(#6151) A lot of our young Americans are too afraid to die

      I get that. You are just starting out in life and cannot see the wisdom in dying before you start living as your own human being. Yet some very notorious people are taking advantage of that extreme caution from the young and changing their future before they even start to living it fully. The future belongs to our young folks, not us who are beyond the age of unlimited energy and enthusiasm. The innocence of the young is still fresh in their minds and their advocacy for justice and fairness is unparalleled. The beauty of our young is that they still see simple solutions to our most egregious realities.
     They don't try to nuance the obvious into something far less and more difficult to administer. Instead they see what the rest of us need as a foundation and live to bring that about. Therein lies the problem for those who are older, selfish, and greedy. They have power now and do not want to relinquish it to those who they think are beneath them. These older cynics and greedy selfish are the problem, not our youth. So what do the greedy selfish older people do? They scare and intimidate the young with grave consequences when they need to shut down the youth from their natural ascension. That fear of being dead instead of alive seems to work well for them.
     But I always come back to our own amazingly true American hero Nathan Hale. He, at the age of 21, was a revolutionary war spy against Britain and was caught and hung. However he left us all with his last words of regretting that he only had one life to give for his country. Sure Nathan was scared because he was human. Yet he found his courage and his purpose despite his fear. Our young folks today are going to need to find their purpose and courage over the coming present and future days if they are to be a factor in preserving our democracy. For them more than me and those of my age, the future is for the young to lead but I will do all I can to support them and help in any way I can.

(#6150) We need a national work stoppage day!

      We the democratic party have some momentum on our side. But to keep it we must ratchet up the pressure on the republican party. The best way to do that is to stop working for at minimum one day. Whatever the excuse given we must find a way to align all of us to a beginning and then follow through. I know even with only my necessary part time job I will participate. Because some things are greater than our current economic struggles. Saving our democracy is one of those greater things. The only pressure republicans and their wealthy donors understand is money. If we start to deprive them of money they will understand our ability to effect them directly.
     Trying to appeal to their conscience is worthless. They publicly act contrite and sympathetic but then go back behind closed doors and laugh at us. The depth of their lack of care is bottomless, unless it hits them in the pocketbook. Then they start to fear for their own ability to withstand our coordinated stoppages. I get that a work stoppage is a major headache for many of us and some will be harmed by it but the greater harm is letting the republican party and their wealthy donors continue to unsettle and destroy our democratic institutions and rights. We have reached that tipping point where our own well being is not a choice anymore. We are now at the point where the worst of what our American society can become is now more likely than not.
     Which is why we absolutely need to ramp up our voices and utility. If we don't we will soon wish we had because the rights and freedoms we still have today will be quickly removed with no recourse to their reversal. I am not embellishing here. Just look around you with all the threats from trump and the defiance of court orders. He is clearly moving into a new stage with his ice goons to quell free speech and due process. If we don't object to his strategy to bully all of us he will be even more encouraged to take from us our democracy and install himself and others who lick his boots as a never ending line of tyrannical leaders with no more democratic values to save all of us.

(#6149) The republicans in Tennessee are still having trouble seeing the problem

      The unmasking of trump is pretty clear to a lot of folks but apparently not enough republicans to move forward. With all the truths and facts of trumps actual words and actions the republican party is still clinging to him. I know he has a connection with them that is strong but after so many harms he has created you would think that his popularity with them would dramatically wane. It has waned a little bit as the results in yesterdays election showed but the problem is with only waning a bit is that he is still confident in his ability to harm without recourse. That trump will undoubtedly create more harms, maybe next time there is an opportunity republicans will tell him no.
     What is encouraging is that every county in the heavily gerrymandered seventh congressional district in Tennessee shifted toward the democratic candidate from the previous election. Not enough to swing the election to her but with that swing a warning sign was revealed. The race last night should not have been that close given historical voting patterns in that district. Yet it was much closer than republicans had wanted. The shift is because some voters in that district are not satisfied with the direction and actions of trump that he is currently pursuing. At least that is something to draw on when the next special election occurs next year. If anything it shows that the trump republican party is on the decline and democrats have a golden opportunity to benefit.
     As I see it and given trumps penchant for seeing any victory as an affirmation of his agenda things will only get worse for republican voters. They thought that trump would protect them and what they are finding is that trump doesn't care about them. Eventually they will get a clearer focus on the truth of things as their pocketbooks continue to shrink. Elections have mainly always been about the economy and as our current economy implodes in on itself the inevitable is just around the corner. I expect then that the republican voter will realize that they have been hoodwinked and make the appropriate adjustments going forward.
     

(#6148) What's up with Wall Street after no release of economic data??

      I am no economic master but I do know that the economic data released by our government in previous months was a factor in how Wall Street and its investors planned their present and future economic maneuverings. So why no peep out of Wall Street when trump decided not to release economic data last month? I follow news enough to know I haven't seen any reaction by anyone from Wall Street made widely public? Is the fealty to trump so deep that even disruptions in normal societal understandings is acceptable and to be taken in silence? If this hiding of economic data had been done under Obama or Biden there is no way that silence would have been the response.
     If I had money in stocks and bonds I would be removing said money in no time. There seems to be some kind of fix that is dirty and underhanded no matter how pretzeled the explanation for it. It is like hiring a guide who is blind and deaf. But that is just me. Surely most are still satisfied with Wall Street because in the past it has made them profit. Likely may well still make them profit but to me it is a sign that not all is well behind the veil of command Wall Street had previous to trump. I don't know how long it will be before we see economic data on our national jobs, gross domestic product, inflation, consumer spending, and retail sales among the cancelled.
     How does Wall street evaluate the market when the government figures they have relied upon for more than a century are now not available? Why still the silence from Wall Street? The longer Wall Street stays silent the more I suspect them of collusion with trumps. It is as if the trumps may be sharing the governmental economic data with some, for a price mind you, and not others. Like I said I would remove any money if I had any from Wall Street's trust. Like all things that matter to us, control over who we are and what we own is and always will be paramount with me. But again, that is just me. I wouldn't trust anyone who is not protecting my trust and it seems like Wall Street is not protecting all its investors trust by being silent about the non release of economic data!

(#6147) When I was young I would read the obituary pages

      Sitting here thinking about why I did that brings to mind that these folks who died lived lives and often their short story was described. They mattered to someone and acknowledging that was their way of saying goodbye. For me it was learning how these folks lived and what they did with their time. Surely it wasn't a full account nor even as much as they would have liked but it did give me perspective on how to live my life. Morbid as it may seem I needed to read those obits as a way to not only give the deceased a chance to influence me but to give them the dignity of me knowing at least something about them.
     Most were good people but every now and then a bad person would die and the obituary would gloss over their digressions. I understand that with those who were notorious because the obituary is usually a closure mechanism for those left behind. For me it was less about their lives and more about what harm they caused while alive. It is now that I am thinking about this and the reason is that some in our world need to be not in it. They are not respectful civilized human beings. They leave a trail of harm behind them and are still harming going forward. For those who are like that an obituary would be useless as a closure mechanism. It would only be a confirmation that a dishonorable person has gone and if anything a relief at their passing.
     I am sad to have to admit that I feel this way because all of life should be at minimum precious. But in life there are those who have caused such harm that any preciousness left long ago and only the end of them remains as a marker in time. We know who a few of these are in our modern age, They have gone out of their way to harm when no reason but their own mental disorder is their desire. For those in our world, I am again waiting to see their obituaries. Not to read them but to see that they are not living in our existence any longer. There should never be people in our existence who choose to harm when helping is the alternative. For those who love harm more than helping I hope to see them soon in the obit column.

(#6146) If the old are not advocating for the young then what good are they?

      Way too many of our older generation have taken the purpose in life to only look out for themselves. What is even worse is that they are actually trying to hurt the young while making themselves more comfortable. It grieves me to see such selfishness! My whole life has been spent trying hard not to die from having very little. I am tough so the effort has been difficult but obviously not impossible. But others who are my age are not like me. They would rather make others suffer in order for themselves to pretend to be admirable with plenty. I take that as an afront! My generation is too soulless a one where honor and courage have not been fostered. Not all of us but too many of us!
     We look at trump, who has the most powerful job on Earth with built in luxuries beyond the reach of most all of us and what does he do? He lavishes himself and his family with opportunities and advantages while lessening basics for the poor elderly and most all the young. He isn't the only offender. Billionaires out there who spend their time adding to their greedy fortunes while continuing to keep the poor oppressed are as bad. What good are these elderly leaders and politicians if they don't help our younger generations with enlightenment and opportunities? We the elderly are not the example of an amazing human being species. We are just thieves in the night stealing the future from our children!
     I learned long ago that honor and courage are the pinnacle of life. I stumbled mightily along the way after learning this due to my own personal fragilities but I have never not known what is important in life. I am no desirer of things that harm others. I am no taker of things not mine. I am no destroyer of those who count on me for help. I am a person who will give his word and keep it. I am a person who will sacrifice out of the goodness of my heart. I am a person who will fight for fairness and justice when the fighting time comes about. I have always been a hero type and that for me is the perfect way to live. Why my generation of older folks cannot grasp this concept is beyond me but not my hope that they will eventually see the powerful beauty in it.

(#6145) trump lives in a bubble where he thinks he is the only one who matters

      In his mind, trump already thinks he is god like. He sits back in his makeshift throne and decides what is best for not only himself but for all the rest of us. His bubble is his world view and from there he is incapable of being harmed. Thus his bravado with everyone he comes into contact with. He is constantly throwing insults at anyone who would challenge his thought process while disparaging real life heroes who are standing up for our United States Constitution. Much like in feudal times when everyone within the realm bent a knee to him as he entered their presence, trump expects the same now.
     When he provokes the public with harms to us he just shrugs that off and tells us that suffering is good in the short term as it will get better down the road Yet he has no track record of ever doing anything of that nature. Every endeavor he has branded has come to a inglorious demise. His promises are like the air swirling hither and fro. One day it is one promise then another it is a different promise on the same subject. He is the most decidedly undecided ruler anywhere in my own recollection. Yet in his mind he is the most benevolent and precise genius who has ever walked the Earth. He also sees himself as a strongman capable of destroying human beings as a convenient duty.
     This bubble of his allows him to disregard any moral and ethical guardrails we the rest of us must adhere to in a society that demands law and order. In trumps bubble the only law and order is his own and everyone had better heed it. Even though he changes the rules of his law and order as he deems fit. He was somehow elected into a democracy yet he is not beholden to that concept. What he has done instead is commandeer the structure of our US Constitution and and rework it to fit his narrative. He has accomplished a coup in that his republican base will not violate his ego regardless of the reprehensibleness of it. His bubble is secure for now and that should scare the shit out of everyone, including his base!

(#6144) We must keep fighting back against trump and putin!

      Honestly we have no other choice. To quit is the other way and I know I am no quitter on our democracy! So fighting is all that is left. We cannot remain silent either regardless of what we fear he will do to us. He can bring his evil to me and I will still go down swinging if that is the case. Never will I be like those who cower out of fear. Living in fear is a bummer and not my style. I prefer to fight when the fighting time arrives. There is nobility in standing up to the worst of what is active in life. I am no hollow person who has no intention of defending his principles. I am here telling you that fighting to keep our honor and our human rights is greater than life itself.
     When it comes to admiration of those who lived before me it is no contest for me. Nathan Hale is my hero. A man of 21 years of age said that he regretted that he had only one life to give for his country. How can anyone beat that? What we can do is emulate it however. With the same love of democracy overcoming tyranny. We are here today in a similar way. So now I get to be like my hero if need be. I would hope all Americans would join me but I know many are too ignorant to understand and others do understand but are afraid to die for something greater than themselves. I get it. Yet I do not admire it.
     I don't like cattle being treated like property so how much more do I hate that human beings are treated like cattle? The human being experience is once in a lifetime so why would we have miserable periods of time in it where we are not the masters of our own fate? Our species is amazing and should never be subject to the whims and desires of those who are broken inside and only look down upon us! No one is born as a subject of another in modernity. Yet we are moving backward in time to allow just that to happen. Is it fear that lets those take from us our inheritance from our foreparents? I think so because we place too much value on inanimate objects over humanity. For me the greater value in life is honor and logic. That is what I am fighting to preserve!

(#6143) We humans are biological data processors

      Well that is how we operate as a species. We input data, knowledge, into our computers, memory banks, and then utilize that stored information into a conclusion, equation or algorithm, that defines the thought parameters of our actions and behaviors. We are also mobile which makes us unique in many ways. We are not restricted by space. We actually live and move around in space as is convenient. Even now we are expanding the space we occupy through advances in technology and innovation. The Earth is not our only boundary. The Universe is about to become our living space beyond our planet.
     Naturally I am thinking about the future and what remains to be created. We are cracking the energy code of nuclear fusion so that we can access unlimited power. We are creating advances in medical science that will help alter areas of DNA that prohibit us by increasing our immunity to viruses that would hold us back. Bionic engineering is incredible when it applies to adding to our physical abilities. The adaptations to evolution in every critical area of our control is everywhere. Soon as in centuries the idea that we were only Earthbound will become a novelty from antiquity. I still see these things progressing although with some obstruction from current illogical forces.
     The fact that I see our species as a biological data processor is good because I am always late to new paradigms, so others see this as well. As an aside, I know that I am no original thinker of thoughts not yet thought. The progress our species is making can be understood generally as amazing. Yes, we are an amazing species of which I am humbled to be a part of existing. I wish I could add to our evolution in a more important way than just recognizing it and stating my thoughts. Whatever the current situation is in our timeline I can feel confident that enlightened thought will not go the way of the dinosaurs. Instead it will rise to another plateau beyond what we currently comprehend.

(#6142) The greatest threat to America is trump, to the world it is putin!

      We here in America can get real tunnel vision about our own problems and that is at least a good start. However there is a greater threat in the world with putin warring in Ukraine. We Americans have to be able to link our own woes to the putin murdering in Ukraine. Mainly because it is trump who is enabling putin to continue with his design to war with the rest of Europe. Both putin and trump have decided that killing folks for the sake of their world view is an acceptable loss. If putin is to win out over Ukraine and those who support Ukraine then trump will be emboldened to do the same here on the American Continents.
     Which is why it is the highest priority that putin be stopped in Ukraine and pushed back to its own original territory. Crushing putin is the answer to what we could do to keep trump from ravaging our own country. The putin/trump alliance is a tenuous one so we the people have a chance to upset their secret mission of controlling the world. Europe, especially the EU and NATO need to go all in on expecting Russia will not stop at Ukraine. Therefore everything they have in the form of military supplies and personnel must be activated. Do not wait for putin to agree to anything, show him strength and then back his ass down!
     There has always been one solution to ending the ravaging murder of putin and that is to get in his face and dare him to a fight. The EU and NATO must be that dare! We lost all hope here in America when trump was elected. While the American governmental administration is allying with putin we the people here are not and will stand against putin and his allies. The age of Europe is upon us and the time is now. Ukraine has drained Russia of most of its fighting forces so as they are weakened it makes more sense about getting in putins face. He is a coward who hides behind others so break him in every way so that our world will know peace instead of chaos.

(#6141) Fake republican profiles all over the Internet

      I get the republican strategy! Attack all news with bots and paid profiles when the news is bad for republicans or good for democrats. It is abnormal and irrational but somewhat effective. It attacks our psyche to dishearten us. Yet at the same time it lifts us up because it exposes the republican desperation. The republicans are resorting to disinformation as a policy since they have no policy to run on except tax breaks for the wealthy. We have just under a year to go to the midterms so it is good that knowing what republicans are doing will be offset by simply laughing at their attempts. I make fun of the bots myself.
     As an example, with a platform like facebook mixing their algorithms to favor disinformation all to often, highlighting comments that are obviously there to disinform and attack. It isn't just facebook either. On news sources from my google page comments are highlighted as well by obvious bots who do the same disinformation and attack method. It seems like every news source that posts has a lead comment highlighted that is absurd and negative about anything positive by democrats. Media in general is too often compromised when reporting the truth of things so really paying attention to what is being offered as news is more important now than ever.
     How are we supposed to know what is true and what is false? There has always been a method for deciding truth from falsehood and that method is called logic. Build premise upon premise upon premise to correctly see a rational conclusion. I personally am a cynic about republicans. They are the masterminds of disinformation because they don't have policies that the majority of us are impressed with. They need disinformation as a tool to stay competitive in elections. So for me I always give the benefit of the doubt to democrats although still researching to verify. With republicans I always initially assign fault while also researching to verify that. I am objective, not irrationally fooled by intentional liars.

(#6140) A strong shift to democrats, the courts, and continued protests are working against trumps

     In 8 days there will be a special election for a US House seat in Tennessee. Normally this seat is a solid republican district seat for whatever reasons. They voted for trump in 2024 by a comfortable margin. Yet given the results of elections earlier this month the tide has turned against trump so much so that now this previously solid red seat is potentially in play. I am mincing my words here because I don't want to give the impression that this seat is a tossup. However the margin this time will not be the 22% it was for the republican in 2024. It will be closer to low single digits if republicans hang on. If not then there could be a surprise for democrats the next day as an upset is not out of the question.
     Now that is being optimistic. I know that the odds are that the democrat will struggle to win but with so much animosity aimed at republicans the odds are not as heavy this time in their favor. So many things are against the republicans one year later after their stunning wins of 2024. The economy is in a downturn while trumps refuse to release the monthly jobs data. We all know it is because the numbers are bad and trumps don't want us to know how bad. The epstein files still have not been released despite assurances from trump that they would be. Ukraine is being betrayed by a surrender proposal Russia authored and that trump claimed as his own.
     However the biggest obstacle yet voters are faced with are the subsidies they had for health care disappearing because of trump. All year long the focus of trumps has been on tax cuts for the wealthy, disturbing the peace with kidnappings and unruly actions against citizens in American cities. For all the woes both economically and psychological that trump has thrust upon our society the allegations against him by sexually assaulted survivors and documentation of him being a pedophile probably and should be the most upsetting. Whether all that changes the minds of voters in Tennessee's 7th district is unclear at the moment. Yet more than 80,000 voters have already cast their ballots out of a possible 300 thousand.

(#6139) Changing reality versus denying reality

      My mind is a never ending panorama of possibilities. There are some things in life that bother me so I think on them more than a normal person I imagine. Most people accept what is in front of them although some are less so because they cannot accept reality. I on the other hand accept reality but instead of ignoring it or making up some illogical alternative, I try to change reality. I am thus far very unsuccessful. That doesn't deter me though. I am angry at this existence for its cruel and punishing paradigms. What I want to do is make cruelty and punishing even less the exception not the rule.
     You would think many more would also like this type of thinking but no. Too many want to just accept reality without trying to think about what could be instead of what is. Then we have too many who cannot even accept reality in order to make it better. They are so lost in their illogic that they are worthless as colleagues for a better world. In fact too many of those would like to make the world even more cruel and punishing. Such is the dilemma as I see it. Not enough of us using our minds to change for the better because even agreeing on the basics of reality is such a struggle.
     I am a logical person so I had always understood that others were as well. Yet too many are capable of being logical but for whatever reason have chosen not to be and deny that they aren't logical. It doesn't matter if the sequence of logic is explained to them they still cannot or will not allow for any contradiction to their own personal calculations. I have tried to reason, analyze, and conclude with them but false premises continually come into the equation. Once stubbornness gets a hold there is no more progress to be made. I want a world where everything is possible, yes everything. Because I refuse to accept limits when limits are constantly being expanded.

(#6138) The guilty acting innocent

      I suppose they finally see the writing on the wall with being trump supporters. They are trying to rebrand themselves as not knowing what was occurring or apologizing in insincere ways. I have had to admit my faults in big ways so I know what that should look and express like. Sincerity is not a strategy, it is heart felt and chalk full of remorse. Willing to accept punishment as an honor for trying to repay the harm caused. Not so with these current repedolicans who are quick to distance themselves from their previous actions and behaviors but not accepting any punishment for it. They are hollow like their remorse.
     For me to see the tide turning regardless of reasoning is still welcome however forgiveness for those who are guilty is not given. Time will prove their penance for their harm but in no way will it be automatic nor immediately trustworthy. There is a hole in their souls that needs to be resolved and only time will help them heal. Used as a strategy apologies are worthless and meaningless when compared to the harm caused. I wish no one ill will but I will not be made a fool of for trusting the previously untrustworthy without lots of evidence and time to their rehabilitation.
     Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. We have had a perfect example of that with trump so there should be no one who says "what do you mean"? If they do answer that way then they are not ready and still diseased in the mind. For those who say yes, we cannot fall into the trap again of the trump example, great. But in no world will they be given a pass and allowed to be forgiven for their allegiance to him. They still need to prove they are not diseased in the mind and step aside from any gain they received while being a bootlicker of trump. We have hundreds of millions of people here in America who are waiting for their shot at being good stewards of our democracy so those who failed need to go do something else!

(#6137) Our planet our home!

     I saw a saying earlier this morning that has had me thinking about it. It went like this: "Earth doesn't belong to us we belong to it." Throughout our human history that seems to be the fact of things. Yet, as we humans have gained in knowledge and technology the balance isn't all on the side of we belonging to the Earth. We still belong to the Earth but the balance is shifting a bit toward the Earth belonging to us. Not a lot but still a bit of shifting. There will come a time in the future, if we humans don't fuck up our modernization, when the balance will have shifted closer to the Earth belonging to humans.
     We are not at that time in the future yet so appreciating the fact that we belong to the Earth should be our present understanding. Given that, we need to find a proper humility toward preserving our planet. Our current environment is not heading in the correct direction. Although we have survived the worst of the industrial Age we are still polluting our natural resources in ways that cannot be sustained. The land, air, and water are filtering the residue of our demands for cheap abundant dirty energy. Yet the filtering comes at a cost. We humans are now ingrained with particles that are not healthy nor life preserving. Our human biology is changing from dynamic to shades of anemic.
     The wind, the Sun, and the water can give us energy to satisfy basic needs. We are currently on the threshold of nuclear fusion as a source of energy and when that becomes readily available all unnecessary dirty energy sources should be halted. The problem is greed by those who control vast amounts of dirty energy sources and their influence among the greedy who are in politics. If we are ever able to survive as a species beyond our home planet we should learn from our mistakes here to make whatever new home we inhabit an example of we belonging to it.
     

(#6136) We have made it through one year since the election

      This will be an endurance race. Outlasting the most unintelligent and uncaring US president and his administration in our history. Like other nations that had to endure a tyrant figure hell bent on removing safeguards and programs aimed at bringing more equity to their societies, we are now experiencing ours. What they had to do was tolerate the worst of the injustices until the time came to uproot their leaders, We have seen this happen many times as ones who have lived long enough in this world. It is the waiting for the time when enough becomes enough that is the problem. We know an end will come but not when.
     We the people are currently slowing down his advance to destroy everything not aimed at helping the wealthy. Yet he is relentless in his attempts to overcome our fight to keep civility and honor in our society. He dismisses that he is making us angry because he doesn't care. His idea is that we will eventually roll over and do his bidding. His bootlickers are mostly the same. They do not care that there will be a reckoning and they will be held to account. To them they are the ones on the right side of history. So even though there seems to be inner turmoil in the maga ranks we cannot believe that they will help the rest of us take him down for his tyranny.
     What we have to do is everything we can do. Nothing is off the table when it comes to solutions that change the dynamics of our society. We have already seen what marches and the rule of law can do but we need to do more. An uprising to the extent that stops our society from operating is what has worked in other nations freeing themselves from tyranny. When enough becomes enough with most everyone not associated with the tyrant. Three more years of this or an uprising as soon as possible. I know which one I would prefer. Either way though the endurance I had mentioned earlier is the fallback position if we are to keep fighting. The alternative is to quit and become objects of property without free will to a tyrant who has shown he is as vile as he is greedy!
     

(#6135) Everything about trump is him having control

      Life is hard enough without a very low intelligence quotient person trying to make all of us into his version of who he thinks we should be. I don't know why he is the way he is but it doesn't excuse his behavior in forcing us into being something we are not. Free will is on attack with trump and although he may try to say that he can fix us all what actually needs to happen is he needs to fix himself. He is no perfect, nor even close to, person so why would he think he should be the one to force us into beings he has little to no understanding. His immaturity is astounding given the maneuvering he has accomplished through any and all means.
     Personally I am all for the end of trump through natural course but if he was to be punished for his many crimes I would hope that him living the rest of his life in isolation would be my choice. There he could live in his dream world all by himself with only himself to convince of his inglorious innocence. It truly would be painful for him not to be able to try to con someone out of something. His kingdom would be his own mind and given what we know about his thoughts that would be an interminable prison for him. Yet he deserves much worse. But as a civilized human being who is tempted by all that exists not to be in his case I would however grudgingly let him live with only his own thoughts for the rest of what is left of his life.
     As to trump's accomplices there cannot be any mercy. Those who collaborated to help him to cause suffering, pain, and death, they must be held to a merciless account. No one in their right mind can defend actions by trump and his bootlickers when confronted with principles of democracy. If we are ever to turn the page on this despicable time it will need to be with a thorough cleansing. We as America are stained and no amount of disinformation nor ignoring will change that. However we Americans are human and as such are vulnerable to being fooled much like anyone else. We have to learn from our shameful lesson, remove current offenders, and then recalculate the guardrails of our Constitution.

(#6134) When Karma, due fate, and just deserves of the universe never arrive

      I like to think that the Universe has a compass that points to the better, But what I too often see is no direction but chaos. Sure there is enough logic to keep it from being completely irrational but in my mind there is no guiding hand out there in the ether to make our better sensibilities the rule instead of the exception. We the people are the guiding hand not some Universal Karma. We the people need to accept that what we do is what will be and not some force that is apparitional. To keep our civilizations on course for a more perfect world we must do the work and not pretend others will do it for us.
     What I am boiling down to is that we each have a responsibility to carry the weight of our duty to each other and our societies. None of us is less important while none of us is more important. When we see injustice, when we see harm, when we see power unchecked, it is on each of us to find a way to combat it. Yes, stand up and make a stand for what is better in life instead of ignoring and shirking away. We the people know in our hearts and minds what is better and best about our futures. We don't need anyone to tell us how to live our lives beyond what we know as the truth. We may hope for something to be true but that is not the same as actually knowing it is true.
     What we all know is that people are amazing in their own way. All of us have some (gift)s to offer the world. Some more some less but nonetheless amazing. How we exist should reflect those gifts not punish or ignore us for them. There are times when some of us remove ourselves from the nature of humankind and act and behave like more than just an interconnected single life. Those are the ones who would take from this existence as if nothing else matters. They do not share in a universality of we the people. They instead want to control we the people for purposes beyond the normalcy of being. In times like that the Universe will not be our answer because we the people are the answer and always have been.

(#6133) trump is exposing the filth in the repedolican party

      Live and learn. The repedolicans control all three branches of government including both branches of Congress. So everything going on today is the direct result of repedolican control. We democrats are trying to protect the American people and our democracy but we are at a disadvantage. But each day we survive is another day closer to an election that is in many minds going to be a turbulent one. Whether a complete dismantling of the repedolican party or a rigged one to entrench trump and his maga cult, the verdict is inching closer. Either way, the filth in the repedolican party is being exposed. What we the people do with that is on our heads.
     I fear that the hype around the epstein files is being subdued by trump now expressing a desire to support their release instead of his furious attempts to thwart the release. What that tells me is that another type of fix is in and we the people are not going to get the real version of the file, thus making trump look innocent of his lascivious predilections. In other words, the fix is about to be utilized once again from trumps. There is a reason why he has eluded most of his crimes. He is able to manipulate reality into an alternate one. However, the thing with misdirection or falsehood is that at that level there are too many who have to be part of the ruse.
     Regardless of the outcome of the epstein file fiasco, trump has done a marvelous job of exposing the deep craven rot in the repedolican party as most elected repedolicans have fought to protect trump from his icky crimes. That in itself is a value since the repedolican party has always tried to paint themselves as the party of family values. Well if family values equal lusting after your own daughter or having sex with children then yes they are. But for most of us the family values we honor are protecting our vulnerable ones until they can protect themselves. Not preying on them because our own coveting desires are unchecked. We all now know what is at the heart of repedolicans and it isn't honorable family values.

(#6132) How does trump escape his pedophilia?

      The only way trump can escape the consequences of his pedophiliac acts is for the republican party to refuse to hold him to account. There is already fracturing in the maga camp with some prominent magas coming out in favor of releasing the epstein files while trump could not prevent the discharge petition in the House from moving forward. As the reality of trumps involvement in pedophilia continues to grow the worse off it will be for him. So what are his options? Start a foreign war is one option not beneath trump to distract from his lascivious criminality but that will only last until those who still support him see his feint for what it is.
     He could resign but have you ever thought that with trumps narcissism he would ever do something like that? No. He could flee to a safe haven and live out the miserableness of his life which by the looks of him won't be long. Or he could attack our democracy by declaring martial law and usurping power from his harshest critics. For me this seems the most likely since he has always wanted to be a king. If he does choose this route then gone will be all civilities with anger everywhere he turns. Living life as a hated despot is not in his DNA because he craves attention like a new born baby.
     If by chance all this plays out within regular order then trump will be humiliated by his own acts becoming public. I can't imagine too many would remain allies given the stench rubbing off on them. Although some of his allies are as deeply flawed and lustful as he. Whatever path he chooses he will find that escaping his past criminal acts against children is not as easy as escaping his frauds and thefts. That it has come to this for we the people here in America to come to the point where we can no longer tolerate one of the most deviously demented human beings ever to a presidential position troubles me to no end but also will finally wipe clean our current horrific slate.

(#6131) Showing up and showing out

      The cynics are correct about one thing. When we stop caring is when all things get ugly. There is no magic bullet so to speak to solve our problems with each other but there are a series of solutions that when applied make things better. Really, that is all any of us want is for things to be better. Unlike republicans right now who are taking away health care and food while replacing it with nothing. That isn't making things better, that is making things worse. We don't need worse since that is not how our representatives should be looking out for us.
     It shouldn't matter which political party one is loyal to what is more important is what we do for each other. Complicating things is that we are not all of the same hopes and dreams. That is why trying to force us into hardships will never make things better. We all need our nuances in ways that have an optimism to them and never is making things harder a success. When better approaches are offered to change what we have now is when the time for change comes because better doesn't harm. Any of us could choose cruelty over helpfulness but only those who are not out to improve our lives choose cruelty.
     Which is why we are done with the politicians that rant and rave about what is currently helping but offer no better replacement. You don't have to be aligned with any political party to want our world to be a better place. You just have to show up and show out that you will not be part of harming people with no plan to make them better. If you admired President Dwight Eisenhower just remember he was a progressive republican who was responsible for building the US highway system. Even dick nixon established the EPA. Those are the type of things democrats have been fighting to establish for all Americans. So no matter what your political party just show up and show out for the better of all of us without harming us.

(#6130) Will trumps pedophilia finally break his cult's loyalty?

      I am at a loss for even having to write about this. In the past even the appearance of being associated with a pedophile was enough to end anyone's public career. Yet with trump despite 34 felony convictions and a rape verdict he has so far eluded any consequence relating to his public service. Again, I cannot even believe I am writing about this. Yet here I am doing exactly that. Mainly because the release of partial information related to the pedophile epstein that trump has been trying to quash brings a new glimmer of hope that is growing to finally force trump into accountability.
     Not all the facts are in but the tension trump is feeling is coming out of him with efforts to deny or downplay what he was actually doing in the company of epstein. I still suspect that trump may again slip out of trouble through some shady efforts but this time I hope not. It wasn't enough that many of the girls trump engaged with testified to such happenings nor has it been enough that trump has worked behind the scenes to hide the epstein files. Yet he is losing that battle and when the trove of information hits the public square he will then be faced with his toughest obstacle yet to evade.
     I suppose what bothers me so much about all of this is that trump gets to be held to a different standard than most all other people. That is not how a democracy flourishes nor improves. No one should be judged with more leniency than others facing the same circumstances. Another thing that bothers me is the christian church. Not only are they supposed to honor morality and ethics they are supposed to promote those attributes. Yet with trump that is not how it works. His lack of morality and ethical boundaries don't seem to faze the flock. Which to me exposes what has become of the christian church. No longer a guideline for betterment it has become a supporter of the golden calf.

(#6129) The fealty to trump, the adjudged criminal and adjudicated rapist is unbelievable!

      Not only is your mind warped beyond normal with republican propaganda but your morality is such that you have any! Well all those days skipping learning the correct lessons in school is coming back to haunt you. Many of you do not even hide it in fact you flaunt what you see as success. Let me reassure you now that your behavior and attitude is going to be in for a rude awakening. The time of trump is almost over and there will be no rest for those of us who have had to put up with your shit and death sentences. You will be made to pay a reckoning and it will be harsh.
     Now take this as a warning. You can self sentence yourself by throwing yourself on the mercy in the public square but that is no guarantee of mercy. Those of us who have had to listen to your false claims and degenerate accusations all the while supporting the worst of criminals ever to sit at the seat of power in America are furious. I had thought dick nixon was a creepy person but trump takes it to an exponential beyond nixon. Not only is trump a narcissistic liar but he is as foul a human being ever produced. Yet his followers would drink his sweat. We Americans have become so depraved in our nation that we not only elected a false idol but we did it twice.
     Electing trump twice says more about us when his demeanor is analogous to filth. We the American people have become the rot that trump smears everywhere he goes. I want the world to know that despite the majority of voters in both elections giving trump our dearest gift those of us who didn't are ashamed and beg for your indulgence while we figure out how to change the current dynamic. There are amongst us the brightest and best hope for democracy here in America and in the world. What all this shows is that if democracy is left unattended and knowledge abandoned the result may well be another trump like figure in world power destroying lives, hopes and dreams.

(#6128) Capitalism cannot survive without socialism

      When will we the people realize that if capitalism is left on its own the wealthy will not make the working middle poor class concessions to their fair share. You would be leaving it up to the wealthy to decide the fate of the working middle poor class. That is not democracy either. We the people can only get a fair share of our labor if we are able to institute programs that remove from the wealthy our share of the ventures. If capitalists split fairly the profits from all of our work then no socialism would be needed except in rare and desperate scenarios.
     Otherwise capitalists would hoard as much of the wealth as they could including being unfair. Which is why social programs funded mainly through taxation on the wealthy is appropriate. The greatest lesson we have before us of capitalism overreaching a paradigm is health care. Capitalists venture into health care to make profit. To make profit in health care you have to charge customers higher rates and deliver fewer services. That is how all other capitalistic ventures operate. Yet when being stringent with health care services the customer doesn't just go away angry they often enough go away and die. Which should awaken all to the fact that health issues often pop up randomly and are not distinguishers of differences.
     In the case of the health care paradigm there is another way to approach it. Remove it from capitalism and make it strictly a socialistic program. Much like in most all other civilized countries who have been running successfully universal health care for all. Whatever paradigm is directly linked to human survival should be a government run (social) program. No capitalistic venture should be involved in areas of human life or death decisions. We the people are not commodities on some exchange market with raised or lowered values depending upon the benevolence of some wealthy who are not generally honorable nor humane toward the vast majority of people in the working middle poor class.

(#6127) Twice now republicans affirmed they are taking away health care for tens of millions of Americans

      The recklessness of the republican party and the naivete of their voters have brought about the largest dump of Americans from life saving health care. For the life of me I cannot fathom such a deed as this. Never in my mind would I work to deprive citizens of a program aimed at reducing unnecessary death and illness. Yet this is what the republican party and their voters have caused. They have no better nor any solution to replace it either. Without the now non existent subsidies, health care again in my lifetime has become unaffordable. This is the way of republicanism. They take any meaningful legislation that democrats have passed into law that benefits the working middle poor class and destroy it without replacing it.
     Does everyone get it now? The republican party is not about helping the working middle poor class, period! They are swift to help the wealthy as they contain the many donors that fund their elections to keep them in power. Other than that they dig into our government to find resources they can manipulate to their own advantage. Like oil drilling and national park selloffs among others. Even the trickery of the tariffs have left nearing trillions of dollars at the feet of trumps who are looking at ways to pocket as much of it as possible. Let's be clear here, those tariffs are taxes on American consumers. So not only is trump wrecking social programs to offset the poverty the wealthy have inflicted on the working middle poor class but the trumps are actively reaching into our pockets and taking what is left.
     Many republican voters are awakening to the new reality and have had to pretzel their thinking to continue to support what is happening. Others in the republican party are drifting from trumps and staying silent on the sidelines of political discourse. What they need to do instead is rage against their republican party for their inhuman deeds. Staying silent only helps the perpetrators of disaster. The republican party owns the destruction of health care and no argument can be made that is otherwise. We are going to have a year of suffering and death all because the republican party does not support the working middle poor class. Well American working middle poor class are you still going to continue to support the republican party?

(#6126) Disappointed, yes but it was always a longshot

      Trying to get trump and his minions to feel shame and discomfort was never going to be enough. I said this long ago about trump, he will burn the government down if he needs. So not accepting a clean continuing resolution was the only chance we democrats had to force the trumps into concessions. We got some but not the one that affects us most. The health care demolition that is now going to fully come. There is supposed to be a promised vote on reinstituting health care funding but that is a vote that is only coming in the Senate. The House will also have to vote if the Senate passes a bill and if it passes there which is likely, then trump will have to sign or veto.
     We could be seeing the health care subsidies return if enough in the Senate and House vote for the coming bill in enough yes votes that could override a trump veto. It is possible because health care is now understood by the populace to be unmanageable without the subsidies. It is all up to the Senate and the republican party to kick this off in December. As I have also said many times in the past the trust in promises made by republicans is a huge lift. They go back on their word as much as they follow through so it is really an unsure if they will. All I know for sure is that people will get harmed if they don't and if they do it will be another longshot.
     Those of us who survive to the election in 2026 will know who is responsible for all this chaos and vote accordingly. The momentum against the republicans is real and strong. There is some disgust out there with democrats agreeing to open government but also remember many federal employees are not getting paid and essential services are in jeopardy. Still though I had hoped the trumps would have understood their failing position by now but trump himself is uncaring and would have let the shutdown go on much longer or worse. The consequences of electing a conman and his crony political party are coming around so don't be too surprised by it instead remember who is causing all of this and how severely we must pay them back for it!

(#6125) The "we the people" force of will is the impetus for a better tomorrow

      What catalyzes change? Momentum. When we the people get behind what we feel is correct and good then watch out those who would oppose us. This society here in America is still a democracy and those who would even try to thwart that are finding out that there is a cost for taking away from us our freedom! They may catch us off guard with their pilfering of our rights but once we see what is happening we move into action. Much like the No Kings protests preceded the democratic blue wave election blowout of republicans on last Tuesday, November 4th. We the people are not the sheep trumps and his billionaire donors imagined.
     What we are instead is measured. We don't fly off the handle when we start to see the makings of a coup against our form of government. No, we stir to understand what is going on and in that time alarms start to build. It is when we begin to fully grasp the significance of the threat is when we mobilize against the danger. We Americans are patriots to our US Constitution. The utter dismantling of the republican party last Tuesday is indicative of how far and wide democracy will be protected. In just about every deeply republican stronghold democrats won. It is because we the people understand that the republican party has become a threat to our democracy Not because of some policy differences.
     Last Tuesday showed that we the people are not some two dimensional figures to be dismissed as irrelevant. We the people are real human beings trying to live real human lives. Those in the republican party who are thirsting only for power and wealth are not representative of our nature. We the people want to prosper but not as tyrants but as honorable decent human beings. That is the commonality that all of we the people share and over the last few weeks we have proved that. There is no stopping us now and as the current days move on into months ahead those that try to obstruct us are going to find that we are unobstructable.

(#6124) Woke is awakening!

      Enough! That is the message I see since this past Tuesday. Let there be no doubt that trump was the only republican one every ballot and he lost everywhere and by wide margins! There were other names next to the republican party nominee but all of them reflected back trump and his disgusting agenda. Nowhere did the republicans win any sort of silver lining victory. They absolutely lost everywhere even where they thought they would be competitive they were blown out. I can't get that image out of my head from the movie Tora Tora Tora where the Japanese actor playing Admiral Yamamoto concerning the attack on Pearl Harbor, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve,”.
     For me the awakening resolve started happening almost immediately after trump was sworn in. Slowly his poll numbers began to shrink and then more quickly once his real policies, not the ones he campaigned on, took shape. He has steadily made a mess of our foreign policy, our internal economics, and our melting pot ideal. Frankly I was astounded that he didn't play to his base with some of his promises during the campaign but no. He went after his base the same way he went after democrats, with full throated despisement. His base was not expecting that and kept waiting for him to make things right and exclude them from the harm he was determined to administer.
     But no! the trumps are not excluding anyone in the working middle poor class and those that support us regardless of party affiliation. Those of us who knew he was going to punish we democrats were expecting it. Those who voted for trump and are now in his crosshairs are akin to a young wide eyed doe waiting to be targeted. Their disbelief is real and although I have little sympathy for them as we told them trump cannot be trusted their pain is coming. However, they are realizing it now and I suspect many are quietly supporting the democratic pushback against the trumps. Their sense of betrayal coming from trump is forcing them to see things in a different light which is part of the awakening that is in full momentum now!

(#6123) The Supreme court will have to hear trump's appeal not to pay snap funds

      A federal judge has ordered trump to pay Snap benefits in the whole amount for November 2025 by today. Instead trump is appealing that District Court order and is appealing to the United States Court of Appeals for the first Circuit. I can only imagine this is an expedited review and will return a verdict shortly. Either way the Appellate court decision will be immediately appealed to the Supreme Court. Where again an expedited decision will be expected. This will be a test of we the people's conviction and also trump's expected allegiance from his 6 partisan judges.
     We should know shortly if the Supreme Court is fully aligned with trump or with our US Constitution. It is important to know at this juncture as it could serve as the break in the dam republicans have stood behind in shutting down the government. Or it could embolden republicans if the vote goes for trump killing Snap on his own. To me this is a vital juncture in the path of America where the end of democracy begins or whether the continuation of democracy remains. For me it is good this is coming on the heels of an overwhelming democratic surge. The justices know how volatile it will be for them should they ignore our constitution and follow the lead of a extraconstitutional miser.
     Whatever the Supreme court decision becomes will likely be the harbinger of things to come. Either better days are ahead or the nightmare continues. I suspect that the justices in their just concluded hearings on tariffs are not as kind to trump and his policies as trump would have hoped for. This makes me somewhat hopeful that the Supreme Court will side with the District Judge and have trump pay the Snap benefits. It is just my limited logic on the subject but it is part of my nature to search for clues to understand the ebb and flow of how our society is moving especially when the times are turbulent.
     

(#6122) The trumps fall further from reality

      Tuesday was an overwhelming message to the republican party. Reassess your priorities and change your practices. But instead the republican party ignored that direct indictment and instead blamed everything under the sun but themselves. Not one republican came out and said we need to reassess. They all lock stepped to trump's obnoxious claims of election rigging and insignificance. So the clear obvious message voters sent to republicans will most likely go unheeded. Now that strategy is a double edged sword for them and neither side is positive. By ignoring the will of we the people on one edge they are destined to miss out on improving their image. With the other edge they will degrade their image further.
     I am used to saying win/win when it comes to making two positives out of a negative. But in this case I am saying loss/loss. Not only are republicans going to find it harder, with their strategy of ignoring an obvious message from voters, to recruit new republican party members but they are going to be losing supporters in droves. I suspect that since the margins of victory by democrats in Tuesday's elections were so convincing that there were many republicans who crossed over and voted for democrats. Yet the republicans are acting like all is good. Well that may hurt we the people in the shorter term but when the next election next year in November comes around the republican party may well be facing a wipe out.
     As much as I hope republicans will stop hurting the working middle poor class, the benefit of republicans being wiped out in next years election is enticing. Either way, if republicans stop being assholes now then great. If they don't then all republicans on next years ballots will be facing defeat on an unprecedented scale. That would be great as well. I prefer republicans stop their destructive practices now but it isn't up to me. What I can control is my attention to republican moves that come now. They will probably do what they always do and that is to think they know better than we the people. What we do to them for their ignorance, dishonesty, and brutality is to make them pay so hard that they will never recover from their paybacks.

(#6121) A memorable night for democracy!

      That was the kind of election I expected for 2016 and then hoped again for 2024. We had one in 2018 that I thought would sustain us into 2020 and although we won the presidency we didn't carry the House and Senate appropriately. Last night was different than 2018 which was uplifting but not overwhelming. We won everything of highlighted significance and then most all of the less highlighted significant races and policy votes last night. In fact I have yet to cross paths with a democratic loss anywhere from last evening. Although I expect we weren't perfect but as of yet I cannot confirm that we weren't perfect.
     The major difference with last night's election is that the number of voters who turned out were incredibly energized. We do not ever see this kind of a turnout on an election where it isn't even a midterm election. What I also learned from last night is that although people kept it to themselves generally they really showed that they despise trump and his republican bootlickers. Last night became a referendum against what the republican party has become. Even the rank and file of the republican party understood the blowout they received and I suspect a lot of republican voters crossed over and voted with democrats.
     What isn't shocking is that the republican leadership refuse to acknowledge the ass kicking they took and the reason for it. It will be business as usual for republican leadership as they ignore last night and continue the campaign of undermining democracy and inflicting pain on the working middle poor class. We the people do understand what we achieved last night and now we need to build on that to put the republicans under even more pressure to break ranks with trump and his goons. We the people spoke last night and if the rank and file didn't hear it let me tell them now. A reckoning is coming for those who continue to hurt the American people and no one will escape the torrent of payback we will administer once the cost comes due to the vile and despicable power republicans are wielding!

(#6120) Literally, trump threatens our democracy!

      As key elections in California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia are taking place today trump isn't out stumping for policies and candidates like former President Barack Obama, instead he is threatening voters to do his will. Making voters feel threatened about their choices is not part of a free and fair election. Our National Constitution guarantees our rights as citizens to vote as we choose, not to be told how to vote or that punishments will be meted out if we don't. That is something dictators do. We are not a dictatorship and when someone like trump tries to become one we must stop him!
     This day is a critical day in the history of our nation. Despite the illegality of trump's demand for obedience it is also a test of our courage as citizens of a free nation. We either cower to the demented demands of a broken person pretending to be invincible or we each demonstrate our own strength and vote as we deem our right to decide. Coercion should not be part of who or what we vote for. Duress is not a freedom it is a control. Are we free humans beings or are we property led to our own slaughter? It is my feeling that we will not succumb to the empty threats coming from the corruptible trump. Instead I suspect that we will rise up and make him pay for threatening us.
     When we the people rise up and showcase our right to be free is when undecided constitutional powers are given the courage to put the rule of law into action and take down a wannabe tyrant. But we the people need to show our strength by defying the threats coming from trump. I know I will because my legacy demands that I fight for democracy when the fighting time comes. This is that moment. So vote your conscience, vote your vision, vote for the things in life that cement your own legacy as a free human being. As to trump and his election day threats he will rue his threats, not we the people.

(#6119) Democrats are holding the line over cuts to health care

      The reason the government is shut down is because republicans want to disembowel Medicaid. The reason republicans want to disembowel Medicaid is because they gave a huge tax break to the wealthy. So putting people in jeopardy of risking their lives so the wealthy can be a lot more wealthy is the republican agenda. For them to come up with this is a direct acknowledgement of their inferior human characteristics. They are purposely harming others so that they can be more extravagant with each other. If you cannot see that they laugh at their poor supporters behind their backs and in front of their faces then you are getting what you deserve.
     For those of us who do see what republicans are doing we are trying as hard as we can to highlight the republican money grab while also highlighting the siphoning off of health care from millions of folks. Without Medicaid 10's of millions of people will not have the wherewithal to afford any medical insurance. So as the wealthy play with their extra money the working middle poor class is going to suffer pain and death. Hospitals will close, providers will diminish, people who are sick will have to rely on home remedies and patched up concoctions. Preventative care will become a thing of the past, preexisting conditions will return to thwart obtaining medical insurance, so no finding out early to save yourself when no early detection methods are available.
     To sum it up the republican party wants their money from Medicaid to go to their donors and ultimately themselves. We democrats have one option to overturn the Medicaid cuts and that is to not let the House open until the Medicaid cuts are withdrawn. To save Medicaid is the only purpose here and the republican party is still adamant about taking Medicaid away. We democrats want to help people overcome illnesses and accidents. The republican party doesn't want that they want us to have no health care despite it being grave to us. The republican party does not care about the working middle poor class and it shows with them trying to take away Medicaid.

(#6118) Four big Democratic wins coming among others

      Today is November 2nd 2025. By the end of November 4th we will know that New Jersey and Virginia have two new Democratic governors. We will know that New York will elect Democrat Zohran Mamdani as its Mayor. As well we will know that Proposition 50 in California will pass. For the most part these races and the proposition are popular enough to be mostly certain of passage but that is just my opinion here and not a fact. The only way to make sure you get the outcome you hope for is to vote. The trumps have been running a narrative of Democrats on the ropes yet we see that it is republicans who are not only on the ropes but are dead on their feet with little fight left.
     We can all hope that the coming blue wave election in 2025 will fuel the next election at the midterms in 2026. We have seen what lengths the republican party will go to when they control all three branches of government. With Congress and the Supreme Court basically abdicating their power to trump the damage to our society is in full swing. With a Democratic wave in two days the narrative of a weakened Democratic party will be destroyed. The enablers within the republican party will start to realize that their gusto for blindly following the most corrupt and unscrupulous president we have ever had in office will be a cost to them they hadn't factored into their zeal for him.
     I have been disappointed before in elections when things seemed to be forthright. Yet in this instance the disdain and dislike of trump is now at record highs and American people are being harmed by his actions. I doesn't matter which party either since all are under his condescension. We the people are being united by trumps and their prejudice against all the working middle poor class. Before republicans would try to divide the working middle poor class in order to get votes. Now they don't care about votes they just want to enrich themselves and live lavish lifestyles on our tax money. I really do expect a big blue wave in two days and I am pretty sure most of us do as well.

(#6117) Only broken people are in the republican party

      The idea that the republican party is the same as the democratic party is absurd. The republicans only attract those who are broken and unaware. We democrats have our principles of honor and respect intact whereas republicans cannot fathom the idea of either. They do have allegiance but allegiance is only loyalty to themselves and their fears. What happened to these people who can only find a safe harbor in the republican party has many baffled. Mainly because republicans only care for the wealthy and that is not their majority base. So what did go wrong for these republican loyalists to latch onto republicanism instead of democracy?
     What I have discerned is that they do not like themselves. They hate what they have become and now want others at that level with them. They don't see the world through the eyes of possibility. They see it through the lens of constriction and diminished hope. Their egos are such that if anyone has success it harms their own sense of worth. They have allowed themselves to be cruel and brutish in ways they would never have thought of themselves. When those moments do occur and they can actually see who they have become they dismiss the logic with some alternative concept to keep themselves from having to embarrassingly admit they were wrong and need to change back into a semblance of who they originally were.
     The republicans know they are wrong but won't let themselves admit it. In their hearts they know that being the hero in all of life is far better than being the villain. They know that life is a gift we are all sharing and that no one is better than another. The republicans know this. But they won't admit it and will still vote to harm even themselves if it means harming others. I am no psychiatrist yet I do know that harming others is not normal and is a corruptible feature of a mind gone wrong. Broken people don't care about how you and I are doing they only want to soothe their own discomfort that they continually bring upon themselves because their learning loop has been broken.

(#6116) Those who protect pedophiles do not see a problem with pedophilia

      Trying to normalize the act of pedophilia is a task the republican party has embraced. We here in America are currently protecting a list of clients that frequently enjoined in acts of pedophilia. Which is sex with children. I know it is against the law and should be punishable yet those republicans currently in power do not agree and are withholding that pedophilia list to protect trump and others. You can see the lengths the republican party will go to in order to hold onto power. The republican party would let lewd and lascivious acts against children go unpunished if it benefitted them.
     Is that the kind of leadership you vote for when you cast your ballots? Are the acts of a vile nature so unimportant to you that you can dismiss them for your idea of a greater good? Is that the compromise you have made with yourself in order to feel worthy? The children victims of trump and others has a cost to them and they are paying it with each and every vote you cast for the violators. You trump voters are vindicating trump's acts of criminality with your votes. There are other republican candidates out there who side with a lot of your opinions so why trump when he is such a lustful sinner?
     If your child had been the victim of trump and his cohorts would you still feel the same? Would the harm caused to your child be less important a priority than giving trump your vote? As a good person in my heart I know this much about me. I would not protect and defend someone who violated a child of mine should I have one. I would not only stop supporting such a creature but I would be always holding myself back from doing a vengeful thing. I choose honor in my life and thought that many were the same. But it seems I am mistaken when a criminal who violates children is heralded as greater than his victims.

(#6115) Staying ahead of the curve

      I like to think I am out ahead of things but the truth is I am just ahead of the curve so that I can still see changes coming. Barely that is. Yet I will take it. For many of us things are going to be a lot rougher given the trumps and his republican allies. There isn't going to be much of any help for the working middle poor class and instead there is harm coming our way. We are already feeling it economically with prices for health care exploding to double at times for many of us. We have already seen the food prices jump significantly due to trump and his terrible tariff practices.
     Many programs aimed at helping the working middle poor class are being eliminated by trump as he continues to slice into poverty relieving programs at the federal level. His attacks on education are also making it harder for educational institutions to welcome a diverse student population. Our farmers are being hit especially hard with trumps crackdown on migrant workers who harvest our fields and orchards with exceptional skill. Life as we knew it previous to trump was difficult enough and now it is about unbearable. Knowing what is coming helps to plan whatever solutions we may have to offset the worst of what is coming. I don't envy us at this time in our history.
     Now trump is planning to have a military response ready for all 50 states. One doesn't have to be a wizard to know what could come of that. One thing I know for sure though is that we the people are not laying down and letting him reimage our personal freedom, justice, and liberty. He may think he knows what is best for us but what he doesn't understand is that we are far more complex than he will ever be. He wants power to rule as a purpose. We want the power to rule ourselves as a human right. We all only live one life in this existence so him making it harder for us to do that makes him a scourge he will never be able to whitewash!
     

(#6114) Democrats are fighting for health care!

      For those who are complaining about democrats not voting to open government here is why they are not voting to open government. Democrats want to save health care for millions of Americans. Now others may claim Democrats are the guilty party here let me tell them that it is the republicans who are destroying Medicaid and we democrats are not going to let them. The republicans could halt the Medicaid cuts in trump's wealthy tax cut law but they don't want to do that. Because it would piss off trump if they did and it would save people's lives which apparently is not a priority for republicans.
     All republicans have to do is add a paragraph to the bill they are trying open government with that states that the cuts to Medicaid in the tax cuts for the wealthy law no longer apply. But typing a paragraph for republicans seems too much for them as they continue to stall. Why do republicans want to harm the working middle poor class so badly? Why? Are we not human? Are we not part of the processes that make our country contribute to national and world economics? Why are we the dirge of creation in their eyes? Only a few can be extremely wealthy as the vast majority of the many cannot be. So are we to be the punching bag of republicans because we aren't filthy rich?
     Look at the record. The republicans do all they can for the wealthy while we democrats fight for universal health care. Democrats fight for raising the paltry republican national minimum of $7.25 an hour to a living wage of above $15 an hour. Democrats fight for voting rights for all citizens of America. Democrats fight to provide assistance to those who are in poverty while working toward solutions that lift folks out of poverty. Democrats fight for women to be the ultimate deciders of what they can do with their own bodies. Democrats fight to eradicate prejudice and bias aimed at women and racial ethnicity in the workplace and public square. Democrats fight for the rights of the vast working middle poor class while also helping the wealthy understand that paying their fair share is also a win/win for them.

(#6113) When law and order fails vigilantism rises!

      The reason we have law and order is to keep our citizenry safe from intentional harm. It isn't perfect but it is clear and precise when followed. Logic dictates that law and order is a deterrent to criminal activity when that law and order is consistent. When law and order is not consistent then those who are wronged because law and order fails, then other means of justice come into being. The category of this other form of law and order is called vigilantism. The problem with vigilantism is that it is not just about justice it is also about vengeance and emotional retribution.
     The reason we have due process and the presumption of innocence for people charged for crimes is that often enough those individuals are innocent of the charge. With vigilantism there is no due process nor presumption of innocence when a person is confronted for an offense. Many are guilty and should be arrested, however not all are guilty and are harmed nonetheless. Which is why we should not have a breakdown in law and order consistency. As to punishments meted out in real time once a vigilante has corralled the suspect there is no going back if the victim was innocent.
     Yet that is what will happen when law and order is not held to a priority status for all proven wrong doers. Vigilantes will mete out justice when they will and no defense for the accused is guaranteed. This lawlessness is becoming more plausible as the trumps continue with their attack on American cities. Once law and order is ignored by force is when all will have to adapt to a form of uncivilized comparative justice. The republican party has always wanted to bring back the days of the wild west here in America and that is where we are headed if we don't stop the republican party from divesting us of our civilized law and order.

(#6112) An upcoming momentum swing

      We democrats have been under what seems like torture for the last year given the unexpected trump victory in the last election. Not only did he retake the presidency but he is even worse than the last time he was in office. Which is the torture we are experiencing. His dislike for those of us who are not wealthy is exasperating. He doesn't miss a chance to harm us when he can for the twisted pure pleasure of it. Not once has he done anything that helps the working middle poor class unless it is even more helpful to the wealthy. He only includes the working middle poor class as a strategy in some minor way in order to get his real purpose of enriching the wealthy accomplished.
     So far with his majorities in the Senate and House, along with his ideological advantage on the Supreme Court he has been able to take our society and turn it on its head. We are witnessing the devaluation of we the people in order to enrich and enhance the wealthy among us. His toadies in government are just like him with a beholden attitude to him that spells discomfort and pain to we the people. He has been checked somewhat by pushback from we the people and the federal district and appellate courts. That minor pushback has been sufficient for now but we the people need a stronger cast of allies to help us.
     In about a weeks time a cavalry of sorts will appear on the horizon to join the battling fray. There are elections taking place that if what seems to be the momentum will come to help we the people and degrade the trumps. A momentum that is fueled by the anger we the people are at trumps and their disregard for the majority of us. Elections in New Jersey and Virginia with other state ballot issues to be decided. not just the winners to be elected but by what margins! The margins will be the key to how we interpret the results and it is my feeling that trump will see that he is being discarded as a serious leader. We the people will go a long way toward nullifying trumps presidency if next week we do the deed of reclaiming our rights as a democracy from a wannabe tyrant.
     
     

(#6111) Just one more House republican needs to want to release the epstein files

      Every democrat in the House wants to release the epstein files. That is 213 members who are locked in to sign the discharge petition bill in the House. So 4 republicans are currently agreeing with the 213 democrats. For a total of 217. Since her election in September, Democrat Adelita Grijalva would also add her name to the discharge petition making it total 218. Yet her swearing in is being denied for that obvious reason. Ultimately when it hits 218 sponsors and then voted upon in committee the discharge petition will then move through the House for final votes. If the 218 remain consistent then the bill passes the House and then moves on to the Senate. If it passes there it will move to the president for his signature or will die with a veto, or will survive with a veto override and become law.
     The point I am trying to make here is that since the current House speaker is not allowing Grijalva to be sworn in she cannot be the 218th vote to move the discharge petition forward. However just one more of the 215 current republicans who have not signed on to supporting the discharge petition has a chance to do the right thing and expose the pedophiles who are in the epstein files. For the 215 republicans to sit back and do nothing is a black eye on them they are giving themselves. These 215 republicans are siding with pedophiles over morality and ethics. I say that because exposing pedophiles is a duty, especially for law makers, that we all have to protect and expose law breakers, particularly those who harm our children.
     Just one more republican is needed to move the epstein files disclosure another steep forward. Just one more republican out of 215 shouldn't be this difficult yet the allegiance to pedophilia is strong in the republican party. How can any self respecting soul allow this to be? I know this much. If the 215 republican House members refuse to help expose the pedophiles then their coming election attempts will be filled with attacks on their moral and ethical turpitude and will be fierce! Being a depraved person who protects child molesters and rapists is not something any decent honorable person would want to be associated with. Running to be reelected as a friend  and protector of pedophilia is what 215 republicans are currently facing!
     

(#6110) Clinton and Harris would have been great presidents

      What is really sad is that we will never know how great our lives would have been. We know how terrible our lives have been under trump and that is not helpful when we did it to ourselves. We let the worst natures of humanity guide us when we could have been heroes in our own lives. We Americans are a sad lot it seems. The point being is that we are so ingrained with our own differences that we cannot distinguish our similarities with a principled keen awareness. We the American electorate have shown that we are more concerned with blaming others for our own inadequacies than solving complex problems together.
     The reason I believe that both Clinton ad Harris would have made great presidents is because both care about all of us. It is my point of view that for starters women make better leaders in society because they are naturally attuned to caring more than men. Not all men but most. We have never had a woman president in our nearly 250 year history so it is difficult to ascertain specific conclusions about how a woman leader grades out against all the previous men. But I do know this and that is women are closer to the heartbeat of society making them much more amenable to the problems we face. We men are less attuned because we don't generally sense as intimately in the same way.
     We can now see several women leaders being elected in other countries. Watching how they perform along with the current women leaders just builds upon my opinion that women can be tough while also caring. It is strange that we here in America won't let a woman lead us when women have been leading families for generations to raise up the very men who now don't trust to vote for them. The insecurity is voluminous. How could you not trust a mother figure when the father figure is of the worst behavior and lacking honor? But twice the cad was elected while the women were not. In some alternate universe president Clinton and Harris were making life better and many were lifted away from a worse fate.

(#6109) Keeping America dumb is the republican strategy, don't let them dumb you down!

      Do your research! If you don't trust any news source then investigate the problem through objective eyes. Don't accept what is told to you, look into it yourself. What else are you doing that is more important than knowing the truth of what affects your life? As to what is important, let me remind you that living life is how we get along and survive. It isn't the most important thing about existence. What is the most important is understanding that we know very little about how or why we exist. So accumulating facts and truths as best we can is our way of learning and understanding how to think about how we live.
     We are not like the animals in nature that are mostly not conscious of time and space. We don't exist just to exist. We have another purpose in life. To build upon the knowledge we already have. To even move beyond our planet into the Universe where new laws of physics and their effects need discovering. We are by nature a curious species. Which is why we are not like the other animals who don't invent things and apply them to our societies. They don't record their learnings in ways that can be accessed by most anyone with a will to do so. Our species has a unique qualification when it comes to learning, we mostly want our young ones to know more than we do so they have a better chance of keeping our species evolving into more competent and skilled specimens of humanity.
     Our children are our hope for the future and keeping them informed beyond our own understandings is a natural nurturing desire. For those who do not hold dear the idea of a smarter more intellectual society, it is because they have an agenda that is more about themselves and less about the future of our children. The nefarious nature of republican politics is them being in control of what we think and how we should act. That is not free will it is akin to being property. I could scream from  the mountaintops that the republicans are not letting us remain as free human beings and many wouldn't understand or care since they seem to prefer being told what to do, much like herded cattle. I won't accept that and will fight for the right of all of us to pursue our own happiness while doing no harm.

(#6108) Here is the deal with courage

      I am no expert at being courageous all the time. None of us are. We often just get a bit of luck and/or the correct circumstances appear to allow us the impetus in the moment to be courageous. Most of the time when we have to weigh whether to be courageous our own insecurities and fears have a part in it. Thus making the decision to be courageous much more uncertain. For myself in those instances I have already defined the lines I won't cross and then behave courageous in those moments. I don't let fear or indecision come into the logic because I have already made my decision should the circumstance arise.
     Why this is important to me is because I have been cowardly in the past and after having experienced cowardice I have made it a point to never be cowardly again. That is my goal. So if one of the scenarios approaches that I have already decided won't be tolerated then I am not considering a rethink, I am considering a battle plan. I understand that deciding my fate is risky in areas where my courage must be prominent. However, I also know that not risking because of fear is not who I am. The greater good is to be courageous when given the choice. Others have gone on before me to give me examples of heroism when fear could have been utilized. To those I admire and respect to my dying day.
     I often write about Nathan Hale and his penultimate response at the hangman's noose. He regretted having only one life to lose for his country. That statement of Nathan's was so powerful in my life once I understood that defeating fear in our lives is perfectly noble and standing with courage is perfectly correct. Again, I am no Nathan Hale but I do try to live up to his example. We re currently in a reality here in America where Nathan's words are prescient. So many of us are already gearing our minds toward a time when the courage we muster may have a cost and those many of us are secure in the knowledge that our contested price to pay is a worthy value defining who we are and who we will be!

(#6107) Another No Kings protest in November

     I have no real confirmation that there will be another No Kings protest in November but the scuttlebutt is that there will be. It makes sense since this last one was so overwhelming peaceful and massively attended. Families came out to protest with their children and pets. This was not a riotous event it was a lovefest for our democracy and an affirmation that we do not want a tyrant to lead us nor any other type person as a king. We are proud of our founding foreparents who gave all of us a new beginning away from the past dictates of authoritarianism. The fresh air of freedom is sweet and that resembled the activity of last Saturdays march.
     Many were hesitant to come out yet it was still the largest protest against an American president in history. Now that those who were hesitant to come out have seen the courage and defiance shown they are now inwardly drawn to join. What may well be at least a 10 million person attendance is more probable than not. We know who and what the trumps are trying to do to our democracy and where there was doubt before has now grown to nothing but disgust. The pictures of trump tearing down portions of our White House is the perfect analogy to what he is doing to our democracy. The visual image is a focusing catalyst to those who were not sure, but are now, that trump is that despicable.
     When Pearl Harbor was attacked from without our nation was revived into an anger that led to the successful end of World War 2. Now we are being attacked from within with military troops in our cities to strongarm our rights. A government shutdown that has us paralyzed with even courts being reduced as watchdogs. The trumps are not masking their attempt to overthrow our democracy by eliminating the governmental organizations that keep us informed as to threats and dangers. The trumps are laying the groundwork to stop elections if they see that they may lose some power. All along trump decided that he is not ever leaving our White House. He wants to be a king and the rest of us must stop him!

(#6106) We need a general strike in America!

      This is about preserving our democracy. That isn't a policy issue just affecting some. It is what we all need to have the ability to pursue our happiness. Without democracy we are just beholden to someone else and their demands for how we live our lives. The freedom we have today is not going to be the same if we don't keep our democracy from being destroyed. The trumps are not about democracy at all. They are playing a longer game of dismantling our democracy piece by piece so that we don't see the overall effect in real time. But that is what is happening.
     Like the frog in the slowing heating pot, we had better protect ourselves and our way of government before we all suffer the loss. Many of us are aware of the danger and are advocating for action. We just had a No Kings march last weekend that was a wake up call to many. What we need now is even more pressure on the trumps to understand that there will be no mercy for those who try to take our constitutional rights away. We the people have to band together in such a way as to be unmistakable in our message to trumps that there will be no king nor any tyranny in American politics. We are a democracy and will remain as such!
     Which is why the next step in our offensive to save democracy is to make it unequivocally clear that we will not stand idly by and watch trumps destroy our nation. Causing and attending a general strike is the way we let everyone know that we are against tyranny and authoritarians. When the movers and shakers of capitalism take note of we the people and our insistence that our rights remain then and only then will they be able to guide the trumps away from such destructive folly. The trumps are not reasonable people. They only respond to pressure themselves so we the people, through a general strike, must deliver that force. We are in tenuous times and that requires bold strength and determined vigilance on the part of we the people!
     

(#6105) After Saturdays No Kings rallies we know where our nation stands

      I pretty much didn't doubt that our nation would wake up eventually to the fact of trump and is desire to be a tyrant like his buddies putin, netanyahu, and un. Leading up to the rallies it was becoming painfully clear to even his supporters that he was not what we need here in America. Granted, he still has many who cannot wrap their minds around the logic of reality and will in all cases defend him into infinity. But that shrinking cabal is less formidable and more cautious now since they have been abruptly challenged in their daily lives.
     His supporters are being called out for trump's decisions. They are being blamed for separating children from their parents in the ice raids. They are being blamed for Ukraine finding it harder to survive given trumps penchant for loving putin, They are being blamed for the current government shutdown that is not ending soon given republicans won't negotiate with democrats. They are being blamed for not seating a duly elected representative from Arizona. In all ways the republican voter is to blame for electing persons incapable of leading America.
     The only things the republican voter cares about it seems are trumps talking points. Not that they are policy since he doesn't have policy, he just has threats and demands. The republican voter keeps justifying anything trump says as fact without regard to the truth or logic of his blather. The vast majority of us who are not his supporters are arousing and given the turnout Saturday we can expect more arousals in the near future. Even when trump threatened protesters with forms of violence we came out and protested. Now others who didn't come out due to trumps threats are realizing that the bluffing bluster of trump is no match for the energized courage to unveil our free speech and the will to apply it directly in the streets.

(#6104) Democracy gathered yesterday

      The beauty of yesterday was in the coming together. Yesterday's tribute to freedom and democracy was in a word, inspiring, I wasn't sure how the day would play out given the trouble trumps would try to inject in our display to preserve our constitutional rights but it seems like most things from trump it was just bluster. So without his intervening chaos the true nature of democracy flourished. I left early for the march in my city because I am an early bird who likes to get going. So as I walked east on the early morning streets the 18 city blocks or so to get to Sutter's Fort where the march began, I was able to see my city wake up to its normal Saturday morning.
     In the midtown Sacramento area there is quite the mixture of businesses and homes with tree lined streets everywhere. Along my path to the fort I encountered several blocks of what looked to be a seasonal street faire somewhat happily hustling and bustling folks their wide variety of foods and crafts. Once at the fort however the mood was elevated to a higher level of happy. Everyone courteous and friendly ready to march to the California state capitol. So after some time we all faced west and began our march with occasional chants, drum beats, and the constant honking of horns from supportive motorists.
     I was even able to strike up a conversation with a man who was a year older than me when he asked if this was my first march since the 60's. We talked about life choices since we both pretty much have lived ours and enjoyed thinking about and remembering days gone by. To me the march was a celebration of not only free speech but of a community of souls who want to be able to live life better and not harder. We all want our stories about ourselves to have a contented conclusion despite the struggles we endured. Making life easier to live requires us to have the freedom to choose our own destiny. That is what marching in the streets is all about!