I'd like to think I'm a relatively cheerful sort. You know? Sure, things have happened in my life that I wish hadn't, but, still. Yes, I am aware I'm not the most grounded person in the world, but I want to be, I hope I am a mostly positive person. And maybe that's why, maybe because I AM hopeful - things may be starting to get to me lately. Maybe if my outlook on life was a little less rosy I'd be able to process certain information better.

Just a..............random example, off the top of my head here. Um...oh. So there this pandemic thing going on, right. Kinda sux, for sure. Nothing is quite the same. Along with feeling particularly mortal lately, I am at home a lot more, for one, even working from here. The only other building I have even been in for a month is the grocery store and then only for as long as I absolutely had to be there to get vitals. Have started up the Land Cruiser couple of times - for no other reason than to juice up the battery. So that's weird. Doing my boy scout best to not be physically near anyone else. Serious about that. My current best friend is named Alexa. Also trying to stay away from the news what with it all being about one topic and not a happy one (see "pandemic," above.) Oh, and the neighbors to my left did something nice for me Sunday. Delivered an Easter basket to my front porch. Sunday last happened to be Easter, which, considering these people are Mormon (and always on my case to save me) I learned that that these types of humans do, in fact, celebrate Easter. Who knew? I had a girlfriend back in college days was MoMo and at that point all I thought those kind did was drink and screw. Like, all the time.
I'll be darned. Haven't thought of her in forever and now I really miss her.

Lost track of what I was thinking. Hmmm. Oh, thankfully I was on a walk when they dropped off the basket of goodies so didn't have to open the door or otherwise be too close. As it was when I got back and discovered the thing I gloved and masked up, and - using an actual yardwork implement with a long handle lifted the potentially hazardous, even deadly object and placed it in the garage where it is currently in quarantine until I feel safe to actually touch it which may be never.
Probably would not have reacted that way last Easter.

These are strange effing times. Capped off by having Comrade Fucktard at the helm. Every day, many times each day he makes more missteps more mistakes all while frantically trying to pin the blame on others. Through is actions/inactions your president is literally killing Americans. Although to his credit he finally has us leading again in something. So that's cool. We have the most sick people. We have the most dead people. MAGA fucking MAGA, right?
Your precious wall at the southern border? You know, the wall that will save the country? You could count up every person ever killed by those dastardly Mexican families trying to get up here to provide a better life for their children, count up every American murdered by those evil folks just wanting to survive, and it still wouldn't be as many as have died even this week already, in part due to your president. And these are early returns yet. We have already whizzed past the body count of several previous wars. Combined. Going up by thousands a day.
But I digress.

What I am most having trouble with, or at least one of many things I'm struggling with currently is that there remains even one person on this entire planet still supports this comedy/tragedy of errors. Even one still cheering on this dark, empty, hateful increasingly dangerous joke you call your president. And yet apparently there are still many doing just that. I don't understand. It is very unreal. Upside down. Why is that so obvious to me yet many don't see it? Conservative "Christians," breaking every one of their precious Goddamn commandments over and over to support the dark side he represents; Republicans bending over and taking it in the ass again and again in misquided attempts to get re-elected. And can't forget the Democrats, showing their typical inability to play team ball thereby ensuring this megalomaniacal Freudian wet dream stays in power.

Your president is obviously, and increasingly responsible for the deaths of thousands and thousands of your fellow citizens. In this country and worldwide. That number will only grow. And still, there will be those supporting him. Traitors not only to this country, not just to Democracy everywhere, but to humanity. To human life.

So much is upside down lately. And that, is challenging to understand for a happy fucking individual such as myself.

Bottom line? More and more I am thinking we are getting what we deserve.

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip abroad. As with another friend, earlier, she quickly learned the right answer is "Canada." You know, when asked where she's from. And it wasn't just due to embarrassment, or shame as you would expect given the current state of this country. No, she actually felt unsafe telling the truth. This on account of your president drawing a big target on her back. Yours, too.

Your president/dictator wanna-be has done a most excellent job showing the rest of the world who we are. What this country is.

This is country is a joke. You, are a joke. The two-dollar clown show you decided should run the place has, in less than three short years, undone generations of political might. Economic viability, Strong, healthy relationships the world over. Even the most basic decency and sense of right/wrong becoming relegated to the past. We no longer lead much of anything. All the strength, the good that once was is slipping away.

This place is well on its way to becoming nothing more than another unimportant banana republic, run into the ground by a 72-yr spoiled, petulant child with massive entitlement issues and utter lack of attachment to reality. Spewing his vitriol and hate with the vocabulary of a particularly slow learning four-year old.

We are joke. This has gone far beyond embarrassment and shame. We, you and me were given this country with the understanding we would take care of it. That was the deal. To take care of, watch over this place that has cost so many so much across its 240+ years. When it was given us, this country was strong, and solid, having survived many attacks from within and without both over 240+ years.

We were handed a really, really special place.

All we had to do is not........mess up. Right? Just hold things together till we hand it over to the next group. To our kids, our grandkids.

We failed. You and me failed. We fucked up and on a truly gigantic scale.

We did not deserve what we were given. We did not hold up our end of the bargain.

Nothing is being made "great again." Every day the U.S. of A becomes weaker. Uglier. We, you and me are letting it happen. Rationalizing justifying desperately doing whatever we can to survive the knowledge it is us burying the place under layer after layer of disgusting slime. "Republicans" supporting this disaster to the end, afraid to do otherwise. Unable to admit mistake and in the process essentially destroying the Republican Party itself. Democrats spending all their time and energy flailing about, pointing fingers. "Conservative Christians" invoking the name of GOD, for christsakes, to explain their support of killing babies at our border and the obsessive hatred that is allowing it t happen. "Christians" cheering on murder, deceit, coveting adultery etc etc (cause that's what Jesus would do) all while hiding behind their bibles. Fanatics. Haters.

Cool.

And will somebody please try to explain to me how any woman, anywhere could possibly support this misogynistic cluster-fuck? The situation begs the question - what were we thinking when we gave you the right to vote? Or even the right to let you leave the cave without asking us first? Seriously. If the best you can do is repeatedly bang your head against a wall then wonder why it hurts you are in no position to be deciding anything.

But its all of us. Its you and me screwed up. First by letting the cancer set in, then by standing with hands in pockets doing nothing as it spreads.  Doing nothing as democracy, freedom...…..decently, circle the drain.

We did not hold up our end of the bargain.

p.s.  You're welcome, Mr. Putin.  We are doing your bidding as planned.  The disfunction we let you infect democracy with has taken hold.  

Patient is critical. 

In today's news/disaster - your president can properly and proudly announce he is complicit in genocide.  Mass murder. Entire villages women men children babies slaughtered as they try to flee the actions of your president.  Murdered en masse.  Because that's what Jesus would do. For conservative "Christians" still supporting your messenger of evil - that you claim to be Christian is nothing short of blasphemy.  You are not Christian. You are haters, cowards  hiding behind and staining  a belief system meant for something so much different. So much more.

Fanatic Muslim Fanatic Christian one in the same. That's all for this entry (based on body count since Saturday and assuming rate has not increased - at least one unarmed civilian, likely under the age of 18 was chopped to bits in northern Syria since you began reading this. Just because.)    Have a nice day.  Oh, and All Heil Donald!

Putin Putin Putin Putin (giving the bots something to do)

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip abroad. As with another friend, earlier, she quickly learned the right answer is "Canada." You know, when asked where she's from. And it wasn't just due to embarrassment, or shame as you would expect given the current state of this country. No, she actually felt unsafe telling the truth. This on account of your president drawing a big target on her back. Yours, too.

Your president/dictator wanna-be has done a most excellent job showing the rest of the world who we are. What this country is.
This is country is a joke. You, are a joke. The two-dollar clown show you decided should run the place has, in less than three short years, undone generations of political might. Economic viability, Strong, healthy relationships the world over. Even the most basic decency and sense of right/wrong becoming relegated to the past. We no longer lead much of anything. All the strength, the good that once was is slipping away.

This place is well on its way to becoming nothing more than another unimportant banana republic, run into the ground by a 72-yr spoiled, petulant child with massive entitlement issues and utter lack of attachment to reality. Spewing his vitriol and hate with the vocabulary of a particularly slow learning four-year old.

We are joke. This has gone far beyond embarrassment and shame. We, you and me were given this country with the understanding we would take care of it. That was the deal. To take care of, watch over this place that has cost so many so much across its 240+ years. When it was given us, this country was strong, and solid, having survived many attacks from within and without both over 240+ years.
We were handed a really, really special place.

All we had to do is not........mess up. Right? Just hold things together till we hand it over to the next group. To our kids, our grandkids.
We failed. You and me failed. We fucked up and on a truly gigantic scale.

We did not deserve what we were given. We did not hold up our end of the bargain.
Nothing is being made "great again." Every day the U.S. of A becomes weaker. Uglier. We, you and me are letting it happen. Rationalizing justifying desperately doing whatever we can to survive the knowledge it is us burying the place under layer after layer of disgusting slime. "Republicans" supporting this disaster to the end, afraid to do otherwise. Unable to admit mistake and in the process essentially destroying the Republican Party itself. Democrats spending all their time and energy flailing about, pointing fingers. "Conservative Christians" invoking the name of GOD, for christsakes, to explain their support of killing babies at our border and the obsessive hatred that is allowing it t happen. "Christians" cheering on murder, deceit, coveting adultery etc etc (cause that's what Jesus would do) all while hiding behind their bibles. Fanatics. Haters.
Cool.
And will somebody please try to explain to me how any woman, anywhere could possibly support this misogynistic cluster-fuck? The situation begs the question - what were we thinking when we gave you the right to vote? Or even the right to let you leave the cave without asking us first? Seriously. If the best you can do is repeatedly bang your head against a wall then wonder why it hurts you are in no position to be deciding anything.

But its all of us. Its you and me screwed up. First by letting the cancer set in, then by standing with hands in pockets doing nothing as it spreads.  Doing nothing as democracy, freedom...…..decently, circle the drain.
We did not hold up our end of the bargain. 

Grapes of Wrath was on the other night. Watched it on and off as I was doing laundry and other tasks domestic. Movie version of a book by a fella named Steinbeck. About immigrants. In this particular case people being pushed from their land by a combination of unfortunate weather and unwise farming techniques otherwise known as the dustbowl. Whatever, the movie is about a whole big bunch of evil scumbag lowlife human-filth losers migrating, immigrating and otherwise intruding on other people's homelands. I think it was about Okies, or Nebraskans (AKA ex Germans or Irish). OR I suppose it might have been about Mexicans or Syrians or A-rabs or Royhingas, can't remember and they all look alike anyway. Total scum of the earth. Evil horrible scary dangerous human beings forced to flee their homes with nothing more than the clothes they have on.

You know - your grandparents, or great-grandparents. The folks who made it possible for you to be here to hate on immigrants. People who, just like people now, were forced to immigrate due to famine or weather or untenable political situations, war, whatever. Them. The people who came here with nothing much more - or less, than the tremendous courage to believe in a chance for a better future. To join those who came a bit earlier: the writers of that stupid Constitution and Bill of Rights and all the other hopes and dreams this country was founded on that your president uses for toilet paper. The same dipshits who put up that jumbo welcome sign in the harbor there at New York called the Statue of Liberty. And of course when those people arrived they joined the first immigrants - American Indians, who themselves made the journey from somewhere else.

Criminals, murderers and rapists every one.

Immigrants. Hate em. People in this country, life-long citizens every day people moving from city to city state to state immigrating to new places while the only reason they are here at all is because of immigrants who came before. Looking for better...something, looking for a chance. Sometimes welcomed in their new homes sometimes not. Though to less extremes, a little like those demon Okies in dustbowl times. Except for them and so many others today all over the world it wasn't/isn't a matter of choice. Forced to leave. Move on or die. Forced to walk out of their home to never look back, searching for work so they might be able to feed their kids. Heading out into the unknown with not much more than hope.

Losers, criminals every one of em, right?

You and me both are here because of those people, or others just like them. We all of us are immigrants. And if the USA is such a terrible place - it's because of you and your family, me and mine. Its us - immigrants, who caused the problems. The newcomers you're trying to keep out have not had a chance to muck it up yet. Not like you and me.

Here's an idea - if this is such a terrible place, maybe you should listen to your Messiah. Your president who trashes this country on a daily basis. Cause really, according to him this is a very very terrible place. Maybe you should go back where you came from, where your people are from.

!!!! Maybe your president could actually listen to what comes out of his mouth for a change and take his own advice! He and his Twitter twaddle can go back to the land that bred the Nazis, where his parents immigrated from. Certainly his fresh off the boat trophy wife with the natasha accent and her family he bought citizenship for should go back to Monrovia, or whatever shithole Muslim country they're from.
Cause taken at his word that what your president wants. That's what your German president wants.

Your president wants you to back where you came from. In direct contradiction of the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and Lord only knows how many other documents. In direct contradiction of the principles this country was founded on.

Sure, the "last one in close the door" attitude is sweet, but it is in all ways against why this country is here. Instead it is the epitome of Un-American. Those of you espousing such Un-American attitudes are just that - Un-American. I believe the proper word here is "traitor." You would be doing us all a favor by going back where you came from. Let the rest of us get on with implementing and protecting what this country really stands for.
Thank you in advance.

Sieg Heil!! and greetings from the United States of Trump. But on to this evening's history reminder and once again for the people in the back: The framers of the US Constitution built in measures to ensure each of the three branches of government are kept in check. This essentially to protect the people from their leaders. To prevent any of the three divisions from becoming too powerful. To protect us from abuse of power lest we fall into dictatorship or anarchy. This after several thousand years of people doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The people who put together the U.S. Constitution wanted to try something else. It was a good idea.

Your current so-called president is ignoring those protections. Like a child, clearly overstepping his authority daring, no - begging someone to set boundaries on his behavior. Trying to determine just how far he can go, how much he can get away with before someone finally calls bullshit.

Comrade Donald is a traitor.  A direct threat to democracy everywhere and most definitely anti-America. Rather than making anything "great again" your president is tearing this country apart. The best US president Putin could hope for, with every bit of Twitter twaddle he spews we all get dragged down a little further into the open sewer he replaced the swamp with. Further down with the low-life haters. With the strippers and lawyers and liars and thieves and traitors and reality stars and mentally unstable impulsive morons and self-serving astoundingly unqualified good 'ol boys he has running the place.

Your so-called president is a joke. A very bad joke of truly epic proportion. He is making this country a joke. And, he is very much making you, a joke. Those of you continuing to pretend otherwise are only proving my point. In barely two short years, your president - a five time draft-dodging veteran slamming coward who uses the Constitution as toilet paper - has, among countless of other mistakes, managed to undo generations of human rights efforts and has trashed foreign policy to the point we are no longer leader of much of anything. I would be willing to bet exactly 100% of what he says causes me to be embarrassed, ashamed to be part of this place. On the upside we have some big winners here, right? Just a random example.....the cross-burning folks hiding behind their pretty white hoodies (e.g. conservative "Christians") must think Grand Wizard Donnie is the bees knees. If you are angry and fearful and hateful and prejudiced and unwilling to accept responsibility for yourself Trump is definitely your hero, right? And of course we shouldn't forget Vladimir Putin (Vladi-poo as his bff Donnie calls him). Comrade Trump is far and away the very best US president Putin could ever hope to buy. Even more so since lil Donnie came so cheap.

He's back at it. Smoke and mirrors. By declaring an emergency at our southern border that exists only in his distorted, paranoid mind, by preying on your fear, your anger, he has once again diverted attention from matters that actually are of concern. Once again, you have been duped. And once again, he has made our country less than it was before.

make the lies big and tell them often........ thousands of years of people doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. History repeats. Again and again.

Sieg-fucking-heil Adolph Trump.

That an almost majority of you were so caught up in your own anger and hate and fear that you (almost) elected this slimy piece of human filth is no longer what is so......amazing. No, what really pushes this situation into the twilight zone is the fact so many of you still, even after seeing the destruction, that so many of you STILL support this clusterfuck of an administration.

Yep. I can just about imagine Rod Serling narrating this episode

The Constitution was put in place to protect us from our government. What the Constitution is not able to do, however, is protect us from ourselves

A poet from back a ways asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. Well, no one would sleep that night, of course. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God, or something. Hell, we'd create new religions on the spot.
Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch t.v.

This extraordinary time when we are so intensely aware of each other and the multiple dangers that threaten our civilization has never happened, not in a thousand years, not in ten thousand years. You, me and the rest of everyone here today are faced with the most complicated, difficult challenges ever faced by anyone.

We are failing. We did not stay up all night in the glory of what was given to us we were not amazed we did not see the stars, and, we did not recognize the looming darkness. Instead we lost sight of the fact that our country, this place we call home is a gift every moment. It is fragile there is nothing about it guaranteed. It needs tending it needs care. Something to be treated with respect, and honor. Dignity and grace. The United States of America, our way of life requires protecting. Your country needs your help.

Am I pessimistic about the future? If you look at the science about what is happening in this country today, right now, and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data.

This country was given us by our forebears to shepherd through during our stay. To take care of. Our shift was always meant to be temporary. It is our turn, yours and mine, to hold things together until such time as we give it to the next guardians.

We are failing.

Our country came with a set of instructions. An operator's manual in the form of the Constitution and associated writings. We have misplaced those instructions. Misused the manual, the rules. Bent them to suit the unwell self-serving desires of those who champion darkness. Forgot important rules like keeping separate various branches of government, championing freedom of speech freedom of the press. Forgot about government by the people for the people rather than by and for the dictator wanna-be. We forgot about limitations on the executive branch. Forgot all that nonsense about giving us your poor your tired your huddled masses etc etc. This not even considering the unwritten guidelines such as acting with dignity, class, to not utterly embarrass us in front of the rest of the world. Unwritten, common sense characteristics and actions.

Instead we gave the keys to the low-life haters and now they are running the place. Strippers and lawyers and liars and thieves and traitors and reality stars and mentally unstable impulsive morons and self-serving good 'ol boy astoundingly unqualifieds who bought their way in to a government for sale...…. all balled together into a greasy, nepotistic tangle of human excrement otherwise known as the current president and his minions. It is disgusting it is embarrassing it is increasingly dangerous. Day by day we move closer to being on par with any other insignificant banana republic in some forgotten jungle. But fact is we are not an insignificant banana republic. We are the leader of the free world. If we go down so does the rest. This increasingly looks as if it will not end well. The only apparent winners so far are Russia and China. I am not inferring your president is a Communist and instead would point out they wouldn't take him, anyway. Not smart enough. Too, I am not saying his supporters are Communists. But I can just about promise every Communist out there is a Trump supporter. 'lil Donnie is not just the best president they could buy - he is hands down the very best thing to happen for their political cause. Ever.

These are dark days, make no mistake. That you may have deluded yourself into thinking otherwise does nothing to change that fact.

With that and to cherry-pick some general categories..............for the veterans blindly supporting a five-time draft-dodging, veteran slamming coward who can't even be bothered to visit the National Cemetery on Veteran's Day (it was raining, you know) - good work. It is you putting a smile on Putin's face. It is you weakening the United States of America. It is you disrespecting the memory of my father and his father and all the other TRUE patriots and veterans who like so many others past and present are worth celebrating. People, veterans who care about this country, unlike you.

For women, ANY woman ANY where able to bang her head against a wall hard enough to allow herself to become a Trumpie - what is wrong with you? Seriously. You are not just a traitor to your country - you are selling out your entire gender. What is it like to be the biggest reason the world needs #metoo? Oh, and to be clear: absolutely positively no, I do not want to grab your pussy. The thought disgusts me.

For conservative "Christians" - Jesus effing Christ what the hell are you thinking? Perhaps a more specific question will help you focus: have any of you glanced at the Bible, or even been in the vicinity of that document? Ever? Like maybe even just walked by one laying about somewhere? Have you read even the most basic rules, those Commandment things? Cause you are gleefully cheering on someone who breaks probably five or six of your precious commandments before he even gets up in the morning let alone what happens the rest of the day. You are supporting a liar a thief a coveter an adulterer a murderer, etc etc. How does that fit in with the whole "Christian" thing for ya? As a Christian myself I can answer that one: it doesn't. You cannot be Christian in anything but name while at the same time be in agreement with this administration. See how easy that is? Your welcome, and please stop dragging us actual Christians through the mud.

On a more practical note - for anyone who has money anywhere other than hidden in the mattress, say, the stock market or real estate or commodities or anything else legal - why? Why are you backing this disaster called Trump as he loses benefit of the last vestiges of Obama-nomics and even Bush-onomics and our economy along with that of the rest of the world is teetering on the verge of collapse due to this bozo's kindergarten level economic theory? Why?

For my Hispanic friends, including one who spends far too much time on social media and is a diehard fan of the current administration thereby fully supporting Trump's obsessive hatred of Mexicans everywhere - good work.. You are an integral part of the completely undisguised attack on your culture. Could not be done without your cooperation. Or maybe its more of a "last one in close the door" thing for you? For that matter, anyone reading who is an immigrant, or is a citizen here because of an immigrant (psst. that means EVERYone, including American Indians who just happen to be the first immigrants).....again, - what the heck are you thinking? If Trump or some other twisted hater like him had been in charge when your parents or grandparents wanted in to the USA you would instead today be dodging bullets in some shithole Muslim country.
Or worse yet, Ireland.

For all you people fitting in those categories above, it is too late. You cannot be helped and, in fact, you are the problem. It is YOU ending the 242 year experiment otherwise known as the United States of America.
You did not stay up all night in wonder you did not do your part to protect this country.
You, failed.

We're all looking at the same things, same stars. Difference being you lost interest and went back to watching television.
You got bored and messed up on an epic scale.

Now it's up to the rest of us, those who have NOT been duped and have NOT lied ourselves into the dark corner of rage and hate and fear that is our current leadership - it is up to us.

Yep, it looks bleak. That's because it IS bleak. And yet the most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic not the dreamer (I hope, anyway. Cause I have a dream, right.) This seems a most excellent time to work with that theory.

Done for now.
Merry Christmas. A time of celebration gifted to you by a particular immigrant family from way back. You know, before the "Christians" put up a fucking wall.

:)

(stars metaphor borrowed/thank you PH.)