A Pivot Point in American History is Upon Us.....

 When the announcement came that Joe had decided to end his candidacy, I was overtaken by mixed emotions.  On the one hand, I like Joe; he's done a noble job and has proven himself to be one of the most capable and effective presidents in modern history.  His record is unimpeachable, despite the Idiot's constant drivel about Biden being the worst president the world has ever seen.  I wonder if any part of his feverish brain is capable of understanding how 'projection' works.  As he blathers on and on about how bad Joe is, it becomes stunningly apparent that he's really talking about himself and the dark legacy he'll be leaving in his methane infused wake.

The news from Joe had hardly time to settle in before the world turned its bright lights on Kamala Harris. It's a mountain to climb, but she is a strong and capable person who has the necessary qualities to make it to the summit.  Small donors have already broken the 24 hour record for donations....but, they did it in just a few hours, not 24.  I am going to take that as a sign that many Americans, of every gender, recognize the arrival of Hope in her.

So, please let your enthusiasm come to a boil, and open your purse to donate, in addition to urging anybody who'll listen to plan to VOTE this November. If we, as a broad based co-oalition of different goals, will look for the places we overlap and know that only by working together can we defeat the most serious menace since World War II.

We can do it.

We MUST do it.....

Just a glimpse of a very sick man...

 

On the Brink.....

 The attempted assassination of the Orange Prophet was announced just as the evening news was being aired in our area.  At first, it was difficult to understand what had happened, but as they explained the circumstances in greater detail it became clear that Trump had come within a few millimeters of being killed.  The rifle was an AR-15 (style), as is now becoming common in these mass shootings across the country.  The caliber...although they have not said so specifically...was almost certainly 5.56mm NATO....the standard caliber for most ARs. 

This is not funny; it is a threat to Democracy

This round is remarkable for it's devastating impact, due to high velocity and a light bullet that often disintegrates or tumbles on impact.  If the shooter had not missed by mere millimeters and had instead hit his head, it would have been a horrendous, gory nightmare on national t-v  

I have a feeling of great dread that MAGA world would have reached for their own ARs en masse and we would be a nation in chaos right now.  So, I give thanks that this 20 y.o. shooter was at least marginally incompetent.  In fact, it has been discovered as the media dig into the shooter's history, that Crooks could not make his high school rifle team...not even the JUNIOR varsity.  So, we have been spared a national nightmare because this kid couldn't shoot straight.

Let me be clear.  Nobody wants Donald J. Trump to disappear from the national stage more than I do.  He's a disgusting excuse for a human being and he intends nothing but the worst for America if he manages to steal his way back to the Oval.  Experts on authoritarianism have uniformly tried to warn us that we should listen to threats from people like him, that they are not merely projection and wishful thinking, but something they absolutely intend to carry out...if given the opportunity to do so. 

It's time for the Dems to settle in and vigorously support the 'one who brought them to the dance', Joe.

Enough of the dithering and casting about because Joe had a lousy debate.  Yes, he's old.  So, am I and I recognize the traits of an elderly mind in him.  But, he is still here and doing an excellent job as president.  He is NOT senile...and it's becoming clear that Trump IS SENILE. The more he blathers on at his rallies, the less sense he is making. Does anybody actually think that his rambling on about--for instance--an electric boat and a shark, or his inane rambling about Hannibal Lecter being a 'nice guy'; is really a 'joke'? If it is, the joke is on us, because our refusal to take his evil intentions seriously will become a whole lot less funny in November.

Trump's cognitive dysfunction is getting worse rapidly and you don't have to be a psychiatrist to see it.  No more putting lip-stick on the porker.  He's insane and has every intention of inflicting his nightmare vision on this society.

Eeeeeegads people!!!!  Wake the f**k up!!!! 

Teetering on the Brink of Diaster...

 As I am writing this President Biden is giving a press conference. Pundits are speculating that it....just this one event....could determine the future of his candidacy for a second term.  I doubt that is really the case, but, then, the pundits are speculating wildly about the entire presidential debacle.  And, it's getting old...very old.  

For starters, they seem to think that their opinions should be accepted as being more informed and even 'wise'....but, for the most part, they are just opinions.  I have a short-list of pundits whose judgement I respect, i.e. Maggie Habermann, Lisa Rubin, Ben Meiselas and most of the presenters on the MeidasTouch channel on YouTube.  These few, along with a handful of others are worth listening to, but that doesn't mean they are more valid or wise than many others. The bottom-line is this: everybody has an opinion and in almost all cases it is the result of personal observations and feelings.  There is not a single soul out there who is wiser and more informed than the rest of the thundering herd.

Joe Biden is struggling. That much is obvious.  He claims that he's decided to stay in the race and nothing short of a personal visitation from God him/herself will dissuade him from doing so. Okay, as some have noted, why should he be eliminated based on the single event that was the disastrous debate?  It was a terrible sight to see his blank-faced stare, mouth agape, and a sinking feeling that he was just out of it.  In the aftermath, of course, we have been given various excuses for how this happened.  He was exhausted, over-prepared, etc, etc.  

He's a good soul....but, can he outrun age?

But, the simple truth is: having seen Joe in that situation, one is unable to un-see him.  He should never have been allowed to participate if he was so exhausted.  So, now we have this ongoing crisis of confidence: can he beat Trump?  He claims he's the only one who can.  Meanwhile, others are positive that he can't and even that it would lead to a Trump landslide, which for those of us who clearly see who the Orange Idiot really is could possibly be the ultimate political and social nightmare for America.  Another term in the Oval Office would almost certainly lead....to the destruction of American Democracy. Please look up a synopsis of Plan 2025 if you want to see the scope of Trump's plan to subjugate us.  Yes, that is precisely what I mean; he intends to dominate America in the same manner as all the despots he so admires. Putin's at the top of his 'most admired' list.

It would be so easy to just dismiss that notion as hyperbole.  But, the Idiot has spent endless hours at podiums and on his social medium, Truth Social, telling us in very clear language that he would indeed be the dictator that people fear he might become.  By now, it's not a mystery--except to his MAGA sycophants--that Donny Boy is mentally ill, and deeply dysfunctional.  He proves it every time he performs at one of his rallies.  If one paid attention to his stream of insults, lies and non-sensical bullshit in the debate, they would have noticed that he was spewing the exact same lies...even using the same verbiage in some places...he spews at his rallies.  He refused to answer any of the moderators' questions, instead choosing to do his verbal assault...on not just Biden, but, hell, everything.

By now, enough professionals in the psychiatric and psychological realm have come forward to try and explain the breadth and depth of Trump's mental illness. Some of these folks are at the top of their fields and all of them have felt it was their duty to warn us that this man is very sick...and, dangerous.  His illness is not an excuse, but it is one of the primary driving factors that make him so dangerous.  Along with a wide assortment of aberrant traits, is a healthy dose of sadism.  He doesn't even try to hide the fact that he intends to seek retribution on those he perceives as his enemies. And, in his perverted mind, that means he can use the newly validated and nearly unlimited powers bestowed on him by a corrupt Supreme Court to have them arrested and executed for treason.

In a sicko dictator's mind, anybody who resists their will is both an enemy and a traitor...so, hell yes, let's shoot, hang or whatever them.  Almost all dictators confuse their identities with the state.  I.e., they think they ARE the state, and the state is an extension of their will. This has led to our centuries long history of people attacking and killing other people according to the will of a 'strong man' dictator.  

So, here's the deal.  If Joe decides it is more important for him to stay in the presidential race than it is to drop out....he is gambling that he can beat The Idiot. As tired and slow as he was at the debate, and with more and more people and Democratic politicians coming to the conclusion that this is NOT a gamble that would be prudent or wise...he's determined to do it anyway.  

DON'T DO IT JOE.  The price if you can't pull it off is WAY TOO HIGH.

A Defeatist Attitude is.....uh, well, Self Defeating

 I am beginning to notice a trend among the people I see, day in day out and from time to time: they have resigned themselves to the idea that Trump is going to win/steal back the Oval Office.  They saw Joe Biden's horrible lapses in the debate last Thursday, and their hopes seem to have been dashed on the rocks. 

Growing up, I played competitive sports as much as I could.  I was on varsity soccer, hockey and junior varsity baseball.  I have also been a very competitive shooter since pre-adolescence.  I have won multiple state championships in a variety of disciplines, and I am still shooting clay targets as I creep up on eighty. 

What I can tell you about competition is that as much of it is in your head and your attitude as is in your body's strength and coordination.  You can practice the finer points of technique and train so hard you are in danger of over-doing it, but, it won't be enough to make you a 'winner', unless you have a winning attitude to go with the physical strength and skills.

Once upon a time, I was competing in a sport known as international handgun metallic silhouette, i.e. IHMSA, and the game is to hit little cut-out steel animals.  This done with, .22 caliber handguns at 25 to 100 yards, and from 50 to 200 yards with larger, center-fire handguns.  It is very challenging when you consider that the 'chickens' at 25 yards are about the size of one of those 'Peeps' marshmallow Easter candies.  

So, the weekend of the New Hampshire State Championship arrived, and my shooting buddy, Elwin, came to pick me up and head to the range. When he got to my house I met him at the door and told him that I felt really lousy and probably should stay home.  He smiled and said that we could go and if I still didn't feel well enough to shoot, we would just turn around. So, off we went with me feeling like I was coming down with the flu.

I did decide to go ahead and shoot after we got to the match, but I had zero expectations that I could hit anything.  As we settled in on the firing line, I was feeling very detached and just wanted to get it over with.  But, as it so happens in competitive shooting, feeling relaxed and unattached to any particular outcome is good medicine.  I shot my ass off and hit damn-near every target.  Yes, I WON, never mind any sickness or self-doubt.  Because I was so relaxed about being in the run for the championship, had pretty much let go of that possibility, I was able to concentrate and truly be present to the sights and the targets.  

To this day, that event has served me as a reminder that getting worked-up and worried about the future just makes it all the more likely that you will push away the very thing you desire.  

By now, you can pretty well guess where I am headed with this.  We need to stop gnashing our teeth, wringing our hands and wailing our death chant.  We need to set aside the result we so badly  need, i.e. Trump loses and self-combusts.  We need to get practical and do every-damn-thing we can to turn out the vote, to make certain that the GOPs are  unable to steal the election by all the various means that they so hypocritically accuse the Dems of  using.  

We need to fight the good fight, And, we need to NOT GIVE UP ON OURSELVES BEFORE THE BATTLE HAS EVEN BEGUN.

We need to believe that whatever the outcome, we'll deal with it.  We are Americans, yes, the same ones who stormed ashore on Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Normandy, Anzio...and so many more.  These invasions were, no exaggeration, "death machines".  If you were there, in a landing craft approaching the beach, you knew you had a very good chance of dying....and, yet, thousands of American, British, Canadian, Free-French soldiers stormed out of the boats onto the beaches that were being cross-stitched by machine guns and shell-fire.

If we cower before the plans and intentions of Donald J. Trump....we will get exactly what we deserve.  A transformed America that previous generations would just look at and shake their heads.  

GET OUT THE VOTE!!!   STOP BEING SO GOD-DAMNED NEGATIVE.  

WE CAN DO THIS!!!   AND IT NEEDS TO BE DONE. 

They paid the Ultimate Price....we owe it to them to uphold what they died for.

Time to Wake-up and Smell the Coffee....

He's sure he's going to be Emperor. He needs to be stopped.

I have been away, on a desert island where I laid in the sun and watched young people chase each other around in the timeless breeding ritual that the Beach Boys celebrated in their ear-worm song: Kokomo.  

Uh, just kidding.  I took time away from this blog because I have maxed-out on the public discourse and all the negativity surrounding the race for the White House.  The terrible debate performance was a 'last straw' for me.  We are now staring down the barrel of a political debacle that could very likely leave us living in a Trumpian dystopia. Okay, it's his wet-dream, but for us, non-MAGA, people who both understand the critical importance of our democratic form of government, and what it would mean to have a mentally-ill sadistic s.o.b. of a criminal running every damn thing with the powers of a king bestowed on him by the Supreme Court....the term 'nightmare' seems apt.

 Donald the Idiot is gloating and probably is feeling much more certain about winning back the Oval in November.  He's justified in feeling this way because the long-running discussion of whether or not Joe is mentally capable and physically vigorous enough to be president for another four years seemed to come to a convincing culmination in this disaster of a debate.  Seeing Joe all blank-faced, mouth agape was a shock; he seemed almost transfixed.   Increasing numbers of Americans, are convinced, after seeing this performance last Thursday, that he is NOT capable.  The numbers who feel this way seems to be growing daily and it would not be surprising if enough Dems finally will agree that keeping Joe on the presidential ticket is a form of political suicide.

Could he serve another term and stay healthy and sharp enough to accomplish all the tasks that he would face?  I don't know, and neither does anybody else, especially those who claim to know. But, what I can tell you is that it almost doesn't matter if we all insist on pushing to have it our own way.  Ben Franklin was the Founding Father who said: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately."  He is purported to have said this at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Old Ben knew whereof he spoke.  

It sounds trite but this truly is our national 'Come to Jesus' moment.  If we don't figure out how to pull together as a united front against MAGA and their despotic leader....we will lose and the cost will reverberate for generations.  It's not a stretch to speculate that America might never recover from this man.

Take one example of how dire another Trump administration would be: climate change. The Orange Idiot doesn't think it's real.  He's said lots of times that it's a farce put up by his favorite scapegoats, the Chinese.  One might be tempted to think that surely, by this stage, the general population would have noticed how much stronger hurricanes, tornadoes, wild-fires, and floods have become.  It's right in our faces now and anybody who is still denying that is just too dumb to bother with. 

But, if we have a Dear Leader who is a denier and pushes back against any meaningful measures to try and slow it or soften it, it will continue accelerating and become cataclysmic.  It may do so anyway, because we're coming to the party very late. Don't take my word for it; tens of thousands of scientists, planet-wide, have recognized that not only is Climate Disaster real, and upon us, but that it may well be the ultimate issue that wipes out humanity.  It's not a secret that the planet is becoming unlivable, more so each year.  We don't often hear the term 'diaspora' but it is happening; huge numbers of people are fleeing parts of the planet that are rapidly becoming un-survivable. 

So, hear me and the countless others like me.....now.  If we manage to fail at creating a united front against this monster, we will reap the whirlwind.

Whatever it takes, set aside personal issues and desires.  Do not dare to think that you can walk away because you 'don't like' Joe, or whomever is going to replace him.  If you say to yourself, "Well, they both suck....so, I'm not voting at all".  Then you are a traitor to the planet and the human race, not to mention the countless species we are destroying as we go down from our own stupidity.

Stop Trump!!!   Or be prepared to live with the consequences and explain it to your kids and grandkids.