Don't admit you are ignorant but still enjoy the bliss (#3773)

     The one advantage to being ignorant is that you can pretend that all is good. I suppose it isn't the worst way to live. The world is troubled with many problems but if you just don't care and want to be happy all the time stay ignorant to the problems and pretend they don't exist. Or if that isn't your cup of tea then find religion so that you can blame god for all that isn't great and then never give any problem another thought. Either way, ignorance is a value when intelligence and knowledge make your head hurt.
     Now you are not supposed to admit you would rather be ignorant than intelligently inclined so that you don't offend others who may be more sensible about their outlooks on life. So there is a finessing of reality that you must do to hide your attraction to ignorance. But like all things in life why not juggle your ignorance and hope for the best? Because the real problems in life are not easy and require considerations that must be weighed against logic. I know, your head is starting to hurt just when I got done typing the word logic. But let a little pain in and try to move past the word and find its meaning. Logic is just an outcome to anything that is correct and sensical. Well accomplished and possibly happy as well.
     But then your happiness is interrupted because of the seriousness of the truths and facts. Well happiness is important so there's the rub. Happiness or a more serious reality. Ignorance is the path to happiness regardless of the outcome because being numb to reality allows for a vacuum and filling that vacuum with whatever you want is desirable. But consider this, even in serious understandings happiness can be found many times because of the positive outlook one chooses to hold. Being optimistic while not being ignorant is a path to happiness and by the way, one I choose for myself.

Plain speak only please (#3772)

     The time for being ironical, metaphoric, sarcastic, and paradoxical has passed. We are not dealing with an intelligent form of life in our national government so let's not muddy the waters with our ability to be witty. It is time for straight talk with clear and definite messaging. Back to basics with a yes or a no as a starting point and then further explanation as needed. Blunt and to the point in all ways as to leave no other interpretation as to our meanings. The need for precision here is because the trumps and their enablers are in the wrong and need to be put right without a doubt as to the putting right.
     The only way we are going to beat a misinformation campaign is to not allow for disinformation to come from our own words and thoughts. The only way that will happen is if we are absolute in our words and meanings. We cannot allow the trumps to propagandize our words through our own inability to be clear. If trumps had to tell the truth about what they are doing it would be the end of them so we must tell the world about what the trumps are doing with facts and truths. If trumps choose to call facts and truths another name like alternative facts and truths then we have them where we want them. Them having to defend their words instead of attacking ours. On our part all we have to do is cite our references and let the logic speak for itself.
     By speaking plainly we also let in all who hear our words because even the less educated among us are able to converse on basic levels. That is how we will defeat republicans who continue to keep us poor and uneducated. Our own language must show where we stand and how much better life could be through examples. We have to connect with everyone on the most common of subjects in order to win their minds and hearts. By speaking plainly we make sure that our message is clear and the need for it to happen, a must.

We all must protect the safety of our human race! (#3771)

     There is no division when it comes to being human. We are all human therefore there should be no division. So all this grumbling and hatred about our different human expressions and appearances is just stupidity gone amok! We are not all cut like a cookie in the same shape, color or size. We are varied which makes our species human so amazing. It is an honor to be part of a species that has not only evolved into a magnificent example of awareness and intelligence but one which has the capacity to form relationships that bond with each other.
     All this to say that since I have no children of my own, I see myself as responsible in any way I may be able to for all the children that live. I see myself as responsible in any way I may for all the adults that live. Now reality tells me I cannot care for all nor have I the utility to do so. Yet despite that it is still my goal because we are all of the same family. I have a duty to my whole family to try to help where I can and at least care when I can't help. This is my view of the world we live in and it absolutely doesn't stop at the human species. All the "lesser" animals in our existence get my care as well as best I can.
     Because life in whatever shape or form should have a time span that isn't marked by the worst of what we humans have been in antiquity. Our human species had to forge a life on Earth that often went against our hearts and minds yet due to survival instincts of no low importance we endured through our worst natures. But those days are not who we are now. We humans have mastered our surroundings from most all of nature's misfortunes so our evolution toward civilized living has become common. This is who we are now, an enlightened species who would rather learn of what we don't know than live under an illusion about what scares us most. The human species is my family, all that we are in our differences and sameness notwithstanding, instead because of it.

Russia needs to be stopped (#3770)

     Between the far right hate groups and the Russian interference all over the world in elections we have identified our enemies. The far right hate groups are just a vehicle for the Russians to exploit so the root of the cause is the Russian ideology to destroy the west at all costs. If we thought the cold war was the end of Russian aggression we were sadly mistaken. Through putin the re imagining of the defeat of the west and its culture is playing out before our eyes. From America to Europe the intentional sabotage of our information services and election processes is taking place with the greedy help from conservatives around the world, republicans and tories alike, to dictators who are most interested in living in a world where the power to rule is absolute.
     With the election of trump and the keeping of the senate in the hands of republicans the Russians are assured that their success at rupturing our democracy will go unpunished. So the next phase for them is to keep the senate and the presidency in the conservatives hands while they literally tear down our policies of democracy. It is unfathomable to me that the republican party has so bought into the Russian agenda that they are willing to sacrifice the nature of our nations achievements. It is also hard for everyday conservative Americans to believe that the republican party would allow itself to be run roughshod over by leaders whose best intentions are not liberty, justice and the American way. They would rather believe that this is just a hard austerity gambit.
     Which plays into their narrative of hating those who are not them. Making America into a favored dictatorship is most welcome by Russia as they seem to have their straw man in trump to be guided by them. This infiltration by Russia into our political processes with impunity is solely the work of republicans who have found in Russia a partner for whom there is no equal. What republicans don't get however is that Russia is not to be trusted and although republicans feel favored by Russia now they will soon learn that even Russia will not tolerate a traitor even when the act has Russia where it wants to be. The republican party has sold its soul for 30 pieces of silver and when that little bit has been spent they will find that their hatred for democratic principles has led to the death of our democracy.

Out intelligence services need to assist our democracy (#3769)

     Where is our American James Bond when we need him or her? The ineptness of the O powerful one should make it easier to bring him down. The linchpin should be easy to find that brings his whole criminal operation down. We need our clandestine services to step up and accomplish a great mission for the good of our nation. So calling all who fit the profile but cannot acknowledge it due to privacy issues to take some action that ends this current heavy assault on our sensibilities and our lives. It seems that if a foreign entity can so manipulate him why cannot we do the same? The foreign entities are no more intelligent than our services and we have an inside track.
     Because while we do nothing his power and ability to trash our lives continues to mount. The time for waiting him out may well have passed already as rules and guidelines for proper behavior are ignored and flaunted. There has to be something of great harm to him out there that the foreigners have on him so let's get with it and do our nation this one service above and beyond the call of duty and find it for ourselves. As we have seen he is as pliable as a wet sponge when he is controlled and afraid. We should have that power over him not some foreign entity. At least until the time comes for a new person to hold sway over our nation.
     We must fight fire with fire when all there is to use is fire. Beat him at his own game by turning the tables on him and using his own vulnerabilities to turn him into our puppet. His crimes are many for sure as his arrogance would never allow him to believe that he could be caught out. He came to the realization long ago that he is wiser, smarter, better looking and stable than all of the rest of us. If you doubt me just ask him yourself. So let's get with it clandestine services and find the key to our release from the hellish prison we are all trapped in for how long we may never see the end.

The Insurrection Act (#3768) Wikipedia

     {"The The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255)^[1] (until 2016, found at 10 US Code, Chapter 15, §§ 331–335, renumbered to 10 USC, Chapter 13, §§ 251–255) that governs the ability of the President of the United States to deploy military troops within the United States to put down lawlessness, insurrection, and rebellion. The general purpose is to limit presidential power, relying on state and local governments for initial response in the event of insurrection. Coupled with the Posse Comitatus Act, "The entire text of the Posse Comitatus Act, as amended in 1956, is as follows:18 U.S.C. § 1385 – Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus, Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. Accordingly, actions taken under the Insurrection Act, as an "Act of Congress", have always been exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act.^[2][3] Presidential powers for domestic law enforcement are limited and delayed."} This act was in keeping with limiting presidential powers from overstepping their authority in forcing states to comply with their extra-democratic concept of governance.
     The Insurrection Act was amended in 2007 and contains the same wording as the original act plus additional wording. {"Differences between old and new wording[edit]The original wording of the Act required the conditions as worded in Paragraph (2), above, to be met as the result of insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.The new wording of the Act, as amended, still requires the same conditions as worded in Paragraph (2), above, but those conditions could, after the changes, also be a result of natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition and only if domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order.}
     All of this to say that it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for trump to trigger his threat to deputize the military as a civilian police force. What we have here is another example of how trump sees himself as a dictator in a democratic system that doesn't allow for it. The end of trump's presidency is the most pressing issue of our time and although we have less than 18 months before the next election I fear that it won't be in time for us to stop trump from breaking our democracy and installing himself as a king. I am not embellishing nor being conspiratorial here. The trail of evidence trump has slithered behind him is plenty enough for anyone of sound mind and body to draw the same conclusion.

Yesterday's no post (#3767)

     After more than 10 years of posting practically everyday, you would think I would be suffering withdrawals from not really posting anything like I normally do. But on the contrary, I didn't feel much of a tug to post something later that morning and in fact forgot that I hadn't posted until this morning. I like that. :) It seems that I am not an obsessive/compulsive like at times I think I am. I mentioned late last year that as I was approaching my 10 year milestone that I was considering not posting on an everyday schedule. yet not long after typing those words into a post I realized that I couldn't stop just like that and that I was comfortable enough to keep going as long as I had something to say.
     So it appears I am keeping with that since yesterday I had nothing to say despite there being plenty of news to drone on about. I like this too! :) So today's post is about how I have come to rationalize my blog now and what is in store for the future of it. First off, this blog is about me putting my thoughts down for anyone to peruse. It is like a therapy for me since the powers that be in our nation can only seem to screw life up for the most all of us. Second, I get a chance to inform about my view of how we should treat each other within our democracy. Then thirdly, I leave a record for any who would want to know who I am and what I think.
     All these reasons are important to me but what I also find honorable is being 100% behind my topic. So it seems that some days may get missed if the impulse to write is not with me on that day. I do love to write and see how our language and the words in it combine to persuade or inform new thought. This is just another area of where our species evolves on a constant basis. Forming new ideas from different words backed by reason, analysis, and conclusion from common sense and truths. If it weren't for letters and numbers I do believe my life would be worthlessly lived and of no good to anyone else.

Nothing from me today (#3766)

     I usually have something to say about something but today I don't. Don't get me wrong there is lots to talk about from the trumps to local issues here in Sacramento. But I have no desire to say anything this morning and I want to keep that no desire as it is and not force something out of my brain that is just not there. Have a great day everyone and surely tomorrow I will be back boring you with all the gusto I usually have. :)

When the republican firewall to protect trump breaks, then go for Impeachment! (#3765)

     Nancy Pelosi is correct to hold her powder on firing an impeachment proceeding on trump for now. There are to many unknown variables especially with an election only 17 plus months away that may keep trump as the appointed president in power. Because Nancy Pelosi knows that an impeachment proceeding may well backfire and give trump support at the wrong time. It is for now that mostly only democrats want the impeachment to begin and in normal times rightly so. Yet these are not normal times and with so many rank and file republicans against impeachment for now it may well end up helping trump more than hurting him.
     So letting trump continue to self destruct within his own party due to his arrogance and bullying nature will allow that republican firewall of his to weaken and if history repeats itself as it should when stupid is stupid does the time will be upon us for impeachment. But we must wait for those early republicans who see the writing on the wall to make their move. When enough of them have then impeachment time has come. Nancy Pelosi is not against impeachment per se. She is against impeachment when the time isn't right for it to have the effect it should have. Which is to bring down this unethical con man as a result.
     If anything, metaphorically, Nancy Pelosi is a Field Marshall in military terms and her understanding of the political battlefield is complex and complete. The trumps are novice at fighting against a foe like Nancy Pelosi and they will eventually maneuver themselves into a position where Nancy Pelosi will be able to strike a mortal blow and end their coup on our American democracy. We are fortunate to have Nancy Pelosi as our democratic leader and we will soon enjoy the fruits of her enlightened gravitas. The trumps are no match for her wisdom even though they denigrate her as nothing more than a bother. Their lack of insight into how far above their mentality she is will be their undoing. They underestimate her at their own peril and their peril is soon to be coming down on their heads!

Rule of law or despised by the majority personal outcomes (#3764)

     The choice our nation must make concerning the republican party and their front man trump is coming to a head. Our nation and its power structure must make a choice sooner than later. With all the lawsuits and subpoenas coming down in general on the republican party and specifically on the trumps will force those jurists who are partisan republican party faithfuls to make a choice between preserving our democracy or of allowing our democracy to crumble in favor of a dictatorship. There is no in between here for them to hide. The time is real close for them to make their choice and it will not be easy for them since they would rather force us to accept their will than try to persuade us with positive arguments.
   But the idea that they will not only force us but turn our democracy on its head to make it so may be a bridge too far even for them. Because like with all slippery slopes, once you start down there is no going back. If these republican jurists give the hard core republicans and the trumps what they want these very same jurists will find that their institutional leverages will be gone as well as our rights and freedoms under democracy. Their calculus must be that although they desire the outcome trumps want to force on us they don't want to achieve it by relinquishing their own power. There is the catch 22, want but can't have without losing much.
     My gut tells me that the jurists who will decide the fate of our nation will not allow trumps to take their prestige from them. There will be a firewall between the trumps and our democracy and although the republican party justices may well want the end that trump is selling they will not allow for the means to achieve it. However, I am no soothsayer or reader of any crystal ball so what I think may be just a lot of nothing. Yet, I do understand the nature of the human and the desire to cling to a lifelong achievement. We will see as to how our democracy fares in the next year and a half but my bet is that it will survive the trumps and the trumps and their allies will come out holding the short end of the stick.

The desperation of the ignorant (#3763)

     They would rather be led to their deaths than accept that they are willfully being ignorant. I suppose it easier to blame, those who are full of curiosity about life and want to learn, as the culprits to their own choice to be sloths. Where the weak minded by choice are angry at the strong minded because they endure to know. Where in Alice's Wonderland did they get the idea that doing nothing with your life is better than doing something with your life? I was young once and was a carefree spirit who didn't plant any roots to speak of but one thing I never gave up on was my curious nature to know. I always pushed myself to learn more at every opportunity even while I was busy living a young vibrant life.
     What I cannot fathom here is why others who are not ready to be part of the "machine" are not likewise engaged in at least staying up on information and new discovery? How can one look at themselves in the mirror and be satisfied with being a rotting husk when all they need to do is pick up a book or turn on a computer and google anything that interests them? I hadn't found my place in society until I was ready but I never gave up on learning. I didn't portray learning as an evil that had the worst at heart for anyone. Never have I thought that learning was a bad thing, on the contrary, I have always known that not learning was the worst thing a living human being could do.
     So the cult of trump is born from those who will not learn to be better human beings. The lazy procrastinators are abundant it seems and how they got to being who they are is a misery no respectable human would ever imagine for themselves. I suppose it is easier to hate and hurt others than it is to understand and welcome others but I don't see how? For me, the lifelong bachelor, who finally found a niche in life that fits me, being understanding and welcoming to those who are nothing more than decent human beings is a no brainer. I have no desperation in my life as a rule because my soul is well settled into the fact that I am a good honest man who tries hard to learn more than I know and live my life like I want others to imagine their own as well.

Keep the pressure on trumps (#3762)

     I actually heard that trump was nice to a democrat about his sexuality. Well that set of a bunch of whistles, buzzers, and bells for me. Because trump never does anything unless he can benefit from it so my guess is that he is trying to soothe the anger he has created in the Rainbow community. Apparently his internal polling or the advice he is now getting tells him that the Rainbow community is a formidable alliance to overcome if he has any hope of being reappointed to the presidency. We know he won't get elected to the presidency because he will never get the majority of voters in any election to outright win the popular vote so he has to be trying to just skim by with an electoral college appointment like last time.
     I think his modifying comments are just a smoke screen and those in the Rainbow community should take it as such. Because when it comes to words from the mouth of the conman nothing can be taken for granted. His word is not his bond as it were so anything that is nothing more than hot air is to be ignored. However that he isn't condemning the Rainbow community is a salve of sorts for now anyway. But know this, if trump wasn't worried about the coming election no such salve would ever be uttered across his forked tongue! The trump is like putin and other right wing fanatical leaders in that the idea of sex and gender identity outside of the man and woman only scenario is taboo to them.
     Which I have my own idea about why these right wing nuts are so against gender identification and same sex partners but I won't get into their own personal desires they are eager to suppress. Instead I will take what trump said to Mayor Pete and forward that trump is beginning to see his own downfall from the appointed presidency he so did not deserve. We are still more than 500 days from the election but the squeeze on the calculus as to how to make another term real is getting tighter. This is just a first glimpse into that evidence. When trump starts to sound reasonable is when we all need to check our wallets for his fingers. If anything we need to redouble our efforts with greater fervor to oust him and his cronies in the republican party!

While America burns, trump fiddles... (#3761)

     This is happening before our eyes and trump's base is playing the background music for him. How is it that too many Americans are nonchalant about the coming destruction of our nation? I suppose many of them are waiting to be raptured into their fairy tale myth and could care less if the rest of us sinners are left in a wasteland. I suppose many others of them don't believe evidence and truths, facts and common sense when it comes to logic. I also suppose that many of them believe they are invincible and that at any time some miraculous solution will come to them at the last minute. But my guess is that too many of them just don't care and as long as their lives are somewhat normal they are beyond anything else happening around them.
   How is it that our nation is so full of dummies, denialists, and psychopaths that being normal and using our reasoning powers is now considered a fault? When our children have grown up without having to actually sacrifice for anything is how. A nation full of privileged and advantaged who now see the world through the narrow view of elitism. I see this almost everywhere as the wealthy wall themselves off from the rest of us. Their ideal of life consists of the bottom line, not the value of character. That they actually got power is deflating until we realize that they manipulated an outcome for themselves.
     Well we the majority who are not them can manipulate a power grab ourselves and all we have to do is wake up and see reality for what it is. We can either go back to sleep and not vote or we can shrug our shoulders and say I don't care or we can get angry at the republican trumps and vote them all out of office. I suggest we do the voting them all out of office option if we want any chance at salvaging what was once the greatest democracy on Earth. It is up to us to stop the burning down of our nation and it's laws based upon equality, justice, and fairness. The trumps may be serenely oblivious to the searing reality but the rest of us who struggle to make ends meet are not so inclined toward that scathing end. We care about our nation and it's future in the world so hop on board our democratic blue wave and let's put that republican trump fire out!

No one can tell you that you are good (#3760)

     This was a lesson that took me nearly 35 years to figure out. I am slow it seems, but I got there. The only one who can tell you that you are good is yourself. Do you do the right thing when the right thing is your choice. How do you feel about yourself when you don't do the right thing? These are two examples of actually knowing if you are good or not. First by doing the right thing you have forgone doing the wrong thing. And second, if you feel guilty for not doing the right thing when you could have then you are at your core a good person who needs to improve on your choices.
     I am a good person because it is correct to be so. I tried not being a good person and it killed me inside. I started to become the person that I most despised. My inner turmoil began to eat at my soul. So I stopped being selfish and cruel and instead let curiosity about our world and caring for all in it be my path. Funny how that works. Just by letting myself be me regardless of what anyone else said or thought made me feel so alive and happy. So no myths, mores and superstitions based on fairy tales for me. No more caring what others are doing and trying to be like them unless they are the best of what an honorable human being can become. No more listening to critiques of my life when it suits the agenda of others. I am a good person because I let myself be one.
     Because I care and wonder about things I have no room for the whirligig of chasing inanimate or animate objects. Living my life like a gift and trying with all my might to be the best person I could ever want to be keeps me too busy to allow myself to fall into the lure of advantages and privileges. It is real easy for me to explain. When I was a child I wanted to be a superhero. I know I can't be a superhero but that doesn't preclude me from making efforts where efforts are needed. It is a tremendous way to live and I recommend it to everyone who wants to give more than they want to receive. I know I have been gifted in life but I also know many more have not been and I feel obliged to change that dynamic anyway possible as a rule, not an exception.

The true nature of trump emerged, his bullying cowardice! (#3759)

     The appointed bully in chief just blinked, again. He tries to rattle a sabre at Iran and then backs off when the escalation toward war gets real. We should all know that the bone spur appointed president doesn't want to fight he just wants to bully. It is his modus operandi. Throughout his life he has been calling bluffs on weaker people and getting his way because it is how he is built. He doesn't know any other way, like being informed and winning debates through facts and truths. He is a lazy incompetent libertine who applies his traits to all walks of life.
     That someone else or more didn't actually have to stop the incompetent one is at least good news about a situation that never had to be. Finding silver linings in failed motivations by this cad trump is all we can hope for in the next 18 months. Remember his bluster is just that, hot wind that has no value other than a negative one. Which should make our blue wave even stronger when the time comes to get on our boards and ride it. How anyone can actually support this stench ridden straw man is only supported by the racism and sexism he employs to his cult's rotten core. Besides the waste that is trump that we have to cleanse our system of is the cult he has exposed as his base. That may take longer than an election to solve but it is a problem that needs the white hot heat of attention sooner than later.
     Just 2 days ago my blog post was about how we need to stop the appointed trump from starting an unnecessary war and it now appears that the appointed trump has stopped himself. Much ado about nothing it seems yet that is the epitome of what trump is and will ever be. A miserable clod who is in the dark and cannot find his way in a world of intelligence and wisdom. No flashlight will help him since he cannot understand that which is beyond his capacity to contemplate. So what next is coming from the irrational devoid of compassion mind of trump? Stay tuned because he loves playing at screwing our lives!

trump immigration plan like trump health care plan, just kill us all! (#3758)

     What we know about trump and his plans for America are that he doesn't care about us. So labeling something a plan for America is not about a plan for America, it is about him not caring about America. Yet his base will soak up any and all little nuances of his "plan" and call it all good. That we live in a nation where nothing trump does is critical enough for us to throw him out of our White House on his ear is amazing to me. Because all he does is disrespect and dishonor everything he touches. But since he claims he is a Christian and a great businessman he gets a pass from more than one third of our voting public.
     Nothing about trump is honorable and his disdain for all that helps the working middle poor class is plenty enough to end his current reign in 2020. Yet the verdict isn't clear is it? We know we will have a blue wave election this coming election but will it be a whimper or a roar of one? I suppose logically that it will be a roaring one but logic isn't the strong suit of the American electorate. It is quite embarrassing that our nation suffers from intellectual curiosity while thinking we are invincible. I am part of this problem although I am not a suffering fool I am not able to convince enough folks that we are about to be disemboweled by a maniac who would be king.
     That I am older and closer to death now than I am to when I was born makes me want to try all the more harder to rectify this current sewage infested political paradigm. I have little to lose at all since the best part of my life has already been lived. So I can stand tall and rail against injustice and inequality with impunity. I hate that we are such losers here in America when it comes to participating in our own governance. 46.9% of we eligible voters didn't even bother to vote in the 2016 election and now we have a wannabe dictator for an appointed president. No matter what this appointed republican fraud plans for us it will be a harsh brutal reality and for that he will smile and pat himself on the back.

We cannot let trump start a war! (#3757)

     The liar in chief has us at the edge of a war with Iran and we cannot allow him to push us further toward it. War is the last resort when the eradication of a regime is the only answer. Not some made up scenario like republicans pulled in Iraq in 2003. This would be even worse because Iran didn't do anything to provoke this, trump's administration did all the provoking. We cannot allow this thief of our presidency to deliberately stumble us into a conflict where there will never be a clear winner nor a positive outcome. The only ones who will profit off a war like this are the munitions makers whom surely are egging this idiot president on to start a war.
     The thing about our endless cycle of wars is that we will never be able to address poverty which is one of the main causes of poverty so republicans want to keep war in place for their own benefit so starting another war is good business for them. This all has to stop and whatever it takes to stop the madmen who keep putting our citizens up for cannon fodder must be done. If somehow we are able to stay out of a war until the next election then we can stop them with the our votes but if not then the powers that be must find a way to dissuade any further aggression on the part of the trumps. Whatever that takes is what is needed however difficult or imaginative.
     War is the scourge of enlightenment and is the main reason we have such horrible living conditions throughout most of the world. If we can stop the madmen from their blood lust we then can look inwards to our own problems and then begin to spend there instead of outside making the military industrial complex our chief financial beneficiary. The ending of wars is how we modernize the whole of our world and until we end our wars the modernization process only helps those with the most resources, such as the wealthy. There is a time for war when no other avenue will lead to peace but these made up controversies are not it. War is death and if we allow trump to war then we are setting up our own and our children's deaths.
     

The manifest destiny of change (#3756)

     Nothing will stop change, nothing! The question is not how to stop change but instead in which way we will try to make change work out to our betterment. What we are finding out first though is not how to make change our ally but how to tamp down the intervening struggle to stop change. It is as if the idea that change is inevitable is lost on too many. They don't see the positives from change, they only see their own false calculus as to how change will affect them. Not only are they incorrect on their faulty calculus in how change will affect them but they cannot grasp that change will happen regardless of their irrational responses.
     Much like the child who throws a tantrum because something they want is not given, too many of us are crying out because our outlook is not being valued above the outlook of others. Too many of us are so selfish that we are willing to let others die so that we can get our way. Our American experiment in that regard has failed miserably. Surely there are those of us who fight for a more egalitarian society but it seems that too many others of us just don't care enough to help along in that fight. We are in a dilemma as a nation and the sooner we either correct ourselves toward change that helps all of society, the better we will be at not smashing our society to the ground.
     Let me be perfectly clear here, change will always occur but what will be the nature of that change? As we stand now there does seem to be a momentum toward positive change and directing that positive change outward. Yet that isn't fact yet and until it is the opportunity for a brighter future is still in doubt. We the people are the ones who will decide no matter how ridiculously the anti democratic movement operate our elections. We can throw the "bums" out regardless of their cheating just by saying enough of this and ending the power grab by those who would make us kneel to them instead of them standing strong alongside of us.

We are what we are (#3755)

     After a couple of crude jokes yesterday morning at the breakfast celebrating Mother's day I have been churning about how to write this post. One of my family members was making lewd jokes about my other family member and his sexual orientation. The reason this bothered me besides the immature crudeness of the comments was that this one joking family member is typical of what republicans are today, unaware and shallow. I have known my one family member all of his life and early on it was evident that he was much more effeminate in his mannerisms. Most all of us older family members knew that he was not going to be a manly man.
     But the thing is is that he kind of surprised us when he was old enough to go out on his own by marrying a woman and having a child. In my mind it was as if he was fighting against his own nature so that he wouldn't be ostracized by those who didn't understand him or his own internal war. However, it didn't take but a few years for the marriage to end and for my family member to decide to fight for his true identity. He has since found a partner of the same sex and is in a marriage now that he finds fulfillment in.
     I have been reevaluating my thinking about him since yesterday's bad jokes at his expense, he wasn't at the breakfast yesterday, and I have readjusted my perception about him not being a manly man. Because the courage it took for him to not only fight against his own nature and marry a woman so that he could "fit in" with society's expectations was remarkable. Then the courage it took for him to stop the marriage to the woman knowing that he couldn't be the true love of her life no matter how hard he tried. Against all those who snicker and tell bad jokes at his expense he doesn't care. He is living his dream and the idea that he wasn't/isn't a manly man only works if you discount his nature and think like a petty person who thinks they can know who someone else is just by looking at them.

Never surrender to trumps (#3754)

     That the trumps are trying like hell to make us all weary from their constant onslaught of bullshit is clear. Even I feel the weariness of it yet I am not ever going to quit throwing it right back at them. I can rest when we have them out of office and rightfully in prison. They may think that they know us as weaklings who will quit when the going gets tough but what they don't know is that we are stronger than they are. Even though sometimes it feels like there is never going to be an end to it. Our human legacy is to endure and though the trumps may think they know what endurance is they have no clue because they have not been the downtrodden like we have and come out of it even stronger.
     As privileged and advantaged that the trumps have been they don't know what it is like to be a poverty's door with no way out and still fight to find a way. They don't know what it is like to be so full of despair that our mind and bodies ached from the reality of it. They don't know what it is like to survive when it would have been so easy to quit and be done with it. They don't know what it is like to lose everything, even the shirts off our backs and still find a way to rebuild. They don't know what it is like to see desperation in our children's eyes and how that could either destroy us or solidify our resolve to cure it. The trumps have no clue as to who we are and for that they will pay a price for their arrogance and cruelty.
     The trumps are no different than the past brutal psychopaths who underestimated those they thought they ruled. Not only that but to think that they could rule us here in the greatest democracy that history has ever recorded is more evidence of their inability to see reality for what it is. The trumps era of bullying will come to and end whether they accept it or not. They will fight to keep their power beyond what our constitution allows but it will be of no consequence. They will be ousted when that time after November 3rd. 2020 comes whether they accept it or not. Others and myself will make sure that the vote we have and make is counted far above the chaos that trumps will employ when the end of them comes.

trump's upside down democracy (#3753)

     It seems like every single day trump is convinced by his twisted thinkers that our democracy should implode in every possible way. There is no doubt among us who hold contempt for trump that he is on a mission to become America's first king. The only person our nation ever asked if he would be our king, George Washington, turned it down because he knew democracy cannot exist while being ruled by a monarchy. Yet trump has no idea about that since his IQ is somewhere far below the average American citizen. That must hurt trump's ego since unfortunately the average American citizen's IQ is not very high. Regardless of trump's inability to rationalize at a decent level he still thinks along with his minions that he is smarter and wiser than all others.
     Meanwhile every single day we fight against the onslaught of trump and his incredibly ridiculous policies unless of course you see his policies as a movement toward something. I know I do! He wants to be king and anything that helps him along to consolidate power over the rest of us is now his priority. His relentless drive to rule over all is insane to begin with but even more it is psychotic. how anyone could find it within themselves to want to demand that all kneel to him in this day and age is certainly an example of his internal hysteria. We who will never kneel before a trump nor anyone else are the backbone to the opposition of trumps and all that they stand for.
     trump will never be our king and if he is lucky he may survive beyond the end of his appointed presidency. There is only so much assault on our democracy that we individuals can take and somewhere somehow a person or persons will find that enough is enough. That is the nature of individualism. None of us has a clear set of boundaries we won't cross if the threat to our honorable idealism is actualized. I am not advocating anything here but I am stating a warning that when you take and take from those who have little but hold precious they will find it within themselves to stop the taking from them. Human nature is fallible and although our lives are fragile they are not without strong conviction. Beware those who would demean the many while living like a fool!

It will all come down to John Roberts (#3752)

     With the certainty of a constitutional crisis in our midst the votes on the Supreme Court will decide if trumps can usurp congressional powers. As the Supreme Court now holds a 5-4 republican majority it is likely that trump will win the day against our democracy, on the surface anyway. Yet with Roberts we have not seen an unwillingness to protect the structure of our democracy. He certainly is a conservative republican but he at times shows that he bucks the traditional conservative agenda. Saving Obamacare being a prime example. But the question of separation of powers is a mighty one and would take pretzel logic on the part of any of the other more strident conservatives on the court to represent.
     Not that they are not going to but I think Roberts, as the Chief Justice would have a hard time linking his vote to an absurd notion when our constitution clearly delineates the separation of powers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers_under_the_United_States_Constitution I do believe that Roberts will not allow the court to uphold trump's gambit to deny authority that Congress holds with his own desire to escape scrutiny. A bridge too far is how I see that playing out. Yet I have been wrong enough when trying to predict an outcome that in this case, which should never even get to a judicial decision. However the times are oddly strange in that the defiance of trump and the cult gathering he possesses seems insurmountable.
     If we are to remain a democracy John Roberts has no other choice but to side with the 4 liberals on the Supreme Court and claim that Congress has the authority established in our constitution to subpoena and then punish those who violate the subpoenas. This is a clear cut fact that trump is trying to circumvent the authority vested in Congress as a means to escape the nefarious truth of things from coming out. To protect trump and deny Congress it's rightful powers would be for Roberts to deny the Supreme Court its objective and constitutionally protected duty. He would if he sides with the other 4 conservatives effectively cut his own authority to arbitrate. It will come down to Roberts and I think he will uphold our constitution.

Migrant children, trumps black eye! (#3751)

     What will go down in history as a stain on our democracy is the trump rule to separate migrant children from their parents with no plans to reunite them. Despite the several children that have died in custody away from their parents trump still cares not for them. It is a daily battle keeping trump from doing worse to not only us Americans but to those who are seeking refuge from violence and tyranny. We, the America I grew up in, has always welcomed immigrants as it is how we were formed as a nation. Yet trump sees immigration as a racist would and instead of welcoming souls who seek our democracy he punishes them and with that punishment has now made a new generation of people who hate America and what is now stands for.
     The rest of us who oppose trump know that we will pay a price for the trump policy of harming innocents. The cost coming in the future may be able to be mitigated by removing trump sooner than later but that is still not going to relieve us from our due, thanks to trump's hate. As an older man I had hoped that the true identity of America would rise up and squash the little rats that are now running our government and although it seems like a losing battle I am confident that our blue wave is going to drown the rats come November 3rd. 2020. Yet so much damage has been done so much work will be needed to be done almost immediately after the removal of the scourge of trump.
     The migrant crisis is solely trumps doing but he will leave the rest of us to clean up his mess. Not only this mess but all the other messes here at home and abroad. Yet we are a mighty nation who can survive this cesspool of a dilemma and knowing how much good there is here in America I have no doubt once we start to repair the damage of trump we will begin to see the better part of all harmed come forward. The racists and misogynists who backed trump will need to be stifled and put under a microscope to see where they partook in the trump debacle of death and destruction. We will grow from this as a nation but the harm caused by the trumps is going to hurt us for some time to come.

The big tell of the partial release of trumps tax returns (#3750)

     For about 10 years between the 1980's and 1990's we see that trump actually lost over 1 billion dollars on his returns. So him being a successful businessman to date given what we see from his partial tax returns is just another lie from the mother of all liars. I understand that trump showed losses like that on his tax returns so that he wouldn't have to pay any taxes. Think about that for a moment. The betraying scourge actually would rather be in debt than pay taxes to help upkeep our America, which gave trump his opportunities to thrive. So here we are with another glimpse into the soul of trump that again tells us that he is absolutely a selfishly rotten scum bucket.
     No doubt we will see more of trump's tax returns but to think that they would be any different from his now released ones is a stretch. He has found his way to avoid paying taxes and to him that is more important than any bottom line success. With the pressure released a bit by this disclosure of his earlier non taxed returns, although twice he was forced to pay tax through the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), the rest of his returns should be coming sooner than later. That trump bragged that he paid little to no tax in the past is now verified and reminds the rest of us just how the rules for paying taxes for the wealthy are advantaged over the non wealthy.
     So not only is trump willing to shake the tree of the favorable wealthy tax code for all it's fruits, he also is willing to sell our nation to the highest bidder regardless if the highest bidder is an enemy. So his example thus far is to cheat the tax man while selling out our country. The troubles trump is having is not because he is misunderstood, it is because we do understand him and we don't like what we see. As the facts of his life come to light we find that his shirking of laws and American ideals abhors us and when the time comes he will pay for those deplorable dodgy maneuvers with every ounce of his fiber. His end time is coming and all that is and will keep coming out will make sure of it.

Time for the republican party to end (#3749)

     Throughout our American history we have had many political parties that formed for a while and then disbanded after a time, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States. This is how our political process actually has been over the length of our existence as a democracy. So when I say that the republican party is no longer viable to our national interests on whole I am not saying anything out of the ordinary. What was thought to be a conservative party that had the interests of all Americans equally in hand has been exposed as a political party that only has the interests of the wealthy as its only purpose. So me calling for the end of it is not because of partisanship, it is because it is naturally logical.
     We democrats have become more moderate in our stances while also being very progressive in many others. So the need to have a balancing political party to keep all of us in check is not being fulfilled by the republican party. So it must be left to die its death so that a new party with ideals in tune with helping the whole of our nation move forward can evolve. Carrying around the dead carcass of republicanism just to help the wealthy is absurd since they already have the greater share of all resources on the planet while continuing to grow their cruel income inequality gap. They don't need anymore help from our society therefore their political interests are already fulfilled.
     As I see it the democratic party has grown into a thoughtful reasoning party that understands the nature of the economy and society's needs. We could be pushed from our left by the Green party which would actually be like the old democratic party before our partial moderation toward the center. Anything on the right of the democratic party now is more fringe zealotry that has more to do with racism, sexism, and cultism than nature and nurture. So the republican party no longer serves the working lower middle, poor, class of which because of their continuing poverty enhanced policies has made us the largest grouping of citizens ever in our history. So moving forward the end of the republican party is actually the cure to our current problems. Our enlightened modernity needs to move forward without the republican party!
     

Under trump, depravity in America rises (#3748)

     The perverted and sordid nature of the trump administration along with his republican cohorts in congress has been on an upswing since his first day in office. This cad who is pretending to be a leader has brought our nation to its knees with his continuing onslaught against our working middle poor class. He boasts of his economy yet his economy is just the continuation of the great job President Obama formulated. To keep up appearances trump has increased our national debt in order to hide the fact that his economy in only prioritized to increase wealth for the wealthiest among us.
    So the rest of us can work but only at jobs that do not cover quality of life living. The struggle the many of us have to make ends meet on very little gets harder and harder each passing day under the trumps. Outside of the work that is available at minimal wages, the trumps are destroying every program aimed at cleaning up our environment. Because as he has said many times that regulations intended to protect life are subservient to wealth accumulation, so clean air, water, food and land are unimportant when a buck can be made.
     What is most pervasive in the trump campaign to destroy our nurture is the destruction of health care. The trumps are dead set to end health care for the many while turning a nice profit for the private insurance industry. The idea that the health of our nation is unimportant and that death caused by a lack of health care is the fault of the dying is cruel, brutish and inhumane. This guy trump is no leader he is the epitome of an angel of death who is legally protected to carry out his gruesome tasks. The end of trump is not enough for what ails our nation, the end of the republican party on whole is what is needed to exterminate the vileness that their depravity instills.

The republican party denying the scientific method (#3747)

     As if we weren't simpletons enough now we are trying to be even less simple and more purposefully stupid. It is okay to evolve from a point of immaturity toward maturity but to evolve from immaturity to ridiculousness is not the direction we need to go. It is as if the republican party doesn't care about the future or the children we are bringing into it it. They are settled upon the idea that they will rape and pillage everything now and live the reward regardless of the devastating future it will create. It makes sense to me because republicans have always been all about selfishness. So they are just living their "dream".
     It is up to the rest of us to rudely wake them up and put them down wherever they try to rise up for power. Because it isn't only the disregard for all others they strive for but to take and abuse all that is left to maintain our ecosystem within our solar system. Our planet is our home. Being cavalier with its needs is shameless and not to be borne! We democrats, Independents and disillusioned republicans who still live within the scientific method and the logic it dictates have no other choice but to defeat republicanism everywhere and reinstall democracy and intellectual enlightenment throughout our societies.
     I have no time for those who cannot nor will not understand the nature of life on our planet and the shared responsibility as stewards we all have to it. Those selfish republican cretins who are currently in power must be stopped if we are to survive and replenish our planet to its rightful core. The fragility of all of existence for we weak and pitiful humans is not being calculated and although we are an amazing species we are no match for our universe and its grave punishing reality. If we do not stop the republican party from scorching our Earth, our planet will by its own need to evolve and survive. The answer is clear and ending the republican party is the only way forward out of this mess.

Leave no stone unturned (#3746)

     When it comes to dealing with republicans there cannot be any measure of reluctance to take them on. They will only try take as much as they can and more if we don't stop them. We cannot give them an inch or before we know it it will be a mile they have acquired. The desperation of the republican party is evident and their standard bearer is prepared to subvert our Constitution in order to remain in power. If you are not convinced of this then you need to wake up and pay attention. It isn't just my idea of democracy that is under assault it is our nation's. So get yourself in order to be a protector of our society and become as relentless as I and others in keeping our government from becoming authoritarian.
     Surely if trump had his way he would install himself as king and then rule like a ruthless monarch. It is his style to be king and he doesn't care who or what gets in his way. So we democrats are left with whatever we have that is legally available to us to stop the misdeeds of trumps and their surrogates now. If we don't then life in our world here in America is going to change from equality of opportunity to only advantage and privilege. Where those who worship at the altar of the king trump can make something of themselves here in America. The rest of us will be forced to kneel to trump or be ended in some pitiful fashion.
     All of this wouldn't be of paramount concern to me if I were just to think of myself as an older man closer to his way out of life than just beginning it but I am not cut from that cloth. I am a fighter and a realist. I see the trumps and their disgraceful acquisition of power and how they govern with an air of illusory superiority. They will have our nation for themselves and if so we won't have anyone to blame but ourselves. We must use every legal and logical way to confront the trumps and then when and if the time comes where we must choose to serve trump or defy him we must then fight for our very breath. It doesn't have to come to survival of the democracy we have endeared to ourselves for over 230 years but if so we will have to choose whether to be patriots to democracy or cowered to trump.

trumps downfall will come from his arrogance (#3745)

     The path forward is clear, resist the conman criminal at every turn. As we democrats make our stands against all of his threats we advertently bring his ego into play. He is one who when he is incorrect, which is most of the time, must have his way. So when he doesn't get his way or we make it clear that he will never get his way, we are doing ourselves a favor. Because trump, like all stages of egomaniac, must have his respect and when it doesn't come he lashes out in order to punish those who will not bow to him. Well let him lash out now because we have the majority in the House and with that can limit his anger at us to a smaller degree.
     As each time he comes across as belligerent with us he continues the avalanche of disapproval against himself. He doesn't care about how we feel about him when he is being thwarted he just wants his petty revenges. Which is not a good strategy to win the hearts and minds of the voters he will need to even have a chance of being appointed to a second term. So let us keep up the good fight against him as we get closer and closer to the national election window. His unpopularity already is well above 50% and keeping him in his ego bubble will only increase that. He has no intention of backing down from his anti-democratic stance and we have no intention of letting him get away with it.
     So as the trump arrogance ratchets up the better we are for it come election day. His ego is beyond self reflective remorse so there is only the punishing path forward for him. Each day I wake up and realize that first I am still alive from his ruthless naivete, and second that we are one more day closer to his end. However it may be through expiration or retirement beforehand, election day will be his last days in office. He is making that as clear as possible since he has not changed from his mental unawareness. This horrible chapter in the history of our formidable nation will soon be over and the world will again be able to breathe deeply and sleep at night without despair.

The republican flaunting of our rule of law must be met with severity (#3744)

     From the appointed president down to his staff, cabinet, and congressional enablers, the letter of the law must be upheld. As we have seen over these last several years, republicans will condescend to any law that gets in the way of their disgusting agenda. By flouting our laws and daring others to hold them accountable they are setting precedent for an argument that they are above the law. Well that is what they will do if we who have the power of the subpoena and the right to arrest do nothing in the face of their arrogance.
     Not only must they be held to account for their willful or ignorant violations of lawful legal procedure they must be held to account in the most severe way. The idea of punishment is not a new concept. It is a tried and true reaction in maintaining balance within our society. If a crime is committed then a punishment must follow, otherwise what would interdict to keep crimes from becoming the normal?
     What we have had with the trumps and republicans in general is a steady attack on our rule of law. They for whatever reason, which is likely to remain in power, have taken the strategy that we democrats will do nothing in the face of their blatant defiant disobedience to the laws of our land. So far they have gotten many reprieves from their bad conduct but that must end now! Our leaders set the example for our society and for us to let them off with no punishment for their illegal and unethical behavior is just telling our society that they can do the same. Who wants to be a good person when being a bad one is far more lucrative without cost? The end of republicans violating our laws with impunity must end now and the paradigm for further violations must be as harsh as possible!

552 days until the next election (#3743)

     At the beginning of each new month's arrival I will post how many days are left until the voting is counted against trump. For it will be counted against trump like in no other election in the last 50 years. The reason why is that trump hates everyone who is in the largest voting block. Now there will be those who love to be hated and they will vote for trump but the many who don't love to be hated on will vote against him and that is why we will have the greatest blue wave election in our lifetimes. The trump factor plays out nicely for us because the man is not only stubborn in showing his lack of remorse for the suffering and anguish he causes us but he often doubles down on it.
     It is like he lives in an alternate universe from the rest of us. Be whatever that may be the cost for his messing with us is coming due and although it may seem like a long time off into the future it is not and will be here sooner than he and his acolytes can manipulate. The writing is on the wall and trump is about to learn that he was never welcome in the halls of our government. Remember, he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes but due to the archaic patriarchal nature of the electoral college was appointed to the presidency nonetheless. The many of us learned a hard lesson that 8th day in November 2016 and we will not be caught out unawares again.
     All throughout trumps appointed presidency his approval numbers have been deeply underwater with the many of us and nothing will change that dynamic going into his last days as our appointed president. Like in 2018 when we democrats flipped the House and held our own in the Senate only losing 2 seats in a Senate election heavily favoring republicans. This next cycle of voting however heavily favors democrats in the Senate and I expect that we democrats will retake that body of government and either hold or increase our majority in the House. Needless to say we will win the presidency and this time with a greater advantage in overall votes that will never again allow the electoral college the opportunity to fail in its one single purpose of protecting our democracy.