Unemployment in America (#4107)

     The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak has exposed the cruel underbelly of American social services. For decades the republican party has been at war with anything that benefits the working middle poor class, especially programs that help us bridge events like what is happening today. If not having to prove we are legally allowed to vote we must show we are not trying to cheat the unemployment process that was designed to help us when work became difficult to find. Now states that have for decades been under republican control have effectively denied many of out of work citizens their right to the benefits they pay for out of their paychecks.
     Forcing labor in general to keep working despite the danger to themselves for working is just another clue the republican party provides us when we see them saying no unemployment benefit is obtainable when they deem a business safe to operate. They are not the ones who must go back to work at the meat processing plants where literally nothing has changed since they stopped working weeks ago. There are still a lack of tests, there is no cure, and working in large groups like these workers do will only increase the risk of catching this fatal virus. But don't try to stay on unemployment because if you don't go back to work you will not be eligible for unemployment anymore.
     The coercion that is on display by republican governors is unforgivable. Forcing people to make the decision to either protect themselves from an out of control danger or put themselves into such poverty as to lose everything they have, short of their lives. I know what I would do but I am not those who have to make the decision. I would not go back to work and instead I would go and protest as safely as possible aimed at the republicans who are making this cruel and brutish reality happen. There are times when being forced to make an obviously horrible choice must have a consequence and the blame falls directly on the republican party!    

trump's Vietnam (#4106)

     58,200 American souls were lost over the decade plus war fought over in Vietnam and surrounding countries. For most of my young life there was the same news just about everyday where some detail of loss in battle was reported on the television news and daily newspapers. Vietnam is a word that has so much meaning to me and I was not even a soldier fighting over there or a Vietnamese non combatant citizen who was forced to accept their daily struggle of trying to stay alive between two opposing forces. For many of those who were obligated by a national draft the decision to go was limited to either going to war or getting out of America.
     Some who had political and wealth connections had other recourse like trump who was able to defer his draft status 5 times, partly through sketchy means, https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-avoided-the-military-draft-which-was-common-at-the-time-vietnam-war-2018-12. Suffice it to say trump had limped away from his duty to our country when he was young while now he is limping away from his responsibility to our health care crisis as our appointed president. His inaction and denial of a viral crisis was upon us has now put the many of us at risk with over 1 million of us infected. The death toll of 59,284 today and counting to our nation is more than all who died in Vietnam 50 years or so ago.
     This Covid-19 virus is his own personal Vietnam and he has made the many of us his accomplices and casualties. He failed us back when the Vietnam war was raging and he is failing us now as this deadly virus is waging its destruction. He is to blame for the disaster of a defense against it and no one is going to believe his shucking of responsibility. trump was wrong then when he shirked his duty as well as now as he shirks his responsibility. All of this could have been avoided had trump been a stand up guy all those years ago, but he wasn't and now we the may of us are paying for his cowardice and condescension.

The human spirit (#4105)

     No matter what form the human spirit takes there is no denying the fact that curiosity will be at its core. I posit that caring and wondering are the 2 main behavioral human traits that are within us all. Outside of survival these two, compassion and curiosity, define our species. There are other traits of lesser good that expose themselves when we are not practicing our compassion and curiosity but those are due to lacking not dominance. Each and every day starts the same for me in that I wake to see what is going on. I also look to see to my wards and their well being.
     Life is real simple if we understand that the innocence of our youth was and is our first and most precious understanding. We, nearly all of us lose sight of our early understanding and begin down pathways of life that are not in harmony with our souls. Those of us who found our way back to our inner child are the fortunate ones because it is in our reawakening to who we are that we find the courage and strength to live with peace. I knew early on in my young life that I wanted to be a hero type. I can easily imagine that most all of us had the same hoped for destiny.
     Now I am not a hero in the sense of the word that I hold as one, but my actions are of one who is ready to be a hero if the moment strikes. When being a better person everyday is the rule and not the exception. When believing in reality is greater than any fantasy I may wish to hide within. When allowing the humanness of my emotions to be real and not try to hide them behind a mask of some false self serving narrative. When accepting the truth as the only way forward instead of some version of the truth that allows me to escape it. When knowing my humility is real and being humble is greater than the arrogance of any hidden unworthiness.

No procrastinating (#4104)

     With the stay at home order still in force I am finding it difficult to keep from staying out ahead of my house chores. There is really no reason why I shouldn't be getting many things done that could stand some attention. I should probably wait until the middle of the week before I mow the yard again but I find the allure to do it today overwhelming. Mainly I suppose is because there are some weedy type growths with fox tails and little spirally sticker things high enough to interfere with my animals health. Keeping the animals healthy is only work for me so no excuses rise to the occasion.
     So in a bit it will be me going outside and mowing and sweeping the yard with my new yard sweeping tool that hooks up to my riding lawn mower. What I can't get with the riding mower I have my walk behind bag mower to get the edges out of reach for the big mower. With this older house there are plenty of opportunities to improve upon but the cost of materials is a major factor. I have to do most of the work myself as I don't have an income to support my many remodeling desires. Yet I am a former construction person with a ton of experience so if I just take it easy and slowing work toward a project completion I and my health remain intact.
     As to the yard mowing though it will take it out of me pushing the push mower. I don't have the pull feature on that tool attached to I don't have that ease of operation option. Yet I do have the yard shaped up pretty well so my push mowing will at least be efficiently used. I still have gas powered mowers and weed eater so the price of keeping gas around as we all know is much cheaper these days. I will be transferring over to more green energy products as soon as I can afford them. But in the meantime I have what I have and for that I am grateful. My arms are already starting to feel weakened just with the thought of doing the mowing this morning but that's okay, no pain no gain. :)

A time for all seasons (#4103)

     I found a way to repair my mistakes. I apologize for them, analyze why I was wrong and then adjust my thoughts and behavior. Real simple because I learned long ago that being correct about things is better than being wrong and denying it. I am a most humble man because I have made my fair share of mistakes. I am no perfect soul or all knowing human being. I am imperfect although a well meaning imperfect person. So when I am wrong I admit it, sometimes hesitantly, yet still I do admit it. Eating my won words can be difficult especially when I think others are judging me but regardless I must move on from my mistakes otherwise I fester and simmer in angst and selfishness.
     What is left of my ego has the scars of it's failings to remind me of the necessity to never allow it to dominate my entity. Sometimes I forget that the world is full of information that I have yet to even imagine so keeping my ego in check is a priority. I like to think I know a little and that is fine. When I get to the point though where my mouth runs past my knowledge is where I find the ground beneath me slipping and falling. I know the pathway to incorrectness and it is not one I willingly take. I would rather be schooled by a child than to misinform anyone if every time the truth has it's way.
     My own mortality is a factor in what I am living for in the sense that time is finite and getting to the truth of things is an all encompassing destination for me. I am human therefore an incomplete entity that although capable of good and great things often find that my humanness keeps me from the pure logic I love and cherish. Because the emotion of my life has a greater say in who I am sometimes than any logical thought. I would not have either my emotion nor my logic taken from me but I do have to find that balance where both coexist in the best form possible. A time for all seasons is a paradigm that describes the cycle of how I was born, live, and die. Will I be strong and the best me who I discovered is inside me or will I weaken and let my own inner insecurities define my existence?

Come out of the shadows! (#4102)

     I know that we liberal /progressives far outnumber conservatives here in America but too many of us lib/pros are not in the light when it comes to politics. We seem to shy away from engagement for too many reasons that really are not valid. Considering what is at stake the trivial excuses we put out for us not to engage in our sacred right to vote is all over with. No more excuses and no more fear. Life as we know it is about to change if we don't try to protect it with all our strength. Not just some of our strength but all our strength. For those who live in states where mail in ballots are available it is all too easy to vote.
     Make sure that your registration is current and then contact your local election entity and get on the mailing list if need be. If you don't live in a mail in ballot state then make sure your registration is current and then find out where your polling place is. Even find out what early voting days are available and then plan for your walk in vote. Nothing in life right now is more important than first, protecting your life and then voting so that your life doesn't come under such a threat again with trumps and his acolytes in the future. I cannot stress how important it is to vote this time and vote against every republican running for office.
     I say vote against every republican because if they side with republican values they are not siding with respectful human values. Why would anyone want to vote for a political party that would rather see their constituents dead than safe at home during this pandemic? There are still primary elections in states left to participate in so do that then make sure that your right to vote is still effective for the general election on November 3rd, 2020. I have been doing this type of political pushing since I was a young teenager and nothing has changed my mind that the only political party that has the vested interests of the working middle poor class in their agenda is the democratic party. If my word counts for anything in life then you will at least appreciate my value when it comes to politics. It is my life source for keeping America a democracy! Join me!

I am fanatic about social distancing (#4101)

     As my neighbors know now I am not one to waffle about keeping distances between us. Things are not like before the virus hit. I know some are less informed about the protocols for staying as safe as possible but with me around there is no confusion. This virus is for real and is deadly especially to those of us who are not as healthy as young people. So until there is a plenty of testing with a vaccine I am not going to allow anyone within 6 feet of me regardless of who they are. Now in an emergency I will weigh my response based upon the emergency but it would have to be a valid emergency for me to consider breaking my distancing rule.
     It isn't just me that I am worried for it is those who live in my realm and their need to be safe from infection as well. There are too many others out there who are not taking this virus seriously and their inability to practice good safety precautions threatens all of us. This is no drill nor false alarm, it is the real deal and as we Americans have passed the 50,000 death mark it is surely no hoax. The first known death from this virus was 78 days ago, https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/840836618/1st-known-u-s-covid-19-death-was-on-feb-6-a-post-mortem-test-reveals. Since then more than 50,000 deaths have followed.
     The virus is no respecter of differences in humans so we all are at risk when we don't work hard to protect ourselves. But we need all of us to do the same and the social distancing however effective is not the only defense we can mount. Washing hands and wearing masks when out in the public square are just as crucial. How long it will take for this virus to come under our control is unknown and that is has the capability to mutate is another factor in our inability at present to corral it effectively. Fanaticism is rarely a good trait but in this instance where an unseen deathly threat is about fanaticism about our protections is actually a good thing.

The arrogance of stupidity (#4100)

     I get that many are unaware of the science and experience of situations that suddenly come into our lives but to get out ahead of ourselves over concerns not directly related to situations is foolish. Trying to be above it all and not working to understand is the culprit which is another way of saying being too lazy to do the work to be informed is not the way to go. A lack of educational discipline is evident and for many it is the paradigm they exist within. The older I get the more reasoning I need before expressing an opinion. I need to know the details and the history of such things before I venture into the land of absolute knowing.
     I am cautious and furthermore I don't put other concerns ahead of the facts I am analyzing. My pocketbook hasn't anything to do with my eventual conclusion. I need to stick to the facts not to the outcome I most desire. Especially in this day of knowing how best to protect and proceed against the Covid-19 virus. That I may become penniless is moot when the gamble is to save my and others' lives. Money is a value but life is the greatest value and putting life down on the level, or below, with money is irrational. I have no deserves in this world and if the outcome of rational thought leaves me without then fine, as long as my life is still in existence.
     I have lost everything twice in my life and yet each time I have been able to resurrect a life for myself and those around me that is full of honor and modernity. I don't care what the cost to me is when the outcome has shown itself, as long as I am still alive. So as others weigh their bank accounts above their own life let me be the first to call you an idiot. Along with you being an idiot you are also an arrogant ass for not trying to first understand the logic of the moment. There will be many of us who will succumb to the death of this virus but I won't be one who willingly decided to measure that possibility with an arrogant stupidity.

trump will follow the money right off an electoral cliff (#4099)

     It isn't unexpected that trump has put all his eggs into one basket, the economy. Which explains why he is so itchy to restart our normal patterns of commerce. Even in the face of the beginning stages of the pandemic he dismisses as controlled. The problem of course is to never put all your eggs in on basket lest unforeseen forces destroys them all at once. The second problem is that the pandemic is not under control nor is it even understood as to it's spread. There are not enough tests to accurately define our infection rate.
     Third problem is that reopening our economy without a viable cure is not only a dangerous gamble but it is an unnecessary one. We can ride this pandemic out with cautious policies and support our citizens with social/economic programming until the pandemic passes. But not with trump because of the fourth problem. That problem is the coming election. He has used his appointed presidency to attack our democracy in a way that would make him more a king than an appointed president. If the economy doesn't open he will not be able to maintain his desired luxurious lifestyle.
     Not only will he become a regular citizen again but he will be open to the many criminal and civil charges he has accumulated over these past few decades. So trump has to open the economy back up as his only chance of trying to hold onto our people's White House. So it won't matter how many die from his desperation nor the many more who will die because of new round of infections that will happen when our economy does open too soon. He will either barely hold onto the presidency in some nearly impossible scenario or more likely he will be defeated by such a large margin that the whole of our federal administration will become a democratic blue tsunami. Occam's Razor tells me that trump will be defeated this next election and it will be because he will have killed many Americans to save his own personal desire to keep our democracy for himself.

There is no wisdom in trump (#4098)

     Ignorance must be bliss for trump as he revels in his mind about how smart he is. To those of us who are on the outside looking in all we see is a man who is still a child being reckless and vindictive to those who don't bow down to him. He thinks like a child in that he cannot see the complexity of the office of president of the United States. He is still in his own little world trying to get over on people to make himself important and wealthy. He does not respect nor admire the working middle poor class instead he condescends to us with all his delusions of grandeur.
     He will never understand the heartbreak and hardship of ordinary life in these times. He doesn't care that too many people live below the poverty line. His justification is that people outside America make less than our poor and they survive. Well they don't live here in America where the cost of trying to stay safely alive is exponentially higher than in other countries. He doesn't understand why women need to be accepted as equal partners in life with we men because once upon a time he probably thought he was stronger than a woman, therefore superior. he doesn't understand why we all should have democracy when to him clearly only the wealthy deserve free will choice.
     The mind of trump is that of a simpleton who has nothing but selfishness and avarice in his behavior. He is no leader nor has he ever been. His distaste for we the cannon fodder in his march to dominate is all he is concerned with, not our lives or deaths. When he does anything that could be construed as magnanimous it has a cost. It is a strategy to control some narrative where he actually gains from the magnanimous act. There is nothing original about trump. He is the epitome of the survival of the fittest, whereas fittest can be substituted with conniver. His best trait is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

With Covid-19 quarantine protests the stupid will thin themselves out (#4097)

     I am usually pretty quick to help anyone avoid harming themselves as a rule. Yet with these Covid-19 quarantine protests I am unable to do much at all. It is because adults cannot be stopped from deciding to do foolish things regardless of all the evidence to the contrary. I can reason with a reasonable person but I cannot reason with a person who fails to use reason. So as adults they will do what they will do. So the cause of protesting quarantine will result in the effect of most likely contracting the contagion.
     Then the odds of recovering from the virus is less certain especially when there is no immediate cure. That is one phase of the problem. Another phase is that if someone contracts the virus it is difficult to actually diagnose the actual contracting when the tests are limited and of short supply. So as one may have the virus unchecked they become hot spots for others to also obtain the virus. the stubborn stupid one is then able to spread the disease to others who may or may not share the stupid idea that the virus is a hoax or not that deadly.
     What will occur among themselves, as the unlearned keep spreading the virus, is that they are contributing to the death toll that is actually real and happening. They will shortly find that their numbers will decrease due to sudden awareness by some of their group and their new found respect to protect themselves and more sadly by their lives ending through the viral infection. So some will wise up and join the rest of us and those that don't become at greater risk of dying, thus the thinning of the herd. I would rather that the stupid were not so stubborn in their lack of knowledge but it isn't up to me is it? So they will get their due because logic dictates, something they also refuse to acknowledge, that for every cause there is an effect.

Stop with the fairy tale narrative (#4096)

     I know reality is hard. It is real hard and may of us probably think that they cannot survive if they had to deal only with reality in their lives. Well I am here to tell you that reality is the only way we are ever going to figure out a better world. We have to go through our rough patches in order to appreciate a better world. It is then that we will put our collective will into a force for positive change. It won't happen if we always run from the hard in life.
     Too many times the idea of thoughts and prayers as an act for dealing with struggle is detrimental to growth both individually and collectively. We live within this existence, not some illusion of it. So facing each and every predicament or consequence is our obligation as a free human species. We are not in some dispensation period or holding out for some form of heaven or trying to avoid some kind of hell. We are here in real time and real space. What are we doing with the precious little time we have in this paradigm? I live my life as best I can from knowing my own human nature as caring and wondering. It is as simple as the old sayings of "do no harm"; and "curiosity is the foundation of learning".
     So if everyone would just please keep working on understanding their own personal principles based upon science and logic we will being taking a huge step forward into not only modernity but in continuing enlightenment. Now I know that comfort and safe harbor are attributes of a fairy tale existence but for me fairy tales only exist when I am having some wild and crazy dream. But when I wake up I am still back in this reality with the same real time situations that need all the power of my logical and scientific mind to solve. I have no time for imaginary characters who are nothing more than a mirage to placate my fear or my need to be part of anything other than reality.
     

199 days left of trump (#4095)

     The next election is 199 days from now and no matter what there will be an election. Why do I say this? Because our constitution lays out that if there is no election trump is automatically out as president. So his only chance to remain in his appointed office is for there to be an election. Now I say there is only 199 days left of his holding office but in reality that is the day we elect a new president. The miserable trump will have another 78 days, until January 20, 2021 to unwind his failed appointed presidency and vacate our White House. Still though we are under 199 days until our next president, Joe Biden begins his transition.
     So as the clock ticks down to zero trump seems to be getting more erratic. His usual pettiness and awfulness has been amplified over the last several months and what I would have expected as a desperate time has gotten even more desperate. He is flailing around like a fish out of water and his flailing is nonstop. We, the sane Americans, must somehow find it within ourselves to avoid being flopped upon by the out of control dying Carp. Every constitutional maneuver must be accounted for so as to have an effective blocking policy ready to go for when trump finally does realize he is no longer a viable option.
     I have little doubt that he will not go quietly into that goodnight, Dylan Thomas reference :). Instead he will fore sake all that is honorable and reasonable and instead struggle mightily to maintain power at all costs. He has shown he cares not a whit about our citizenry as exemplified by his ignoring the latest pandemic to hit our nation. So to expect that he will respect anything that is not his own personal ambition is foolhardy. So we will be preparing for his last gasps of remaining in power with a resolve to keep him at bay as we show the world that the trump reign of selfish greed will not be around for another 4 years.

Survival of the smartest (#4094)

     Sad to say that it is coming down to the survival of the smartest. Being the fittest isn't the priority now. Of course it helps to be one of the fittest but not in this time of trump. Being fit won't help one bit if you don't have the intelligence to protect yourself from an invisible enemy. Not only invisible but deadly and one that cannot be wrested into submission by brute strength. The only way to beat a virus is to outsmart it. But like we saw in Michigan 2 days ago, the somewhat fittest failed at being smart.
     The Governor of Michigan rightly closed down the society there as a precaution and vital step toward slowing down the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Yet those who are of a bent of politics that borders on the right wing lunacy fringe decided that they were going to not only disobey the stay at home directive but were going to mass together to protest it as well. Now Darwin must be smiling from his grave as one who spent much of his life explaining the culling of the herd paradigm, with this latest protestation from science deniers.
     Suffice it to say that those who refuse to understand the facts and truths of reality are far more susceptible to danger than those who practice good scientific and logical advice. In several spots in our nation there are those who still do not take the warnings about this virus serious and act out accordingly. The old saw about "leading to a horse to water but not being able to make the horse drink" comes to mind. Since people will do what they will do, and the better thing for the rest of us to do is to stay the heck away from those who refuse to help us protect each other. The defiant fairy tale crowd and their church gatherings are another pack of people to avoid at all costs if we the smart ones are to survive to see tomorrow in a healthy way.

Discounting human lives is a republican manifest destiny (#4093)

     I am so tired of people treating other people badly because they can. Every life is of value so discounting a soul is despicable. I know that there are bad people out there who would kill us for a dime if it was to their advantage and even they deserve to live despite their unconscionable behavior. I am only human so every now and then my anger over the deranged who intentionally harm as a rule gets unleashed and is barely containable. Yet even those souls need help and help should be available. More what I am talking about this morning is classifying people as worthy or not based upon factors that have nothing to do with merit nor tradition.
     I am talking about folks who find that they are less inclined to see the bigger picture as to the nature of us existing together. They will claim that others are less worthy of existence in the space they are in simply because they don't fit into our own special stereotype of lawfulness, cultural norms, or acceptability. They are born into the privilege of their skin color or their advantage as citizens. I remember when America welcomed and was actually built by migrant workers and I learned that slaves were forced to accept their lot here in America and now are treated like second class citizens for their struggle.
     The republican party has long held the idea that a pure society is one which has only certain "types" within it. Much like Germany before the second world was, where cultures were assigned a hierarchy of respect and dignity and eventually those at the bottom became expendable under the guidance of hitler. When our society fails to capture the spirit of those who are on the outside looking in from within then we are the obstacle to the idea of a melting pot. The growth of racism and segregation are a blight on us and with republicans in control it will remain so until we can oust them and their disgusting devaluing of human life.

Nose to the stone on facts (#4092)

     It is election season and what has been happening, especially with republicans and their trolls is a massive amount of disinformation and outright lies. So the only way anything can be believable is to be fact checked. Now I don't normally need to fact check the basics that republicans lie to get what they want and democrats want to help the working middle poor class. But anything associated with specific deeds or policies I am prone to search for other validations.
     The world is a fast moving place and information is coming at us very quickly so keeping a correct perspective requires us to do the hard work of fact checking. A prime example are the daily cult gatherings trump puts on as a show to disguise his complete and utter failure to be honest. In my recollection not once has he apologized to the American people for anything that he has done or allowed to happen, not once. Which verifies my statement about his republican party, that they lie whenever it suits them or gives them an advantage.
     If you doubt the foundation of democrats just look at where our priorities were in the stimulus package. Relief for working people. All the other stuff in there for the wealthy are republican demands. What republicans would not allow was ease to voting for the whole country and saving the postal service. We Democrats fought for that but couldn't get the republicans to budge so we accepted what we could get in an emergency and live to fight another day for the tools of our democracy as quickly as possible. The monetary influx through stimulus and unemployment were democratic demands. The corporate bailout stuff were republican demands. You do get the idea correct?

What will our individual marker in the Universe say about me? (#4091)

     I did exist and am still exiting. But when I am no longer in existence what will the Universe know about me? How well or badly did I occupy the space that contained me? I am no god person but I do have a link to all that is within my knowing. I am comprised of universal elements and although I am aware and conscious of my wherewithal I am no special thing as to makeup and design with regards to others of our species. So my distinction must be made by me. Of course we are all unique in the sense that our abilities are abundant. Yet what are the differences that make us individually different?
     How I see that is in how I perceive and act within all the space around me. My behavior and my thoughts are particular to me in how I interpret them. So my life is the sum of what I have thought and done/not done. I rate myself as somewhere average on the scale that weighs and measures each of our lives from beginning to end. It is my assumption that we are each a book of discovery and what is within the timeline of our lives is the story each of us tells. I have been good and bad in my life and I of all people know it. Yet the greater part has been good and although I see myself as a positive I cannot justify it unless I live it as so.
     This blog site is such a thing as well that records my thoughts on a daily basis in part. It goes out into the Universe and is there for all to see. A record of what matters to me and why it does. I cannot bring back the past that has my errors in it and it is too late to change that. So accepting my own faults and failures is part of how I grew beyond them. Now my life is settled into being a good person who shows the care and wonder my soul is full of. The record of my life in the Universe is one of learning and then performing, regardless of missteps and even good accomplishments. I am just a single soul whose life, when done and then examined, would show that the better nature of humanity had a home within me.

This is the ending of the appointed trump presidency (#4090)

     The Covid-19 virus that trump so badly tried to ignore is making its presence felt now in our society in ways trump will have nightmares about if he could feel remorse. He had hoped that the virus was truly just a smokescreen from democrats to undermine his stature. He was also dubious of the intent of the state department that tried to warn him of the impending doom. None of these assumptions by trump proved true and instead the virus was coming, and has landed while he failed to confront it with facts when it could have been contained much more efficiently.

     Along with all the other out of your mind decisions he has made this one is truly the icing on the cake. he has already tried to deflect blame for not being on top of it but that just doesn't work since he was the one who diluted the CDC's pandemic response team, and "drastically reduced a team working in China to identify global health threats like Covid-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year."-https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/24/trump-cuts-undermine-coronavirus-containment-cdc-watchdog-report. But like all things trump he cannot tell the truth if it harms his image.
     What we have now is a prolonged stoppage of our society as a stopgap to protect as many of us as possible from grave consequences. By waiting too long to embrace the idea that we Americans were actually in peril he has caused the worst economic collapse since the great depression. If trump had one thing he could gloat about with some authenticity it was the economy albeit President Obama left him with a surging economy to begin with. But all of that is gone and won't be back nearly in time for a recovery to more normal numbers before the coming election. So there is no lifeline for trump and he is going to lose this coming election by hefty margins everywhere there is any doubt.

There is no god but enjoy your easter (#4089)

     It is a tradition I suppose whether you believe in god or not to celebrate easter. The giving of candy and coloring of eggs are ingrained in us despite the fact that no god exists. How can I say that about no god existing? Real easy for me, because there is no evidence. I am the kind of guy who cherishes reality over myths. Still though many will take offence with me and call me outlandish for not believing in the fairy tale. Okay, I accept the criticism but I do consider the source as well. Far be it from me to upset the idea that heaven is waiting for all good christians.
     I, in my hopes and dreams wish you all the fortune of having an eternal afterlife. For me though I just want to be successful with realty; with all my efforts in life here with the facts and truths. What happens afterwards will not matter to me when my body is gone and my soul extinguishes with it. Actually if you research these religious holidays you will find that they have their roots in pagan rituals so although today they seem to be legitimate there was a time when they didn't exist and some other form of gratitude was offered.
     However, the time today is passed with some wishful harmonic synchronicity toward a hoped for outcome that is decidedly ambiguous. I am a spiritual person but even I don't pretend to accept the impossible when the probable is available, an Occam's Razor if you will. I know it is hard to read this today if you are a believer but then again I put up with all the mysticism of fairy tales on a never ending loop. It is unfortunate that we the human species cannot find it within ourselves to accept our fate of being amazing and exceptional without the crutch of doubt. There are those of us who can survive without doubt, who have moved beyond the allegoric cave, and in the final analysis we are the ones who will carry our species forward into a more enlightened destiny.

Another distraction is coming (#4088)

     The trump disapproval ratings are again climbing into uncharted territory so expect trump to change the current narrative of him being incompetent in his handling of the Covid-19 virus to something new and destabilizing. As of this moment there is nothing out there to change the narrative so trump will try to create a distraction. It is his modus operandi to deflect his own incompetence toward someone or something else. It is what he has done his whole life. Never saying sorry or that he has made a mistake but instead denying his obvious culpable reality.
     The hammer of disapproval is coming down now hard on him as he keeps letting his mouth talk without a care to what he is causing. So he must change what people are saying and thinking about him quickly. The problem is that his deflecting and narrative changing will undoubtedly encompass us within his obfuscation. We are just pawns on the board of life and he is constantly on the losing side. But our sacrifice is his gain so never will he stop using us as his cannon fodder. There are enough of us for him to not miss us so we are of course expendable.
     So whatever the distraction ends up being we will likely have to pay a price for with some made up confusion for just long enough for trump to get out from under this current negative outlook. I know it is only April but I have been waiting since November 8th 2016 to see him removed from his appointed office and every day now is excruciating to live through. The little more than 6 months left until his defeat will be hell for us but we will not be deterred in our objective to bring a new actually elected president to our White House. Let him distract away because it is all he can do otherwise his polling numbers will keep going south. The thing is though there is really nothing he can do to prevent his looming loss even though he distracts from his disapproval numbers.

How Wall street is destroying Main street (#4087)

     When billionaires and large corporations are given privileges and advantages beyond what is normal the question becomes why in a democratic society? It is that billionaires and large corporations already have great advantages and privileges so why would they be needing more? The only answer is that the republican party has become beholden to them and therefore cannot let them be harmed in any way. Despite them doing the harming to themselves and as we Main streeters know all too well to us in punishing ways.
     As our federal reserve keeps loaning trillions in no interest, to negative interest, loans to them you have to wonder how is it possible that these wealthy need the help? It seems to me that the American people who actually struggle day to day to make ends meet need the help much more deservedly than the ultra wealthy who cannot seem to manage their own wealth without constant government handouts. I have never been offered a no interest loan from any financial institution yet is a regular occurrence for the wealthy. Why do the wealthy need more help than the average Joe? Are we that disposable that our worth is valued not in our merit but in the size of our wallet? A democracy is not established on inequality as a tenet yet the economic tenet of selective advantage and privilege is prevalent within ours.
     Even the stimulus package with it's help for small businesses is being whittled down to helping very few given it's application structure. Yet a no holds barred loan from the federal reserve is given so fast that to blink an eye would be to have missed the transaction. There is some momentum for allowing Wall street to suffer the slings and arrows that the rest of we Main streeters have historically. When a bankruptcy occurs it is dealt with and as such should be the same for the wealthy. Our economy is not frozen in time and for risks and benefits to occur all must work under the same rules. Even the wealthy have to lose yet in our unequal society we won't let them lose despite their best efforts to fail.

Get money to people now! (#4086)

     It is imperative that people have some money from the stimulus law as quickly as possible. With so many people furloughed, laid off and outright fired by decrepit management, the need for spending money is crucial. It is appalling that the trump federal administration is so slow in getting the money out to people who are desperate. I am just spitting mad at how slow it is taking the law to be enacted since it became law on March 28, 2020. Today is April 9th so 12 days ago the law was enacted yet no money at all has gone out. I know math is hard for trumps but this is ridiculous. The need is urgent yet not to the trumps.
     I am also really pissed at trumps for allowing this virus into our society because he didn't want to face it. Not only are 10's of millions out of work because of it but many more will soon follow suit. While we are all stuck at home our favorite pastimes in the sports world are dead in their tracks. We are not allowed into public squares nor can we find a roll of toilet paper. This whole fiasco is mind boggling in that trump also thinks that 100,000 of us dying because of his reckless intentions to deny the virus are acceptable. Acceptable to him but for the rest of us it is just more blood on his and his family's hands.
     Another anger hot spot with me was the decision by the republican controlled supreme court that forced Wisconsin to vote this last Tuesday. The need for the vote is not known yet the court acted like it must happen as an imperative. Despite their being only a handful of polling stations operating, late and/or no mailed absentee ballots and a Covid-19 virus circulating at it's peak. What in the name of intelligence was the pressing need to hold this vote? The only beneficiary were the republican party and to the detriment of democrats where the largest democratic voting block had only 5 polling stations available to handle the historic amount of about 200,000 voters. What was the compelling need to hold an election if not just to help the republican party win?

The general election is set (#4085)

     About an hour ago Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign paving the way for Joe Biden as our democratic nominee. The timing of this move was a bit surprising but given the efforts by the republican party to subvert the primary election in Wisconsin, it wasn't totally unexpected. The fact now that Joe has his one and only opponent left to defeat it is a welcome move by Bernie. It sets up the contrast and compare analysis between the Joe and trump. Which for me sooner is much better than later. Bernie deserves credit for giving up his dream, albeit at this point more improbable than probable. His acquiescence will now play well within democratic circles and gives us just under 6 months to consolidate our base.
     No doubt given the erratic and brutish nature of trump the consolidating will happen in a much more collegial way. But the more time available the better. And now that the nomination is squarely with Joe and the policies that our democratic party has been clamoring for will begin to meld into a cohesive plan. This is what happens in the primaries, we separate our candidates out through different paradigms until we have one candidate and then we begin to meld our platform as most efficient and encompassing as possible. With the prospect of trump for 4 more years lurking in the background our attention to our party has to be laser focused.
     As far as electability goes Joe has shown throughout the primaries to be a real challenge to trump.Even as yesterday showed in Florida with Joe up on trump by 6 percentage points in a state that trump must win if he has any chance at all of staying in his appointed office. It is still a long way to go until the election but the nominating phase is basically over and now we get to attack, not each other over our preferred candidate but, the opposition which is stinking up the world in a most egregious way. Our focus must be on the coming election and making safeguards to our right to vote now that we have our candidate ready and primed to kick trump and his republican lackeys out of office.

The flawed Wisconsin voting decision by the US Supreme Court (#4084)

     Yesterday was like a look behind the curtain moment with the majority republican supreme court. It wasn't pretty folks and with republicans it never is. They, all five conservative republicans on the 9 member highest court, decided that it was worth risking lives for the constituents of Wisconsin to exercise their foundational right to vote. Not only forcing them to cast ballots at polling stations where the number of polling stations were decreased dramatically but also denying the extension of absentee ballots that won't get to the constituents until after today's election.
     The correct thing to do was to allow the Wisconsin governor's request to delay the election until after the Covid-19 peak had subsided like other states have done. But no, The unique situation in Wisconsin where republicans control the state houses allowed them to override the Governor and not stop what they think will be an advantage to them in the voting today. The five controlling republican conservatives on the supreme court, roberts, thomas, alito, gorsuch, and kavanaugh decided that denying democracy was better than giving up a conservative republican advantage. The opposite of democracy.
     The illegitimacy of the supreme court has now become evident. That republicans can overrule the intent of democracy with impunity is established. There are no more kid gloves in this fight to save our democracy as all who would fight to preserve our Constitution have the motivation needed to put down the republican conservative rebellion. All free societies have this one duty equally among it's citizenry, the defense of our rule of law. Now that republicans have shirked their duty to the rule of law and the basic principles of democracy the battle line is drawn with no equivocation. The gauntlet has been thrown down so now is where we begin.

Staying at home (#4083)

     What is sort of usual for me is staying home and doing things around this old house. So the virus may have locked us down to our domiciles but for me it is nothing new. What I do instead of meaningless things is work on keeping this house maintained and upgraded. Yard work is like second nature to me. For one thing it gets me outside into the fresh air and warmth of the sun when it is shining. There are lots of little and big projects I need to be attending and this gives me the time I need to gear up for them. I do like watching some television at times and that is another outlet for me to enjoy.
     But it is in the work around the house where I find my time being spent for the most part. The little nagging things that build up over time are being addressed. Of course I spent a lot of my life in construction so little things for me are challenging for others who don't the experiences I have. I am also one of those guys who buys ahead when he can for materials I know I will need for my projects, so in the garage I have stored materials for doing just that. No need to run to the home supply store for anything right now. I am not a real healthy person so being judicious with my time and efforts is also a concern. Yet I am relentless in my attitude and pushing my body, more often than not, is the normal anyway.
     We have had rain the last few days so no outside work has been done but that is okay as I just spent a full day straight through to get some dirt moved around on Friday. My body is well tired and needed a few days to get back to just minor aches now. I also have a den full of items that need to go into the bins and that will be happening more likely tomorrow. There is much to do around here and I never let it overwhelm me. I just start on something and then keep going until it is done regardless of whether other ideas pop up along the way. I just add them to the growing list of things for me to do as my life keeps moving forward. For how long I don't know but I can never say I don't have something to do to keep me busy, virus or no virus.

He's playing at being president (#4082)

     I know that he thinks he has scored a coup through his daily television appearances but what he doesn't understand is that he is coming across more and more as the clueless shifty conman that he truly is. His nature cannot be masked for long as each day drags on with him trying to control the narrative. I don't watch or listen to him as a rule and for the last nearly 3 and half years I have been able to stay away from his nonsense spewing sessions. but afterwards I do get the drift of his speeches through written forms so that I am able to know first hand what he has said. His voice is irritating to me as well.
     If you look at the bigger picture of his appointed presidency you see that he loves adulation and actually sets up his administration with people who will kiss his ass from the get go. Praise is his pride and for all of that what we the American people get is a false narrative from him. he lies as a rule unless somehow he actually wants to help us for some other ulterior motive. But for the most part everything he says is to be fact checked and or researched without hesitation. He enjoys the position that the presidency offers and then he has changed the perception of the presidency with his king like ascension upon an almighty throne paradigm.
     When questioned about something that is uncomfortable to him but still relevant and historical to the job he takes it as a personal slight and instead of addressing the issue he pretends to be outraged at the questioner. If anyone was under the allusion that trump was going to roll up his sleeves and get to work then they are sadly disappointed. He loves the spectacle of the job but not the work of it. He thinks his loss in the popular vote but appointment by electoral college was an ascension and validates his own sense of his demigod status. He may even go as far as to think he is god reincarnate. To the many of us who don't hold to such belief systems it just furthers the idea that he is not here for us but instead for himself.

The myth of religion (#4081)

     If one needed any proof at all that religion is a myth instead of a hoped for paradigm, one only need look at the latest evidence. To date there has been no proof of religious existence outside hope and today is just another example of that hope being misplaced. I know that this is a touchy subject with many including members of my own family. Yet the evidence is what we base things on through what we see, hear, touch, taste and smell. In this latest case what we see is clear enough. Since the healing powers of religion are a major part of why people pray and believe it is necessary to examine that on a global scale.
     First off the children of poverty have always been excluded from the rationale of the believers as inconvenient. But now with the Covid-19 virus wreaking it's way through our lives leaving dead and sick everywhere it visits, we see that as a prime challenge to those faith healers who go around the country trying to sell their particular brand of christian faith. With the virus there is no healing power greater than it unless one just considers science and logic. As churches keep filling despite the dire warnings of gathering in groups we see more christian people getting sick with the virus and no one being "healed".
     Now no one thing has the complete power to destroy an ancient paradigm like religion that has been held dear by many generations but we do get to see the evidence in a clear light. Science and logic has shown to be the way forward in protecting our species, not prayer or hope of a divine intervention. We must as a species find a way to stop inculcating our hopes and dreams into the disciplines that should only be dominated by facts and truths. I know there is a place for a spiritual life but it isn't something that can be legislated nor forced upon those who find existence as our only life and it is here in the real world with real consequences that require solutions not some make believe otherworldly grace or dispensation.

The changing of our society (#4080)

     There is no doubt in my mind that what we were as a society before the virus and what we will be after will be vastly different. For one thing the horrible experiment of trump will be over and with that a new sense of hope will replace him. Enough hope that the disregard for social necessities will be reduced and the idea that we all deserve a better society will have taken root. I doubt anyone could argue against a national health care plan with any reasonable sense as we see the devastation of the virus and it's exposure to not only our bodies but to the concept that the free market should control health care.
     There is the first hand knowledge now that we are all interconnected and that as the least of us suffers the whole of us is effected. As well the importance of whose job is worthy has shifted. I have always said that every job of needed function is noble. There is no disgrace in any job opportunity to keep our society functioning and maintained. The time for a living increase to the minimum wage should not be as controversial as before the virus as we now depend so much on our service industries to keep us safe from ruination. A society that sees all with respect and of importance will be a thriving society that has, generally, the best of human behaviors as examples.
     The old interests of racial/gender segregation and class distinction will be less defended and more circumspect in their flaunting. A new paradigm of cooperation and coordination among us will likely be the fallout and for that I am confident. The wealthy would be wise to change their behaviors now while there is a pause in our modernity and start to reflect the newly found, always deserved, respect for all who make our society possible. This isn't the wild west of the republican survival of the fittest crowd. It is an enlightened movement that wants more out of life than just to beat someone else out of some gain. We all need to survive within our democracy and although we have made it this far we were due for an unpleasant upheaval. This virus has unwittingly supplied that and now we need to seize the opportunity and improve our laws while reinvigorating our social progress in all areas.

Democratic governors doing the correct thing (#4079)

     In the states that have democratic governors, yes even in the south, most all the democratic governors are ahead of the curve in fighting the virus with all the tools in their toolboxes. Not the same thing can be said about the governors in states that have republican governors, with one or two  exceptions. The disunity behind following trump has left most of the 26 republican governors ineffectual in dealing with the spread of the deadly virus. So much so that a real epidemic is more possible because of slow or no action at the initial outbreak and even now 2 months later by the trump administration and the republican governors who heel to him.
     First and foremost the trump administration was woefully unprepared to deal with a pandemic. Having reduced or eliminated positions within disease control so that there was no national pandemic response team available, trump as well ignored and even denied the actual existence of a viral contagion threat, under the guise of it being a democratic hoax, for approximately 6 weeks, https://www.vox.com/2020/3/18/21184945/trump-coronavirus-comments-then-versus-now. So our federal government headed by the trump administration did little to nothing in corralling the virus before it became a widespread contagion on our American shores. This did little to inspire the republican governors to take matters into their own hands as they are more in lockstep with a science denying leader than with the actual scientists.
     On the other hand we have had democratic governors who decided that despite the trump inaction they would take their own action to protect their constituents. Hard decisions about stopping the social and economic gatherings in order to keep us from infecting one another has been instituted state wide in most all states governed by democrats. Creating policies that prepare for an outbreak before the outbreak hits hard has been a priority as well as getting the health care workers in place to be able to treat the infected. The hardest part so far has been not having the testing kits available and no cure in sight. Not to be forgotten is the protective gear our health care workers need to keep them safe. It has been a struggle but our democratic governors are the exception to the rule that trump and his republican party allies established as a laissez faire approach to all things.

Letting troops die is what trump is doing! (#4078)

     There has been an emergency situation with one of our aircraft carriers. The Theodore Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier has many cases of Covid-19 infections aboard and cannot seem to get a control solution from trump. Just another example of how ill prepared trump has made our national government. The ship is docked in Guam and thankfully they are working to try to confine and control the spread of the virus, yet Guam is not ideal for handling the infections. The greater emergency is ahead because it isn't feasible to remove the sailors from the ship and quarantine them while maintaining readiness for any forthcoming event.
     So while the ship is in limbo as to how to solve it's infections while being away from home the danger is that trump is not a planner. He flies by the seat of his pants and although that may have worked for him in private life it does not work as the appointed commander in chief of the world's largest military. Given that trump has already accepted that over 100,000 deaths is acceptable, which no sane person would ever do, the idea that trump will fight hard to protect the lives of our military service personnel is more improbable than possible. The republican party is complicit in this and although they deem themselves the friend of the military it is only when they can use that claim in election ads and not in real life.
     There are going to be deaths in our military due to the Covid-19 virus and for that as well as those who have already died in civilian life trump is the author. He blamed President Obama for his handling of the Ebola virus despite only 2 persons dying of it and they were infected in Africa and then came home to die. As of this writing more than 3,000 have died of the Covid-19 virus and estimates range from 100,000 at the low end to possibly 2,500,000 at the high end. Either way to think that President Obama handled his epidemic worse than trump is to live in fantasyland, although fantasyland has been correctly identified as a synonym of republicanland.