(#5262) Why do republicans insist that racism remain active?

      I know what kind of person I am and none of it is as a racist. But republicans deem that being a racist is okay with them. They won't admit it out loud because they are not heroes but they do as racists do without being honest about it. They tell you stories about how the white people are being castigated for something their ancestors did and even then they don't hardly admit that their ancestors were wrong in what they did. The black race has had over 400 years of slavery attached to them from these American shores. Then after slavery was legally abolished they were subjected to discrimination in so many ways that blacks were constantly condemned as inferior and not worthy of the American dream.
     It wasn't until 1964 that federal law prohibited practices of racial discrimination. Yet as I lived in those days the Jim Crow laws were hard to undo. In 1971, federal law required busing of white students to black schools and black students to white schools as a means to integrate our schools instead of allowing them to stay segregated. The political and judicial leaders of that time understood that although racism was being addressed through law the practical effect of segregation on the ground was still being practiced. Our leaders of that time were looking for solutions to racism not ways to deny racism existed. Unlike the 6 not supreme justices of republican persuasion who think that the law cannot allow for harms to be rectified when it comes to race.
     All this corrupted majority supreme court can offer is that racism is not a factor. Well these 6 uniformed justices are not the mainstream consciousness of the moral arc that Dr. King spoke about. Instead they are reactionaries to their bases who are still fomenting hurt and hatred for losing the civil war. If republicans could have their way not only would blacks still be enslaved but all who are not wealthy would suffer the same fate. Yesterday was once again a dark chapter in American history with the banning of affirmative action as a partial solution to 400 years of slavery and then another 150 years of discrimination that is still active. Shame on republicans for embracing racism instead of equality.

(#5261) We are all fractured souls

      I know this for a fact. Because you cannot live in this existence without having experienced pain and suffering from one degree to another. We also are all not receivers of everything we ever wanted. We also do not get away from the heartbreak over loss. Our souls are not those of our young youth when most of us had the innocence of our beginning. We learned that life is harsh and not as protective of us when we needed it most. We grew up to realize that whatever we get to do in life will largely depend on our own willingness to attain it and a modicum amount of luck. Some currently enjoy privilege and advantage but they also do not escape their souls being cracked or broken.
     All of this to say that nothing in life is a given except some of the simple things that are becoming less apparent. So instead of crying or getting angry about it we instead need to accept that in a world with 7.8 billion people in it we are not the center of it. We are just another individual in a huge pile of individuals. That statement about get busy living or get busy dying always sticks in my mind because it does cover a multitude of our decisions. I live in a world that has not promised me anything but is trying to give me an opportunity to strive for a possibility.
     All I have to do is put in the work and aim high to hope for it. Most likely I won't achieve it but occasionally I do. What you won't find with me is a quitter. I won't give up on life because it is hard or unfair. The hard I can accept for now but the unfair is something that I fight with all my might against. The unfair can be reversed and should be as quickly as possible. Because what we need in our democracy is fairness so that all can have a shot at their dream. I didn't say they would attain the dream but at least have a shot at it no different than anyone else.
     

(#5260) Ukraine's veil of secrecy at the front lines

      I am already hearing from some reporters that Ukraine has hit a wall against Russian defenses on the front lines. All because Ukraine has not made any updates over the last few days. I can see why the reporters might think that Ukraine has hit a wall on the front but not really. Ukraine has the upper hand and Russia has so much going badly for it that I for one cannot believe that Ukraine is losing momentum right when they should be routing the Russians. It is my assumption that Ukraine is keeping movements along the front line secret in order to capitalize on the Russian ineptitude. No sense in letting Russians know any information they might otherwise not get.
     Keeping secret what the Ukrainian strategy may be in the near future will only add to the mystery of where Ukraine will deploy their massive reserve units. I am okay with not knowing the daily movements of the Ukrainian army if it will keep at least one Ukrainian soldier from dying. The time is now for the vaunted Ukrainian counter offensive and springing it upon the Russian forces is surely close at hand. I could be wrong and the Russians might all of a sudden have become greater than what they have shown over the last more than a year but that to me seems like wishful thinking. The more likely scenario is that Ukraine is about to spring it's full counter offensive and is practicing silence to keep it secret as long as possible.
     The Russian military has been demoralized for many months and the supplies to it have been spotty at best while the Ukrainians have been energized and well equipped with munitions. It just doesn't seem logical that Russia has all of a sudden gotten greater than the Ukrainian forces. With radio silence as it were the idea that something big is about to happen is not unknown so that is where I come down on this latest information blackout. Strategy is on the side of the aggressor and Ukraine is absolutely the aggressor as Russia has been forced to react instead of being proactive. I hope my intuition here is correct and the long awaited Ukrainian counter offensive is about to unleash it's fury upon the heads of those who would stand against it.

(#5259) The civilized world is a knowledgeable world, the rest not so much...

      Interspersed throughout all our societies are pockets of those who will not educate themselves beyond their favorite bigotries. They lean into the dumbfounded followings of those who appeal to their prejudices and hatreds. So instead of improving their lives within our societies they choose to deny the existence of intelligence in favor of myth and superstition filled with conspiracies. They find the conmen/women who feed them the Pablum of the absurd and the conmen/women find that dumbing them down even further profits them greatly. The rest of us are left with the skid marks of their illogic and the chaos that creates on our information highways.
     The rest of us understand that logic/common sense are the path forward and that information with factual foundations are the building blocks of evolving into new equations/paradigms of truths. We evolve as a species because we are curious and have an organized approach to learning. We put in the work to learn and thus increase our own knowledge base. Those who don't are lazy and quitters when it comes to advancing their own possible perspectives. They find a false comfort in being uninformed as if it is a prize they win every time. What in actuality it is, is a lessening of their ability to contribute to our species in any way at all. In fact it is a detriment to our species and drags us backwards all to often.
     It doesn't matter what age a person is when they decide they want to be factually informed. As long as the motivation is there learning is a come one come all opportunity. Getting out of old habits of prejudice and hatred is easy when considering the alternative. Choosing anger over happiness is not the choice of a healthy mind. It is the choice of a mind that is inflicted with a deficiency that should seek help if necessary to alter and correct it. Choosing happiness is the choice of a healthy mind and living in happiness with an outlook that inspires, creates opportunities that are appreciated and welcome.

(#5258) The wagner leader may have Russian nukes as his wild card

      I had been wondering why the wagner leader let putin off the hook he had him on just to put himself in jeopardy at a later date. Because we know putin is no keeper of any promise he makes. But if you still have him by the short hairs then the idea that you will survive is very real. Which is what is being surmised now. The wagner leader may well have taken some nukes from the Voronezh-45 nuclear storage facility in Russia. This was forwarded by a Facebook friend by the moniker Back Door Draft. His intel makes sense since the wagner leader isn't a fool.
     Let me be clear here about putin and the wagner leader, both are war criminals and deserve to be judged as such. So there is no good guy in this conflict between the two. Much like two scorpions fighting to the death no one wins when they both survive. But if one loses then we all benefit from a lessening of further crimes committed by the omitted one. Now in this scenario both may control nukes and that is not good if either decides in their rashness that using nukes is a must. But the dynamic hasn't changed. The west will annihilate whomever triggers a nuke and that is not an outcome any of the two desire.
     So how this may play out if true will be for the near future to decide. But if true it does explain the sudden reversal of the wagner leader to continue marching on Moscow. With nukes he has a huge bargaining chip that will not only keep himself alive from putin's death squads but to also influence politics and military strategy at the kremlin. What does change though are the front lines in Ukraine. With ordinary Russians emboldened by the initial wagner disobedience to putin they are now emboldened to protest more vociferously and putin needs to bring troops from Ukraine's occupied territories back to Moscow to protect the current wounded leadership. Ukraine should then have a bit easier time advancing and kicking the Russian horde out of Ukrainian territory.

(#5257) The farce of yesterday in Russia

      What was expected to be a showdown between the wagner leader and putin turned into a bust. Negotiations were held at the last minute if we believe this was a true showdown and instead turned into a blackmail success by the wagner leader. He extracted concessions from putin that on the face of it had nothing to do with removing the defense minister. Which was the main thrust of the march to Moscow by the wagners. There may be a deal later in the coming months that will remove the defense minister but we don't know yet if that was part of the negotiations. All we know for sure is that the march to Moscow to replace the leadership there is now over.
     However this momentary saga concludes the effect it has had on the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine is overwhelmingly negative. The Russian troops had little motivation in Ukraine before this latest upheaval between the wagner leader and putin. Now their motivation is even worse in that the wagner leader exposed putin for his true intentions in attacking Ukraine. If there were any Russian patriots still fighting in Ukraine their souls were crushed to find out that they were giving their lives so the billionaires could make more money. I now expect to see more movement from the Ukrainian counter offensive to oust Russian occupiers from Ukrainian soil in the next few days.
     As to to the current turmoil in Russia there is some relief that an all out war between the wagners and the Russian government has been averted but the underlining problems still exist. The kremlin, putin and the oligarchs are now exposed as complicit in the false narrative that Ukraine was a threat to Russia. How the Russian propaganda machine will spin this latest fiasco will require an imagination of some incredulity by the Russian people to accept. The days are now clearly numbered for putin and his allies but what form that numbering takes is still murky at the moment. Tomorrow should at least answer some of the questions that are too numerous to equate today.

(#5256) The slow boil that was the Russian implosion has now heated up!

      Little did I know that yesterday morning when all seemed like a slow process toward Russian implosion would by noon turn into a hot simmering mess. The wagner leader, who is a Russian ally and mercenary army founder, has declared war on the Russian ministry of defense. He is pissed off at the Russian military for not giving him timely weapons and other supplies, among other things, to help keep his army from being decimated by Ukrainian forces. In fact he claims that the Russian military actually attacked and killed a large handful of his troops while they were encamped in Russian held occupied territory.
     So now he wants to go to Moscow with his 25,000 strong private army and take over the ministry of defense. At least that is what he is showing but the leader of the wagners is also fortifying an area near Ukraine where Russia is storing and distributing logistical and tactical weapons and supplies. By cutting off Russian access to their supply hub the leader of the wagners is also cutting off a major supplier of armaments to the Russian army fighting in Ukraine. All of this civil war like moment is a great advantage to the Ukrainians as they will now more than ever be able to break through the Russian defenses and pour into the Russian occupied territories to reclaim them.
     As to what happens to putin and his kremlin allies we shall shortly see as the leader of the wagners is not playing around. He could well be trying to create a coup within Russia and install himself as the power behind Russian politics. As I am writing this I am itching to get over to Ukrainian news so that I can see the latest developments since last night. The victory Ukraine has been planning on achieving for the last 17 months is now closer than ever as this civil uprising by the wagners may well ensnare the fancy of the Russian people to have a way out from under putin's boot on their neck.

(#5255) The slow boil that is the Russian implosion

      Using kitchen metaphors today. The heat is on at the front lines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With all burners burning hot Ukraine is advancing on most every front which makes for the Russian occupation an indefensible strategy. Russia had thought they could defend against the looming Ukrainian counter offensive and for the most part are trying to do just that. But they don't have enough munitions and troops to effectively cover the over 1000 mile long front line. Also Ukraine is attacking Russia deep into Russian held Ukrainian occupied territory disrupting supply lines and ammunition depots/troop concentrations/bridges. Russia is currently without a solution to the Ukrainian strategy of attacking everywhere instead of just rushing forward in a massive assault.
     To put it into a different perspective, Russia has prepared for a single course meal while Ukrainians are eating everything on the menu. Ukraine will overwhelm the Russian forces everywhere not just in a few areas. This is not D-Day when the allies of World War II stormed the beaches at Normandy. No, this is a storming everywhere along the front lines. Which Russia cannot defend against. Russia had hoped to move it's reserves to certain places to staunch a specific Ukrainian attack. But Ukraine is not attacking in only one place they are spread out and attacking most everywhere. Russia cannot defend against this strategy and will shortly be shown that they have been beaten in Ukraine. The long awaited Ukrainian counter offensive is a massive amount of small ones that have caught Russia with no strategic defense.
     The incredible effectiveness of the Ukrainian army and it's leaders is beyond impressive. Here was this behemoth on their border threatening to annihilate them and as it turns out the supposed behemoth was all water and no soup. The history books that will be written about this stupefying attack by putin and his kremlin acolytes will not fail to document every arrogant misstep that the Russian leadership advanced. Beyond the end of this disaster putin has implemented in Ukraine is the reality of a Russian state that will break down into lesser states of which several may eventually turn to democracy themselves. I cannot emphasize just how much putin underestimated the will of people who want to live as free human beings. Ukraine has shown the world this will and we would be wise to never forget it.

(#5254) A day in the life...

      Okay so I just wrote a blog post about my upcoming day and it just disappeared as if it was never written. Some days are funky and this one is starting out to be one of those. It isn't easy writing about a subject and then for it to disappear and not be able to retrieve it so here goes my second attempt to express what I thought was okay the first time around. I am going to work on my brother john's pickup truck this morning. His outside door handle on the drivers side has come loose from the opening mechanism inside the door frame. So I will be taking the inside door panel off so I can assess what the problem is. I called the local auto parts store and they have his handle in stock so that at least was a good start.
     Also today John's social services case worker is coming over to assess John's needs going forward. We have been using a care worker for the last 3 weeks and as yet she hasn't been paid. But she knew that coming into this and after this visit she should be hooked up into the system so that she can submit her hours for pay. She works hard and is consistent in being here in an almost constantly needed way. After the case worker arrives we hope she will most certainly assign John near to 24/7 care hours so an additional care worker will need to be found. John is doing okay but he is still mostly bedridden, albeit we have begun transporting him to the toilet and back from his bed using his new wheelchair that is thinner and his walker. The trip is only about 12 feet but for John it is a major accomplishment.
     Finally today sometime a memorial service will be held up in Washington state for my parents who both passed away within about 6 months of each other. They are both in the form of ashes and will be laid to rest together at a gravesite. Both Dad and Mom have many extended family up in Washington and they will get a chance to say goodbye to them for the final time. Dad and Mom lived down here in my area of Sacramento, California so I had the chance to spend time with them before they passed and that is what I will remember. I don't like funerals and won't be going but others do so I will be quiet mostly and respect their form of coping and closure.

(#5253) The republican party is anti democratic

      Democracy is about the rights of all being the same. Really simple to understand when you put it into a few words that encapsulate a wide ranging definition. For democracy to work all of us have to respect the rights of all of us not just some of us. Whether you are of a persuasion that is not the same as anyone else or not. You have the right to be yourself as long as you are not infringing on the rights of others and are doing no harm to anyone else. With that in mind we can see that gender and race are not to be used as disqualifiers of any right that another holds. So why does the republican party continue to separate out the races when it comes to voting through gerrymandering? Why do the republicans continue to hold women back from equal rights?
     The question of why is for mental health officials to answer because it takes a mind of disarray to want to deny others what they themselves enjoy. Being cruel to others is a mental health issue, not only a political or economic one. For people who live in a democracy to want to take democracy away from others who live in the same democracy is a deep and dark failure of intellect and intuition. But both those of intellect and intuition are encultured to a large degree and must be put to the light of day so that they can be exposed as abnormal and unjust intellect and intuition acculturation. We cannot fail to do this in order to correct the inherent wrongness of denying others what we enjoy for no other reason than a personal mental inability.
     Many liken the anti democratic posture of too many Americans as a cognitive dissonance to explain their irrationality. It is good to put a name to things that are not consistent with logic but the naming of it does not correct the illogic. Most people when offered an equation that proves correct accept that and add that equation to their thought processes. Yet we have too many once again who do not. They will not accept the reality of rationality as a conclusion if it interferes with their long held belief or behavior. Again, a mental disorder that needs more than words to overcome. Somewhere inside the heads of these cognitive dissonant souls is a broken link between reason, analysis, and conclusion that has roots deep in their psyche and needs addressed as a priority to help change their concepts of attitude and behavior.

(#5252) Ukraine is using it's counter offensive to end the Russian occupation

      Many thought that Ukraine's counter offensive was primarily to advance the front lines further into Russian held Ukrainian territory. But how Ukraine is using it's counter offensive, slowly and deliberately is indicative of a strategy of ending this invasion by Russia, not containing it. With their probes all along the front line with Russia the Ukrainians are looking where the best opportunity to drive a wedge between Russian forces and cut them off from reinforcements such as they are. What the Ukrainians are finding is that the Russian defenses are flawed and not as effective as they would like the world to believe.
     Russia is bluffing now more than ever that they can effectively stop the Ukrainian counter offensive. Yesterday more than 1000 Russian troops died in the fruitless cause of trying to repel the Ukrainian forces. Nothing is going to stop Ukraine from advancing albeit slowly for now but much quicker once the weakness in the overall Russian defense is exposed. Everywhere you look along the front lines Ukraine is putting pressure on the Russian defenses and Russia has no idea where the main thrust of the Ukrainian forces will occur.
     Ukraine is putting patience over hubris and is deliberately allowing Russia to become more chaotic in their uncertainty. Soon Ukraine will know where to attack with it's main force and Russia will be caught without the ability to stop it. Then the rush by the invaders to leave the battlefield will be on and Russian troops everywhere will be scrambling to avoid the sharp edge of the stick that Ukraine has been so adept at applying. Ukraine has been waiting for over a year now to rout Russia with all its might and the Russian army will not stand a chance against these brave Ukrainian warriors. Time is on the side of Ukraine and just deserves is what the Russian army will get very shortly.

(#5251) After their passing, unfriending both my parents from Facebook

  I suppose to some it may seem like I am cruel to unfriend my departed parents from my Facebook account. Both of them, Joanne and then William passed within the last 9 months. But for me it is all about letting them go. When I see their pages pop up because some other family member posts something on their pages it brings about a sense of morbidity to me. I may be unusual in that way because I have always thought that communing with the dead is a silent private matter not for public display. I also get that feeling again of utter loss that is like a gut punch and I can do without that feeling.  
     I loved both my parents and enjoyed being able to communicate with them occasionally on Facebook but they are no longer around to do that. Holding onto their pages is somewhat like pretending they are still here and I won't do that. As well some family members are posting as Mom and it is a bit too much for me. I get how others could see their relationships with my Mom and Dad and do differently than I but I won't be around to view it. My memories of my parents is what I keep in my mind and that is because certain things remind me of them and I can associate how they were in a context that is normal and welcoming.
     Defining who we are, to me, has not been about who we professed to be but how we lived within our normal natures of character and how those behaviors manifested themselves. Both my parents were good decent human beings who wanted the best for everyone. They did not become scrooge like or condescending to those who were less experienced or naive about the ways of the world in general. They practiced good values by being helpful and caring. That is what I remember about them and it was their greatest contribution to instilling in me a sense of duty and responsibility to our human being race and those other beings under our stewardship.

(#5250) A restful Sunday here at my home

      I cannot stress, lol., how much I need to spend one day without the rigmarole that all my previous many many days have provided. just one day to eat sleep and more of that. I would be so grateful for that. So far so good today as I did have some early morning issues around the care of my brother John but that quickly changed into positives so no harm no foul. I also made a breakfast for all of us of sausage biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs. That went well and we all got our fill of that. Once I cleaned up the mess and got the kitchen beck to it's normal state I was able to take a nap and now have just woken up.
     I am sitting here typing this with the plan to watch a little television and then take another well deserved nap. I got all my outside work done yesterday that was nagging on me, from me, so that is a heap of dread off my shoulders. The yard for all it's brownness is still looking good, at least clean. I have work again tomorrow and that will not be a chance to rest further so today is the day to let my body feel little to nothing for a few hours and heal where I have been gathering bumps and bruises over the many several months preceding. I so do need today to be quiet and uneventful with no unexpected twists and turns.
     I kind of feel selfish in a way since so many don't get to find a day to just delink from all that is happening around them long enough to find some quality sleep with no guilt attached to it. But that is out of my control and all I can do is keep myself from becoming a much lesser version of who I want to be. I hope everyone is able to find their peace today on this fathers day celebration, but like I say all days are fathers and mothers and all the rest of the family unit members day. No one day identifies us as anything as all we are. But during these days that do try, I can only hope we all can find some rest for the moment and recharge ourselves for the coming days where we have much to do and little time to do it.

(#5249) You have to find happy people to fill in your life

      I don't care what anyone brings into my life. As long as it is from a happy place. I have endured toxic relationships for the most part of my early life and never has it been a value to me. Nothing good comes from having negative or ignorant people sharing my limited time here in existence. It is okay to start from an ignorant position as long as that person or myself evolve from that ignorance. But for those who don't, who willfully remain ignorant by choice, then leave them out of your life. I know a lot of us are dependent upon people we would rather not associate with but remember, whatever help they may be giving you has to be weighed with your own personal sanity and mental well being.
     Of course there are abusive relationships that cannot easily be undone but making a start to undoing them is better than remaining in them. I know some people let their fear decide what to do but fear is not a tool you would have others see you utilize if you care anything about yourself and those who depend on and learn from you. Life is not a cookie cutter paradigm. Each of us has a duty to ourselves and those we care about. That duty requires us to remove ourselves from people who are not worthy of our presence. There is also the old saw about trying to fix broken people. Well that never works either. People are broken because that is what they chose to be. They need to make the choice as to how to fix themselves, not you. You cannot fix anything except your own self so stay focused on your own general welfare.
     It doesn't matter one wit to me who it is that I must remove from my life. Family, friends, whatever. Whoever is not being happy as a rule around me no longer gets to be around me. The one thing I can control is how I react and behave. Removing myself from those who are toxic or negative is my choice and I will always make that choice regardless of whom it is aimed at. We, each of us, must know for a fact that we do control our own destiny. Sometimes we are not clearly able at a given time but over some time we can make it so. So always work toward your own control of your life as much as possible and then enjoy the happy people whom you allow to be part of it.

(#5248) Joe Biden is still the man of the moment

      There is no doubt from me that Joe Biden was made for this moment in time. Not only did he serve under President Obama for 8 years as vice president but his service in the Senate spanned 36 years. There is no one in American politics who has as much experience and dedication to service as Joe Biden. With Joe being a liberal progressive he identifies and evolves like the rest of us to situations that need modern solutions. No one can compare to the accomplishments of Joe as President. Even President Obama wasn't able to accomplish what Joe has done albeit President Obama did accomplish a lot with the allies he did have in Congress.
     So with that in mind, any democratic challenger to President Biden for the presidency is a non starter with me. If anything all democrat presidential hopefuls need to align themselves behind Joe after they learn that the majority of democratic voters are in lock step with Joe. The republicans are in disarray while we democrats are mostly united. The next four years are crucial to maintaining and advancing democratic causes that will further unite our nation through equality and opportunity. Those that hate democratic ideals are fewer and fewer and will never be a majority in our nation. So not only does Joe need to be reelected to the presidency but the House must return to democratic control and our senate needs more democrats in order to get past the archaic filibuster rule.
     There are mighty achievements still out ahead for President Biden and eliminating the racist electoral college is one of them. Adding DC and Puerto Rico to our nation of states is another. Along with many domestic issues involving gun laws, immigration, protections for our planet, among many others. What can be accomplished when we remove the disgraced republican party form any obstructing power is not only imaginable but would allow for thoughts toward policy yet still unimagined. The time is now for democrats, independents, and intelligent republicans to unite behind Joe and then give him the majorities in Congress he needs to finish his next term with even greater accomplishments.

(#5247) The importance of standing up for democracy

     Few things in life guarantee a form of government like democracy. Where we all get to decide our fate together through the voting system. Not all majority votes guarantee that they will be implemented but the voice of the people at minimum is heard. Sometimes issues of national security and economics prevents the will of the people but by far the will of the people is addressed through democracy. We are imperfect in our democratic protocols but we are evolving those protocols as we move forward. Our union of states have many different issues but what we all can say is that the voice of our constituents is important to defining and creating solutions that help us all along in life. Again we are not perfect but the will of the people is stronger than the forces that try to suppress us.
     What is of great importance is our ability to navigate our democracy so that it is never undone from within or without. Protections to safeguard the right of all individuals who wish to vote must be iron clad. Protections to safeguard the equality of every person is another area that must be iron clad. There are many fundamental rights that democracy must protect and we the people who elect our representatives must prioritize that with them. The stewardship we Americans show our own democracy is being emulated around the world so our example of protecting our democracy must be vigilant and forthright.
     We can never lose sight of the fact that there are many among us who hate the idea of equality. They want to take more than theirs and leave others with less. They are not believers in the fairness and justice of democracy as their worldview is one of selfishness and greed. Which is why we must all be aware of our surroundings and the people whom we elect to protect our rights. What kind of people are we if we allow our democracy to be overrun by conmen and tyrants? We would be less than honorable. A state of being I have no intention of allowing on my watch.

(#5246) Optimism is good going forward

      With the US now holding the trump administration and trump organization to account the idea that democracy is waning is false. With the support most of the civilized world is giving Ukraine the idea that democracy is waning under the invasion and attacks by Russia is being proven false. Democracy is prevailing even if it is a slow walk to justice. We will get there and when we do our societies of the world that embrace democracy will be that much stronger. We can never relent in the pursuit of justice and equality when they are being undermined and attacked.
      At this moment in time I am feeling like the right things are being addressed to end the horribleness that some want to shackle us with. As long as the laws of the land are applied in ways that leave no one above them then I am excited about our future prospects. With no allowance for privilege nor advantage we can all rest assured that justice will be done in respect to trump and putin. With these two the world has been on shaky ground but as things are progressing the idea that they may prevail in their quests to upset our democracies and allow them to be taken over by strongmen with bad intent is diminishing.
     I am itching to report anything I can about Ukraine and less so about the imbecile trump because in most ways trump is less dangerous than putin. With putin the world is in jeopardy due to his unbridled psychotic approach to life. With trump the idiot non savant, has been neutered and is awaiting his fate without a threat to our world. Both need to be diminished in power and as it stands now both are on track to having that happen. The sooner the better for the world with putin and as to trump he will get his comeuppance regardless of anything he can do to stop it. With putin the danger is still out there for the world.

(#5245) The Ukrainian counter offensive has not fully started yet

      The Ukrainian counter offensive is still not fully engaged but in a lesser way it has begun. Less than 10 brigades have already started actions across the front lines with some important successes. Probing the front lines to find the weakest points is the goal here and shortly those weak points will be exposed. Ukraine has about 35 brigades prepared for it's counter offensive so until we see many more brigades involved in combat actions at the front lines we can reasonably assume that the main thrust of the Ukrainian counter offensive is biding it's time.
     Ukraine was forced to reorganize it's battle plans when some trumpian idiot sabotaged the Ukrainian counter offensive plans by releasing them to Russia. So since then a modification to those overall plans had to be devised. Along with waiting for time to pass to reassess Russian strengths and weaknesses given their heads up on the Ukrainian mission. But those days are now behind the brave Ukrainians and they are ready with a new battle plan that has stymied the Russian forces to this point. Russia has had some successes against the early Ukrainian pre offensive efforts but Ukraine has had many more Successes against the confused Russian defense plan.
     It should only be days now that will expose the weakest points in the Russian defenses. Then expect those 25 or so brigades waiting to attack Russian forces, with their thousands of troops in each brigade, to deploy with a vengeance at the beleaguered Russian troops. This counter offensive by Ukraine will likely end the Russian occupation of Ukraine and by doing so end the days of putin the tyrant. Ukraine needs to end this now while they have the Russian horde on the ropes. The only hope Russia has is to play defense and hope that Ukraine is not emboldened enough to carry through with routing them. Tough luck on that hope since Ukraine is resolved to end the existence of any Russian troop on their soil.

(#5244) Older brother John is getting better at home

      My older brother John had a stroke a few months back and he went into the hospital for about 2 weeks before spending about 6 weeks in the rehab center. He lost a lot of the usage of his left arm and also had a stent put into his neck to help with blood flow. He came home for about 2 days before slipping off a chair in the kitchen and fracturing a vertebra in his neck. He also bruised his back and chest a bit. So after staying in the hospital for about 5 days, they figured out a pain med protocol that allowed him to come home. He is now set up in my living room with a hospital bed and a care worker who keeps him clean, fed and medicated according to the doctor's instructions.
     The first day 24 hour period John was back home was a trial since he is bed ridden and was often complaining of pain. He was not an ideal patient as he was always trying to get up and move around with help from whomever would be there. We did put a stop to that because most important was for him to remain in bed and rest so as to heal from his neck fracture and his chest bruising. On the second 24 hour period he did much better about staying in bed although he is still trying to sit up as a way to alleviate the uncomfortableness of laying down constantly. We have all agreed that he does need that little bit of movement to keep himself somewhat comfortable.
     Now John is in his 3rd 24 hour period and actually slept through the night without calling for one of us to come and give him some pain meds. He is much better cognitively than earlier so he is regaining some of his ability to communicate with long and short term memory. All in all each day John is slowly getting back to where he was before the initial stroke and the later fall from the chair. I know John is not liking how this is all playing out but he has resigned himself to not fighting it. Which is good because he will get better quicker if he does what is designed for his recovery. He likes being home and all of us are now settled into him being here as we have positively adjusted to being of help to him.

(#5243) The Ukrainian counter offensive has officially begun

      President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has let it be known that the long awaited Ukrainian counter offensive has officially begun. Well most of us have known for some time now that the pre-counter offensive began several weeks ago with probing attacks into the Russian occupied front. But now it is on and at some point the thrust of Ukrainian forces across the front lines deeper into Russian occupied territory is imminent. Where that will be can be conjectured, but obviously some attack to split the Russian forces into several parts will be the strategy.
     Using Ukrainian skills at fighting along with the chaotic effect of their strategy the Ukrainian high command hopes and expects to demoralize the Russian forces who are already aware of their vulnerability in Ukraine. The invader putin has not equipped them enough to sustain any formidable defense so as soon as the rout begins the Russian troops will likely be running back home or shot for trying by the Russian loyalists to putin. Either way whatever happens to the retreating Russian troops they will be abandoning their positions and allowing Ukrainians to reclaim their land.
     In the next few days to weeks we should see a major change in the occupied front lines that will favor Ukraine and diminish the space that the Russian occupied in Ukraine. Whether Ukraine can completely remove the Russian occupiers from the land is still uncertain but a major push through occupied Ukraine will go a long way toward a rout that may well end the Russian occupation of any Ukrainian land. We who love the democracy loving Ukrainian people are hopeful for the end of Russian occupation in Ukraine and an end to putin as he is now.

(#5242) Something bigger than ourselves

      Democracy is bigger than ourselves. If we don't realize that we each are not the center of the universe then there is no hope of all of us keeping the bigger picture intact. Think about Nathan Hale, just before his hanging as an American spy against the British in the Revolutionary War and his last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.". That will forever be the epitome of what it is to sacrifice all for the sake of liberty and freedom like our democracy provides. We each as American citizens need to have this credo of Nathan's embedded into our DNA. We who have benefited from so many valorous heroes who through the last several centuries gave all for us to share in their dream.
     I don't have to explain the necessity of honoring their courage when it comes to their success in bringing about the single greatest form of government ever devised. So to not protect and grow it into a more perfect union betrays all who wore our American military uniform or sacrificed on behalf of our democracy. Something bigger than ourselves. I know that life is difficult and more times than not unsuccessful for us in our other pursuits but when it comes to the core of our existence there is nothing more important to survival of liberty and freedom than democracy.
     Everything we have in our lives here in America can be directly linked back to the effects of democracy. Our homes, our cars, our families, those things we desired and achieved are because we had the liberty and freedom to choose them. Even our friends are our friends because we were able to form relationships everywhere we wanted. So much of who we are is because we live in a democratic society. So the idea of protecting it is a no brainer and should need little if any explanation. But I will explain the lack of democracy in just a sentence. Being ruled as a lesser human being with no liberty, freedom nor human rights for all. Such is the way under autocracies and tyranny.

(#5241) Get busy living or get busy dying, your choice!

      After the innocence of life has lost it's sheen we are left with a world where finite possibilities exist. Unlike when we are bright eyed bushy tailed youngsters with all our lives just beginning before us. After the stark awakening we get as we age that life only holds so many things and the possibilities are not as abundant as we originally thought life gets hard to exist in. But that is one perspective. Life is also a continual eye opener if we keep our values and ethics grounded in our lives with the same respect and dignity we should give to others as the same. Being cheerful and courteous as a default position is a great way to keep the best of ourselves and our relationships fun and happy.
     I have a lot of new friends come into my life as well as leave my life yet I don't tire of knowing them all. We are all so unique that nothing is the same from one person to the next as a general rule. We are all exceptional and when we allow ourselves that perspective then we see the ongoing beauty in the world and it is amazing. As well it never gets old. Too many times I see others who have crawled deep within themselves as a turtle would within it's shell. Trying to just exist without making any headway toward new relationships. Well that is not me and it shouldn't be anyone else either.
     The get busy living part of that statement is the staying in the mix of our society without feeling like we need to hide from it. Grasp the opportunity to say hello and actually wait to hear a response. Make a joke of something about yourself as an ice breaker when the chance arrives. Give someone else a chance to wear a smile on their face because you made an effort. There are some in this world who would rather fight than have peace and that is their best answer to existing. Those are the get busy dying folks who have lost the will to live to the fullest in the short time we all have to be alive.

(#5240) Ukraine is fighting for the high ground

      When you look at the map of the battles Ukraine is currently fighting on the front it isn't about the towns and cities they are trying to capture. It is about the elevations that are still under Russian control. From the higher grounds whoever is on them has fire control over most all the low lands around them. So taking out Russian control of the higher elevations and regaining control of them is the strategy for Ukraine in advancing their counter offensive. The Russians for the most part understand this but they also are a political animal and focus way too much on capturing cities, towns, and villages. Because putin likes hearing that his troops are invincible so finding a way to keep their dictator happy is more important to them than actually fighting with a good military strategy.
     This simple strategy of controlling the high ground is so important to keeping one's troops safe from an unequal fighting engagement. So as the Russians sacrificed around 60,000 troops just to gain the city of Bakhmut, which is not on high ground, the obvious is clear. Win for the politics not for the military advantage. This is another reason why putin will lose this invasion of his. He is inept at military strategy and is a harsh taskmaster when his minions fail to appease him. Fighting against him are the brave patriots of democracy, the Ukrainian forces. They are not trying to politically appease anyone they are fighting for their very survival.
     So expect all the battles in this counter offensive to focus on taking whatever high ground there is on the front lines in order to break through and force the Russians into retreat. Once Ukraine has established control over the high ground so much of the lower ground will then become easy prey of their targeted fire. Russia currently holds a lot of high ground on the front but soon it will not and then expect the Russians to turn tail and flee so as to not be caught up to by the hard charging Ukrainian infantry and insurgency. We know how this counter offensive will be fought. It is all now down to controlling that high ground and Ukraine is poised to make that happen for itself.

(#5239) The Ukrainian counter offensive has begun

      From the Ukrainian war videos and updates I am getting it is obvious that Ukraine has started its long awaited counter offensive. In multiple areas of the over 1000 mile long invasion front Ukraine is attacking at weak points in the occupied areas. The Russians who control the Ukrainian occupied areas are not prepared for such a strategy as stretched out. The Russians have little left of armament to defend against the Ukrainian counter offensive so the push by Ukraine to liberate it's territory should come swiftly. Russia has little chance of holding off the Ukrainian attack so expect them to have heavy losses while also retreating to safety.
     The desperation of the Russian army is evidenced by their strategy to blow a hole in the Kakhovka HPP dam in order to flood the islands downstream that Ukraine had recently captured. Their short term thinking has maybe given them a slight advantage as to slow down any advances in that area but the longer term thinking was not evaluated properly. While momentarily obstructing Ukrainian advances from those islands they also flooded their own occupied fortifications in a larger swath south of those islands. Indeed the military strategy by Russia to blow a hole in the dam may well cause Russia more harm than harm to Ukraine.
     The over 1000 mile long invasion front that Russia is badly trying to defend will not stop the Ukrainian forces who are not only attacking along that entire front but are inside Russia with collaborating forces attacking Russian territory. Russia is in a tightening vise, being attacked from Ukraine and being attacked internally by Russian forces opposed to putin and his kremlin troglodytes. It is my hope that with the continued success of the Ukrainian counter offensive along with growing unrest and action by the Russian people that putin and the kremlin are now living for merely for days or weeks, not months or years.

(#5238) The terror of putin must be stopped now!

      The insanity of not stopping putin is getting thick. In fact it is becoming such a pall over our lives that we will never recover from when eventually we stop him. Because others will see that we have no backbone for keeping our societies in order as much as we would pretend we do. It is insanity that we allow one person to dictate and control the lives of so many when that one person is not a good person. I use the term not a good person in the worst sense of things. he is a tyrant who thinks that the killing of others is his domain no matter the cause or the effect. That is not democracy nor a universal right to life.
     Yet he keeps doing his dastardly acts to effect millions of lives. What kind of world are we living in when such as putin can commit atrocities with impunity? All of us had better be paying attention to this because no other paradigm we may think is a priority, is a priority. We can not have a civilized world with the rule of law to bound us to each other if some are not bound by that very same rule of law. There is nothing civilized about a tyrant eliminating massive amounts of people at his own discretion. But that is exactly what we have with putin and his allies in the kremlin.
     For those who tell themselves that if it doesn't effect me directly then it isn't my problem, you are the Ostrich with his head in the sand as a solution to the danger. That cowardly pose is one of nonsense and illogic. Everything in this world, that has to do with craven acts that are inflicted on others with no justice, has a direct effect upon our own heads. We can not insulate ourselves from ourselves. We are all human beings who are trying to exist on a finite planet and if we allow some of us to terrorize and rampage at will then we are not civilized but weak and scared stiff. Well that is not how we defeat the tyrant/bullies of the world. We stop them with all due cause as quickly as is possible.

(#5237) I am feeling my age this morning

      I went to bed last night before 7 pm just so I could get a few more hours of sleep. I did sleep more last night than I usually do but I am still bone weary this morning. After a hard week of work, although only four days due to the holiday, and this weekends chores and much more I feel like I am wrung out. At least I am rested for the little that is worth. Today I will let my boss know I cannot keep working 5 days a week and need to go back to the job I had just previous to this one on a part time basis, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as a transfer driver. The extra days off, Tuesdays and Thursdays, will allow me to recuperate more quickly from my now full schedule of work and home duties helping with my brothers care and plentiful home chores.
     I really do wish I could have stayed on 5 days a week because I like the men who work in the parts department and 40 hours a week offers benefits. But fate has chosen another path for me and 40 hours a week is too much for me to handle at this time. Remember, I am well into my 67th year and thinking I can do things like I am still in my 20's is foolish. The heart and mind are willing to try but the body and reality won't let me. My brother John had a stroke a few months ago and John, who lives in my home, needs me for things that are now more abundant than before the stroke. Having 2 days off during the work week also gives me the time to schedule necessary appointments and outings that cannot be done on the weekends.
     Caring for an elderly person is probably more difficult than caring for a child. In the sense that an elderly person is full grown and a child is still small and less difficult to handle physically. Having some time during the week to not only get some rest for myself but to accomplish tasks for John and the house is the correct decision for now. Maybe in the future other dynamics will come into play that give me more time to pursue what I want for me but that time is not now. Life is funny that way and how we approach our responsibilities, even ones we choose and are not directly ours, is how we define who we are. The die is cast on me for this time being so settling in and making the best of what the throw has shown is what is best for me.

(#5236) The republican party is corrupt and anti democratic

      That trump is known to be guilty of so many breaches of law and yet the republican party stands by their man. It is laughable to me but I am just a logical decent human being. So is expect that republicans don't think the rest of the nation is logical or decent otherwise they wouldn't be counting on your vote. How humiliating it must be for these republican politicians who support trump must feel if of course they are not psycho/sociopaths. How does one convince themselves that the fame, power, and money they could get is worth being labeled a lying, cheating, thief? I would always rather be poor and honest than rich and despicable. But that is just me musing about them.
     They are against anything to do with upsetting the tyrant putin so that shows just how much they don't love democracy. You know democracy, that wonderfully devised form of self government that made America the greatest country on Earth and inspired many other nations to adopt democracy. The American republican party is against that. They don't want to let anyone who is not them have anything near equal rights with them. It galls them to have to share in a political system that is blinded to race and gender. For my first point on race how do you think slavery stayed in force in our new continent for over 400 years? And remember, women weren't given the right to vote until 1920 and are still not given equal pay for equal work with men as a rule.
     So there is no inspiration at all being a republican. All they can look forward to is suppressing and oppressing others who are not them. Not a fairy tale ambition is it? I am only alive one time in this existence and to live as a republican shortens and narrows my rights as a human being. Why would I want to do that? I wouldn't but it seems there are those republicans out there who think they can capture your vote. I think they are the lowest form of intelligent human beings. Because hurting people as an ambition is cowardly and nefarious. The pernicious nature of the republican soul and is clearly a cancer on the body politic. Those who keep the republican virus alive are the same ones who would eagerly walk away from those whom most need help from them.
     

(#5235) I will keep rooting for Russian soldiers to be dead until they leave Ukraine

      For the most part I never want anyone to die. But there are some in this world where they need to be dead for a better reality to happen. Such is the case with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Any soldier fighting for putin to conquer and destroy a democracy desiring nation is already dead to me. So as the total for the dead Russian soldiers keeps climbing, it is at 209,470 as of today, I will keep hoping for more dead Russian soldiers who are fighting to oppress and eliminate a race of people for no other reason than to gain power for putin and his acolytes in the kremlin.
     It is a bit of a disconnect for me in one main way. I don't like the death penalty but there are times in our society when the death penalty is the most appropriate punishment. Same with those who invade another country with the intent to kill the inhabitants of that country. No justification can be made to me to change my mind on this issue. Murderers wear uniforms and as the aggressor in this invasion of Ukraine, their soldiers are culpable for their actions. I cannot fathom being the guy who is the henchman but regardless I would fulfill that duty when it comes ending Russian forces in Ukraine.
     Long ago I came to the realization that if you don't fight for life someone will take it from you or others. So not being a fighter by nature I have become a fighter by necessity. I have learned the craft of dealing with defending and protecting life without the blink of an eye. Because I have already resolved all moral and ethical questions involved with having to take a life when my own or another's life is in dire jeopardy. Fighting to keep others from murdering is a duty that all of us should embrace. We are all heroes and full of courage when we know that the good of the world should always prevail over the bad that some would do to the worst degrees. Even rooting for the death of murderers is acceptable to me.

(#5234) Has the Ukrainian counter offensive already started today?

      On the world clock, Ukraine is about 10 hours ahead of us here in the States so their day started much earlier than ours. I hear now that there is some extensive air bombings from Ukraine on Russian occupying invaders in the Crimean area. A large scale attack on those assets especially the ships that are now fleeing the ports portends to me that this is the initial thrust forward by Ukraine. The much awaited Ukrainian counter offensive had already been postponed due to an intelligence leak that revealed too much about the tactics that were to be employed by Ukraine. So it was intelligent to postpose the counter offensive given the advance notice Russia received.
     Well that was early on in the spring and plenty of time has past in order to make a new plan for attack. Hopefully the heavy bombing of the shores of Crimea is the catalyst for the onrush of Ukrainian forces eager to liberate their nation from the Russian horde. The sooner this offensive is actually happening the sooner the forces of Ukraine can end the senseless attack from the greedy putin and his cabal of worshippers in the kremlin. Much like trump and his maga crowd of unintelligent brutes, putin has the same type of deplorable less than humans licking his boots. The sooner this counter offensive begins the sooner putin will find that trying to staying alive will be his only concern.
     The world is watching and waiting for the mastery of Ukraine over the inept and greedy tyrant who has had his way with Ukraine up until 2022. The much planned and equipped counter offensive is very similar to our own D-Day in world war II. Once it begins the Russians will find that protecting stolen land is not an advantageous arrangement and will quickly, if they care about their own lives, turn tail and run back to anywhere in Russia where they think they will be safe. Russia itself is in a revolt so who knows what will happen once Ukraine gets their ball rolling downhill on the heads of the Russian dupes.

(#5233) The tyrant putin has more than met his match with Zelenskyy

      The absolute necessity of Ukraine's Zelenskyy to prevail over the Russian tyrant putin is because democracy is on the line. That is why so many democratic nations are supplying Zelenskyy with munitions and other nation saving supplies. That is why so many nations have taken in Ukrainian refugees. Because democracy is on the line. The rule of tyranny must never be allowed to flourish beyond any boundary where it is allowed. The civilized world needs democracy so that those cultures within any democracy have a chance to find equality and opportunity.
     A world that has a full democratic system to it is a better world for all. Where no one is marginalized due to racism or sexism. A world where value is sought out in the individual through effort, merit, and talent. Not some notion of advantages and privileges for some as deserves because of favoritism or nepotism. Tyranny is one or more men who think they can rule our lives under their interpretation of how we should live. I will never have any of that. Instead what I will have 100% of a system that gives all of us the choices to make to determine our own lives. There have to be boundaries in a democracy and that is good because so many of us have different paths to follow.
     Our paths are our choice though and following them is not for some other to decide. With a Ukrainian victory over putin and an end to tyranny moving forward, democracy establishes itself in a more dominating role. Our world is not together yet under the same freedoms and liberties but we will get much closer once putin is stopped in his tracks and Zelenskyy can burgeon new relationships in his sphere. I can envision the end of putin and the breakup of the Russian federation. If that happens then the possibilities for democracy increase tremendously. Once the Russian people understand the value of democracy and its potential they too will want what we have and the memory of putin and his brutish rule will be just bad memories from the past.