Voter turnout! (#3865)

     The messaging from both political parties has been narrated. The democrats want a fair just democratic society while republicans want an unfair dirty authoritarian society. Can it be any more simple to understand? So now all of those who are of voting age can easily decide what future we want. There is no mystery or complexity here just the basic choice between being a democratic society or being an authoritarian society. That we are even in a position to choose between the two is unfathomable to me. Our American democracy was and still could be thing of beauty for the whole world to admire and copy or we could shrink from that and become no better than the other cruel third world countries who make life arduous and lethal for their own citizens.
     Again I am amazed that we have to choose between these two polar opposite dynamics since we should never have had to change from our original design of being champions of equality, fairness and justice. Yet here we are as a wounded nation out of touch with our souls and trying like hell to find our way back from this brink. So all it will take is about 10 minutes of every souls life to look at both parties and see which one we want to be part of. That is all it will take to see the difference. Then the other part of that 10 minute learning lesson is to vote. Yes, vote! The time is coming upon us very soon this coming month of September in North Carolina. Then followed by several state elections in November.
     Then when we get to 2020, the primary elections for each party get underway and the whole year of 2020 will give us many opportunities to vote for the final general election candidates. No one who is registered to vote will have a valid excuse not to vote. Well at least no excuse not to try to vote. Everyone of us needs to be prepared to do whatever it takes to cast our ballots on or before November 3rd, 2020. If ever there were a doubt as to the necessity of voting just remember that trump was appointed to the presidency with his ability to manipulate the electoral college and minimal voting by our citizenry. The only way to eliminate the need for the electoral college is for everyone to vote so that there is no doubt as to the popular vote getter actually being our champion.

The North Carolina special election (#3864)

     This is a very important special election for North Carolina's 9th congressional district. The republican who earlier in 2018 won this seat but did so by cheating as it was later determined and then he was not seated in Congress, and the elections board in North Carolina concluded a revote for this seat was necessary. So the republican party sees this as an opportunity to start to stem the tide against them and their narrative will be that they are succeeding in that if they win this seat. However, we democrats need to win this seat as well to continue our narrative that the tide is still building against trump and his attempts to rally around this race are moot.
     To me both narratives are crucial to each party and that this republican district barely voted in favor of the cheating republican in 2018 it is now seen as a toss up race despite the historical republican advantage. So even a close loss here by democrats is a bit of a consolation but it will be dwarfed by the braggadocio of trump and his acolytes. So the fact remains that to make sure the nails remain secure in the coffin of trump's 2020 election hopes we democrats need to prevail on September 10th, just 11 days from now.
     The idea that rump could be crowing on September 11th because of a victory here is cringe worthy but even more so is the idea that republicans cheated the first time and then were rewarded with the seat the second time makes me physically ill. So that doesn't happen, we all must do some focusing on this race and help where we can to either get folks to the polls or donate to the democrat McCready so that he can combat the onslaught trump is bringing in the final days of this race. It is vital that we win because to not try with all we have to keep our blue wave momentum alive is to cast doubt on whether we can have it at the ready come November 3rd, 2020.

The end of civilized advancement (#3863)

     Well there is one category that America is leading in and that is to end civilized advancement. It has been coming for decades but only just now is it plain to see by anyone who has an ounce of objectivity. The republican party has been working hard to make this so and it has all lined up for them. With their idiotic appointed stooge of a president to an apathetic and easily deceived electorate 2016 was the magic moment for them. They gained the presidency, kept the house and senate majorities and began replacing supreme court justices that do their bidding.
     We the American electorate were all that stood in the way of republicans completely controlling America and its societal objectives. Which by the way were not societal objectives but the undercutting of society as a whole. But as the 2018 midterm election showed we the American people were not to be easily dispatched of our democracy and we mounted a comeback with the largest percentage of voters in an off presidential election in a century, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/19/18103110/2018-midterm-elections-turnout. As the 2020 election season is getting underway the expectation from all parties is that there will be a record turnout that could easily top 65 to 70% of our electorate.
     The normal for presidential general elections is around 60% or so, so anything beyond that is a sign that there is real unrest and the unrest must stop. So expect that the higher percentage of voters who vote in 2020 the better democratic candidates will do. Because for most of us the modernity gains over the last nearly 2 1/2 centuries have been positive and we don't wish to see that trend stop now because a selfish idiotic brute has decided that he wants to be king of America for life. So voter turnout is the key and when we focus a lot more attention on getting folks registered to vote and then actually voting we will be primed to saving our society. Then and only then can we begin to put this sorry chapter of the republican party's attempted coup behind us.

The sociopath trump (#3862)

     Kicking detained immigrant children out of our country because they are sick is a form of extermination. First trump rounds them up and cages them for indefinite periods and then when it is discovered that they are not well he throws them out like yesterday's garbage. We are talking about children here so you tell me if trump is a sociopath or not. It is bad enough that when folks come here that are fleeing persecution and then are sent back to be killed by that very same persecution they were running from then you tell me trump isn't a sociopath!
     The time for the end of trump has passed and if he survives to the end of his appointed term his damage to our human race will equal those of the worst despots to have ever lived. Maybe not the worst but in too many ways the same. I don't know what it will take to end this madness and if it will end before we get to vote. But it must end in some way that stops the reckless assault on humans who are not to trump's liking. We are Americans which means we have come from all walks of life to form our tapestry yet when we allow a wannabe dictator like trump to cut at the threads of our weaving together we find that the frays are all to real and the lynch pin to unraveling our uniqueness.
     Only those who have no empathy nor compassion for all human beings are capable of destroying some and heralding others because of their race or intelligence. The sociopath trump needs to be gone and if that takes all of us to stop where we are and just haul him out of office by his short hairs then that is what we must do. Tar and feathering and then sent out of town on a pole is too kind. He needs to be removed from civilized society and caged himself so that his ilk can never be lauded by the slithering souls who worship such hatred from under their rocks. Thee last 400 some days before the next election may not allow us to survive trump because he is relentless in his attacks on our society and his hatred for American democracy!

How far will republicans go to protect trump? (#3861)

     For me the biggest leap backwards for republicans is when they decided that truths of science and logic were debatable without showing proof. They turned their backs on the simplest of scientific facts like the man made part of global warming, chemistry, and have now come to the conclusion that our planet is okay by doing nothing more than what we are doing now, which is polluting it. They don't see the income inequality which is math and pretend that it is those who have little are to blame. Funny how that works when the institutions of government create unfair opportunities. They fail to consider that women who birth these men, are equal to men on foundational levels, biology, and continue to treat them and those of color as second class citizens when we all share the same DNA and other genetics generally.
     The republican party has moved so far away from logic and common sense just to justify their obedience to dirty energy, the nra, and right wing nationalism, kkk. So if logic or science gets in the way of their narrative then the logic and science are the problem. Much like a child who insists that a square peg will go into a round hole. How can the tradition of being a republican be so encompassing that folks will go to any length to pretzel the logic to fit the narrative? To the point of irrationality and dumbfoundeness. Is the loyalty to something irrational that important?
     I think it goes deeper than that. I think people see that they are cornered on their belief but will not let it go because they would have to admit they were wrong probably for the length of their lives. That is too much to ask a perfect person to admit they are wrong. We see it with trump who would tell a lie automatically in just about every situation as a knee jerk response than admit he had gotten it wrong. Well the people who are still republicans are no different. They have the same weakness of character and have yet to come to the understanding that it is most like the nature of human beings to be wrong. Because when we admit we are wrong we usually find the correctness and then apply that to our lives as we continue our quest through life toward perfection in our trial and error way.

Global warming and raging fires (#3860)

     Two indisputable facts yet the fascist republican conservatives are basically ignoring both. Because I don't know why except to think that they don't care. It must be nice to live in one's head and only think about oneself while the rest of us are just props in one's illusion. Forsaking our future generations for some idea of a profit is what is actually happening so maybe it is all just about greed. I am afraid our capitalistic society is breeding those whose lust for money is greater than their ideals for peace and prosperity. In fact I am sure of it given that money is what most people desire.
     Not me though and not a lot of others as well. Many are happy with enough to support their families and have time to enjoy the beauty of our planet. But too many are afflicted with greed so badly that having it all is not enough. They have to have everything else including yours and mine. Greed is like that. It is an insatiable lust for more as a destination without end. What these poor sots don't understand is that they cannot buy quality time. Time is the real treasure and being happy the blueprint for how we live our lives. When our founders gave us the words "pursuit of happiness" they knew that our joy was the greatest achievement.
     But we don't have many leaders today who think that time and joy are the precious values. Instead they are convinced within themselves that they are the only ones worthy of preciousness and their reckless abandon toward their immediate greed is not to be outweighed. So our planet heats up and they say it is just cyclical. The rainforest is on fire and they say good we can use the burnt land to grow things. Yet without oxygen in our atmosphere the growing of things becomes moot. Without cooler temperatures our land masses disappear and our greenery turns brown. So until the leaders understand that greenhouse gases are bad and that the rain forest needs to be left alone to produce oxygen, our way of life is about to dramatically change, if we survive it.

No self inflicted wounds! (#3859)

     We democrats have to remain focused on the absolute essential priority of our time and it is all trump and his republican conspirators are doing. I keep seeing too many posts about past wrongs we democrats have made and although they are wrongs, they for one do not nearly rise to the daily level of the damage trump has done to us and the world and two they are not a priority right now. Right now we have to stop the ongoing daily damage, not retreat to commiserate at long ago spilt milk. I am sometimes disturbed that we democrats can be so easily distracted when the time for focus is as crucial as it has ever been.
     Just as crucial as when we were attacked and stepped into World War II. Our focus on ending trumps and limiting damage until then cannot waver or be tempered. This will be a very long 435 days until we vote again so each day we must keep our vigilance at the ready. No more of this digging into our democratic past and calling ourselves out over mistakes that have already been amplified. This is just more distraction from the republican onslaught happening right now! It sickens me when I see our own naive democrats turn away from fighting the republican agenda to attack ourselves. We know we did some wrongs in the past and actually worked to make those wrongs right. But now is not the time to adjudicate those wrongs again.
     There are greater crimes happening now and although I know we democrats are not perfect nor even close at least we try to be the best of who we are. Unlike republicans who are trying to be the worst of who they are. You see my point here? So stop negating our efforts to put down the rabid republican party by being introspective about our own moral stance. What republicans are doing is far worse for us than any remorse we may want to heap upon ourselves again! So focus on stopping republicans by calling "them" out when they are constantly working to undermine our democracy today!

We democrats must stay serious! (#3858)

     I was accused of being over zealous yesterday when it came to a right wing meme a couple of democrats found amusing. Yet the meme improperly portrayed Hillary as some kind of killer and when I pointed this out that the meme itself although trying to be funny was also furthering a right wing narrative that absolutely hurt Hillary in the 2016 election and led us to trump I was castigated for not finding the humor in it. First, I am still smarting over the implausible trump appointment to president so there is little for me to find amusing especially when it goes to the heart of the lies spread about Hillary.
     Next I don't see any need to find my humor in a narrative that obviously was created by a republican troll factory. It is this kind of attack at us from our humor that has the best chance to get into our midst and soften our resolve. I stated that I am in the mode of "at war" with trump specifically and republicans generally that laughing at a concocted meme that is a lie to begin with is just like a gut punch. I was unceremoniously told that war wasn't what we are at and that real war doesn't look like this. I said that I have no time for folks who cannot see the danger of treating trump and his republican party as a frivolity.
     I am not one to be flippant nor casual about what is happening in our politics right now and nor will I tolerate those who cannot nor will not get serious when the serious time is upon us. So I left them to their own imaginings as to what reality is and moved on. I am not embellishing here. This may not be armed conflict at the moment but if anyone cannot see that sides are drawn and anger is rising then they are living in a fantasy world. The only way we are going to stop armed conflict here in America is to nip it in the bud now while we still can. If you don't think that every metaphorical bullet fired at us isn't serious then you too should get away from me so I don't call your ass out about it!

Everyday I post is like a countdown for the end of trump (#3857)

     I hadn't reached 3000 posts when trump was appointed and I seriously thought that I wouldn't reach 3000 posts because I figured we or at least many of us would be dead. For all the reasons imaginable including nuclear war. However, somehow we survived his first two years with both houses of Congress; and the last almost year with a gain for we democrats controlling the House. So the likelihood of me and many others dying from the irrational delusional trump is becoming less likely each day. Although as it becomes clear to trump that he is going to get wiped out in the November 2020 election he may become even more dangerous to us through his desperate machinations.
     I have now posted over 900 posts since the overtaking of our government by republicans and their conspirators. So when I post I am reminded that there is one less day that trump will have to create a mess as he does every day. The end of trump as a appointed leader is coming and will be final despite his illusions of just staying in office until he dies. We will forcefully remove him and then he may well spend the rest of his life in prison along with many of his family and close associates who have thus far refused to answer questions by legal and congressional authorities.
     From the day of his confirmation as an appointed president, trump has had 1461 days to complete his 4 year term. He has completed 923 of those days and has only 538 days left until the next Democratic president, democratically elected by the majority of our electorate, takes her/his oath of office. So each day I add a blog post is another day less for trump to mangle and distort our reality with his narcissism and dementia. There are few silver linings in the times we are living through now but one of them is the countdown toward his removal from office and the eventual trial of his many high crimes and misdemeanors for which a swift and hard justice awaits!

Staying serious in a chaotic time (#3856)

     I know we all need to let off some pressure from the devastation trump is throwing at us that we must constantly defend against but we have to keep our wits about us when we do. I have seen too many of us try to make light of the right wing narratives that are everywhere it seems but we need to stop sharing those memes because they reinforce the right wing propaganda. I like to laugh at silly stupid stuff but not at the expense of giving right wing messaging another outlet to change the subject. We have to be more creative in our jesting and keep our narratives in the forefront of our shares. Our seriousness about what is real and happening now is much more important than being flippant with our humor.
     I have caught myself doing the same thing and then felt hurt when called out about it so I know I am in the unenviable position of calling all of us out about something we didn't intend to be a distraction from our messaging. Yet it must be said if we are to have the best chance of retaking our government back from the steely grip of the democracy killing republicans. There is nothing on Earth more important than right now and the battle we are in against the cruel and brutish republican party. So when we do let off a little steam let's make sure that we are not causing any harm to our cause through an innocent attempt to keep our senses.
     Know this, the republican party is well adept at obfuscation and deception so they look for ways to keep their narratives in front of us even if it is to be poked at for humor. We cannot allow them that avenue of deception because it waters down our own serious attempts to convey the disgrace these memes are really all about. Every vote this coming election must be counted in our favor so no playing with republican memes just because they are funny, because they are not! They are strategic to disarm us from our anger and motivation. The republican party is a scourge and all they do is aimed at lying to us and throwing a bare bone to us every now and again so that they can keep devouring the best part of the meal.

So weary of trump yet I persevere! (#3855)

     Every single day this pos does something else that infuriates the many of us without fail. After the first couple of months I thought he would tact to the left a bit to give something back from us that he took. But NO! He just kept on taking from us and harming people at every turn. It is as if he is on a mission to destroy the working middle class. I don't understand that since we are the engine that drives the success of his wealthy friends. Yet they remain silent for the most part as well. So there must be more to this than meets the common eye.
     It comes to me that if trump can create nothing more than a working poor class who is totally dependent on the wealthy than he is returning us to the age when lords and peasants were all there were. The peasants would take anything from the lords as long as they could survive. It seems bizarre to me that trump is this way but the evidence is clear and he hasn't backed down from it. He thinks the minimum wage is too high. He doesn't want regulations or restrictions on design or manufacturing. He doesn't want unions nor collaboratives of workers to form. He in essence has a disdain for the working middle poor class that is above and beyond simple ideology.
     As we have also seen from him is his hatred and vile condescension toward us that is intolerable. So it isn't a model for economics, it is a hatred for those who are not as devious and unethical as himself. He finds that those with morals are idiots and nothing more that objects to be used. His mask has been removed and we see him for who he is and it is the worst of what humanity has evolved. There is no length of lie nor obstruction that he won't utilize to reform our democracy into his own fiefdom. He has a key ally in mcconnell of the senate to help him reinforce his strategy so to me they both are joined at the hip and when the time comes they both need to be aligned with the same fate of swift justice.

Another turn around the sun (#3854)

     This last year has been excruciating except for the midterm election victories last November. All things with me revolve around politics including family and friends. Nothing is more important in our society then to protect democracy and continually improve equality of opportunity. There are many inherent wrongs with how our society is structured and those inherent wrongs need to be corrected. Yet with republicans in charge they never will be corrected because for the most part these wrongs were instituted by republicans to not only increase their wealth but to diminish democracy for the rest of us.
     So again, I implore you to never vote for a republican again as it should be obvious by now that they only have love for money and power. Every day I write about some atrocity either particularly or in general so that we the majority can firmly argue from any vantage point that the republican party is to our detriment and ultimately our death. They are like the selfish child who can only clamor for it's own selfish desires while remaining ignorant to the damage their selfishness is causing. So enough of them and their selfishness. They hog up all the space the rest of us could have shared in a prosperous way for all.
     As I begin a new trip around the sun I have high expectations for not only myself and my little time left in life but even more so for the rest of us and our bright future after the republicans are thrown out of public office everywhere. This next time around the sun will not include the November 3rd. election but it will have some state races that will be a harbinger of things to come. When Virginia and New Jersey do their off year elections in November we will see the mood of the country and as I suspect the manifestation of a huge blue wave election.

republicans have no heart! (#3853)

     Yeah, I know, there is always someone who knows a republican and they are so kind and all, yet they knowingly vote for other republicans who aren't kind. So what does that tell us? That they aren't fully aware of their votes going to ruthlessly cruel politicians? Or that they don't believe that republicans are really that bad? Or that we actually need ruthlessly cruel politicians to cull the herd of others? Whatever their reasoning happens to be it overshadows any good they may try to do for certain people to make themselves appear to be kind and heartfelt.
     It is a scam just like their leader. Being kind to certain people for them is to use a strategy that benefits them more than it costs them since that is also a republican core belief. Take more than you give at all costs. So anyone who still harbors any respect for their "good" republican voting friends are seen by those republicans as useful idiots, but they would rarely ever say that. It is like a person I know of African American heritage now defending the nazi's so that he can continue to justify his unalterable stance of being a republican. The absurdity of it is beyond rationality yet that is what it is.
     I suspect that many who vote for republicans and yet act like democrats are conflicted in their souls yet their minds won't let them resolve the conflict. Instead they just ignore it and behave like the republicans, despite their beliefs, are actually the good guys. It is all supposition on my part but in the meantime I have no actual fact to base their cruel beliefs and contradictory behavior on. What I do know is that if they ever see the error of their thinking and actually admit it then they are the ones who can explain their heretofore illogical lives. Regardless, that is their burden and not mine. I have other more important time to spend not trying to convince someone they are flawed. They don't take it well and it just gets my blood boiling showing them their wrongs and their obstinance at accepting it.

republicans won't change the rules of our current dirty politics (#3852)

     The reason they won't change the rules is because without cheating the way they do like dark money donations and gerrymandering is because they cannot win mostly anywhere without them. So while they are the rules we democrats, although we despise the dirty rules, are forced to play by them in order to get back into the majority and change the rules back to being fair for everyone. No more electoral college; no more private financing of elections; no more gerrymandering to gain political advantages; no more voter purges; no more voter disenfranchisement; Make election day a national holiday; secure our elections from internal and external tampering. These are but a few of the changes that need to be made once we democrats regain control of government.
     Otherwise we are stuck with republicans working to kick voters of the voting rolls and keep American citizens from actually voting. We will continue to be stuck with gerrymandered districts where 35% to 40% of republican votes control 60% to 70% of the actual legislators and representatives. We will be stuck with money coming into campaigns that have no accountability of their origin and what back room deal they were offered for. We also will be stuck with only the wealthy being able to run for office in most cases because they have the contacts and the resources to afford the ever increasing cost of working to get elected, thus becoming more beholden to those donors than they are to the people they are representing.
     The only way this current paradox of oppression against our electorate will end is if the republican party takes a real hard beating in the coming 2020 election. Then and only then will the obstacles of real change to our national politics commence to disappear. We need to hold and increase our representatives in the House; retake the Senate by a margin that gives us democrats not only the majority but a bit of a comfortable one; and finally remove the asshole trump from our White House and bring in a democrat worthy of being for all the people of our currently disorganized nation. A clean sweep of elected office majority is what is needed for democrats and then we will see the redemocratization of our nation.

Our Universe is a hard cold place (#3851)

     For those of you who still hold onto the illusion that the Universe is somehow protecting us above what it does for other humans, you need to let that go. There is no special dispensation for anyone who has ever lived and died. We are all born, live for however long, and then die. That's it! Yet the in between part where we live is very crucial. Although the Universe isn't a protector of anyone we can do that for ourselves, to a point. Fate or destiny is defined by chance and luck for the most part but we are also a species that can moderate our chance and luck through logic and common sense.
     If anything, logic and common sense are our best hope to remain a viable species. What else is known is that although the Universe is a hard cold place we humans bring comfort and warmth to make the Universe just a bit more bearable. Our nature to survive with compassion and curiosity allows us to nurture with emotion and motivation. Not all we humans do is an offset to hard and cold but much of it is. When we humans are our more noble selves, than the fearfully scared version, we thrive in ways that advance intellectualism and innovation.
     I see we humans as having a duty to advance our species throughout the Universe in order to soften it's edges and bring warmth where nothing like it before existed. The stewardship of the Universe, that is ours for the grasping, should be organized around the better of our natures with the goal of making it so in every bit of time and space the Universe reveals to us. There is so much more to life than just the living of it. There is the how we live and for what greater purpose. Any of us can be mundane or reckless as a rule yet to rise above the ordinary, to the extraordinary, is what we humans have been given as a species to develop and perfect. Our duty is clear, now will we stand tall and accept it?

The heat wave will be over today for now (#3850)

     A neighbor acquaintance measured a temperature of 110 degrees in his driveway yesterday while the official heat measurement for the area was 107. The day before the temp. was 104 and today the temp. is to be 105 degrees. Thankfully then the temp will drop down into the more bearable 90 degree range for a few days then back to hovering at 100 degrees for the foreseeable future. I bring all this up not because of some anomaly that is absurd but to highlight that the heat index is getting hotter and hotter. July of this year was the hottest on record on the planet and while that is significant it isn't in a vacuum either.
     Our planet has gone through cycles of ice ages and then warming many times so that it may be happening to be getting hotter isn't without understanding. Yet science tells us that never before has the greenhouse gas effect played a role in trapping heat on the surface of our planet so the normal cycles of heating and cooling are not the only factor in why our planet is getting hotter. Now many in our country are unable to accept what science is telling us. They cannot find it a factor despite the outcome of burning fossil fuels and the releasing of CO2's into the atmosphere, https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/topics/natural-world/greenhouse-effect/index.htm.
     The ignorance to science is remarkable and even though it is simple to understand seems to be an alien language for too many. Why they would want to protect fossil fuel burning is beyond me when the technology to create clean energy is all around us. I suppose it is a matter of perspective as some would not like our country to continue evolving into a more modern future. I conclude that it is fear and the likely outcome they will lose their status quo despite change coming whether they like it or not. However, they are causing a problem for now as our planet can only withstand the human experiment for so long and then the natural order of things will demand that we humans cease to exist.

trumps patches on the economy are tearing apart (#3849)

     When President Obama left office our economy was stabilized and growing on a firm foundation but since trump has been appointed the economy has begun to shake from it's foundation. He is building up debt to give a windfall profit to the filthy rich while doing nothing to grow jobs faster than what President Obama had left. Plus with his tax relief law for the wealthy making the working middle poor class have to pay more in taxes has caused a braking action on our consumer spending. Now we have the tariff wars with our previous robust trading partners and that rise in prices is paid by we the American consumer.
     So in essence what trump has done is try to fix something that wasn't broken and his fixes have effectively broken our economy. His ego above common logic prevailed and now we the American consumer are about to find out again that given enough time a republican, albeit appointed, president can shortly secure a recession with little difficulty. For the life of me I cannot understand how anyone with even half a brain cell can think that republicans are any good at creating a robust economy. Oh sure, they can do some smoke and mirrors for a bit while enhancing the wealth of the richest of rich but they are not inclined to create prosperity for everyone.
     So over the next year we will see a slowing of our economy and a clamoring because of the slowing trump all by himself, with aid from the republicans in the Senate, has caused. The one leg that trump is left standing on, a good economy, is about to be broken and then he will have nothing to claim as his reason for being reappointed. He certainly will not get the majority of votes nor will he be able to finesse the electoral college like last time. So the logical next step if for trump to either start a war as a strategy to get reelected or try to institute martial law and suspend the next election. Because there should be no one on Earth who doesn't realize that trump will do anything, legal or illegal, to keep his appointment to the presidency.

Waiting for trump to declare martial law (#3848)

     The only chance republicans have now to keep power is to stop elections altogether. They are going to get their asses kicked at every level if they allow the 2020 election to take place. Most of them know it but it seems they don't care. Because they must have a back up plan like they always do. Either election fraud and voter suppression or something much more nefarious, like declaring martial law and suspending elections indefinitely. To me the martial law strategy is the most convenient since trump has his republican majority on the Supreme Court and would likely prevail if challenged despite the illegality of such a move.
     If any of you ever doubted the goal of republicans to keep power at all costs, even to the destruction of our democracy, then you had better sharpen up your thinking. The republican party is the most corrupt organization ever in the history of our nation notwithstanding the confederacy. The infiltration of our politics by those republicans who would gladly trade our democracy for an authoritarian government run by them is without question. They would happily let us truthfully label them as traitors if it meant that they controlled our nation with impunity.
     The vile nature of those who call themselves republicans is evident in all walks of life. From disparaging hatred to cruel and brutish policies they find little of value in compassion and empathy. These republicans have lost their humanity and they are glad for it in case you think you can help them get it back. There is no going back for them as they have crossed the line from decency to despicable. The only way we can keep our democracy now is for all of us to stay hyper vigilant and loudly protesting. Thankfully we have the house so any martial law effort will have a legal backlash that has some strength to it but don't be caught unawares as the coming death of republicans will not go quietly into that good night!

Time is the real value in life (#3847)

     What we are taught for most of our lives is that money or other types of wealth are the goal in life. Well that is one lesson I have never learned because for me it goes against my nature as a human being. Now that is not to say that it goes against your nature but for me it does. I have seen how the changing of money and acquisition of wealth has affected those around me my whole life. It changes people into lesser versions of what they could have been. I accept that some chasing of money is necessary to exist and the minimum of that has been my path. That way greed and overwrought ambition has been avoided.
     The precious in my life is my soul along with my ethics and noble principles. I have been condescended to by so many that it isn't even a slight to me anymore, instead it is just another bit of evidence of those who have sold part of themselves for the glitter of gold. A sad contract. Yet eventually many do see the futility of chasing the wealth and realize that their personal lives are far more important. But still many more do not and keep chasing the wealth as far as they can go with all the time they have left.
     I don't know about any afterlife or religious beliefs to be taken into account as we live our lives but I do know I am alive now and that is all I have regardless of any faith or belief system. So I accept my human qualities for the magnificence they are and live with them as my goal in life. My humanness is beyond any other non biological prize in the Universe so chasing after wealth accumulation is absurd a goal as any. Making the most of being human is my goal and understanding my virtues of compassion and curiosity as my guiding lights has been nothing short of perfect for me.

The Manchurian candidate is trump (#3846)

     This version of the traitor has actually ended up being appointed president. He may not have been the ideal traitor for the job but he is effective enough and has still kept a following. So trying to oust him from his appointed position has been near impossible given the other traitors who protect him. I wish this had all been a bad dream but the reality is it isn't and having to live these last nearly 3 years has been like hell come to life. I physically have not been harmed by trump yet but that doesn't take into account my emotional and ethical state that has been harmed.
     The very idea of our democracy being uprooted by the republican party was a bridge too far for me to even consider yet here we are. I knew that senate republicans were a dishonest bunch but never had I considered they would betray our nation. They are making benedict arnold look like a sympathetic figure now comparatively. There is no sureness to our democracy surviving and the history books detailing this treachery for generations to come. No, the fact that our democracy may be on its final days is very real and not embellishment. I have seen where many are delusionally happy to say that Obama was the racist and trump is not.
     How that kind of stupefying mindset came into being is more to do with racism than logic. Because when we apply the premises to the equation of facts it is entirely trump who is the racist. But not to let facts get in the way, trump supporters are quick to reject facts, science and even common sense when it comes to facing the truth. I have no doubt that racism is too great a consequence for too many trump supporters to ever face and they never will. So whatever happens to the Manchurian candidate, his supporters will always cry foul if he is replaced or defeated. They themselves would protect a traitor if his racism remains as theirs.

If we survive trump... (#3845)

     No guarantees here. There are still too many days left until the next election and at the rate trump is going it won't take him long to turn everyone in the world against us. The advent of a nuclear war has never been higher in my mind since the end of the cold war. For absolutely no good reason as well. If someone set out to actually see if armageddon was real this is how they would go about it. Get everyone in place to trigger a massive avalanche of nuclear warhead strikes. I am not trying to scare anyone here because if you are not already alarmed you are about worthless of my time.
     In the 450 days until the next election we have more to worry about than ever before. trump knows he is highly unpopular with the electorate despite his rhetoric to the contrary. So his determination to keep his appointed presidency takes on much more importance with him. Plus he knows that this may be the last chance he gets to do his dirty deeds while he is still in somewhat control. So expect his behavior to get even more irrational as to our national security and our world status. What we have going for us is a populism that can rise up and counter anything he does when we get to our collective "boiling point".
     So if we survive trump there will be quite a mess to clean up and it won't be anything short of a major overhaul with time and healing to occur. But if we survive him the better natures of our souls will have won out and then the changes that have been needed to happen for too many decades can finally begin. There is a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel here and it is to reshape our future going forward without the obstruction of republicans who by their own choice chose to follow trump over the cliff of insanity! So many metaphors today but like irrational and fearful times they seem to perfectly describe, in short clauses, the reality of our era.

The carnage left behind from a selfish lifestyle (#3844)

     With the suicide this morning of jeff epstein we see what a life can be like when it takes on it's most selfish form. He and his trump like pals took from so many young women and left them with a nightmare that which they have to live with for the rest of their lives. An innocence that they never got to experience because of the lust of men who would be a king. The power grab behind raping young women is the drive that motivates these types of men to take what they want regardless of the cost/benefit ratio accounting. They only think with their lust and not with an eye toward what their harm is causing or has already caused. They only think of themselves and if that isn't illustrative enough to describe the appointed trump is then nothing in this world will ever be able to.
     There are times when the vulnerability of our democracy is misused. Instead of shoring up any shortcomings, the likes of trump and epstein calculate just how they are able to manipulate it. These types of people have not sworn an allegiance to democratic principles, instead they have sworn an allegiance to their own vices. Their cold calculations are only aimed to enhance their own experiences in life despite the carnage they create in the process. Living in the cesspool of vices is to destroy what is good and innocent. The depth of depravity that it takes to be like epstein, trump and their cohorts is bottomless, well maybe not bottomless with epstein since he took his own life out of either fear or guilt.
     As to trump we see there is no bottom as he continues to display a complete lack of remorse and guilt. That trump can smile his way through life while others who have been his victims have had to struggle to survive their trump instilled shame is abominable. I can say this for epstein even though I do not condone suicide, he at least brought some closure to those who were most horrifically harmed by him. With trump we will not see any self punishment nor an admittance of guilt as long as he draws breath. Because what we have seen of trump is that he would never consider the possibility that he is not greater than all of us!
     

Double standard (#3843)

     When the 600 plus migrant workers were arrested earlier this week the owners of the processing plants were not. Arrest the workers and not those who hired them. This right here is a double standard. Now the excuse will be these workers were arrested specifically for being undocumented but if that is the criteria now that we pick and choose which crimes we will enforce and not enforce then when I say double standard I am not embellishing at all correct? So one man's decision to choose to be outside the law is more understandable than another man's choice? When we get to a point like this and I know this has been going on since the beginning of time but more discreetly, then we can assume the next premise that the color of these worker's skin has more to do with it than not.
     When a double standard such as this where the white owners are dismissed from culpability while the darker skinned worker's are arrested on the spot then we know that racism is part of the equation in the roundup. I cannot fathom any other outcome especially since this isn't the first time race has been at the core of arrests. Why is it that only darker skinned folks are arrested while white skinned ones are not? Nothing we have heard or seen in the news has shown any Canadians, eastern/western Europeans, Russians, nor Scandinavians being rounded up anywhere in the US while we know there are many who are of the same status as these workers who were rounded up.
     The excuse of immigration violations is just that, an excuse so that the fear mongering white nationalists can have some vengeance for their simmering racism. The underbelly of our nation thrives on racism as a foundation and anything less than harming people who are not white won't be acceptable to them. This is trump's base and if we allow this to continue then we will find that our nation is being taken over by our worst human natures despite the minority they represent. All I can do is put the words out there that describe reality in our current moment and past history. I want to write about our futures but until we get the underbelly of our nation cleansed of it's racism we all of us have no real future left to consider that isn't dominated by hatred.

The desperation of trumps will only increase (#3842)

     As we head down the homestretch of trump's final and only appointed term we will see even greater injustices created by his henchmen and acolytes. They are seeing the writing on the wall that trump is done and they have to get whatever left they need to do done now before he and they are gone. Well it won't be anything legislative that is for sure so they will do all they can through executive order, the courts, and through his more often now cult gatherings. The harm that is about to come our way will be blood, fear, and tears in no particular order.
     In the past when we have had any type of president for the most part they didn't recklessly with intent try to hurt the American populace as an agenda item. But we see with trump that there is no cruelty too small or big. He has to know as well that he himself is going to be tried in the courts for so many different offenses that his strategy must include some sort of pardon that relieves him of his due punishment. Yet he is still vulnerable thus his greater desperation to survive and or continue in the presidency. What these last final months will show is his determination to harm us while working behind the scenes to steal our election again.
     But we the people are not amused nor naive to his lies and outlandish behavior. He will have a formidable enemy in we the people this time around and no amount of money will change the hearts and minds of those of us who have felt his cruelty. His time is coming and although he has some time to hurt us more he is only making more sure that come November 3rd. 2020 he is no longer protected with his ill gotten privileges of office. The transformation of our laws as to the separation of powers will be a huge agenda item once we seize control back from republicans so that never again can a manipulating conman or woman ever do to our democracy what trump has done to us.

Acting and being presidential (#3841)

    Well we know what that looks like when we had Barack Obama as our president and we now know what it doesn't look like with trump. So the template is there for anyone on our democratic side to emulate and live with conviction. Although conviction is what trump has waiting for him it is not the conviction I am referring to here. The conviction of our principles and duty are strongly held and displayed when appropriate. The conviction of trump will be based upon his guilt which is now as obvious as our faces in the mirror.
     When I say acting presidential it is with an air of humility and resolve. We take nothing for granted nor do we ever condescend to anyone who show us the same consideration. Our objectivity allows us to be reasonable and persuasive when the logic and common sense of things are in order. We live with dignity and a care beyond the normal because our behavior is supposed to be exemplary. With trump we see the opposite with his constant condescension toward those who are not him and his hatred of those who will not serve him.
     Being presidential is to rise above the bickering and partisanship and calling out that which is correct and good with a vigorous solid defense. As well as calling out that which is bad and harmful with the same vigorous logical dismantling. A president must be as considerate even more so than the rest of us when the time of crisis is upon us. A president must have the intellect to not only control his own emotional state but the emotional state of our nation. A president must have the strength of honorable conviction at the ready for any circumstance that may arise. A president must be a person of the people, for the people, and by the people of these United States.

All the carnival barking conmen/women are in the republican party (#3840)

     The party of stupid, the party of hate, the party of delusional mastery, it never ends with being a republican. For those of you who still identify with being a republican then this is you! The idea that you can disassociate from this is and still call yourself a republican is the real mental health issue. I have been saying this for decades yet the many of you refuse to relate the words I have given with the actually reality. I am no brainiac who can divine the future from some book or crystal ball. I just see what is before my eyes and I don't try to hide it. Unlike the many of you who are still republicans, you want your illusion of mastery without recognizing the idiotic hateful foundation it is built upon!
     Well I have no time in my life for anything civilized with you since you spend more time praying to an imaginary being and every day asking for forgiveness for things you are too weak as a human being to just stop doing yourself! The crutches of religion and false hope are your ballast otherwise you would have been forced to swim in the sea of reality long ago. Too bad because that is exactly what you need. Logic dictates the facts and truths of life so quit trying to live in the fantasy of some imaginary afterlife. The only life you have is right now and when that is gone you will have nothing else.
     But don't believe me just look at history and research how greedy power lusting folks have learned to control the populace yourself and then tell me that illusion isn't your downfall. The next time I have to hear about how someone is offering their thoughts and prayers to solve a problem is when I will again validate to myself that any belief system is as worthless when it is used to solve real problems with an imaginary conjuring. Are we so fearful and scared as a species that we cannot live in reality without our imaginary fantasies? Well if that is so then any hope of our species advancing past this evolutionary stage becomes much more improbable!

Survival mode (#3839)

     That is how I look at my life and how everyone should look at their own. Surviving trump and his republican lackeys is priority number one. We must not only think in the survival mode but we must act in it as well. Gearing up to protest at every turn and with non stop phone calls to those republicans who continue to support trump and his racist and democracy destabilizing policies. Which by the way is every republican that I can differentiate. Which is why my mantra is to vote every republican everywhere out of office.
     I know there are pockets of republicans who will not easily be voted out of office but we can still make every effort to do so in order for them to always be on the defensive. Then we defeat all republicans who are not nearly completely safe. Those republicans need to be on the defensive where in the past they cruised to victory this time they need to sweat out any hope of winning. We must all vote, no exceptions of any kind. I know that is harsh but giving up a bit of time on one day is much easier to stomach than another 4 years of this cancer called trump.
     Although republicans keep us from having a national voting holiday, we each can make our own by doing whatever it is to have time off enough on November 3rd. 2020 to vote. If it means calling in sick on a work day or just being absent despite threats otherwise. Nothing is more important in this time and place than for the all of us to end the trumps and the lackey republicans that enable them. Nothing is greater than our own personal courage for demanding and taking our right to vote. Let nothing stand in our way so make sure once again that you are registered to vote and then either vote early and on a paper ballot or make sure you get to a voting booth in your district and make your life a significance that not trump nor any republican can ever take from you!

Ever vigilant (#3838)

     Not only are we needing to stay ever vigilant against the trumps and their democracy killing policies but now we need to be careful out on the streets and in public places from the fanatics trump has stirred up into deadly action. His vile race baiting rhetoric is turning into action and that must be stopped. If trump won't stop then we all must stop him. He incites to foment racial bigotry and hatred for no other purpose than to deny anyone not of the white race an equal share in our democracy. I am beyond pissed off at him and so no amount of benefit of the doubt nor mercy should he receive. The slow witted that do his bidding need to be dealt with as well.
     As the deaths keep piling up in the heap republicans have created and continue to support; the rest of us need to find our spine and do whatever is appropriate to stop this madness. At least make it stop by doing whatever it takes to make the republican lawmakers who are stopping meaningful gun legislation from happening, reverse their course. We the people are the mightiest force yes even mightier than the cruel and brutal republican party and their puppet stringed donors. If the table needs to be turned over and the chips go flying well then so be it. Enough means enough and when the republican party refuses to hear our call for enough then enough with them.
     All of us must make our choice as to what to do from this day forward. There is no time left to sit on the fence when scores of innocents are gunned down with little to no legislative action following. The republican party must be kicked out of public office but in the meantime we need to blanket them with more than enough of our sentiment and it's resolve. They must be forced to act in some way to protect our society otherwise our society will find little reason to protect them. It is a tit for tat situation whereas if they keep letting us be vulnerable then they need our boots up their asses in no kind and gentle way!

Verify your voter registration is up to date (#3837)

     From now on until the election everyone who has any doubt about whether they are registered to vote needs to check and make sure. There are a lot of republican led states that are purging voters who have not voted in 2 consecutive voting years so to be safe and make sure that the greatest weapon we have to safeguard our democracy is still in each of our arsenals. The republican party is making no effort to disguise the fact that they don't want the majority of us to vote. They know that if all we Americans voted they would cease to exist as a political party.
     Yes, you read that correctly. If we all vote the republican party would be no more. the reason is that they as a political party do not represent the values and ideals of democracy and we who love democracy are still well the majority here in America. Since republicans know that they are in the minority as to being popular they are using every trick they can get away with to suppress voting by removing anyone who is even questionable from the voter registration lists and in other ways making it as difficult as possible to actually vote. they restrict voting hours and days where they have the local control to do so while also moving voting stations far from population centers where they know non republicans vote.
     So first thing for all of us to do is to make sure our names are on the voting registration rolls and then make plans to vote on the voting day as if it is our sacred duty which by the way it should be to all of us. Because one thing republicans do as consistently as anything is to vote. They may be the minority but if we the majority are not all counted we risk having the same result as in 2016 when 46.9% of us didn't bother to vote. Now all of those 46.9% of non voters were democrats but the vast majority were and that is specifically how we lost the important races of 2016. It should never happen again so we each and every one of us, the majority, need to make sure our voting right is established and then do everything in our power to make sure our votes are cast on and before November, 3rd. 2020.

No topic today (#3836)

I don't have anything to say for some reason so I suppose this will be another day where I just say nothing and end the post. :)

460 days until the November 3rd. presidential election (#3835)

     I know it has been hard and tiring for most all of us who are rational caring human beings but like this post title recognizes, the time for trump and his enablers is coming to an end. 460 days may seem like a lot of days left but when trump was elected there were 1461 days to tolerate and survive. Well we have passed the 1000 days of trump since he was elected and so far the many of us are still here just as determined as ever to end this horrible era. 460 days will not be easy since trump has to be getting aware that we the many are very capable of ending his reign of terror. 460 days to keep up our guard and even advance on him in ways that make his life miserable.
     The people I have encountered except a very small few are quiet and focused on their daily ambitions but beneath that quietness is a resolve to end trump no matter what comes next. He is an abomination to our nation and the vast majority of us are seething under our breath to take him down and run him through the gauntlet of justice. People like him need to be shamed at every turn and when his time is up being our appointed leader the shaming must follow him all the days of his life no matter where he ends his days. 460 days to me is a short time considering what we have already endured.
     So as each new day counts down toward 0, I will not only look for any way to protest trump and his cronies but to work to obstruct anything he may try in his last 460 days to corrupt what is left of our democracy. I am in this with all I have and nothing short of all of me is prepared to give it to end the rule of trump come November 3rd. 2020. Those who are not engaged yet need to understand something now. If you are not fighting to protect democracy then your are enabling those who would destroy it. You are an enemy of mine and I will not stand your presence nor respect your ambivalence despite any claim to being ignorant or uncaring. Get on your surfboard with us democrats to protect our democracy or get out of the way of our blue wave as it will crush you for not getting behind it!