(#5598) The use of western aid to destroy Russian targets in Russia is opening up

     It seems the impasse over whether to use western aid to destroy military targets inside Russian territory is being resolved. A lot of western countries have already told Ukraine that they may use the aid given to them by the west is allowed to be used as Ukraine sees fit. Now the big donor countries of aid are slowly following along. What does this mean to the defense and recapture of Ukrainian land? It means a tremendous amount to Ukraine as they are now able to strike inside Russian territory where the Russians have staged their depots and troop concentrations.
     By giving Ukraine the green light to attack inside Russian territory the Russians are now vulnerable to Ukrainian counteroffensive moves that will set the Russians back further into their own territory and make it more difficult if not impossible for them to mount any offensives of their own. As well the land they are currently occupying that is Ukrainian territory will become less secure and much easier for Ukraine to make strategic moves into and eventually retake. Along with the F-16's that are now arriving the Ukrainians are about to turn this invasion by Russia and putin around and make Russia fear for its own territorial losses.
     Ukraine will be satisfied with taking back its own territories but if the Russians are going to be pig headed about that then it is possible that Ukraine may need to take some border areas with Russia to help them build strong defensive lines against future Russian aggression. However the end result plays out the use of western aid by Ukraine to fight with both hands is critical for Ukraine to being able to end this putin invasion sooner than later. Russia had better rethink its present course because the Ukrainians are not happy and are more like a Wasps nest that has been attacked. They will not succumb to putin and if putin hasn't figured it out by now he is about to learn a hard painful lesson.

(#5597) The inevitability of defeating Russia

      Russia has long been a bully in the world with its governmental system that allows for dictators to rule instead of its population. A backward philosophy for a backward country. Russia has improved in the evolutionary scheme of things but it has not gotten to the point of self rule by its own citizens. Hopefully that will occur in the future but for now that is not going to happen unless things change. One of the things that must change is leadership in Russia. Their current leader is a soulless man bent on world domination.
     With the invasion of Ukraine, putin, the Russian tyrannical leader, has shown that his rule is one for greed and power not the good will of his countrymen. But also with his invasion of Ukraine putin is finding out that the world is not settled into obedience to him. He has formidable adversaries not excluding the Ukrainian people. So as putin and his invasion languishes into the 3rd year of battle he is finding that he is about to reckon with a less fearful world when it comes to his threats. He is a lot like the boy who cried wolf when no wolf was to be around. That putin threatens devastation on the world is not new and with him is very old.
     So any threats from putin are now so common that it is evident that he is not really threatening he is hoping we in the west will cower at his threats. I have said all along that regardless of any threat putin may make we will respond to them with power and force. I am not one to be bullied in order to stand down and neither should any country in the west when we have each others back. No more doubt about how to fight back against putin. What we need to do is quit stalling on deciding that power and force against putin is the correct thing to do for the Ukraine, the Russia people, and the world at large.

(#5596) The Russian invasion in Ukraine is a tipping point for the world

      If you think this Russian invasion of Ukraine doesn't matter to you then you are a fool. Democracy is on the line for the world including the United States. No country will be able to stand on its own if Russia does what it is intending. The threat of Russia taking over the world began in 2022 in Ukraine and is still be decided there. Containing the ambition of putin and his fellow tyrant types is crucial. It is in Ukraine where we the world need to stop it. The Ukrainians already knew this which is why they stood up to the mighty Russian army and up until this point have kept themselves from being trampled under.
     All of Europe is at the doorstep of Ukraine and if Russia is operating Ukraine. Then the onslaught will begin and the swallowing up of all those neighboring countries to Ukraine will continue and won't stop until the United Kingdom is part of Russia. On the north west coast where Alaska borders Russia we Americans are also vulnerable as the Russians have already stated that Alaska still belongs to them. There is no going back on this. No putting the genie back in the bottle. The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was an announcement to the world that putin is coming for all of our democracies until he is the ruler of the world.
     We must all think of ourselves as on a war footing. Peace cannot only be seen as our present status quo. Not if we are to be prepared to defend our way of life. The tyrants of the world know the window of time is closing on them which is why they are in with putin to succeed. Because if democracy defeats putin in Ukraine then their wishes for greed and power will end as well. This moment in time, this invasion by Russia into Ukraine is the tipping point for all of us to see so that we can make up our minds whether we want to rule ourselves, or be ruled by some demented soul who would not care about what we think or feel.

(#5595) Critical thinking is what is lacking in Americans

      I say this because too often the disconnect between two thoughts are not being reconciled under logic. Whether classified as logical or illogical the process is less than utilized in American society. I cannot say why except to think education is failing us. Not enough emphasis is being placed upon critical thought, which is the ability to be objective in reasoning, analyzing, and concluding. This holds for both theory and fact. Coming to the best possible solution or conclusion regardless of our desires or wishes should be all of our objectives. What I know is that when I apply the pros and cons to a subject it either quickly or eventually becomes a clear path forward to a conclusion.
     I do not put my own spin on things to make the conclusions something they are not nor do I ignore the hard work they may demand. Logic is our future and only through logic will we continue to prosper and evolve as a society under democracy. The critical thinking it takes to get us to the proper logical formula is the problem at hand. Memorizing answers is part of learning, as well as being able to create thought about subjects that show our understanding. This is how I see it. When in school we would debate so my approach to a debate was to research both sides of the question and then be ready to respond to the other side through a knowledgeable understanding of their pros and cons.
     So that when the debate came to its conclusion I had asked and answered enough questions about the subject that I was able to think about how I felt about the debate question, not so much about who won the debate. My perspective was enhanced because I got to see answers and questions in both the same light. Thus making it easier for me to know how to rationalize a conclusion. We all must make more effort to hear each other in honest terms that are free from vitriol and ulterior motive. Not easy to do but when one can think critically we don't lose sight of the question and keep after it until we find a conclusion based upon the rules of logic.

(#5594) Quit restricting Ukrainian aid from being used by Ukraine in Russia!

      How many more brave Ukrainian citizens and soldiers must die before the western aid delivered by Ukraine's allies is allowed to be used to attack the aggressor nation of Russia? The west has limited the usage of their aid packages to attacking Russia on Ukrainian soil but not on Russian soil. Russia knows this and as a tactic amasses troops and equipment just inside their own border at the Ukrainian border in order to mount attacks into Ukraine. By being able to do this Russia is at an advantage in offensive activity to further take Ukrainian land.
     With Ukraine restricted from using the effective aid from the west to eliminate these staging bases inside Russian territory Ukraine is at the mercy of Russian aggression. The western leaders need to stop telling Ukraine how to fight to save their democracy and let Ukraine make those decisions. We in the west should only be advising not dictating! Ukraine wants to Thwart Russian supply and command positions but for now must allow Russia to remain where they are in their border staging grounds. If Ukraine is allowed to use the aid the way they would like the Russian threats at their border would be eliminated and Russian supply lines and command centers disrupted.
     In that case the Russian threat to Ukraine would be lessened and allow for Ukraine to begin their own offensive to remove the Russian horde from their borders. We in the west need to stop telling Ukraine how to fight to survive and let Ukraine show us how they fight to survive. I hope the western leaders come to this same conclusion quickly so Ukrainians who will be victims of this current Russian advantage are not eliminated from life. Russia attacked Ukraine, not the other way around. So let Ukraine not only defend itself from further incursions by Russia onto its territory but also to allow Ukraine to fight back into Russia where threatening military targets are needed to be eliminated.

(#5593) Whether family or friends, be there when it matters

     I give everyone a chance to be in my circle of friends, which is how I treat my family as well. No one soul is more deserving of being respected and honored as any other human being. Despite any contrivance like blood relation. I have felt love in my family from a few within it but certainly not all. For those who have remained within my circle of cared people the combination is more friends than family as it happens. My life is different than others so however that mix works in your life will happen as it will within your life. But for those who do make it within my circle there is nothing I won't do for them when their need is greater than their ability to provide it for themselves.
     Some souls, I wish the number were greater, just seem to have figured out that the only purpose in life is helping others have some of what we already have. Too many who will never be part of my circle live for themselves and the greed that they tell themselves they must have. They are not worthy of friendship where sacrifice is the way toward help because they themselves would rather mock sacrifice than actually enjoy the human element of giving it. I write in this blog that curiosity and compassion are what make up the natural instinct of the human species and though I try to live like this too many do not. So for those who do find themselves within this pure form of living they are the ones who I attract to in my life.
     As genuine and sincere these special people in my life are they are not devoid of tragedy that can happen at any time. Whether it be from some form of misadventure or medical problems the time we have with each other is precious and worthy of specific care when possible. Our love for each other in its forms must be valued beyond our own care for ourselves and this I don't have to explain. When one of us hurts we all hurt because we share more than commonality we share strength and vulnerability as well. Good people of good intent will always be better people when they are surrounded by the same. This is whom I am talking about and when one of us is fighting hard to keep that going we all need to rustle up our sleeves and join that fight.

(#5592) Tyrant putin is not worth half a million lives

      It is not like anyone cannot count. Especially given putin is an older man who has already lived his horrible life to a long enough length. But to give 500,000 young lives so that he can keep killing more young people is beyond absurd. It is the worst crime in our existence today that putin has not been stopped by any means from his inhuman quest to sate his ego. After more than 2 years of his ambition to defeat his cultural cousins in Ukraine he has been allowed to destroy more than 500,000 Russian young men with impunity. For their part the Russian mothers and fathers who have stood by and allowed this are no less to blame.
     What parent would not protect their child from being killed when the alternative is to stop the one mad person forcing the deaths? Do Russian parents even love their children or do they see their children as property to be used for any purpose? The arrogance or ignorance it takes to allow a whole generation of young men to die for what is now nothing is beyond imagining. Even if Russia were to take all of Ukraine today would the parents of these dead children feel like it was worth it? Living in peace with their neighbors would have been much more enticing when that alternative was always available minus putin.
     That is why I cannot understand the cost/benefit analyses when nothing will change in the ordinary Russian family life except the loss of their children. They could have had a prosperous peace with their neighbor Ukraine and their children alive with them. The complete madness of all that is happening in Russia could easily have been avoided by the Russian people if they would have valued the lives of their children more than the psychosis of putin. Reaching this half a million dead Russian soldiers in Ukraine milestone is apparently not enough for the Russian people who will keep adding to that total to satisfy some unbridled murderous quest by their demented leader. Shame on the Russian parents of those dead Russian soldiers!

(#5591) Despite republican denials that they don't see people as property, it is still true!

      Let me explain it this way. The republican party loves money. So their psychopathy of archaic thinking is what is familiar to them. They saw the advantages to the owners of slaves and long for those days where they themselves get to reap from the labor of others with minimal cost to themselves. Win/win for them. They really don't care about the individual rights of anyone but themselves so why would they be concerned about those persons they use? They wouldn't and don't! Which really helps to explain why the republican party for the last 15 years has refused to raise the federal minimum wage above the current $7.25 an hour.
     By keeping wages low wherever they can they get to use those people who are laboring to make better profits for themselves. They don't care about the financial impact on their workers they only care about their own bottom lines. So having a poor working class that is filled with many tens of millions they get their wish for greater profits and less cost. Keeping people poor to use as workers is not as bad as slavery, which is a silver lining for republicans, yet does accomplish the same economic goal. The republican hierarchy love this scenario because it benefits them to where they truly are the lords of their realm because most everyone else is left with little to be made from their labor and more dependent upon being obedient to republican owners.
     In this scenario the regressive nature of denying voting rights is also easily understood. The republican party would like to deny voting rights for every citizen and return it to only property owners. With the republican party giddy over making the most of the money they surely can make it hard for ordinary poor workers to actually become landowners. This way the republican party can control not only the economic advantages of having most of the money but as well the political power to enhance their lifestyles and not those who are left out of the voting process. Instead of democracy for all they would have a plutocracy which is government run by the wealthy. This is republicanism so decide which political party you are voting for this November with your eyes wide open!

(#5590) I washed and dried my wallet unknowingly

      There was 34 dollars in it so I expect I am now a money launderer. lol. Mostly everything in my wallet is plastic so there is that but not all. So peeling back pieces of paper to preserve the paper was a bit cautious but successful. My wallet is old and needs replaced but I hadn't found the time nor the inclination to do that until now. What beating the wallet had taken over the last decade has now been amplified with water and heat. Yesterday I also had some berries in my knapsack that found their way out of their container and settled into the bottom of my knapsack so the knapsack now needs to go through the wash although it is washable material.
     The wallet thing though is more of a problematic situation. I will not be using my wallet today as I leave early for work and without my knapsack I am reconfiguring how I will carry what I need for the day until I can rectify the cleaning of my knapsack and buying a new wallet. Such 1st world problems. :) Yet they are the ones I am faced with today. I also started a very restrictive diet 2 days ago so carrying around what I need to eat and drink today is going to look different. I only have today for work so getting through today is my only real challenge as it requires me to be on the road in different vehicles throughout the day.
     I rarely write on topics like this but it was just so front and center in my mind this morning I couldn't imagine writing about anything else. I chose to start this diet and it is, it seems, the beginning of all the little troubles I am currently having which reminds me of yesterday's post about choices. I know that the diet itself is not to blame and is actually working and I will go into it later when the final results are in but suffice it to say that I should have prepared better for the effects of it than I did. Choices that are not prepared for may lead to washing the wallet and berries spilling out into the bottom of a knapsack or as in my case exactly that.

(#5589) Life is about the choices we make

      I was reminded last night about choices. Every choice we make has a consequence. We may think we can evade the consequences of our decisions but we cannot. There is no changing the facts of things when our choices are less than noble or honest. There is no need to change our choices when they are honorable and good. Think about that for a moment. Everything we do in life will leave a example to be followed or discarded. I can only speak on behalf of myself but it would seem wise to be on the correct side of things. Not trying to manipulate situations to our advantage but to accept situations that have been addressed the proper way.
     My own psyche is at stake in every decision I make. When I do the correct proper thing with no shortcuts to it then I know that there is nothing that can come back at me that needs correcting. I move on into the next choice and make it like I make all the choices in my life, with great respect to the truth. As I live my life I live it with the contentment of someone who is doing the best I can without reservation. I can hold my head up when looking anyone in the eye. I am not trying to make myself into something I am not, I am instead doing the correct thing and letting all who are involved know there is no ulterior motive to my choices.
     I am not the master of things that are not mine. I am the master of things that are rightly and fairly mine. I don't get to make up rules that always favor me I get to utilize the rules to be fair to all who are involved. Being honest and a good person is my purpose and nothing on Earth will shake that responsibility from me. I know who I am and I am fortunate because of that. Life is good and good things have a tendency to follow good people. I have seen enough good people in my life to know that they are real and I am attracted to them. I am one of them and if we were all out to make choices that reflected goodness and fairness the world would be so much more interesting and happy.

(#5588) More than 495,000 dead Russian soldiers in Ukraine

      I would have waited until this number reached half a million but I do like to bring this up a bit earlier because it does preface my absolute astonishment that the Russian people are allowing this to continue. It is their sons that are doing the dying in Ukraine yet they seem to have been whipped into submission so thoroughly by putin that giving their children for his ego is acceptable. Tyranny has a hold on the Russian people so much so that they must be totally devoid of what it is like to live with dignity and respect. They are not free nor equal in their society and that is why the rest of us must fight with a single purpose to destroy those who would make a zombie like nation like Russia happen.
     Eventually with over 1000 deaths daily of Russian soldiers in Ukraine the stock of young men will be so depleted that a whole generation of Russians men will have been eliminated from existence for what I see as for nothing. That putin has designs on his own power and rule is of no consequence to the lives he is willing to sacrifice to achieve his madness. He will never be a leader of the world he is only going to become the greatest scourge ever as a Russian. Eventually putin will meet his demise and in the meantime how many more Russian young men will have to be given back to the ground? Many Ukrainians are also having their lives end because of putin but at least the Ukrainians are trying to help putin along with his demise and not just allowing putin to end them with no fight against him!
     In the next few days, 4 perhaps less, 500,000 dead Russian troops in Ukraine will be achieved. Then the next round of half a million dead Russian soldiers will begin counting. There is nothing on this planet worth killing that many young people. I am still thinking that although it is unlikely, the Russian people will put a stop to this and find a way to reverse the ongoing supply of death to Ukrainian soil. If not then we in the west along with the brave noble people of Ukraine will find a way to stop putin before he can commit even greater atrocities not only to Ukrainians but to his own people.

(#5587) The passing of another era in my life

      So early this morning I received a call I had been expecting. The passing of my brother John took place a little before 3 am. As soon as I realized that my phone was ringing is when the first thought that it was to inform me of John's passing came into my mind. I have been aware of John's recent downturn from being able to communicate somewhat to him not being able to physically eat anymore. His body was shutting down and so was his ability to communicate. I have been around long enough to know the signs of passing before the actual passing.
     John lived 70 years and that was too short. A little over a year ago John had a stroke which left him physically debilitated. He had another stroke shortly afterward and it did a real number on him. He couldn't understand why he wasn't his normal self and his confusion led to periodic episodes of hallucinations and fear based anxieties. He was also under some pain from the stroke that left him often having to be sedated. He went into a care home nearly a year ago and spent his last days there. I was there to visit him often and while I could do little but cheer and encourage him he was still angrily fighting his reality.
     I moved away at the end of March so over the last nearly two months I could not be there to visit my older brother. He had gotten much less communicative before I left so I am not even sure he could process that I had left. I came back to see him at the end of April and visited him over that weekend. He knew it was me after I looked him straight into the face up close and told him that I was with him. But his attention was short and he was quickly back into his fears and anxieties. Over the last 3 weeks his condition deteriorated so much that he wasn't able to swallow food. So this morning getting the call was expected but still hard because just over a year ago my brother was fine and he and I were like best friends.

(#5586) Let Ukrainians use weapons on Russian soil

      The western allies of Ukraine have been against Ukraine using weapons aid packages against Russians on Russian soil. Now I know there has to be a logical reason for this but if it still holds it is tenuously. Russia is attacking Ukraine and its civilians at increasing rates and for Ukraine to be only able to use the western aid on Ukrainian soil is like asking Ukraine to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Giving Russia any incentive to develop strategies that hinder Ukraine in defense of its land is what is currently going on with the western aid ban usage on Russian soil.
     Russia is staging their fight against Ukraine on Russian soil so for Ukraine to be hindered from using the western weapons armaments on Russian soil automatically gives Russia an advantage for no particular obvious reason. Russia initiated this invasion of Ukraine to destroy Ukrainian culture and capture all its land and resources. Taking away the heritage of Ukraine and making them into pawns for Russian assimilation. If for no other reason allow Ukraine to recapture their borders and then build up defenses on those borders to keep the next iteration of the Russian horde like advances from happening.
     Striking at supply and command targets wherever they are in occupied Ukraine or in the federated states of Russia, the warfare is necessary if Ukraine is to deliver peace to its borders. Russia cannot dictate the rules of war when they themselves are the ones conducting the violations of those same rules they would place on Ukraine. For their part the western nations need to buckle up their pants and start fighting alongside Ukraine to put an end to putin and his kremlin boot lickers. Trying to be tough around the edges helps no one when the middle is where the fight is. Let Ukraine be the boss of the western aid it receives and watch as they put putin to task for his murderous folly.

(#5585) Enjoying my less than impressive mind today

      I started to write this post many hours ago but nothing jumped out at me so I got into listening to some music and lost myself there for several hours. I still have no clue about what subject I will finish this post with but I figured if I got to typing about the lead up to it maybe something would just form in my head to give me a topic worthy of exploring. So many thoughts that are not full subjects but have nonetheless been circulating my mind. I suppose I could write about the many of them in short but meaningful ways. Work, home life, and social activities have been wonderful and full of enjoyment but nothing is pressing hard on me to articulate.
     I guess this is just one of those days where I sit back and choose to do whatever strikes my curiosity along with getting some chores done. We all have days where the world gets along just fine without our commentary or attention. I do feel like I am letting myself and others down when I don't have a thought about something that would be of interest to share. Yet it appears I am here at this point. I usually would have a remark about the ongoing fight to preserve democracy and end tyranny but even I get fatigued by it all. Unlike Ukrainians and other defenders of democracy that don't get a day off from exemplifying their plight to amass the help needed for themselves to survive. Which is why I do feel less than noble for not forcing a thought of importance onto this page.
     However, even defenders and fighters of and for democracy need to know what the fruits of their honorable labor is. Having democracy gives us freedom and liberty which I translate as the right and ability to choose to pursue my happiness as long as it does no harm to others. That is the essence of democracy. Freedom and liberty with justice and fairness for all. This is what Ukrainians are fighting for and others in the world who are currently under the oppressive yoke of some egomaniac who has only his own freedom and liberty as his goal and not anyone else's. So as I sit here without saying too much I feel like I have done at least a modicum amount of being useful today.

(#5584) Easing the hard in life

      As I have lived there has been little easy about life. Most everything has some or a lot of hard to experience. I find a lot of the hard, by which I mean difficult to achieve or accomplish, both mental and physical, is involved in my actions. To get things that are needed done it often requires a sacrifice from me that depletes my energies and physical abilities. I do recover from these exertions but as age has come upon me the recovery is often much slower and filled with bodily ache. Yet I wouldn't trade the moment of decision of any of it for not doing the act.
     As to the mental strain that is hard I only need to look at those who have been loved by me and are now no longer in existence or are fighting to remain. As happy and carefree as I hope to be, the solemn and staid positions that envelope me when heartfelt times occur tortures me to no end and there is no relief except to accept and trudge on. The hard of emotion is much more difficult to navigate than the physical hard that beats me down because most of the physical turmoil I am able to endure can be soothed through time. The emotion hard is not like that since it stays with me for the duration of my life.
     For those who can find it within themselves to not only live through the hard but work to ease its effects I admire and respect you. Because I know how difficult life can be when we struggle to survive with happenings that cause actual physical pain and mental anguish that is inconsolable. Life is hard so being ready to endure and move forward is part of the inner resolve needed to have a happy life. Having a happy life is not always happy but it is mostly so despite the hard life brings into it. Each day I choose to see the world as getting better because I am in it doing what I can to ease the hard in life.

(#5583) Music still dominates my soul

      It isn't just music per se that fills my soul with life and happiness it is very good music. I suppose that is all relative to how one perceives the sounds that vibrate within them. For me I have been listening to Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel for the last several days off and on and it is just amazing to me how much it reminds me of the best of who I want to be. The emotion that this song evokes within me is truly deep and fulfilling. I cannot overestimate how perfectly timed some music is with my soul. Not just this song but others as well.
     For one thing the energy and concepts of certain lyrics instill in me a more imaginative life as well the memories that come along with them is always something worthy of remembering. If I had to choose which causes me the greatest joy from music for me it would be the memories. I remember the first time I had heard certain songs of magical creation and the inspiration they surrounded me with. The feelings are the hardest part of remembering with me in ordinary circumstances but not when music is part of the remembering. For some reason music has a way of keeping those emotions alive in me that other memories fail more than succeed.
     I cannot imagine how my life would have been lived had not music been a part of it. I can see why others who attract to the arts have such passion and yearning. For me it is music but others find that with painting, sculpting, writing, creating all sorts of other forms of enjoyment that have expression to almost a perfect pitch. The beauty of things lies in their emotion. I always have to dig deep within an expression to find the majesty of it. I hear this song of love by Simon and Garfunkel and witness the simplicity of their masterful complexity. Surely as time will continue so will I and by next week I will have remembered another song that will fill me up like Bridge over Troubled Water has done this morning.

(#5582) The reckoning is coming for trump and putin!

      Most of us watched the insurrection allowed by trump back in January 2020. Most of us are watching the invasion by putin of the peaceful democratic nation Of Ukraine since February 2022. Both trump and putin have moved boldly into criminal and immoral activity with the expectation that they are both above the law. As fate would have it over the last few years it seems that both had the luxury of being somewhat correct. Yet now that the trials of trump are playing out in real time and the verdicts are not really being contested, trump may well be about to have his legal deserves.
     As the invasion by putin into Ukraine is well into its 3rd year, It seems that the flawed teflon like coating that putin had with the world is also beginning to peel off. The aid to Ukraine is now coming fast and furious and nothing much left that putin can do will stop the momentum that Ukrainians are getting from the badly needed help. Russians are now searching the world for volunteers to join their meat waves of death in order to keep their self slaughtering tactic of leaving their blood in Ukraine. Nothing putin can do will win him this invasion of the mighty Ukrainian people. So his days are being numbered as we speak.
     I suspect that by the years end both trump and putin will no longer be roaming the Earth as free men. What that looks like in the end is up for imagination but suffice it to say they will no longer be the illusory power brokers they thought they were. Both horrible examples of human beings will soon see that their trust in being above the law was never a real thing. They both see themselves as gods in some demented form and although they both have followers who are less honorable than most they are a dwindling lot who are finding it harder to reconcile their support for either trump or putin. As their reckoning gets closer they are both showing signs of real fear that is now their deserved reality.

(#5581) Like Bowie sang, we can be heroes!

      We will only be heroes if we let our best emotions guide our common sense. We have it within us as human beings to be the better and best of what we would hope would happen to us. For me, I am not expecting others to come into my life to be a hero, but I do expect myself to go into others' lives and be a hero where and when possible. I am one of those old school type of guys who finds inner peace when I sacrifice for others. There is something cathartic to being above the give and take of life. I know that our societies currently exist to create profit and acquire things but that is not how I see living a happy life.
     My life is better spent in my heart than in my wallet. I do need to have a functioning life and that does require the give and take of capitalism but more than that is my attachment to our species and the other species we steward. I know also that it is hard to tell someone else to sacrifice when they are already under pressure from many fronts to have more. I have spent most of my life without much and seemed to figure out how to be happy and giving. It is a perspective more than a simple thought of sacrifice I would admit. I see a problem and by default I want to help with a solution.
     By being a hero I don't mean that anyone needs to save the world or anything like that large scale. But I do mean for us to do what we can to help the world toward a brighter future. Whether through animate or inanimate, our efforts should be such that our hearts are touched by a better outcome due to our involvement. When Bowie sang of being a hero even if for one day, I took that as a challenge to try to be a hero in some way every day. I don't always succeed but the purpose is to try and look for ways that make us heroes to someone in some way that makes a difference.

(#5580) Russia will never take Ukraine!

     Those who are still supporting the tyrant putin need to know this now. Ukraine will not be overrun by Russian forces not will they barter their land away. The failed attempt by putin back on February 24, 2022 to bully Ukraine into submission has no victory for putin. Ukraine will fight to the last person with all they have before any surrendering of its sovereignty. With the help of NATO and other western allies the battle for Ukraine is much bigger than Russia can endure. That the powers that are underpinning putin have not acted to stop the circling of the drain of Russian resources is baffling.
     Much like the maga movement here in the US it is difficult to explain the cult like rapture that they have with trump much like the kremlin has with putin. 1,740 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine yesterday. I cannot fathom how that is even possible but knowing how Russia and putin discard their soldiers like scrap paper it is not a surprise. What is a surprise to me though is the Russian people not taking to the streets to demand of putin to bring their children back to them. Are the fathers and mothers such spineless folks as to not care that putin is having their children die in a country that has little to do with the honor and respect in how they live their lives?
     The nearly half a million dead young Russian men are no longer. How will Russian society move on from this generational gap when they eventually learn it has all been for naught? Every minute putin and his ghouls in the kremlin continue is another minute many more young Russian soldiers will be ended in Ukraine. Those old men who are leading this death march of Russian young men should be the ones in that march, not the young Russian men. All people of good intent know that death without purpose is waste and should never be considered to fulfill an ego driven narcissist. My hope is that today the better forces of good in Russia will find a way to end the madness of putin and the devastation to both Ukraine and Russia in Ukraine!

(#5579) Life goes on but it is hard not to think of the worst being done by putin in Ukraine

      I see the big picture well and it worries me when considering the events in Ukraine. Yet in my own life I am much more assured that the future is becoming brighter and happier by the day. There is a lot to do and much work goes into that brighter and happier but they are things I can control and as my future is about to change with another person, her making me feel content and happy just adds to the confidence I feel about now our personal future. As to the larger picture of despair I feel for the innocents in Ukraine there is a maddening to it that unsettles my soul. I want the end of that insane putin invasion but I know now that it will never end as long as he reigns in Russia.
     I don't let the bigger picture destroy my personal one. There are many things that are going on simultaneously and I can handle them all in behavior and emotion. Having the capacity to separate out my horror at things from my happiness is not easy but it must be done. I won't dismiss any of it but the basic compartmentalization of the many paradigms that crisscross my existence is necessary. I am both equally happy and saddened by events in my life and the world despite the different effects they enact within me. It is my duty to be all of who I am and not just what I want the most. Being a human is more complex than most would admit but I do because it does differentiate us from any other species.
     So today I will enjoy the life I am living and celebrate that as should be acceptable. I do not diminish the worst going on still while I spend time and relax a bit with others. The old saw about being able to walk and chew gum at the same time is applicable here. The complexity of our world requires us to hold several understandings, however not as if they are mixed together. I can enjoy the freedom and liberty that democracy avails on me while also knowing the hardships Ukraine is going through right now to defend their right to that same democracy. If I could be in two places at once I would but in lieu of breaking the laws of physics I will instead be where I am at but not forgetful of how others are striving so valiantly to keep their democracy.
     

(#5578) The US military supplies have arrived in Ukraine

      The advantage putin has had over the Ukrainians the last 6 months has come to an end. No more will putin be able to push Ukrainians back into their own territory because of a lack of weaponry. The anger I still have over the republican gamesmanship of delaying Ukrainian aid for no good reason is still seething in me. Yet I will move on but I will not forget either. Ukraine on the other hand is getting the aid just in time to thwart further Russian attempts to to take advantage of the republican supplied opportunity to weaken Ukraine. Although several defensive strongholds were lost during the deliberately held back aid by republicans, Ukrainians withstood the worst and are now able to defend and attack with much more force.
     We are already seeing some of the pieces of weaponry that the US aid has brought to Ukraine. Along with air defenses are offensive equipment that will help Ukraine hold and recapture some of the previously lost ground. The putin led Russian effort to storm Ukrainian positions is being rebuffed at a heavy cost to putin and the Russian people. More than a 1000 Russian troops are eliminated each day and the number is growing. The insanity it takes for putin to keep attacking Ukraine while losing so many of his countrymen is mind blowing. Over 480,000 dead Russian soldiers along with as many injured. The numbers will keep piling up for putin in the loss column and how much more the Russian people will take is really a valid question.
     Within the next 3 weeks more than half a million dead Russian young men will have been given to this insane attack by putin. With as many injured as well more than one million Russian young men will have paid a heavy and grave price for the ego driven putin to be the king of the world. The ego driven putin will not be king and when the rest of the US aid and already committed European aid follows up in the next weeks the effort by putin to attack like a frenzied dog will be blunted and beaten back. Russia would be well advised to cut their huge losses and return to their own borders and leave the sovereign and indefatigable nation of Ukraine alone!

(#5577) Courage and bravery will always defeat tyranny!

      We have been shown the way. From our Revolutionary foreparents to our World War Two Grandparents, and all the failed attempts in between by tyrants, democracy has triumphed over tyranny! How is this possible? Well when you are willing to look your enemy long and hard in the eye and tell them that nothing will take your freedom away is how. Once you make your stand known then it is up to courage and bravery. The courage to do whatever it takes to stop those who would take your innate human right to self determination away from you and the bravery when needed to fight to maintain your freedom will defeat the fear that tyrants demand of their followers.
     To make it even simpler to understand let me phrase democracy a different way. Freedom is only secured through democracy. You cannot have freedom under tyranny because the tyrant will always extract from you anything and everything he pleases without justice or fairness as factors. Only under democracy can you keep and grow your freedom. No one in democracy has the right to demand from you anything and everything at their whim. Democracy is built upon the principle that no one is above another. Nor is no one beneath another. We are all in this equally together and through democracy we all oversee and care like we are stewards for each other.
     The battle now for the world's domination of rule is being fought out in Ukraine. The forces of good, those who believe, fight and die for democracy, are being attacked by the forces of evil who are represented by tyranny. There is no individual freedom under tyranny. There is no liberty to pursue happiness unless it is given by the tyrant. No facet of life is free when someone else is the master of your fate. Only under democracy may we all pursue our happiness without a "by your leave" from some egoist tyrant who thinks himself above all others. This battle for democracy is happening right now in Ukraine so keep your wits about you and your courage and bravery at the ready!

(#5576) Apathetic arrogant conservatism

      In my youth I was a leader for rights and equality. That has never changed! I didn't evolve from the hubris of my youth focused on correcting injustices and stamping out prejudice. If anything I have become more determined to dig out the root causes of anti democracy behaviors. I see so many of my generation who have somehow allowed themselves the ease and comfort of dismissing what was important to them when they were young. They have become the establishment that most all of us railed against when it was as clear as a sunny day that wrong had permeated into too many of our social, political, and economical societies.
     I started out voting for democrats, the only political party that has ever done more for the working middle poor class. I am still voting for that party that is even more now the champion of the working middle poor class. We democrats, have remained focused, combatting the decades of anti melting pot policies of republicans and their mantra of selfish conservatism stained with white nationalism, We do not get sidetracked with selfishness or greed. We who were of the Woodstock generation had it all before us and then too many of us let the narrative slip away and became what we then abhorred. To allow ourselves to change into what we railed against is as dishonest as it is despicable.
     The republican party is where you find the haters and ego maniacal. Yet too many within our Woodstock generation are become them. How is it that we have sold our souls for the lure of filthy lucre and disrespectful power? I get what greed can do and how money and power can entice but are we so vain and dull not to know that a price is extracted from every act we perform? I will never be willing to pay the cost of selling my good and honest principles for sullied material gain or undeserved psychological gratification. We democrats stand on the principles of liberalism where individual and civil rights, freedom of enterprise, openness to new ideas, and acceptance of all are the foundation for society, not the denial of them.

(#5575) The use of religion as a weapon

      I am not against anyone who has a belief in a higher power than can be shown. In this existence where the beginning and end of things is still a mystery having a lifeline to some safe place or person is mostly comforting even if a bit far fetched. I get it and do not disdain that. What however is done in the name of religion often resides outside a personal belief system and is used as a tool to gain wealth or to harm others. You see it with mega church practitioners who seek the 10% with much more enthusiasm than living the life of their belief system.
     But even those people are not the worst of what is done in the name of religion. Those who do the belief system of their choice to advance their other intents are what I call even worse. People who use religion as a shield to protect them from their real desires. Behaviors and actions that they truly try to justify that are despicable and reprehensible. Yet even those who do the opposite of what their belief systems require so that they can project themselves as something they are not are still better than those who are the absolute worst of what they use religion to accomplish.
     The absolute worst are those who use religion to kill and maim others. They pretend to have a tie with a God and then dismiss the nature of a God and supplant it with their own egotistical and maniacal compulsions. A person I would call a demented demigod. Someone who sees themselves as a greater human being than any other. Their world consists of them and then the rest of us are here for their pleasure or disgust. We see this with people like putin of Russia who gives off an impression of a godly man while behaving like he is the God. For me religious beliefs are silently held by those who wish to believe. For others who must blow a horn to announce their religion I keep clear of because no good intent can follow such blatant behavior other than some ulterior motive.

(#5574) The battle for the soul of the world

      This invasion by putin into Ukraine was just the beginning for him. He putin, saw his opportunity to overpower Ukraine and gain a strategic foothold on the doorstep of western Europe that would allow him to capture the many small nations that would be vulnerable to his conquesting dreams. Western Europe, though largely part of NATO, would have soon learned that they were unprepared for an invasion by putin and the momentum he would have brought to it by taking Ukraine within a week or two. The fact that Ukraine is now more than two years into holding putin at bay is a testimony to the desire by the Ukrainian people for democracy and their own self rule.
     What that two years has done for western Europe and the world at large is help to focus them and the rest of us on the dire consequences of a putin victory in Ukraine. Not only has the world focused on the ambitions of putin and the repercussions of his maniacal ambitions but it has given the nations in proximation to Ukraine time to solidify their own fortifications and alliances. Ukraine has served two outstanding purposes to date. First to fight with bravery and determination to thwart the putin led horde and secondly to delay time for nations to further protect themselves.
     When I say the battle for the soul of the world I am talking about saving democracy from tyranny. In democracy we are all part of our government and societies, whereas in tyranny we are slaves who serve a master or suffer and die. The choice is clear and the facts are also clear. The dictator putin and his acolytes in the kremlin must never be given anything but defeat. There are times in our history as human beings where we have had to make a stand and then defend that stand. This is one of those moments. If putin is not stopped in Ukraine then the rest of western Europe will feel the flames of warring invasion from putin. If putin is stopped in Ukraine and sent back to his borders then the world will know the power of individual rights collected together under the greatest form of government ever devised, that being democracy.

(#5573) Democracy: When everybody is special nobody is special

     This does seem an odd way of making the point that equality belongs to all of us but it does make you think about it in a different light. The facts are that we are all special but together none of us is more special than another or in the saying above none of us is special, when we are all special. This concept should translate as well into our laws. Yet we know it doesn't. Those with money and influence are able to rise above the law and put themselves beyond the justice that those who don't have money or influence receive. In many cases in our laws the idea that we are all special so therefore none of us is special doesn't readily apply.
     It is the same in our politics. Very few can become leaders within our government because of the money and influence it takes to receive the coverage and acceptance that is now required through current election laws. Money has become the great divide between people of low income with great ideas about leadership for all and those with much money who aren't running to lead but instead to make themselves and a few others more wealthy. Again, since not all can be special only a few are allowed to be special. Not a democracy but a reward and benefit system that does not open its opportunities to all.
     It isn't just the rule of law and politics where we are not serving democracy, but even within the core of democracy the foundations of freedom and individual respect are under an attempt to be collared. We Americans come together from the melting pot of cultures that came before us yet we seem to think of ourselves as some type of purity that has no equal. We are a conglomeration of cultures that should make us more understanding and tolerant of our fellow citizens. Our differences have always been our strength. We evolve and adapt our learning to a much broader perspective which should allow a perception a lot closer to wisdom than illogic. Yet it seems we are not as enlightened as I would expect.

(#5572) Some puzzles I encounter I cannot solve

      Life is a puzzle to me. So I do try to solve as many of the puzzles that make up life as possible. I may solve a few but many are not solved by me. Even when logic will solve them it seems like logic is not enough for me at times. I am human not a machine so my expectations are high but my ability is less high. If you are like me you stay after things that initially escape a conclusion and apply time to them to help along the process. Eventually I solve some and that makes me feel accomplished in a way. But other times I am denied a conclusion and sit unwell in my failure.
     Some puzzles are never to be given up on and that is a good thing. Others are not worthy of the time and effort and should be left undone. When I obsess over something mostly irrelevant I am not only wasting my time but allowing myself to become frustrated over something mostly pointless. I have to watch myself at times because even if a puzzle is inane it has a way of capturing my focus beyond its worth. A sort of battle of wits with myself that is nothing if not a bit egotistical. My imperfections are real to me yet I seem to want to deny their existence. I cannot solve all the easy, medium, or hard puzzles in life but I can solve the ones that are a real priority to me.
     I freely admit that nothing comes real easy to me. When I was younger and learning in school there were times when I was so confident in how I figured out concepts and insights. Yet that confidence has not been consistent in life. There are so many variables that factor in that being confident about any solution to a puzzle is more relief than me feeling poised. Keeping up with what is expected of me and then trying to do more is a real challenge. So when something comes along that has real puzzling qualities I am ready but not always able to solve that particular mystery. I keep trying though.
     

(#5571) I love democracy!

      I cannot express into words just how happy and excited I feel about the Ukrainians finally receiving the US aid that was promised them last year. It has been 10 days since President Biden signed the Congressional legislation into law and although many months late due to republican obstruction, it is being delivered. My happiness is not for the fact of military aid in itself; it is for the right of Ukrainians to defend their choice to remain a democracy. The Russian dictator/tyrant putin would take Ukraine and add it to the Russian oppression that now exists in the current Russian federation.
     Russia would like more than Ukraine and if democracy loving patriots around the world do not help Ukrainians stop putin he will not stop with taking Ukraine. So we are at a fork in the road moment of what will be. Either Russia pushes forward and reignites war all over the European continent or we stop him and push him back into Russia with Ukraine as the barrier to further Russian aggression. For me it has always been about doing what is right and good in the world and nothing about tyranny nor dictatorships cries out right and good. As to making a choice, it really has never been a choice to make for me, it is only a duty to democracy that I will always honor.
     Every human being ever born has the right to exist as we are. None of us should ever be less than equal in opportunity nor respect. Only democracy allows that option. No other form of government has at its core the full embodiment of rights for individuals to consolidate as a group. We in democracy are the government and when we elect those to represent us we create our own societies into our image. We are not beholden to the strongman/woman perspective of power, control, and ego, we instead are the arbiters of our own fate. Only democracy allows all of us the right to pursue our own happiness within the boundaries that we decide is fair and just. We are the leaders, all of us, of our fates through democracy and that is how it should be!

(#5570) Russian troop losses per day are averaging over a thousand

      Even though Ukraine is short on armaments for the moment they are defending their territory with a fury. The armaments are being replenished as this post is being written and strategies for those armaments are being devised. Yet still the Russian "brain trust" has been unable to save itself from much harm at the hands of Ukrainian defenders. With Ukraine back to being stocked the Russian chances of claiming victory are even slimmer. I don't know how long Russia can keep letting it's young people die at over a thousand a day but it will have to end shortly with either an improbable victory or a coup within Russia.
     Ukrainians were not what the Russians thought they would be. Instead of being cowardly or weak, they are brave and strong. Thus the Russian losses of troops are well over 472,000 with at least equally as many injured. Russia is a big federation but they are not that big to withstand that many losses of young lives. The other federated regions of Russia that are bearing the most losses are not going to be easily mollified into accepting much more. Now that Ukraine is fortified with a new round of armaments and commitments from western countries to tie their futures together the likelihood of a Russian victory in Ukraine is really much worse than improbable.
     As Ukraine is emboldened to attack inside Russian territory the damage to Russian economic war making entities has suddenly increased. Much already of the Russian budget has gone to the illegal invasion of Ukraine while the social economy of Russia is being depleted. How much longer the ordinary Russian citizens will take from putin and his kremlin mob is really at a tipping point. I know putin has them scared of his reprisals but the suffering Russians are now mired in may make putin's threats seem less scary. We will see as the Russian troop losses continue to rise will the Russian people finally say enough!
     

(#5569) It's brain crunch time

      The coming election is not going to be a cakewalk for Joe Biden even though it should be. The reason is that too many folks are persuaded by nefarious forces that have no good intent for the betterment of society other than their own. Instead of thinking like defenders of democracy we are being led to believe that division of our species into sub categories is elevated and acceptable. Those doing the division are claiming to be enlightened while those who are the divided are not so. Apparently masters and slaves by another term is the new rage.
     The criminal mind of the republican candidate doesn't seem to hurt his standing among his acolytes which seems counter to an enlightened society. Yet that is the conundrum we are facing. A notorious man who is so far removed from enlightened thinking is being thought of as the next coming of brilliance. I for one am so much ashamed of my fellow American compatriots as I would have thought that even the simpleness of seeing his debasement would be enough to consign him to the dustbin of history. But it seems that not even simple concepts are to be relied upon for making logical decisions.
     I still hold that the blue wave election that should be coming will be coming and not even shady polling is changing my perception. It is now May so we are still 6 months from the election and the trials of criminal and civil wrongdoings are still in force against the republican candidate. On the other hand Joe Biden is compiling quite an economic and foreign policy record of achievement. Like I said earlier this should be a cakewalk for Joe Biden against a failed and heavily flawed republican candidate but regardless if not the prevailing doubts about which candidate will carry the undecided voters to me still falls to Joe Biden and not the miserable egomaniacal republican.

(#5568) Women, claim your equality!

      If ever there were a way for women to show the world that you are equal to men then this coming election will be it! In the republican party women are not seen as equal but as subservient. Why do I say that? Simple, because women are not allowed an equal rights amendment to our constitution claiming it as so. Who is stopping women from having an equal rights amendment? The republican party! Another obvious example is recent downfall of Roe v. Wade where women were previously given the right of deciding the best course for their own bodies. The republican party undid Roe which now denies women their individual right to define their own futures that men have always enjoyed.
     There are many more examples like unequal pay for equal work, domestic violence both in and outside of marriage, etc.. If women are ever going to break the yoke that too many republican men seem happy to keep around their necks then this coming election will be it. We democrats would be thrilled to have all women join us to finally make laws that codify that women are free human beings capable of not only controlling their own bodily functions but of legislating and leading our world into a more peaceful era. We democrats urge all women to seize this moment in time to vote for the men and women running as democratic candidates on every ballot so that the obstruction women are currently under to improve their lives will disappear.
     I have talked endlessly about how the republican party is one of division and control. Well I need to spend more time in talking about how we democrats are not only champions of women's issues but of issues surrounding all genders. We democrats see the life of every human being as equally important. There is no divisiveness in our approach to leading our species into a better future. We democrats want the best for all of us to be happy in our societies and content while also being our individual selves. This hope expressed in this blog post will come true for all of us when we all decide that our future is together under the democratic party vision of equality. Vote democrat this coming November 5th!