the world has yet known!
     

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

(#5525) I am responsible for my own life

      A lot of things happened to me when I was growing up that had little to do with how I choose to live. But since my 18th year my life has been my own. I had allowed others to decide for me on occasion when I was a young man in exceptional circumstances but again, that was my choice and still my responsibility. I will not nor should not try to escape the decisions in life that have brought about me to this point. They were a combination of great choices and some not so great choices but in sum they were all mine. For the most part my decisions were based in my own principles of honor and dignity but some were not and sadly that is my reality.
     Yet being an imperfect being is part of the growing process as well. None of us has the perfect life ahead of us or behind us but if we strive to keep within our boundaries of intelligence, decency, and respect we may find that our choices will most likely end up being the correct ones. I didn't always consider how my actions would affect others because I was at times selfish with a cynical outlook. I had my innocence tainted and was not prone to being forgiving at times. The dog eat dog mentality of too many now a days was something I immersed in for a time. putting myself ahead of others was not what I stayed in long but it did happen and for that I was fortunately taught a great life lesson.
     I learned that caring for others was actually caring for myself. I learned that putting myself out of the priority gave me a perspective of how others were living. It became apparent to me that by being so selfish I was part of the problem that I was so deadened by to begin with. To fast forward to how I live now is to be at peace with myself and tired as well. The tired is a good tired however because it reminds me that what I do now is worthy and an accomplishment of note. The responsibilities that I carry forward are clearly defined and easy to follow. I want to help make our world, this existence we live in, a remarkable experience for every soul that inhabits the base qualities of compassion and curiosity.

Monday, March 18, 2024

(#5524) Winding down my time in California

      California is where I have lived most of my life and for me that was a remarkable turn of luck. None of us knows where we will be born in life so having the exceptional luck to be birthed in a part of the world where my philosophical center is and the environment that has climate and natural beauty that is most stellar is exceptional. I will never forget my growing and formative years here and then my later years of maturity that have spanned more that 45 years of my life. Yet there is more to the world than my great home state. As a young person I appreciated that California was a moderate to hot climate with bodies of water nearly everywhere I turned.
     I am no longer a young person capable of being enthralled and physically able to withstand the demands of youth that California has historically catered. I am off to another region of our great nation that has cooler climes that I cherish and a slower pace of activity that suits my enduring evolving life existence. It had been my hope to relocate to the upper northwest for many years since I had lived in the Seattle area for nearly 18 years. I am at a stage in life where I enjoy the rain and snow of winter and the soft rains otherwise dispersed throughout the year. Seattle offers that and I am ready for it. It just so happens that a life changing event occurred and I am ready and willing to embrace that life changing effect.
     So in short order I will pulling up my stakes and moving where I not only will be happy to experience the weather but also a new chapter in my life that has another person involved in it. But more about that aspect later. Today I focus on the winding down time here as I sort, pack, load, and unload what things in life I have acquired to settle me in here. My new beginning will require much less that I have now and that is what new beginnings may offer. Life has taught me that the things I acquired in the past are not being utilized as I had hoped so they must be passed on to others whose time is just beginning. My dream of moving back up north is about to happen and for that I am eternally humbled.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

(#5523) If you want to stop trump you must first stop putin!

      They are inexorably linked. Both trump and putin are two heads of the same body with putin being the driver of their deviousness. You could see it in their body language when they were photographed together during trump's time in our presidency. As well with the assumptions that putin has many incriminating items to coerce trump to do his bidding. Which nicely explains why trump is against sending US aid to Ukraine to help keep Ukrainian democracy alive. That trump is doing putin's bidding is unquestionable through instructing his sycophant johnson the current majority republican speaker of the House from bringing the, already passed in the Senate by a 70-29 margin, aid bill for Ukraine to a floor vote.
     With trump wanting to divest from NATO is a clear sign that putin is his compatriot, not democracy. So when we stop putin the need for trump by putin will cease and trump himself will wither from the lack of need and the loss of protection his friend putin tries to scare the world with. With putin gone the force behind trump will end as well. We the many of us suspect that trump has much of his financing from Russia through many different sources so when the tyrant putin is relieved of his control is when the money faucet to trump will dry up. Without money and the bravado of a putin in his corner the simpleton trump will no longer have his kremlin talking points and will further fade into absurdity.
     By supporting the US aid to Ukraine you are also supporting the diminution of putin and by extension the support he spreads around the world in the form of anti democracy propaganda, chaos, and brutality. If you think of putin as the head of the snake you begin to realize that neutralizing the head will destroy the body. The defeat in Ukraine of putin will effectively put an end to putin's and the kremlin's machinations in America and around the world and force those who are his allies to crawl back into the dark recesses they deserve to dwell within. We need real strong pro democracy leaders in this world and for that to happen we need to stop the forces that are trying to end democracy like what putin did to Navalny in Russia.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

(#5522) The discharge petition is all that will get past the obstructionist republicans in the House

      If you haven't already guessed by the stalled action on behalf of the extreme republican leader of the House, the Senate bill that passed that chamber by a vote of 70-29 will not get a house vote, So what is to be done in the face of the stalling and untruths the current speaker of the House keeps forwarding? The discharge petition is what can be done. It has some time frame issues to it and will require a handful of republicans to vote for it but as it stands now it is the only hope for Ukraine aid to be approved before Ukrainian democracy dies from republican intransigence from the brutal and cruel Russian invasion of Ukraine.
     The discharge petition will allow 218 congresspeople of both parties to sign a document that allows them the maneuver of putting the aid bill on the House floor for a vote. Under regular order the speaker of the House brings whatever bill to the floor he decides is to be voted on and this current one, johnson a republican, is not doing so because he is fully engaged into what trump wants and trump wants putin to succeed in destroying democracy in Ukraine. So getting through the procedures of the House to form this petition into a ripe usage of it takes some legislative calendar days and right now those days are being utilized.
     There is this one step of getting aid to Ukraine and it must be taken. It is a rare and unusual way to bypass the speaker of the House and it is rarely used but the crucial nature of this aid getting to Ukraine before Russia takes full advantage of its not being available to Ukraine makes it a necessity of huge importance. You must ask yourself why would the republican party align with a dictator like the tyrant putin of Russia over the democracy striving nation of Ukraine? If you can come up with an answer that justifies the republican stance then you are an amazing person because logic as it is does not support the republican position nor does their hypocrisy when asked about it.

Friday, March 15, 2024

(#5521) Women's rights are on the ballot come November, never forget!

      The day when the republican party finally got their desire of turning women into second class citizens was the day that many women began to understand that the republican party is an evil to them. I have known this about them for over 50 years but now we have many more who get it that the republican party is a scourge to democracy and the principles of freedom and human rights for all of our species. With the destruction of Roe v. Wade the republicans proved without a doubt that they do not consider women intellectually nor with enough common sense to control the function of their own bodies. That only republican men should be able to decide for them what they can or can't do with their own anatomy.
     I don't know what else must happen for all good people of honor and respect to realize that the scope of republicanism is to deny liberties and justice that are the hallmark of a civilized society. The republican party has laid bare it's core agenda and if you think that women's rights are the only thing under attack here you are not quite informed yet. People of color nor the poor who are not psychopathic/sociopathic have little to hope of protection nor gain from the republican party. Instead they are marginalized and diluted through republican voter repression actions and gerrymandering engineered through a nefarious republican strategy.
     Democracy itself is under siege like in Ukraine where republicans are not allowing help for them to fend off the dictator putin. If any example of anti democracy can be given it is in democracy being destroyed in Ukraine and republicans turning their back to it. So to sum this all up is to say that the republican party has literally shown itself to be undermining democracy, free will, and the hopes and dreams of all of us to pursue our own happiness. The dream of our foreparents when creating our democracy was one where freedom of choice and freedom not to choose was actually written into the first amendment to our constitution. The republican party would abolish that right and many others that restrict republicans from controlling all of us!

Thursday, March 14, 2024

(#5520) Our generation has failed us but can yet redeem itself

      When I was young my generation walked on the moon. We brought about great social change. We even started on inventing the ease of usage of creative and innovative technology to convenience. The hope and promise of our generation was poisoned however by three events that left us without the leadership we so desperately needed. Both John and Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King were all three assassinated in their prime before they could shape our generation into a mighty progressive force. Instead we were rudderless and lost our focus on the amazing that we had yet to inject into our society.
     That is no excuse even though the anti democratic forces within our society worked hard to destroy enlightened democracy in favor of their controlled one. Despite their best efforts we should have been able to thwart their attempts had we just remained objective and rational. Yet we didn't and many of our generation joined those forces of disruptions to our democracy with the vigor of our earlier rebellion against the establishment as we knew it. Without our three great leaders we were ripe for taking over by those who have no heart for freedom and democracy. Their only goal is to always divide and conquer and unfortunately with my generation they were ultimately successful.
     Without our leaders we lost our courage and foresight to a better world. We instead of boldly living an honorable life succumbed to some of our worst natures and turned our heads away from being human. Nothing much is wasted like a soul who does not exemplify the characteristics of a wise and just evolution. What my generation should have done is make sure those who stole our leaders from us were found out and fittingly disciplined. We then should have all risen up as leaders to carry on the work of John, Martin, and Robert. We can still do that at this late point in our time but it must be now when the effect will be felt for centuries not just years or decades!

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

(#5519) President Biden will find a way to help Ukraine in the short term

      The republicans in the House of Representatives have been very good at helping Russia and putin attempt to defeat Ukraine by stalling the aid bill for Ukraine. However, despite the turncoat actions of republicans against helping Ukraine keep their democracy from the tyrant putin, Joe Biden is finding ways to help Ukraine in the meantime. He just released 300 million in aid to Ukraine that was left over from the last allotment of aid for Ukraine and now he is about to release between 2 and 4 billion more from the defense department budget. That aid from the Defense Department does not need Congressional approval so republicans in the House cannot stop it.
     Why republicans are so intent on helping a tyrant like putin is beyond the bounds of normalcy. It is as if they have decided that equality and justice are just for a few and not for all. Well Joe Biden is not like republicans and instead he honors the commitment of over 248 years of American independence to make our democracy a more perfect product. The will of Joe is greater than the obstruction of republicans and for that we should all be humbly grateful for his perseverance. The European Union found a way to get past their putin loving obstacles and Joe Biden is doing something similar although not as robust.
     In the history of the world great change came about through great sacrifice and what the Ukrainian people are doing now qualifies as such. The Russians on the other hand are being held at bay by their own ineptitude and incompetence. They have been losing close to 1000 troops a day for many weeks now and have lost over 426,000 troops since February 24, 2022. Now with the unrest in Russia starting to hurt the Russian economy and bringing home alarming safety and security issues, pressure is building. Russia is not only being destroyed in Ukraine but at home as well. How much longer putin will remain in charge may well be a question with an answer to come sooner than later.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

(#5518) The republican party has failed democracy

      Each day that goes by without the Ukraine aid bill coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives is another day brave Ukrainian defenders of democracy will die. This cannot be understated. The republican party says they want to preserve life but their actions are the opposite. They know that democracy is in peril with the Russian invasion of Ukraine yet they ignore this and refuse to help Ukraine defend it's democracy. I am not playing at words here I am just saying the truth of consequences. When the act is proven to be detrimental then the explanation of it is worthy of being exposed.
     The republican party is failing democracy and no other explanation will ever conceal their choice to further putin and his tyrannical ambitions against democracy. So however those republican voters are able to hold their noses at the stench of decay that is the republican party is beyond me. I am a free spirit because democracy gives me that so voting for any republican anywhere would be against the freedom of my soul to exist. I know this and would never jeopardise my love for democracy because of some misplaced loyalty to some political party or some carnival barker representing them. I am not some novice or greenhorn available to be confused through any bias or prejudice into believing that democracy would ever be a worse thing over something based in brutality and fear.
     Actions are in motion by a small contingent within the republican party to allow a vote to come to the House floor on the Ukraine aid. One action will require the republican slim majority and it's speaker to be bypassed by a majority of representatives, 218, to force a vote. This process has been in play for a week or two now and will ripen at the beginning of April. It won't be easy to accomplish but given the stakes in Ukraine nothing here about getting to a vote is harder than fighting for your life against a murderer who is intent on eliminating your very existence. It will always be a stain on our national view as a world leader in protecting democracy but we will get there despite the wrong side being chosen by the yellow bellied republican party.

Monday, March 11, 2024

(#5517) Gearing up for the move over the next two weeks

     Today will start my packing up what I want to start my life with. It is happening and no matter how nostalgic I get over the next few weeks my present and future are moving toward a new beginning. I am getting married to Judy and together we are about to start our lives not here in California. I will miss my birth state but not the hot weather. I need a more moderate climate and that is where I am heading. So packing up what I want with me is going to be a chore of sorts but not so much as it might otherwise be. I expect that the things I have surrounded myself with were more for convenience than necessity. So much will be left and few things will survive my keeping.
     I have always been personally frugal so there is not much that has a sentimental value to me other than the normal ties to the past in pictures and some items. The rest I have accumulated here will stay with the house and become a utility for those who are to manage my home until another decision is made concerning the future of my home. For the near foreseeable future though the packing will be less although thorough. I must go through everything in order to get a clear picture of what I really want and what really needs to stay. All of this is a bit conflicting as it should be. I am uprooting myself for one last adventure. But know this I am ready and happy to be doing it. However there are still emotions that have to be experienced and dealt with.
     If anything I am a comprehensive man who knows that all of my moments in time need my attention to the fullest and what I am doing now to set the stage for my departure will occupy me in full. Every inch of space needs my view so that there is nothing forgotten or misplaced. My life in my new place will be a wonderful gift for me and the countdown to that time is being anxiously awaited. I find that I am keenly aware of all that I view here because that viewing will be the memories I hold within me. I have put a lot of time and effort into this home and all that it has become. Nothing about actually leaving is going to be exciting but it is necessary as an outcome for something even more breathtakingly beautiful.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

(#5516) A third world war is ripening!

      Let me be perfectly clear. No third world war need to be had. It will only come about through ignorance, obstinance, and selfishness. Yet it seems that all three of these negative otherworldly characteristics are much in vogue in the current iteration of republican political circles. For the most part however there is much in the way of this scenario of foolishness and greed. Yet not enough to stop the current momentum that is being actuated by some who should know better. We have somehow gotten to appointed leaders who would rather gamble on a world war then not. As incredible as that seems our reality is proving it true.
     For months many of us have been boldly exclaiming that if we don't do the right thing by honoring our national commitment to helping Ukraine stop the mad rush of the tyrant putin at Ukraine's doorstep the whole of Europe will become involved in stopping the madness of putin further into central and western Europe. With that NATO will be activated and all the world will have troops in Europe fighting to protect the alliances and treaties negotiated since the end of world war two. A third world war will not be the same as the land war of world war two. It will involve sophisticated weaponry that will hit all cities from any country. no one will be safe from a third world war anywhere on our planet!
     All of what I have just expressed could be avoided simply by letting the brave Ukrainians stop the putin rush at the border of Ukraine and Russia. But not until the republicans in the House find both their courage and sense to allow a vote on the Ukraine aid we all need to keep putin within his own borders. If ever there was a simple turning point that could be activated to prevent world wide despair and misery this is it. The history books will either herald the defeat of Russia at the Ukrainian border or they will lament the lunacy that the House republicans caused through a third world war. There is still time for republicans in the House to do their duty to democracy and the world but that time is quickly running short...

Saturday, March 9, 2024

(#5515) After yesterday's international tribute to women

      The response from the republican party is for women to go back to being property of men. Yes, that is what I get from what I know about the republican obstruction of equal rights for women by men. The old saw about women being "barefoot and pregnant" is a pleasing thought to those mostly republican men but also a surprising amount of republican women as well. These republicans only have an individualism for themselves; not for women who would threaten their ideal of control and consequence. The hypocrisy of republicans celebrating democracy and women is nothing short of deliberate absurdity.
     The republican party plays at a public persona of agreeable acts and behaviors while their private work to undermine and destroy the fabric of equality and democracy for women continues unabated. We who are fighting as advocates for improving the lives of women are relentless in our attempts to restore Roe V. Wade that was recently abolished by the republican majority on the supreme court. Just getting back to where we were nearly two years ago is our aim and this election in November will dictate the degree to which we can reverse the hatred republicans have for the equal rights of women.
     Enlightenment has been a tremendous hallmark accomplishment in our ability to reason, analyse, and conclude but it seems that there is much more room to improve on the whole of our populations evolving toward this next evolutionary step for our species. Many of us are here and ready to move beyond the bounds of ignorance yet we are stymied in our yearning for more by those who would see intelligence as a negative. Their reasoning is to stabilize humans as a tool for their agendas not for the growth of our own unique abilities into something even more magnificent. When we all have equal rights the concept of controlling us as a commodity is beyond their control as it should be!

Friday, March 8, 2024

(#5514) Let the blue wave landslide begin

      As a rule lately I am not watching anything that has a republican obstructionist to democracy in it. So I had to get my information about President Joe Biden's State of the Union address from other trusted sources. From what I consistently heard is that Joe did not fail to deliver a strong speech that highlighted the failures of the republican party against his own victories. These moments are generally considered pivotal when in a general election campaign so the fact of Joe's success last night will pivot directly into a positive boost of his status among voters.
     Let me be clear here though. Joe has a base that is so anti trump that even if Joe had a less than stellar night he would still be the favorite to win the election against the miserable person trump. But that he did have a very good night is welcome as the extra positive force will allow for his coattails to help bring in a few more congressional and state victories otherwise uncertain. Popularity is like that. If the head of the party candidate is doing well and is much admired and respected then those who run with him down ballot will be benefitted by his positive vibes through more party line voting.
     From what I can gather this morning the extra democratic party vibes will be in full supply as the republican party has now been exposed nationally as an incompetent choice come November 5th. Many have questioned whether Joe had the stamina and mental acuity to continue as President for another 4 years but as has been reported from last night Joe is still keen and aware of the consequences of his utility to all of us in this most dangerous moment. Without Joe as the figurehead of democracy to thwart off the tyrants and despots of the world we could have been much more vulnerable to such nefarious characters. Our blue wave got a lift last night and should be ready to overwhelm the anti democratic republican party as we get to the election time.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

(#5513) Living life should be inspiring!

      I have so many memories of waking to a new day and looking forward to what the day would bring. To me that was inspiring. I still have those days where the thought of what may come is foremost in my mind. Not because I am worried about my next meal or my life because others want to cause harm to me. But about how fortunate I am to be in a society that affords me peace in enough ways as to comfort me. I look around me at the lives of others as best I can see them and realize that inspiration is not just visible but it is felt. I am not here in existence to realize my purpose based upon what others do. I am here in this existence to forge what I want as inspiring out to others.
     This I know as a fact. When I am selfless the world becomes a better place for me and those who are in my presence. Not only am I inspired by my own sacrifices I am allowing others to see that inspiration manifest toward their own lives. Not all see selfless acts as inspiring but there are many that do. Inspiration is a feeling that has a powerful yearning to it. An enthusiasm that cannot be replicated in nature other than experienced. Once aroused by inspiration the attractive property of it is a beautiful thing and serves to remind us humans of our possibilities. We get a sense of something, we imagine, we create. The process of inspiration is one of the separating dynamics between all of life and what we human beings have evolved into.
     If you want to naturally release the types of chemical processes in your body that make you overjoyed and euphoric then become inspired. Through inspiration we find what is possible for us personally and as well generally for all of us. Inspiration puts a smile on our faces and allows us to know we are alive doing important things. Through inspiration we find what is remarkable about each other and glory in those attributes. Being inspired is what I hope to achieve throughout my life with an emphasis on a continuity of it. Life is too short for all the chaos and nonsense of irrelevancy. We all need to become inspired about whatever it is that lifts our heads in bright shining ways.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

(#5512) I hope proposition 1 here in California passes!

      The votes are in and the counting is taking place. As of now Prop 1 is leading by more than 34 thousand votes with approximately 49% of the vote tabulated. For me the task of reinstituting mental health facilities that were destroyed by republicans and ronald reagan around 40 years ago would go a long way toward addressing homelessness and provide humanitarian approaches to the wayward currently roaming our state's streets. Those who oppose this proposition are arguing from positions that are not working and need to be enhanced to a level that has medical treatment enshrined in its application.
     A redesign is called for here to actually work to solve our homeless crisis that is vastly undeserved. We have for the most part a community of folks who are addicted to various drugs and alcohols as a way of life and anything that moves toward addiction prevention and care is a positive step in the correct direction. Others who are outside the bounds of normalcy need to be treated with a diagnosis and the medication to help them control their out of control actions. We have too many people on our streets that have lost sight of reality and spend too much of their time living in an imaginary world of confusion. If you don't see these folks like I do as a transfer driver in my community then you are not aware of your surroundings.
     More than forty years of neglect from the republican destruction of mental health hospitals has gotten us to this point. So once again it is taking democrats to clean up messes in our society that republicans create and then blame democrats for not fixing. Do you get why I despise the republican party with such a furor! They are the creators of problems in our world and are very good at deflecting that nature of theirs onto others for blame. Bringing this Prop 1 home with a yes vote will go a very long way toward solving another dilemma that is crushing to behold and hard to tackle but we democrats are about the working middle poor class so when republicans work to harm us we democrats find ways to change that.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

(#5511) Tyranny advances while republicans dither

      Rome burns while Nero fiddles. We have all heard this phrase at one time or another in our lives. The idea seems absurd and totally disconnected from reality yet that is exactly what is happening to Ukrainians as their country burns while republicans turn their backs to them. All republicans in the house have to do is allow a vote on a bill that passed the Senate with a vast bipartisan majority. President Biden said he would sign the bill immediately after the House passes it. But no, the republicans in the House prefer to do nothing while tyranny rages on! I don't know who needs to hear this but if you care at all about free will and the rights attributed to free will then you will be shocked to learn that republicans aren't that concerned about freedom and liberty as rights.
     The republican Party is willing to let democracy die in Ukraine in order to consolidate power here in America. They are not leaders these republicans, they are followers! Who is it that they follow? None other than the disgraced failed trump and his deranged view of liking our enemies over our allies. I don't get that as a rational human being but I do understand that it must be stopped and regular order returned to our societies. Democracy is the crucible of which our values are formed and refined. Without democracy we are left with strongmen who would dictate to all of us who we are to be and how we are to function in their mastery over us.
     I perceive a crossroad where we here in America must decide what is to be done with the obstruction and chaos of what republicanism has become. They are no longer a functioning respected party of ideals and compassions exemplified by democratic values. Instead they are in disarray. Their core values are not of the melting pot ideal that formed our nation. They have allowed for themselves to be arbiters of others while not offering examples worthy of being heralded. We democrats, who are fighting to protect and defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, will need to rise up and become a mighty force that can vanquish the world's despots and the republicans who otherwise support them.

Monday, March 4, 2024

(#5510) Building a lasting relationship

     Okay, so I am new at this. That being said I am well aware that being alone like I have been is not going to remain the same. I am now thinking like a man who considers another in an equal and respectful way. I am somewhat used to that anyway in that I generally try to treat everyone equally with respect. But this is more personal. I am now closing in on a happily desired contract that in principle joins two of us in one goal, to keep and hold each other through all things we do. Knowing this as the priority helps me to navigate all the moments that follow.
     I know it won't be that easy but for the most part it will be. There are going to come times where our lifestyles and inculcations will clash and I fully expect that clash to be significant but I also believe we will be able to resolve any uncertainty or difference with compromise and understanding. The idea here for me is that we are about to embark upon a relationship that will form a new way of living for both of us. I am ready for that although I may balk at times for a moment I will always come back to a solution we both find comfortable enough.
     There is nothing about how we live our lives that is even remotely a game changer for me. I also suspect that the feeling is mutual so both of us are starting from a place that has a tremendous chance to be wonderful for both of us. We both are so like minded to start with and that is the threaded foundation of our relationship. We have both gotten to this like minded place through our own individual experiences and caring outlook. So now the rest that we are going to build upon that foundation is found in our staying in the moment and appreciating each other with love and respect. It is not easy learning how to make a relationship a beautiful thing but with both of us being a bit wiser and mature we have a greater chance of succeeding because our relationship is built upon much more than the love we have for each other.

Sunday, March 3, 2024

(#5509) The Russian people need to rise up and throw putin and his kremlin bootlickers out!

      With the murder of Alexei Navalny, and yes it was a calculated murder, putin has put himself at a disadvantage now. His lust for vengeance against Alexei for being more popular than him will likely cost him his power. The failed Ukrainian invasion to date is the background and the outlandish murder of Navalny is the trigger. What we are likely to see in the Russian federation is more boldness from those who have traditionally been oppressed by the tyrant putin and his stormtrooping kremlin acolytes. These folks who are always at the short end of the stick with putin see the opportunity to create havoc and unrest while the majority of putin's forces are still struggling and dying in Ukraine.
     For two years now the Ukrainian invasion has gone on after putin originally announced that the invasion would be done in a week. Russian soldiers, instead of being welcomed as saviors have died in Ukraine to the tune of over 415,000 and counting. These unsustainable losses are filtering back to the families of these dead soldiers and their state of mind cannot be satisfied with evasive rhetoric supplied by putin's propaganda machine. With sanctions and world disfavor at their doorsteps the ordinary Russian citizen has felt being a world pariah in many ways. This is because putin has told them the lies needed to start the Ukrainian invasion but those lies are being exposed with the daily Russian deaths and lack of proof of progress on putin's narrative.
     We are starting to see some cracks in the silence and cowering that the Russian people heretofore have exemplified. There are protests in Russia as well as insurgency practices that are becoming known. The longer Russia struggles in Ukraine the worst the lives of ordinary Russians become. There is now another mobilization that putin is trying to put together to get more of his countrymen killed. The underbelly of putin's and the kremlin's rot is becoming known and how long it takes for the populace of Russia to finally say this is enough is currently measuring time. With every internal Russian sabotage and regional armed rebellion the festering dissatisfaction grows. We can only hope for the sake of Ukraine and the good people inside Russia that the time measurement is short and the action following is swift in its delivery and just in its conclusion.

Saturday, March 2, 2024

(#5508) Our manifest destiny is in outer space!

     There are those who are living on this spaceship we call Earth and they don't want to understand the significance of our journey through space. They instead want to look up into the sky and settle for the atmosphere as our boundary. They seem to have no regard for the fact that our planet is actually traveling through space. Which is why understanding space is so significant and actually an imperative. We have the enlightenment in the form of knowledge and logic to acquire more information about the vast unknown outer boundary above our atmosphere.
     But those who are not clear on why they don't like enlightenment other than to voice that they don't care about anything other than what is in their own personal safety and comfort. These types of folks are fooling themselves if they think of our planet as some kind of sanctuary immune to the forces of time and space. We are not some fantastical place where life and existence are guaranteed. We are instead just a planet within billions of solar type systems that make up the outer space that I am mentioning. To better understand our world and the role our human being species plays in it we must know what we currently don't know.
     Being bold about learning and discovering has been a hallmark of our species since our beginning. We have to know things because our curiosity demands it. We won't know things unless we gird up our courage and venture toward that learning. Our human being species is an amazing one that has so much capacity for adapting to any situation that needs us to accomplish whatever we face. All of we humans are basically the same, we care and we wonder. So to think we won't go out into outer space as a rule is ludicrous, full of fear, and not worthy of who we are. We get beyond our own planet by applying the knowledge we already have with the knowledge we are currently envisioning and developing. Off we go to space my fellow human being travelers!

Friday, March 1, 2024

(#5507) We must save Russia by defeating putin in Ukraine!

      There is one chance only to bring about a free Russian society and that is done by defeating putin in Ukraine. Already putin has killed nearly 415,000 of his Russian federation countrymen so that putin may become the world's dictator. He has no soul to answer to his conscience so he just destroys what he can in order to rule all that he can see. His ending is necessary for our world to become progressive toward democracy. That putin would destroy democracy and install himself as lord of all is unquestioned. The only question remaining to be answered is will we let him?
     I know I won't but what say you? All of us or at least a large majority of us must side with stopping putin the tyrant from forcing his brutal and cruel agenda upon all our heads. We are reminded today what putin is like as the widow of Alexei Navalny lays her husbands battered and beaten body to rest. To putin, Alexei Navalny had to die because he wanted democracy and was more popular than putin and putin cannot stand democracy nor to be upstaged by anyone, moreso a countryman. Especially if putin can destroy him with impunity. The example today is but just one of many that can be counted from everyday that putin has reigned with brutality in Russia. The former KGB chief putin is in his element as one who cares nothing for the lives of others.
     So stopping putin is not just a Russian necessity but it is a worldwide necessity. He, putin, is a tyrant who would  more happily destroy as opposed to build a better world. Russia is eager within its population to rise up from the putin coup to their fledgling democracy several decades ago and reform itself toward democratic ideals. To get back to that stage for Russia to become a positive influence on the world the cancer of putin must be severed from the Russian host. Russia has the desire to be a good standing member of our world order but it must find its way away form the evil that putin has collared them with. We in the west have one job today and that is to support Ukraine in every way so that they can justifiably end the reign of terror putin is applying to their sovereignty and democratic ideals.

Thursday, February 29, 2024

(#5506) I was reminded again of why I write this daily blog

      Most of my life it has been me as my own sounding board. Which is fine because I try very hard to be objective about what it is I am trying to draw for logical conclusions. But be that as it may be I am not another perspective for myself to compare and contrast. I have someone in my life now that is interested enough in who I am to want to talk to me about the deeper meanings of what has grown and matured inside me. My behavior is one way of learning about who I am but there is another. It is in how I describe the important things I express passion about. Where my passion derives it's energy and perseverance. In other words what makes me tick like a clock.
     I was gifted with her reading back to me some of my very earliest blog posts and her reaction to them. Listening to her read my words back to me was an insight that I could not get by listening to myself read the very same words. Her inflections and pauses were beyond anything I had considered in how I wrote the words. For my ear, the way she read my words kindled in me the very essence of my intent in writing them. I am a very fortunate man at this time in my life because I had thought that a time for me to find a person in my life had probably passed me by. I did not give up but I am also not naive. Yet it seems that not giving up is a value that cannot have a enough of a benefit attached to it.
     The bottom line is that I write this blog because I have emotion and logic inside me that needs an outlet for expression. I am no genius nor have the biggest heart, but I do have a measure of both that might be of some value to some reader somewhere about a few subjects. Like the philosopher Rene Descartes concluded, "I think, therefore I am", which is something that has some purpose in life beyond just a place in time and space. Who I am inside me is who I am trying as hard as I can to be outside me. I want more than anything to reflect back the better and best of what it is that makes me part of the human race. I know my value within me is a positive thing and being courageous enough to live it and admit it is a destiny worthy of being strong and humbled enough to show.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

(#5505) The republicans still playing games with Ukraine aid

     A bit of news yesterday after the meeting summoned by President Biden of the four leaders in Congress. The obstructionist Speaker of the House has said that the aid to Ukraine will be voted on in time. Parsing this comment of his allows for the idea that he does plan for a vote to take place but he is hedging that with the phrase, in time. What does that mean and is it a near time or a far off time. We don't know yet but we must assume that him even mentioning this about the aid is more akin to near than far off. With the another bill that need to be fashioned like the funds to keep the government operating coming due it would be fair to think that the aid may be part of that legislative process.
     I know that republicans hope to use the Ukraine aid as a wedge to force democrats to concede other points that are not associated with the Ukraine aid and as long as they feel they can force democrats to concede policies they will not let the Ukraine aid up for a vote. The republican party is keeping aid from Ukraine as blackmail if one was to call it out appropriately in order to satisfy their own extreme agenda. The idea that Joe Biden will give the fascist putin helping republicans rewards for their behavior is a long stretch so we wait to see what other pressures may be applied. Joe Biden has to force the republicans to honor the promises made to Ukraine of which now the unkept promises are devastating to Ukraine.
     For me the foreign aid legislation must be part of any deal democrats make with republicans on keeping the government operating. The government funding bill needs to be passed before March 1, to keep the first stage of the government shutdown from occurring. The onus is on the House republicans as they control America's purse strings so highlighting that fact is the first step toward making the republicans do their job of offering legislation that democrats are willing to accept. No one wants the blame for failure at this juncture so making sure that those who are initially responsible to make the deals necessary for agreement need to do just that!

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

(#5504) Do you get that putin must be stopped in Ukraine?

      The republican party is playing politics with our democracy and that is not in question. What remains in question is whether the republican voter is playing along with them. They are the wild card here. Do the republican voters get that our democracy along with other foreign democracies are at great risk in this moment in time? Will they rise up like the Russian people should rise up and demand that their rights and freedoms be protected? I would have thought as just a normal person that everyone would be for protecting rights and freedoms but with the way republicans are keeping our democracy at risk the idea that some are anti democracy is now a fact.
     I expect there are republican voters who will follow the republican brand right into the slaughterhouse if that is where they lead them. Yet I suspect that many will not do the ridiculous and follow blindly if that entails the loss of their way of life. Like with the Russian people and the loss of over 410,000 thousand young Russian men in Ukraine, the republican voters need a wake up call to remind them that their ignoring of what is happening around them is not sustainable to their interests. There is a lot of propaganda out there that would deny any harm they may experience but the lies of propaganda can only survive if the populace chooses to be ignorant.
     With all the evidence that is getting past the propaganda I would hope that both the Russian people and the republican voter would begin to see the duplicity of putin and republican politicians. There is an honor and duty to protecting democracy that cannot be assuaged by false narratives and deceptive measures. Our core beliefs in a way of life that protects the best of what humans can be is what is now under threat. People like putin and his cohort trump are not what we need in our world as leaders or even opposition voices. They sow discord and death as acceptable means to remain in power and that is what we all should see instead of the propaganda of their words.

Monday, February 26, 2024

(#5503) There must be some breakthrough on the Ukraine aid this week!

      My full attention this week will be on the effort of President Joe Biden to move obstructionist republicans in the House toward an agreement to put the Ukraine aid bill up for a vote. I don't know what Joe Biden will have to do to get these otherworldly republican congressional creatures to be responsible to doing the correct thing for America and the world but Joe must find a way to reverse their obstinance to protecting democracy. We the voters will do our job come November 5th 2024. However Ukraine does not have the luxury of holding out until our next election if they don't want to waste blood and treasure unnecessarily. 
     Several work arounds are underway to advance the bipartisan Senate bill that includes the Ukraine funding. When the Senate bill actually gets a vote it will pass with a large majority in the House but the current House leadership is balking at putting the bill up for a vote because trump demands they don't. He wants to hurt Joe Biden any way he can and by stopping the Ukraine aid he is attempting to make Biden look like a bad steward of our democracy. I suppose trump thinks the rest of us live in a vacuum and do not see his underhanded attempts to destroy good people while trying to make himself look good. Despite all that the congressional republicans are under severe pressure to ignore trump and do the correct thing.
     Whatever powers of reasoning and persuasion President Biden can muster must be employed now so as to put the perspective into the House republican leadership that there will be a heavy cost for further aid delay. There is no cost benefit analysis that can favor the House republican leadership when push comes to shove. So I expect that Joe Biden will be ready and able to move the aid bill along for a vote this week. The sooner the better and today would be wonderful if things fell into place like in a united effort to thwart the tyrant putin against a wonderfully brave Ukrainian society. All Americans can be proud if this aid bill gets a quick vote in the House and then Joe Biden will sign it into law and the munitions to the Ukrainian people can continue to help them push putin out of Ukraine!

Sunday, February 25, 2024

(#5502) Defeating Russia in Ukraine is an imperative!

      There is no greater task to conclude than to end the world domination aspirations of putin and his Russian cohorts! None! So the republican party holding up aid that would greatly help do just that is a betrayal to our ally Ukraine and also to the manifest destiny our nation has in protecting and promoting democracies around the world. I cannot think of a less democratic thing to do than to sit and refuse to help someone fighting for their lives at the hands of a brutal and cruel dictator. The callousness it takes to be a republican right now is well below the normalcy of any decent human trait!
     Some think that I spend too much time on issues around Ukraine instead of issues with our own sabotaged government. Yet I say they are both linked. With the lack of support shown by too many republicans it becomes clear that they would rather see democracy fail in Ukraine than to help Ukraine preserve it. That goes to the heart of our elections here. If republicans are willing to let democracy die anywhere in the world what would they be likely to do when our own democracy is in the balance? Especially since the republican party is the one jeopardizing our democracy through inequality and unfairness.
     If you plan to vote for a republican in any office in our nation then you are complicit in the demise of democracy both at home and abroad. How does it feel to have enjoyed democratic values all your life and then to work to take those rights away from others? Are you an American patriot to democracy or are you an American who would betray those values as your culminating life work? Those that are fine with Ukraine not receiving aid are part of the cabal that is eliminating them every day they are not receiving the promised aid. Not only is it an abomination letting brave Ukrainian soldiers and civilians die, but now we Americans are seen as a threat to democracy that our allies have used to improve their societies. Here is the moral of this post. Vote for every democrat on your ballot and end the hellscape that republicanism is bending towards!

Saturday, February 24, 2024

(#5501) How much longer will the cruel brutality of russia be allowed to continue?

      The mark of a civilized world is the behavior it's inhabitants display. Where the dialogue of what is positive to be attained is foremost and continual in the minds of we human beings on the planet Earth. That is what I expect of us as an enlightened species whose amazing possibilities need to be the rule and not the exception. We humans are the most remarkable species on this planet and as such with our evolution into a creative and innovative paradigm our first step toward our future is understanding that every living soul must have basic uniform rights to exist and be free with liberty.
     How we pursue our happiness within the framework of do no harm allows us all equality and is the only path forward that works to keep peace. Peace is a destination that we must all strive toward. It is not given it is earned through the steadfast defense of all that it represents. We cannot shirk our duty to peace if we want peace as our foundation. There are those who are in our societies that do not want for all they want only for themselves and a few others. So they gain power and then disrupt peace in order to create chaos and fear. Why do they do this? The simple answer is that they want our society of enlightenment and freedom to change to something more sinister and oppressive that would allow them even greater control of not only society but of the lives who live within it.
     What is happening today on the start of the third year of the invasion of Ukraine by putin, the kremlin in Moscow, with the acquiescence of the majority of the Russian people is an example of the worst of what we humans do. The invaders from Russia are casting aside the sovereignty of a legitimate country that was and still is implementing democracy and inflicting on them humiliation, depravity, and war crimes not seen since the days of nazism. The enlightenment of our planet is being destroyed by the warmonger putin who is currently being supported by too many who would help him to remove the rights and freedoms we wish for all. If we who cherish rights for all do not find a way to stop this then it won't be stopped and then the real pain for all in the world, not just Ukrainians now, will begin!
     

Friday, February 23, 2024

(#5500) Another milestone post

     As I reach these milestone posts, 5500 this time, I reflect back to when I started doing these blog posts and why. I think I have given pretty much the same answers for my motivations over the years but the descriptions do vary at times. This may be one of those times. I generally say that I wanted a forum to be heard and that is always true. But it is also a lifeline into reality for me. I write about what is bothering me or exciting me. I am not much of a closed book. So being that way I feel the need to share my thoughts in ways that are sometimes remarkable but more traditionally average and presenting nothing extraordinary.
     Presenting the ordinary is what I do best it seems but I try to find ways for others to see that although ordinary the ideas are certainly important. How we prioritize our concerns and hopes for the present and future. I always seem to bring up that we are a species that is much focused on our own situations within society. Which I as well am prone to be a lot of the time. However there is another part of us that needs focus as well and that is how we live within our own manufactured living frameworks. How our emotions and thoughts are intertwined with all around us and need to be expressed in ways that allow us to feel apart of each other in our society of human beings and other living species'.
     We are all not separate islands within a chain of islands. We are instead pieces of the same world, locked together, much like infinite pieces fitting together to make an existential jigsaw puzzle. The sooner we are in harmony with a concept of togetherness the sooner we will all find that life is more joyful and happy to pursue than presently only for some. I suppose I have given this same message many times and in many different ways, yet it is a message that is more forgotten than remembered. If our leaders are not promoting harmony and togetherness then they should never be allowed to be our leaders. Those of us who remain steadfast in this approach implore the rest to join us to make our reality the better and best of its possibilities.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

(#5499) Courage not fear!

      We humans all have a purpose in life. That being like John Stuart Mill so simply put as "do no harm". If we all start from the position of doing no harm we can be certainly assured that no intentional harm will ever exist. Yet we have those in society that do not heed this simple truth of not doing harm. So when they deem it their duty to do harm we who see this harm must respond. We cannot defeat harm without force. I have tried in vain to stop as an example the harm causing bully with kindness, intelligence and compassion but if anything it encourageous the bully to be even more a bully. So force is the only option left to stop harm.
     In the example of the bully too many of us know that being courageous and standing up to the bully is very difficult and at times impossible. In my own young battle against a bully I often found myself frozen with fear and unable to respond in any admirable way. In time though I realized that being frozen with fear was not going to solve my problem of being bullied. I was forced to understand that the bullying would not stop until I stood up to the bully. Which was what I did at that early age. After that the bully stopped bullying me and even stopped being a bully in general. We both learned from our physical altercation, me that courage is a good thing and him that bullying was a bad thing.
     That lesson has always stood with me despite my own frailties. Standing up to the bully not only helps the bullied but it also becomes a lesson for the bully to learn that harm to others is not a good thing when harm to them is the answer back. What is happening in Ukraine now with putin and his kremlin bullies trying to harm the Ukrainians and others must be stopped and it won't be through kindness, intelligence and compassion. It will be stopped by courage and standing up to the bully. Ukraine has shown that courage in such an admirable way that we could all learn from their outstanding example of how to deal with a bully. Now all we in the civilized world need to do is support the courage that Ukraine is showing against the bully putin and back them with all our heart, mind, and soul.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

(#5498) The republicans and putin must be stopped!

      That this is obvious is of no doubt. With putin murdering Ukrainians daily the need to stop him is overwhelmingly undoubtable. The need to stop republicans is as well as they keep funds from going to Ukraine that would mightily aid in stopping putin. Now you may be puzzled as to why the republican party would want to keep from stopping putin and his ego driven mad rush to control the world. It has to do with both putin and republicans living in the alternative reality where they want power more than they want democracy. Both could have chosen to support democracy and shape policies that benefit all of our societies but neither is dong that. Instead they want to make new rules like tyrants that only support their way of thinking.
     They both disrespect all of our peoples who do not think like them. They are not defenders of freedom and rights for all. So for our American democracy to continue to become more perfect we must stop republicans here in America. All we have to do here is to vote them out of office and let those who choose to improve life for all lead the way. In Russia there is not that choice of fair voting so the fight against Russia is in Ukraine where putin has laid his entire existence on the line. A defeat in Ukraine would spell the end of putin and his cronies in the kremlin. So stopping putin in Ukraine will require we here in America to get the aid package to Ukraine where the bravest soldiers on the planet can put that bravery to effective use.
     The alternative to defeating putin and republicans is a world where tyranny becomes the end game for the greedy and brutish among our species. The end of democracy as a fair and just concept will go into the waste bin and the emergence of forced thought and torture will become our new way of being governed. We have seen what happens to dissent in Russia and already trump has let it be known that he loves that aspect of control. Silencing dissent is what tyrants do and for us to allow such a thing to occur when we already have fought and died for democracy would be a just deserve to us as a punishment for not standing up to the bullies and continually knocking them onto their asses!

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

(#5497) Do you believe in democracy?

      Never in my lifetime had it even occurred to me to question whether democracy should be ours and the world's most inclusive form of government. There is no other form of government with the same rights and freedoms that democracy extends. So why would anyone not protect, defend and encourage democracy the world over? I cannot think of one good reason but I can think of some bad ones. Like some people who are sociopathic in behavior and would like nothing more than to treat some people as property instead of as free human beings.
     We had a war about this called the Civil War and those who fought to protect their human property were defeated by those who knew that people were not property. Those same folks on the losing side of the people as property issue have descendents who would reverse the loss incurred during the Civil War and refight it by destroying our democracy and installing an authoritarian form of government much like what putin is doing in Russia. Which would explain why they are opposed to sending Ukraine aid to fight against Russian aggression on Ukrainian soil.
     I am one who is full stop in on science and logic as a means of interpreting our existence. So seeing how democracy allows for growth within it to make a more perfect union I am well satisfied with its utilization. For those who don't see democracy as their way forward then they should tell us why and how they see our form of government operating. Nothing logical can come from any explanation nor vision they may provide that would surpass or equal the brilliance of democracy. So that is probably why they don't announce their thoughts and vision because it is rather a dark one and would not allow for many to eagerly enjoin!

Monday, February 19, 2024

(#5496) We all have to decide how much indiscriminate murdering we are willing to take!

      The destroyer of lives putin is doing all he can to keep up his mission in life and soon enough this question will have to be answered. How much indiscriminate murdering will we take before we decide we have had enough? Will it be before many more innocent brave folks have to die trying to defend against his horror? Or will it be later after a whole creed of folks perish from the face of the Earth? It seems to me that sooner is the answer but I am not in charge of all of us to decide for us because if I was I would stop the madman from Moscow yesterday. My reasoning is simple. Because no one should be allowed to brutalize and destroy another human being with no consequence to themselves.
     Is it just me being overly sensitive to wanting to protect life from harm when it is being destroyed? I find that death that is intentional and unwanted is proof enough for me to react in a way that will not accept it. Is it just me that feels the need to protect those who are truly victims of another's wanton out of control ego? Maybe there is something wrong with how I think? Maybe I am not callous enough to dismiss the death of those who are trying to be free and live in liberty. I must be missing something in my behavior and character that doesn't allow me to feel the pain of injustice and abuse.
     I must need to apologize then for not being the emotionless man that some seem to think we all need to be when it comes to destroying life for the sake of whatever our whims are. From what I can tell I need to find it within me to smother kindness and hope so that I can fulfill some fantasy that has no other basis in reality other than my own rapacious limited scope perception. Somehow if I want to fit in I must stop advocating for the weaker among us and start advocating for the powerful to fulfill their dreams at my and others' expense. Or, perhaps I need to keep my own value systems of honor and noble principles of living in a world where we are all special and worthy of more than being someone else's dark reality.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

(#5495) Our mindless American society

      Do you ever get the feeling that no matter what the atrocity we Americans just keep going on as if nothing really important has just happened? I get that feeling all the time now. The years of the mass shootings even at children's schools has done little to dent the psyche we Americans have hidden behind a very thick wall. This hiding ourselves from dangers is not sustainable and will lead to our downfall as a nation. We are not separated from the world nor from our own country's borders. We cannot nor must not exclude ourselves from the consequences of our whole environment.
     We have problems here that need all of us to work together toward solutions. We have to find our way out of our protective shells so that the real world situations in our own backyard begin to resemble solutions instead of being ignored. Even our foreign policy of promoting democracies around the world is being neglected to the detriment of our own safety and security. As individuals, we have lost the form of a bold person who is excited about the future and what that may become. We are more like caricatures of what we think we are as humans without having to actually be human. We have lost our sense of instinctual living and the reasoning that comes with being logical.
     Not good things are taking place on our watch as the greatest and strongest form of government on the planet yet we shirk those things and continue on like all is okay. We have lost our identity as human beings to be replaced with an illusion of privilege and advantage. We are far less noble than we think we are because we have forgotten that honorable principles require sacrifice. We want for ourselves yet not for all to have even a small fraction of what we carelessly keep with no utility. The pompousness of our character's will lead to only one outcome and that will not be what we thought it to be. If we don't find our way back to being real honorable people then our time in this existence as leaders will be short.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

(#5494) Will the Russian people now realize they are being duped by putin?

      I know how nationalism works. Being for your country is a no brainer. It is like what we have here in America on a lesser scale with republicans. Core republican supporters cannot be convinced to look at their party as lesser despite a mountain of evidence that shows they are lesser. The cognitive dissonance that takes hold is so much more stronger than logic. Same with nations. The Russian people think that through their information services that they are the ones who are deciding the agenda and policies of their nation when in fact they are not. Same with republicans here.
     But in the history of our great nations and traditional political party's there are moments in time that can galvanize our populaces to an awakening that proves to be the undoing of those who had been working to confuse us. That moment started yesterday for putin in Russia. A hard cold slap in the face of the Russian people was the news that Alexei Navalny had died in prison. He had been previously poisoned by putin stooges and then placed in prison on politically motivated charges. His death at the age of 47 is not in line with how the Russian high command indicated and his body not being released to his family has further caused the putin fault line of distrust to widen.
     Alexei Navalny recorded a video of what he wanted his countrymen to do upon his coming death as he surely knew that putin and his brutal kremlin allies were not the kind of people to tolerate dissent. I can somewhat imagine the pain of losing such a great man of vision for what the Russian state could be instead of what it currently is now. Will this be enough for the Russian people for finally say enough along with over 400,000 of their countrymen dead in Ukraine? I don't know but these things need to be reconciled and now is the time to do it. Russia still has a pathway to peace but the leadership of Russia is not going to be part of that, so change must come from within. That momentum is built from shock and anger so hopefully too many young Russians dying and one such as Alexei Navalny being killed will make the Russian people rise up and reclaim their dignity and honor.

Friday, February 16, 2024

(#5493) I am seething about the despicable republican party!

      It is reported by Russian authorities that Alexei Navalny has died in a Russian prison. His crime for being in a Russian prison was to try to run in an election against putin the tyrant! Alexei Navalny represented the hope for a better Russia and now he is reported as dead. It is like for me when President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated because they represented a bright hope future here in America. Whenever someone or something good tries to take place in our societies there seems that the worst of our examples of human beings comes out and takes that good away.
     My heart is breaking this morning at this news and at the same time has filled me with a determination that is as strong as the hardest metal. I will never relent to the evil and worst that some would wreak upon us. The hope for a brighter day will not leave my soul and will always be my guiding light. There is a battle for the soul of our species and if you are not sure about that then I am afraid you have already been defeated. So I suggest you do this as a way of learning if you are. Are your favorite politicians promoting democracy? Are they promoting the right for all who are eligible to vote? Are they fighting to elevate women above being classified as property? Are they fighting to preserve the dignity of all human beings instead of just some?
     If you can honestly answer any of these questions within your own self then you will be able to understand that the forces of oppression are out there and pretending to be normal and friendly. Yet they are not! The soul of our species is being hijacked by a few privileged neanderthals who think they know better than those who have accepted that logic, facts, and reasoning have a greater perspective in finding the truth than their own ego's. We the public had better wake up and look around us at those who say they are what they are not. When the republican party says that we are in a national security crisis and then promptly call for a House recess you cannot ignore the hypocrisy and the wanton disregard for your ability to see their duplicity!

Thursday, February 15, 2024

(#5492) It is hard to be happy when Ukraine is suffering

      I have much to be grateful for in my life and just the thought of what is going on recently with me is enough to bring a smile to my face. Then I am quickly brought back to reality with the lack of Ukraine aid from what should have been a no brainer republican party ally. Well it is hard to consider the republican party an ally of Ukraine as Ukrainians fight to the death for their chance of creating their own democracy. Let me say that again this way. As Ukraine is being attacked daily on all its fronts from the tyrant putin who would destroy Ukraine as a sovereign nation, republicans do nothing to help Ukraine thwart off the constant ravages that Russia utilizes.
     So instead of standing up to help Ukraine defend its democracy, republicans are sitting down and turning their heads so that they can ignore the death that is now coming to the bravest fighting force for democracy the world has seen since we Americans in the second world war. What our great grandparents and grandparents did last century to defeat the fascists like putin was magnificent and heralded several generations of growth toward democratic values. Well the republican party is no longer on the side of helping democracy flourish and instead they are preparing to help destroy democracy by denying promised US aid to Ukraine.
     Because this aid is now questionable in helping Ukraine fight back the onslaught of fascism that is coming out of Russia the Ukrainians are about to be overwhelmed because they are not of the same resources that Russia has been able to secure. The dictators of the world are helping putin spread fascism because they know that democracy hurts them. The republican party has no excuse for what it is doing to destroy democracy other than to side with fascism. This is indeed a very dark chapter in the history of America and it is the republican party that is coloring it so.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

(#5491) Ukraine aid

      The House of Representatives has now gotten the bill passed by a large majority of Senators authorizing Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid to help them secure their democracies. The House is in a current holding pattern on the aid bill as the extremists in the House from the republican party are hoping to ignore the aid bill as unnecessary. They are being led by the extremist voice of their leader trump. What is still possible though is that the majority of republicans may find a way to compromise within their own caucus to allow the vote and then weather the storm from their extremist faction.
     The verdict is still not in yet on whether the bill from the Senate to support foreign aid will be voted on in the House. Let me be clear here on this subject of the vote itself. If the bill is put up for a vote, it will pass with republican votes to spare. The only doubt in all of this is whether the House leadership will overcome the threats from trump and his cabal in the House to allow the vote to even take place, All that is at stake is the freedom of democracy and its growth in the world at large. If we here in America cannot find it within ourselves, the cradle of democracy, to support the growth and nurture of democracy then democracy will not grow and instead will wither from non care.
     I have been railing at republicans for well over 3 months now to stop obstructing on this vital aid that will give Ukraine the tools it needs to fight with their citizens to maintain and grow their democracy. If we here in america fail to help Ukraine then the possibility of Russia defeating Ukraine gets more likely. In that case expect Russia to fortify previous Ukrainian defense lines as offensive lines aimed at moving into Europe. When NATO countries are attacked the United States will respond in kind with all weapons in its arsenal. Just know that aiding Ukraine now is a prevention of much more costly expenses and losses of life that the cure of stopping Russia post Ukraine will demand. Aid Ukraine now republicans and do what you should have done more than 3 months ago!

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

(#5490) The power of thought

      We human beings have an incredible feature to our existence. We can think like no other known species to us. The domination of our surroundings is totally justified because of our ability to think. We create and innovate at such alarming speeds that what was the usual practice of our normality is in a constant upgrading motion. The upgrading can become dizzying with the motion of change that is everywhere. Yet our minds adapt when we consider the benefits of change in balance with the cost associated. All of this requires thinking which we do regardless of our motivations.
     As our sciences and the logic to comprehend them further themselves into the fabric of our desires. We can imagine the present and future that build upon the best of our pasts. We can think about the vastness of time and space that is beyond our planet and how that exploration and discovery may be achieved. Our thoughts about things that are current and hoped for in our home here on Earth find their genesis in our ability to rationalize our thoughts to actuate behaviors and situational undertakings. Rene Descartes postulated that "since he could think, therefore he existed"; thus disproving any doubt of his own existence since he was the one who would be doing any doubting.
     The power of thought is an absolute limitless feature of an evolved mind that has its home in the human being experience. We humans alone are able to imagine through our thoughts possibilities that no other species can recreate in substantive form. Without thought we humans are like the lesser species who cannot change their surroundings to fit their needs. We humans can do so and in that doing are able to evolve toward greater desires through our imaginations. Every human being on this planet is capable of one or more amazing interpretations of what our existence allows us to build. When we are all in step with our own possibilities then the real magic of thought will soar to a level never yet even imagined.

Monday, February 12, 2024

(#5489) Russian deaths keep mounting in Ukraine

      The number of deaths reported by Ukraine of Russian soldiers that have been killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 is now at 395,990. The number will exceed 400,000 by the end of this week. I cannot imagine how the parents of these Russian soldiers are dealing with the loss of life at such a devastating rate. These young Russian men are no more and as such will never have had a chance to have families of their own. The whole of Russian society has now a gaping hole in it of this generation. I cannot fathom for the life of me why the Russian people would allow such a travesty as this to continue.
     I often hear that the Russian people are sick and tired of this war that putin and the kremlin are waging against their cousins in Ukraine but to not see some effort to stop this insanity I am left with the thought that the Russian people have resigned their lives to live for putin instead of the other way around. How this one callous man, putin, can command such obedience from what I always thought of the Russian people as independently rugged has been reduced to fearful and afraid. The Russian people are sacrificing their youth for nothing as putin will never take Ukraine. So why don't they stop him from killing more of their children?
     I could live another 100 years and still be baffled by the Russian people and their non care for their children's lives. The coming number of 400,000 dead Russian soldiers is a number that is beyond reason and logic. Are lives so devalued in Russia that now the much younger child adults must be liquidated for the state purpose of gaining nothing? I don't know the formula for ending the putin/kremlin cabal but I know that it must happen if Russia is to survive it's own implosion. Somewhere someone has to make a stand and along with all the rest of civilized Russia put an end to the worst episode of human self destruction I have ever seen or would expect to see. Somehow this fiasco that Russia is causing in ending the lives of it's youngsters must end now!

Sunday, February 11, 2024

(#5488) Getting on a plane this morning

      I am going back up north for a few days to spend time with a woman I have gotten to know pretty well. it seems that this older man has gotten lucky in the sense of meeting someone who is like minded and as happy as he always aspires to be. I know this week is Valentine's week and the implication is obvious but still time to get to know each other is upon us and luckily an opportunity to see how we get along further is about to begin in person, again. One thing I have figured out is that when an opportunity for a special change in life is available it would be foolish to let it pass without an effort to see what could be possible.
     I feel not unlike a young person again inside and that is quite remarkable since these kinds of feelings have long since passed me by. But apparently not completely. I have spent my entire life being alone so to speak and now we shall see if that will change for me. I do look forward to the possibility and am excited to see if I can be someone worthy of another's love. All things are possible when we stay in the now moment and let ourselves trust our intuitions and logic. Nothing in this world is perfect, so neither is any expectation I may have but I do know that if a bond is to be shared then the little things in life matter just as much as the big things.
     So getting on that plane this early morning is a first step toward that moment when I get to try to be a worthy man who has the same hope for this special woman. It is curious how life can be so ordinary one moment and then extraordinary the next. These last few months have been of the extraordinary variety and for that I am fortunate that I was ready for the happening to occur. The moments of our lives are what matter and finding some happiness should be the pursuit of all of us. Whether fighting to get freedom for people or fighting to find happiness for ourselves, the goal is the same, Never quit and always hope. Here is to a safe plane ride and a welcoming from a woman who I will be very happy to see.