(#4928) Mask up, social distance, and avoid large crowds in rooms

      This is not the time to let your guard down. Too many of us are of the opinion that Covid has run it's course and with inoculations we are immune to infection. None of it is true! We can be infected with full inoculations. Covid has not run its course it is just mutating into stronger more virulent strains. So keep your mask handy when traveling outside your safety zones and also be aware that too many have not even been inoculated to begin with. Their stubborn stance of remaining unvaccinated is more harm to others who come into contact with them if they are asymptomatic.
     I know this much and that is if I want to stay as healthy as possible I had better not rely on others to protect me. I need to take my own protections and apply them to everyone else. I am also of the mind that if I don't need to be anywhere then I am not going anywhere. If I do have to do anything outside my yard and home then it is on me to protect myself as best I can. I did have a coffee date a few days ago but both of us wore masks both inside and outside. While keeping our distance from others. We both survived that without contracting Covid and for that I am grateful. But  no more dates of any kind until this Covid epidemic has finally come under control.
     I know that sounds harsh but what is even harsher is contracting Covid and then having to live with whatever damage it does. I can wait for a better time that has more control of Covid. There are going to be more inoculations available for this new strain in late August or early September and as soon as I can I will be getting my shot. I trust our science to lead on this and not the superstitions of ignorance. Some may have survived so far without inoculations but they are few and are only getting closer to paying a price for their stubborn behavior. Life will be better in the future once we tackle this Covid epidemic so in the meantime buckle up and make sure you are there when it does.
     

(#4927) Congressional democrats are leading republicans in the latest poll

 According to the Hill, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3577587-democrats-gain-ground-on-generic-congressional-ballot-poll/, democrats lead the republicans today by 4 percent points, 44-40, 16% undecided. The Senate is looking like not only a hold for democrats but a gain as well. My hope is for at least 3 but more confidently than ever I hope for 6 seats to be gained. In the House now it appears that not only can we hold it but we can add a few more seats. What traditionally is a pickup election for the party out of power, republicans, is not evolving. Surely it has a lot to do with their non care for the working middle poor class but as well their attempt to overthrow our government.
     Yet as you can see there are still die hard republican voters who don't mind all the horribleness coming from republicans as they are so in deep to republican rhetoric and the false narratives that make it up that they are unable to think and act rationally. So it is the 16% that is undecided that we have to bring home our factual case. We can do this as the difference between the two party's is stark! We democrats are working to make life easier and more opportunistic for the whole of our citizenry while republicans are doing the opposite, trying to make life harder for everyone except the wealthy. Well there are far fewer wealthy in that 16% undecided group so the advantage is ours in the democratic party.
     I had always felt in my gut that the differences between democrats and republicans was clear and understandable. Well it seems that my gut is like a lot of other guts out there so as we are 101 days from the election the trend line is in our favor. We will see even more trends our way as the economy supply chain issues become less a problem and the price of of goods and services keep lowering. We will also see more winds in our democratic sails as the January 6th committee continues to expose the dereliction of duty and master minding by the trump administration with many in congress as conspirators of the insurrection coup. This traditional off year election will be nothing like the historical past!

(#4926) The era of the tyrant is over

      With the advent of the Internet our world has gotten much closer to reality. I know it seems like the opposite too much of the time but in truth we are all better off having information at our finger tips. Like now with so many things seeming to be stressful like the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a clarity as well comes with it. The importance of life on earth starts to sink in with many as they realize their their previous concerns were much about nothing.  A prioritization takes place under stressful circumstances and having information that is right at our fingertips is amazing.
     People like putin and xi are not long for this world as leaders because the ordinary person can now see what others are doing in their societies and can compare it with theirs. One thing I know for a fact is that the human species is not a docile one. We are constantly evolving into something better that will win the day against those who promote our worst natures. Such as tyrants who squander the lives of their ruled as if it was like washing dirt off their hands. As long as we can keep the internet available for all, the change to a more democratic form of government is inevitable.
     Soon the tyrant putin will no longer be with us and the fate of xi is now coming into focus. Both have relied on the tyrannical method of rule and for that they have few who would die for them. They may fight but not with a glad heart. Which is why if xi decides to provoke we the western world with their putin like attempt to takeover Taiwan, they will find the same fate putin is finding as he nears his dead man walking finale. The other littler tyrants in the world like un and assad will quickly be folded into history when putin and xi get their due. The era of a peaceful world is at our threshold, we just need to clear the path for it to come in.

(#4925) Like in the US the tide is turning for democrats and Ukrainians for the good

      With the latest strategy by democrats playing out perfectly to get the chips bill passed through the senate and the reconciliation bill now alive and well, the hoped for tide of a republican wave has vanished. Same with Ukraine. The idea of a Russian takeover of any Ukrainian land is evaporating and putins genocidal invasion may well cost Russia some land. All it took to outsmart republicans and putin was a strategy and the will to carry it out. Much like spy craft, appearing to be one thing while being another thing was called for. Joe Manchin had established bona fides with republicans that his behavior was believable, yet Joe turned the tables on the outsmarted republicans and made them look like who they truly are, dupes!
     As with Ukraine, putin thought he had an immediate victory back on February 24th, yet he didn't understand the nature of the Ukrainian people. They are not to be dallied with through shows of force or threat. When it came to fighting putin eventually realized that the Ukrainians are a fierce noble culture that has no time to be ruled by a horde of backward Russians. So as the Russians took their time in trying to take Ukraine, the Ukrainians were working overtime to establish relationships with the west that are now paying off in armaments and strategy. The intelligence of the Ukrainians is second to none and for the putins of the world to discount them will only cost them their very existence.
     Both the democrats and Ukrainians have outsmarted their foes and taken advantage of their arrogance and ignorance. We shall see how the rest of these coming months play out but it is going to be better to be a democrat and Ukrainian than it is to be a republican and a Russian. If anything here in the US the only wave that is enduring is a blue wave that most assuredly will sweep through the senate and now is poised to do the same for the house. We are smart, caring and determined to defeat the foes of democracy here in the US as well as help the Ukrainians do the same in Ukraine. Sucks to be a republican and a Russian because they both are not of good intent.

(#4924) Joe Biden is the man for the moment

      I see too much Russian propaganda about how Joe Biden is too old to run for president in 2024. Well it is just a little over 100 days until the most important mid term election in our history. This election that has no Joe Biden on the ballot should be our focus. Getting Joe the help he needs to pass legislation in both the Senate and House is going to require that all we democrats vote without hesitation for all democrats on the ballot, federal, state, and local! Keeping the House and Senate is what will make or break whatever candidate we run again in 2024. But for the moment, although stymied too much of the time, Joe Biden has proven he can and will lead our democratic party, all of us, with courage and fortitude!
     There would be no talk of Biden being too old or not strong enough if manchin and sinema had held up their country first instead of the own personal ideologues. So to correct that mistake we need to elect at least two more democratic Senators to make sure we have enough to overcome the filibuster either outright of at least in particular like for voting rights and abortion at a minimum! We also need to give Nancy Pelosi the numbers she needs in the House to keep the speakership within the democratic party. Nancy has proven quite adept at getting our legislation passed to the Senate but manchin and sinema keep thwarting most of it.
     So let us not talk anymore about Joe Biden and the propaganda that the Russians, Chinese, and the republican party keep trying to forward as the most important narration. Let us instead focus on turning out our voters and convincing the independent voters that we are superior in policy recommendations and in protecting our rights under the constitution. Meanwhile Joe Biden is doing most everything he can do to improve ours and the worlds economic woes while also fighting to protect democracy from the putin loving republicans who think Ukrainian democracy should be putin's autocratic stepchild!

(#4923) We can't win over stubborn republicans but if they stay home and don't vote then good.

      With all the horror of the republican party being revealed we democrats need to stay focused on getting our voters out with a singular focus. There are many of us and if most of us participate in the coming election then we will do well enough. Yet the republicans are doing us a favor with their abhorrent behavior. With restrictions on freedoms their new rallying cry and the despicable trump and all his deviousness being exposed the timing couldn't be better for a blue wave election. We democrats have got to get our folks out and republicans are working overtime to turn their voters off.
     I see no beneficial strategy for us democrats to try and convince republican voters to vote for us. Instead I see a viable strategy that encourages independents to look at the policy choices for each party and then decide who is protecting and adding rights, democrats, and who has struck down rights and looking to strike down even more rights, republicans. The choice is really easy when we talk about our democratic platform and our enduring stamina to defend our rights from republican assaults. We should have no problem gaining the trust of most of the independents. So if we can just get our base voters to vote with a passion then we will be poised to run the table so to speak on November 8, 2022.
     We are never going to get the stubborn 25-30 percent of the vote because they are not able to adjust to reality. They are stuck in a time warp where republicans are not to be challenged. So fine, they can do what they want but for the rest of the 70 to 75 percent of voting Americans we can make the case for democratic leadership going forward into our futures. I am sitting here thinking about how this would effect me and that is being selfish but really it isn't. Because no matter how the politics of our future plays out I won't be part of it for too long. Yet even so, I am not one who sits by and lets the worst of what humanity can be run over us without a fight. Even this old fighter is not done making the case for good, fair, and freedom inspired futures!

(#4922) The importance of the November national election

      It isn't just the national leaders we are most worried about. the state elections along with the federal offices are just as crucial. The republican party controls 29 state legislatures and if they get 5 more they will have control of 2/3rds of the states legislatures needed to force a constitutional crisis. Yes, the republican party can do that at the state level. Changing our constitution requires 2/3rds of the state legislatures to get that done. Now it has never been done before but that won't stop republicans from doing what they want with a supreme court on their side.
     What needs to happen is simple, we democrats need to vote like our lives are at stake. Because if we don't the steady republican vote will defeat our low turnout vote by enough to secure republicans the extra control they would need to do their worst to our democracy. So if any are thinking they can take this election off they are only fooling themselves. If anything, this election is the most important election of our time as it has worked out. Getting Biden and democrats into position of power was crucial, and at that time the most important thing to accomplish, but now with the insurrectionist republican party poised to turn our lives into servants for trump like people there is no doubt that now is the time for all of us to act.
     I will be calling out daily on this subject as well as the treason of trumps along with the Ukraine fight for democracy over the next 106 days before the election. There can be nothing left on the table when it comes to me on the subject of saving our democracy through criminal prosecutions and voting. Nothing in the world is more important to our nation than exposing the strategy of republicans who are hell bent to take away rights without taking them away from themselves. The other consequence they face are their crimes and for that there can be no mercy. They must be made to pay dearly for their attempts to dishonor our nation's capitol and our transfer of power protocols along with their nefarious secretive plan to overthrow our government.

(#4921) Fuck around and find out Russia!

      Too many things are going against Russia and they can't believe it. They thought they could just parade walk into Ukraine and the whole country would just bow down before them. Their ego inflated high minded thoughts of themselves as rulers of Eastern Europe were subsequently demolished along with their pride, treasure and blood. The Ukrainian people not only did not bow down to them or take a knee with a by your leave, instead they attacked them. The Ukrainian people said fuck you Russia and began defending themselves with a ferocity that was stunning and effective.
     The Russians were taken aback, and in the interim, have been steadily slaughtered for their efforts. Russia is a big country so they had resources to absorb those initial losses but the losses keep mounting so now the Russia brain trust such as it is has reached a reflection point. The Russians still have minimal control over the occupied Ukrainian provinces but not for much longer as the Ukrainian counter offensive is building and advancing. It won't be long before Russia has to retreat like they did when they tried to take Kyiv. As the losses mount for Russia on the illegal invasion battlefield, they are also facing stiff, effective and unrelenting sanctions at home.
     The west, which for now is expanding to include countries that had previously been neutral, is committed to helping Ukraine defend themselves and Russia has few allies who are willing to fight alongside them. It is a completely different vision putin is seeing now instead of the one where he is heralded at victory parades. There will be no victory parades for putin. The only thing putin will get is his deserves and those deserves are going to cost him dearly. As to Russia and what happens to them, that will depend on the mercy of the Ukrainians and from what I see after the too many war crimes committed against them their quota of mercy towards the Russians is practically non existent.

(#4920) As the supplies come in Ukraine keeps advancing

      Ukraine has the man and woman power, they just need the weapons and supplies to fight. With at least about 1.5 million combatants available to fight for Ukraine they just need to know that the weapons needed to root out the Russian invaders is going to be there. I have no doubt that the west will provide the necessary equipment so that brave Ukrainian fighters are not left vulnerable. Every day that an offensive is held off because of logistical concerns is another day scores of innocent Ukrainians die. This moment in time is crucial for getting the job done without hesitation. That job being moving forward and reclaiming the land that Russia's putin wrongly says is his!
     Further the concept that democracy is on the line is not in dispute. If putin wins this aggressive invasion of his neighbor then democracy is an illusion that cannot survive. If Zelenskyy and Ukraine defeat the invading horde of putin's making then democracy wins and the invincibility of democracy is bolstered. Saving lives and saving democracy cannot be overshadowed by any other imagining. So let us in the west make sure we are doing our best to make sure supplies are there and operable for the brave soldiers of the Ukrainian defense to administer on the battlefield.
     The only ones who want this invasion to drag out are the Russians. Because if not they are the ones who will be defeated. So in the interest of logic and value of life, let the Ukrainians push forward with the supplies they need so that the Russians either die in place or scamper back to their own country like josh hawling ass leaving the US Capitol. The world needs this illegal murderous Russian invasion to end now so on all fronts let us help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters accomplish their goal of reuniting their country and getting back to living their lives like sane and normal people.

(#4919) It is good to hear the truth about the untruthful secessionist trumps

     For 4 years we had to listen to the trumps spew their propaganda on a daily basis and myself wondering if we were going to survive their untruths and treachery. I knew from the first weeks of his appointed presidency that trump was not going to be good for our country. I also began to suspect that he was not going to leave the presidency if he could find a way to stay. It took him most of that first term to figure out how to manipulate our laws in order to keep power for the rest of his life. It started to become clear to most of us on the runup to the election when trump was already declaring that the election was going to be fraudulent.
     Setting himself up for either winning outright and then dismissing his fraud claims or losing and then going full bore on the fraud claims. Either way he had a plan that would allow him to justify his personal ambition of ruling over our nation as he saw fit. So last night when it was shown that he did nothing to stop the insurrection at our nations capitol, it fit right in with his strategy to complete a coup of his own making. He wanted the crowd to succeed in thwarting pence from declaring that president elect Biden was the next president. Which now in retrospect becomes crystal clear.
     For anyone to continue to believe that the election was stolen from trump is now showing a mental illness issue and should be addressed in that framework. There was no stolen election. The obvious fact is that trump lost and that is reality. There are no other alternative facts or hidden agendas by all of us to keep trump from what he wants as his. He made up all this nonsense about fraud and if anything republicans committed more individual fraud that anyone else. It is good that the Committee investigating the January 6th 2021 insurrection is doing the work to show and explain the corrupt strategy by trump to break our democracy and turn himself into a ruling tyrant.

(#4918) Rooting out the decay and deception in our governments

      Like with Vlodoymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden, they are two honorable presidents who followed two corrupt presidents. The corrupt presidents embedded corrupt officials at every level of government and now the new presidents need to weed them out. As is happening across a wide spectrum in Ukraine, purges are ongoing fast and furiously. While here in the States we are slow to grasp the totality of the nefarious integration. Yet we here in the US are starting to unravel some of the deviousness like with the Secret Service. There is much more to do and soon we will see that the CIA has also been compromised. Yet the good of these two presidents will eventually win out and the corruption will be exposed and removed.
     This evening we will get a glimpse of the horror employed by the trumps to overthrow our democracy and that will signal a new awareness among the persistently pro trump followers. When what is exposed this evening begins to tell its tale the denial factor will begin to erode. There is nothing like facing the truth of things when they are presented in a concise and accurate way. Much like debating when one side has all the facts and the other side has none. The outcome is assured and the winning debaters are the ones who show that logic and common sense is their process while the losing side has only their misguided concepts to cling to.
     The necessity of rooting out the rot is to keep the whole of all the agencies healthy and able to perform their sworn duties. An oath is a promise to keep and when that oath is treated with disrespect the tarnish is indelible. We cannot have rot where so much is counted on from all agencies throughout our governments. If we citizens in the United States cannot trust our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to at least hold their oaths above their own desires then those who are like that need to be purged. It is a fact that we have those like that still in our government agencies and the sooner we find them and remove them the closer we get to our democracy working for all the people and not just some of the people.

(#4917) How far will Cheney and Kinzinger go to expose the corruption in the republican party?

     We know that both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are all about exposing the fraud and duplicity of trump and his minions but do they also have the zeal to take on the corruption within the republican party that is being exposed by trump? We will see. I expect that they are hesitant to go too far in exposing corruption as they certainly don't want to be known as the ones who helped bring down the republican party. They are still conservatives who are deeply ingrained with those politics. However they both may be on the outside looking in as to holding public office. Kinzinger for sure is on the outside and unless Cheney can hold off a primary challenger who is now way ahead, she will be outside as well.
     The corruption of the republican party is deep and look no further than moscow mcconnell and reality challenged mccarthy. Both would be majority leaders if the November election goes their way. So will the two republicans on the January 6th commission keep digging up dirt that will eventually lead them to those two current minority leaders? I hope so because dirt needs to be cleaned up regardless of where it is found. Life often leaves us with tough choices but choices they are, and how they are made is what defines us to others. The corruption needs to be rooted out and trump is just the icing on the cake. Beneath that icing is a cancer that has infected most of the republican party. Some are outside that but very few.
     The next hearing is tomorrow evening so we will continue to see an autopsy of the day of the insurrection but as we are getting the glimpse we are also seeing the role many played in that day. Even the Secret Service is being found out to being corrupted by the republican cancer. As the evidence continues to become available more will be revealed and if both Cheney and Kinzinger are going to be the saviors of their party, are they going to cleanse it as it needs to be? There are no half measures that will bring sunshine to republicanism there is only truth and fact. If the republican party is going to survive it must be purged of all of it's corrupted stewards!

(#4916) The tide has begun to turn in Ukraine

      Russia went all out to gain little advantages in the East and South of Ukraine. Now they are facing not only a lack of qualified troops to fight but their munitions are running low. What putin hadn't figured, once again, is the amazing fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people. His massive underestimation of his opponent is obvious and soon his backers have got to do something about it. I cannot believe that I am still writing about putin as leader of Russia. He is a buffoon who cannot stand in the same frame with honor and respect. He is a doomed and injured creature who through smoke and mirrors is still operating. Well the Ukrainian people have put up with his war crimes long enough and are poised to do something about it.
     Zelenskyy has a well prepared army about to unleash its fury on the Russian horde. They could have taken out the bridge over the water connecting Russia to Ukraine a couple of weeks ago but have held off from doing so through pressure from the west. I suspect that it is all about timing and the timing isn't quite right yet. Ukraine has about a 1.4 million person fighting force ready to expel just the few 100 thousand occupying Russians from Ukrainian soil. As Zelenskyy is getting his government/administrations house in order I also suspect that resupplying his next offensive is in action as well. Soon, Very soon the Russian occupation of the east and south of Ukraine will be no more with Crimea and the Donbas being liberated.
     It should be less than weeks now from the full onslaught of the Ukrainian counter offensive and when it does begin all hell will break loose on the Russian side. There will be mass desertions and mass casualties as they scramble to get out of Ukraine. What is left of the Russian sympathizers will surely be dealt with and no amount of crying that will save them. A new Ukraine that is tidied up from Russian influence is about to begin and when the fighting is over Ukraine will become more powerful than Russia. Such is the fate of the defeated and putin and his cabal will carry that weight for the rest of their short miserable lives. 

(#4915) About 8 hours left of the facebook 3 day suspension.

     "Like trump, Russians are liars." This little statement got me a 3 day suspension for being what facebook calls hate speech. Well I would show facebook what hate speech really looks like but then again they would just ban me for the next length of time in their tyrannical punishment guide book. So I won't but let me say that calling someone a liar is not hate, it is in fact an agent noun derived from the verb lie, to be disputed or not. I can back up my statement at any time but facebook says that my right to appeal is just imaginary since they have no one to look at my appeal. So imaginary correct facebook? Or meta, what ever you call yourself?
     So I languish in my non commenting or posting prison waiting for the 72 hours to go by so that then I can try to continue posting and commenting without being in violation of illogical rules manufactured by facebook without any appeal afforded for their misunderstanding or worse their abusive power over some who doesn't think like them. However it ended up I am still confused as to their intent. I guess I will have to get more imaginative in my descriptors and nouns as applied. It is like facebook is forcing us to talk in code for us to speak the truth. However, I am now a firm advocate for removing facebook from private ownership and allowing it to be a public utility. At least the government has an understanding of free speech and what isn't free speech.
     As well the government understands due process which allows us an appeal that will actually be heard unlike facebook. Back to my liar comment being hate speech. If I had used the term untruthful, would that still have violated the hate speech interpretation of facebook? Well they define the same thing and nowhere in the dictionary does liar connote hate. It is a statement of fact or non fact, not an emotional attack on someone. Just a fact to be disputed or accepted. So by this evening I will be back on facebook and then posting the last 3 blog posts I have written that could not be posted to facebook, then waiting to see if they violate facebook's continuing illogical suspension edicts!

(#4914) Another day being penalized by facebook for telling the truth!

      It is absurd that facebook has the power to stop anyone from posting without an appeal process. They say they have one but won't use it with excuses like we don't have enough people to fill the post of arbiter. Well hire them or move other people there if you are going to say you have the due process appeal. So don't lie about it by saying you have it but can't use it. Speaking of lying, I was given a three day suspension, which I am halfway through serving at this moment, for saying "like trump, the Russians are liars." Well they are both liars and if facebook cannot face that and instead say that I am communicating "hate speech", then fuck you facebook for being a liar along with trump and Russians!
     I was also given a one day suspension last week which facebook said I could appeal but that I couldn't appeal, again lying about due process, when I called the Russians cowards! Well they are cowards when they illegally invade another country and then instead of fighting that invading country with their troops they instead willy nilly bomb the hell out of everyone, children in schools, old folks in nursing homes and the wounded and sick in hospitals. Is there another word that I should have used to describe their cowardly behavior? Well facebook, is there? Or are you being cowards by not confronting the truth of what I have just said?
     It is almost like facebook has singled me out, along with others, who are just describing what we are seeing and hearing as fact. Yet facebook doesn't want us to by labeling it hate speech. Well hate speech is like calling someone an intentionally abusive pejorative, not describing their actions on a factual basis. So being held hostage by a facebook scheme that is not rooted in logic nor law is my fate for now. However, I have complained to my US house representative, one of my US senators, and the FCC for violating my first amendment right to free speech. I am as always expressing my opinion but even more so as a private citizen, my opinion is correct and facebook is stopping me from describing it. Shame on facebook and now I am an advocate for making facebook a public utility and not a private one where rights of citizens are trampled and discarded without due process!

(#4913) Free speech under attack on facebook

      Facebook seems to think that their definition of free speech can overrule constitutional protections for free speech. Not only do they think they can but are doing so. I had two comments so far that used the words cowards and liars in describing the actions of Russians in Ukraine and both times I was restricted on facebook for "hate" speech. Well describing the actions of the Russians is not hate speech is is describing their actions. If they are cowards and or liars then calling them that is what they are in my opinion whether you agree with me or not that isn't the point
     The point is that their actions are in my view cowardly and full of lies. If facebook wants to punish me for, in both cases otherwise accurately described, administering hate speech then they need to explain it so that we all understand their logic. Yet they don't explain it they just claim it. Now under normal circumstances I would be able to discuss this with them but they are not allowing a discussion. It is as if their decision, once given, is law. Which is another violation of my right to due process. So my right to accurately define a group of people for their actions which are in any light indisputable, is taken from me. Then my right to file a grievance for the taking of my right is also denied.
     That is not democracy. That is not liberty. That is not fair nor equitable. What it is is tyrannical. I cannot express the truth of the Russian action nor can I dispute facebook for it's claim that I used hate speech. My comment is not about hate it is about defining an action the Russians made. There is no hate there there is only definition. Both coward and liar are in the dictionary as words that have specific meanings. That is what I did, not hate on them  Russians for their actions. That is an emotion to the definitions that facebook attached to my intent. I would have used the words to describe hate if I had wanted that conveyed. Facebook has overstepped its bounds on my liberties and for that they are in need of a liability investigation of their practices and procedures.

(#4912) Ukraine is tired of waiting!

      How many more Ukrainian civilians have to die before the west says enough! How many more? Is there a number that hasn't been achieved yet by putin? I am sick and tired of waiting to stop the madman of moscow. He does not deserve to exist with us any longer than the first day of the invasion. Yet here he is still doing what he does best, kill and maim at will. We the west have been working to help stop him but our work is below average and needs to be stepped up. The Ukrainian people for their part are doing exemplary work so let us not fail them since their work is far more grave than ours.
     What I see in our west is the reflection of what I see in the States. Not a lot of promise for brilliance and instead much more interest in skating through life without helping to pay for it. We here in America are not an overall dominating intelligent culture. We are a hurried to nowhere in particular people who cannot seem to be bothered with real life and the circumstances around it. We would rather be in an imaginary life where the fantastical is the rule and not the exception. The hell with reality! So I don't know how to shake us from this apathy. I do know that if we don't awaken to real life we are going to end up being mastered by the ruthless tyrants who will break our backs for our lack of attention.
     The Russian invasion of Ukraine is where we need to put an end to putin and his dream of world domination. Then from there we give the ultimatum to the rest of the world that no more shall tyrants dictate our futures. The Ukrainian people are now delivering this message to putin in the form of fighting in the streets and we in the west need to help them much more than we have been. We need to get this putin murderous slaughter stopped and yesterday is when it should have happened. The longer we wait the more the other tyrants in the world will learn that we are more paper tiger than real tiger!

(#4911) A day late, makeup for yesterday's missed blog posting.

      My day yesterday was a whirlwind of sorts as I gt caught up in doing manual labor items here at the house and then helped a friend later. I can be forgiven for not posting a blog yesterday as my mind didn't register that I started but didn't finish a post. I started one and then left off because something else came up and distracted me. Oh well. four other times in the last 13 plus years I had not posted on the day I was supposed to and instead posted 2 the following day, like I will be doing today. So now 5 times I have failed my daily blog post subject desire.
     The first time was on day 3 of my blog when I hadn't yet decided if a daily blog was going to be what I wanted. But surely enough by missing that 3rd day posting it became crystal clear to me that I did indeed want to do a daily blog post. It isn't unusual for me to discover my inner intentions through an unsettling revelation. So it began back then and from then on I was committed to doing a daily post. I have been sick a few times in that period and both the second and third blog posts missed were because of illness. I was devastated each time and of course posted something the next day like I did on day 3. The 4th time I just plainly forgot because I do that sometimes when I have other things coming at me.
     Now for this fifth time. No excuse really except being busy during my usual writing time. I find that if I write my blog posting first thing in the morning my mind is sharper, lol, such as that is, and I have less tendency to forget to post. I suppose after almost 13 1/2 years of daily posting I can be forgiven a few lapses and I suspect I will forgive myself, in time. :) there is not much more for me to say about this so I will end here so I can begin today's blog post likely about Ukraine. It is good for me to admit my fallacies when they happen so that I can remind myself of how much more I need to improve.

(#4910) Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine

      Ukraine! The little engine that could. Russia, the big engine, so we thought, that couldn't. Over this next little bit of time Ukraine will show the world just how much putin underestimated them. Nothing about the murderous invasion putin threw at Ukraine has been a positive for Russia. Russia thought they would walk into Ukraine with bluster and take the country in a matter of days. Well they were not able to do that at all and instead have found themselves stuck in a 5 month long quagmire of their own doing. Ukraine for their part never gave up on themselves.
     They stuck their middle finger in the air and told Russia to go fuck themselves. Not only that they have been destroying so much of the Russian army that about 40% of Russia's fighting force has been disabled. The fact that putin is now letting prisoners out of jail in order for them to go to Ukraine and fight tells you just how hard up putin is to get soldiers for his despicable invasion of Ukraine. As putin has no real troop rotations to keep his troops fresh, they are getting routed by a Ukrainian force that is freshly rotated. Plus new weapons from the western countries are proving to being pivotal in suppressing any advance by Russia from their initial gains at the beginning of this murderous invasion.
     I cannot say enough about how the psychopathy of putin to kill at a whim, just so that he can fulfill some ego driven dynastic dream that is more hellish than possible, is the worst of what a human can do. Which is why at this current time a resurgent Ukrainian army is counter attacking to not only rebuff the Russian forces but to force them out off every inch of Ukrainian soil. No, there is no negotiating with putin to give him concessions. There is only the point of a bayonet and the screaming round of bullets and missiles to offer putin. His army will be driven from the Ukrainian homeland and putin himself will face his benefactors with little to show for his efforts. 

(#4909) Many Russians were captured or died yesterday

      The counter offensive from the Ukrainians began in earnest yesterday and continues to evolve as we move forward. I was informed that many high ranking officers in the Russian army were captured and are currently undergoing interrogation. Along with those captured, in the many hundreds, a lot of munitions were destroyed along with their ammo and fuel dumps. Land was also recaptured and the Russian army was pushed backward. The new counter offensive is a push by Ukraine to end the stalemate in the south and east of Ukraine. The Russians are tired and low on manpower whilst the Ukrainians are refreshed and infilled with new troops.
     The Russians are hurting so bad for new troops that they are turning loose prisoners in their jails so as to make them fight in the murderous invasion of Ukraine. The pitiful Russian army is in tatters and in the face of more than 1 million newly organized Ukrainian troops plus the 400 thousand partisans already fighting it won't be long before the Russians are sacked and sent fleeing into their mother's arms. The west has come through with currently enough weapons to get the counter offensive started and hopefully the Ukrainians will not stop with this counter offensive until they have quickly dispatched the putin led invasion.
     As for putin it is hoped for that his inner circle of cutthroats will see the writing on the wall and dispose of the hated war criminal in quick time. He has done his worst and it is not enough to save his ass from the world or even from his own countrymen. But the honor and pride of Russia is lacking so putin may survive longer than he should given the lack of courage by his own inner circle. Be that as it may be the Ukrainians are not waiting around for the Russian people to depose their murdering leader. The Ukrainians have had enough of this and are mightily motivated to end this invasion themselves. Even if it means marching into Russia to accomplish it.

(#4908) The Ukraine counter offensive begins

     Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has assembled a 1 million man army to begin attacking in the south of Ukraine to remove Russian occupiers. What that does is liberate Kherson and give Ukraine the ability to start a campaign to remove Russia from Crimea. From Kharkiv to Luhansk to Dontsk to Mariupol and to Dnipro to Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol, The counter attack on all of these cities will be devastating to Russia and particularly to putin. Once the big push really begins to happen, as putin has called for a time out for his troops, the effect will be swift and merciless.
     While putin is scrambling to find troops to reinforce his Ukrainian positions the Ukrainians are counterattacking which makes for a world of hurt coming Russia's way. Along with the 1 million man army that is now engaging there are another 400,000 partisans who are already in these regions fighting against the Russians. Most of the Russian troops left in this battlefield are there from the first days of the invasion and have been described as zombie like. There should be little resistance left from the demoralized Russian forces and there should be little doubt that putin has spent his last favors to keep his control over Russia.
     The Ukrainian people have shown that they are electrifying when it comes to fighting and I have little doubt that the Russian army is about to be routed in such a way that there will be only weeping and gnashing of teeth from the Russian invaders and their families. Before this Russian slaughter begins in an unstoppable way today or tomorrow putin must be relieved of his power however that is accomplished. The Russian people have got to come together behind this fact that putin is killing Russian lives and spending Russian treasure that they will never see a positive cost/benefit. We here in the west are waiting for putin to be gone and it can only happen immediately from within.

(#4907) Contact the White House 202-456-1111

      Yesterday I left a text message with the White House contact number. The message was simply this: Please send Ukraine everything they need now to push the Russians out of all of Ukraine! I would hope that there is no plan in motion that is operating on a piece meal strategy. We do not want brave Ukrainians dying unnecessarily because we are hesitant to give Ukraine what it needs to end this protracted illegal invasion by putin. The idea that we would somehow be trying to go easy on putin is to me absurd regardless of his empty threats of greater escalation.
     That is what bullies do! They threaten then they see how we will react. Well my one consistent reaction is to tell that piece of shit motherfucker putin to go fuck himself. I will never back down from a threat from a murdering coward who hides behind his words of claptrap. What we in the west, despite the macron's of the world, need to be listening to is Zelenskyy, not putin. The murderer putin had his chance to do right by the world and not invade Ukraine but he choose differently. So now he must accept his fate for his decision. No one made him decide to murder on a large scale, he chose that option of his own free will.
     So contact the White House and let them know that the brave Ukrainian people are not some pawn in some global strategy that we are playing. Tell them that Ukraine must be given what they need to free their country from the Russian horde. We are a democracy. and so is Ukraine. Russia is an autocracy and there should be no daylight between what Ukraine needs from us and what and what we should be giving them to protect their democracy. Russia doesn't get to dictate what we do to help Ukraine defend and expel the war criminal putin. This battle in Ukraine is much bigger than Russia and it's bullshit threats. The world is ready for Russia to be defeated so let us give Ukraine what it needs to do that very thing!

(#4906) Ukraine has the manpower will we give them the armaments?

      This Russian invasion is about to end if we in the west can get to the point of arming Ukraine with the weapons they need to push Russians out of their boundaries. I am not sure what the holdup is with the west and their creeping desire to help putin in some way when this excuse for a man is responsible for thousands of war crimes against humanity. The scenarios that the west is playing out must conceive of some worst fate for all of us if putin is not left to his power. I am not sure that those scenarios, if they exist are correct, in fact I would say that with putin gone Russia has a better chance of stabilizing itself in a more pro democracy way than any other alternative.
     I am not worried about Ukraine becoming a mighty power either. They have shown a humility and a strength that needs to be admired throughout the world and having them as equals with China and others to me is much more positive than any negative scenario. So we in the west are needing to get our courage and pride out to the forefront of our lives and make sure that this illegal murderous invasion by Russia is punished without compromise to our own oaths to our democracy. The weapons needed by Ukraine are for moving Russia out of Ukraine, not to annihilate Russia off the map. So let us make sure that Ukraine has what it needs in capability and supply so that this monstrous putin invasion is ended!
     No more Ukrainians need to die! No more innocents who are displaced need to suffer hardships that are of no fault of their own. The Ukrainian society needs this putin genocidal invasion to end now so that Ukrainians can reclaim normalcy to their lives. We in the west also need this despicable invasion to end so that commerce can also begin to reestablish itself as dominant in both Ukraine and for Russia after putin. Bringing the world to peace has to be accomplished and it will only happen when putin and his minions are run off and/or destroyed in Ukraine. Giving Ukraine what it needs now to get this done will not only save lives but it will save resources that should be better used to rebuild and remake both Ukraine and Russia after putin!

(#4905) Russian moral is low and they are running out of experienced fighters

      As with any nation that starts a war, their people are usually behind them. Yet in this case where the invasive war is against a nation of family and associates, it is more difficult to inspire the forces. The illegal invasion of Ukraine has Russia on the wrong foot since it cannot intelligently dignify any common sense reason for the invasion in the first place. Not only that but when putin first started his campaign of genocide on the Ukrainian population he said triumphantly that it would be over in a matter of days or a few weeks. Well that did not go as planned and since then he has been shuffling off a strategy that taking the Donbas region and Crimea is the real goal.
     That in itself should have and did cause some pause from the Russian citizenry but only for a moment. It appears that putin was given the benefit of the doubt since no real strong uprising against him has emerged. Yet now with the Donbas region and Crimea pretty much controlled by Russia you would think that putin would be making declarations that the job is done and it is time to end the invasion. But no, because although Russia has control over those areas, it is a loosely gripped control. The Ukrainian army and partisan fighters have been strategically acquiescing control to Russia in order to regroup and attack the Donbas region and Crimea.
     So quietly putin is trying to reinforce his man power for the invasion and is not admitting publicly that he needs more troops. However privately he is scouring every corner of Russia for fighting age men. We are in the 5th month of this invasion and the mighty Russian army has only managed to barely hold the partisan areas that were more easily attained. He could not get what he wanted in Kyiv. Now that Ukraine is better situated with offensive weapons expect those Russian gains to be reversed and Russia chased out of Ukraine with no gains and huge amounts of loss in blood and treasure.

(#4904) Snap to! Everything is changing!

      I am sorry but I am just infuriated with so many people and things right now. Especially with people who are not paying attention to what is happening. We are in a slow motion train wreck losing our democracy. Yet too many are just going about their lives in some kind of clueless trance. They must seem to think that if they just ignore the uncomfortable truth it will either go away or somehow resolve itself. Or even better be solved by others. Well none of that will happen. What we all need to do is to stop with our ignoring and pay attention to what the facts are that is causing our democracy to crumble.
     Many of us are already far into the defense of our democracy and we know who is causing it. The republican party has become the insurrection party and no one can dispute that. The republican party has been for some many decades slowing moving away from democratic principles toward authoritarian ones. That can be exemplified by them choosing trump 2016. As well the senate leader of the republicans, moscow mitch, has been underhanded and devious in his strategy to stop needed legislation for our changing society while making sure along with all his republican colleagues that rights and qualities of life are disenfranchised from the working middle poor class.
     Our planet is warming from greenhouse gases but republicans do not want to stop the fossil fuel catalyst. I get that we need fossil fuel for a bit as we transition to green energy sources but that isn't what republicans are doing. They are tanking green energy initiatives so that fossil fuel can go on being our major source of energy. It is what they want because they know that before they die they will have had a marvelous life compared to those who will have to follow their mismanagement. That is what the selfish and greedy do. They take all they can while leaving a trail of misery in their wake. They don't care about future generations they only want to have now all they can get. That is today's republican party!

(#4903) We democrats question everything because we care about all of us!

      I started this blog to advance my philosophical take of human nature. It is my position that we humans have two main instincts that dominate our pure form. With a third instinct of survival as a corollary to both the main two. Both, care and wonder, are who we are. Sure there are other instincts that we have developed when we deny our main instincts but those often lead to worsening outcomes in our lives. So I try my best to stay with who I began as. I was a new person when I started out and as such was filled like most all new persons with an innocence that was complete and unwavering. However time, circumstance and the rigmarole of events, too many not in a good way, changed that for me.
     I became more cynical of practices and people. Especially those practices I had no control over and the people who followed along mostly unaware of their doings. Yet, I found a way to make sense of things after some time and then began to incorporate the care and wonder back into my life in substantial ways. I removed myself from the areas that were incoherent and chaotic. The reason being is that incomprehension was causing me more problems that living in solutions. I like solutions when they are proper and correct and disdain illogic wherever and whenever I am around it. Life is not an eternal existence. It is short and afflicted with an aging process.
     So knowing my limitations and advantages, I live for the present and future in order to keep a semblance of peace in my soul. Because when I am living in care and wonder, those around me are happily affected by that. Even typing this out into the ether is a positive as opposed to nothing or a negative. I have aligned myself with the democratic party because it is more in tune with our true natures. We democrats want the best for all of us. We want to help where we can and not be an obstacle where we shouldn't be. There is no other political party that has what we democrats have. Our natures are to be of good service to all and to confront the wrongdoing, with justice, because we question the motive, opportunity, and intent of those who cannot find their better natures.

(#4902) Now that putin is spread out in Ukraine it is time to attack!

      With putin's horde spread out across the eastern section of Ukraine and with his forces mostly dwindled down by 40% since the illegal Russian invasion began, it is time to counter attack them in smart and strategic ways. The Ukrainians for their part need to be supplied with enough counter offense weapons to do the job that they themselves have proven highly capable of deploying. The Ukrainian spirit is not something to ever be discounted. They know that this murderous invasion by putin is their last stand and if they are going to be successful in beating back the Russian horde they have to be diligent, supplied, and ever aware.
     For those of us on the outside who are advocating for more weapons and financial assistance for Ukraine we neither can let up. This war for the soul of democracy halfway around the world is not some abstract concept. It is real with devastating results. I only speak of the Ukrainian losses and harm. The Russian losses and harm are the appropriate price they pay for following a madman into a purposeful genocide of a decent and respectful Ukraine. This attack by Russia for no other reason than to acquire Ukrainian land is a crime against humanity and when this abhorrent episode of malicious murder is done the guilty in Russia will pay hard!
     I keep waiting for the Kremlin to put a stop to all of this but it seems they too are complicit in the madman's pursuit. Otherwise some intelligent person would put putin out of office and redirect the miserable looming future for Russia. As each day goes by Russia falls exponentially behind in what will be its recovery. However the Kremlin has decided it appears to let things play out further thus leaving Russia far more vulnerable to its inescapable fate of retribution and its eventual growing financial costs. Ukraine will not be defeated nor will any land in Ukraine be annexed by Russia. All Russia will get out of this murderous invasion is a butt kicking, a black eye, and an empty national treasury!

(#4901) Everything in life would be simpler and easier if we just get rid of republicans!

      It is the republican party that is denying rights that were already given to us in the past. It is the republican party behind the scenes creating problems that they later blame on democrats for not solving. It is the republican party that is voting against any common sense solution to the problems they created. It is the republican party that has it's fingers all over the insurrection at our national capitol. It is the republican party that is about to criminalize birth control and same sex marriage. It is the republican party that wants 10 year old children to be forced to bear the child from an incestial rape.
     It is the republican party that has no plan to stop mass shootings at schools except to offer thoughts and prayers. It is the republican party that wants to criminalize cross state movement of women who are pregnant. It is the republican party that wants all of us to have to accept and pray to a god of their choosing. It is the republican party that wants to end Social Security that is vital to protecting the golden years of seniors. It is the republican party that wants to end Medicare/Medicaid because they don't see why anyone should be allowed to pay less than market value for goods and services. It is the republican party that has no lie filter as to what it will say to get your vote.
     It is the republican party that has perpetuated a war between social status, gender, and racial differences. The republican party is a cancer on the body politic. They have but one purpose on Earth, to deceive and manipulate the electorate so that we undo our democracy. The disinformation that comes out of their strategies is typical of tyranny and the debasement of others. Somewhere along the line we have to find the will to protect our democracy from within. We have done it well from without but from within we are not so adept. We will lose our democracy in the next few years if we don't stop voting for the republican party. They only want power and control over us and the question right now is are you willing to let them take it from you?

(#4900) We need to protect ourselves from republicans

      A lot of chatter and upset democratic voters on how we are not getting much done on too many issues. I get it, it is frustrating to say the least and maddening to say the most. Yet there is a solution to this, elect more democrats, Well too many of you are complaining that democrats can't get anything done even with a majority in both houses of Congress and a democratic president. That is true about the numbers but it does leave out a critical reality that we democrats have encountered. Two of our democratic senators of the 50 we have are not going to end the filibuster for anything other than their previous allowance for the debt ceiling exemption. Go figure because I am at loggerheads in trying to understand the logic of their thinking.
     So in essence we democrats cannot pass anything in the senate because of the filibuster rule that says that it takes 60 votes to bring a bill forward for debate and after that it only takes 50 votes to pass the bill from there. So we get a good bill passed in the house and it dies in the senate because 10 republicans won't vote for it to debate. Now if we could get rid of the filibuster rule and make it a 50 vote threshold for a bill to reach the senate for debate then we could get everything done. But democrats manchin and sineam are against changing the rule. So what to do about that? Well, we have an election coming up where there are a lot of republican senate seats up for election. We need to win at least 2 of those in order to have enough senators to eliminate the filibuster rule for the next Congress.
     So when we hold the house and add to the senate, 2023 and 2024 will be years where we pass an enormous amount of legislation concerning our most pressing problems. If not then we are stuck with no action for the rest of President Biden's term. Now ask yourself who is causing us to need legislation to protect our democracy? It is the republican party so voting for them is like pouring more gasoline on the fire at your feet. So instead of complaining that democrats aren't getting enough done let us instead vote for more democrats to overcome manchin/sinema and start to realize the America where we are most proud to live. The election is just 4 months away so do everything in your power to vote for every democrat on the ballot and help the overall cause in anyway that you can. We can do this now that we know what we must do, not complain, but put to action our purpose!

(#4899) The blue wave is going to crush republicans this November!

      The gift that keeps on giving. The January 6th committee is doing a splendid job of setting republicans up for more lies that they may commit. The republicans for their part are doing just that. The latest were the denials that trump lunged or got angry in the Beast. Well we are now seeing that Cassidy Hutchison was telling the truth in relaying the story told to her by Tony Ornato in the presence of the Secret Service agent. All the denials and accusations that Hutchison was lying that were leveled at her after her testimony are proving false. Plus she was being coerced into lying in front of the committee by her boss Mark Meadows.
     It is just one thing after another with these republicans shooting themselves in the foot by protecting trump. I suppose they either have to lie, which they are easily caught out on, or tell the truth and gamble alienating too many voters who would necessarily vote for them if they kept lying for trump. That is what happens when your spine is weak and your courage is non existent. But what also happens is that all those trump endorsed candidates are now seeing their polling numbers diminish. Which is logical since the independents are the ones who will determine the outcome of the next election and they are not impressed with republicans who keep lying in the face of the truth.
     With the Roe decision still smarting in our collective psyche's and the EPA horrible ruling about who can stop the climate disaster, the republicans are killing their chances of suppressing democratic and independent turnout. instead they are awakening once again an angry voting electorate and the anger is directed at them. With all of this happening so close to the election it is a silver lining for we democrats to mobilize our base with some fiery rhetoric to keep ourselves on top of the narrative that the republican party is a lying, cheating, party that does nothing for the working middle poor class. We got this with about 4 months left until the election and then we can turn around all the mess the 6 conservative majority unjustices did on the not supreme court.

(#4898) Traitors to democracy need their asses kicked

      So about 25% of Americans support a fascist agenda over our democracy. I don't have any polling on this but considering the percentage of despicable trump supporters it is a logical and sound guess. All of this is coming about for a particular reason, that being racism. For several years the statistics have shown that the percentage of the white race here in America is dwindling. So in the very near future, say in about 10 years the white race will actually become a minority. Boo the fucking hoo! As someone who doesn't care what a persons race is I could care even less than nothing about racists crying foul.
     But there you have it. Racism is still a negative trait among too many whites. How unbecoming of the not white races for daring to challenge the dominant ignorant white supremacy thinking of too many whites. So now what we have is an idiotic and harmful not supreme court working overtime to destroy rights for all citizens while working overtime to keep republicans in power. Why republicans you may ask? Well it is a simple answer, republicans support white majority principles of racism. I don't get it myself but then again I am an intelligent person. I know that skin color has nothing to do with content of character.
     For me Dr. King nailed it when he said that content of character is the factor to weigh when judging another person, not abstract features like dimension and color. The human species is not unique in the overall picture. We are all mostly the same in too many different ways so to carve out specific non intelligent ones as a way to divide us is purposeful and mentally unhinged. But if the white race baiting republicans are so intent on having their way they will have to fight the rest of us for it. No good luck with that. Because we will not back down from threats or intimidation. Instead we will stand up and confront in a way that best expresses our disdain for those who would usurp our democracy!