Patiently waiting for the FBI and Mueller (#3530)

     At least there are some actions being taken on the fast and loose republican attempts to steal our democracy. I wasn't sure how we would be able to protect our nation from this attack from within but it seems that the FBI and the Justice Department to some degree have enough independence from the executive branch to at least be objective about what is happening. There will be no rubber stamp on these investigations so we must go on about our daily lives despite the enormous implications of the outcomes soon to be revealed. Yet in 37 days we will have an election to win and much time and energy must remain vigilant in that paradigm.
     We the American working middle poor class majority in our nation are the underdogs. You do get that right? We are the majority voters yet we are ruled by the minority carpetbaggers. Well enough of that and not only will we be changing that on November 6th but we will be readying a torrent of payback on the criminals that are about to be exposed in the republican party. It is a cabal of republican bad actors that are about to get their just due and with the help of all our voters we will be able to ensnare more of them than they suspect. They think their party is going to be the ones who create a red wave but in reality the only water aspect of this election for republicans will be the undertow they are about to be engulfed in.
     So as I sit here this quiet Sunday morning thinking about what is going on in the world and in my head I am reminded that it is just patience for now that I need because when the floodgates of proven criminal intent is exposed about the republican party I will need all my resources to be able to define them in writing along with the rest of us political activists. There will be much work to do then so take a breath and enjoy the idea of what life will soon be like once we have dispensed with this very real republican threat to our democracy. Patience is a virtue and knowing that gives me confidence that when the patient time is over the zeal by which we shatter the remains of the republican party will be with a gusto and a renewed vigor unlike anything in my memory.
   
  

Last minute reprieve (#3529)

     A rare moment of conscience in a republican politician has stopped an insane rush to approve a much maligned sexual predator from getting a lifetime appointment on our most prestigious court. It is amazing to me that there weren't other republicans who would stop that out of control freight train of a nomination but we will take what we got from one republican who was made to "feel" long enough to demand an investigation of what looks like a serial sexual abuser. That trump was forced to go along with this one, then two republicans is also telling. The heat was white hot on this nominee and anymore defending of him was beyond even the cruel and brutish trump's imagining.
     In the 7 short days the FBI will have to investigate all the obvious illegalities this nominee is now alleged to have committed, is a tough ask. Yet the FBI has been much maligned by trump and this is their chance to prove to the world that they are not without extraordinary capabilities. With the obviousness of the charges and witnesses to explore, no doubt the FBI will have a fruitful time putting together a synopsis of just how far this nominee has fallen. I have no doubt as well that the conclusion to the FBI investigation will show many chargeable offenses for which to compel felony charges.
     This nominee is done in my mind and if he could ever get past his own ego he would see the writing on the wall and withdraw from this now unattainable position. But as is the case with many narcissistic personality types who have had nothing but privilege and advantage most all his life he appears to be willing to put his family through hell in the waning hope that he can overcome all his illegal behavior much like with trump. But trump was appointed from an election with no FBI investigation, unlike in this case. So one republican out of a majority of republicans in the senate had the decency, even if for just a moment to do the right thing and change the narrative of his retirement and the course of our nation's history.

39 more days (#3528)

     In 39 days we get to feel the blue wave we have been building for the last almost 2 years. With what republicans are doing now in the senate we are most assuredly going to wash them over with our votes. A cleansing if you will. They do need a metaphorical bath after their disgusting efforts to seat a maligned and accused sexual predator to the high court. If women were of any doubt about who represents them they are seeing first hand just how not represented they are by republicans and their greedy selfish policies. If women still vote for republicans it will be because those women have no shame nor enough clarity of mind to stand up for themselves.
     I am not conjecturing here, just stating obvious facts. The republican party is showing just how little they care for women victims of violence by protecting the men who perpetrate the violence and giving those men tremendous rewards. There is no masking the reality we are seeing playing out in front of us. So today when the senate republicans move the kavanaugh nomination forward for a full vote in the senate there can be no denying the fact that they are rewarding a sexual deviant with a post on our highest court of adjudication. Making a greater judge out of a criminal liar.
     So in 39 days when we the American people get to vote our choices and it won't be because we are forced to vote for republicans like the cabal of republicans are forced to vote on trump's commands, no, we will be rightly voting to remove the vile stench of republicanism that has underrepresented us the American people for over 50 years. We will be voting to bring new democratic candidates to public positions that deserve public input and response. We will be voting to maintain what democracy we have left since republicans have been destroying our foundation for self governance. We will be voting to bring about a new wave of hope that not only addresses equality, fairness and justice but we will be voting to bring those who have stolen our respect and honor to face their crimes with a responsible, yet fevered reckoning.

Last hot day of the year (#3527)

     Today it is to be 95 degrees here in Sacramento, California. Which by all the weather forecasts I check is the last day for our temperature to be in the 90's. Ordinarily this is no big deal but we are back into the drought protocol again and the heat has been relentless here. So the break tomorrow down into the the mid 80's and then on after that into the 70's is very much welcome. Not only that but by early next week we should be getting some rain. Rain, what I would give for a few days of relentless rain. Anyway, it is exciting for me anticipating the coming cooling trend as we head further into Autumn and the probable rain is just icing on the cake.
     My life is very simple now, doing my chores and making my world around me just a little bit better one day at a time. So the heat we have been enduring is waning as the we move on toward Winter. Which to me is now the most loved season of the year. My home is an old one not fitted with all the modern conveniences that new homes have so living in the technology of the 1950's is a challenge. But I make due and as such am constantly trying to find ways to make life more bearable here. the onset of cooler days will be a relief and preparing to make sure the flat roof has no pending leaks coming if we ever get any sustained rain is now my priority. I have already done some work on the roof this past week and so I should be fine for this coming rain.
     It is nice to be in the last day of heat and all my cooling appliances will be in full force today regardless of the electricity they consume. It is like a celebration this last hot day of the year and a tribute to my enduring life here in my hometown. Most of you know me as a politics junkie who makes his feelings and thoughts known for all the universe to know but on this level of where and how I live I am less forthcoming. My private life is mine and the only thing I can control with some certainty. But occasionally I do let the world in and celebrate the seasons as they are occurring especially when they begin to break the cycle of drought and its constant uncomfortableness. Bring on the heat today because it should be the last hot day of the year. :)

The seedy and uncivil nature of republican politics (#3526)

     Oh how far republicans have diseased themselves in order to get their way. They have embraced the worst of our natures so that they can shove their ideology down the American electorates and the world's throat. Their take no prisoners mantra is obvious for the world to see now that they have shown no deference to the truth nor rebutted the vile nature of criminality. As long as they get what they want they don't care about the means that bring about their ends. It is a convulsive witnessing that we are observing and it makes the honorable among us angry and ready to retribute. We democrats still call for civility but our tone is one of outright feistiness.
     It is difficult to treat republicans with even a modicum of civility when their very existence is to treat us with neglect and disdain. The taking of the high road with them as they perpetually take the low road with us is not natural. We prefer to treat those who beat us with reciprocal beatings. The old saw "an eye for an eye" seems like a deterrent in the eyes of fairness when republicans have been getting away with their outrages for free. As a man of peace I lean toward peaceful interactions but when pushed I shove back with as much or more force to show that I will not be run over by anyone through ill intent.
     Such is the case now with republicans. They have had it their way for a while now and their dishonesty and cruel policies need to stop. The seedy nature of their vision is for the wealthy to get while the needy are ignored. It is a slap in the face of honor and that is unacceptable to me and obviously many more than I. Civility demands equal respect and until we get that their will be unrest like there should be if we are to be an enlightened society. The greedy, selfish, brutes and rogues of the republican party with their corrupted agenda are not going to survive as a ruling power much longer. We the American electorate that are not brainwashed by their lies will win out this coming election and in 2020 so that we can begin to bring back real civility to our politics while purging out the seedy underside of selfish and greedy republican processes.

The pressure is mounting on kavanaugh and republicans (#3525)

     The republican party is all in on getting kavanaugh on the supreme court. Yet it appears their zeal miscalculated the ability of the American people to find out the truth of kavanaugh's past. This is just another prime example of republicans wanting it all at any cost. They may well have overplayed their hand and are now getting called holding only a joker. They could have nominated someone who was less alt. right and gotten a less despicable human being through to the court but they wanted their pick despite him being a horny bastard who forced women to succumb to his power. His disdain for the equality of women is now as evident as is his unethical attempts to lie about it.
     Yet he won't withdraw as any decent human being would and instead is egged on by our installed president who has his own open closet full of forcing women to do his bidding. This whole nasty nominating affair is as well aided and abetted by the republican senate majority that cannot find it within their corrupted souls to end this farce and tell the want to be dictator trump that he needs to find a different candidate. Mostly because they know that it is too late to start over while they still have the senate majority. Because in 42 days, six short weeks, we will have an election and the senate majority is likely now to change to democratic control. I say likely because with each passing day that republicans continue to back kavanaugh more and more independent and moderate republican voters move away from them.
     This has been a unexpected welcoming with kavanaugh not getting out of the committee vote yet. But to the women who were abused by kavanaugh it is some form of justice that is long overdue. The best thing republicans could do right now is to withdraw kavanaugh from the nomination and begin a new process for their next pick. Yet they won't because they threw all they had behind kavanaugh and now must play out the hand that is already dealt. Either way republicans are going to take a loss here. Either they get kavanaugh on the court and the uprising over that will be tremendously disfavorable to them or they withdraw kavanaugh and face the humiliation of it with their own voters. The die is cast and now we will see how it plays out with republicans holding only a joker in their hand.

The republican party hides from the truth (#3524)

     If you have been living in isolation for the last 50 years you may not have noticed that the republican party is devoid of honesty and its application. They are not what you would call a party of virtue or honor. Instead they are a cabal of fakers and liars who have found a way to infiltrate our society to make it their own. Once upon a time they were mistaken as a political party that had the will of the people as their highest priority. But from that misperceived fallacy they have shaped themselves into this grand illusion that has captured and reprogrammed the imperfect minds and hearts of many Americans who have just enough in common with their real agenda of division and disunity to unsettle our democracy.
     The republican party is the root of that unsettling and more to the point it is dangerous to ignore the consequences of their agenda. Nothing about the truth is pure with them unless it aligns with their vision of survival of the fittest and class warfare. The republican party is not borne of the ideals of democracy, instead they are an amalgamation of theocratic and authoritarian rhetoric. I didn't say principles, I said rhetoric because they bait and switch versions of each as needed to move their agenda along. Using false dichotomies to advance their power grabbing and restructuring our social order as to benefit the wealthy and further disable the working middle poor class as irrelevant.
     That republicanism is now being seen for its destructive nature is paramount. We are having a national election in 43 days and with the cruelish brute force republicans are applying to everything they do against the will of our majority voting electorate, a reckoning is possible. Never have I seen such disdain and condescension come from republican political leaders who are about to be exposed to the voting public. It makes me wonder if the fix is in because republicans are not hiding their snobbery nor their illegalities when so much is at stake in just a few short weeks. Yet, I do believe that the American electorate is so overwhelmingly against republicans right now that no amount of fixing can keep them from their fate. 6 weeks and a day and we will know just how badly the republicans will pay for their treachery to democracy and the human experience within it.

Mortality (#3523)

     This morning I am reminded of my own mortality. I have aches and pains now that I have never felt before and in processing them I have once again come to the crossroad of how to live my life knowing that it won't be forever. It is a stark realization we all have to face and how we move forward is important. I get that I am going to die and fretting about it does me no good but take precious moments from me. So I just live like I am going to live forever, but in the back of my mind I know that any day could be my last.
     The hardest paradigm I have had to face is my mortality. I want to live forever as a young vibrant person but that isn't what life is offering me. I am fortunate that life has given me this much and the gratefulness I have for it is immeasurable. Yet, the realization that life will eventually end for me is not a great positive feeling. I had a conversation yesterday with a man standing in line to get this years flu shot about how in our dreams we can fly and do amazing things in our dreams. Well I wanted to be able to fly in real life like a bird or swim under the sea like a fish but as we humans are so recently into our evolution as a species I must remain disappointed in that sphere. I want so much out of life but as my time is winding down I understand that it won't happen and the little time we get to be alive doesn't give us a large enough window to achieve all our dreams.
     So I have somewhat prepared for my eventual demise by taking care of some lingering doable to do's. It won't matter to me what happens in reality after I am gone but I want to leave somewhat of a legacy about what I think should happen and do my best to be part of a healing and bettering of the world while I am still alive. That purpose is what drives my motivations and any thoughts about the end day is less relevant if I am doing what my ideals and principles demand of me. So there is no commiserating nor remorse for the unfulfilled life or any of that bucket list stuff. I just keep trying to be a better me and that should reflect out as me working to make life better for all in my own simple caring ways.

Cutting medicare/medicaid and social security (#3522)

     This will happen if we democrats, independents and thoughtful republicans don't turn out to vote on November 6th. Some republicans are now saying they want the retirement age to be raised to 72 years of age. The republican plan is to have another big round of tax cuts for the wealthy and pay for it with big cuts in our federal insurance plans for retirement and healthcare. It is amazing to me that we even have to discuss this when more than 99% of us are not wealthy. Yet it seems that those who vote for republicans don't care as much about how they will survive in a survival of the fittest economy and instead hold some social issue as their highest priority. I am confused by this and if I could I would explain to them that freedom requires that we allow each individual rights that do no harm.
     But it seems that republican voters are bossy types and would make all of us like their point of view, destroying the ideal of freedom to determine one's own future and happiness. These voters don't actually deserve democracy since they are in the middle of trying to destroy it. But they are the minority and if we democracy loving citizens would just show up and vote the end of republicanism is assured. So for the next 45 days we need to fire up our base even more and let them know just how important each of their votes is. There is no time left in our society to shrug off our duty to help self govern ourselves. The republican party wants you to not vote since it increases their chances of maintaining control of our government and our lives.
     Just remember this though, as we each get older in our struggling lives we need our social security and healthcare for when we get older because the aches and pains of working like we did in our earlier life is mostly unbearable. When our citizens get older and need to stop working in order to not kill themselves from the exertions then retirement is the answer. But to republicans there is no rest for the weary, old, infirmed and incapable. They see us who are not wealthy as extra baggage that can be tossed out with the garbage. They are the survival of the fittest types who would not extend a helping hand but would rather throw a boot down on the neck of those who are vulnerable. Vote this November 6th and let's bring back a healthy vibrant society based on democratic ideals and not the current brutish rule with cruelty at its core.

Despite trumps, keep making the world a better place (#3521)

     As our long national hangover continues with the trumps and their conspiratorial republican lackeys, we must find a way to keep our society moving into a more enlightened era. I know it is hard when the trumps do everything they can to make us weary and depressed. Yet, they will soon be gone from our headlines and what we do in the meantime will help to fill the time until the trumps have been discarded. I take what little resources I have and make the most of the them where possible. Doing the next right thing has become a mantra of mine and it doesn't involve me being selfish or greedy. I try to help where I can and in my own small way continue to do so.
     Because life is more than the hate that trumps trumpet. It is caring about the lives we have in our sphere of influence and questioning what can be instead of what is. If we could end the pain and suffering in the world most all of us would in a heartbeat but that isn't happening for us yet. So instead we change the world for the better in smaller ways that are real and give hope to those affected. Knowing the right thing to do usually comes from our heart and mind. Both have a say in what makes this world better so using both to conclude how to move forward is logical and smart. We each need to do what can be done within our own ability at the time and place we are at.
     Remembering that doing good puts a smile on our faces is important in that it is our payment for sacrificing our own wants for the needs of the needier. Truly lifting some above their pain and suffering is a value worth spending our efforts attaining. Showing the less fortunate a better way is far superior to beating them down much like what trumps have shown. In 46 days we will get to do something about trumps but in the meantime we can still do for those we can right now and express our hope in it. We humans are not a nasty brutish lot like those who ramrod trumps. We are more modern and enlightened like the evolving humans we truly are and the future of our species will continue to reside in the fact of our care and wonder.

The soulless republican party will say anything (#3520)

     It isn't that the republican party is hypocritical, it is even worse, they are liars at the bottom of their dead hearts. They accuse democrats of indiscretions they secretly adore for themselves. But if they can get some headway out of it then damn sure they will. So when we see republicans contradicting themselves it isn't so much a contradiction as it is a method for getting what they want when they want. The republican party is a soulless entity that thrives on the advantage and privilege they can attain whenever and wherever it appears. So those who think that the republican party is the conscience of America are the very same ones who are as close to being psycho/sociopathic as one can get.
     The proof of my conclusion is exemplified with the supreme court nominee process now underway. When democrats were trying to install a nominee but the republican party had all kinds of excuses to keep the pick from even beginning the process to be nominated. Over 10 months with nary a word or act to allow the usual process to begin. Yet now with the likelihood of a democratic takeover of the senate, the republicans are pushing through their nominee at breakneck speed. Using a logic for democrats that is detrimental while using a logic for their nominee that is favorable. Whatever it takes to get what they want despite the will of the American people is what they will blatantly thrust themselves at to achieve.
     All of this to let us know that they have no shame in their effort to get what they want. You cannot shame them nor appeal to their better natures since they have no remorse for their purpose nor any conflict in what most of us would have within our conscious. Like I said earlier, bordering on the psycho/sociopathic. Thankfully as a silver lining we are allowed to see their grift in full view. They have all the levers of power and each time they pull a lever it is them doing it not some boogeyman that they always contrive as a blame shift. The republican party is not democratic nor even based upon equality, fairness nor justice. They are rogue and as all rogues, ruthless and brutal in their actions and thoughts with the aim to control.

kavanaugh should withdraw (#3519)

     With the likelihood of a full blown credible attempted rape scandal approaching the republican nominee for the supreme court and the midterms just 48 days from now the smart thing to do is for the nominee to withdraw his name from consideration so as to temper the growing fervor that is being mounted by all good people everywhere. The republican party is already in jeopardy with a blue wave coming at them this November 6th, but that wave well could become a blue tsunami should the republicans try to force this nominee through without much vetting on his lies and his attempted rape allegation. If there are enough cool heads left in the republican party they will force the withdraw of his nomination and live to fight another day.
     The problem is that the cool heads that are left in the republican party are not in positions of power and therefore their voices are falling on mostly deaf ears. So it may well be that kavanaugh is voted in to the supreme court despite his ethical and moral failings which would then give democrats all the remaining fuel we need to thrust our blue wave to new heights happily imaginable come the voting time. But the damage to the supreme court will be for generations so a legislative big win will always be tempered by a judicial loss of great magnitude. But do the republicans want to be ousted out of power in congress? The weight of this coming decision is mighty and either way republicans have to give up something.
     We democrats would prefer that the nominee withdraw and a more moderate person be appointed. Not only would our constitution be more firmy protected from the outrageous agenda of the republican privileged and advantaged survival of the fittest crowd but our democracy would benefit in ways that are more tolerant and diverse. The logic of what to do is on the republicans as we continue to mount the pressure on them. Which way will they decide and if it is to withdraw they will at least have lowered the heat on themselves so close to the election that many of their more secure public seats will survive. Yet the chance to have a conservative majority supreme court ready to roll back all progressive policies is enticing and won't easily be dismissed.

Building our blue wave off the hatred employed by trumps. (#3518)

     If there is one general thing that Americans cannot stand it is hatred employed as a tool for advancement. We are generally a decent lot of people who disagree on many things but one thing that unites us is squaring off against a bully when the bully is blatantly cruel. That trump is blatantly cruel everyday it is now old hat for us to be pissed off at him to no end degree. Which is the blue wave that has been borne of it. The attack on our democracy from every possible angle by trumps as they line their pockets with our national treasure is also a factor in the uniting of American souls against the wanna be addle minded dictator.
     Our countdown is now at 49 days until the next national election and for many of us it cannot come soon enough, even though it is rapidly approaching. What we Americans will be able to do is to give a thunderous democratic mandate to all republicans who survive that we the American people are the true power, not republican politicians. We will be able to neuter their attempts to dismantle further our democratic ideals. As to what trump will think it will hardly matter since his support system will have been removed from public power. The will of the American people to punish hatred and cruelty is about to be unleashed and for all the bravado trumps have displayed their nightmare is about to begin when our nightmare ends.
     The might and power of good and honor is about to begin it's reign even though trump may still be around. Because wrong will be investigated and as trump has shown he is all about doing things wrong in order to gain an advantage or to just display his cruelty. So will his vice president, current congressional leaders and cabinet ministers come under scrutiny for their selfish, cruel and greedy activities. A national cleansing is about to begin and it will be all for the better for America and the world at large. This evil stain on our nation will never go away but we can stop it from further darkening our lives. That will come in 49 days and for me it can't be a second too soon!

Just two republicans can stop the supreme court nomination (#3517)

     The great rush by mcconnell to get the senate to approve trump's supreme court nominee is because he is so outlandish a pick that under normal times he could never pass muster for such an important lifetime position. That the current crop of republicans would even consider approving such a cad is telling in many ways about the cowardice and party loyalty to ultra conservatism the republican controlled congress has over democracy. Previously there didn't seem to be any out of lockstep maneuverings by individual republican senators to oppose the nomination but that may not last long.
     With the revelations that the nominee has lied to the senate on several occasions and now with the sexual assault accusation coming from a woman whose career suggests this isn't some stunt, the fast tracking of the nominee's confirmation by the republican majority may hit a snag. Rushing through a nominee without a thorough vetting of his character and judicial record is incompetent and borders on criminal. It does make one wonder why a nominee is being given cover as to his character and his public record if there wasn't something there that is beyond the realm of decency and objective reasoning. The question is are there a a few republican senators who place the good of the country over the good of an ultra conservative agenda.
     Well it seems that there just may be one or two republican senators who are now concerned enough by this nominee's character that at least a slowing down of the confirmation rush may become a reality. We will see but a crack in the wall of solidarity for this nominee is beginning to show. I can not overstate how important it is for us to make sure that a lifetime position of such importance is not given to someone, in a bum rush process, whose character and now record of lying is coming into focus. The nominee's questionable character must be vetted and his lies to the senate must be explained. Otherwise our democracy continues to be trampled by an ultraconservative agenda that would dispel the notion that progress on knowledge and truth is our manifest destiny.

51 days until the voting (#3516)

     I keep getting more excited with every passing day. Since November 8th of 2016 I have had only one date to look forward to as a remedy to trumps and the collaborating republicans who installed them. By the way, when I say trumps I am mostly talking about him and his unelected children. Now that we are just about to go under 50 days until the next election my senses are heightened and my resolve is even stronger to do whatever I can to help democrats everywhere. Starting with the women's march of last year and on into this year with scathing critiques of all things republicans I am showing that both my feet and my mind are in sync.
     I continue to keep all old friends and family who are republican voters out of my life in however way possible. There is no being in my life except under extreme circumstances for anyone who cannot distinguish between the treason and anti democratic agenda of the republican party; and the diverse and tolerant democratic party who see all of us as equal members of society. With so much at stake now in trying to end the deranged vision of trump and the cowardly republican hollow men and women, the time is crucial for us to continue to highlight the vast differences between our parties. We democrats want a just and fair society with merit as our gauge; while republicans want an advantages and privileges society that maintains their lazy brutal outlook.
     The clash is significant and will require much more for democrats to change than for republicans to maintain, yet we democrats have the momentum. We have been stepped on and disrespected for especially the last two years but for much longer than that overall. We democrats have a vision for our future that doesn't hold anyone back from working to achieve while never letting anyone have to live in poverty as a policy. We democrats exhibit humanity since after all we are human, not some republican caricature from antiquity that has no soul. We democrats are about to end the free reign of trump by taking back congress and winning out in the states everywhere. So as the little time that is left until the voting time comes continues to dwindle, I am getting even more excited with each passing day.

Physically tired mentally happy (#3515)

     I got a job done here at the house that I had been processing in my head for several years. In my past I was a house and building framer who did outside decks, siding and fences as well. I am much older now and the work that was tough back when I was younger is even more so now. I have two neighbors on either side of me and a creek that borders my property on the back. The back fence is chain link and there is rarely any activity back there except wildlife. But on the two sides I have good neighbors who decided with me to build good neighbor fences. I finished the one side a couple of years ago and just yesterday finished the other one.
     Those of you who own homes with property taxes and insurance payments that are no small amounts on a limited income will know that doing major repairs on the home or property can be mentally exhausting when trying to save is very difficult. But I was able to do that and with each neighbor providing their share of the funds for materials we were able to get both our badly needed fences replaced. For my part I took on the role of foreman and ramrodded the jobs as well as made sure of quality control since neither neighbor was much good with a hammer. I worked my tail off to make sure that everything was done the right way, no shortcuts, and specifically kept the fences lined and plumb.
     I am sitting here now with very sore hands and many cuts on the ends of my fingers. My body is hurting in all the usual places a bit more but my mind is happy because the job is done and it was done well. I nailed every nail and screwed every screw because having a clean pattern of fasteners was more important to me than an apprentice neighbor making a mess of the nailing. Over a thousand nails hammered in and the carpal tunnel in both my wrists doesn't feel good. My back is so sore from taking out old posts and concrete to putting in new posts and concrete. But all that said, I am one very happy albeit a bit temporarily wounded man. I am probably too old to be working like a young man but since this will be the last time I replace a fence on my property it was well worth the financial savings and the old reminders of aches and pains was a willing price to pay. :)

President Obama is back! (#3514)

     President Obama is out on the campaign trail using complete sentences and logic to try to explain the delusionment of trump and republican politics. He wants to make sure we know what the facts are and is vigorously pushing all democrats, independents and frustrated republicans to come out and vote for democratic candidates and values. It is refreshing to see a political candidate, especially one who has no political ambition, out in the national spotlight being real and honest with us the American people. What we have had with trump for the past almost two years is a dishonest conman who can barely string words together coherently. So the contrast between them is opposite ends of spectrum as well are their messages.
     President Obama has always had a message of hope and togetherness whereas trump has been demeaning and divisive. What President Obama will be able to do over these next 53 days is drive home the necessity of electing democrats to counter the current republican majorities while laying out the policies of democrats that specifically center on the solutions for working middle poor class. The wealthy are not the ones in trouble here and their continued growing advantages and privileges at the expense of the working middle poor classes must be halted and reversed. Our former President Barack Obama is one who can shine a light on this common sense reality through his oratory.
     So until November 6th we will be seeing and hearing what a real president looks and sounds like with Barack. Not only that we will get to know just how little the trumps have done for the majority of Americans while enriching themselves and their conspirators. America is not a bank account to be robbed by psychopaths and thieves. America is not a playground only for the wealthy. America is not some wild west shoot em up like what republicans want. America is a hard working nation of all diverse citizenry who find the goodness within them to not only tolerate others but to respect any and all who would honorably call America home.

The child bully can do no wrong, just ask him! (#3513)

     If there is one constant in the person of trump, it is that it is never his fault. He was appointed the leader of America with all the problems that it had and that he created and yet it is always someone else's fault when something goes wrong. Even more so when things go wrong that he initiates he actually claims that they were a success. When things go right from previous presidents he does the reverse and claims that they were and are failures. Up is down in trump's world and wrong is right when he says so. There is no other way to see who he is other than a childlike bully who has to have his way or he upsets everyone else.
     The desperation that republicans live under is mind boggling in that they will go to any extreme to protect this infantile mess making of a president. So devoted to their republican ideology they would sacrifice democracy to save it. What we are finding out through investigations is that republicans from all levels of government hierarchy were involved in forcing their agenda through any quasi legal or outright illegal means possible. The rush to obtain power without the true consent of the people is their crime and the judgements from that crime will be bore out as time continues to show.
     So not only did republicans install a borderline psychotic ignoramus as our president but they did it through tactics mostly employed by our fierce enemies. The stench of treason is in the air and republicans are the ones who are excreting it. The one true thing in the universe is that we humans never stop trying to learn facts and truths so when the devious hiders of truth think their strategies have worked and they have hoodwinked us Americans what they will find out is that no one gets away with any kind of deception for long at this complex level. Even with the daily distractions of a child bully who is in a constant mode of making it up as he goes, the truth will prevail and a correction is getting nearer.

It will keep getting worse for republicans (#3512)

     There is nothing good coming from republican politics. The only misleading narrative they have is with the economy but that is an illusion. The only ones doing well are the wealthy and their indicators. Meanwhile the greatest percentage of Americans are still being shuffled toward greater poverty. Everything else about society is crumbling, even our democratic leadership around the world. Our nation has become a magnet for those who are selfish and greedy while exhibiting cruel and brutal behavior to everyone in their path. Nothing going forward is of any value to the American electorate that could possibly salvage the republican party in 55 days. Nothing! They are only embroiled in their own bad deeds with their exposure to those coming out daily.
     How will republicans appeal to the electorate to vote for them? The only path they have is deception. They will also try to blame democrats for everything republicans have done but that won't work too well since republicans have have had all the power for the last 2 years. What republicans have accomplished is to take away from social services that protect the working middle poor class during times of difficulty. Stripping away workplace protections, allowing Puerto Rico to wallow in the aftermath of a devastatingly deadly storm with little care as a helping hand. The republican party continues to fight against voters rights while demeaning and causing suffering  to all who are not them.
     From women's rights to define their own lives to the lowering of minimum wages in desperate parts of our nation, the republican ideal for our lives is one of a cavalier indifference bordering on condescension. The republican party is losing our votes in every major category of voter, even their own once solid base. They have allowed themselves to be fooled into thinking they are the masters of the universe and that is not going over well now. On November 6th they will find that they could not defend their positions and their little glass house of arrogance will be shattered into oblivion. The republican party offers us their formula for greed and hatred, and we Americans are wising up to it and refusing to become like them!

The republican money machine (#3511)

     With 56 days to go until the election the right wing anti Democratic party, republicans, have decided that they need to spend their way to victory on November 6th. That really has been their solution to winning elections since nixon. They cannot produce a policy platform that is welcomed by the majority of Americans like the democrats can so what do they do instead? The air campaign ads that falsely attack the democratic party or lie about their own work product. They are like the guy at work who steals everyone else's ideas and efforts and then presents them as his own to the bosses. The republican party is worthless in that they can only lie, cheat and steal to get your votes.
     So seeing that they are trailing in the national polls in just about every category of policy and in their overall races to hang onto the majority in Congress, they have fallen back to spending on campaign ads to sway voters to them. It has worked for them in the past but in the past they had more opportunities to lie about the reality of government. But this time they have had control of government for the last 2 years so their lies are easily exposed. Not only that but they have stirred the beehive of democratic voters such that we are not easily fooled by their political tactics. We know what wrong they have been doing and most of us are pissed off and ready to vote them out.
     So republicans will spend their boatloads of money on trying to tell us that up is down and red is really blue but we will not fall for that this time. Our determined anger at them for making our lives miserable and less happy will not be camouflaged by their unlimited spending. We will ignore their lies and instead will keep at promoting the truth and finding evenmore voters to vote against them. This coming election is just what our nation needed to begin the process of reversing the most heinous political hijack in the history of our nation. The trumps will find their just reward as well as the gang of republican leaders who enabled the trumps. The republican wealthy will try to fight against truth and common sense but they are exposed and no amount of money will save them this time. So spend away republicans, because it is all you have.

Spoiled rich brat president (#3510)

     He started out in life getting many deferments from the military so that he could avoid the draft even though he participated in sporting events. Then when he got his start in life he was given a million dollars by his father to go out on his own. Rest assured that one million in funds was not the only support he was given to make his mark. This person had opportunities like most all of us would never see and he does not have a resume filled with volunteer social work or deeds. He has been all about himself since his childhood and nothing has changed in that in the intervening years. He was a silver spooned spoiled brat as a child, who is now a silver spooned spoiled brat as an adult.
     The kind of hollow person who takes from others to get what he wants when his money cannot buy it. Because he has no merit within him. He sees the world through the eyes of the survival of the fittest crowd and although they may band together to get their survival of the fittest agenda introduced into our politics and social life, trump is just itching to break free from them to take from even them when the time comes. He is a solitary crying baby who has the knowledge now to make his cries serve him well. His emotional stunted psyche allows him to be cavalier with the lives he now has some power over. Which means he cares nothing for how others are treated regardless of degree of suffering and pain he causes.
     So the American experiment has shown us that it is not without major flaw when a cowardly bully cry baby boy who has unconscionable psychotic behavior can be installed as president. It could only have happened with the direct maneuverings of the republican party. So not only is trump a disgrace and an illegitimate figurehead, the republican party itself is a shameful treasonous entity that would rather work with an enemy like putin, to make sure our voting system didn't work for democracy but instead for their own selfishness and greed. I am so disgusted with this period of time and although it has been an embarrassment and setback for modernity and honorability it is about to begin to be rectified in 57 days.

We will survive the trumps (#3509)

     I know everything looks forlorn at the moment especially the supreme court but once we start to turn this around in 59 days everything else will snowball in our favor. The reason is because republicans live by a code that allows them to cheat and disgrace themselves as a rule. So finding out about their regressions will only help to undo them. We may have to challenge the way the supreme court rules in some yet known or unknown fashion but our resistance is the one thing that has grown to maturity under trumps. It will be our catalyst toward striking a stand against the tyranny of the anti-democratic.
     As pressure goes none have yet felt our true force and with that pressure we will be able to sway the cowards in the republican party to bend from their obsession to act subjectively to their own agenda. Through the number of voters who will vote this coming election the manifest destiny of our nation will surely prove that we are the true power in our land and those republican leaders who have nearly life time public positions will feel the squeeze we put on them in all walks of life. No one is an island and none will be when the mandate we provide for our democratic challengers to republican office holders is established.
     So let the trumps do their worst in an already chaotic time because they will receive their due for it when the due coming time has come. We as a nation of rational beings in the majority will push again into modernity and enlightenment with much less sympathy for those who would deny us our democratic values. Our very democracy is on trial this coming election and the more we accept that we are in a time of fighting to keep it the more determined our electorate will stand against the trumps and their treasonous conspirators. Our time is coming again and in the meantime let us keep a vigil on our duty to promote the values of democracy while smashing down the lies and deception of republican fueled hatred and condescension.

60 days until the election (#3508)

     Again, I will say this, usually when an election is closing in toward the voting day there is some angst about how republicans can pull some last minute saving act to make their outcomes mush better than they should be. But not this time. There is no saving grace for trump or republicans to mask the awfulness of their agenda. They have had all the power for the last 2 years and it has emboldened them to throw away the masks and be themselves wholeheartedly. Well that was their fatal flaw this time, their arrogance. they thought that we would have to accept them for who they are and not put up a fight. Well they chose wrong and no amount of subterfuge or maneuvering will make their actions go away.
     We know who they are and what they stand for so our choice is made simple by their exposure. When we get out and vote it will be an overwhelming landslide for democrats just because republicans condescended to us. They treated us as property not their constituents. We don't like nor appreciate being the serfs in their lordly game. We elected them to serve us not for us to serve them. So when the 60 days have dwindled down to 0, there will be no last minute reprieve for them only a just sentence for them to absorb. Everything they try for here on out will be to no avail because they cannot fool us into not seeing with our own eyes their hatred and disdain for all that democracy affords to all of us.
     They only want to have themselves served and anything less than that is not American in their eyes. The republican party believes in their survival of the fittest dogma and as long as they are the masters we will all only be the sheep. But that is what they want, not what they will get in 60 days. Instead they will get the true meaning of democracy when our congress and state houses find new leadership from the democratic party. Then republicans will see how democracy works and what equality of opportunity and fairness look like. The republican party have been coddled by their advantages and privileges for so long that they don't know what merit and justice look like. Well we will give them a bounty of both and many of them will see and feel reality for the first time!

The difference between us (#3507)

     "'There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?'"-Robert Kennedy. Instead of looking into the past as a way forward like the republican vision, we democrats find that imagining a better future is the best vision to manifest our destiny for our human species. Like all things in the reality of existence, evolution is constant. So for our national conscience to be the same or equal to our previous evolution is standing still on progress as well as losing time for moving forward. It is equivalent to an Ostrich who chooses to hide his head in the sand instead of thinking of a new way to not only survive but to thrive.
     The republican party has chosen to hide it's head in the sand as a means for retaining the status quo. Which they fear is slipping from them due to the more progressive among us who see that we cannot stand still and allow ourselves to become hostage to greed, selfishness and dispassion for all life. Their real fear of change and the sometimes chaos that brings leaves them frozen to action. Their timidity is a defense against that fear and they fight like hell to maintain it. Yet, that is the little picture for them as they don't seem to be able to focus in on the big picture, our actual species survival. They know their own lives will be okay as such but they care not much a wit for the lives of generations that will follow.
     On the other hand we democrats are the party of imaginings and creativity. We see out beyond our own lives into the unknown and need to be bold to know it. We are the party of explorers and discoverers who know that this life is just beginning for our species and the more we know about where we are the better we will be at adapting to the constant real changes happening outside our control. Our society has not "arrived" yet so for republicans to want to keep things as they are is only a reflection of their simple minded selfishness to maintain their advantages and privileges for now and not dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

The republican rot in the senate (#3506)

     With the leaders of the republican majority party in the senate hell bent on forwarding their own agenda there is little we the American people can do. I am just beside myself with resignation that nothing can be done to stop the excruciating pain of watching a horrible human being being processed into a seat on the people's national supreme court. The edge this gives to republicans for the next generation to dismantle our social network and allow for the greedy wealthy among us to reap huge gains for themselves while leaving a path of destruction from their rampage is hellish.
     This will all happen not because trump was installed as president but because the leaders of the republican senate maneuvered it into being.That mcconnell, grassley and hatch made it so is even more appalling in that they are supposed to be the wall protecting our constitution. Yet all they are is a group of spineless hucksters themselves not unlike trump but with more nefarious imaginings. This time in history will not be a welcome one. Those republicans in the senate, house and in the judiciary who enable trump are the path by which we see our democracy being stepped on. They are the cause of all the dirty brutish behavior that their current public positions protect.
     In 61 days we will get to put many of the republican hucksters out on their assses but in the intervening time more real generational damage is coming. The house appears to be on a strong path for takeover by democrats thus putting republicans in the minority there but the other great need is for the democrats to take back the senate and also put republicans in the minority. That trump will still be president is unfortunate but hopefully at least the willing enablers in Congress won't have majorities in either body to help him along. The reckoning that these senators in the republican party when their time for reelection is due must not ever be forgiven and their lot in life must be a judgement that is swift and painful for their crimes against democracy.

Waiting on Jerry (#3505)

     I know it is reasonable to expect that every time a bill is passed by the legislature and is needing a signature of the governor to make it law, there needs to be careful consideration of the bill. Especially bills that run up against formidable opposition and expected contracted litigation. Yet despite the opposition the people's representatives have in their collective wisdom come to a decision none to lightly on their own. Even though our democracy has worked to provide policy and law for our citizenry, the final arbiter is our governor who must decide the fate of each bill if it is to become law. I appreciate this aspect of our government and although I feel uncomfortable with the extended time it is taking to come to a decision I trust that decision is being weighed carefully.
     That being said, this isn't that difficult to weigh. Maintaining a neutral Internet that is all about freedom of speech and equality of opportunity. The detriment to this bill does not outweigh its protections to a fair and just society. I know Jerry may have other reasons for taking his time on his decision to allow the people's will to carry but the suspense is more political than practical in my estimation. Don't get me wrong, in an era of extreme chaos in our political arena, all advantages must be calculated against the democracy destroying republican party. If waiting to see how the opposition to this net neutrality bill here in California signals an advantage than so much good for waiting.
     However, the longer the time goes by without Jerry's signature on the bill to become law takes the more uncertainty within the democratic party grows. There is going to be a blue wave election in 62 days so anything that may be an obstacle to it concerns all of us not only here in California but in our nation as well. Many will see a disastrous effect if Jerry decides that the bill will be too much a headache to defend in the courts and elects not to sign it. Not only will he be throttling back our blue wave momentum but he will give republicans a new optimism that we democrats are too spineless to combat their angry brutal agenda. The best option in all of this is for Jerry to stop waiting and make California's net neutrality bill become law without further delay.

The Supreme Court (#3504)

     Well this is the day I have been dreading since November 8th 2016 when I realized that trump was going to be appointed president. That awful gut punched feeling at knowing that he would get to pick at least one supreme court member. Well this week the disgusting human being mcconnell will make sure of it by forwarding another disgusting human being as a nominee despite widespread outrage over the choice. This is what republicans do, they connive and steal what they can to get what they want. We the good people who don't even consider cheating as a strategy have been caught out by republicans who have no shame nor dignity.
     So the court will now soon have the full agenda of hateful conservative policies in the majority and we the American people are left with whatever results they contrive. Our nation will now be bent toward the anti-democratic anti-social vision of the survival of the fittest creed. They will be able to wield their power over the rest of us with impunity. This is what I knew would happen at minimum. I actually thought that many of us would not survive the first few months of trump and his gang. So thankful for little favors, though I like still being alive, seeing the slow destruction of our democratic union is hellish.
     The only chance we democrats have going forward is to take back control of Congress in 2018 and then the presidency in 2020. From there we will have to wait out the retirements or expirations of the republican majority on the court. With only thomas as a near possibility the damage they will do will most likely cause our nation to rot from within. Unless we can put enough pressure on the republican court members at a rate that even they feel the heat of our breath on their necks. Because if there is one thing I know for a fact about republicans is that when the pressure is turned up on them they almost always wilt from the heat. Going forward our job as protectors of democracy is only going to get harder before it gets easier.

I have to build a wall this month (#3503)

     The wall is actually a fence that my neighbor and I share. It will be over a hundred feet long and replace the one now that is patched and ready for the first good wind to knock it down. A wood fence made of redwood pickets between post spaced at eight feet. What we call around here a good neighbor fence. We each pay half of whatever it costs to dismantle the old and install the new. Now I already did that with my neighbor on the other side about three years ago so it is good and my back fence is chain link that separates my property from the Arcade Creek. That part of the creek bordering me is a preserve so only wildlife is allowed to exist back there.
     The fence I am replacing this month will be with my Mexican/American neighbors who still have a lively household and backyard parties that rival any in my neck of the woods. The mariachi music and more contemporary Latino sounds ring out when the gatherings occur. I actually enjoy the upbeat music and am quite content with all who attend. Very well mannered guests. My main contact next door speaks broken English but well enough for us to communicate. The fence is necessary for us to keep our animals separate but in a perfect world we get along so well that no fence would otherwise be required. This is my relationship with a different culture, I welcome it.
     So the two households will work together to make this fence happen and as is the case I am a very good fence builder. My background outside the more academic is in construction and the years I put into framing and supervising both residential and commercial properties has left me with all the tools and know how to make this fence a beautiful thing as well as plumb and lined. The diversity on our block is representative of the diversity of our nation with all welcome who would make our living experiences more happy than frustrating. It seems to be working as although the neighborhoods around us seem to have troubles we don't here even though we are diverse and not at all well off.

65 days to go (#3502)

     Every day that passes by gives me more hope that the nightmare is about to end. There is nothing I see that is going to change the trajectory of our democratic wave except us not voting. Well us not voting is not going to happen because we are so motivated to change the republican agenda that for us to not vote is not real. We democrats are as angry about the direction of our nation under republicans as I have ever seen even more than we were at the nixon administration. The time for us to make our stand is coming and in those 65 days we still have work to do to make sure our citizens are registered and able to vote.
     65 days to withstand the dysfunctional republicans and their obnoxious, logic impaired leader. 65 days to keep building our blue wave with all that we can do within our reach. Making the case for our democratic policies is the best chance we have to offer the electorate more than just hate and division. We democrats want to help all of us have a better life beyond the only agenda for republicans to help themselves and the wealthy. We democrats want a stable society that isn't permeated with poverty and resentment. We want a functioning government that is here to serve the needs of all of its citizens. We democrats have a vision for an equitable floor from which no American must survive below. We democrats care about the lives of our citizens and will work tirelessly to make sure that democracy is the rule, law and evolving spirit of the land.
     65 days until we can change the Congress and flip the state houses back to being representatives of all the people not just republican people. The time is coming like a speeding freight train rolling down the tracks. It will be here soon enough and we can all hear it's whistle warning us to pay attention. November 6th is 65 days from now so be ready by making sure you are registered and making sure you can help if need be to get folks who need help to the voting booth. Our democratic blue wave needs all of us behind it pushing it higher and higher so that this election will leave no doubt as to the intent of our nation to reverse the degradation republicans and their cultish leaders have thrust upon us against our will.

The shrinking circle of trump (#3501)

     As time goes by. What was scary at the beginning of this trump attack on our democracy was the zealotry we saw from those who protected trump from any scrutiny that would cause the truth of his appointment to our presidency to come out. From top congressional leaders to his private circle of confidants the circle seemed impenetrable. Yet the determination of a man like Bob Mueller and his relentless pressure on the trump cronies we are seeing the breaking of the will to deceive by trumps inner circle. His confidants are now squealing like scared little rabbits giving up information that is tying together the nefarious narrative that trump and his conspirators put into motion.
     As each new flipped witness gives Mueller more information added to his already trove of information the plot is being exposed. Through legal pressure and the fear of punishment, the scheme to defraud our democracy is being dismantled. I wasn't sure it could be done even though I lived through the duplicity of nixon and his republican acolytes. But now I am more confident that even though there is still resistance by trumps allies to withhold the truth it will come out. It is appropriate that such an attack on our democracy is about to crumble because our democracy has endured for the last 242 years and I for one would fight to the death to keep it from ending.
     So as the circle of trumps continues to shrink those still in the circle have now more pressure on them not to be caught out with the criminal trump at the end. If there is one behavior of conspirators we know quite well it is their willingness to throw out their loyalty in order to save what is left of their own skin. Such is the current situation that is unraveling the trump inner circle and causing his accomplices to slip away from his grip. The trumps are going to be exposed and their downfall is now inevitable. The only question that is left now is how soon and through whom will the final nail in trumps coffin be hammered.