(#5932) The death throes of trump's tyranny are just beginning

      With all the pushback from our allies and our majority citizenry in America, trump is doing his usual doubling down on his tyrannical aspirations. Executive orders are flying out of the White House since the Canadian election. He is even putting troops at the Canadian border in order to scare Canada into bending a knee to him. The prices from his border tariffs are going to be a reality in just weeks so he doesn't want the added pressure and more loss of followers so it is now that he is ramping up his dictatorial rhetoric through executive orders.
     His little stunt to arrest the Judge in Wisconsin as a show of force to prevent other judges from defying him has not yielded much if any effect on their patriotism to democracy. So his new executive orders will most likely get the same outcome as his many failed earlier ones. The judges in America are proving to be a backstop to the run away trump administration. Yet trump is still defiant and will not stop at judges orders until the effect of the judges orders are backed with authoritative force. We are quickly reaching that pinnacle and we will know if either trump succeeds in his tyranny or is stopped cold with shackles if necessary.
     However the final outcome, we the people must not relent in our opposition to his dismantling of our democracy and his destruction of our outstanding economy. Will the strategy of trump to threaten and bully eventually capitulate or will it endure to bring his imagined kingdom to bear. We shall see how this plays out but nerves are on end and civility is being replaced with the unthinkable. A reckoning of one sort or the other is the fork in the road on which we are travelling and which fork we take will either make we the people stronger or it will be our undoing. We are at that fork in the road with no going back as an option.

(#5931) Yesterday's vote in Canada bodes well for American midterms

      With the Liberal party keeping the Premiership of Canada after yesterday's vote when just a few months ago the Canadian Conservative party and its leader were comfortably ahead in the polling is quite a turnaround in such a short time. The leader of the Conservative party in Canada not only lost the premiership but as well his government district seat. There can be only one reason for the outcome yesterday, that being the arrogant prat American president trump. He has belittled Canada since his inauguration and the leader of the Conservatives tried to emulate trump. Both took it on the chin yesterday and the democratic world at large couldn't be more grateful!
     I am not looking for silver linings as a path forward but the silver lining in trump being elected president is explosive. He trump has managed through his idiocy and arrogance to unite the majority of the world against him, right wing politics, and his egregious statements and policies. We the majority in America are already disgusted with trump and if we here in America could have a snap election trump would be ousted in a landslide! Yet we don't have elections like that and must weather the insanity of trump until November 2026 when our midterms elections will give us the opportunity to retake Congress with authority.
     With Democrats back in the majority in 2026. in both the House and Senate, the probability of trump doing much of any further damage to our society and the world will be exponentially reduced. He will be a lame duck his last two years and in 2028 will be replaced with a Democratic leader who will return America to Democracy, and our allies, with a fervor. Yesterday was a bellwether event that offers, we who have not lost faith in democracy, a full array of hope for better days ahead. Thank you Canada for doing what we Americans should have done last year in our presidential election. Hopefully our political fever has broken and we Americans will be able to think clearly again!

(#5930) Why do we want to hurt people?

      When I was much younger and hadn't fully formed my principles for living yet, I didn't necessarily want to hurt people I think it was more like I didn't care. Such a sad realization to have to admit. I was much more focused on my own interests. Well over some little time when I was growing up I came to the understanding that my actions were part of what was going on and I wanted to be less selfish and more giving. I stumbled and faltered many times later in life due to other ridiculous factors but I eventually put it all together and stopped any pain I had previously intentionally or otherwise caused.
     I don't think we start out in life with a mission to belittle and be cruel but it seems that the effect of doing so is not fully understood. When we finally are taught about cause and effect we move from the simple thought behind an act to a more complex thought which often tempers our reactions with some consciousness. We eventually put ourselves in other peoples shoes in order to expand our own experience. Knowing how the effect of a painful cause really is makes us either stop or at least reduce the instance. At least for me it is that way. I am angry at some for doing bad things but I am at least human enough to not want the worst for the bad doer.
     What this existence should be is more patient and appreciative of all we have been given on birth. We get to exist in a paradigm where we are the most amazing minds and bodies in existence. Now there may be some pushback on that but not in my opinion. So instead of existing in humility and boldness we choose to allow other less honorable acts and thoughts to perform and stream through our consciousness. Such that we focus on hurting others instead of rejoicing in their being. For the life of me I will never understand the mentality it takes to harm when helping is just as much an option. Why do we hurt people? What form of gratification is that when the better of our natures is far more excellent?

(#5929) Our voices are like a ripple on a quiet body of water

      We may not think we are smart enough to offer advice but I say when you know something is wrong, even just saying that something is wrong is enough to make known that there is a problem that needs addressed. For instance, I don't have to have a doctorate in financing to know that if the few wealthy are making most all the profits then workers are being left to be disgruntled. I can say that with the confidence that I know I am correct just by living in this society where there are too many without and to few with most all. My voice is my way of saying how I feel about this society we exist in. None of us should be shy about saying what we see as evidence of a great injustice right before our eyes.
     Besides voicing our convictions being our way of stating what should be obvious to all, our voice is a way to shock or make aware to others what we see and feel. Like the ripple on a body of still water, the effect of our voice stirs the rest of us through the vibrational sensation. We hear some simply logical questioning and it makes us think it through in our own experiences. One voice easily can shake the foundation of a whole society and even the world at large. So at most times we may feel insignificant we are not when it comes to our clarity on a problem. Our voice adds power to others to use their voice when they otherwise may have felt the lonely fear of not making waves by themselves.
     Some of us are less shy about stating the obvious and others are more shy about doing the same. But when it comes to what is wrong right before our eyes none of us should be shy about calling it what it is. Regardless of race or gender the only way to live in a society is for all of us to have a voice. Whether speaking or voting, the universality of those communications keep us well within the facts and truths of reality and help us maintain a sanity in the world that is deserved by all. When our voices crescendo together we are truly magnificent as a species and the outcome is not to be denied.

(#5928) If you haven't grounded yourself in the principles of democracy then who the fuck are you?

      Life is really easy to understand once you know who you are. If you are a kind decent person then the principles of democracy align with your personality and character. What are the principles of democracy? Here are some basic principles collated from Wikipedia: The freedom of assembly, association, personal property, freedom of and from religion, free speech, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights. I would add total race and gender equality, equal justice and fairness under the law, and for all the right to the pursuit of happiness without doing harm.
     If you cannot find yourself supporting these democratic principles then that is what is wrong with you. No one should be so irrepairable as to be unable to understand the amazing existence of every human being. But it seems we have too many that are broken in their ability to not only learn of how to correct their illogic but they are not even interested in knowing why they are broken as human beings to begin with. The malignant comfort and safe harbor of being disgruntled and discontent is not enough of an allure to sway me from the times when my happiness is second only to my gratitude. The principles of democracy are my guiding light and for me that light is omnipotent.
     We all get to decide who we are and how we show that. It is our duty to ourselves and life itself to be who we are and not what others tell us to be. We are stronger than that and as well unique enough to want to be our own masters. When we are young and somewhat fearful we are impressionable and trusting but what is often the case that state of innocence invested in others does not reflect our best interests but the best interests through the lens of some other vision. We must learn early that our lives are for us to master. We need help along the way but that help cannot take the form obedience to parameters not ours. Each of our lives is precious and should be lived in a way that expresses that for all of us.

(#5927) I so want to be still but life won't let me

      I have duties and responsibilities to attend to and those need me no matter what. But when I have completed my daily chores and forward thinking activities I would like to just sit for awhile and absorb the day without distraction. In the big picture of life I am not really desiring anything extraordinary nor impossible. Just a simple stopping of movement for a time that refreshes and rejuvenates my ambitions. It seems that getting to those moments of silence and rest are an ask too much. As much as I try to stay ahead of the avalanche of problems and solutions that I must wrestle with the rigmarole of it all seems to fill my waking days.
     Within that activity of course are the moments that are satisfying and rewarding as well as frustrating and dispiriting. Yet when I try to find some time to just check out for enough hours to replenish my energies I am accosted with more that must be attended to address. I get that life has its quirks and idiosyncrasies but to have them on a daily basis is almost overwhelming. Yet almost overwhelming is not overwhelming. I am feeling my age as I navigate my life and if possible I would like to stick my head above the metaphorical water and just enjoy the event of existence as an observer than as so much a moving integral part of it all.
     I complain that I am alive in a less than horrible condition. So shame on me for being less tough than those who are living in horrible conditions. The whole idea of our world being so distraught that I feel the need to be quiet about my own individually insignificant dilemmas is an almost overwhelming example. I know this, my house must be in order for me to be a most effective part of any larger solution. So I will stick my nose back to the proverbial grindstone and work on my life with greater focus so as to be able to find some time to be still. Once there, I can come back into the fray of life with a greater gusto than what I am currently able to employ.

(#5926) Getting into my groove every morning...

      As soon as my eyes open in the morning I look upward to see what the red projected light reads on my bedroom ceiling. It is usually very early but that is cool because I like being awake more than sleeping. If I am awake it means my body is ready to stop lying down and needs to get up. The early rising has been my normal for decades especially since I gave up the booze and one night stands as the song lyric goes. It might be subconsciously psychological as well since I am getting one more day closer to my expiration. So each day is a value to be started properly. No matter the news, I have to have my own agenda for living that exceeds all that is around me. I am one who is invested in the arc of our overall happiness yet I still need to be there at the start to be effective.
     Finding my groove from each days waking is not as easy as it should be. There is enough turmoil in my personal life and the world at large to shake me from any restful place I may have been at before falling asleep. Once I see the time I know what I must do. Sometimes it is to rollover and sleep for another hour or two. But mostly it is to get up and begin my morning regimen of chores that have become my responsibility. Once done I can then sit for a moment and get my mind into a place where good things can happen and the bad things can be filed away for more advanced thought later toward a solution. My process is to begin from the better in order to solve the worse.
     This morning it is music to settle my mind into a fertile place where ideas can grow without the weeds and rocks obstructing. I find that going to sleep angry is contingent upon the level of frustration that is triggered and how inundated it is.. I don't always control when I need to sleep but I do control how I wake up into my new thoughts. Sleep is my void in time to allow me to reset. So my mornings are like a chance to be me in a better way because I can calm myself from any left over before sleep anxieties. In essence the mornings allow me to see my destiny as solutions not like the problems from the day before. I love my mornings.

(#5925) When will putin be stopped from killing his own people?

     The American state of South Dakota has a population of 924,669 per Google. Already 944,270 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. Delaware, with 1,051,917 will be the next arbitrary milestone for comparison. With more than a 1,000 Russian troops dying every day in Ukraine the passing of the Delaware figure is only months away. South Dakota has 4 states below it in population so we are at a point where a lot of people are no more in how to measure this. A whole American state's population is gone when compared with the losses putin has instilled upon his country.
     Let me be clear here as well. Russia is putin's country as it is not a democratic one it is an authoritarian one where putin is the tyrant. The only thing I can see that keeps ordinary Russians from changing their government is the fear they feel if they even think about trying. Fear is the one emotion we experience where it can literally freeze us from operating as a human being. Yet fear does not have to be one way. It can be used to temper our actions and thoughts while still giving us the ability to react and enact. Accepting to live as a lesser human being is not enviable. Sometimes it is necessary to survive but only long enough to plan a strategy to root out the problem.
     The invasion putin started in Ukraine was all about putin and his ego. There is no other excuse for killing Ukrainians and his own people. Lives should matter, and should not be used to slaughter each other for any reason. Any time anyone exchanges peace for war it is time to make the one who wanted war feel the effect of war. There is no other conclusion for all of this. As putin continues to kill Ukrainians and his own people the numbers continue to climb whereas 1,000,000 dead Russians in Ukraine is just about to become a reality. All for the sake of one man's ego. Our world is a sad place where this many young people are sacrificed to death by persons who never endanger themselves in the effort. That has to change if peace is to return.

(#5924) The search for knowledge will not fail you

      The search is the key. Like in life it is the journey not the destination that is actual living. Searching for answers to questions known and yet to be known is how I keep my zest for living. Most everything else in life will fail me but not my quest to know. From expectations of relationships to sports outcomes to job disappointments, the failing is consistent. Yet my thirst for knowledge never is less than what I expect. I may not learn what I want to learn but at least I learn. What I have found is inconvenient at times because my expectations did not meet my preferred outcome but that is real and not of my making.
     I am here as an observer, not as a creator. So what I learn is what I accept when the logic and common sense of it balances out to become indisputable. So many lose sight of the fact that we are not here to design our own existence, we are here to understand what existence is in reality. We can adjust our place within existence but we cannot speak an existence into being simply by pronouncing it. Which is why learning is so vital to our human being evolution. The Universe is a most vast expanse of space and requires of our species time to make even rudimentary sense of it. We are only in the very early stages of that time to understand therefore not enough is known yet.
     That means there is time in existence for all of us to participate in the learning of it. The constancy of learning is purposeful and will not let us down when we keep coming at it from the innocence we should be utilizing. Wide eyed is how I hope to live every second of my life. That means I am being filled with wonder at what life is offering. Beyond all the normal procreation and structuring modern societies is the ideal of a manifest destiny for our species. To go beyond our own space to other spaces yet traveled. Out beyond our existence on this planet is another reality we have barely begun to touch. Our search for knowledge is sacred to our species and following into it with all our might is our calling.

(#5923) My memories are a snapshot in time

     My life seems like a series of snapshots in time. Instead of remembering the constant flow of events I instead fall to the lazy process of just linking my memories to events that are more unforgettable as long as they are not too disturbing to my sanity. I am not too unusual in this method of categorizing my thought and memory milestones of a sort in order to rekindle, for the most part, my experiences. Again, lazy. Instead of keeping a record flowing like I should have I didn't know to train myself at a young age to give myself that opportunity. Instead I just figured I would remember everything. Well all these years later I am not remembering things as they were in their real time.
     So my default snapshot method is the best I can do and it makes me uncomfortable because I expect more from myself. That line about we individuals being our own worst critics could not be more true with me anyway. I have failed myself in so many ways that my mind won't let me remember them all. Maybe that is one reason why I didn't force myself at an early age to keep a better memory record of my life. We all make mistakes and do things we know we shouldn't have. That is the learning curve we all live with as I am sure we all tell ourselves. As we learn from experience we hopefully adjust our allowances to conform to our new insights. Yet the processes we initially employed get lost in the new recalibration of our character and behavior.
     In other words we forget what we were in order to become what we are now. However to me that is not how my memories should work. I still have those memories but they are harder to access given my embarrassment and/or shame of them and also them no further being a utility. My whole life has been me living it regardless of all outside influence and motion. I have existed as just me and me knowing me from wake through sleep is to me my duty to keep a record of for no other reason than my own ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. How we are given advice to exist is a failing on our part as a species to date. We do keep ourselves in a somewhat comfortable survival mode but that is beginner stuff. Not the stuff of greatness that all of us are capable of expanding.

(#5922) I strive for authenticity

      Even when I am not the best of me I still want to be. There is no intent to be something other than the best I can produce of myself. The not easy thing about all of this though is that to be authentic I need to know who I am. Not some caricature of someone I want to be but who I am and all of that. I will say that it does take time to figure that out but time is something we allocate to ourselves when needed. So once arrived at our own conclusions about who we are it is then our opportunity to present that person to the world as a reflection of our existence. It is not easy being your authentic self but easy is not what our current life is all about. For now it is the hard in life that gets us to a place where we can at least find peace.
     I want to be clear about this next part. I am referring to attraction and what it is in our world. Not the type of attraction that has relationship components attached to it. But attraction in the sense that we see someone who is not like us but is unique in their way. A sense of admiration for their unusualness. Those types of people are my type of people. They are not conformists to traits and adherences that delineate out of compliance. They instead embrace their version of themselves that is core to their sense of time and space. I can voice one rule to life that is universal in it's three little words. Do no harm. John Stuart Mill, nonetheless understood that although the complexities of life are abundant, aligning in life is simple.
     In my life I have absorbed the do no harm concept as life itself. However, I know that survival, at times, requires us to partially put away civility and destroy barbarism. That is authentic as well. Yet the authenticity I am writing about is our own personal quest of seeking within ourselves the answers to our personage. A quick note here, I am in my older years but I know that I am still evolving. We are not set in our ways of knowing and understanding within any time limit. The beauty of life is our care for it and our own realizations about what is of value and what is just marking time. We are the stewards of life in this existence so how we see ourselves as those stewards and what we do with our stewardship should be purposeful and worthy of us being true to ourselves.

(#5921) I am my own best counsel

      Every second of my life has been mine. I can truly say that I am the master of me and have guided my course all along the way. I have asked for advice to weigh against other factors but the conclusion I come up with is mine to honor or to be ashamed. That is the thing about life. We don't always make the correct choice when employing hindsight. But in the sight we have at that moment the decision has always been mine to the best of my intentional ability. I am sure I am not the only soul who operates like this. I know there are many who can't make a move without at least one or numerous confirmations. That is their story to tell, not mine.
     In personal relationships it is important that both make decisions together even when both may not agree. I get that and that is part of the relationship dynamic. However, being true to oneself must always be the starting point and where that goes from there is the compromise of healthy relationship technique. I am neither an expert at relationships nor even a master, yet logic dictates at least a foundation. My perspective has mostly always been my own to navigate. It is a comfortable place for me to consider because I am not entangled beyond myself. I trust the method and logic of my understandings enough to believe that my inner compass will guide me faithfully.
     No one knows the intent of my heart like me. No one could even fathom the depths I would go to in order to free others from bondage that was not of their own choosing. No one knows the heights I would soar to bring back a good way of life to those who are depressed and disparaged.. We are not different in these ways but I suspect we don't trust ourselves with our own convictions as much. I have found that middle place where my heart hurts for the pain of others while celebrating the joy in life that does occasionally show itself. I am serious and I am goofy. Yet in the very bottom of my core burns a fire of hope that will never be extinguished by the ignorant cruelty of the flippant and cavalier.

(#5920) The personification of my imperfection

      I had the battle over me accepting my imperfection a long time ago. As have most all of us. Yet there are those who still cling to the concept that they are perfection incarnate. Even though every reflecting device shows otherwise. Be that as it may, my triumph over that delusion of grandeur goes deeper and heavier. Not only do I know that I am not perfect I am not even close in any way plausible. For me the concept of perfection is akin to infinity. Neither attainable but both imaginable as an impossible theory. All of which is to remind me that I am humbled to be part of this living existence that has breathed life into me.
     I may on occasion consider that somehow I deserve or am due a privilege just for existing but nowhere in any memory do I see any proof of that. Instead I have come to know that I exist only at the pleasure of forces or chance that are beyond my own ability. Which is fine because at least I have been able to put the truth to what I know onto the facts that are real. I would never intentionally dishonor what is real in order to fit my own misunderstandings or unknowns. I am of the school of logic. Where what is real is to be accepted and what is not real is to be questioned. Being honest with myself and always looking for truths is the only way I can see to properly live in this existence.
     I am synonymous with my first awareness of being. To this day I am innocence looking to find why I am curious. Thus like anything newly sprouted here on Earth an incubation period is followed by an acceptance of limitations. A settling in of parameters in order to exist as purposeful as possible. Knowing that this existence is finite with physical challenges and emotional upheavals. For all of us who were, are, or will be the same for me is the same for all. Our living thinking individual organisms are nonetheless precious in every regard despite the utter lack of perfection we all reflect out to the world.

(#5919) The daily blog posting is wearing me down

      I am just a human being so being worn down is part of the experience of being human. Yet some things are more important to be part of in life than others. Yet we all end up having to decide how we keep moving forward eventually. I am not wholly tired because of age issues, I am tired because we Americans are such cowards and ignorant both. We vote in a criminal to lead us and then when we find out he is just subjugating us we don't do anything to stop him. It is more than that unfortunately because writing for me was always a happy thing. Something to look forward to when letting of some steam or being mindful of creativity. Always an adventure of which adventures I have always desired.
     Not so much anymore. I am still trying to keep myself motivated by engaging in facts and truths but there isn't enough appetite in America for such mundane things when the sensational of the salacious is ever present. I am not a genius nor even a master at many things but at least I never lost my curiosity for knowledge to an obviously bad man and his divisive ways. So I suppose I could try to rustle up some more intensity toward thwarting the wrongs I know are coming but I am tired, really tired of having to do so when we never had to again, have this awfulness in the first place.
     It is as if no matter how clear and precise we explain the difference between right and wrong the conclusion reached by those who should have been able to distinguish good from bad were not able. So I sit here with the question in my brain why do I keep letting myself down by trusting others to be smart enough to do good? I believe I am just an optimist at heart which makes all of this a difficult consideration to not quit. Not quitting is getting harder to do when so many just don't care! They just don't care whether they are good or bad people. I don't care how they justify that to themselves but I do see what they do and what they do is  just not worthy of the uniqueness of the human being species.

(#5918) Death before dishonor

      How does one live their life? With some degree of intelligence, courage, and happiness? Or does one grovel before a bully and let him decide if they live or die? Two very dire scenarios within which most of us reside. Being afraid to die is the catalyst that carries the most weight when trying to figure out how to live. Most all of us know that living is special even when it is difficult and filled with disappointment. There is something extraordinary in surviving to fight another day but that only applies to those who have made the decision to fight. Those who are just scrambling to survive at all costs are not doing themselves any favors. Instead they are trading being alive for a humiliating shame.
     When I hear the term death before dishonor it kindles in me a hero type who at the end of his personal rope had remained defiant in the face of brutish cruelty. Like the very young 21 year old American revolutionary patriot Nathan Hale who uttered these final words before his death: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." America was founded upon the hearts and minds of patriots who stood up to dishonor with a bravery that inspires and elevates our species to a higher order. Dishonor is the temporary way out for those who haven't learnt that their life is as great as all lives past, present, and future. Living with dishonor does not stay one's life it just lengthens it in a puddle of misery and despair.
     Death before dishonor is how the brave live and life without those courageous souls is a reminder that the worst of us may rule the world but the world is no place for honor to grow and abound. Deep within all of us is a fire to do what is better and best for ourselves and those around us. We each must find our core and then build out from it the world we want to live in. Will that reality have tyrants and brutes leading the way while we bend our knee to them? Or will our reality be strong in courage where no person of honor is ever asked to die for something dishonorable. We, each one of us has the individual power to be our best form so the time is upon us to have that conversation with ourselves.

(#5917) Another day of no pressing subject

      This having a head cold is a tremendous disadvantage to me. I have rarely had head colds like this but since Covid I will take one of these over having Covid itself. Yet it does play with my ability to focus on anything with much nuance. I am getting some remedial things done but that is just connecting the dots kind of things. Not problems that require imagination or creativity. I do transfer driving for a national corporation and even trying to do that is too much for my mind to consider. I do the work basically alone but I do come into contact during the day other folks and plus I am in traffic most of the day.
     First, when I know I am going to be a spreader of whatever this is that I have I would at least wear a mask and gloves to remediate as much spreading as possible but in this case I am in the middle of it and no amount of protecting others is foolproof at this stage. Even more so I am conscious of the split second timing I employ on the road when I am in good health so with a distracting head cold I cannot reasonably assume I would not be a danger to others. We all need our hours for our pay so not working is a detriment in that respect. I know things could be worse with a dire unexpected consequence out of my desire to keep my expected pay the same, while gambling with an inhibition.
     I have done all the correct moves though letting my dispatcher know last evening that I would likely not be available for my shift today. Giving her time to get a back up plan in place. Then this morning I let her know as early as being considerate I wouldn't make it in today. While also giving her a backstop day of Friday that I could come in to still help with the weeks expectations if needed. These mindful thoughts are from consideration and respect for my fellow workers never to be a burden intentionally. I will recover from this head cold in a few days and be back to being my cheerful self when accomplishing my responsibilities whether at home or on the job. The responsibilities at home are more a drudgery for now...ugh.
     

(#5916) Difficult to write something with a head cold

      I do feel better this morning after a very difficult tossing and turning long night. My head felt like it was burning up with nasal congestion and hot watery eyes. Yet as of about 8 this morning I sense that I have passed from being in the throes of whatever this infection/virus was to recovering. I will still head back to bed after finishing this blog post just to make sure that I am in a recovery. It is strange how I tend to forget the demanding symptoms that occur when I catch something like this and being reminded is humbling. I did go to work yesterday knowing that something was amiss and kept a mask on in front of other folks.
     I used to worry about how me wearing a mask would affect others but since Covid the stigma of wearing a mask to protect others is now well known. Yesterday I had over the counter pain relief pills if I needed them but I didn't. I am fortunate that I have today off and don't go back to work until tomorrow. Which prompts me to really focus on getting better today. My self diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder, which I at least think is partially true has me at this keyboard and not in my bed where I will be shortly. I was in bed trying to go back to sleep but my obsession with getting out my daily blog post wouldn't give me any peace.
     So up I am working nothing of any importance besides me about my current physical malady. I expect I have at least 25 minutes to give to writing this post. I am well into writing this last paragraph about my head cold and why. I find it is a positive thing to be obsessed with something that is important to us. Not to some degree that is unhealthy but to at least motivate us toward a goal. As I said earlier I feel like I am coming out of this short icky physical attack but I won't know for sure until tomorrow when I gear up again to go to work. I knew I was tired over the last many weeks and possibly this was my body telling me to stop the constant motion and be more at peace with myself.

(#5915) Cutting off access to Medicaid healthcare is a death sentence

      I do not like to think the worst of what people are intending but the idea that cutting millions of poorer folks off of Medicaid won't have a grave effect is beyond argument. It is already an established as fact. So the plan by trumps and republicans is to send a whole bunch of people to an early grave is intentional. I expect they know or should know basic facts so there really is no other conclusion. I know they are focused on giving the wealthy more tax breaks for whatever unjustifiable reason other than as a quid pro quo for them donating to the republican and trump political campaigns.
     The brunt of this cost will fall on the shoulders of those in poverty. In the form of cuts to services that are only obtainable by the poor through Medicaid. Once Medicaid is diluted this time around the utility of it will fall precipitously. Thus making it easier to destroy Medicaid in next years budget. I can only fathom this much from cutting Medicaid, that the trumps and republicans are intentionally trying to harm the poor. Not only harm them but in too many cases for them actually end them. Is this how trump addresses poverty? Through decimation and allowing them to die because they are poor? That isn't a genius approach, that is a brutal and cruel illogic carried out by non empathetic oafish simpleton.
     It would be unfair of me to not also mention the continued devaluation of women under trump. Where women are removed from decision making positions in our government along with people of color. The misogyny and racism are two prongs of the same fork for trump. While he enriches his cabal he undercuts the rights of all people. I am a white man who is ashamed of trump and his followers. They are the worst of what we the people are and their quest to make us all like them is still in full on mode. What is happening right before our eyes is the majority of most of us citizens quickly moving closer to poverty while the few white sycophants of trump move closer to massive unlimited wealth. In the meantime I am trying to stay ahead of my bills.

(#5914) While prices keep going up the decolorizing to white continues

      It isn't like the bills stay static. They are if anything increasing in every respect. Increased costs at the market, in utilities, in insurance, even in property tax. Ever since Covid and the supply chain debacle trump created by not addressing Covid in a successful way prices have gone up on everything. With fewer laws for preventing collusion being enforced the practicality of prices ever going back to being lower is a dream now. Competition used to keep prices down as each supplier would try to get more of a market share. But now with suppliers getting huge profits with little oversight it is easier for suppliers to illegally agree with greater impunity to prices that are inflated than to actually compete against each other over quality and quantity.
     We are surely becoming a cookie cutter nation where everything seems to look and taste the same. Our conformity to uniformity is a sad state of affairs. Gone will be the days of the varied colors in our products and services. The fun is being wiped out of our society so that some may enrich themselves without making meritful effort. The uniqueness is being curtailed out of our society so that obedience to the uninspired is the rule. In short, we are being molded into a people that cannot think and act for themselves for fear that a castigating reckoning will occur. All for the sake of some few who want more than all that there is.
   It would be unfair of me to not also mention the continued devaluation of women under trump. Where women are removed from decision making positions in our government along with people of color. The misogyny and racism are two prongs of the same fork for trump. While he enriches his cabal he undercuts the rights of all people. I am a white man who is ashamed of trump and his followers. They are the worst of what we the people are and their quest to make us all like them is still in full on mode. What is happening right before our eyes is the majority of most of us citizens quickly moving closer to poverty while the few white sycophants of trump move closer to massive unlimited wealth. In the meantime I am trying to stay ahead of my bills.

(#5913) Chores always being added to my to do list

      I was just sitting here in front of my blog ready to write when I thought about how peaceful I feel at the moment. This last week has been a whirlwind of projects to get accomplished here at home. I am done with the most important and prioritized ones along with many smaller ones that keep nagging at the back of my brain. Yes, I don't need anyone to tell me to get off my butt and get things done as I have been real good at doing it to myself most my life. So here I sit with a calmness that is peaceful and resting. Yet as is always the case, once I get a tough assignment done I am ready for another unexpected event.
     But that isn't right now and I am good with this moment. I don't know what it is about getting things done that to many outside observers appear to be insignificant but I can tell you if I don't stay relentless, the tasks continue to pile up and become almost insurmountable. What is kind of cool is that I am always searching to define my purpose in life and it is obvious to me that I need to get things done where I can. My life is a to do list of some degree not limited to the daily and unexpected tasks I normally encounter. My to do list is to make our world a better place than before I got here. Not easily done as we all know.
     However whether easy or impossible I find that I have to try. What makes things even more difficult is when we do figure out a pathway toward progress someone comes along and screws it all up. Thus leaving at least me and those like me with a despair that is confounding. Yet I understand the nature of our species. We cannot have it to good for some reasons and we cannot have it too bad for other reasons. I don't get that illogic but I have to accept it is all around me and my ilk. Yet I still don't change. I have to do what I can do and then enjoy the moments afterward as the precious gifts they are. I always have more to do but whatever is most pressing as a high priority must be done and then acknowledged with a smile and a satisfying moment of reflection.

(#5912) Sticky fingers in America's cash register

      The trumps have decided that pilfering as much as they can of America's wealth is the next item on their agenda. They are not being subtle about their efforts either. Since the Supreme Court allowed trump to be above the law he is now cashing in on that. He always said the he could kill someone on 5th avenue in broad daylight and get away with it so taking our money is a no brainer. The new American exceptionalism is wholly owned by trump. He has put himself into a position where he can do no wrong in his own mind regardless of its blatant criminality.
     The republican party and the Supreme Court have gotten us here to this for whatever purpose no sane man with integrity would ever condone. The stock market manipulation for quick profit is just the latest evidence of a mostly disorganized crime wave that trump is perpetrating with no remorse. Those that surround trump and those who see him as a way to steal without being culprits are in a sweet spot. That place where no one has the hutzpah to bring trump down a notch, thus leaving the field wide open for theft in broad daylight. At least it isn't murder he is committing yet it is criminal and life altering for many.
     What trump has shown his entire life is the disturbing ability to bankrupt that which he touches. Our American economy is going through a forced struggle right now to determine what will be left of it after the locust like trumps get their belly full. The ravaging by them is a badge of courage to them. They think that anyone who isn't willing to scourge the economy to make dishonorable profit is weak and deserving of being destitute. The trumps will not worry what happens to the people of America as long as they continue to obey and believe in him. What the rest of us have to do is find a way to alter our reality toward democracy with no leniency for those who would not.

(#5911) Friendships are special

      I have a friend whom I have known for 60 years. We grew up together and stayed in touch over the decades. We ended up owning homes less than a mile from each other so as we are older we can spend more time hanging out. Today my friend Jim came over and helped me replace out two toilets. We work well together so after a few hours when we finished up we went out to Round Table Pizza and split a medium sized pizza with everything on it. Jim got to talking about the a bear he spent the night with twice over a short period of time up in Grizzly Flats California.
     The story, or both stories were centered around his attempts to bring back some unique boulders he discovered on the first trip. Suffice it to say he didn't get any boulders back because of the bear and a movie shoot with Grizzly Adams in it. The Disney production pissed off the local bear while Jim and his friend Jim hid from it most of the night. Same thing happened soon after except the bear was just prowling and didn't want anything to do with humans. However like the first time Jim had to hide with his friend Shannon and then leave during the night in an attempt to put distance between themselves and the bear.
     These stories of Jim's were from decades ago but to Jim they were like yesterday. His face lit up and he was transfixed in the telling of the stories. I just kind of chuckled to myself because normally I would be cracking jokes about his stories but these seemed to transcend joke telling. I then offered that we should go back up in the forest and find those special boulders he saw so many years ago. I have a rock garden out in my front yard and adding another boulder would be kind of cool. Anyway, I got a lot of work done today replacing the two toilets and spending time with my oldest friend at a table having pizza. I don't know what life should be all about but since I can't be an explorer out discovering I think spending time with memories of our youth is about as good as it gets.

(#5910) Bullies threaten and lie while good people stop them

      The simple answer here is that we are in a good versus evil struggle in our politics. The evil is telling us to be quiet and accept their transition of our democracy into their tyranny. We the good say up yours and we will not stop venting against the takeover. Fear doesn't come into play with this. It is either kneel or stand and standing is what we all should do! However not all of us will stand and that is why it is not as hard for the evil to keep going. They see the fear they achieved by threatening us and it gives them confidence that they will prevail. So will we stand up to the bullies or will we kneel in our fear like gutted useless cowards?
     The verdict is still out on this but the moment is approaching where no one will be able to hide their choice. Take all the time you need to decide what kind of person you really are and then defend that person by standing or kneeling. By standing you have a better chance to survive the bullies but their is always risk. By kneeling you will lose to the bully while being humiliated along the way. Bullies crave cowardice and they know it when they see it no matter how clever we think we are at hiding it. However, standing is what bullies hate. They do not like being confronted and when we many confront them they shirk back under the rocks where they once again hibernate in their greed and lust.
     We all know how this will play out because bullies are by behavior unable to access reality with a panoramic view. Instead they only see what is in front of them and it is cowardice they strive to find. We either kneel now and live as worthless human beings toward inevitable death, unable to claim we are an amazing species, or we stand against the bully and fight with our might to defend the best of who we are as a species. I am the hero type so there is no decision for me to make. I will fight regardless of knowing that I may well not survive the battle. However if I do survive the battle it will be because I showed up and showed out. All it takes is the bravery to stand and the fortitude to protect that which we know is good.

(#5909) Do we Americans deserve the high enlightenment of democracy?

      Since again voting in a dictator type person as our leader it would appear that we Americans are not able to desire freedom and liberty. We are left with the laziness of obedience and conformity. It takes an imagination created out of hardship to fully understand the democracy we are currently letting a conman take from us. So the fact that too many of us are not steeled in the strength of honorable convictions; it seems that our place in history as a mighty democratic nation is over. I suppose it is the value we deserve as a nation that is woeful at distinguishing between freedom and subjugation. Read Allegory of the Cave.
     I find that it is haunting to me anyway that the many of us have fallen short of knowing the heart and soul of noble intention. We do not see how we are so callous in our thinking nor in our acts. We just only seem to know what is good for us as a person instead of we as a nation. We have been told for so long by the meanest within our society that we are not worthy and that any little table scrap is sufficient for our survival. Yet those who tell us so cannot wait to steal every valuable in existence to satisfy their own lust and greed. Instead of us having a society that gives all the opportunity to succeed with creativity and merit we settle for highwaymen who demand we only have respect for them.
     I can tell you this much. We are losing our democracy but we haven't lost it yet. But that day of finally losing it all is closer now than ever. The institutions we had to protect our democracy are being infiltrated by those who would sabotage them. It is now only a matter of time before the plan to take over our nation is to be implemented. Crushing the soul of democracy is not without pain and the pain we are all starting to feel is just the beginning of it. We are all to some degree afraid and rightly so. But we should not to let our fear freeze us when all we still have to do is act. The truth of this time in our American nation is that we are being challenged by a liar/conman. What we do next with our response to that challenge will determine who we become as a nation.

(#5908) Yesterdays protest were about building momentum

      In every US state and in many foreign countries there were quickly organized protests that tapped into our outraged sentiment. There were no massive police assaults nor storming of capitols there were just frustrated citizens expressing their disapproval of what the trumps and republicans are doing. It has only been 2 and a half months since trump and republicans came into power and already they are being vilified for their anti working middle poor class and foreign policies. The two major concerns of any political administration are domestic and foreign and the trumps and republicans are on the wrong side of each.
     So to see the success of yesterdays protests is to understand just how far on the wrong side of what we citizens demand of our representatives. It is apparent that pressure is building quickly for change. Although peaceful, as we democrats are not like republican supporters, there is a foundation of anger that is not subtle. We democrats are civilized in our defense of democracy and that should tell you everything you should need to know about how determined we are to prevail under the rule of law. Whereas republicans are all about forcing change through any method, including illegal. We democrats are about persuading change through logic and common sense under the rule of law of our constitution.
     While trump boasts of returning for an illegal third term, we the electorate are not sure he will make it out of his first year in his second term. While he plays golf ignoring his duties as a commander in chief, I am reminded of Nero fiddling while Rome burns. We have the same type of caricature of Nero in trump. The trumps and republicans have instilled a lot of fear into our electorate over the last two months but that fear is starting to break and a resurgence of our own courage is coming about. Once many more find their way back from worrying about what trump will do to them and instead begin to fight with the rest of us to defend against trumps and his republican cohorts the outcome to all of this will sway to our favor!

(#5907) Feeding my mind

      The beauty of life for me is the never ending quest to know things. I am nearer the end of my life than the beginning but the need to keep knowing that which I don't know is constant. It is sad to know that I will not live long enough to satisfy all my curiosity but I accept that inevitability. In the meantime, I find that yearning within me is being addressed with information that expands my conceptual horizons. I also know that once I expire the utility of all that curiosity within me is moot. Yet, while I live it is fulfilling to have the opportunity to enlighten myself with answered questions.
     Furthermore, the journey toward understanding is as satisfying as the understanding itself. Taking on concepts that I previously gave little thought to reminds me of what could have been had I been in the place I am now. Yet, the past is what it is but my present and future are not set in stone yet. So adding to my knowledge base despite it being of much influence now is still important to me. What seemed difficult to comprehend in my younger life seems to be easier now. I suppose I had too many other interests that diluted my comprehension back then. What I am finding as unfortunate is that wisdom often comes too late for at least me when I really needed it earlier in life. Again, no sense in using hindsight now when I did not choose to use foresight when it was available.
     None of us is perfect so we all at least have that in common. What I do know is that I am free to do what I want now and I am thankful for that. I have survived my youth and all its behavior in order for me to now feed my mind instead of my spontaneity. We are all just existing as we move through time and space so what better informative entertainment for me is there than learning and understanding. Somehow I became part of this existence regardless of intent or purpose. I am here so discovering what this existence has to offer beyond my own understanding is paramount for me. I know I cannot know it all but I can know some of which I don't know, when I give myself a chance.

(#5906) The tariff gambit

      What is a gambit? Here is a revealing definition from Google: "a strategic move, often involving a sacrifice, intended to gain an advantage, used in chess, but also applicable to other situations like politics or business." This term gambit realistically applies to what trump is doing with our economy concerning his use of tariffs. He, trump, is making an initial move with enacting tariffs as way to isolate America from the global economy. The world is now a global economy and trump wishes to reverse that and it appears at all costs to we the consumers. Tariffs have the unsettling effect of raising prices and we who have little will find we have even less.
     What trump hopes is that American products will pick up the slack of the lessening of foreign products without stating a plan for that to actually happen. He doesn't care either that we the American consumer are going to be hit with higher prices as inflation is still a problem that hasn't balanced back out from before trump's mishandling of the Covid pandemic in his first term. So instead of we Americans leading economic recovery all over the world we are now going to be bystanders. The rest of the world order will continue to search and find new solutions to economically grow and expand. Tariffs create isolation and that is exactly what the end result of what the trump tariff gambit will do to the American economy.
     Tariffs also allow trump to dictate our economy under terms favorable to his cohorts. He is willing to let the American consumer suffer with higher costs while he adjusts our nation into a disadvantageous bargaining position. Tariffs will increase prices for the foreseeable future with no relief in view. Tariffs traditionally lead to economic recessions and depressions and this latest gambit by trump is not immune to the same results. Denial is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. Well we are seeing that with trump, and again unfortunately, we are the ones who will pay the price for trump's denial about the effect of tariffs. We had the strongest economy in the world under Biden and now trump is on course to destroy that!

(#5905) Reality is now surreal

      With America in the hands of trump and his republican handlers the traditional normal is gone . What is now everywhere is the bizarre! However it is only bizarre if you don't understand that talking out of both sides of your mouth is the new normal. Mixing lies in with truths is a staple of republican politics. It is how they can convince otherwise decent human beings that their better instincts are flawed. With just enough truth and a convincing prejudicial story the narrative is set for many to be led around. What the trumps and republicans also count on is the less educated challenging their view on things. It is sad to say but so very true that we Americans have lost our curiosity to learn and stay abreast of current factual knowledge.
     Which makes the trumps and their ilk so successful at gaining American's loyalty. I won't blame we Americans for falling for the lies of the conmen but I will not dismiss our role in actuating the deception. Blame isn't my focus here anyway. What is my purpose is exposing the workings of what is wrong with us. The republican leadership since nixon has fallen down and not gotten back up to any semblance of honor. Instead they rely upon trickery and force to gather their following. The old republican party used to have loyal followers who were aboard because of restrained concepts, arguably good or bad, with finances. Those days are gone but the loyalty that too many republicans embedded is now their difficult millstone to release.
     As republicans have become tied to a laziness of mind we democrats never stop thinking. Which is the real difference between the two current parties. We democrats will not defend the indefensible, instead we will confront the indefensible; while republicans will accept the indefensible while contorting themselves into pretzels defending it. My life is simple as a democrat. I call it what it is after careful consideration. I cannot be like a republican who must always think of ways to call things good when logically they are not. As we all move forward into this current surreal time we are going to come to a point where the danger exceeds the illogic. It is then that we have to be able to stop the nonsense and return to the basic concepts of learning and adhering to truths, not fallacies.

(#5904) The republicans got their wild west opportunity

      We shall see how it plays out but a wild west scenario is the direction trump will push our society. No more fairness or equality. Instead it will be survival of the fittest even though no one is born with any greater deserve than another. What is so astonishing to me is that we the people of the US are willing to let it happen. Instead of building a society that honors all of us with equal footing. There cannot be peace when the struggle is self inflicted. Peace is where we all can come out into the light of day or dark of night and feel secure in our being. With this new dynamic not even the light of day is safe now.
     When it is open season on people like we are in, a shooting game preserve, the nightmare of a feared survival is not nuanced, it is starkly real. Instead of finding commonality so that our lives are simpler to lead, we have chosen to leave ourselves vulnerable to the uncaring who have no compunction to care about anyone but themselves. We did this to ourselves and are still doing it. I am in a bit of a state of shock that we Americans are so out of tune with normalcy and improving society for the better for all. We all who are born into this existence are  not incapable of seeing what other countries are doing to improve their societies so what is wrong with us?
     Whatever the wrong with us is has us spiraling down as an advancing society to go back to the days where punishments for doing nothing wrong is acceptable. Our nation is going against the rights of our species to have an existence that compliments us instead of one that degrades and subjects us. Our history has shown that nothing good comes from a society where less democratic values exist. Yet as an American society have failed to learn that lesson as a rule. The privilege now being installed will destroy individual creativity in order for the dullards in charge to have a lustful power. How utter embarrassing to our foreparents who fought so hard to give us, their children, a better democracy that we subsequently intend to destroy.

(#5903) I could stay silent and think I am safe but that is just not me!

      I hear the rumors of all the ways the trumps are going to silence their critics. It seems that many imaginations are running overtime on this subject. To be clear some of the ways are proving to be true like government mandated street kidnappings, imprisonments and deportations. I have been saying since day one of trump entering the presidential race back in 2015 that he is a disaster to democracy and no good can come about with his illusions of grandeur. I will keep saying what I know about him and what he is driving to accomplish. He wants to be the first King of America. The man is so up his own ass in love with himself that there is no room in existence for anyone who doesn't agree with him.
     If I somehow wasn't around any more it would likely be because I have had to answer for my voice not being silent. Now I am at an age where death is not uncommon in ordinary terms so that would be a good possibility but other than natural causes with validation I don't mind the threat coming from the trumps to being quiet. I will never support trump and his bullshit demented imaginings. So if I am in that unfortunate group of folks who have to pay a grave price for being myself then so be it. However, trump and his goons are not going to get away with it in the dark of silence.
     When the first Africans were brought over as slaves more than 400 years ago they dreamed of a day when the wrong of it would be rectified. Time has passed and the correction of the wrong, although still with its remnants, has moved toward justice. So will be the eventual correction of the wrongs of trump. Those of us who will not give up our individual rights as free human beings will be the sharp edge of the spear in combating the darkness trumps want to bring to our lives. We who have no wish to will be the martyrs that have to stand tall and fight with no resignation for the future to have a chance at recovering from the brutality that trump and tyrants like him love to inflict as a salve for their own inadequacies.