(#5415) What democracy provides

      It seems that too many need a primer on why we all should be under democracy and not anything else. I can only begin with freedom. There is nothing more sacred to a human being than the freedom to pursue their own destiny and happiness within the law. Speaking of law, the rule of law in a democracy should always be the same for all who seek fairness and those who are held to account. Our democracy today is not quite there yet but at least we are striving to reach that pinnacle. Whereas in any other form of government there would never be a fair rule of law striving.
     Which segues into justice. Being able to correct harms and wrongs in a society is how we maintain law and order. Justice gives law and order a positive outcome that all can support unless of course one is bent toward injustice. Our society cannot function unless we are secure in our endeavors. The freedom to create our own happiness is based in justice and the liberty to pursue it. Which now follows liberty. When I can move anywhere in my country and enjoy the efforts of my endeavors I am truly free to live as whom I am. If I want to marry or have children on my terms then my liberty for example is being upheld.
    Another as important aspect of a democracy is knowledge and the passing down of it. Generation after generation must be allowed to learn facts and truths through the logical process without encumbrance. Because ingenuity and innovation will not rest so neither should our opportunities for education for all who would desire it to keep up with them and apply them toward what will be even a more spectacular future. Keeping our democracy safe and functioning is the duty of all of us and should never be allowed to be attacked from without nor within!

(#5414) trump knows he can't win so he is taking down the republican party

      The pact republicans made with trump is coming back to haunt them. If they were anywhere near savvy they would have found a way to silence him and move on. But no. They still think that he is their best option and cannot for the life of me see that he is their destruction. Me for the most part I am pretty happy about it all because it means that people will start seeing that democratic politics is actually their own politics less the violence, hatred, and misogyny. We democrats don't need to do too much except to sidestep away from the republican war on itself. We need to help explain what they are doing to each other and by extension us as well but for the most part just letting them talk is our best campaign advice.
     As the bickering and lack of cohesion by republicans continues unabated the fault lines are growing larger. There is still another 11 months to go for the next election but that isn't enough time for the republican party to heal itself when trump is the problem. He will bring his brand of confusion and chaos to their inner debates while controlling the narrative that republicans had hoped to hide. He lets the quiet part out about how republicans want to negate progress for the working middle poor class out into the public square with a unflinching regularity. So many key republicans are intertwined with him so that they cannot extricate themselves without causing themselves a world of hurt.
     So as the metaphorical trump ship goes down so do his republican political allies who have tied themselves to his ill fated future. There is no way back for them and when the voting time comes they will be so unpopular that for many of them to hang on to their Congressional seats will be no less a miracle. I will say this about the republican party, they brought this upon themselves. They got a short term benefit in 2016 and are now paying a tremendously high cost. That cost continues to accumulate as trump continues to control the republican narrative of deceit and intolerance. We dems need to just keep making progress on our working middle poor class policies and let the republicans through trump burn their own house down.

(#5413) Russia's endgame in Ukraine is not looking good

      As another winter is ready to settle in on the demoralized Russian army the prospects of Russia gaining back any of the occupied land they lost over the last year is dismal at best. They keep throwing troops with little armor backing them into the killing fields at Avdiivka and Bakhmut with no results worthy of mentioning. Remember denial is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. As the Russian infantry is being leveled in Ukraine the Russian high command is insistent that they will eventually be successful. Ukraine on the other hand is patient and eager to allow Russia to continue it's wholesale slaughter of its own troop personnel.
     The Russian military command, through the kremlin and putin, are showing the world that brute force is not a winning strategy. Yet brute force is their go to plan. With over 326 thousand dead Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil it is no less evident that Russia is not a first class military. They are not even the best army in the attempted genocide of Ukraine. So much for fearing the Russian bear. The myth of the metaphorical Russia bear as fearless and strong is being exposed as folly but the Russian high command has no time for reality. They believe that the Ukrainians will eventually tire of killing so many Russians that they will just give up and surrender to the Russian army.
     Let the russians believe what they will. The fact remains that Ukraine is never going to relent to Russia no matter what Russia does and the continuation of the Russian occupation of Ukraine will only end with Russia being ousted out of Ukraine for good. There is no other plan. Russia will be pushed from Ukraine and Ukraine will become a member of the European Union and the NATO alliance. Russia would be well advised to listen to some good advice here. Remove your troops and personnel from Ukraine. Pay war reparations to Ukraine for rebuilding their country's infrastructure that you are still destroying. Then allow the world to try your criminal leaders for their war crimes against humanity. Do it now!

(#5412) Endure even when enduring seems impossible

      In my experience the worst part of having to endure is the physical diminishment that comes with aging. I know that my life force is not as stout as it was when I was younger. It is almost a grind each day even when grinding is not required. Getting old sucks in other words. But, the opportunity to get old beats the alternative. Yet that doesn't negate the difficulty getting old presents when having to endure whatever trial or tribulation before us. There is no other choice in my book because life is preferable to not being alive. Of course there are times when the sacrifice of the one is for the greater of the few or the many but those are rare circumstances indeed.
     So putting one foot in front of the other is how I endure. One moment after another is my formula for getting upward toward a new or different plateau if you will excuse the heightened metaphor. I used to be able to tell myself just how exciting things would be to move past a difficult time in my life. That old ploy doesn't work as well now because the energy I had for the unknowable future is tempered with the knowledge that there really is not a lot of anything new under the Sun. Before when I was being tested for whatever reason I had an unblinded hope that my life was building toward something special. Now it is just maintaining and existing with less future available for some magnificent happening to occur.
     My endurance is still there for me to utilize but the activation of it is harder to start. I am much like an older battery that is sometimes barely able to start the motor. I do get the motor started but only after a few tries. Do I give up? No. But I admit that life has taken a measure of me from my beginning and lessened it to a point where the struggle to do what was never a problem before is only getting more difficult. So endure I will to push beyond my aging physical and mental limitations toward hope and it's possibilities. That is how I endure, through hope even when it is mostly hopeless. Yet even now I see that the last one little bit of hope is still greater than not trying to endure at all.

(#5411) Keeping dreams alive

      I don't know why I seem to want something more in my life but there it is. I suppose it is because I am getting closer to the end of my life than when I began. I keep thinking about what could be as I move forward in my current state of still working full time to make ends meet. I don't have to do things this way as there are other options I haven't explored yet. I am in a comfortable situation where my options are good ones if I decide to change things up. I also suppose that keeping my thoughts on possibilities helps to invigorate me when I am not properly motivated. Find a way to get through another day is my main concern.
     I am not at an imminent risk of losing anything dear but I do worry about my health with the full time work that is not easily accomplished. I can do the work but the cost of how I feel each day does worry me. I think about the benefits which are very positive like the extra pay and the busyness of the activity which keeps me stronger than I would be if I were not working like this. But the downside is that I hurt everywhere and the pain is not subsiding in a quick way. It is with me when I go to sleep at night and then there in the morning when I awake. I know that something must give but the timing of that give is still beyond my view.
     So ponder away like I have been this morning for the previous 45 minutes on a pathway that is starting to develop in my mind. I will flush it out further today as I have time within my work today and see if it makes sense once I have it all outlined. I want to have my time back but I don't need the pressure of paying bills on a tight budget. I need to reduce my bills and that is the gist of how this idea of mine is shaping. All of this is telling me that my body is demanding a change while my mind is not as sure the change needs to happen right now. I can moderate for the time being but I leave myself vulnerable to the unexpected and my own less than stellar logical protections.

(#5410) Brother John got to his 70th birthday today

      It is quite early this morning right now but later in a few more hours I will go see my brother John in the hospice care facility. Back when he had his stroke the odds weren't good that he would make it to his birthday. But today he is still alive and fighting to get better. The doctors don't think he will make it in the long term but I don't much care about what they think as much as I care about how John is trying to get himself back to how he was even though that seems impossible. But he doesn't want to give in to the idea that he will never leave the hospice facility and I support him.
     The only real avenue for John is his hope and he is not letting go of it. Nor shall I. He called me last evening about some fear he is experiencing and I tried to calm him on the phone about it. What is happening in his mind is that his fears are taking on a life of their own and affecting his reality. What is just television or offhand conversation becomes real for him. This is not uncommon I am told about the stages of his affliction but with reason and calm he can be assuaged. None of us know what it is like to slowly lose who we are in real time and what john is going through is beyond what many of us can decipher. Yet being patient with him and letting him know that I care about him makes him less anxious and intense.
     John is surrounded by good people at the care facility as they are very aware of the symptoms of the dying. But they also are aware that some make it out of there because of sheer will and determination with a little bit of luck. So it will be for John if he is to recover to some semblance of himself. I am happy for John to have made it 70 years in his journey in this existence and today I will be with him for a bit to celebrate that. He wants to come home so badly but he cannot take care of himself for now and if he is able to care for himself I will bring him home. That is his hope and he is striving to attain that but his mind is working against him at times. What we have is today and hopefully many more to come.

(#5409) Russia's losses in Ukraine are unsustainable

      Russia has scraped the bottom of the barrel for infantrymen to do the front line dying and are now left with sending their average citizens into battle. The average Russian citizen who is not a criminal nor conscripted Ukrainian traitor is not likely to want to die for putin. I can feel the ground start to move a bit when it comes to the stability of the current Russian government. Not a movement formed out of noble or honorable principles but one of which the fear of dying is starting to show its face. However the Russian people get to the point where they say enough of this and create a backlash to putin and the kremlin is ok by the rest of us.
     We don't need a real Russian hero to step forward and reverse the death spiral track that Russia is on. We only need pressure from within the nation of Russia to build up enough steam to change the course of Russia's military ambitions. Stopping this putin/kremlin cabal from further activities in Ukraine will satisfy not only the unsettled Russians but as well all of Ukraine and those of us who support them. If Russia is not stopped from its campaign to annihilate the Ukrainian people through the annihilation of its own citizenry then nothing but devastation is plausible. As winter is starting to set in on the Ukrainian invaded battlefield the dark thoughts of the average Russian soldier must be building into plots and strategies to save their own skin instead of being thrown into a continuous killing field.
      The Russian economy is already shrinking and despite it war spending will eventually become even more restrictive. Between the western sanctions and little innovative opportunities for the Russian workers the daily life in Russia is not one of much pursuit of happiness. Fewer younger Russians exist in Russia now with nearly 323,000 dead so far and more to come that the hustle and bustle of an ordinary society is tempered with sorrow and a gaping void. As Russia loses by a thousand paper cuts the realization will soon set in that the folly of war for nothing more than greed is not be born by what's left of Russia's younger generation. How many more Russians will die in Ukraine before the rest of Russia says enough?

(#5408) There is no peace in Russia

     I have thought a bit about this and it occurs to me that the Russian people prefer warring to peace. Already over 321,000 of their sons have died in the Ukrainian invasion and not a peep about stopping this slaughter of their children. Initially there was some protest but that was quickly abated and since then nothing that has crossed my antenna. It seems that following along with whatever putin and the kremlin wants is their stance. Which is why I say that Russians prefer war over peace. So my expectation that the Russian people will finally rise up and say no more is more fantasy than reality.
     A nation that settles for the worst of what we humans can do to each other is not a noble or honorable nation. In fact they are like a locust that only exists to consume that which is around it. I have tried to have empathy for the Russian people who are being led around by a crazed ego centered establishment but I can no longer feel like that for them when they continue to support the war crimes of their leaders. The Russian people cannot go about their lives like nothing horrible is happening in their name without challenging and overcoming the blight that they are currently allowing on Ukraine and the world. The 
Russian people need to change their lives in order to stop the devastation that is happening in their name.
     1000 or so Russian sons die each day so that putin can claim some victory within Ukraine. Yet each day putin can claim no victory. Is time suspended in Russia and does the suspension go on forever? The Russian people can still stop their maniacal leaders but there has to be a will for peace for that to happen. Otherwise warring for the long haul is their legacy. What is the reason for the Russian people to be warring with Ukraine? Apparently it doesn't take much as for now it seems the Russian people are content to have their children sacrificed in Ukraine for whatever. A civilized nation does not do this and the people of a civilized nation would find a way to stop it now if they were both a noble and an honorable breed.

(#5407) I am thankful for Ukraine

      What Ukraine has done for me through their courageous attitude toward the Russian giant is incalculable. The upstart Ukrainians were totally outgunned at the beginning of this latest Russian invasion back in February of 2022. Yet they stood tall and announced to the world that they would not relent to the fear many of them must have felt and instead leaned into their bravery and began the defense of their country with all their might. What has happened since then is miraculous. Suddenly the Russian giant isn't so tall and the Ukrainian fears have all but subsided.
     This in a nutshell is the single most impressive event of my later life. How the determined to be a free people Ukrainians mustered the will to fight for democracy with such resolve. I am humbled by their focus and fortitude. It has been nearly 2 years now since the Russian invasion but if anything the Ukrainian people are growing even stronger in their quest to be free from the shackles and cruelties of the brutish psychotic putin. For its part, Russia is being taught a lesson it has yet to fully comprehend. There are those in the world, like Ukrainians, who will not be intimidated by the bullies no matter who they are.
     I am thankful that a country halfway around the world is willing to die fighting for what in essence is American democracy. How proud I am of Ukrainians. They inspire me to rally my own part of the world to defend democracy at all costs. We here in America have what Ukraine is dying for right now and I will not let anyone take it from us even though that is a real threat with the republican party and the trump cabal. We the people is all of us, not just some of us like the privileged and advantaged. "We the people" is what I advocate for to keep our democracy alive and healthy. If it comes down to fighting I will, like my brothers and sisters in Ukraine, make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep our democracy alive for all the generations yet to come. This really is bigger than any of us which is what the current Ukrainians are showing us now!
     

(#5406) The republican voter will rue the day when we lose our democracy because of them

      The US House of Representatives is controlled by the republican party. The House is the chamber of Congress that controls the money we as a nation spend on our governance and foreign aid. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatening Ukrainian democracy you would think that the House and the republicans who control it would be in support of keeping Ukraine and their desire for democracy a priority. But the House republican majority does not. They think that putin and Russia are more worthy of their support and will not allow an aid package for Ukraine to be forwarded.
     Think about that for a moment. The American republican party is not an advocate for democracy in Ukraine. Instead too many voices in the republican party are for letting putin take Ukraine and establish tyranny over the Ukrainian people. If I have this wrong please enlighten me? It is plain to see I don't have this wrong and that the republican party has gone from being pro democracy to pro putin and his tyrannical governance. So the republican voter who keeps republicans in power by extension are also pro putin and anti democracy. It is logic not some nonsense spewing from me. If you vote for republicans then you are voting to end democracy at minimum in Ukraine.
     What is worse is that republicans are attacking democracy here in America. The republican party is not an inclusive one given the many statements by their leaders. They would rather non white persons be left out of their ideal of what America should be unless of course as a servant or such thing. So not only are republicans anti democracy they are racist in their rhetoric. This is logic speaking, not me. I am only relaying the present condition in real time. If you vote for republicans you are voting for the worst of what humanity can become without honor or respect of all human beings. Just know who you are as a republican voter. Don't hide your baseness behind some wave of your hand and dismiss what is actually right in front of your face!

(#5405) If you are good with tax cuts for the extremely wealthy then vote republican

     I would think that helping the poor and disabled would be a better policy for a political party but it seems that I am mistaken? So here we are in the 21st century confusing who needs help more. The many are the poor and disabled, or as I like to classify them as the working middle poor class. The few are the wealthy which need no classification by me because they are, well, wealthy. But it seems that the republican party has it in their heads to make the wealthy even more wealthy. You may ask why and I will say it is because they don't want to help the working middle poor class. Beecause a lot of the funds for helping the worse off among us comes from the extreme wealth that the wealthy accumulate.
     In capitalism it is against all principles to collude on pricing because the marketplace is supposed to be a bartered experience. For example, when all in the petroleum sector decide to charge the same amount for their product we the consumers are left with no real bartering power. By giving the wealthy more wealth they are left to decide what we pay not we who decide what they provide at what price. Insane wealth helps the wealthy own and manipulate our laws to the point like with trump who started an insurrection on our capitol and is still not behind bars for the doing of it. We cannot allow the wealthy to control our marketplaces because the next step, which they are already entrenched in taking, is our democracy.
     The wealthy don't want democracy, they want some form of power sharing among themselves to dictate all things concerning our societies. The republican party is their useful idiot in maneuvering our democracy away from us to create their version of government that has no boundaries on them and nothing but shackles for us. I am an optimistic person by nature but even I see how this is not anything democracy can withstand. An assault by the wealthy on our way of life because they think they deserve more that the rest of us. If you are sure you want tax cuts for the wealthy then just know you too are part of the duped who will forever be a stain on the fabric of our original American revolution. No doubt as a republican that won't matter to you will it?

(#5404) Fight for freedom; don't be a victim!

      I remember almost fifteen years ago when I started this daily blog thinking that I am about to put myself out there and come what may. I knew that some would be highly critical of my stancess on many issues despite them being positive and equal to all. There are a lot of forces out there that are ambivalent or hostile to American freedom under democracy. Yet the convincing argument to do this was that I am not a victim to others who would deny what our forefathers/mothers fought to bring to us. I am stronger than that and I will fight to keep our democracy no matter what the challenge to it is.
     So here I am today as proof that fighting to preserve our democracy is a value and a duty to living a good and honest life. I don't just fight for myself I fight for everyone who would join with me. I know I am not alone because many every day die trying to bring democracy to all in the world. This isn't just about me I know and is greater than myself. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one kind of Spock from Star Trek moment. I also know who I am. I am no subservient follower nor weakling who would shy away or hide from a battle that has the very essence of what it is to be human at stake.
     I am no great warrior but I will fight in the spirit of one to defend the better and best of who we humans are against those who would take our freedoms away. We humans care and we are curious. We have to have freedom to accomplish both these natures of ours. For those who are against freedom for all let me remind you that no one is better than another. Those who would try to think of themselves as greater than others have a defect within their souls and should never be allowed the trust of any, or more importantly, all of us. Which is why we all must find it within ourselves to fight and not hide from our daily battles to keep our freedom. Freedom is not free when others want to take it from you. So fight!

(#5403) Why I advocate for Ukraine

      Democracy! In a nutshell. The Ukrainian people are striving to lift the yoke off their necks that putin and Russia have placed on them. They are striving to implement democratic principles as a governing ideal while authoritarian Russia would enslave them and make them serfs in their own country. It isn't hard to see the similarities from what Ukraine is doing right now in fighting for it's freedom and what we Americans did to claim our own freedom from the monarchical British. Whether monarchy or authoritarian, the tyranny of both is cruel and brutish with no absolute human rights.
     I live in a country, The United States, that has democracy and the rights of humans enshrined in its constitution. Ukraine does not but that is what they are fighting to achieve. I will always be against the forces that would enslave or dictate to folks their purpose for living. That is what putin's Russia is trying to do to the Ukrainian people and if successful many many more. So not only am I an advocate for Ukraine I am a fierce enemy of dictatorships and tyranny wherever they/it exists. Which is why Ukraine for now needs all of our support to thwart the ego maniacs like putin. Russia must be stopped and pushed back to their own borders with no mercy if necessary.
     We cannot count on the people of Russia to stop their tyrannical government so we in the west need to do the stopping through the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians can achieve their freedom if we in the west continue to supply them with the munitions and equipment they need. None of this is what Ukrainians want. They want peace and normalcy but Russia is not letting them so fighting back against the aggressor nation Russia is their only option. So let us not be shy in the west but instead strong and ready with our fists to help repel the Russian horde from their insane murderous quest to conquer democracy with the freedom and human rights democracy provides!

(#5402) For some of my shortcomings, root canal this morning :)

      The moment has finally arrived where I am just less than an hour from leaving home to go sit in a dentist's chair. I don't dread it actually I am ambivalent pretty much. The last four times I have had my dentist work on drilling in my mouth I have not had one episode of a sharp pain from a wily nerve. So it is with some confidence that I expect the same this morning. Teeth are kind of weird in my book. They are so important for keeping our food edible but are a real pain to keep healthy. I, like many before me did not appreciate their value at a younger age and am now paying the price for that too often choice of neglect.
     Such is my morning anyway. I didn't know what to write about this morning but the dental visit was always in the front of my mind. So that is what I have decided to describe. I spent the early part of my life with the effects of a rock fight when I was 8. I was hit squarely on my two beautiful big front teeth and both were permanently dislodged. So I heard all the toothless jokes growing up until my mouth stopped growing and I could get a permanent bridge fitted. So me being less than careful with my dental needs is baffling in a way because with my experience I should have known better. I guess subconsciously I was doing some things to help but surely not enough.
     We all have our little burdens in life to carry and this morning this is one of mine. Yet it is a positive thing that I can have such work accomplished when it is really needed. I haven't eaten since yesterday late afternoon in preparation for this procedure through my own precaution. I am sure my stomach will be rumbling later this morning after I get home with a mouth full of numbness and an advisory not to eat for several hours afterward. But my mind will be thinking about the next meal around noon or so and that is a pleasant distraction. Root canals are not fun things but I will find a way to make it so. At least that is my goal. :)

(#5401) The struggle between my body and my mind

      I am not in total control of these two complicated parts of what makes up me. My mind is still the young boy who was full of adventure and discovery while my body has become this older shell that is very limited in what I used to be able to do. The evolution of my body from young to old has done a real number on my mind. I have had to slow down my body to accommodate for it's lessening functions and meanwhile remind my mind that I cannot run and jump like a 10 year old. We all have this struggle when aging is the catalyst but mine is unique to me because I am experiencing it within me.
     The struggle is where is the line between acceptance for both my body and mind in an evolving situation that has no clear delineations. At times my mind refuses to stick with the protocol I try to implement for both and it makes me hurt in ways that my body pays for. Then other times my body reacts from previous knee jerk conditioning that my mind as yet has little control over. Either way my body is the one to suffer. I know I am the one who should be able to control these two paradigms that make up the whole of me but that is not my reality. My reality is two halves of a whole that have yet to come to a consistent mesh point.
     So it is with me and I suspect the many other of us. No one said that life would be easy but being in a struggle with my one being was not one of the factors that I thought I would be spending much time with especially given my age and the time I have had to bring both together. I am fortunate in that I have both physical and mental attributes that still have a lot left to give me but the winding down of them is what I must have left off my agenda for living. I will adjust and eventually make both halves of me work together for our own benefit but it is like two spoiled children both wanting their own way. As the boss of them I will find the discipline to mold them into one tight enterprise and that is now a priority with me. :)

(#5400) Will you fight to preserve democracy?

      All of my life I have assumed that we Americans, despite our differences, would always rally around the ideal of democracy. Where freedom, liberty, justice, fairness and many other evolved principles for the rights of humans would flourish. A concept so unique in history that most all other nations on Earth are trying to emulate it. Nothing about our self rule is ordinary. It is instead extraordinary in its application. Yet there are forces out there who would destroy our democracy and stop other nations from having it. They are wealthy and greedy souls who would rather they rule all while the rest of us served them at their pleasure.
     Well now I know that not all Americans are behind the idea of democracy. I look at what the republican party has become and am ashamed of them. They used to be stalwart democracy defenders but now it is evident they care less about democracy and more about control. Which puts them into the same category as those who would undermine our democracy for the sake of wealthy control. The republican party has been nothing more than a puppet for the wealthy for several decades now. The concept of we the people is not a motto they are ever heard uttering yet it is the marrow in the bone of American democracy.
     What we will find out over the next year is just how much Americans will care to fight and defend our freedoms under democracy. We are either going to continue to be we the people or we will not. If not then we the people will be serfs to be used by the wealthy with no respect or dignity of our own. If we do fight and defend democracy then the wealthy who are working so hard through their republican proxies will suffer a blow that will deny them future options for overthrowing our democracy and leave them exposed as the scourge they truly are. Not all the wealthy are bad but too many of them are so cleaning up that group of anti democracy influencers will either occur at our next election or the last election we have may be this next one.

(#5399) The rule of law must be rock hard no matter who commits a crime

      One thing we have learned from the trump fiasco is that our rule of law is less certain when wealthy or powerful people are breaking it. That cannot be allowed to happen. First there is no deserve nor dispensation written into the law that would allow some an escape from culpability. Regardless of station in life. No political public or private office holder is automatically excluded from adjudication despite their protests otherwise. If a court shows an individual is guilty of a crime then the punishment must be steady and continuous. There cannot be a just sentencing if justice is not blind to each person's guilt.
     Our international courts that are signatories of authorizing countries must also be firm and unyielding. Where crimes are committed then justice must be served. There cannot be turning a blind eye to any crime when it is convenient to not see it. If the rule of law is not foolproof in its application then our societies are a lie. If some may escape justice simply because they have the wherewithal to do so then having that wherewithal must be adjusted. There cannot be pathways to escape justice when the majority of us don't have those pathways to commit crimes and be excused from the cost of them. I have not seen one person who is deserving of harming others with impunity. I have seen many harm others with impunity but they do not deserve it. The rule of law must be applied equally or not at all!
     Let me say that again, the rule of law must be applied equally or not at all! Our society will never improve when there are some who can do as they please despite being against the law and many others who cannot. That is not democracy it is more tyrannical. The ideal of democracy is a perfect example of how we all share in the pursuit of happiness without harming each other but only if we are ALL held to account for our actions. Whether foreign or domestic all law breakers must be brought before a court where they must be judged by the rule of law and not by some special rules they make up as they see fit.

(#5398) Do not normalize republican anti democracy!

      It infuriates me to see too many folks who should know better being respectful and courteous to republican politicians when those very politicians are standing there with a bloody knife in their hands waiting to put another stab wound into the backs of the American working middle poor class. This may be a metaphor but to too many it feels as real as it gets. The republican party is not ashamed or embarrassed as they condescend to the many of us and in fact expect us to bend a knee to them as they see themselves our rulers not representatives.
     From voter restrictions to gerrymandering to now even Ohio republican leaders trying to change the outcome of abortion being enshrined into the Ohio state constitution. They don't care about the will of the people, which is the everything of democratic rule, instead they only care about stirring up resentment and chaos so that they can keep power, which is their only priority. When will the American electorate in massive numbers wake up to the fact that the republican party does not want democracy as it's governing principle. Which is why so many of them are putin fans and actively root against Ukraine and its struggle to implement its own democracy.
     We Americans are not the heroes in this historical moment if we don't rally around freedom, liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness with no harm for all. Democratic principles that underpin our constitution, declaration of independence, and our vision for the whole world. The insurrectionists in the republican party have not all been charged especially those who still hold political positions. We cannot have this and all who are part of trying to overthrow our government and those who still maneuver to deny democracy to American and foreign nations need to be held to an account that has the sting of punishment to it that will have no salve. Enemies foreign and domestic is a fact and we need to be able to root them out no matter who they are or what their station in life currently is!

(#5397) I want to talk about uncomfortableness

      This concept has been on my mind for well over a week when I started thinking about comfort. Given the pros and cons of being comfortable or not has found me on the side of uncomfortable. Especially in a relationship. This is how I see it. If I find a woman who makes me uncomfortable around her then that is a good thing when I am attracted to her. It means I do not take her for granted. It also means I have to be on my toes in order to maintain my relationship with her. Uncomfortableness in these areas are very good for me. I am one of those persons who does not expect any deserve or entitlement out of life. I know that every second of life is one where nothing can be taken for granted.
     It may sound odd or counter intuitive to want to be uncomfortable in a relationship but I have been in relationships in the past where the comfort became boring and less attractive. I know who I am and I need to be more than kicked back and easy going as if I have won something. I need to be challenged in many areas of my life and without the need to be motivated, especially in a relationship, I fail to live up to the better and best of what my life does offer. There is an edge to my life that needs to be sharpened so there is no goal line that I am aiming for, no, instead there is an ideal that I am always on the path toward, following wherever it takes me.
     So yes, I need to be with a woman who makes me feel uncomfortable. Not by anything in particular she is doing but in how I perceive my good fortune in having found her. I have met women like that in my past and let them go because I was not up to the challenge of making myself available to them. No more. I am not torn by insecurities nor perceived shortcomings. I am just a man looking to find a woman who challenges me in ways not even I can explain properly. Except to say she makes me feel uncomfortable around her. I guess it is a pheromone thing and a how lucky am I to be liked or loved by her thing. Glad to get this subject behind me because it was on my mind and needed describing.

(#5396) Getting Ukraine F-16 ready

      Having a superior fighter jet squadron with its ground crew and maintenance facilities is vital to the defense of Ukraine and for another very important reason. The F-16 is the standard for now of NATO members with all applicable advanced radar systems that Ukraine currently is at a disadvantage with Russian fighter jets. However that disadvantage goes away once Ukraine is F-16 ready. As well Ukraine will then become at an advantage against Russia because of missile superiority. That is not all. Ukraine with the F-16 will be readily adaptable to integrating many more sophisticated weapons systems.
     The steady track of Ukraine coming closer to becoming a NATO member may well allow Ukraine to be approved of all of the weapons available in the NATO arsenal. Russia is not as sophisticated in its weaponry like NATO and although Russia is a vast country it is limited in its resources to overwhelm Ukraine as is evidenced right now in the example of the Russian "meat brigades" continually attacking the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka unsuccessfully. Although the F-16 won't end the invasion of Russia it is another huge step forward for Ukraine to becoming a stalwart democracy between the tyrant putin and Europe. Helping keep Ukraine free from the clutches of the Russian horde is critical to the peace. freedom, and stability of our civilized world.
     With Ukraine slowly being allowed into the European Union and NATO the die is cast against the Russian putin. Every day Russia fails to advance in Ukraine is another day closer Ukraine gets to its freedom from putin. The F-16 is an important step in this evolution and when the Ukrainians are flying them over Ukrainian skies will be proof that Russia is doomed and Ukraine will survive the murderous invasion of Ukraine. There are other steps being taken by Ukraine internally to bring their society into step with European policies of rule of law and these steps are currently being implemented. Overall the Ukrainian society is molding itself into a major force of democracy through the bravery and courage of its people to live free from the cruel and brutish form of tyranny.

(#5395) A year of worry warts complaining about the coming election

      It is humorous to me and also tiring. I have been through enough of these elections over the last 50 years to have some idea about how they trend. The only election that actually caught me by surprise was 2016 when Hillary should have been our first woman president. But despite that fateful election the rest have been normally expected whether I thought that was good or bad. The same will be for 2024 when Joe Biden is re-elected by a very comfortable margin. As well the Senate will remain in democratic control and the House will also return to democratic control.
     Not because I am some extraordinary diviner of justice or fairness but because all of us are who care about such things. There are too many of us for the ridiculous republican party to overcome. I say ridiculous republican party but I actually mean much worse. The space between the differences in the democratic party and the republican party is vast. Which clears up so much of the confusion republicans are normally able to sow through their wealthy generated propaganda. It is perfectly clear democrats represent fairness for all classes but especially the working middle poor class while republicans only hold a special place in their cold dark hearts for the wealthy.
     But despite these facts some who only pay attention to elections during the election season often spend way too much time parroting talking points that are fed to them instead of researching their own understanding of what is actually happening in real time. I know many say that they are too busy in their lives to care about politics but I say I know you are too busy in your lives and it is because you don't care about politics. One feeds the other. Get informed and then watch your life simplify because there is no doubt as to your desire for the best of democracy and the foundational principles it ascribes to elevate through our social, political, economic, and logical lives.

(#5394) In reverse again and that is a surprise

      I had all but mentally checked out of my position at the storage unit when the unexpected happened. My supervisor asked me to come to his office and I was expecting him to let me go on the spot so I was getting my keys ready to turn in when he started telling me that he had no idea that the communication between us was so broken. He wholeheartedly apologized to me and then told me that the last thing he wanted was for me to leave my position. He congratulated me on doing a wonderful job and that he would be more than happy if I would change my mind and stay.
     His honesty in being so forthcoming and sincere was not at all what I expected and it took me aback. I had already convinced myself that he was looking in another direction for who he wanted in my position. But apparently his apparent lack of interest in what I was doing was not for the desire to remove me but that he was just oblivious to what was happening between us. Again he reiterated the broken communication and that as the leader of our enterprise he was not happy with himself for not being aware. I know he has many duties and is always busy trying to make the operations around him successful and for him to admit he was clueless as to what was going on with me was quite a humbling admission.
     So taking everything into consideration and with an optimistic view toward how storage can improve with me receiving more help and assistance I decided that it was enough for him to clear the air and make a new attempt at keeping us moving forward with a goal of making this storage facility a well organized and successful endeavor. So I told him that I would stay. I would not have thought this would reverse itself since I had clearly already had one metaphorical foot out the door. I actually slept well last night for the first time in many weeks and I attribute that to the burgeoning optimism I am now feeling about how this experience turned out.

(#5393) What a difference a day makes

      All I seemed to hear yesterday was how one single flawed ny times poll had shaken the confidence of too many democrats on my Facebook page. Well after last night's blue wave elections in many key states, the nervous nellies need not be so unsure. Except for a couple of non wins in deeply red states democrats pulled off all the important victories. The one loss we took in Mississippi in the Governor's race was not all that surprising since the democrat was against abortion. Which he should have known better than to strategize against a popular women's health care issue.
     Otherwise the outcomes were very encouraging and add to the analysis that a blue wave is still riding high against a republican party that at best supports insurrection and at worst would see democracy abolished. I don't care how much the wealthy influence polling because like we hear all the time, the only polling that counts is the vote on election day. It is still only November 2023 so the there is plenty of time for the wealthy to rig some more polling to scare democrats if they are able. But those of us who know better just laugh at their attempts and keep highlighting instead the insanity of republicans keeping power without doing anything for those who vote for them. Instead we democrats work for the betterment of all of us.
     Ohio was a prime example last night. That red state that could not be construed as a democratic stronghold beat down a republican attempt to ban abortion. Instead, by a substantial vote, abortion is now inscribed into the Ohio state constitution as a right. As well by an equal beat down Ohioans legalized marijuana as a recreational drug. Both of these issues were heavily attacked by republicans in the red state of Ohio and both passed with overwhelming majorities. A reckoning is coming for republican not only in several red states but all over our nation we the people have had about enough of their callous condescension toward us.

(#5392) The changing tides of my life, moving on or back where I once was...

      I do not plan what happens in my life except to give myself a chance to do the right thing. I am mostly successful at that for the most part but like all human beings I fall short, although with trying not to make mistakes. My intent is always solidly %100 to the good. So when something outside my control happens in my life and it directly affects me then I must deal with it. In this latest example it revolves around respect. If I am not respected to do basic functions that anyone can do then I take offense. I am no young person who needs a constant guidance in order to accomplish tasks.
     Looking deeper into the problem I see it isn't about me in particular that the problem exists but it does involve any person who would be a thinking person. Of which I am. So when I take my work seriously and try to do it in an efficient and smart way I do try that as a default position. Where the trouble comes in is that I have been let known that I am to do what I am told when I am told and nothing further. I suppose that approach is good for soldiers in the field during war but at a work environment where there is no pressure in a life or death situation it is absurd. I do get the need to follow some rules as to courtesy and customer relations. But to be left in the dark waiting for instructions that are often not delivered or when delivered far later than needed in simple situations and not allowed to know things that advance my work is beyond the border of the ridiculous.
     So a coming to a head moment happened yesterday and this week will assuredly be the end of my current position at the UHaul storage facility. I refuse to be a person who is treated like a child in ways that have nothing to do with learning. Some other person will have to be that but it won't be me. I have 68 years of accomplishments and successes behind me which should have given me some flexibility in how I manage my tasks and responsibilities. But not with this current supervisor. I will not be his lackey when all he had to do was treat me as a colleague. Again a much younger man who likes to control things beyond what is available as an opportunity. Well he has lost what could have been a great asset to him and will now have to find some willing monkey to dance for his grinder.

(#5391) Polling

     It seems like every election cycle early on well before the actual election the polling comes out favoring republicans. Well that is not a surprise anymore to me because the wealthy want the republicans to win so they support polling entities that lean in their favor. They can afford to make their chosen political party look good when they pour enough money into it. That is what they do, spend money on candidates, on lawmaking, and other areas like polling. The republican party would be a non factor in elections if the wealthy were not bankrolling them with dubious commercials on all the information platforms.
     In a capitalistic world where political advertising dollars are always being spent the majority of it this early on is being spent by republicans. They know they are fighting uphill against the truth of things so going all in on bending the facts to fit their narrative is a specialty with them. So as the polling comes out and shows support for people like trump who is mired in so many legal entanglements it defies logic that he would be leading in any poll let alone a few. Just let me remind you that the methodology of the pollsters is not the same. Too many pollsters who are paid by the wealthy to conduct polling have to use parameters that sway toward republican talking points regardless if those talking points are valid.
     Here is what I do. I don't pay attention to any polling this early on. What I am looking for are the results tomorrow of the Virginia and New Jersey state elections. Those two bellwether states will give me far more information about the psyche of the electorate than any contrived polling with subjective intent. As we get closer to our national election in 1 year the primaries and the voters who vote in them will be my polling and that is the best gauge I can rely on. Closer to the election some cumulative polling by historically reputable pollsters will become available and I will monitor that in real time then. But for now do not be distracted by the wealthy trying to demoralize our inevitable blue wave election.

(#5390) It is Sunday so back to work

      I like to think that Sunday is a slow day at work for me but it isn't. Not a lot of activity out there in the streets but at the storage facility it seems that many people use Sunday to visit their storage units. So the hustle and bustle of a weekday is more than compensated for on a Sunday. I don't mind really since being busy is my favorite way to pass time at work. it seems that everyone pretty much has a question or a problem they need help with. I can also catch up on the units that need to be made ready for what we call 24-7. That is they can be rented online as well as in the store.
     I am the housekeeper there so keeping the place looking clean and welcoming is my task. I also need to do inventory on all the units to make sure they are in their proper category of being available, occupied or damaged for whatever reason. The damaged ones due to minor issues are easily rectified once the problem is identified. Such is the nature of a large storage facility. Anyway I am sure that after being off the last few days that my workload will be enough to keep me busy all day long. I am starting to get used to the 8 hour shifts although they do tend to be harder as I am older now. However the 40 hour workweek is still a work in progress for me as it seems the 2 days off a week are mostly for me to catch up on sleep.
     My home is suffering some work undone because of my limited time home now but I do try to get after the highest priority items on the to do list. I am hoping that after some time my stamina and strength will increase enough for me to stay even on my chores at home while doing a better than good job at work. I am not there yet but I sense I will be soon. I am full time now so days off for holidays are paid and that is good which gives me more time for stuff at home. Plus the extra money from the paycheck does make a difference in how I can hire some help for the pesky little problems I would rather someone else does for me at home. All told I don't mind my new working reality although I don't see it lasting too far into the future. Such is my state of mind this morning.

(#5389) Being aware is a formidable endeavor

     Realizing that I have a mind that functions outside the confines of my environment is an absolute gift to have. I do not take it for granted or under appreciate its significance. I have the ability to imagine what could be as well as what should have been. Both are future and past time frames what is harder for me is the present. I live in the present so I don't spend much time trying to understand the tick of every second that is happening in real time. I know I can do better with my present but it is not a natural or easy action for me to take. What I do know though is that I can imagine a better future for myself and others simply by understanding and adapting what has happened in the past.
     I suppose for me the past and future are so tightly snugged up to each other that my present really is almost non existent. Which would help explain why I don't imagine much for my own present. The point of this is that I am a free thinker who is thinking. Some or maybe too many find that thinking is something of a drudgery or too hard to be comprehensive about but I say that is not true. We are human beings who are in essence individual probes. We gather and assimilate information because we are curious. It is a nature of ours to be curious which is the foundation of thinking. In other words we humans are biological data processors who utilize our memory for reasoning, analyzing, and concluding.
     Our lives are not long in the big picture so wasted time on the irrelevant is wasted time not to ever get back. I have done enough of that myself so I know of what I speak. So I must admit that it was a cavalier approach to selfishness. But over the last couple of decades I have reinvigorated my attentions to what matters, a purpose greater than myself. To think about what could be with equality, freedom, and justice to pursue our own no harming happiness. This is what I should have been doing from the moment I first drew breath out of the womb. Yet I like many others lost my way and was extremely lucky to have found my way back. Being aware is a formidable endeavor that all of us should fully embrace.

(#5388) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is going after Russia

      Like the kid in the schoolyard who is constantly bullied by the punk, an eruption of emotion with full tilt anger is likely to occur. The only way to stop a bully is to fight back and when it is time to fight back when nothing else is possible then the fighting is deliberate and powerful. I have my own experience with being bullied and putting a stop to it. I was scared all the time and worried it would never end. My older brother told me back when this happened to me in the sixth grade, I must fight back or it will never end. Well I did fight back and nearly hurt the bully badly. After that the bully quit picking on me and was less a menace to others.
     The same situation is happening in Ukraine. Ukraine was bullied by Russia, especially since 2014 when Russia went into Ukraine and occupied a lot of its territory. Then the threat and eventual invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began. This time the Ukrainians had had enough. They told the bully to fuck off and began to defend themselves from the coming onslaught from putin and his kremlin acolytes, aimed at destroying them as a culture. Then in early 2023 the Ukrainians began to not only defend against Russia but began pushing them back out of the borders that were previously occupied by Russia since 2014.
     But now the fierceness of Ukraine is about to be unleashed. After spending months destroying Russian troops and munitions the Ukrainians are ready to punish putin for his murderous intent. Zelenskyy is about to reflect the rage that Ukrainians have pent up inside them at the empire building Russian horde. There will be no mercy for those who keep fighting in Ukraine against Ukrainians. There will be no mercy for military factories in Russia that are producing weapons for fighting in Ukraine. There will be no mercy for military targets anywhere and everywhere Russians are in their homeland. This war in Ukraine will end when Ukraine has brought devastation home to Russia like what Ukraine has been experiencing since February 2022.

(#5387) The military industrial complex is needed now

      I am not a fan of the military industrial complex but there is a time and a place for such an entity and for now it is time. There is an evil tyrant, putin, on the other side of the world, and he is injecting his form of delusion on most every part of the world. He has even infiltrated enough of the republican party here in America to cause our democracy to become perilously close to being destroyed. His lackey trump and too many congressional republicans are doing his bidding, consciously or otherwise. Especially the selfish republican senator from Alabama, tuberville, who puts his own principles above our nations principles by blocking hundreds of military leadership posts at a time when putin is doing more than rattling his sabre!
     We need to protect our allies who are right now in harm's way and republicans are playing hostage taking with that protection. Demanding that we Americans give up our earned benefits and enforcement of IRS rules that hold the wealthy to account. It is absurd that the republican party would not unite enough to stop playing games and give our allies the means to withstand attacks that if not withstood will create even more chaos and cost to us in the very near future. The republican party has turned into such a mess that even the traditional goals of republicans are now seen as secondary to their insatiable thirst for power. Well be that as it may be there may well be no power left to drool over if we don't protect democracy from the tyrants of the world.
     Which is why we need to be on alert with our military industrial complex and its ability to produce the latest weapons of war in order to defeat those who would deny all that democracy affords. We did not start the wars but we sure as hell will finish them and all those who are collaborating with the enemy. Best be seen as fighting for democracy when the shit hits the fan than be caught out working to defeat democracy and be left to our small amount of mercy at this point. For freedom to reign the tyrants must be defeated. It is that simple. So the republican party had better heed my advice and relinquish their advertent/inadvertent attention to selfishness or worse and join the rest of us to defeat tyranny and fascism now!

(#5386) Russia is all in on their invasion of Ukraine so we in the west should be all in to defend Ukraine

      Make no mistake about it. Russia will not stop fighting in Ukraine even if they are down to sending grandmas into battle. This point is clear now. There is no going back for putin and his kremlin propaganda machine. The Russian people have been brainwashed into believing that Ukraine is a threat to their existence so even the Russian people are against withdrawing from Ukraine if it means giving back Ukraine it's stolen land. So we in the west need to adjust our fortitude and start making military decisions based upon the fact that this is the beginning of the expansion by Russia to eliminate western democracies.
     I know we in the west are set by rules governing appropriate military options but when the threat to world peace is on the threshold of expanding to ensnare the world in a conflict that has no good to it then the rules need to be just guidelines, not hard and fast, in how we approach this putin led Russian threat. We must move our resources into position and come to the aid of Ukraine in ways that are powerful and not to be misunderstood. The might of the west is in our shared defense and even though Ukraine is not an official member of NATO it was still likely to be if not for the murderous invasion by Russia. I know the Russians have threatened the world but up theirs with their threats.
     We in the west are bigger and badder than Russia so Russia trying to tell us what to do is a non starter with me. Instead I would dictate to Russia that the Ukrainian battleground is now the front line in a European conflict that Russia initiated. That we in the west will be defending that front line from the Russian invaders at all costs. Russia understands only one thing, strength, and when we in the west exhibit strength Russia will shrink back into its shell and slither back to its borders. We in the west are the strength in the world and we must never allow ourselves to second guess using our power to thwart and abate attacks on our democracies.