To whom much is given much is expected (#3135)

     This old adage is the backbone of a democracy. For those who have been gifted with the extraordinary there are millions who are not gifted with anything. What may seem to those who have unlimited success as their own special uniqueness, it is less that and more circumstantial fate, luck of the draw and many times a devious nature to manipulate. But whatever one has to tell themselves is what they do to keep their own ego filled to the top. But many are not such people. No, many are such people who realize that fate has smiled kindly upon them and that luck indeed is good for some and bad for many. But most of all to whom much is given has been earned through a maze of support and dedication. These are the ones who exemplify democracy because they know without a doubt that they are not the beginning and the end of all things.
     So they immerse themselves in not only continuing their successful enterprises but they look out beyond themselves and make ways for those who have not the magic touch of Midas. They give back to the society that gave them the opportunity to progress. They help maintain that structure and try to improve upon it. These are the ones who much has been given and now are the ones who expect from themselves to give back. It isn't about who can have the most while never letting go of what they have. No, it is about having the care to let go back to those who have not the resources nor the opportunity to progress on their own. We lift up our society so that the floor is not living in poverty but the floor is living with dignity and respect.
     Many find it hard not to accept that poor people are lazy shiftless and ignorant. They would be wrong. Poor people are defeated people who have been cast down, used and demoralized for so long that their will to brighten up and shake off the too many boots to their necks is inconceivable. They have been used, lied to and thrown away by a society that only measures success as respect, while giving no such respect for those who have tried but were defeated, fairly or dishonestly. It makes no matter if you lose regardless if the losses were deserved or not. Those who have made it to a place of benevolence and then actually are benevolent at least make up for some of the worst our natures allow. We need more of such folks and less of those who lied, cheated and stole to get their earthly rewards with no intent to give back.

Conservatism should never be the majority political party (#3134)

     The only function of a conservative is to be a watchdog on liberal policies. First you have the liberal policy and then you apply conservative measures to it so that it doesn't go to any extreme. I have never heard of a society helping conservative policy where liberalism is needed to expand it. Never! So for me it is simple, conservatives ie.. republicans, should always be the minority party but only as a counter to liberalism when it is too hubric. Think about it this way, you only need to conserve if you actually have something. Then it is wise to ration your whatever in a way that it is utilized to it's fullest efficiency. That is right and good.
     But only liberalism can bring us something to conserve. Conservatism does not bring us something to conserve, it by it's nature would not bring us anything as it's way of conserving. We are a society that needs to have an interconnectedness in order to satisfy our needs so there are times when we need to allocate liberal policies to make that so. It is then that conservative ideals can play an important role but only after the implementation of the liberal policy. The horse before the cart concept and not the other way around. If we want to keep our democracy we must get back to this type of dynamic where the conservatives are the minority and function as an efficient restraint on the liberal majority.
     What we currently have is a conservative majority everywhere and with that we will get nothing done except the tearing down of democratic ideals and liberal policies. It is as if we have been tricked into believing that the republicans are here to save us from ourselves. In actual truth the republicans are here to destroy us while blaming us for the destruction. They have always wanted less democracy and more authoritarian type rule so if we don't stop them from their agenda of turning us against ourselves so that they can reshape American government into an authoritarian one we will soon find that our democracy is gone and there will be no recourse for us to reverse the effect. We will have been done in by our own prejudices and hatred. I suppose we should deserve the outcome based upon our arrogance and naivete but our children and their children do not!

The Pearly Gates moment (#3133)

     Imagine if you will your belief that their is a God and Heaven exists. Okay, what will you be thinking when you are on your deathbed waiting to die or say to God or Peter when you get to the Pearly Gates? Will you tell them you were a proud republican voter who voted to discriminate against those who were not white? Will you say that the poor and the downtrodden were not worthy of your help? Will you say that women are a lesser human species than men? Will you say that money is greater than compassion? How do you plan to respond if an actual Heaven does exist? I am curious because the way religion is supporting some of the most vile acts humans can commit it makes me wonder if there are any who are religious, are worthy of being allowed into a Heaven if it exists?
     You religious need to think about that when you support the republican agenda. I know that there are imperfections on the democratic side as well but at least we allow for the individual to make choices that are not our's to make. The religiously conflicted on the democratic side at least know that they do not have to choose to follow the democratic platform if it conflicts with their beliefs. Whereas the republicans have to because the republican party will not allow for the individual to choose. We democrats, believers and nonbelievers have found a simple way to coexist. We don't pass laws that make one group at the mercy of another. We protect the rights of all citizens to choose their path in life but we give them options for it. Now if I don't agree with having an abortion then I shouldn't have one and that works for me. But if others think that having an abortion works for them then that is their choice and they have the right to make it regardless of what I "believe".
     In the republican way of thinking there is no right to choose for nonbelievers. They must follow what the believers think or else they are punished. If there is a God and a Heaven we all must answer for our lives based upon our free will not on what we were forced to do by others. I feel sorry for those believers who at the time of their dying must reexamine their lives and under the shock of the moment realize they were not disciples of Christ but were instead the Pharisees who undermined Christ. the republican party should NOT hold Christians as its followers since the republican party is antithetical to the teachings of Christ. If there is a God of course... 

The Supreme Court or the cowardly court (#3132)

     I have been hoping all along that our Supreme Court would put an end to what the trumps are trying to do outside the rule of law and the intent of our national constitution. Even with the absurd placement of an alleged racist on the court, I expect the more moderate republican members to be abhorred with the direction the trumps are taking our society. But we won't know until we get to some rulings that will give us insight into how the court considers its value. Will they stay a strict originalist majority allowing for the intent and actual words of the law to rule or will they allow for change in society and the general overarching ideal of protecting the institution of democracy itself?
     It is clear to me that a man who walks with his head down to make sure his footing is always precise often misses out on what is going on around him. Yet that is the way the court has operated for much of its walk through our history. There have been times in the history of legal precedence when the court raised its head and practised judicial wisdom beyond the intent of legislators and actually applied the doctrines of our constitution as the blueprint for contracting with the American people. But those times have been missing of late and to expect them to come back even when the trumps are staggering our democracy close to the edge of disaster, is still an unknown. I have hope but not a lot.
     But like all things, there could be some surprising moments and when this court does take up the new cases that do reflect the trump agenda. We will see how far the court will go in bending or not to the trumps demands. With trump already castigating the court and the rule of law it would seem like a prime to me to put the trumps back in their place as just one of three branches of government, not the only one. So will the Supreme Court uphold it's dignity and responsibility to American democracy or will they cower and kneel down to the bully trump. I for one have a flicker of hope that the 4 liberal leaning justices will influence one or two of the moderate conservative majority and stop the democracy destroying trump before he does to the Supreme Court what they surely must know he is planning to do, which is to brutishly turn the court's cowardice in upon themselves.

America has no moral high ground (#3131)

     Even the religions here in America have lost the value of moral esteem. Where once we could count on the church as a place where all could find refuge, respect and dignity we are seeing that the churches now are actually instigating exclusion and hatred as moral value. The correct definition is moral bankruptcy. America was the melting pot where the poor, tired and oppressed could come and find an opportunity for a better life and a happier one. Well no more! America has instead closed in on its ugly racist self and has begun to purge those who are too ethnic or not white enough. This is my country and it infuriates me! Yet I can do little to change this direction except to voice an opinion and stand by my values in my own personal and public life.
     I am fine with that since I am the only one who lives inside my skin. I value the morality of democracy and all its inherent principles. My life is a record of my time here in this existence and if there is a recording of it in some unknown paradigm I can stand firmly by and say overall it has been a good life spent. I do let the best of humanity reside inside of me. I don't follow those who would harm and hurt out of some misguided lorded belief that pain and suffering are good things. I am not wise enough to know what is in the hearts of men and women other than their actions and words as they come forth. But with those actions and words I can see their morality or lack thereof. Which is why I am writing this piece about America and our arrogance to lecture against criminality when we are in actuality, culprits.
     So with our current atmosphere of racism and hatred we are not only dropping the ball on improving our society and the world around us but we are also making the world a more dangerous and intolerant place. We Americans are a shameful lot and it would behoove the world to quarantine us from infecting them with our own egregious brand of unwarranted condescension. There are many elements of American society that are struggling mightily to change this current era of despicableness but we are up against it in the worst of ways with the republican party being in control of our politics and as well feeding the current dynamic of despair.

Society is built for humans not humans built for society (#3130)

     This is the problem with republicans, they think of humans as resources. We are not resources, we are unique one of a kind individuals who happen to live in a fixed reality. Society, through civilized acknowledgement is devised to better enhance the human experience, not humans that are procreated to enhance the needs of society. We have allowed this mindset of we are not worthy to infiltrate our consciences and we therefore lose our will to fight for our innate right to exist equally in a democracy. Our foreparents fought long and hard for us to get the kind of society we could live in and if it weren't for republicans devilishly destroying our democracy so that they can once again use us as a utility, we would have an even better democracy!
     The bottom line for republicans is always money so if they cannot make money from any endeavor, whether their endeavor or a shared endeavor like democracy, then they will change the rules so that they can benefit. They don't care about the good will of others because they subscribe to the survival of the fittest dogma. All of this illustrates to me that we are a species in turmoil and we can't seem to decide to move forward into the logic of enlightenment or backward into the brutishness of being controlled. I am part of this species and for me the question isn't about being afraid, it is about whether we are bold. I know we are afraid, even I am but my desire to be bold about my life is much greater.
     I have little time left in this existence so doing things half assed or in fear is not an option. I am all in on living to my potential under the rules of democracy given us by our foreparents. I will not relinquish that gift to some bullies who would threaten and cajole so that they can lie cheat and steal our future. No, I will fight them with all that I have and when the fighting time is done for me I will at least have died with a noble purpose in my heart. I matter and so do all of us so what will it take for all of us to find the will to die with a noble purpose in our hearts? What will it take to move away from our own childish fears? Rather a hero to my heart than a coward!

A stitch in time (#3129)

     The trump reign must be ended before we can hope for a better future. Every new day I see something that trump is doing to destroy our democratic ideals. I know these things he is doing are by executive order and thus can be reversed by the next democratic president but the further we go down into the morass of tyranny the harder it will be to arrest our fall and climb up back out. The vote rigging through gerrymandering, poll tax like required identifications, voter list purges and actual voter fraud by republicans makes it necessary for all who are voting citizens to show up and vote this next election. 46.9% of registered voters did not bother to vote in 2016. We cannot have a replay of that if we are to bring our democracy back from it's hellish downfall.
     The investigation into the russian connection and the trumps and other colluding republican's campaigns is slow and painstakingly methodical and as such may not be ready for prosecution for another year or more. So girding ourselves up for the next midterm election in about 14 months is the best course given our unknowns. If we cannot end the trump presidency through criminal prosecution then we must severely damage his ability to legislate by taking out the republican majorities in both legislative houses. We can do nothing about the supreme court seat that was stolen from the Obama administration by the despicable current senate majority leader but we can make sure that no other of his ilk is allowed to sit on our highest court.
     A stitch in time to me is the rallying call to end the republican leadership in our great nation. To allow for the trumps and their acolytes to serve 2 terms with their legislative majorities would all but end democracy as we know it. We have no other choice but to fight back with everything we have to obstruct and defeat the conservative/nazi agenda. I cannot believe I am writing this about our nation but then again I have been in a stunned state of reality since November 8, 2016. The American spirit has to be greater than the worst of human nature and simply getting all of us to the voting booth will prove that democracy is greater than tyranny.

Religion and it's shaming (#3128)

     Here in America we hold that the right to practice religion is as important as the right to not practice religion. It is what separates the church from government. The clause in our constitution's first amendment is this, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;...". So in another way of describing it, we can practice or not practice religion, that is our choice. So since no religion can compel anyone to practice it then it must attract its members in order to be able to offer its principles. Well many religions have sprung up over the history of our civilization and the one theme they all have in common so far is their attempt to make themselves worthy of attention.
     We here in America have houses of worship of all types and sizes so each has to be able to survive by making it's best case to us that we need to accept their doctrine. But lately over the last few decades some religions have taken to shaming those who are not holding their particular views instead of attracting followers. Personally, I am not a follower of religion. To me it is myth and superstition all rolled up into one. But back to the recent course of shaming by religions to those who are not their followers. This shaming is an attack on those who are not attracted to their dogma and or cultish practices. The purpose to me for the need for religion is for a lifting up of the spirit but we are seeing not a lifting up of the spirit but a condemnation of it.
     Which is ironic since there has never been a person or a group of people who have not been a "sinner". So these religions that are shaming people are in essence hypocrites to their own dogmatic principles. Now to me it further illustrates the lack of necessity for religion at all but I know people who find comfort in their belief systems and who am I to dispute the rights guaranteed under our constitution's first amendment? Simply it is this, religions that are out there condemning people for not being like them have failed to attract followers with their unwanted actions and words. So they choose instead to work the shame angle. I find it contemptible that as I live to honor and uphold the constitution of our United States others don't and instead want to have you obey them.

The unraveling of the madman (#3127)

     It is my fervent hope that one day, sooner rather than later, we will be able to look back on this time in our American history and see just how close we came to destroying our great nation. The collusion with a foreign nation by republicans to gain victories in the 2016 general election is one treasonous action we need to punish those complicit for making happen. Elevating a candidate like trump to the leader of the free world is another action that should never have happened and republicans need to be held to account for letting an obviously disturbed man run our country. What also must be addressed is the base of support trump carries with him no matter what he does or says. Like Charles Manson, there will always be those who are hypnotized by him in a nation as diverse and eclectic as ours.
     The mounting evidence of an illogical break with reality taking form as a weed, has it's root and that root needs to be plucked out wholly with a care to preserve new fertile ground for the planting of new ideas to emerge. We have an epidemic of ignorance and bad behavior to confront and the sooner we get to it the better we will be in going immediately into our better future. If any one thing can be utilized as a silver lining in the madness displayed by trump and his enablers it is that hatred and division are not compatible with democracy and intelligence. We see the path forward now and as such we must apply the rule of law and conscious to the furtherance of a modern society if we want to continue to strive to be a nation without equal in human rights, equality of opportunity with justice and fairness for all.
     The unravelling of trump before our eyes gives us the chance to create a do over in our immediate future and if the truth of things show themselves in a timely fashion we will get that opportunity. I have had to work hard to be able to put logic and democracy at the top of my list of principles because I am a slow learner sometimes and need an extra moment of two now and then. But the rest of us are able to see first hand the madness trump displays and being unable to equate logic and common sense to his actions and words is sadly easy at this point. He is unable to hide behind pomp and circumstance any longer so fooling anyone else other than his hard core base is impossible. His madness is there for all the world to see.
     

Make sure you are registered and eligible to vote (#3126)

     Everyone needs to check their voting status to make sure they were not part of any purge that republicans are working overtime to accomplish. This is how republicans see their best chance to win elections. They eliminate as many non republican voters from eligibility as possible whether those voters are eligible or not. There is practically no voter fraud in a world where nothing is perfect yet republicans claim that there is mass cheating but never provide proof of their claim. That their claim helps them is irrelevant in their eyes. But it isn't irrelevant in ours since we are the ones who are fighting to keep our voting rights.
     The vitriolic and infectious way republicans push past logic and common sense in order to get their way should have gotten them nothing from us voters yet for some inconceivable reason they continue to have followers. How many they have left we will find out by the end of voting in the next national election of 2018. We have seen the republican party earn horrible approval numbers over the last many months but when the political ads start to come fast and hard next year will we electorate once again be bamboozled by the lying rhetoric of the conservative republican party? My guess is that given the last election we will be taken in once again by the sheer magnitude of republican ads lying their asses off to make their best case.
     Well republicans don't have a case in my book. They try to cheat to win by suppressing voters from voting. They have never been about building a strong working middle class and they stomp on the rights of Americans who are not beholden to them. They are the scourge of our nation and yet because they have money and are still powerful politically we keep allowing them to bully and lie to us. There is only one way we can be sure to end their domination of our politics and that is by voting them out of office everywhere. We cannot do that unless our priorities are set to make sure we are still eligible to vote as well as those who we can help.

The genetics of freedom (#3125)

     I would think that after many generations of being a free nation for the most part that our genetics would have picked up a tick in that direction. To say that we all can't be taken control of by the forces of tyranny that threaten our lives unless we submit is still very possible but the will to be free again is now part of who we are, ingrained in such a way as to be in our DNA or at least feel like it. I have a stubborn streak in me that is not just the much of Irish blood in my veins but the idea of freedom to choose as my will decides provided by this very democracy we are gifted with in America. Why do you think I fight so hard for democracy? Because it allows me the liberty to choose from lawful activities and thoughts without fear of death or reprisal.
     Democracy is the vehicle that allows all of us the drive to wherever our happiness will take us. Without democracy we are left with choices made by others for us that do not take into account our individual uniqueness. We become cookie cutter humans with lives that are controlled by those who think of themselves as greater than us. Where distinctions among us are based upon superficial identifiers are the rule with no room for the depth of creativity and merit. Democracy is our lifeblood for existing to our potential and without it we are not able to fulfill any purpose we may choose for ourselves. This is why we cannot let our democracy wane in the face of tyranny and brutal egoism.
     I always call upon my favorite Continental army member and Revolutionary war hero, the 21 year old at his hanging, Nathan Hale, to describe what democracy means to me. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." I may only have one life but it is a life worth offering to defend the vehicle that keeps us free from oppression and wrapped in the arms of freedom. Democracy is the value many underestimate and/or ignore because it is the all that encompasses our lives. We forget it is there because we expect to be free as the logic of enlightenment pronounces. Yet it is a dearness that must be defended at all times because there are too many human scourges out there who have no illusion about their own personal greatness in a way that diseases the rest of our society at the expense of our freedom. Freedom is in my blood and my nature now and nothing will stop me from protecting our democracy that allows it.

Equality over privilege and advantage (#3124)

     Democracy demands that we place equality over privilege and advantage yet in America we have abused that principle and instead have placed privilege and advantage over equality. When I say we, I mean those whom we voted to represent us who have otherwise dishonored that trust. They instead work to satisfy the wealthy and the powerful more often than not. The paradigm of we the people has been subjugated by the weakness of our representatives. No more should the wealthy and the powerful have an honored place at the table of our democracy. They should sit with all the rest of us with no preferred status.
     Our laws and the application of our justice system truly does need to be blind. It is abominable that the wealthy can buy their way out of law breaking. There needs to be no amount of personal wealth that can subvert the cause of justice. The problem doesn't just lie with our representatives. Too many judges, attorneys and law enforcement in the judicial system have lost the intent of their oaths to their professions. The weakness of our own individual characters has allowed for the gray areas in the law to overwhelm the righteousness of it. The gray areas are not for furthering the advantage and privilege of some more than others, instead the are areas that have yet to be fully encompassed into practice with equality at its core.
     Like many different elements in our society, equality has been shuffled to the back when it comes to priorities. We have lost sight of the value that equality brings to our lives. Instead we have poverty, anger and an overall disillusioned citizenry all at the expense of the wealthy and powerful who conjure the idea that they must have their privilege and advantage. Well I say enough of privilege and advantage. Democracy demands that equality be the avenue that which decides who among us can attain through merit, innovation and creativity. Each of us must put forth our best effort if we want to achieve. No more should the wealthy and powerful be able to dictate or interdict in our right to live in a society that holds all to the same standard without privilege and advantage. With much comes much responsibility. We all deserve the same right to try without condition or disadvantage.

Wedging the cracks in the republican party (#3123)

     I find myself at odds with this current administration because they do not hold democracy dear. They see democracy as an obstacle to how their agenda will play out. This is why they embrace such harsh policies as ending social programs and creating a two tiered citizenship in America. Not only do they want to restrict voting they want to eliminate most of what is left of the working middle class. Either you are wealthy or you are struggling to make ends meet. The republican party wants the workers to be fighting for jobs that pay less and less by creating more demand with less opportunity. The opposite of what democracy demands here in America.
     The republican party wants to cut down on education for the masses so that they can hold their monopolies without true competition. The opposite of what democracy demands. The republican party wants to stifle the equality of women to men so that they can still think of women as their property. The opposite of what democracy demands. The republican party wants to curtail immigration so that they can control the types of racial allowances for entry. The opposite of what democracy demands. The republican party wants to end free speech as it is and change it to what they deem is the best utility for their own propaganda, alternative facts and fake news as examples. The opposite of not only democracy but of what logic and common sense demand.
     These are just a few examples of why we need to wedge the cracks in the republican party even further so that the exposure of the inner workings reveals its nefarious intent and the strife it creates within the republican party cabal will expand. Divide and conquer has been used by republicans for so long against us liberals that it only seems karmic that the same strategy be used against them. Resisting and exposing their plan for the takeover of our democracy is our best defense and offense. We have to protect the principles of democracy if we are to withstand the treason the republican party is willing to embrace to destroy the greatest democracy on the planet. Come join us in smashing the attempt by republicans to harm and cause suffering to any and all who would get in their way. Remember, always vote for the democrat in every political race in what is still our country!

Women's right to vote (#3122)

     Today marks the 97th year in American history in which women have had the right to vote, https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/19th-amendment. Our national constitution came into force in the year 1789. Which means that for the first 131 years of America as a nation, women did not have a legal voice in the form of a vote in our politics. This has always been a struggle throughout human history, cleaning up the mess we men have made not only in politics but in religion and economics. From the selfish egos of kings to the destructive nature of tyrants, we men have shown the ability to force ourselves into whatever we desired wherever possible. 97 years ago that male domination was cracked wide open here in America.
     Today we have world leaders who are women; top flight commanders in our own military and legislators in our politics. Women have shown that they are not to be discounted in the philosophy of men simply by never relenting in the quest to be more than just property to men. How absurd this is to write for me but the fact is that women are still fighting the perception that their place is to be quiet, barefoot and pregnant. I am a man who always seems to be add odds with my gender and my ethnicity. I am an older white male who sees the bigger picture much more easily than my fettered and blinded brethren. I see the principles of democracy as sacred and worthy of defending. I am not one who has any trouble with being humble about my own self worth.
     Women have been on the steady rise to make America more democratic since my first breath on Earth and although it has been a slow slog it is inching forward. I can take some satisfaction in that, despite my hubris to accomplish much more through enlightened common sense. Women birth all of us men. They are our wives, our sisters and our children so why is it that us men have such a hard time admitting the truth of their equality to us? Our selfishness is abominable and that doesn't seem to matter to us men. It does matter to me and like racism, gender prejudice must end and end it will if those like me continue to push with women and minorities to uphold our constitution and all of it's protections real and intentional.

Democracy cannot abide racism (#3121)

     The whole idea of democracy is an equal, fair and just opportunity for all. Nowhere in there is there room for racial discrimination! So those who choose racial divisions living in a democracy have made their choice to put racism over democracy. That is logic and if you cannot grasp that then you are ignorant as well as a racist. In a country that boasts of the most freedoms for its citizens how is it that some of its citizens are incapable of rationalizing that? Hatred for another race stems from a lack of understanding and a fearful perception of differentness. However the color of our skin we are all the same on the inside so how much more illogical can it be to place racism over democracy?
     It doesn't take courage to be a normal person and accepting of all citizens as our family within the human race. But it does take cowardice not to. So those who are racist are in effect living in their cowardice. They may thrash out and bellow inanities to hide the fact that their choice to be racist is cowardly but we know by the laws of logic that racism is cowardice so no amount of hiding it will ever mask it's ill nature. I see all these strategically angry people making life miserable for those who are not them and I think about their lives. They have chosen to live in the slippery slope world of who is next to be not like them once they dispose of those who they initially target.
     The racists will always live in fear because they cannot trust their own good natures of caring and compassion. So they are left with the more vile natures we humans have shown from antiquity. They may justify their behaviors as our true nature but then again they are not prone to believing in evolution like the enlightened among us. Evolution is the paradigm by which an object, plant or being changes over time to adapt to increased knowledge or physical/biological processes. We are not the humans of antiquity because we have advanced into a more modern era. We can choose to be the best of who we are despite the past traits that we needed to survive in a more inhospitable world. Well the evolution of our nation into democracy has no room for the archaic practice of racism just like we have no room for the willfully ignorant.

The end of the racist trump! (#3120)

     The republican party is going to weigh it's mess with either keeping trump or impeaching him. My best guess is that if Mueller doesn't come down soon on the trumps the republicans in Congress will. As unlikely it would have seemed back 9 months ago it seems much more plausible now. As trump continues to align himself with nazi rhetoric the further republicans have to move away from him. That trump has already shown that he cannot maneuver legislation to actualize his "agenda of killing Americans" along, republicans in Congress are getting much more upset with his blaming them for his own ineptitude. The alienation keeps growing for trump as more and more people of good will have seen enough of him to know that he is not of good will himself.
     Which leaves trump now surrounded with the ilk that least want America to succeed. The anguish republican politicians must feel for selling their souls and defending trump must be wearing them down and with that wearing down is the real possibility that if they don't do something real soon about trump the 2018 elections could be a slaughter for them. The congressional republicans are either going to go down with the trump ship or they are going to bail and set about eliminating the scourge that now occupies our white house. We will see but my best guess is that congressional republicans will feel such heat from their constituents that they will have to disband their absurd party loyalty to this malignant cancer called trump.
     However it plays out the end of it will not be kind to republicans. First they are a party that likes to steal elections and not win them. Second, they have no agenda for improving the lives of the American working middle poor class and third they would rather harm people than help them. For me the republicans have always been about saving their own asses because that is what people of no character do. So the idea of trump being on the chopping block is a logical one for me but I cannot nor will not say absolutely because republicans have also shown an ignorance to me that defies logic and common sense. So will trump go or will republicans feel the wrath of the voters in 2018? My best guess is that trump will be impeached if Mueller doesn't get him first.

Take down the Southern monuments to the confederacy (#3119)

     Much like in Germany after the fall of the nazi party, all monuments that were up were taken down. The defeat and then the disgrace of the nazi party demanded it! It was the right thing to do. There is little difference here in America with the confederate monuments. The confederacy declared their independence from the United States and then proceeded to fight a war to make it happen. Well they lost and their attempt to keep slavery as a right was defeated along with their aspirations to make a nation for themselves. So having these southern monuments dispersed around the south as a testimony to their attempt is anti-American and a reminder of the sedition the southern states took at that time.
     There is another disturbing aspect of having those monuments up for children to grow up and admire. Feeding the deeply held belief that the south would have another run at seceding although having slaves this time would seem moot but who knows? Still like in Germany, when the architects of naziism where defeated their monuments were destroyed and their ideology was swept aside so that a new beginning could take hold and a Germany without naziism could emerge. Well we didn't get that done here in America and instead allowed for the defeated ideology of slavery and rebellion to be planted firmly in the minds of the southern population. We were wrong not to pull every monument down to the perpetrators of secession but we even allowed for new monuments to be erected and placed in public squares.
     Enough! The southern states have to accept that the past is not always pretty and that their ancestors were not all in for America. If nostalgia for that history must be saved then let it be in museums. To perpetrate the myth that the south did not fight over slavery is against the laws of logic and common sense and does not heal our nation but instead stokes a flame of distrust. Our southern children need new heroes like the slaves who fought and won their freedom from an otherwise intolerable reality wherever slavery was practiced. Those should be the types of monuments that appear throughout the south, not monuments to the southern generals and politicians who fought against their own nation to protect slavery and keep the black race as equal to property.

The silent majority again killing our democracy! (#3118)

     Leaving the protesting and our voices out of the racial discussion leaves us vulnerable to the psychopaths who are calling for a racial divide. There were almost half of eligible American voters, 46.9%, who did not vote in 2016, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a8265143/almost-half-eligible-voters-did-not-vote-election-2016/. How can we secure the foundation of democracy if our electorate doesn't treat voting as a dearness? I know that many find that they have objections to voting for candidates that don't align perfectly with their own sense of the present and future but the consequences of not voting for the next best candidate are clearly illustrated in what has happened to us here in America with the trumps being elected.
     Instead of making slow steps forward with a candidate that is not our ideal, we have allowed for a candidate to get elected by not voting who is taking us backwards by leaps and bounds while inflicting horrors on us at the same time. Given logic, steady progress will always be better than regression don't you at least agree with this statement? If somehow we survive the hatred and incompetence of the trumps and he doesn't blow us all to hell with nuclear wars, then all of us have to take the voting rights we have left and make them precious to us. We have to engage in our politics if we are to keep what is left of the bet of America alive.
     There are many factors and reasons for the silent majority to keep a distance from politics and keep their heads down so as not to rock the boat. I get that. But what I also get is that fear and bullying cannot be rewarded with the prize. America was and still can be an honored nation where courage and the fighting spirit are the hallmarks of our behaviors. There is no more time for sitting quietly with our hands over our mouths. Each of us has a duty to the guiding principles of democracy that have given so much to us. For there to be a better America that finally washes away the stains of hatred and ignorance we must all vote with the intent to improve our society despite not having our favored candidate in the race.

Racist hatred is an immature mental illness (#3117)

     The idea that hating someone for having a different look about them is inconceivable to a normal person. We as Americans have enshrined in our constitution a tolerant and diverse notion of existence. We are not all cut from the same cookie cutter, we are unique, which gives us not only our individuality but our personal identity that is all our own. We celebrate our diversity within a form of democratic government that recognizes that we are all human beings and therefore are owed the right to be equal with all others. Our intellect demands it of us given logic and common sense as defined by scientific observation. So when we see today the kind of racism that has a root in illogic and ignorance we can justly note that an imbalance of mental acuity has occurred.
     Our human natures require of us to be caring and curious so when we see the lack of that we know that those afflicted with racial hatred have lost the ability to distinguish between fact and delusion. They have somehow arrived at a place in their lives where the information of fact and truths is dismissed to favor some deluded idea of self worth. I am a white man who is proud to say that I look up to many folks who are diverse in not only culture but in life experience. There is no distinguishment with me as to the arbitrary coloring of their skin nor the design of their gender. I find it utterly reprehensible that there are those who fear difference as much as they are proud of sameness. There is no formula for what is acceptable in who or what a human form takes. It is a cosmopolitan and comprehensive approach we all must take with each other that accentuates the right attitude we should have toward each other.
     Behavior and character are what determines the best of who we are and the worst of who we are. Nothing as simple as skin pigmentation will ever be a factor in deciding the value and worth of a human being. I had thought we had all moved to a place beyond this immature and irrational categorization based upon racial appearance. We are human beings with a heart and mind to be human beings to our fullest. Not some lesser being that has not the sense to assimilate the facts and truths of logic and science. The nature of this particular mental illness is childish and correctable but until it is too many of us clearly cannot move on. It is disheartening and insufferable and to this day makes me mourn for the lack of enlightened thought dispersed too heavily throughout our society.

Racism is an ignorant man's folly (#3116)

     The unoriginal idea of racism is like a child's tantrum. It makes for little sense and only causes disruption. Which is my point to wit the ignorance of using racism in a world full of facts and figures that denounces differences between our racial heritages is on full and unadulterated display. The white nationalist march at a major southern university last night is an example of how little enlightened thought has made a dent in the foundation of modern learning. That these protesters were students of this university makes me shudder at what they are not being taught in their respective high schools.
     Yet these "students" have made it through the screening process to be accepted in an atmosphere relegated to what I can only assume to be as "lower" learning. Is this a pride issue that these students want to claim given the destruction the white race has leveled on the other races? Do they not see that overpowering and controlling the lives of others who are not them is a crime against humanity? Do they not realize that humility should be there credo, not arrogance? Again, like with trumps, the world is upside down. Where the right and good are not the goal but the worst and most terrible are. If this is what we can expect from the southern universities, a refusal to accept equitable equality, fairness and justice for all then what is the value these universities offer to society on whole?
     I would be embarrassed even further if my university allowed for the racist chants of unenlightenment. It is bad enough we live in the political whirligig of trumps and their nasty brutish ideology of advantage and privilege but are we now condoning the atrocities of the past by allowing a goose stepping ideology to permeate our supposed facilities of higher education? Will the calmer more sensible institutions of higher learning condemn this latest attempt for destroying our rights as equal free men/women? Will the shame of ignorance be allowed to masquerade as enlightened thought? I am aghast at the turn our nation has made toward ignorance as a virtue and by doing so, if it continues, will be the death knell of our once great democracy!

Are we trying to help people or are we trying to control people? (#3115)

     The only one I need to worry about controlling is me. I do a piss poor job of that some of the time so the idea that I would even consider trying to control others is in direct opposition to my own life as observable data. What is even worse is that if I think I could control anyone other than myself I have crossed a line into a mental condition that is not only unhealthy but is demented. For me to think I could control anyone is an ego driven calculus of an immeasurable illogical proportion. What I can do though is help people so that they have more information as to help themselves. I can offer advice when asked, I can provide proofs when asked, I can direct toward answers when asked.
     I can be a wealth of information when asked. Sometimes in extreme situations I can offer to give information or advice without being asked but only if it is accepted. I don't lord over anyone my design for anyone's life. I do pronounce my positions on any number of policies or visions for our collective future but the subtle decisions that must be made by all of us individually is left to each of of us to make. I do restrict my associations to those who have a progressive liberal slant on how our society should operate but only because I cannot for the life of me see any other position to take that does not help people, all people.
     My point here is really simple, I remain objective with respect. I know that the greatest thing I have to offer the world is a clear sane approach to whatever obstacles there are that exist. I am best served, as well as all of humanity in whatever little way, when I am controlling me with all my might and ability. I offer what little wisdom and information I have to help others find their own way toward their best selves. That old saying of attraction not promotion usually wins the day and I agree with that. All my life I have looked around me to see something out there that I wanted to be like or encompass into my own life. Being the best I can be and living hard to just help people not control them is hopefully worthy enough of attraction.
     

When my sleeping is my safe harbor and my awakening my nightmare (#3114)

     Again I awake from my slumber world and immediately realize that I have come to a worse place. How can this be since my awake life is the one that makes my dream world possible? What is wrong with the reality of existence? How can it be that the reality of awakening is so much less desirable than the world where I live in my sleep? Logically, I get it. I know what is wrong in real life but in my dream world those wrongs are not allowed to be. My dream world is where I see what is good and possible and make it so. So my question is why is not our awakening hours as easy to constantly make better? We are actually able to do good things whenever we all decide we want to but for a pile of inconsequential reasons we don't.
     What is even worse is that our awakening time is getting worse and not better like one would think progress would afford. I am not the smartest nor the most insightful person to have ever lived nor will I ever be, yet even I can make my dream world better for all I imagine to be who would entertain to be in it. So why can't the many of us do that while we are awake? It seems so backwards to me that we allow our waking time to be so abusive and sufferable. Maybe that is why in my sleeping world there is no room for pain and anguish. Maybe the awakening time is the nightmare that my dream world must make into a safe harbor. How utterly ridiculous that the awakening time, which we humans control to a large extent, is the problem not the solution.
     Have all our great thinkers of philosophy, psychology and sociology not come to the same conclusion that our reality sucks and we need to change it? We political theorists to some extent see the laws and ordinances of life as the tools to get us to a more safe harbor like existence but what of the acceptable avenues of the mind to be changed? Why cannot the facts and truths that we prove be ruled by logic and common sense? Why cannot we accept that all of life is precious and nothing less than respect and dignity is deserved as a foundation. My awakening time is the majority of my existence yet it is not the most dear to me. I suffer and anguish over the despicable nature we humans unleash upon each other and if not for my sleeping time and the beauty of those dreams I fear I would implode from despair.

The trumps incompetence is our embarrassment (#3113)

     Every day is another day of embarrassing developments from the trumps that is at least shameful and at most deadly. How are we to survive the reign of trumps for much longer? They are the most unqualified set of con people who ever occupied such a prestigious position as president of our nation. I always say trumps because it is a family run presidency as if I needed to even say that. Which in itself is demeaning and disrespectful to us the voters since we didn't vote for any of his family. But furthermore regardless of how many trumps are actually president, their acts and beliefs are what is most disconcerting.
     From not knowing how to govern through the legislative process to their mentally deranged relentless quest to undo all the progress made by President Obama and even further back attacking social programs from the President Franklin Roosevelt era. Now we see the foreign policy of trumps and it is all one sided to favor Russia, even over those of our staunch allies. It is like the world has tipped onto its head with the trumps and any expectation of normalcy is nothing but an illusion. Which the trumps and the republican party have regrettably mastered by the way to win votes and then betray those voters.
     So not only are we Americans under siege from the trumps and their headlong rush into absurdity at home but now we are also under siege from an ego driven trump cadre that would start a nuclear war just to start a nuclear war. So even beyond incompetence from the trumps we are seeing their petulance. To hold the office of President of the most advanced militarily armed nation in the history of the world should not be relegated to people like the trumps who haven't the mental capacity to surround themselves with wise and experienced counsel. The sooner we find the method for the trumps dubious election victory that is cause for removing him the better we will be individually and as a nation.

Republicans are betrayers to democracy (#3112)

     It used to be that although republicans would fight against the mix of socialism with capitalism they would not stop the will of the people if it was obvious. They begrudgingly accepted the reality and even tried to improve whatever policy had been passed into law. Not anymore! Republicans have found that they can deceive the electorate with obfuscation and while standing against policies that worked toward a more equitable society. In other words they don't have to pay a price for being against popular programs even to the point of destroying these popular programs. Using this pathway, they have gone further off the deep end of logic by using foreign assets to subvert the role of our elections.
     What was once a two party system aimed at compromise toward a more modern world where the politics of the day stayed on our shores for internal control has now been supplanted to include foreign agents dictating and bankrolling republican enterprises. We are now a nation at war with itself. On the one hand generally we have the democrats who want our society to remain open with equality of opportunity, fairness and justice as our foundation and then we have the republicans, who are not for these democratic ideals. Instead they want a nation that is less equal in all areas that they find offensive. Their twisted religion based ideology usurps democracy and replaces it with a dogmatic bastardized theocratic philosophy.
     Not only that but using a warped sense of religion as their motivation they are able to enlist nefarious willing partners on foreign shores to finance their "coup" against democracy. For centuries we Americans have been fighting to maintain democracy as our foundation and now the republican party is on the verge of stealing that democracy so that they can be ignorantly ruthless to our citizenry and the world at large that doesn't kneel to their cruel and brutish agenda. The shame and embarrassment I feel for this happening is overwhelming. Never in my lifetime or the future could I have imagined the direction our nation has taken after so long a battle to continue the enlightenment of our society. Republicans are betraying our democracy and what are we going to do to stop them before it is too late?

If the premise is everyone able needs to work to survive then let's get everyone a job (#3111)

     We cannot disassociate this premise from its logical conclusion. So all other things being done or not, that do not get us moving toward full employment is failure. Which brings me to how our capitalistic society is being manipulated to reward the wealthy and not establish full employment. Capitalism can work to get us to full employment but not if the greed by the operators of capitalism is given a preferred status. I am all for allowing merit and creative innovation to have extras that reward their efforts but not to the extent that all others who show initiative or have little or no opportunity are shuttered. Remember, the goal here is to allow for all who are able to have a job that can sustain their own hopes and dreams within survival, not just the wealthy to become even more ridiculously wealthy.
     This concept of having the most wealth or dominating all resources to make one feel superior is a sickness. The idea that "one can never have enough" is a scourge brought about by those who have no conscience. The purpose of life on our planet is not known by any of us. We are here though and we can control not only our numbers through birth control measures but how we operate as a society. We are fortunate that we have an enlightened society that can alleviate many of our ills while also propelling us out beyond our own Earthly boundaries. Yet none of this matters much if we are not mature enough to discard the negative approaches too many of us have embraced. Including archaic religious justifications for matters of life and death.
     It is one thing to deal with our fears through some sort of soothing inner salve but it is quite another to force it upon others who have their own destiny to write. So apart from greed and to another extent power, the worth of our society is still the premise that we must all have a job to make our survival manageable. Nothing else will suffice. So we must have full employment and no amount of subjecting capitalism to anything other than that is acceptable. There has to be a limit on the most one can make and a limit on the least one can make so that there is balance within our economy to afford all a livable place within it. That is the goal, full employment, not fulfill some fantasy of being filthy rich for a few.

Selfishness, greed and hatred. Come join the republican party! (#3110)

     The hypocrisy is not lost on those of us on the outside looking in at who and what kind of people are republicans. Oh, they put on a false face and act and do like good people when it suits their purpose but otherwise they are not good people but selfish, greedy hating people instead. I have disowned members of my own family and surely there are more for me to disown that have kept their intolerable behavior from my view. But like all things the truth of things will come around and the exposure is just waiting to happen. I cannot abide nor enable any such beings in my life. I have drawn the line in the sand as a contract with dignity and respect.
     I don't know what others think that this existence is all about but I know that I wasn't born to be a fool like those in the republican party. Their cynical take on life is infectious and the vileness of their illness has spread to those who choose not to be critical thinkers. I call them ignorant but it is not because they cannot think for themselves with a moral certainty but because they refuse to do so because it doesn't personally benefit them in the sacrifice that is demanded by being an enlightened honorable and noble person. They would rather be like the thieves in the night and steal what they have not spent of themselves and then claim to all that they are worthy as they hold up for all to see their ill gotten prize.
     The shallow depth of republican ethics, morality and humanity are noteworthy in that they are obviously absent. Like I said though, when it benefits them they play the good samaritan part but that is because they see a benefit that others may not be able to distinguish and then be fooled as to their intent. Live long enough in some wisdom and the actions of those who otherwise are contrary to their voting, it becomes crystal clear regardless their often hidden purpose. If you are a republican you cannot hide your selfish, greedy hateful self from we who choose to be brothers and sisters of the human race first last and always. Make no mistake, you republicans are the reason we cannot have a world that works toward all being bettered instead of just the selfish, greedy hateful of the republican party.

We are cowardly American "patriots" (#3109)

     My big mistake was thinking that all of us citizens cared about our democracy. What a fool I was. What I am finding is that what today's American citizen cares about is his/herself only. The idea that we are living to protect our great nation of democratic values is just a long lost dream now. Oh don't get me wrong, we still wave our little flags and sing god bless America but we don't back that up with our actions. It is a convenient association. As long as we pretend to care about virtue that is enough for us. We won't risk anything to actually stand up for virtue. On the contrary we Americans are well satisfied to ignore anything that causes us to pull our focus off of ourselves even if for a minute or less.
     It is amazing to me that the religious among us will go to great lengths to deny evolution as a means for our species' continuation but conveniently forget to realize that they themselves started out in life courageous and bold but have "changed" now into something that has less to do with being human and more to do with an evolution into a machine that only devours for the sake of it's appetite. We are in the shell of democracy where all things can be possible and yet we fail to see that shell is under attack and cracking because we are so busy with our greed. I am ashamed like never before in our citizenry. There are so few actually courageous and bold leaders left among us that I fear the end of what is best of us is at hand.
     Our sacrifice in the face of danger is gone. We are now more than willing to hand the keys to our democracy to any ruthless con man who comes along. We are afraid of our own shadow. Why? Because we don't want to lose our place in line. We don't want to have to lose what advantage and privilege we have in a corrupted atmosphere of social politics and economy. We have resigned ourselves to this reality regardless if it is nefarious or life threatening. In fact most of us are willing to become subject to destroying the one true great thing we created here in America without so much as a by your leave. Our cowardice is showing and the wolves are in our house. We want others to fight our battles all the while treating the others like they are dirt beneath our feet. We are going to get what we deserve make no mistake knowing that is coming!

The republican party, exposing the rats (#3108)

     Well another rat has popped it's head up this time in West Virginia. The previously democratic governor has now switched parties and sworn his fealty to the trumps. So one may wonder why he did this? Well, the first always best way to find out is to see if money is the cause. Usually every time it is either love/sex or money that motivates us to do what we do. So naturally since this turncoat governor had been accused by republicans of not paying fines and taxes he has accumulated over several states from his coal investments it seems logical to associate that with his reason for changing parties. He needs protection for his assets so why not do like trump and ignore reality. This West Virginia governor is a billionaire so why won't he act like a responsible citizen?
     Well the answer is obvious, he is not a responsible citizen he is a con man like trumps. So them falling into bed together is just a logical next step for these despicable human beings. I doubt we will be hearing any more republicans calling him out for his financial misdeeds since republicans only know how to call out democrats for unethical behavior. Now that this governor is a republican surely he will get a pass from the pressure republicans had put on him up to this point. The hypocritical nature of being a republican will pay off dearly for this billionaire who has no ethical compass. For me it is appropriate that he left the democratic party as most of us agree that rats don't deserve a place in our party, they belong to the republican party. You know the haters and thieves have much in common.
     What is worst about America is getting it's day in the sun and as silver linings go, if they don't kill us at least they have shown themselves and can now be dealt with severely and harshly when their time comes. We don't have to identify them now that they have shown themselves. So the gleaning of our government and politics can now rest with the will of us people to do with them that which they richly deserve. The time is coming for us, the American soul of our nation, to reclaim that right and begin to impress our will on those who would lie, steal and cheat us. This chapter in American history will not go away but how it is written is well within our power to write. Will we triumph over the nefarious and unscrupulous or will we succumb to them? The ending is coming soon so be prepared to deliver your version when the ending time is upon us!

The end of trumps cannot come soon enough (#3107)

     This waiting game for the legal system to take its proper course is excruciating to me. I know it takes time to gather all the information and have a clear path toward a charge or charges but I still cannot help but feel that the time it is taking is leaving some doubts as to being able to formulate the offenses. I would think that they are quite obvious and although the proper legal etiquette does take some time this idea that a year or more to put this together seems absurd. I am ranting a bit here so take what I am saying with a grain of salt but damn, the trumps are continuing to destroy what good we have gained over the last 241 years. I know we have stalled his agenda but he is like a hungry dog with a bone, he won't stop chewing on it until we take it away from him. It being our rights and dignity.
     The fact that the Mueller team keeps adding legal specialists does tend to alleviate some of the anxiety but the longer this drags out I am afraid that the evidence will not be enough. The silence on this is hard to take. I wish we could get dribs and drabs of solid reporting on factual criminal intent. I know the trumps will play dumb and act like they didn't know what they knew and if that is so that is no defense. It took a little over a year for Nixon to be removed from office from when his investigation really gathered some steam. Yet at least Nixon was a crafty law breaker, trumps are idiots who couldn't find the word craft in a dictionary. Yet to think that we are looking at as long a time to put together the case for at least fraud and obstruction is stymieing.
     So I suppose I should just cool my jets and let the process happen and hope that we can contain the democracy destroying thief in command in the meantime but I will not be able to sit back and relax while the trumps are in our White House. You know that dump as the trumps call it. I am getting all kinds of good vibes though from others who are more patient than I am and I hope their take on things pans out otherwise our nation and our culture is going to be set back so much that my embarrassment at that harm we will be unnecessarily causing will be the least of the anguish felt by many other American citizens.

Everyday is a countdown to no more (#3106)

     In the natural sense of things we are all gifted with a wake up no matter what is going on around us but this current political climate in America is adding to our uncertainty. I naturally expect to wake up every morning before I finally fall off to sleep but now so I am less certain because of the lack of brain trust and wisdom in our national leadership. It is really disconcerting that as we accept the rationale for the trumps election we seem to be in a mode of settling for it. I of course want an end to it right now based upon their inability to understand the nature of the position they were conspicuously elected. Yet we have such a hyper right wing partisan congress that won't allow for dignity and noble intent to dictate our actions and instead they settle for being petty and selfish.
     I have said many times in my bog posts how utterly embarrassed I am for what is going on here in America and I am not the only one yet we are not in a position to turn the wheels of justice to correct the abhorrent error of our ways. I say we are gifted with life each day we wake up but it is with an extra sense of foreboding despite the normal whirligig of cause and effect. We are also facing an ineptitude of a grave concern since we cannot count on any logical or reasonable comfort to protect our safety and our security from nefarious foreign intervention. But even more so I worry about the attack from within by the trumps who seem intent on destroying democracy so that they can rule without so much as a by your leave to our precious national constitution.
     Either we the American people end this bad dream of a nightmare come to our reality or it will end us. The trumps have no regard for conscience nor compassion so the trick is our lives are in our own hands. What will we do to not only end the very real threat to our existence but to the defense of democracy? I wish I were embellishing here but that is not the case and as soon as we all get to understanding that we have the power to demand better we will continue to have the greater uncertainty of going to sleep not knowing if we will actually have a chance to wake up the next day.

Legitimizing the trumps is weak and cowardly (#3105)

     At this point there is nothing the trumps can do that would make themselves even appear to be presidential and dignified. When I say trumps I mean the whole entourage including the sniveling republican politicians who seem to pucker up to them at any given moment. What a disgrace it is to be an America at this point in time. I have my own daily struggles to get through but to see what has become of our once mighty nation under the republican hook or crook agenda is demoralizing. Anything that is deferred from outright protestation and castigation of the trumps is an appeasement congruent with what a coward does in the face of a bully. Those many in the media who seem to think that normalizing the insanity from this administration is okay need their own mental evaluation.
     Every day I wrestle with the inconceivable reality that somehow these trumps pulled off being handed the presidency. I still cannot come to grips with the knowledge that trumps are here as our leaders and not someone who is actually sane. How we Americans can live with this is our burden but giving it some kind of legitimacy is even worse. I can admit when I make a mistake and then take my mistake and improve my life from it. I cannot improve my life if I like many in the media deploy denial as my foundation. The trumps are a disgrace and they are ignorant. There is no sugar coating that in any sense of justification. Reality has to be what we all surmise as real, not some fantasy with alternative facts and illogical premises.
     I don't care that we think we have to hide our ugly side from the rest of ourselves and to the world. It is wrong and should not be allowed to happen. We are what we are and no amount of mask wearing or trickery will change that. We have to change our ways of understanding the truth even when it makes us look like stupid idiots. Because stupid idiots elect trumps and we did that! So reporting on things that normalize the trumps so that we can somehow not have to face the ridiculousness of them is weak and cowardly. We Americans are not weak and cowardly so why are we acting like it? I am so angry at who we are allowing ourselves to become despite the fact that we are so much better than this horsehit we are presently smearing on ourselves and calling it perfume.