The human mind (#4077)

     I often extol the virtues of our species in describing our abilities that have been honed for many hundreds of generations since the beginning of our evolution. Yet today I don't feel like describing our amazing qualities I want to expose our fear. The need for an afterlife with a heaven and a hell to constrict our view of reality. Now, I know reality is a stark hard lonely place when viewed through the lens of fact. Yet here we are a massive human accumulation with many other diverse species of animals on a planet that sustains our every need to survive. So reality, although rough and unforgiving at times is not the doom and gloom of many who need some kind of salve.
     For them the salve is religion and it helps them to feel comfortable in this mostly uncomfortable world. Which is fine for them but for those of us who want to make the world more comfortable without the illusion of a fantasy, we are stifled because many of the religious dogmas keep us from actually facing our problems. How do the dogma's keep us from facing our realities? In one way the offer of prayer instead of action. No praying is going to solve a problem without working through the problem until a solution is found. Another way is that dogma often stifles growth in our society in that the dogma itself calls itself the answer, like trust in the lord, instead of logic. To deny logic and covet dogma as the solution is to call our dream world real, and our real world a dream. Not reality folks.
     I know this post will be unsettling to many who have spent a lifetime worshiping a concept that, at times, even to them seems unreal, but to change now would make their lives seem ludicrous. So they soldier on by disassociating reality even further from their lives. A kind of Stockholm syndrome. I get it, why would we ever admit that our lives are based upon a wish and not reality? Which is why I am writing about our species this morning. Although we are an amazing species we are also a flawed one. Can we overcome our flaws to get to being more amazing than not? I am not sure and although I am an optimist even I find it hard to convince myself that we aren't beyond repair. Maybe tomorrow will be better. That is my wish anyway.

The blue tide is still riding high! (#4076)

     I don't care what trump does from here on out, he will get blue wave "tsuamied"! Sometimes I make up my own verbs to make sure my point is taken :). In this case like I read earlier form someone who posted is that even if Joe Biden shot and killed someone on Fifth Avenue he would still have my vote. The pos trump isn't the only one who has a solid base. I know that Joe wouldn't shoot and/or kill anyone on any avenue but the point is made! Nothing trump does going forward that would seem conciliatory to us or other moderate thinkers is going to matter. His approval may be higher than usual right now but only because some moderate democrats and moderate independents try to rally around the flag in a moment of crisis.
     So although the approval numbers are higher for trump he will not get their vote when the voting time comes and his usual 40 plus percentage will be his best hope in the general election on November 3rd. There will be an election despite the rumors of trump trying to postpone the election. The thing is though that the best case scenario for trump is to try to fool we democrats into thinking he has our backs. But he has had nearly 3 and a half years to have our backs and instead the only thing he has done to our backs is leave many knives in them. He is the worst kind of human being. He will lie to us when we need something and then not deliver it when it causes him any political or financial discomfort.
     So lets get what we can from trump and then not let him take any more from us for the rest of this year before November comes around and we vote him out with no doubt as to our displeasure of him. He will get desperate because he knows like the many of us that once he is out of the presidency he will be a target for criminal and civil charges that will tangle up the rest of his miserable life. So remember that his due is coming and not to pay attention to his desperate attempts to remain in office where he promises us that he will take our social safety net away and replace more supreme court justices with the likes of gorsuch and kavanaugh.
     

We have a captive audience on our social media right now (#4075)

     A silver lining to the Covid-19 virus stay in place strategy is that those who would otherwise be busy working in the economic machine are now otherwise without much to do while at home. Yet we still have our social media platforms to help understand the nature of this work disruption and the health risks associated with the virus. We also have a chance to allow these newly attentive social media users to hear our plea for an equitable society. We can make our case with logic and truth if we dare to reach out and try to get a consensus among us about our future in America. Now is a perfect opportunity to show what the democratic platform of helping the working middle poor class looks like and how we plan to improve our society toward more inclusion and better living conditions.
     We have a captive audience so to speak so let's speak about why we fight so hard for the American working middle poor class. Let us talk about climate change issues, women's rights, about how we need to reduce hate crime and racist activity. Let's speak about a living wage, the homeless plight and our plans to alleviate it, to constitutional changes to how our elections are run and the gerrymandering that is allowing unfair representation. We can tell our stories about how education has been a nightmare for those who want a higher education or better trade skills with less debt to start out in life. The fact of a still growing income inequality gap and the kitchen table worries that increase for the American working middle poor class.
     There are so many issues that we can highlight and offer answers for and now is the time to be present on these and many more issues. We have a lot of people now with time on their hands and no real reason not to try to explain our worries and our hopes to them. With little distraction it is profoundly possible that we can educate these captive souls to what is really happening in America and the solutions that are out there for us to grasp. We need to be resolute in our approach and firm in our principles if we are to convince anyone of the need to an improved society but at this point in time there are already many who need just a little bit of convincing because of the wreckage the republican have allowed to happen.

Rule of law must not waver! (#4074)

     The only thing keeping us knitted together in society is the expectation and the operation of the rule of law for all. I know sometimes it does appear that the wealthy live by another set of rules but for the most part we are all subject to the law regardless of our station in life. Except one person who is in our presidency. That trump has decided that he can flout the law in many circumstances is unsettling to say the least and completely dishonest with no good repercussion as a result. He has disavowed his service to the rule of law if it does not match up with his ego. He has placed himself above the law by some credence to his position as our president.
     The intent of the law is to keep a balance in society that assures all that no one is above the law. It gives us the confidence to be ourselves in a vast and diverse nation. Yet trump has decided that by virtue of his electoral appointment he is somehow greater than the many with no just cause to support his position. He was appointed to serve us, we the American people. Not the other way around which he has obviously confused to his advantage. Our democracy cannot stand on its own if we have one of the three branches of government ignoring the separation of powers as a rule.
     So how do we approach this breach by trump of our standards and practices? We call him out on them and then make sure he is reversed in all forms from his strategy. It isn't easy as he has placed his yes men in powerful positions and some who were elected long ago into our government have been waiting for an unruly sort like him to come along. But we do have a lot of good people in our government who will not stand by and let our democracy crumble under the ego of a careless and cruel hollow man. I often think that the need to be a sociopath/psychopath as a condition to be uncaring and brutal is necessary, and if trump continues to maneuver his acts and behaviors and such then my understanding of him will be spot on!

Economic stimulus from the effects of Covid-19 on the way (#4073)

     The House of Representatives just passed the Senate bill for a helping hand to our American society due to the devastating effects of the Covid-19 virus. The Executive branch will have to sign it and all indications are that trump will, so that the bill with unanimous bicameral support, becomes law. That should happen later today and then the disbursement of funds to those most in need will begin. This 2 trillion dollar bill is a start to what may be many more stimulus bills down the road but this one gets us moving back toward real relief for many in our society.
     Despite the coming pomp and grandstanding by trump and his need for adulation the bill will become law and then the real hard work of our legislators will begin to pay off. Since we are still trying to get a handle on controlling this virus the need for this bill is crucial. Just getting into position to test for the virus has been excruciating since trump not four weeks ago was calling the virus a hoax perpetrated by democrats. Well with this bill being voted out of both houses in unanimous ways the doubt if any that this is a democratic hoax has been officially put to rest. Although trump now claims that he is championing the virus we the rest of us know that he is nothing if not a liar.
     Despite the cause of our troubles to date, the blame will come later after the conquering of this pandemic, the focus is on protecting our first responders, getting testing kits widely available, finding a cure that is efficient and functional, while helping our economy get back to some semblance of it's normalcy. Big tasks ahead of us but like all great challenges in life facing them head on with logic and science while never quitting in the process is our mantra. This is not the greatest challenge we Americans or the world for that matter have ever faced but it is a critical one at this time in our history. With the passage in the House of the stimulus package we are well on our way toward rising above this pandemic and putting it behind us like all other challenges to the survivability of our species.

Bootstraps? My ass! (#4072)

     There is not one single republican who made out of life his or her success without help. Starting with nurture from the family or alternative family options. Then there is the education each human being is given regardless of where we were raised. Plus the advantages and privileges from the wealthy if one is lucky enough to have been born into wealth. No venture regardless of it's simplicity is completed without workers and customers so for anyone to tell another human being to take care of themselves on their own is a lying bastard straight out of a stinking shitpile! Can you tell I have had enough of these condescending ignorant assholes who profess to be the captain of other's ships.
     Well this is what the republican party is, a pile of crap that thinks it can steer. No, no brain and no heart as well. Sounds like an idiot psychopath which is exactly how I see them. Instead of thinking like a complete human being and working to provide jobs while making sure that no one is left with nothing between there being no jobs to work to adding job growth. This is why we democrats have been working to create jobs while giving unemployment insurance to those who cannot find one. We don't tell the out of work worker that they are on there own while we try to create the atmosphere for more work to be created. Which is what the republican party is doing.
     Furthermore the plan that republicans have is to remove as much taxation from the wealthy as is humanly possible as a pathway to creating more jobs. Except that their plan has never worked. Giving the wealthy more money only ends up in offshore accounts where it is taken from it's governmental flow back into our society. While they continue to cut social services under the guise that it makes us dependent on not working. We democrats want all of us to survive while we are out of work by helping to at least pay for the most basic of necessities while new better paying jobs are created through incentives to smart and green industries, which have the added benefit of saving our planet from the roughshod dirty energy republicans and their hatred for the American working middle poor class.

Strange days (#4071)

     The stock market is like a Yoyo, going up and down in dramatic fashion and we are all worried that we will be next to be infected with the Covid-19 virus. No more school for most children, no more work for a majority of Americans. No more simply going to the store and buying what we need as many necessities are constantly sold out. No more partying with our friends or gathering together for entertainment options like sporting or music events. There are many people dying because we were not prepared enough to stop the foreign virus from entering our shores without check for far too long.
     I am spending more time at home because of the stay at home direction from our Governor. So things around here are getting done. The time I spend watching television is increasing as well as the time I spend listening to my favorite music. Yet these are things that are trivial in the big picture. there is little I can do to help our poor neighborhood deal with the ongoing problems of homelessness and hunger. The health care situation here in California is much better than it is in republican controlled states and for that I am immensely grateful. In my household there are 3 of us who are of an elder age with some disabilities and therefore more susceptible to being infected so we are careful not to venture too far from home without real cause.
     The strangeness of the days are mostly due to the ineptitude of the trump administration of our federal government and for that I will never forgive him as so many of us are already dead because of his choice not to follow public health officials and their warnings as far back as last December. So I am at home with nothing much to do but work around the house on projects that require more muscle than animate objects to fix. Cold comfort in that there are so many who are without at least a domicile that gives them an opportunity to improve. The strange days these are will not last forever is our hope and on November 3rd we will get a chance to change the strangeness of our days back to something that will resemble normalcy.

The American war machine and refugees (#4070)

     As we the American military continue to find ourselves in wars that have very little to do with ideology and more to do with obtaining natural resources we should not be surprised by the refugee problem that is created. Yet we shun refugees as if we are their masters and they are the insignificant upstarts who deserve nothing but the back of our hand. It is insane for we Americans to care so little about what our foreign policy aims are when we are the black hats in this scenario. I suppose it is easy enough to ignore the consequences of the actions taken in our name by simply playing dumb. But the real life crisis of uprooting societies and adding misery to their lives is not to be slid under the carpet so to speak.
     We the American people through our government have allowed this to come into being so for us to then shirk any responsibility for it is inherently shameful. It actually mirrors the trumps and makes one wonder if he isn't the true face of what America is always trying to hide. We like our advances and modern toys so making a mess of the world is just an inconvenience at worst to us. As long as we get what resources we need we don't care if the means justifies the ends. Well we are going to have to pay for our selfishly brutal ways and the time for it is coming sooner than later. The cost benefit analyses tells me that when we have had it our way and didn't control the method in a fair manner, then we will be subject to an onslaught of retribution that will be greater than any sacrifice we needed to make in real time.
     The time for our deserves may be fleeting and hard to pin down but the smoldering anger against us will not lessen, it will only become more tempered in it's finality. Our only hope is to reverse our course from making war for profit and focus instead on repairing the damage we have done to countless millions of foreign citizens. Out true American spirit will only appear if we actually admit we were wrong and then set about making policy that rectifies our callousness in past decisions. Those of us who know that all humans are of value have been trying to force our citizenry to see beyond their own greed but it has been like pulling teeth with tweezers, nearly impossible to accomplish.

Another day not in paradise (#4069)

     By all accounts California is a paradise with our mountains, valleys, lakes and streams and even our deserts. But most of all I think our shores to the Pacific Ocean is our greatest claim to paradise. With 840 miles of coastline, and a more than moderate weather temperature you can begin to see why I think our coastline is our true and shiny example of paradise. Yet at the moment we are all under orders to stay at home for the foreseeable future to protect ourselves from a deadly transmittable virus. How have we come to this? Simply put by our federal government under the management of the republican trump administration.
     All other previous presidents in our modern history have been able to defend our nation from a foreign infectious virus. Just recently before trump President Obama managed to control all the weather and viral catastrophes that came our way with efficient and effective foresight. This has not happened with the trump administration. In fact the trumps felt it was unnecessary to even discuss the hand off of disaster programs. Instead trump went about taking these disaster relief programs apart while cutting the effectiveness of our Disease control and research departments. Well that is coming back to haunt us all and while trump is bungling around making excuses and tossing blame the rest of us are the victims of his intentional deceit early on regarding this epidemic.
     So despite the good will of our democratic governor to lessen the burden on the many 40 million or so of us, the reality is that we must stay away from each other in order to stall for time as not only are tests not available but there is no immediate cure available either. The stall for time is a two prong strategy as not only do we slow the spread of the virus but we keep ourselves from contracting it possibly not at all. Yet this strategy can only last for a bit as our society is a robust one that needs constant interaction for the vitality of our citizenry to have the chance to succeed. There are many problems with our market based capitalism but they can be rectified with other additions to maintain an equilibrium. But none of that can or will happen until we can begin again to enjoy the bounty of our California paradise.

The republican party needs to stop pretending our tax dollars are theirs! (#4068)

     What is most infuriating to me is the attitude the republican party has toward we the actual tax payers. Our government is set up for taxes to be paid on a progressive scale so those within our society who work in America or are registered as American companies pay the taxes, not the republican party. So for the republican party to act like it is their money to distribute when they feel like it or not is arrogant. Like now when we the American people are in a real jam as to the latest bungled response by republicans you would think that to make amends they would be acting quickly to protect us.
     But no, it is as if they ignored the health risk to we the many and are now slow walking any form of remedy that would actually be efficient and effective. Instead they delayed any action on the 2 relief bills that came before them for their approval in Congress before finally passing them on to become law. Now the republican majority in the Senate have crafted a bill that mostly ignores the vast majority of working Americans except for a gratuity over a short time, and instead focus on large corporations who have not been good actors in their own management. Some even not being American tax paying enterprises.
     So instead of acting on anything that republicans offer we the American people are instead waiting any day now for the democratic plan for a bill which should be forthcoming this week that will actually address the stress that most of we Americans are facing. If we didn't have one political party, republicans, acting like they are the owners of our tax dollars we could have already been to a point where every waking day isn't unnecessarily fear based. When November 3rd rolls around this year we the many will get a perfect opportunity to show the republican party why they will never again be allowed to govern under the impression that our tax dollars are theirs.

Rock and Roll! (#4067)

     Enjoying some good old classics from my youth and let me tell you it is as soothing an experience I could ever have been gifted with. The turmoil of our youth is salved by the magic of our music. Just as the times now should be creating magical sounds of protest and enlightenment much like our generation did. The saving grace of struggle is the triumph of our voice to hope and music is the closest thing we have to expressing it. Our words are not magnificent in most cases but when mixed with a soul lifting orchestration of music we find that infinity isn't long enough to contain the majesty of the sound and truth.
     Rock and Roll has always been like that for me from some of the simplest 3 chord progressions to outlandish outside the box machinations like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. The enduring sounds and words in conjunction juxtapose a fantasy that is full of reality. The greater part of the inner peace I feel happens naturally when the sounds of the instruments rush to their fullness. The singing vocals and the ringing of the guitar strings with the rapid interchange of the drums and the bass holding them together in a well kept rhythm along with all other accompaniments. Rock and Roll is a special sound that not only vibrates deep into our soul but it also elevates us above the mundane.
     Every Rock and Roll concert I have been to has always left me drained and wanting more. As if the end of the show is such a depressing thought. Can't the show go on forever? This is Rock and Roll to me. The best part of life is filled with music that has always been in the background of every stage of my life. If not for Rock and Roll I suppose my life would be much more ordinary and less exciting. Again, our music was born out of many frustrations of inadequacies. We knew what was good in the world and we saw that those who could change life for the better were not doing so. So we rebelled and put to sound our defense of what is right and good and our anger at those who would deny it.

Our survival insticnt (#4066)

     Just when you think you cannot take anymore of the nonsense of life the survival instinct kicks in. Desperation and despair are no match for the will to live. I know this myself from the few times when I have been so depressed that nothing makes sense about living. Yet deep down in some hidden spot within me is a place where survival exists. It rarely shows itself to me but when it does it gives me some flicker of hope about what to do next and how to see the way forward. I do believe all we humans have this within us and if truth be told we should say so despite the stigma of having to admit we were really down.
     The thing about life is that nothing is a guarantee or a deserve. So it is most logical that we all would experience both highs and lows in our lives. we seem to be really good at admitting our highs but not so much our lows. But believe this, no one who can think and feel is above or below feeling both good and worse. No one. Which, the worse, has been on display for me these last 3 years and more. The ripping out of my soul by trumps and their insatiable appetite to harm and destroy all that was hopeful and good nearly doubled me over and put me down. But in those lowly moments of utter despair I found my own resolve to fight back.
     I again remembered that I champion good things and for me to let a pissant trump defeat me would be antithetical to my own being. My principles are what give me hope because although my survival instinct lit the match it needed more fuel in the form of my principles. Which is why my principles for my life are so important. They are true building blocks of care and wonder. I have found that nothing is more embarrassing nor cowardly than to let a bully win at any cost. No bully will ever stifle my resolve to stay alive and do good. So my survival instinct was the spark that lit my fire once again when my flames had all been put out. Thank you survival instinct and thank you noble principles for my life that burn brightly now once again with honor.

229 days left of the trump nightmare (#4065)

     I have no doubt that our elections will take place as there is no way trump can get around changing our election without consent from the House of Representatives. He could try a coup but then all gloves are off as to what we the people will do. So given the fact that our elections will take place it is now more than ever clear that trump and his ilk are going to swept out of office by our growing blue wave electorate. If anyone needed an example of just how bad our government and the treatment of our people could be, this time now with the stock market volatility and the rampant Covid-19 virus, it is abundantly clear in it's obviousness.
      At this time next month we will be under 200 days until the election and just knowing how close we are getting will fill us with enough energy to finish this 4 year battle to stop the criminal trump and his offspring. The collaborators in this trump mad experiment will also pay with job losses of their own and then, when the time is correct, a full investigation into their complicity will have it's way. I think back to the first days of trump and the confusion and chaos of his appointment and how I thought it would be a miracle if we all survived his ineptitude and danger. We have made it due in large part the 2018 blue wave election that took the House from republicans and stalled their march to our demise.
     As each new month ticks off the calendar the more excited we should be getting at the final day when we all get to do what is correct this time and that is to get out and vote! The last general election time too many of us took for granted that trump couldn't finagle the election and we are paying dearly for that underestimation. Not this time and never again will a debacle like 2016 ever happen without me being here to sound the alarm from as high a mountain as I can. Our democracy took a big hit that 2016 election day and if not for the many of us who stood up to trump we may well would be living under some kind of dictatorship with trumps in office for life.

What is trump up to? (#4064)

     I heard yesterday that trump is allowing his surrogate in the Treasury department to build consensus on an aid package for the American public due to concerns over the Coronavirus, Covid-19. Even stating that a $1000 payment to all Americans may be forthcoming. To me this is like heresy coming from a republican administration that has been solely focused on cutting our social programs of health and retirement. So I have to wonder when is the other shoe going to drop?
     What is the price for this almost 1 trillion dollar aid package that the trump administration is trying to pass in negotiations with democratic leadership? Earlier the trump administration was trying to eliminate the social security payroll tax which would have been a huge step forward to ending social security. But that didn't fly with Nancy Pelosi and although the republicans tried mightily they could not get their wished agenda. That bill which was finally agreed upon was passed out of the House and on to the Senate but has died there so far with mcconnell not allowing a vote on it. So this new deal that would be much larger is now the hot ticket and although it sounds like a great idea I have to think that the details may prove to be a real stinker.
     So as the negotiations over this latest package of help for the American public is further exposed what will we find that has us ready to deny it because of some poison pill that would undercut it's allure? Nothing republicans have ever done has been solely for the working middle poor class. They are all about helping the wealthy and occasionally that spills over to the rest of us. But to have a bill designed by them that puts the American worker first is shocking and cannot be believed given the republican track record. I know this Covid-19 virus has many scared and in that fear some are hopeful that the republican party is going to do the correct thing but skeptics like me see this as an opportunity for them to sneak a harmful policy in that we will regret in the very near future.

At the store first thing this early morning (#4063)

     To my utter non astonishment, half the shelves were empty. the store had just opened and there were employees working but the shelves were half empty. I asked an assistant manager when might there be more choice and she told me that their next delivery wouldn't be until later this morning before noon. So I obviously went to the store at the wrong time. But I wanted to beat any heavier traffic I told myself. Well fighting in some traffic is now what I have to do to have any shot at getting some items I can't get early in the morning.
     There is nothing that I need that is severe but I am getting close to being out of some essential items. Nonetheless I am sure I am not the only one. There really is a minuscule amount comfort in a shared misery once in a while. Yet we need what we need and I do wish some people would quit hoarding like this is the end times. It isn't, it is just a bad situation that is now being addressed by caring people, unlike our federal government's current administration. By the way, asshole trump still doesn't have an emergency plan for how to best cope with the fallout of his ineptitude in dealing immediately with the first contact with this Covid-19 virus.
     However badly trump and his idiot collaborators are at addressing our national needs our state governors are doing a much better job. We are getting good advice as to how to behave and where to stay away from as the virus travels it's path of least resistance. As each day goes by we are getting closer to having the testing, the equipment and eventually a cure for dealing with this latest pandemic. I don't know if I will be one of the lucky ones to survive this abject lesson in failure the trump administration has thrust upon us but if I do I will do all I can to help those who are not as fortunate as I, unlike the cruel and brutish trump administration.

A panicky day today (#4062)

     With the Dow opening down over 22 hundred points in the first minute of trading and the Covid-19 virus still unchecked and adding to it's infection totals our society here in America is anxious to say the least. What is worse of all though is that we have an appointed president who surrounds himself with unqualified personnel giving out information that is suspect if not intentionally wrong. The good news even if less comforting is that many of our state governments are acting above and beyond the call of the woeful federal government nonsense.
     Each state has it's own political slant and those who are more liberal are acting with due concern for it's citizens. Those whose politics leave their state with conservative leanings are less involved in an urgent way and are lagging in accepting reality as it is. For those states the constituents are more inclined to not being prepared and more susceptible to unnecessary infections. Nothing to do about that except to keep hammering those republican led states with phone calls. Gathering for protests is not an option for now as unfortunately, transmitting the disease becomes too easily accomplished.
     With more businesses shutting down or winding down and more runs on the stores by hoarders the likelihood that things will get better before getting worse is not going to happen. So panicky today and tomorrow, what, outright desperation? I don't know but the week ahead is never been less sure to me to being normal than it is at this moment. The dead wood at the top of our federal government is keeping us from making plans that are intelligent and efficient aimed at keeping the most citizens alive and not harmed economically. All trump wants to do is stay in office and use it to make money and that is not a formula for success for the rest of us if we want to keep our society from disappearing right out from under our feet!

The never ending battle to standing up against what is wrong. (#4061)

     Sometimes I wish I could not have to feel the way I do when I see or hear wrong being done. But it just isn't in me to turn away without fighting back. I get so tired yet I know that the tired is just a sign that there is more work to be done. I didn't get to create my reality instead I have to live in the one that is real. So no complaining or shirking as if I don't understand the logic of this existence at this moment. I know it wouldn't be altogether impossible for me to bury myself into a diversion that let's me escape reality and don't think that hasn't crossed my mind. Yet each time I look for a way out I am faced with knowing I would be quitting on who I am and for me that is not anything I can entertain.
     So when the daily grind of wrong and cruel crosses my path I give it my time and rebutting attention. I had hoped that by now the battles for the best of who we are as human beings would be less basic and misunderstood. But it seems that the simple way out of reality is to be an asshole to everyone who is in a position to force feed some sense of greed or ambition is too great an opportunity for too many. So standing up against the bullies and the ignorant is a full time adventure. I do try to sneak in a moment or two of refreshing quiet in my day so that my internal batteries get a much needed charge but that isn't always possible, so running on empty is often my only choice.
     But when the evening comes I have to stop fighting long enough to sleep as much as I can before my mind takes over my restlessness and forces me to begin again. In these times, especially, the need for fighting back is critical as a most crucial election is merely 233 days away. So over that short span I will be relentless in my fighting for a better world as if my life depended on it because for me it does. It is who I am and I have learned over the time of being me that to deny who I am to myself is akin to laying down and dying. I cannot therefore ever succumb to the tired and let go of the lifeline that is me.

Watching trump lie (#4060)

     I always do it on delay since I will never watch him live or listen to him talk. His voice makes me ill. But when I see he has been quoted as saying something I already know is a lie I can't help but think of all the times he lies and lies and lies. It is a carousel of fantasy, yet his approval rating among his cult followers never seems to waiver. I do expect though that he will take a hit this time over the Covid-19 debacle. He may not lose many supporters among the Wall Street crowd but he will have lost a few. My head hurts just thinking about his inability to tell the truth, and get this, even when it could help him. But that is just who he is, an addicted liar.
     Liars anonymous might be able to help him but the odds are long and hard against it. He has within himself a ingrained sense of protecting himself at all costs that he could never change. So for those who are still captured by his cult personality and will not even discuss his falsity there is no hope as well. I am not one to say there is no hope unless I have discovered that no matter what, hope is not going to work. Some just have to follow their destiny regardless if they are illogical. I mean come on, try and explain logic to someone who will not allow themselves to comprehend it.
     So in the end the lies of trump will bury him in quicksand because the slow pull of his lies will devour him as especially people die from his hoax of a Covid-19 stance. He is now moving toward accepting the reality of the viral invasion on our shores but the time lost at the beginning when we could have mounted a much more successful defense is gone. So what we are left with is catching up to the infection and then trying to stabilize it. There will be many deaths before that happens and most all of them will to be found to have been preventable had we had a president who was more concerned about the well being of his fellow citizens than he was about his own election reappointment.

No stopping the election (#4059)

      As it is now trump is in the shit. His Coronavirus response has been abysmal and testing for it was hampered 2 years ago when he cut funding for the Center for Disease Control while dismantling the pandemic management team. So while the stock market is in free fall and our nation is forced to isolate ourselves, both commerce and sports are taking a big hit. This on top of all the shit trump has pulled to this point since the beginning of his appointed presidency. As is obvious by the democratic turnout in the primary election so far and what happened in the 2018 election a blue wave of resistance is still building to sweep him out of office.
     So his options look bleak. He can lie and misinform all he wants but too many of us are already past listening to him and his drug addicted performances. He has no foundation other than his cult followers who are now second guessing their allegiance to him given that he is losing them money hand over fist and putting their lives in danger with a pathetic response to an infectious grave global crisis. Maybe worse of all to many is the now cancellation and suspension of major sporting events. Too many regular folks lose themselves from reality in our national pastimes of competitive sports. That is gone now and people are left with a sobering reality.
     So what is trump to do? Well he could resign and let the rest of us fix his mess but that is not going to happen. He could try to avoid the coming election by postponing or cancelling it in order to preserve his not being tried in many courts for many crimes when he loses. My best guess is that he will try to postpone the election indefinitely in order to keep his power. This will not sit well with the rational among us but may be enough to keep his base confused. It would be uncharted territory since there is no provision in our constitution that gives the executive branch the right to stop elections. It could be possible if Congress gave him the right but Speaker Pelosi and the democratic majority in the House would never do that.

The downside to capitalism is the greed that feeds it (#4058)

     In theory, on a chalkboard, capitalism makes good sense for those who wish to build an economy. Yet in practice, capitalism is often more closely aligned with theft and greed. In the ideal, capitalism would provide opportunity for all without restrictions to fairness and equality. Yet the ideal is not what is occurring. What is occurring is a sense of entitlement and privilege by the most successful to keep opportunity and fairness out of reach for the many. It is a ploy used to maintain an advantage of wealth that cannot be challenged. Which is why the many of us fight so hard for fairness and opportunity in our capitalistic paradigm so that merit and hard work do not go unrewarded.
     Through regulations and social contracts we are able to keep the most wealthy from taking all the economic gains made through our endeavors. The idea that those with wealth deserve the most from enterprise is nonsense and only exposes the greed to it's sunlight. What we are all involved in here is a cooperation of destiny to work with each other to make our own lives better. Not to make some lives better while the vast majority of us struggle just to survive. the balance has been out of whack for some generations now and cannot survive at this pace if modernity and intellectualism are to survive. Surely a king-serf paradigm will return and with it the same condescension and by your leaves as a rule.
     There is a battle for the soul of our nation on several fronts from rights through to expectations. The republican party would have us without democracy in it's hopeful form and return us to the drudgery of being controlled by a few. The democratic party would not accept that people are chattel nor property to be controlled and instead would enlighten us to achieve the positive happiness we all seek. It would seem like there should be no contest as to what political party we should follow yet the misinformation and obfuscation being promoted through hatred and bias by republicans has made the choice murkier to understand.

March is the month that breaks trump (#4057)

     The blue tsunami wave election is about to get a huge lift from the month of March. Not only is the democratic front runner solidifying his nomination but a series of missteps by trump is escalating his political demise. With a clear front runner moving to end the primaries as necessary our time for coalescing around a single candidate and his vice presidential pick has increased. What we democrats really need is for some time to heal from our choices for president and build a platform of progressive and liberal ideals from which to offer our society. Bring an end to the constant struggle of candidate against candidate on our side is needed so that we can refocus our attention on the mess that is trump.
     As well as our own solidifying procedures we are now faced with the ineptitude of trump as he deals with the making of his own mess on the Covid-19 virus and the trade war over oil production. As it has been pointed out many times neither of these troubled events are being handled by trump with any confidence. He allowed the Covid-19 virus to flourish by eliminating CDC controls and personnel back in 2018 while then calling the virus a hoax at the beginning of it's infections. Now he is behind the curve in responding to contain the infection rates. It is like he closed the barn door after the animals had all got out.
     He also is unable to influence his buddy putin in the oil war that putin allowed to happen with the Saudi's and as a bystander now trump can only watch as the Dow Jones drops like a lead balloon. Our society is learning to stay out of public spaces and that hurts commerce. Our society is also pulling their money out of stocks that are falling thus weakening the means to successful growth of a wide sector of industries. Fear has gripped our society over health and money issues which to me are two of the main reasons for living successfully in a largely capitalistic society. This month of March is the writing on the wall for the end of trump because of the impetus already underway to defeat him and now with his failure in plain sight will only add to that impetus.

In less than 7 months (#4056)

     Every morning I wake up and sit at this computer while thinking about how we can get rid of trumps from our lives. Each new day is another day that wont come again for trump to disrupt. He is like a cockroach who cannot be rid of. So we have to exist in this world with him but at least we have a time frame from which to measure his appointed presidency. In less than 7 months we will have that last day to wake up to with him as our gag, leader. But when that last day comes around we will have the opportunity to vote him out of office with a ferocity. The pent up frustration and anger he has instilled within us may then be released on that final day.
     As that final day winds down I can already feel the relief and see the happiness in the eyes of so many who like me are maddened that trump had been given the keys to our democracy. A night on that last day that will not soon ever be forgotten. When we resoundingly showed trumps the door with a huge boot at their asses! Metaphors aside, the exhilaration will be palpable and the relief will be immense. A celebration of epic proportions will be in order and although I don't participate in mind altering drugs or drink, in spirit I will be one happy and silly fellow. The day when our election of a new president who is not appointed but actually wins the popular vote is nearing and soon will be a reality.
     I don't mind predicting this outcome because the logic of reality demands it no matter what the cult of trumps has to say or think. The rest of us are tired of trumps but we are also highly motivated and spitting mad. When the voting day comes there will be a relentless onslaught of democratic votes piling high against the puny republican totals to come. We will not only take trump down from his appointed presidential perch but we will end the Senate of it's nefarious republican majority. A new day is coming in less than 7 months and I for one of nearly 80 million or more anti trump voters will have had a say in sending trumps to the dustbin of history.

Coronavirus is no hoax trump! (#4055)

     Now that many who went to the republican pat on the back conference (cpac) have been possibly infected with the Covid-19 virus the trump claim that it was a hoax is looking mighty foolish. Especially with high ranking republican politicians now in self quarantine mode. As the virus was just starting to get a foothold in the rest of the world trump was downplaying its very existence. Well that strategy of his to ignore a potential massive death threat has not worked and instead has set us behind in our efforts to contain and eradicate the virus.
     This is what leadership does not look like. Instead of getting out ahead of the threat trump had decided that denying it was the best option. His idiocy will likely culminate in many deaths that could have been avoided. What is even more troubling is that in 2018 trump decided to cut funding for the center for disease control and stop hiring scientists for prevention and research purposes. So not only is he in denial although he has come out of that denial just recently but our disease control apparatus isn't at top speed to help with containment and eradication.
     The only hoax here is trump on we the American people. He is not worthy of leadership nor exemplified guidance. What will be interesting going forward, outside the huge drop at the opening of the Dow Jones this morning, is how long it will be before what is left of the republican establishment will turn on trump and work to remove him. He left them vulnerable at their annual glad handing conference without notice and now they are in fear for their lives. Having an idiot lead was never a good idea and now we see the reason for it. He dismissed the potential harm when it was first reported and now that potential harm is very grave indeed.

34 weeks until the general election (#4054)

     Only 34 more weeks of the idiot trump and then we get back our national honor. I keep hearing people who are afraid say that they think trump will be in for another 4 years and to me that is being modest. Although they are talking about the presidency, I am talking about prison! He will lose this coming election so badly that there will be no escape for him when the final tally is made. There will be no recounting of votes or claims of cheating coming from republicans because the defeat of trump will be massive. Then we begin the process of actually removing the cruel coward from our White House. A lot of fumigating will be needed.
     34 weeks is very little time in the big picture as each week seems to be flying by now for me anyway. When the time left for him was still years I was hardly confident that we would survive his idiocy and our dependence on his protecting our nation. But now that we are closing in on the end of the trump disorganized brutish mess the life span of us all increases. We will make sure this time that our vote against him does not lose focus and we all go do our duty to end the trump reign. He has alienated almost everyone, even those who stand by him, so the idea that he will get enough votes to remain in office is absolutely absurd! He will go down with a horrible defeat and no one ever has deserved it more!
     It won't matter whom we democrats nominate as our candidate because the majority of us are voting to end the time of trump. We would vote for a potted plant over trump so you see the anger and resolve we many have. Never in my lifetime have I been so angry, and that includes the conniving nixon and the bumbling shrub. That trump has instilled so much motivation in me to make sure he never again steps into an office of public respect has no limit with me. I am, to say the least, spitting nails mad at what he and his enablers in the republican party have done to our bright shining city on a hill. The tarnish that remains from his defeat will take generations to clean but at least in 34 weeks we will begin that cleansing.

Stable genius or unstable idiot? (#4053)

     Let us consider the facts. That trump says that he is a stable genius without providing any proof is in itself questionable. I can say I am a stable genius, not that I would ever consider myself a genius, without providing proof and it wouldn't make me one, so neither does it trump. He won't release his school records which could confirm if he was at least a budding genius but no he will not. Another strike against him being stable or genius. He says he never tells a lie which in the public record there are at least 16 thousand lies or not truths that have come from his poisonous innards. He has only worked toward destroying our democratic social order, not contributed to it so there is another failing from him.
     He calls those whom he disagrees with schoolyard names that are more in line with a broken grammar school level education than anything that is genius. He can never give a precise reason for his beliefs yet he demands that we accept them regardless. The evidence keeps piling up on the side of an unstable idiot with no counter balancing of anything that is of a stable genius paradigm. He tells us what is good for us without knowing anything about who we are. He accepts in his own mind that he is some type of demigod who has dominion over those of us who are not born to bully or be cruel and brutish.
     What is even more telling is that to watch him struggle to understand that people don't want to be harmed. He has an inner unquestionable belief that we want him to punish us for something he sees as we deserve. All of this to say that his mind is incapable of capturing the panoramic nuances of societal life is obvious. he sees what he wants to see regardless of fact or truth and he demands that we adore him for his courtesy toward us. His condescension is a way of showing us his love and damn us for not understanding that! The mere privilege it is for all of us to be alive while he is alive, is not lost on him. Maybe he thinks he is more than a demigod and more like an actual god. Yet no god does exist so neither does his tortured concepts of him as a stable genius.

Lying and obstructing on Coronavirus (#4052)

     The trumps are now endangering anyone who trusts them. That said the majority of us don't believe anything the pos trump says but many still do who have drunk his koolaid. I am not one who wants harm to come to anyone but if it is to come it might as well be to people who refuse to believe in science and logic. Still however too many others are under control of those very unenlightened ones and those are my concern. Children and the elderly who are managed by those who refuse to understand the significance of microbial infections. Such is the nature of democracy where even the most ridiculously foolish of us has effect on those of us who are not in control of their own destiny.
     So each time trump lies about incoming dangers he is setting up to be harmed those who are most vulnerable in our society. Choosing to be ignorant does not absolve one of a criminal act. Such it is with trump and his just following orders cult members. The crimes this pos trump has already committed against not only the rule of law, but to democracy and as many individual citizens he can affect is a high pile. So when his time is up in his appointed presidency the charges against him will never end. Yet in the meantime the harm he has and will continue to cause is ongoing. This Coronavirus is just the latest iteration of said crimes.
     Not only has trump cut funds for the CDC to have been effectively ahead of the spread of this virus but even now he is trying to make sure many who do need vaccinations won't get them. His defense is that if you can't afford an inoculation then you don't deserve one. He has his lackeys in Congress holding up a bill to fight the Coronavirus because it makes accessible to everyone an antidote with no cost obstacles. Because if there is one thing the trumps of this world care about more than anything it is profit no matter what the paradigm. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if big pharma allowed new viruses to flourish just so they could cash in on overpricing antidotes. But that is just me...

Democratic turnout looking very good (#4051)

     Although the democratic turnout for primary elections in 2008 was the standard, we democrats are close to equaling that enthusiasm. Blowing past the turnout rate for 2016 when trump and his sycophants snuck in. This election in 2020 will be more like 2008 than 2016. Already there are enough signs that this will be the case and as has been mentioned thousands of times the higher the voter turnout the more democrats are elected. The start of our blue wave election began with state elections in 2017, continuing with the mid term elections where we democrats took back the House in 2018.
     The blue wave is still riding high with state victories in 2019 and although some states that are deeply red have not had the enthusiasm showed by more purple and blue states in this primary season the difference will be less felt as democratic and independent voters in more populous states come out and vote for more democrats. This won't be trump sneaking into office through paternal archaic rules, this will be a wipe out with no room for trump to finesse votes through obstruction practices. He will get beat by an inspired voter turnout and it will mark a new era in American politics as we democrats are poised to retake the Senate and White House.
     There are more primaries to go but the enthusiasm so far has been encouraging and at the same time invigorating. With 243 days left until election day the trump regime is almost over and although he will create more insanity, the days of his appointed presidency are about to pass into the infamy of history. His legacy of hatred and betrayal are about to end and it will be we the voters who end it convincingly. He will get his due after he is removed from office in the form of charges and convictions which will serve to remind any other cruel and brutish republican wannabe king that democracy is the rule of law here not some dictator dream!

The Biden reckoning (#4050)

     The unpredictability of politics is evident from last night where Joe Biden seized the leadership of the democratic party from the Bernie Sanders camp. I didn't see this coming at all before last week but as Biden took South Carolina decidedly and three moderate candidates dropped out the signal was there for a momentum grabbing effort by Biden. Then Beto O'Rourke threw his support behind Biden and all bets were off as to a Sanders expected victory in Texas. If you had been not following what was going on in politics the last week you would have missed the signs and been shocked this morning to find out Biden took Texas.
     But as we are once again learning, politics can be fickle and who would have thought two weeks ago that South Carolina would have been the trigger that started a Biden avalanche. I know I didn't and not many could convince me that they did either. So this morning we are seeing a coalescing around Biden that not even Sanders may be able to recover from. Now Warren and Bloomberg need to come to that moment in time where they realize that their time as viable candidates is over. I see Bernie going forward with his campaign to turn it around over the next month or so but everyone else needs to find the understanding that it is down to just two candidates and Joe is on top now.
     However this plays out over the next handful of weeks we the democratic party are finding that our votes to nominate our candidate is crucial in the nominating process. We do not want the democratic party to decide which of our candidates goes on to face the disgraceful trump. Democracy demands that our nominee be chosen by we the people not the super delegates whose allegiance isn't to the popular vote. If Joe is our candidate then fine or if Bernie comes back then fine but at the end of the day our democratic nominee must be chosen by us and not a privileged group. If we democrats are going to have a full general election turnout we need a fair process in choosing our candidate.

Very exciting day today (#4049)

     With Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and Steyer dropping out of the democratic primary over the last few days this day is going to be very interesting. Many have already voted by mail so those three will get many votes that wouldn't have come their way had they dropped out earlier. Yet many have not voted and those votes will go to the four main candidates left. Sanders, Biden, Warren and Bloomberg. I don't count Gabbard as a major candidate. Two centrists versus two progressives. How the vote splits down those two lines will go a long way in determining who our eventual candidate against trump will be.
     Super Tuesday this year has two very large states in Texas and California. Nearly 70 million citizens populate just those two states. Which in well more than the 62 million votes trump received in 2016. Now all those citizens are not eligible to vote but a large segment of them are. Close to 16 million in California and 12 million in Texas. Suffice it to say there is a lot at stake today with 12 other states voting as well as all Democrats abroad. More than a third of the pledged delegates are up for the taking and by the end of the day we should have an idea as to who our two front runners are and which two should consider dropping out after today.
     It seems to me that unless there is a major shift in how the voting goes today, that Bloomberg and Warren will be left with the hard decision to suspend their campaigns and get behind their ideological candidates who are left, Biden and Sanders. Yet I am not predicting here just making an observation based upon what has already occurred. However it all shakes out the biggest moment for me will of course be the turnout. I am measuring the accuracy of our blue wave and so far the indicators are still positive for a massive blue wave possibility. Which is what we Democrats need if we are going to purge our national and state governments of trumps and his enablers.

Sustainable energy is the future trump is trying to stop (#4048)

     Never in my experience has a more determined appointed president been on a course to disrupt and eliminate the efficient smart usage of knowledge. I am at loggerheads to believe that it hasn't anything else to do with except profit right now. Profit over intelligence to me is a criminal offense that cannot be allowed to happen. A true crime against humanity and anyone who would shield this appointed president from being given his punishment deserves the same punishment. As it turns out this is an election year and most all those culpable in the profit scheme to undermine our society should first be voted out of office and then tried criminally for their offenses against humanity.
     It does not take a rocket scientist or more specifically someone of Katherine Johnson's ability to equate greed as a conclusion for the vast majority of the republican party's paradigm of theft. The obvious disgraceful nature of trumps and his followers is mind numbing in that there is little attempt to hide it. That trump has been every day of his appointed presidency a disgrace in itself been part of the mind numbing effect. So more than 3 years into his appointed position the rest of us are far from shocked at anything he does. An almost normalization process has engulfed us. Yet we will never be normalized by the overall effect trump has attempted to ingrain in our psyche's.
     Which is why the voter turnout against him will be one for the ages as we continue toward his dethroning. I say dethroning because he sees himself as a king-like figure not a representative of American democracy or our national constituency but as blue blooded king. Well his enamored view of himself as twisted as twisted can be will not prevail outside his imagination. We the rest of us are not going to allow him to destroy our planet not destroy our democracy. His theft of our national heritage and manifest destiny to change the world for the better is about to be returned to us in a blue tsunami way!

Blue wave still rising! (#4047)

     In the 2016 democratic primary in South Carolina 368,877 voters turned out to vote for our democratic candidates. In the 2020 democratic primary in South Carolina 527,728 voters turned out for our democratic candidates. Although there is some crossover voting by republicans this still does represent an increase in the enthusiasm for our democratic agenda. Our blue wave is still riding high from our 2018 election successes. In 2 days we sill see a tremendous amount of evidence for our coming blue wave election. With 11 states voting or caucusing, more than 40% of our national population is represented.
     With California and Texas in this grouping a huge amount of democratic votes will be able to solidify the fact of our blue wave election with near or record turnout. I do expect this to be the case since all indications are pointing toward it. The fact that trump is such an unpopular polarizing figure, even within the republican party, is the fuel that will drive our democratic momentum up into dizzying heights. With 3 of the 4 states already behind us as evidence of our blue wave, despite Iowa, the next round of democratic primary elections should also trend toward rising democratic enthusiasm.
     Super Tuesday will be our best indicator of blue wave enthusiasm and shortly we will have our talking point. The republican party knows they are in trouble and will be doing everything, and I mean everything, in their power to confuse and disambiguate the results of our blue wave. The problem for republicans though is that our blue wave is not just a current phenomenon. It is a simmering long suffering personal aspect of the time trump has been our appointed president. This personal aspect we the may have as a daily companion is not one for others to interpret for us. We feel it every day and now we are getting our opportunity to express it and express it we will!