(#6022) When morality has no place in republican calculus

      The death of morality is obvious in republican belief systems. They may front that they are some righteous souls but the proof is the opposite. From treating women like cattle to using children for vice, the republican claim to be on a moral high ground is a lie. Not that the republicans care if they lie as long as they get what they want. So me saying the lack of morals is a strategy is not misidentified. The republican party has chosen the hell or high water approach to falsehood. Nothing matters whether it is death of people or great harm, as long as republicans can feel good about themselves.
     They know they only live once and that there is no afterlife. However they won't tell you that because by using religious symbols they can easily persuade many to help them achieve their agenda of self gratification. When the wealthy get more and the poor get less the clear signal that sends is me me me. Democracy is a we we we institution which under republican leadership is becoming less real and further from safety. I thought just for a moment this morning that we are turning the tables on trump and his incessant attacks on our society would wane. But then I remembered that he is never ending drama and his next and next and next disappointment for our society is already loaded up and ready to be released.
     It is bad enough that trump is a soulless empty suit that seems to have made a deal with the devil kind of thing to let him live forever in return for destroying humanity. For the life of me I cannot think of any reason for him to be so unhuman in his motivations. For me he is like a troubled psychopath, unable to come to terms with his failings although never would he admit them. The rest of the republican party takes their cues from him but they also cannot decipher his intent. They just follow without providing resistance to his every whim. The lack of morality on behalf of republicans is obvious to those who have a moral compass. As to those who don't most all of them vote republican. 

(#6021) One thing that has survived the test of time in my mind is the music I grew up with

      I was born in 1955 when rock and roll was just finding its footing in American culture. Bill Haley and Chuck Berry were leading the way. By the time I was able to functionally appreciate music I was 7 or 8 when I heard the Beatles for the first time and as you can imagine I was swept up in their unique look and sound. I was young but I had a bit of a head start as my stepfather joined a country and western band at around the same time so for our region here in Sacramento in the early 60's country music was everywhere. I am not one who was a fan of country music but of course like all genre's there were a few songs that I enjoyed.
     But when the Beatles exploded on the scene I was drawn to rock music with a fervor. The explosion of rock music all over the world. especially Great Britain and here in the States overwhelmed me with the variety of music that encapsulated my soul to the point of addiction. I loved rock and roll and although some country rock intersected into my new mainstream listening like Lynyrd Skybyrd's Free Bird and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son. The bulk of my listening came from listening to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, The Byrds, The Doors, Grateful Dead, etc...
     There is music enough from having been listened to by me to fill a large book. That is how popular Rock and Roll became in my lifetime. With each generation from the 50's on to even today. The waves of vibrations from Rock and Roll seem to have a most gratifying effect on my entirety. I have listened to other forms of music and appreciate the complexity of their creation but for me Rock and Roll is the form I feel thoroughly within me. It isn't just the feel I have within me it is the memory of these songs. It is amazing how much I can remember the melodies, the lyrics and the emotions at the time I first heard them. A trigger if you will of something about life I can remember that is both mesmerizing and satisfying.

(#6020) Russia's summer offensive has been a mirage

      Last winter, all the hype from Russia was about their upcoming summer offensive that has not really been evidenced. The bluster from putin and his acolytes was this big offensive that would drive Ukraine further back into the core of their nation. What we have seen instead is a concerted effort by Ukraine to defend its territory while undermining the logistics of Russia so much so that Russia cannot find a gap to march through in the Ukrainian front lines. As well the depletion of armaments that Russia is experiencing has made any march through Ukrainian lines near impossible. With few Russian tanks and troop carriers left to employ, Russia has had to use vehicular equipment that are either outdated or for civilian travel.
     Along with the armaments depletion, Russia cannot figure out how to combat the drones that Ukraine employs to destroy their every advance. With Ukraine now steadily attacking deep into Russian territory and destroying war equipment making factories, rear command centers, sensitive complex technology complexes, and fuel supply storages and manufacturing, Russia is in a deep hurt just to maintain their current status quo. Russia has lost well over 1 million troops so far and daily is losing a thousand or more. Through sanctions, Russia's economy is also continuing to constrict. I keep expecting the Russian people to break out of their slumber and demand a halt to all this madness putin is putting them through.
     Slowly but surely the countries bordering the Russian state are starting to pull back from Russian influence because they see the way Ukraine and its allies are not allowing Russia to dominate them like in the past. Russia wasted its military stockpiles over the last 3 years trying to bull rush Ukraine and was stopped. Now Russia has dwindled armaments and no real way to resupply them. The end of this madness in Ukraine is starting to shift from being solely a burden on Ukraine and its allies to now being a fear of Russia. As it should be on the aggressor who thought they could destroy another nation because their leader putin was full of himself!

(#6019) I've gotten 19 straight years so far of being sober by doing it one day at a time

      I thought about writing about my years of being addicted to alcohol but it wasn't a normal typical addiction to alcohol itself. It was the culture for me. I liked fitting in to the groups that enjoyed booze as a way of socializing. Sure, the taste of some of the drinks will always lure me because like anything we do in a repetitive way becomes desirable after a while. But for me it was the excitement of being part of moments where the inhibitions were relaxed and the bit of crazy became normal. At least at first it was that. Then as I got older it became more like remembering those moments of excitement sitting on a barstool or in a group somewhere convenient.
     What I am most glad about is that I now see what I was doing beck then as a crutch for my life. I cannot take any of it back but I can learn from it and move forward now without it holding me back. I really don't miss the feeling afterward of the physical wretchedness and I don't miss wondering how I could have spent my hard earned money so quickly. Alcohol was a tool I used to begin my life and by the time I was older I was reversed into the tool alcohol used. Fortunately for me I figured out that I needed to change from my behavior that was so ingrained in my character. It wasn't easy nor done on the first attempt. Yet I got there 19 years ago and for that I am one of the lucky ones.
     The AA slogan of One Day At A Time is not just a strategy it is more than that. It is a lifestyle that not only affects my sobriety but it also affects all other areas of my life. Everything I do and plan for must be done one day at a time. In other words do things correctly and you won't have to go back to fix anything. You cannot rush through life trying to do everything all at once but you can step forward smartly in the direction you want to go with resolve. Then the next stop and so on. It is amazing to those of us who are living this way that we have figured out not only how to stay sober but how to live our lives in the best of ways we are able. Good things happen to good people when good people do good things. One day at a time. :)

(#6018) Enlightenment will persist despite the weakest of us

      It is somewhat startling for me to call the fascist haters weak but that is exactly what they are! Their fear of the future keeps them in a present represented by the past. The reasoning is like the axiom of "better the devil I know than the one I don't know". Which really helps explain a lot about why so many are not out in front of their fear. Instead they hide behind it as a safety default. The many more of us are not inclined that way and instead we are founded by our curiosity, boldness, and adventure. Because the many more of us know that life isn't something that needs to be feared but instead something that needs to be explored.
     The clue here is that life is finite. We all live and die within a short space of time. So embracing life with a gusto is far more appealing than quivering in a hideout with nothing but time escaping from our lives. All this explanation to underscore my statement that enlightenment is here to stay regardless of the chaotic efforts of some who actually use enlightenment to try to end it. As an observer of this current human phenomenon I am chuckling and sad at the same time because the illogic of it all is so simple. Fear is the factor that is scrambling our destinies and we cannot admit it because we are not allowed to admit we are afraid.
     There is no rule saying we can't admit we are afraid but it is something that immature manhood abhors and defying the myth of manhood is too much for us to allow. Childish is my description. I am a man who is bold in his life and not one to shrink from adventure. Yet even I am afraid sometimes of the unknown. But that little fear is nothing in comparison to my curiosity about what I don't know. So despite a fear I move forward because life is all about discovery. We should all be ready to live a life that is not going to last relatively very long in a way that cherishes what we are becoming and how we overcome our own fears to experience the bounty of what existence offers.

(#6017) If I could do magic

      Not the kind of magic that is sleight of hand and misdirection. The kind of magic that defies the rules of logic and physics. I live in a reality along with many who are at our wits end as to how to stop the speeding descent into the destruction of our once admired modern society. If I could do magic is a phrase I use to move beyond what is rationally plausible and into a realm where with the flick of my wrist the nature of time and space become my servant. Where I can change all that is possible into a serene and beautiful paradigm that has all of us within its spell. Nothing but what we hope for and nothing of the wrong we are currently being oppressed with.
     Life will always have its challenges and hardships, that is the nature of life. But to change how we have to live and cope as it is now is my quest. Instead of like at this moment where we are not seeking enlightened solutions to all our problems we are instead blamed for them and then cursed for existing in a world where we are all gifted of life. The illogic of our current reality is based on greed, brutality, and vice. It sickens me that we are under such a cloud of unethical defiance. It also sickens me that there seems to be an essence of conjuring that is powerful and unrelenting. Thus my desire to do magic to break the pied pipers spell of blind obedience.
     If I could do magic I would be to erase all time from just before the JFK assassination. I have tried to think of what I would do with magical powers and this is my humble solution. The great hope of our America was in the hands of a man who had personal shortcomings but not in his loyalty to democracy. He honorably saw what we all were capable of and touted that as his vision for all of us. For me the rot of our nation had all come about under dick nixon and has only expanded since then. I am so tired of us having to live under fear when we were born under the courage it took to create the greatest melting pot of champions the world will ever witness.

(#6016) We humans are emotional, biological, computing, physical entities.

      We humans are amazing. We are physically agile and able to accomplish many tasks within our individual and collective efforts. We have strength and dexterity to manipulate most all things upon our planet to resource the nature of Earth toward biological survivability. As well we are all computers who are also able to rationalize the necessity of our survival with a modest wisdom. We are growing in that area and are not the finished product yet as knowledge is being added at increasing rates. Yet what we do know helps us to strategize out destinies with some efficiency.
     We are not mechanical nor artificial intelligence we are much more. Our biology allows us to be more malleable to circumstances that are ever changing and our human intelligence is not only capable of discerning options for every problem that fits our own unique situations but together they allow us the freedom to exist as our own being. I like to think of us as biological beings who are not done yet creating our own opportunities. Unlike those tools that are built for specific tasks, we are born into existence, then nurtured to adulthood in order to create even more innovative and dynamic tools for our usage. We humans are the heart, mind, and soul of all that is about us in this existence.
     What separates us from the tools we build is our emotion. Considering that care and curiosity are prioritized within our species, along with the nature of our physical being plus our intellect, completes our mastery of this known existence. We can debate that philosophically as to mastery, but without logical evidence to the contrary I will side with us as the masters of this existence until proven otherwise. That is how much I am enamored of our species. The biological history we find through anthropology does not sway me in my choice. The outer limits of space and time are not convincing to change my mind. So, the conclusion that we humans are the most amazing species in this existence is still for me rock solid.

(#6015) Creativity and innovation are here to stay regardless of the last remnants of Neanderthals

      There is a mindset here in America and surely around the world where the destiny of humankind isn't enlightenment but instead confusion. The brutes of our leadership have shown that they are not interested in moving into our shared future with research and information gathering. They instead want us to be unsure about most everything so that what they do right before our eyes is unnoticed. How we got to this point is a discussion that needs to be had but in the meantime we are being systematically devolved back into beings who are not capable of intelligent and logical conclusions.
     This benefits those who have the resources to exist without outside knowledge because they control those who do have knowledge. Their gain is everyone else's loss. They the Neanderthals will work diligently to keep it that way. However, they are up against we post modern humans who do not ascribe to their chaos nor their diversions. We see what they are about because as Neanderthals their thinking is simple and obvious. Neanderthals are not complex, so ascribing genius to them is a delusion. I know I use the description Neanderthal somewhat metaphorically but also somewhat not metaphorically. The point is they are not difficult to understand.
     The other point besides them being simple is that the Neanderthals, I am referring to republican leadership and supporters, are against modernity. They like simplicity and the use of force and power to maintain it. They want to subjugate all life in their sphere and do not want to share that experience. They don't want democracy because democracy promotes equality, justice, liberty, and fairness. They want the rights of humans only for themselves and that defies democratic principles. All this to say though is that despite the Neanderthal gains they will lose out to enlightenment. Too many are too invested in intelligence to let knuckle dragging brutes change the amazing destiny of advancing humanity.

(#6014) Pursue your happiness but do no harm!

      Understand this please! There are things in this world that are not worthy of intentionally or unintentionally doing harm to others. So to violate the do no harm axiom is to violate one's morality and/or ethics. How can that be pursuing happiness? If harm is the logical outcome of one's pursuit of happiness then that is not happiness, that is self gratification. We have many among us who are pleasing themselves at the expense of harming others. That cannot be allowed and should not continue under any circumstance. Our species is troubled with impulses and desires that are not reasoned out with logical cause and effect.
     Many of us have had to overcome impulses to act as wild animals when our urges and impulses were being discovered. We overcame them because more than wild animals we are civilized and intelligent enough to know that our natures have evolved beyond the origins of our species. Where once we were in a constant survival mode thus savages to each other we are now brothers and sisters within a society that is enlightened and forward thinking. We are not our ancestors nor should we be. We are not still Neanderthals nor the later Cro-Magnons generally. We are a more modern human form differing in the evolution of our priorities.
     What was once considered a necessity is now not allowed. We are not those from our early origins, we are the amazing byproduct of them. We have a clearer and more panoramic view of life and the destinies it presents. Our own personal happiness is tied up with the happiness of every other soul living in our existence. For those who would believe that they are a better form of life than anyone else is seriously in a bad mental health way. It is past time that we honor every human being with protecting their inalienable right to pursue their happiness with causing or being harmed. It really is that simple if we would just adjudicate our laws equally.

(#6013) The narcissism of trump is helping Ukraine

      I actually didn't see this coming. My perception of trump was that although an ego driven tyrant by nature he was always beholden to putin as his, for a better word, daddy. If putin needed something from trump it would surely follow from trump. But it seems the child trump has revolted against his daddy putin. Now trump has let his ego fly above the subservience of putin and he is now hoping to undercut his previous putin cowering stance. Has trump matured into his narcissism so much so that he no longer relies on putin for guidance? It appears so since trump is now in favor of arming Ukraine to help them stave off putin.
     This turn of events is a real help to Ukraine as the European Union (EU) was and is stretching their resources mightily to keep Ukraine from folding in on itself. Thus the turnaround by trump is a very positive event and is coming at a critical juncture as Russia is also stretched thin by it's massive losses in Ukraine so far. More than a million soldiers wounded or dead. More armaments destroyed than could be imagined. Russia is at a critical stage itself and with Ukraine rebolstered the onus is now on putin to survive his murderous and nation destroying mission. Yes, not only is putin not winning in Ukraine but at home he is ever closer to being taken down by his own countrymen.
     So many bad things are happening in America because of trump but this one thing that means so much to the world at large, trump seems to be helpful. Even if it is because he is becoming more deranged in his ego. Silver lining if you will. Yet there will be a cost eventually and for that I do not look forward to paying. In the meantime however, trump is now helping Ukraine hopefully defeat Russia's invasion and for that we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Never would I have guessed that narcissism would be a good thing but in this exclusive one instance it appears to be so.

(#6012) At the six month point with trump

      There is hope for optimism that we will survive trump. I say this because after 6 months we are not without our democracy, yet. Many thousands of people are in jeopardy because of his intolerant policies but we as a nation are not in the cemetery. He has tried his most devastating agendas and they are being rebutted at a surprisingly constant rate. So my personal fear that he would get his allies to follow him blindly is not happening. Let me be clear here though, I couldn't even believe that he was elected, and according to released numbers, in a majority way. I still think there was voting manipulation but that is gut instinct given all the facts and the character of trump and musk leading up to election day.
     Regardless of his legitimacy, we are where we are. So stopping his mad dash to crumble our democracy has been the focus of mine and others since the day after he was elected. We, the new coalition building, are doing well enough to say that trump may well not be able to accomplish his dream of ruling America like a king. The courts and now many previously aligned with trump politicians are joining with the largest group of opposition in we the people. The sense of the mood of our nation is that there is a lot of buyers remorse with trump and it is wonderful in that it is badly needed.
     I make no illusions about the trouble we are in with trump. His nonstop menacing of everything that is good about democracy is not to be taken lightly. He is at the heart of his soul a relentless achiever who will do whatever he has to in order to bring about his, and I mean his, vision of the world. We who are the others who also inhabit this world are not partners with him in his vision, only resources to be used and discarded. But I am somewhat hopeful that after half a year he has not accomplished his takeover with great success. he had the majority in the House, Senate, and on the Supreme Court and yet he is still floundering about because in the end he is not as human as many of his now awakening supporters believed he was.

(#6011) trump is failing in his attempt for a coup of democracy

      When I was quickly convinced of the trump victory last November I knew we were done as a democracy. His first term was a learning curve for him and I expected him to have his plan for the takeover of our democracy well in hand. What I didn't expect was the hesitation of his supporters. I knew what he was about but it seems his supporters didn't fully grasp his intentions. So instead of his plan to undermine democracy he is getting pushback from not only we freedom seeking Americans but his allies as well. He has shown them his intent now and they are not pleased by it.
     I have no sympathy for them, when the best and brightest of us told them over and over again he was a conman. They chose to ignore us and instead voted him in as our president. He was much pleased by that and has figured he could just force his pathway ahead without much opposition. There has always been one thing trump never calculates when he goes inside his head for direction. We the people are never part of his conclusions. He wants the world his way and nothing about what we want is part of his analysis. He reasons that he is the greatest human being ever and as such we should all bow our heads and bend our knees to whatever he desires.
     Well we the people are not pawns for him to move about. We are all strong and worthy of being our own masters. He is finding that his dream of being a lifelong king who is allowed to do whatever he wants is not going to happen. Thus the lashing out at many of his allies for not falling in line with his demands. The rest of us who did see who he was were never going to fall in line and so now with us and many more of his allies rebutting him he is awash in confusion and anger. He is emotionally charged with reclaiming his supposed supremacy with no regard for his personal health. He will find out soon enough that despite his delusions of grandeur he is mortal and his time in this existence is severally ticktocking away.

(#6010) Existence belongs to all of us so knock it off!

      You want a purpose in life? Well this is it. Make yourself a factor in it. What do you believe is good and correct? Do that with a gusto and resolve. We, all of us, cannot sit this out and wait for someone to choose to be like who we are and fight our battles for us! We each have to do whatever it takes to make known to all that we belong here in existence just as much as anyone else! None of us is born here with a dispensation for advantage and privilege. Yes, I am talking about the wannabe special folks who think their shit doesn't stink! It is so tiring and disheartening to see some folks live like they are greater than others!
     Each and every one of us needs to stay in our own lane. Which means we must remove those who are infringing on our lanes. That is the guideline. Stay in your own lane and make that lane as special as you can while you exist. If you can help others who want your help then adjust your lane to an adjacent one next to those who need your help but stay in your own lane always! We all deserve that respect of living inside our own lanes. There should be no argument here because it is the most intelligently human way to exist. No human owns existence unless we other humans allow it. If we do then we are depriving ourselves of our unique opportunities to control our own destiny!
     Allowing anyone to hijack our thinking and actions is beneath the amazing qualities we humans are endowed with. Our species is not cattle to be rounded up and used for the pleasure of others. Our human species is not some utility that is resourced to only exist so others can manipulate their responsibilities through. We are all individual beings with the same possibilities of magnificence. None of us is a tool for others to command. We need to understand that as we fill in the moments of our lives they have to be moments that swell us up with pride and honor. Stay in your lane and never let anyone impede your progress forward into time and space.

(#6009) Communist China is against democracy in Ukraine

      The only way Russia can keep fighting in Ukraine is because China supports Russia annihilating Ukraine. Because if democracy were to prevail in Ukraine it would, in China's mind, threaten their brutal government and the power they hold over their citizen's heads. Like Russia, the Chinese administration is an authoritarian one. Communism has become synonymous with authoritarianism. The power brokers in China are just like the power brokers in Moscow. They only want to decide the world's fate by themselves. For now China will back Russia because democracy is a greater priority to defeat and the enemy of my enemy is my friend once again proves valuable for both Russia and China.
     So the Ukrainians are not only fighting to stay alive from the Russian assaults on their sovereignty but they are also being attacked through more subtle ways by China. If China were not allied with Russia they would currently being attacking Russia in areas where both have geographic disputes. Russia is very weakened by its invasion in Ukraine. China could easily recapture disputed territory right now if it wasn't aligned with Russia. China needs Russia right now to keep fighting the Ukrainians and their desire for democracy. Both Russia and China know that if Ukraine succeeds in staving off Russia and recapturing its own territory the chances that both Russia and China survive as tyrannies is much diminished.
     We also see China has given North Korea the go ahead to help Russia with armaments and troops. That could not happen without China's approval. Eventually China wants Taiwan and the only way it can finesse that happening is if Russia defeats democracy in Ukraine. So many countries are in play because of this invasive attack by Russia in Ukraine. The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia would fall next if Ukraine is defeated with the Nordic countries of Finland, Norway, and Sweden next in line for attack by Russia. So much is at stake in keeping Ukraine secure and its demand to keep its democracy. Don't be fooled by China, they want Russia to succeed!

(#6008) What elixir is keeping trump alive?

      It seems to me that trump is being held together by something. I know we all need medications or treatments at times in our lives to help us recover from maladies and injuries. We also need medications to keep us alive from the processes of aging. With trump and his known behavior, it is simple to assume he is suffering from some debilitating diseases due to his appearance. They seem to be piling up as the obvious unnatural clues present themselves. First off he has bone spurs, lol. Okay, I couldn't help making a joke out of that. He wears lifts in his shoes that tilt him forwards when standing.
     After several photos this last week revealed his necessary utility of an adult diaper it is safe to assume he has lost control of his bowel movements. What that is diagnosed as is not my area of expertise but suffice it to say it does not bode well for him. Then yesterday a photo of his ankles revealed swelling that he is unable to hide. Again, the knowing of what that entails could be a long list of unfortunate possibilities. His face is also of some concern. He had been applying some kind of cream or spray on his face to give it shall we say a more colorful hue. But around the edges of his face the true color or lack thereof is exposed showing a whiteness that doesn't look healthy.
     All this to say that whatever he is medicating on to keep him disturbing our lives daily is freaky in that for him to act somewhat normal, that being an overstatement, he has to be doing something that is masking, not treating his obvious symptoms. How much longer he is able to stay ahead of the health issues that are coming his way is what I am curious about. Does he have some hope from some crackpot to keep him alive beyond his due date? Is he playing with genomics through stem cells to elongate his life? I just wonder if some one or group of whacky doctors are experimenting in ways not authorized to try to extend the life of a man focused solely on becoming less mortal and increasingly powerful.

(#6007) Not only do the correct thing but be on the correct side of history!

      I know it is hard to believe but when the mask of fear is stripped off the those who hide behind them the real person isn't a monster. Now of course there are a few exceptions but most people who do wrong things are doing them because they are angrily afraid. Their fear is so overwhelming that they cannot adjust to do what is correct no matter the logic. Once we understand this we can then peel back their masks by helping them overcome their fear. We don't do that by beating them or haranguing them with cutting words, we instead explain that all humans are uniquely the same and give examples where the melting pot ideal is flourishing.
     Easily said hard to do I know, but logic dictates that the only way to reach those who are afraid is to alleviate their fear through real life examples. No more metaphors nor generalized scenarios, real life examples where all of us and or many of us, have come together for a common purpose of goodness. What we know of our historical and individual pasts is often an impediment to creating a more welcoming present and future but knowing that should at least give us some hope that we can move forward without dragging the worst of our pasts with us. Every new day for me is part of my story and it should be for all of us. We can change how we each approach our present and future.
     I have no doubt we are all tired of pain and suffering whether real or remembered. The present gives us an opportunity to turn from our anger from fear. That defense mechanism of anger is most always triggered by fear. What we fear is what we don't know. I know I was afraid of new people in my life because I didn't know who they were or what they would do. I soon found out that they were as cautious about learning about me as I was about them. After a while I knew they were like me and the barriers of caution and fear began to fade and relationships of trust and friendship ensued. Once we get to the place where knowing is more prevalent than not knowing is when we throw fear away and enjoy the spirited adventure of life that it is supposed to represent.

(#6006) The worst of humanity lies in the hearts of men!

      Our boys are being taught to become men but what is that? I know as a man now what anger and frustration are but I also know why I am angry and frustrated. It is because I am not perfect. I expect myself to be perfect but we all know no one is perfect. As I came to accept my imperfections I also looked around me and saw others who were like me. We who understood the limitations of humanity are the ones who are trying to improve society so that it is less angry and frustrating. We don't limit ourselves by who is aligned with us as we choose to align with all who would help us make life easier and more enjoyable.
     We enlightened men who are introspective about existence and its amazing opportunities are bounded by a vision where all life is appreciated. We accept that we are just temporary visitors in existence and charge ourselves with the task of leaving existence in a better place than we when arrived in it. Often many wonder what their purpose is in existence. I know I did in my earlier past because not knowing why I was here as a human on this planet nagged me relentlessly. I finally overcame the question to make myself look at it another way. What can I do in existence that honors the good in life and is noble at its core? I found that answer in making my little world better around me.
     As a full grown and older man I learned that being a good person and helping others be a good person is what makes life better in my time here in existence. I focus on what is right in front of me and move through that with the clarity of a wise man. I am no great person.. Yet I am not unworthy nor an impediment to others finding happiness in their life. We are all shapes and forms both men and women and as such are who we are. None of us chose our appearance. We are the product of evolutionary birth with all of us having the extraordinary ability to reason, analyze, and conclude. We all think therefore we all exist as the saying goes. Each of us has the ability to make life better and that is our own truly remarkable purpose.

(#6005) With trump making it harder to pay the bills what do we do?

      I am a month short of 70 and already still on payroll 2 days a week. I suspect that I will have to up that 2 days to 3 or more sometime soon. I had already hoped to go to 1 day a week because of the wear on my old frame but that is not even feasible under this current chaos. Let me be clear here. I have worked in very hard labor intensive industries most of my life from residential/commercial framing crews to underground copper mining in the heat of Arizona to logging in the great northwest. I have always been willing to do the hardest parts of the production without batting an eye. But there was a price for my hubris.
     My body is not the same as it was back in my prime. I hurt everywhere now from the wear and tear of going above and beyond the required. Sure, maybe that was my fault for thinking I could do anything but I usually did as a routine so blame me for my physical condition now but when I was producing it was mostly out of fear that I had to be better or I wouldn't be able to keep my needed job. So I pushed the limits of my physicality to the upper limits. Again, after all these decades a cost has come due. I am still fit enough to manage my current work state but honestly I know I cannot go on for too much longer. Yet I most likely won't be able to slow down and instead must speed up.
     I think it is a travesty that we who are past our prime and have added value to our society are now being asked to do more when we are less able because the republicans want to give more to the wealthy. But that isn't the worst of it is it! The trumps of the world want more than to take our golden years from us they want our democracy as well. I do know this, I will do whatever I have to until I cannot do anymore to stop the trumps of the world and secure our democracy and what should be respect for our seniors. Until you are old, you have little idea how much every action of living has some little or big ache or pain attached to it. So our charge is to let you know so that when your time comes for being aged you won't be caught out like we aged are right now!

(#6004) The Duped States of America

      The republican voting states own this! The rest of us are stuck like we are just children in the back seat of the speeding out of control car. California is such an economic powerhouse while being anti trump that trump sees his only recourse to making California submit to him by destroying people's lives that help fuel California's economy. His ICE buildup isn't about finding criminals and removing them this is about trump creating a private army to destroy the California economic base. We here in California have always been a teeming agricultural region. Yet the hard work of the farming culture is too much for those who are not accustomed to the physical rigor of the work.
     This is why we have a traveling migrant community here that moves along the west coast to help not only plant the seeds but to pick the harvest. We need our migrants and they need the work. It is a win/win situation that not only feeds our nation and beyond but adds to our economic might. The trump people cannot have that for us. Instead, under the guise of deporting criminals trump is disrupting the farming community here in California by raiding working farms that are in their seasonal cycle of harvesting. The cruelty it takes to rip migrant families apart for no other reason than to stick it to California is mentally deranged.
     I don't know how but it must all stop! Whatever means necessary to end the carnage to decent people trying to do good things. I am absolutely disgusted with the republican party for not correcting their self induced insanity themselves. After yesterday's inhumane raid at a Southern California farm the realization that trump is a vindictive dictatorial despot is undeniable. That trump is favoring right wing voting states and punishing left wing voting states is as un-American as it gets. When you add in the fact that trump is deserting Democracy around the globe to instead hang out with tyrants is proof of his treachery to democracy. This bitter reality is not going to stop until the stopping of trump actually occurs.

(#6003) The republican majority on the Supreme Court are diluting our democracy

      The rule of law is what keeps the vibrancy of our nation upbeat. Through the rule of law we are given parameters to move within to fulfill our own destinies. The rule of law is what keeps our democratic principles of equality, liberty, freedom, fairness, and justice functioning as a priority. Without the rule of law the guardrails come off and the chaos begins. Our American society needs stability to function for all of us. We are bonded by geography and a heritage that demands for all us the rights of human beings. We stand tall and have many opportunities when the rule of law works for all of us.
     However, we are saddled with a despicable president, a weakened and cowering Congress and even a incomprehensible republican majority Supreme Court that is either ignorant to their oaths to protect the Constitution or are in collusion with the despicable one. I can only surmise as to the cause of our Supreme court being so loose with precedent and common sense but it seems to me that when you try to bend the law to fit a perspective you are aware of your actions and intent. This majority republican Supreme Court is taking the evolving promise of America and undercutting it to allow for privilege and advantage to supersede the equity of fairness and justice.
     The republican majority Supreme Court members are allowing for the diminution of equality, liberty, freedom, fairness, and justice, for purposes that are not lofty nor even commendable. Our Supreme Court, once a gold standard of wisdom, has now due to the republican majority on the Supreme Court, become the lap dog of an idea that has no honor. The pride I felt as an American in our political institutions and their charge to protect and defend democratic principles is now becoming a fleeting memory. We can reclaim our manifest destiny to lead human existence into a promising future for all life but we need to do it before the time comes when it is beyond our ability to achieve. With all three branches of government currently failing us the only way forward is we the people!

(#6002) At this point we just need to survive trump!

      The hope for America is to survive trump and then reestablish our democracy with more secure guardrails. We have to have laws that are unbreakable so that no one can circumvent them as a strategy. Not all laws are the same in our current application so that must never be allowed to happen again. Some and even many laws should have wiggle room as to sentencing but none should have any allowance for dismissal or ignoring of charges. When the evidence indicates a crime then an adjudication must follow. 
Guilt will be either proved or not but the process must be applied.
     That is the challenge we face once we are past the ugliness and disruption to our democracy by trump. As trump is the main figure to what our American democracy is facing he does have allies who helped him. Those also must be held to account when the end of trump begins. The one person one vote concept must also be prioritized above all concepts to influence our elections. Election engineering through money needs to stop. We have to consider public funding of elections so that only honest visionary candidates are put forward to lead us. No more should money buy elections like we have seen way too much over these last many decades.
     But none of this will change while trump is still fumbling about trying to figure out how he can remain in office forever. He won't be able to based on his mortality but he cannot serve another term in the presidency unless again he disobeys the law and forces his will over the top of ours. He is not a healthy candidate I suspect so he does have that uncertainty as to his eventual demise to calculate. However his health holds out we the people cannot and must not allow him to continue with his above the law mentality. We have three and a half years left of his rule so surviving him will not be easy but we know if we keep resisting he will uncomfortably find out he cannot order us to accept him.

(#6001) We democrats need to vote early

      I have a problem believing the voting machines are safe from being manipulated. I think the early paper ballot is the way to go so that we are not at the mercy of tech. that could be manipulated. I take a picture of my finished ballot along with the number on the ballot. It is my record of what that numbered ballot should look like. A sort of evidentiary fallback. We all must have some way to believe our votes are being counted properly when in this day and age too many have shown their untrustworthiness. I am one who in the back of my mind is still suspicious of how trump could have won all 7 swing states when he was polling so poorly prior to the vote.
     I won't go into conspiracies here but I am wary of how to make sure my vote is counted as I marked it and not how someone else could change it if they were able. Better safe than sorry kind of deal. If I have a recording of my ballot, it's number, and the choices I made then if and when it needed to be challenged I would have proof of its authenticity. We all need to have some kind of assurance that our votes are being tabulated as they truly are. I am not an election expert but I am cautious. I just want the true will of the people through our votes to be counted correctly, even if it means me losing to another majority desire.
     What I don't want is cheating to create a different outcome than a true majority cast vote. The beauty of democracy is that when the majority make known their desire our country is guided by that. Not the whim or intentional strategy of those who won't work with the majority to nuance any policy they may disagree with. The give and take between majority opinion and minority opinion is how we move forward as a nation. Depriving us of the very foundation of democracy creates an erosion that is not the will of the people. Those who would take our majority expressed will and supplant it with their own is what I am most concerned about and why not only my vote, but each of our votes, must be protected as it was truly cast.

(6000) Another milestone marker

      If you look at my first several hundred blog posts when I started out you will see that I was struggling a bit to write everyday. I had topics for the most part but not a confident writing style. But in the over 16 years of daily writing I have found my way into a style that is not only confident but expansive. My early days were short posts of a couple of paragraphs at most. now I an easily writing more than 300 words a day. I was never thinking of writing as a product of my daily life but I was thinking about how I could express myself beyond my own mind. I am no genius nor a talented creative creature. However I do know what I am and that to me is a value worth sharing.
     Self introspection is a lost attribute and we all suffer because we as a whole are lost as to who we really are. I write about compassion and curiosity with an element of survival as our natural instincts. Our species is no less than this unless we choose not to be. It really is our choice to deny ourselves our inner most directions. I will always choose my nature over denying it. It is my nature and that is special to me. For those who would trade their natures for some accolade, glamour, or gold I feel bad for not only you but for those you influence with your unnatural desires. Writing about how we interact and even more so how we should interact is the purpose of this blog.
     So now I will be entering my 6,000th blog post and it is something to me to accomplish because I never would have guessed this was going to be something that endured in my life. So many times I wanted to just stop the daily ritual and release myself from the obligation. But what happened every time was that I felt inside me a loss even when just thinking about stopping. I humorously like to say that it is my self described OCD that keeps me writing but it is more than that. This blog has become like an old silent friend that allows me to unburden my mind for a bit every day. For that I am a better person and knowing that will keep me writing most likely until the day I cannot write anymore.

(#5999) If trump had been a real man he could have changed things for the better

      How any person could allow themselves to be such an awful hateful person is beyond me. I know he isn't very bright at all but he should still have a heart within him. But he doesn't. What he could of done is stand up for democracy around the world instead of sucking up to the cruelest of leaders in the world. That part still boggles my mind that he cannot see he is doing the opposite of what a great president would do! Instead of towering over the worst of what humanity has to tolerate he is absorbed into it. His own ego is so out of whack that he thinks that by controlling what is good so he can destroy it makes him some kind of strongman hero.
     He could also have brought to heel the wealthy in our nation that are so far beyond the rule of law all the rest of us are obligated to observe. We do our duty to the rule of law because we know that living in a society is incumbent upon structure that keeps us safe and secure. So like he showed he could do with republican representatives in the House and Senate, he could have done the same with the wealthy, force them to accept honorable ideas for our future. I am not saying it is correct what he did but since he can why not do it for good? If the wealthy would just pay their fair share amount that would hardly make them blink an eye then the cuts to all the necessary programs for keeping our society from brutal reality wouldn't be necessary.
     In his first term in the very early days before he showed us that he is more a dictator than a statesman, I held out some hope that he would turn from his campaign rhetoric and administer fairness and justice. Well my hope was dashed within a week and has been dashed ever since. What will happen is that he will become the most hated president in modern times and likely of all time. He isn't done yet taking things apart and breaking them when they served a good and positive purpose. Also with him there is no pause in his destruction. He got his bill that will harm the working middle poor class and give more breaks to the wealthy, so now we just wait for the next debacle.. It is impossible for him to do good so it seems and that is on him. He made his bed as to his legacy and when the time comes he will sleep in it with nothing good for his eternity.

(#5998) The republican party has never been about benevolent government

      We are seeing the results of today's republican party and its centuries old agenda to only cater to those who are well off. They have been reluctant and outright against any national framework that unites all citizens regardless of race, gender, religion, and political affiliation. They are not what one would correctly describe as uniters. Instead they have a self absorbed condition that will conditionally only allow a coming together under arbitrary factors. In contrast we democrats do not make conditions for our uniting. In fact we even include republicans without conditions that republicans use against us.
     I am not a religious person but I will use examples from their texts that make it clear who we democrats are or who republicans aren't. We democrats are akin to the good Samaritan who reaches out a hand to help the stranger. Not like republicans who would scoff at the stranger while turning away from any plight of theirs. The republican reasoning is illogical in that they think one should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even though republicans didn't pull themselves up without any help. We democrats are clear that helping anyone better themselves betters all of us. We all need or needed help to get where we are and that is just truth.
     The trump presidency has been all about limiting and curtailing great progress over the centuries of our society toward fairness and equality. The rule of law is being adjusted to allow for criminality in some situations involving the wealthy, famous, and powerful. That is not blind justice that is visible injustice. The role of our representatives is being bullied to the point where we are unsure of the actual threats made to force public office holders minds from objective considerations to coerced results. We are living in a perilous time where free thinking and benevolence are being cornered by forces within the republican party. These republican forces see their ultimate dream of crushing the heart of America with prejudicial satisfaction about to come to fruition.

(#5997) Every answer to a problem requires some kind of sacrifice

      For those of us who are floundering around wondering how we get out of this mess there is a solution that requires sacrifice. We just have to be honest with ourselves and remain logical. Logic is where the answer is no matter the strategy. It may be a good strategy where the minimalist of sacrifices is endured or it is a strategy where great sacrifice is inevitable. Either way the floundering about must end. Every one of us has to think outside the box and outside our daily routines in order to imagine a solution that is real and lasting. We can only do what we can do but that do must have an end game. It cannot be a fancy with no steps involved. It has to be a firm commitment to a strategy that leads to reversing the current unsettling.
     The many of us have sat back and used our great traditions to protect us from having to make or state an opinion. Well that has not worked as planned. Instead our silence and deferred thinking has allowed for a difficulty to pressure us into ways of living that are not aligned with pursuits of happiness. Quick note here, pursuit of happiness is mostly about love but not always. We see now how our society is being shaped to imagine a world view that is less about liberty, freedom, and justice at the cost of enlightenment and the evolution of innovation. Much more is the identity of our species being reigned in from unlimited to fettered and blinded.
     If we think that we are not going to have to participate in our own saving then we are being foolish. There is no knight in shining armor nor justice league that is itching to save us from our own stupidity. There is only us and now that we are all coming to the same conclusion that a change of reality is absolutely necessary we  each need to consider our response. As the time keeps ticking away on our sensibilities we have not the luxury of procrastination. We need to get our purpose figured out as to our part in the creating a new paradigm where we the people are the subject of considerations not the fodder.

(#5996) No Nathan Hale's in the republican party

      Over the last several days we Americans and the world that is watching has witnessed the cowardice that is absolute in republican federal public offices. The Congress of the US is led by republicans, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In both chambers the trump big bullshit bill was forced down their throats and they took it like the weaklings they are. It wasn't literally forced down their throats but the threats and intimidation coming from trump proved to be too much for such non brave republicans. They cowered to the threats and intimidation to give the most cruel president "elected" in my lifetime another opportunity to punish we the people.
     I know that there is no shame in voting your conscience but there is shame when you vote against your conscience and better judgement. That is what happened over the last several days. Some in the republican party gave some indication that they would stand on principle but as is most always the case with republicans, in this case mere hours, they fold and give in to their fears. Nathan Hale did not give into his fears even though the noose was around his neck. I have always voted against republicans because to me they were not truthful in their convictions nor policy agendas. They are all a bit of conman/woman. They show you what you would like and then take from you something that makes your life harder.
     I was born just after Dwight D. Eisenhower, a republican, was starting in his second term. He would be the exception to today's republican members in that he was not a conman trying to beat we the people down. But every republican president since has been the ally of the wealthy and the foe of the working middle poor class. When I saw all the hope the last several days that the bullshit trump bill would be defeated I knew that although hope is good, it is misplaced when you are banking on republicans finding their courage. There is no honor in the republican party just waffling for a short time to gain sympathy. In the end this soul crushing bullshit bill is going to be the law of the land and until we actually stop voting for republicans the worst is still yet to come.

(#5995) This too shall pass...

      Even if trumps burn our democratic republic to the ground it will survive. I know this because despite all the despair and demoralization, we know that chaos cannot rule indefinitely. There are too many of us who will not let the carnage of trumps prevail into infinity. There will come a correction and when it hits it will be decisive. Apparently we Americans didn't learn from our own history during the Civil War so we have to have another ripping apart of our country to remind us that the rights of man/woman extend to all not just to some. That equality, freedom, liberty, and justice are total and not open to compromise within the rule of law.
     But for now we must endure the cracks in our foundations of society in order to appreciate the advances we had previously made. It would have been much easier if we had just remembered, but that isn't how this is playing out. We also have found that we need to have laws that do not have allowances for those who are in public office. The rule of law must and should always remain beyond the manipulation of those who would abuse it. We are in this current situation because Supreme Court justices have lied under oath as well as Congressional representatives. The executive is the master liar and yet he is not held to any account for his betrayals of assurances and unethical hidden agendas.
     When our lawmakers are forced to face the law when they break the law without impunity, is when we will start to see what true democracy looks like. Not this current unrest that is only represented by threats of coercion and duress. My logic here is that the sooner we the people decide to stop being part of this charade of normalcy the quicker we get to stopping this self implosion. Because there will be no other outcome. We will either coalesce around each other to confront until we succeed or we continue to play along hoping all will get better on its own or someone else will do our duty for us. Like from the movie Shawshank Redemption, "get busy living or get busy dying".

(#5994) The republican party doesn't live from their heart!

      If you want to know the difference between democrats and republicans it is real easy. We democrats want all of us to have an opportunity for happiness whereas republicans are only concerned with themselves. The republicans truly are about only their opportunities and nothing about others is there stand. While we democrats understand that all of us being happy is how life should be. We democrats live from our hearts while republicans oppress their emotions. They have gotten so good at oppressing their emotions that republicans are clueless now as to why we democrats even care. Being inhuman has taught them that being human is a detriment.
     I can venture guesses as to what is the purpose of a human being based upon our natures. For me, we are compassionate and curious. To deny one of those natures is to become something inhuman. The republicans say that they care about some people but not all people. Well that is the problem. How can one disassociate from all human beings just to placate their biases and prejudices? That may be some kind of control in their minds but it is not observant nor logical. We as humans did not create our existence. So for us to think we can make our existence different from what it is can only be described as a mental failing or a diseased soul.
     The best way to describe what is now an embarrassment is to call it what it is. The republican party is filled with broken people. For whatever reason they have abdicated their ability to reason, analyze, and conclude. Instead they fall back on the tarnished defaults of hatred and abuse. As for we democrats it is in our soul to care. Not just for those who look like us or whom we can dominate, but for all. Because we understand the simple concepts of diversity and respect. We didn't create this existence either but instead of forcing our path forward with all its malignancies like republicans do, we instead accept reality as it is and move forward to better it for all of us.

(#5993) We traded peace and prosperity for exhaustion and struggle

      What were we thinking? I cannot understand the depth of our collective ignorance. Yet, we can get our peace and prosperity returned. We just need to actuate or effect change that stops the current discouragement. Before we can even begin to understand what the change will be we all must find it within ourselves to be part of whatever is about to come happen. When we are all ready to step up to the starting line is when we all can start to visualize our hope of peace and prosperity. Coming to attention at he same time is when we can all move forward with some semblance of a successful strategy.
     We know what our enemy is and how he is going to react day in and day out. There is no surprise other than who is next victim may be. As relentless as he is we must counter with even more desire to overcome his insatiable appetite to destroy American democracy. Make no mistake here. He is all about establishing himself as a lifelong ruler under any circumstance. Since he can not do it under democracy he will destroy democracy so he can make his own rules. This isn't rocket science it is just progressive thought along a logical sequencing. He has shown us who he is and do not be mistaken by underestimating him.
     He owns the republican party lock, stock, and barrel. He will take the metaphorical republican musket and blow a hole in our society wide enough for himself and others to dominate for generations to come. Yet we who are in his way cannot sit down or move over. We must create such a shield as he would not be able to create an opening. We the American people have allowed ourselves to become pawns for him to move around on the board of life. We are pawns now and all we can do is move forward together in such a mass as to block any space for him to advance. We will get treated like pawns because he will not relent. But that is our fate to be cannon fodder for what is coming because we couldn't protect the precious gift of democracy when all we had to do was vote no to him!

(#5992) The republican party makes life especially hard for older folks

      I am not real old but I am just about to turn 70 years old. I worked hard in my younger life in manual and supervisory roles that took their toll on my body. As a home and building wood framer for more than a decade, an underground miner and logger for several years I have had some of the most rugged work to perform and it has worn me down as I keep getting older. I am still strong but nowhere near do I have the power and fortitude of my youth. That is the thing about aging, it is relentless in its winding down the height of our promise toward an end. So when the republican party is always looking to keep us seniors from any comfort as the end of our lives approach you should get my anger at them. not just for me but for all we who are not young anymore.
     There are many other age groups who could claim the same about the callousness of the republican party but for me it is front and center as an aged person. I don't expect a hand out from our government but I do expect some respect. At least with Democrats we get recognition for our life long work endeavors that do make our society a better place and that is admirable. The Democratic party has in my lifetime always been there to help the working middle poor class elevate themselves from no opportunities to several opportunities. And when we workers get older and unable to keep pace with the younger workers we had our Social Security and Medicare at minimum to look forward to as a foundation.
     Not anymore as the republican party is prepared to take a sledgehammer to our foundation of Social Security and Medicare so that the obscenely wealthy in our nation can have even more that they could never spend in a lifetime. We the working middle poor class are being used to destroy what little comfort Social Security and Medicare provide to seniors. It all makes me sad and mad at the same time that our care for our elders is such that it is not a priority. We elders of our existence are being discarded for a purpose that can only be described as intentionally greedy and disregarded for the pain and suffering we endured to live our lives improving society for those who follow us. Shame Shame Shame!

(#5991) Honesty isn't infallible, but it is close

      Here is how honesty works for me. Especially when it involves me in some hardship. First thought through my head is how wronged I have been. It is natural I suppose to think of ourselves as infallible when something jumps up out of the blue to make life harder for us. Even those things we control. Like this morning I noticed I was paying more than double the bill I normally pay for a service. My first thought was this bill must be a scam. Amusing since I defaulted immediately to there is no way this is correct. But soon afterward I had a lingering doubt that maybe I did screw something up.
     After careful examination I began to realize that I did screw something up. A something I never screw up. Once again by default I began to lay blame at the feet of ageism. Although again I quickly reversed out of that and understood that this month has been economically challenging with me jumping through hoops to make ends meet. I was the cause of my less than major trouble and there was no excuse for it other than I lost track of a responsibility. I am the loose cog in the wheel. I can say that with no shame or remorse. Because my world revolves around the truth of things not the salve many need to avoid the truth. Even though my first instinct was to look elsewhere for blame I quickly realized that looking for the blame was as easy as looking in the mirror.
     I say honesty isn't infallible because it does have its peculiar perspectives at times but in most cases honesty is infallible. All we have to do is remove our own biases and prejudices and then most all becomes rationally clear. In my world there is no bank error in my favor. What is more likely to happen is I make an error and then must unravel its truth and then rectify it. For one thing it settles me in that I know the logic always delivers when I pay attention to it. I also know that I am fallible so when the truth of something shows itself I am not surprised nor too reluctant to embrace it. I don't like making mistakes or being wrong as per my initial default thinking. That said, I am the epitome of saying sorry and/or making something correct.

(#5990) The end of trump is the beginning of civility and respect returned to our society

      You may hate the idea behind the democratic party of helping all in our society pursue their own happiness without harming but you are on the wrong side of human nature. Because there will come a day when trump is no more and his sexism and racism are no longer points for others to rally around. That day is coming with the age and bad health of trump getting worse as each day proceeds. If trump survives to the end of his term he will have become a real liability to republicans up and down the ticket. The chances of an overwhelming loss by republicans increases by the day. When that day of no more trump arrives is when the sanity of politics will return to those who are aware of the insanity now.
     Democrats and republicans will be clear of the power that trump currently holds over too many. That trump truly is the end all for trumpism is clear to me and despite his followers zeal they will scatter to the wind when there is no more trump to protect them. I have seen memes showing that when trump does die his funeral will be enormous but not for his life achievements, but instead for the turning over a new day when trump isn't in our lives making it miserable. I actually concur with the meme I saw in that the sense of relief that such a conman of enormous stupidity could have commandeered our society will spontaneously generate a massive sigh of relief and dancing in the streets moments.
     Afterward, when trump is not a factor in our society, we will start to move back to governance that focuses on democratic principles and reestablishes now broken alliances. An era where the putins of the world are back to being confronted for their crimes. An era where democracy and the freedom and liberties it brings will return to the forefront of American and foreign politics. We will not forget that many republicans colluded with trump to destroy our democracy here at home and there will be a reckoning on their heads. Beyond that though the rebuilding of bridges in our politics will be healthy and the protection of law and order will make for a quieter and more improved environment for our soon to be new future.

(#5989) Child informational development and the Internet

      When I was a child I had the knowledge that my family members could share with me, my teachers and classmates at school, and the library where we first had to discern the Dewey Decimal System. Even then asking the big why questions had no immediate answers. In other words I was only able to search out answers that were less than complex. Most of the time I was told not to question some things as unimportant to my daily life. What I know today is that I should have been told that those were good questions and that although they didn't know the answers they would help me find a way to answer them.
     When people say that progress is slow this is a prime example of that. Life is hard and being all things to a child can be challenging to the nth degree especially a child like I was. However, the challenge has been lessened in this current time as technology has come about in a way that circumvents most all the obstacles to learning. One such major technological advance is the Internet. If the Internet had been around when I was first starting out in school I would have had many answers to questions instead of disappointments and the many times I was told to stop asking questions. Because the Internet would have been my backstop when my usual routes to questioning were stymied.
     When we are young is when our minds are most able to capture and retain information. Having an Internet option expands the depth of the young mind and allows it to immediately progress at rates that often enough took me decades to achieve. History should should show how progress in our individual informational gathering record on whole has leaped ahead through Internet data bases that are constantly evolving and growing. To be young with an Internet connection is a dream for me that I can imagine if it were me. We need to teach our children that there are no unsolvable problems just ones we haven't figured out yet. We figure them out through information at our fingertips.

(#5988) Unless capitalism is reformed with socialism, we will always have the poor.

      Greed, it is what makes the capitalistic world turn. Not invention nor creation, just greed. When greed is the engine that makes many of our industries operate in dysfunctional ways, the only fix to make capitalism less about greed and more about inclusion is to socialize it. Not totally, as ideas come and go and need to be allowed to blossom as needed. But the weight of all the industry centered around profit for the a small group of people is vastly disproportionate. All who endeavor in the initial idea of commerce are stakeholders, not just the money men but the workers and consumers.
     Our society should not be designed to placate those with money while making it hard for those who without. The great equalizer is society itself. We cannot allow just a few silver spooned to run away with our resources and profits to the point where we the people actually become expendable. We humans within society are not resources to be used by a few for their desire and pleasures. We allow for peace in our society when we all feel the opportunity to grow and flourish. When we don't feel that opportunity then our recourse is to topple our society and either invent a new one or remain in chaos and uncertainty.
     Better we take the concept of all for one and one for all seriously to heart. No matter our station in life or if we are in a position to make dreams come true then we must do all we can to help our society reach a higher plateau than the one we began on. I am not here to say we should allow the worst of us to live like kings, I am just saying that we need to raise the floor of our society so that the term poor is not synonymous with unfair and callous capitalistic practices. If someone chooses to be poor that is their choice but we cannot make people be poor because we don't care enough to give all a hand up toward their own pursuits. It is always better to be a good person who helps people than a bad person who only helps themselves. Try both and then tell me I am wrong!

(#5987) I have a quirky writing style and I am opinionated!

      I am at the threshold of having half a million views of my posts over the 16 plus years I have been doing this blog. A lot of the views have come in the last several years so the interest in my voice and writing style has been on the rise of late. Which makes me somewhat confused because for the most part I have not changed much from the beginning back in 2009. Yet the mysteries of time and space will have their way. Anyway, as to my writing style I do like to flourish my content with some generalities and specifics. I am not a writer who follows all of the proper rules of sentence and grammatical structure and at times can mess up the tense. However, I am free writing from my being so despite some editing at the end it is what I was thinking the moment it was typed.
     I am also someone who is looking to leave existence better than I found it. Which is no simple task. There was much about love and kindness we had when I started out that now seems less in supply. But also there were difficulties back then that are less so now. We are improving as an existence but we are also regressing. I suppose I could make a rudimentary chart to try to delineate improvements over deteriorations. Something for me to address at another time. This type thinking here is why I call my writing style quirky. I start on one premise toward a conclusion and instead end up with another premise toward another different conclusion. I am in other words like to mix my logic like I like to mix my metaphors, occasionally. :)
     Back to me being opinionated. I used that term as a general concept but inside me it is more absolute. I care about all people and want all of us to have the dignity of freedom, liberty, justice, and most of all the pursuit of happiness while doing no harm. I don't think I am asking too much when I try to live my life under these basic terms. What we have in the world is a gang of thugs who will do anything to keep the status quo of misery and pain for many while they bask in the glow of their own selfishness. In this sense my writing style is consistent. I am a warrior against the culprits who keep this existence in a state of disappointment and unworthiness. However quirky I may be!

(#5986) I am an American but I am also a victim of this current despicable regime!

      The world looks on at America with a puzzlement as to how we have regressed from being the greatest democracy and defender of our democracy in the world. I suspect a majority of we here in America also are in puzzlement about how we got to this soul crushing place. We keep electing the same corrupt and borderline sociopathic individuals to lead us so the puzzlement shouldn't be too difficult to comprehend. Why we keep electing these malicious souls is beyond my current comprehension but surely it must be for several reasons that all of which defy honor and logic.
     I would say that too many are loyal to a miserable political party out of some allegiance with the past. I would also say that too many are unkind in their souls about equality issues concerning race and gender. As well the fact that our population has slipped badly from being an intelligent citizenry to one that is vulnerable to propaganda and sensationalism. There is an awful mix of too many who are angry at the wrong cause of their unfortunate effects. We Americans seem to be able now to be so manipulated to agendas that are not realistically our cause. We have illogically taken on the burdens of those who would use us for their own gains.
     My hope is that the world will not fall into the abyss like we Americans have and instead will continue to fight for democracy and human rights. There are many of us here in America who will not quit fighting along with you but at the moment we are not as strong as we need to be. I don't know how all this is going to play out but I won't quit because I and others have the will to succeed. Nothing here is set in stone and as time moves on so do we who will never stop working to bring out the better and best of who we Americans are when we are not so gullible to the distortions and lies of our current existence.

(#5985) We Americans perpetrated an act of war without declaring war first!

      We sucker punched Iran last night  True to trump's bully form that is exactly what he did. The dishonor associated with attacking another nation without declaring war first is exemplified in the act that Japan perpetrated on Pearl Harbor. Although in Japan's case, which is no excuse, they intended to declare war but were not quite able to do it properly. With trump he just seized the moment on his own while only letting his two republican lieutenants in the Senate and House know just before he proceeded to bypass the rest of Congress, and Iran, and sneakily drop bombs on Iran.
     I can be somewhat assured that trump's intention of destroying Iran's nuclear material was not accomplished last night. So what he did in the probable case is only let Iran know he declared war on them. We the American people are not uncivilized like trump when it comes to rules of engagement. The rules are there to keep civilians safe from military targets. No such notice was given by trump to Iran so their citizens were not allowed to calculate safety measures. This does not surprise me because the sucker punch only works if no one is aware of the coming blow. That is how bullies operate because they are afraid of fair fighting!
     What will happen next is somewhat knowable. Much like we here in America after Pearl Harbor was attacked, our nation was unified in its determination to mobilize. We had the moral high ground and it fueled our focus to fight. That is what trump gave Iran last night and we Americans had better be prepared for the aftermath because it is coming. The election of trump the first time was our warning and the second time we didn't heed that first warning. Now that the warning has been ignored the effect of his ignorance and bullying ways will harm us in ways we still don't imagine. The pain is coming and there is no one to blame for it but us because we allowed trump to play at leading the greatest nation on Earth into a hole we we are about to fall down in.

(#5984) The rest of the snake will wither and die once the head is removed!

      The world needs this to happen. So do we who are not ignorant nor complicit! By hook or crook something is wrong with how trump got into office. Surely we know his Supreme Court gave him the opportunity by not upholding the rule of law concerning his actions on January 6, 2021. But even then the way the vote played out against the obvious will of the people has many of us perplexed. However, we have been given some clues from trump's lackey muskrat that there may have been some deceit perpetrated through voting machines. I am not saying I have any proof but I will say I have plenty of doubts for a man who really does need proof.
     The way all of this has happened and the events since his inauguration, suggests some sort of foul play has entered our trusted and civilized voting processes. History will tell the story but for now we need to find a way out of this catastrophe that is under a constant pressure of worsening. Every day I feel the growing frustration of doom as an inevitable consequence of his election, tainted as it may have been. Our collective despair is real and deepening as the hours move on. I also felt this the last time he hustled his way into our leadership but this time he is even more devious and cruel in his approach to lording over us.
     The end of the trump regime is something I long for with every waking hour. It is also the first thing I think of when I rise from uneasy slumber. Has something taken place to end his ability to command our lives with his own crushing intent? I am not passive about this I am publicly hopeful. However his end comes be it through resignation, medical emergency, or even his expiration, No hope is disallowed. The end of the trump regime will also end his cabal of bootlickers and their disregard for humanity. We Americans need our soul back and will get that when we have removed the guard who is imprisoning it.

(#5983) Second round of No Kings protests coming July 4th

      Two weeks from now on a Friday the nationwide protests against trump will start again. The importance of this coming protest is because not only to object to trump and his dictatorial policies but to celebrate our nations 249th birthday. Our constitution with democracy at its core is the value we all should honor. Not some conman who is barely literate trying to force us from our long heritage of bettering the world for all who would seek it. From battles overseas to attain democracy and the inner battle we are now having in the United States to keep our democracy, the message we send on July 4th must be loud and clear with participation of overwhelming support.
     It was generally estimated that on the last No Kings day protest on June 14th the total was around 13 million. Which made it the largest protest in American history. I expect that on July 4th a new record should be set with upwards of many many more than 13 million. We the people have one real good shot at this to let it be known the true conviction of our minds and hearts against tyranny and for democracy. This coming protest will be the perfect opportunity to display our intention of keeping our ability to direct our politicians and not be directed by them. No Kings is especially poignant in that trump is unwilling to protect democracy neither here at home nor overseas.
     Two weeks is plenty of time for us to each find our strategy and purpose for protesting wherever we are located in the US and across the world. It is my hope that all citizens of the world who are allowed to protest without being punished would find the time to join in and protest whatever the cause that is keeping a boot on our neck. Freedom and liberty to pursue our happiness without doing harm is the goal. Not the bitter disappointment of subjugation and deprivation. Our world belongs to the living and most of us who are alive in our souls need to show up and be counted among those who would value existence as more than a place where the darkest of motives rule unabated.

(#5982) The rule of law, atheism, and honoring your good heart

      This is the lens that I see the world I live in. It is also my handbook for living a life that can find respect for others in the world. Now there are some who defy my ability to respect all but they are the worst of what humanity has birthed and outside my ability to forgive and forget. That is my life encompassed until it is shattered by those who would destroy me and those like me who have noble intentions. In those cases the worst of who I could be is activated in a measured way so as to protect what are the values of a good life. I am a duality when needed but otherwise I am simply one who works hard to live by the rule of law, atheism, and the best my heart can conceive.
     I understand some cannot find all three of these paradigms within them and are conditioned to having beliefs that keep their lives in balance. I can easily accept that as their personal choice and to honor that. I can also see that some are not attuned to rule of law and that to me is troubling. I know some laws are unjust and need to be rectified to a better example however overall the rule of law is vital to all our safety and security. What is a good heart? Love and kindness are two words that come to mind. Beyond that there is tolerance and respect that show by example. A good heart is needed by all to really be human and not just some brute who must have what isn't theirs to have.
     These three principled paradigms are what motivate me to pursue my happiness. The beautiful part about it is that my happiness is not a set or predetermined people, place, or thing. I just want to have around me the people, place, and things that make me smile and are happy. This existence can be anything we want it to be and if we all would just stop for a moment and recognize that the stress and strain of our daily problems would seem far less important and much more easily prioritized if we would just enjoy our moments instead of aggravating over them. For me the bar is low because I already have the respect for the rule of law, for my atheism, and for the purposefulness of my good heart.

(#5981) Time for all the arm chair christians to feel their armageddon moment

      The right wing political christians have been waiting for their come to Jesus moment and it may happen very soon. They elected trump their god figurehead to be their shepherd and he is about to lead them right into the next existence, or so they believe. For me a non believer in any religion, this is just a bunch of hooey that is likely to kill many who are like me. After the election night last year I came quickly to the understanding that although we barely survived him last time we were  not going to survive him this time unless some extraordinary event altered the course of our deserves.
     With trump now acting like he is a big ally of Israel and their desire to start world war 3 I somewhat expect him to join in the carnage. He is a fan of putin who is causing regional carnage in eastern Europe but the Israel/Iran thing will cause far more nations to get involved and there are many who possess nuclear weapons. I used the word armageddon in the title to define the end of time and space for the majority of humanity. Whether any human survives the aftermath of a mostly unusable planet is debatable. Either way, the end of what we know as normal will never again occur for any of us who do survive. I am saddened that too many would rather live in a world where believing in something that is not rational is worth the near to total destruction of our planet.
     Yet here we are living in a world where belief systems overrule logic and reality. More than being sad that our species is capable of deluding ourselves for what to me is unfounded fear is the fact that most all our enlightenment over the millenniums will be lost to the ravages of a post nuclear world. We are within a time frame that is about to do the most foolish thing ever done in the history of the world. Most of us won't be around to reason and analyze it but just know the conclusion is a punishment that supersedes all other punishments ever given. There will be no chastising christians or trump supporters who brought us to this point but before most of us are gone I wanted you the enablers to know that we know what you caused.

(#5980) This is what I know...

      On November 5th 2024 when it became clear that trump was once again going to become president I had already resigned myself to the likely fact that my existence was going to be a struggle to maintain. Because trump doesn't like people like me and I don't like creatures like him. So one way or another my time is bound in the ultimate battle between me surviving and trump surviving. I am not that powerful and he unfortunately is. I know many who are like me who also feel the depressing letdown of having to defend ourselves against trump just because we see his cruelty and what he can bring to silence us.
     Fortunately for me I have lived the better part of my life so it ending isn't such a devastation to my emotions. But to have it ended to a sniveling coward with power is enough to make me fight with everything I have to prevent it. Yet I am not the one with force behind me. The problem I have also is that trump may well end the lives of too many much too soon and that is unacceptable to me. He is not worthy of being anyone in charge of anything let alone the fate of America and our slowly slipping away allies. Why I am writing about this now is because trump may unleash our military might in an irreversible way at any moment. My best guess is that he won't because what I know of him he does not like following through on his threats.
     However, his threats to involve America in a devastating confrontation where nuclear weapons are present is unnerving. Unnerving or not though I am not impressed with any of his rhetoric and regardless of his decisions I will not stop fighting to stop his agenda until one of us is stopped. There is my line in the sand as we all need to make each in our own time. Those who voted for this absolute mentally instable jackass are the reason our democracy and society on whole may well be torched to the ground. Nothing good will happen under trump so stopping him is all I can see to do to save our democracy and as well save we who believe in humanity.

(#5979) Ukraine is fighting for democracy so why don't you support them?

      Let me clear here. Do you know what democracy is? We the people, that is what democracy is. We who make up our society are the ones who represent us through federal elections that are held at orderly time intervals. In our case every 2 years. But what does our democracy represent to us? For we the people it gives us the rights of human beings established in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. What are these rights that are established for us? Basically they give us the freedom and liberty to pursue our own happiness without causing harm to others. Who are we the people? We the people are everyone who is part of our society regardless of race or gender.
     This is what Ukraine is fighting for and what we who are already in command of should be fighting with Ukraine for them to attain theirs. If you are not fighting for the rights of human beings then what are you fighting for? Do you understand? Every person living in our democracy should be a defender of democracy. Because freedom and liberty are not guaranteed in any other form of government. So if you are not fighting for democracy you can see why the rest of us would think that you are trying to destroy democracy when you don't defend it. So each and every person should ask themselves if they are defenders of democracy or not!
     Even though our American history has been messy it has always fought for the rights of humans to live their lives pursuing their own happiness without causing harm. We have overcome many of our most glaring American hypocrisies and cruelties to evolve to a point where under law all are equal with liberty to cause no harm while pursuing our individual and collective happiness. This is what Ukraine is fighting for. The opportunity to give their citizens the we the people title in choosing and directing their elected officials as they deem most helpful for all of their citizens. If you are not supporting Ukraine and it's magnificent fight to preserve their fledgling democracy then what and who are you fighting for?

(#5978) Expect more chaos from trump as he calls putin after his underwhelming 3rd world military parade

      There is no doubt in my mind that trump has to talk to putin regularly so that he knows what to do. We are being manipulated by putin through trump. Which makes for an impossible task on our part to convince trump to change his ways. The tyrant putin will never change his ways and now neither will trump. If trump didn't get that we the American people are against him it is because he doesn't care. Even I am now suspicious of the vote totals from last years election given the stakes that trump was dealing with. When muskrat said he delivered the vote to trump I can easily see that the possibility of vote fraud on the part of muskrat operatives. through voting machines, isn't out of the question.
     With putin pulling the strings I can also see why trump is relentless in his attacks on democracy. Which brings me to a conclusion that I have held for a long time now. Somehow someway we Americans need a final break from trump. No other dupe in American history has been such a useful idiot for our enemies. The sooner trump is not in charge anymore the sooner our society returns to a more normal perspective. We still have problems with too many republicans but they are not the shell of trump that putin moves within with ease. Once trump is beyond trying to control our every waking moment the closer we are to reestablishing our democracy as a world vision.
     Yesterday's protests everywhere were a real slap in the face of trump and he is smarting deeply. Which means the advice last night from putin will quickly take shape today from trump. So expect some new or growing violation of our rights as a retribution for we the people showing trump up. This is real simple folks, we are in a battle and the winner will rule America. Either we the people overcome trump and force him back to the rock he slithered out from under or we the people will no longer be able to withstand his vengeance aimed at us for making yesterday's king like aspirations of his miserably fail.

(#5977) Our battle motto: Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst!

      The beauty of being on the correct side of history is that we can actually smile when we have a moment. Basking in the triumph of knowing we are the better and best of what humanity should be is a value that is unlimited in price. Yet knowing we are honorable and noble in our thoughts and deeds about what life should be is not the same as being prepared for the reality we are currently living. There are too many ignoble folks who are blinded by their hatred of those who are not of their ilk. They are prepared to cause chaos and harm whenever it is feasible for them to administer.
     We we who are not generally attracted to chaos and harm must also prepare to defend against those who are generally attracted to a range of violence. We must hone our skill level in some areas to be better prepared for the force that is aligned with brutality and cruelty. Each of us is different in our skill levels and approaches when confronted with our rights being ignored or breached. Those of us who are not prone to being offensive or even defensive are at a fork in the road of life. We must either choose to resist the attacks that are surely coming our way or we must figure out how to escape to fight another day. Because there will be no safe harbor to sit this one out in any more if the forces of anti humanity succeed.
     I am myself always of a duo nature. First it is to be the curious/compassionate person that has evolved into a reliably sound and respected human being. But at the same time beneath that desired persona lives a survivalist. Even more than a survivalist in that I have a personality akin to a hero type. I would gamble my own existence to help save the existence of others who are threatened. But that is just me. We each must find it within ourselves to discover who our survival persona is and activate that person when and only if required. We cannot be caught unaware of the danger that is confronting us right now and it will cost all of us some amount to defeat it but we can and should for the sake of who we are as decent honorable people.

(#5976) The courts the courts the courts...

      For those of us who knew that the republican controlled House and Senate would be complicit with most everything trump tries to do to erode democratic constitutional guardrails, it is the courts that have stepped up and said whoa, wait a minute! I knew that the district and appellate courts would favor saving constitutional laws but I worried that the 6-3 republican split on the Supreme Court would side with trump when they eventually got to make the final decisions. But my sense now is that most of those republicans on the Supreme Court are suspicious of trump and themselves losing power.
     More is yet to be revealed and those revelations are coming very soon. If the Supreme Court sides with trump on election manipulation and national guard control then the verdict for a free election in the coming midterms will be unattainable. If trump can commandeer state national guard troops at his pleasure then voting, which will become more cumbersome will be difficult to achieve when troops are at the polling places as obstruction. There is so much going on right now and for those who are not yet ready to engage in the reality the rest of us are screaming is at our doorstep then I admit we will have little to no chance to escape the coming trump authoritarian rule.
     None of our constitutional institutions will survive, not even the Supreme Court. Which is why I expect the court to rule against trump for their own survival. Not out of some great respect for our constitution but more to assuage their own personal fears. Whatever the reason the verdict to uphold democratic norms is vital and although selfish on the part of the republicans on the court I will be happy for it. The rule of law should always be defended but in this moment that is under a cloud. The republicans on the Supreme Court gave trump a get out of jail free card and trump is emboldened to grasp for more. I expect the republicans on the Supreme Court didn't expect their gift to trump to come back and bite them in their asses!

(#5975) Ten years from now the history books will be unbelievable

      We still don't know what will happen in the days ahead but what has already happened is bewildering. The present will either get worse or some intervening actions will change the course of our continued spiral down from civilized progress. I am not being flippant nor embellishing. We are on a downward plateau right now that is ominous to democracy and to civility. The harsh cruelness of the putins and trumps of the world is not an aberration it is a destination for them. The more time they have to consolidate their narrative changing pessimism the more likely we go from bewilderment to unabashed painful incredulity!
     In my mind the history of this time will be a triumph for the forces of sanity and good nature. Not the cavalier attitude of wanton destruction. But as of this moment the outcome is in doubt. So there is still time to bring order back to our culture and society with some change that reflects that. If not then the only other opportunity we will have to regain normalcy will require acts that stretch the bounds of polite society. Now is the moment when the proper way to rebut a cancerous world order is doable. We the people still have the strength to negate the egos of those who would be our masters. There is no other way to face them up than to stand or sit with power!
     This time will be a blemish on our culture as it may well allow a cruel and inhumane conman the dishonorable opportunity to disrupt the ascension of a 250 year old democratic movement for the sake of hatred and prejudice. The names linked with this time are duty bound to be disgraced for all future lives to see and read about. That is the thing with history, despite the victors defining it there is always an underground movement to keep the truth secure for when the light of day does reappear. None of these acts by the oppressing republican party will go forgotten nor will their heritage survive the brutal disgust that will perfectly follow. As the wannabe kings see things in their own dimension the many of us see beyond that and work with all we have to succeed above their limited scope.