Paying Attention To Trump , Part II

IN YESTERDAY"S DAILY TRUMP insane rant, Don the Con said, roughly: "What a mess crooked Joe Biden has made!" Perhaps this was at one of Trump's MAGA hate fests, a campaign rally in Iowa. This is a perfect example of why it is imperative to pay close attantion to everything Trump says in public. His sycophantic followers doubtless hooted in delight at this latest installmanet of the litany of Trump lies which characterize his entire life and daily existence. A constant cavalcade of prevarication, spewing forth constantly from America's most reprehensible public figure, always. The most obvious thing in the world is that President Joe Biden is not a crook, is not corrupt. This is strongly indicated by the complete lack of evidence to that effect over a high profile political career spanning more than five decades. If Biden were a crook, we'd know it by now. We wouldn't feel any desperate need to invent false accusations of crookedness against Biden, as Republicans do, and are doing. Evidently, long ago, Biden lied about his academic record, claiming to have finished at the top of his class when he in fact did not, in fact finishing towards the middle. I think I vaguely remember the incident. Biden lied, or was uninformed about his place in his class. But that's about it, in terms of Biden moral vulnerability. Everyone and anyone is cordially, respectfully invited to provide some actual evidence of any Biden behavior more egregious than that. Meanwhile there is an overwhelimng, massive abundance of documentated proof, not evidence, but proof, that Donald J. Trump has continuously lived and continues to live - a life of crime. Almost as if a trove of stolen classified documents had been found in Trump's lovely, lavish home. Almost. Daonld J. Trump is, verifiably, a career criminal. And, of course, Trump himself knows it, just as he knows that Biden did not steal the presidential election from him. Everytime Trump states his infamous election lie, which is extremely often, he is committing a crime. So much for who is "crooked" and who is not. As for making a mess: again, there is not the slightest trace of evidence that Joe Biden, as president, has made any "messes", or has done anything except serving and leading his country with honor, and effective good policy. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has spent his entire life making messes, and the older he has aged, the larger, more harmful, and longer lasting the messes become. Numerous bankruptcies, lawsuits, and court verdicts against Trump. Looking for a mess? How about all the national turmoil, bitterness, legal entanglemeents, and destruction visited upon us all by Trump's election lie, and his carefully planned well orchestrated attempt to violently overthrow the United States government? The great insurrectionist mess. Now, there's a real mess, a mess to end all messes, still harming us all as much as ever, doubtless destined to wreak its evil harm well into the American future. Doanld J. Trump is a walking, breathing mess, mess incarnate, the mother of all messes, embodied in a single, corpulant, extremly mentally disturbed body and mind. Trump projects his own personality onto Biden, (as he often does to others) a clever attempt at a clever switcheroo, but, alas, not clever enough. Pitiful and pathetic, actually. Demented. Pathologically criminal, narcissistic insanity. Worse yet, Trump knows perfectly well by now that no matter how outrageously dishonest and pathological his comments are, they will serve only to inspire ever greater support among his cult followers, for they are no better nor sane than he.

Using Wisdom Wisely

SOMEONE TOLD THE STORY of the teacher who wanted to teach her class a valuable lesson. She told them that she would be leaving the room for a few minutes, would be back soon, and that anyone who left their seats while she was gone would be punished, maybe expelled. Then, she fished a goldfish out of the class aquarium, placed it on the table, and left the room. The fish began to writhe in agony as the children, presumably grade schoolers, looked on in anguished indecision. Finally a little girl jumped up, ran to the table, and returned the goldfish to the water. The teacher reentered the room, and verified the lesson; never let blind obedience to any authority prevent you from doing what you know is right. This is a lesson so profuondly and transparently important that you'd almost think that the teacher could have simply made the point verbally as an anecdote, without making the poor animal miserable for a few minutes and without frightening the children. However, drama adds emphasis. Someone pointed out that this line of reasoning was probably precisely wat Trump and his, as the person put it "bootlickers" believed when they denied the election results and attempted to violently overthrow the American government. True, to a point. What Trump and his "bootlickers" were and still are doing is, of course, simply engaging in self deception. Whenever a person of good moral values looks honestly at a situation, sees injustice, and attemptes to rectify that injustice through defiance of authority, no self deception is involved. Quite the opposite. The entire class heard what the teacher said, saw what she did, and knew that they wer presented with a very difficult choice. No self deception involved. Only after a potentially disastrous delay of conflict resolution did a single little girl summon the moral courage to do the right thing. Presumably, others in the class had made the same fateful decision, or were about to, but were "beaten to the punch" by the girl. Moral considerations become murky. How, precisely, do we differtiate between righteous causes worthy of personal risk taking, as opposed by our personal whimsical desires which can so easily be conflated with a great cause by the machinations of a devious human mind? This is why moral character within each individual is so vitally important. This is why honest people, disgusted with the behavior of not only Trump but his followers and enablers, quite correctly accuse them all of having abandoned their moral compass in preference to personal political expediency. Claiming vociferously and frequently that the election was stolen from Trump, in effect trying to steal it for Trump, and claiming that only Donald Trump can repair America, does not justify the attempt by Trump's mob to steal the presidency from Biden, by force of violence. Even more importantly, they are well aware, despite their rantings, that the election was not stolen from Trump, and that their insurrection attempt was no noble cause, but rather, treason. And the very fact that they who perpetrated this evil know full well what they did can not only give good Americans some measure of consulation, but also, at least the faint hope that there will come a time when the guilty criminals, all seventy five million of them, will eventually relent, confess, and, miraculously atone.

Paying Attention, To Trump, Part I

IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT that you have not yet purchased a super-sized popcorn popper, you may be out of luck. There has been of late a run on them. Even Amazon dot com has been having difficulty keeping up with demand. Savvy observers understand that now is the time to get prepared, settle in, and watch the big show, this being a crucial election year, an election in which, as Joe Biden correctly stated, democracy is on the ballot. A vote for Trump is a vote for authoritarian govenment, government by executive decree, government which with Donald Trump at the head would happily rubberstamp and executively order whatever crazy agenda items a desperate far right extremist Christian fascist mob desires. Said mob has at long last realized that its bizarre agenda cannot be implemented in America democratically; therefore, it has turned to authoritarian poplulism, and Trump it has turned into Christ's representative on Earth. Trump himself, as anyone with he merest trace of a brain tissue can readily discern, gives not a fig about Jesus Christ, the Christian conservative agenda, this country, nor much of anything else, but only about his wealth, fame, and power, in no discernible order. In essence, in order to preserve democracy in America, it is vitally necessary to oppose Donald Trump and his many supporters, with great vigor. The point is; now is the time to begin paying especially close attention to Trump, to his every word and deed, daily, hourly, incessantly. Disgusting though that may sound and may well be, it will prove beneficial to the glorious cause of perpetuating democracy, at least until the next far right extremist demagogue comes along to threaten it. (There are more where Trump came from, waiting in the wings). The diamond ring at the bottom of the dumpster will not be found without digging through and carefully examining every piece of intervening garbage, green slime and all. From the beginning of his political career, Trump has been a veritable loose cannon, verbally. So great is his pathological narcissim that he bothers not to actually think about what he is going to say before he says it. No matter what he says, he unreasons, it must by definition be true, for it was he who said it. Hence, remarks like: "They say windmills cause cancer"..."George Washingtons's are captured every airport in the colonies"..."Friendship between the United States and Italy dates from the time of Julius Caesar"....The 2024 presidental campaign has begun, and over the next few weeks and months, will get into full swing. Already Trump has called his political opponents "vermin", issued slanderous insults and threats, and announced his intention to beccome a dictator, for at least one day. As the elecion draws nearer, his appearances in criminal court multiply, and his frustration and anger grow, the reckless abandon with whih he speaks will only become ever more bizarre, as will his comments. Hence the need for large popcorn poppers. Also, the need to take notes carefully, and to be ready to repeat, as often as necessary, his insane utterances. The best way to oppose Trump effecively is to merely point out what he says, and what he does. Like all national elections, this one will be decided by independent voters.The best way to defeat the Trump movement is to make sure that independent and undecided voters are well informed in Trump-speak.

Cooperating, For Our Very Survival

IN A SMALL BUCOLIC TOWN in upstate New York, a local farmer was struggling with his agri business. Crop prices were down, expenses were up, and his farm's profitability was diminishing as expenses inexorably cuaght up with revenues. He realized that he was not fully taking advantage of opportunites to exploit his valuable land for profit. Suddenly, a thought came to him, of converting a part of his acreage for use as a solar farm. Wind, perhaps later. For now, solar. Either way, a large installation of machines and equipment would be imposed upon the landscape, replacing corn fields ugly metal objects,, changing the scenery considerably. He began discussions with a solar energy company whose ownership was very inerested in the idea, and plans were made. The farmer was promised that isntalling a solar energy facility would multiply the profits from his land. Word got out, neighbors and townfolk found out what was up, thought about it, mulled over the proposed details of the solar plan, and proceeded to pitch a conniption. Thus was the battle joined. The farmer and his family, always well liked among the townies among whom they had lived their entire lives, found themselves suddenly surrounded by less than friendly neighbors. The back and forth went on for months, then years. A local study group was formed to formally address the situation, everybody lawered up, and the war of words accelerated. Finally somebody had the good sense to suggest that the town prepare a formal list of changes to the solar plan that would make it acceptable to the community, and to present it to the farmer and the solar energy company. The list included items which were seemingly so reasonable as to be immediately aceptable without qualifications. The land on which the solar array was built and located must be utilized for other purposes simultaneously. Hiking trails, woods, streams, and nature parks, wildlife sanctuaries, a botanical garden on site, a reduction of electric bills for the town and its residents. Full payment of property taxes based on the enhanced value of the land. Ironically, opponents to a solar energy facility NIMBY were primarily concerned about the environmental impact of the proposed facilty and the loss of habitat, farm land and bucolic scenery. Ironc indeed. Despite the ostensible solution, problems remained. The solar energy company, in true big business style, cleverly failed to write the amended conditions into the actual legal contract, and thereby managed to wriggle free of most of the costly requirements it had originally agreed to. Its management claimed that it had no control over property taxes, local electric bill rates, and even lacked authority to impose zoning requirements upon any local land. All across America's fruited plain, similar scenarios are playing out, with differing results. Sometimes the solar failities go up, sometimes not, depending on the particulars of business negotiations and legal renderings. The United Sates has billions of acres of farmland and wilderness, and the government wants about ten million to be put into use for solar and wind energy over the next few years. Much more land than that is already being used for oil and natural gas development; much of this land could be converted to use for sustainable energy. The drama is being played out. The future for solar and wind energy looks promising, as the world increasingly understands our desperate survival needs, and sustainable energy proliferates. Increasing billions of dollars, both governemnt and private, are being invested in our future survival each year, as wind, solar, and geothermal energy systems take over. It is truly amazing what human beings can accomplish when we cooperate rather than engage in conflict. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, we can accoplish our own future survival and that of the planet's ecosystem, because of and depsite our best intentions.

Sinning the Gay Way, Part III

ACTUALLY, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY in America. We have, arguaby, to a certain extent elevated ourselves above the barbarity of our previous selves, our previous society, and all in the time span of only a little more than fifty years. When I was child in the nineteen sixties, when one little kid wanted to gravely insult another little kid, the insult of choice was often "queer", or as we said in my neighborrd, "queerbait", meaning, essentially, the same slanderous thing. To actuallly express any sort of tolerance for gay people, any trace of aceptance of their "gay lifestyle", was unthinkable, and would likely bring one's fellow heterosexuals severly down upon one in dire retribution, criticism, or even rejction. Meanwhile gay people themselves either hid in the closet, figuritively, or languished behind bars in prison, the frequent price of peeking timidly out of the closet. Obsiously, things are better now, after decades of mass social movements, replete with protests and demosntratsions in the streets of America. Lwas have been repealed, new one passed. The fight has been and ontinues to be long, painfusly slow, and arduous, like all noble crusades for noble causes, but tangible progress has resulted. May it continue. But of course, we still have a long way to go, a very long way, and it remains questionable whether we will be able to complete the work within the next fifty years. Thirty or forty years ago, when the gay rights movement was getting started in earnest and building momentum, I would have predicted that by the futuristc date of twenty twenty four, our work would be complete. Alas, not so. But, to give credit where it belongs, the United States, American society, intolerant, and even vicious that its attitudes towards and treatment of gay people have historically, traditonally been, it has been, quite demonstrably, far more tolerant, far more ompassionate, far superior in spirit, word, and in deed than the which adheres in most of the rest of the world. America, a veritable bastian of liberal social progress, by comparison. Imagine that. Throughout Asia, Russsia, Africa, and Latin America in particular, treatment of the gay community remains relatively benighted. In some countries it is flatly illegal to be homosexual, as it once was in these United States, in fact until rather recntly. Mostly, gay people in these regions remain "in the closet", fearful of revealing their true selves for fear of harsh social retribution. To some extent that undesirable situation, don't ask don't tell, lingers yet in America, though to a much lesser degree and extant than previously. Here in America, a higher percentage of gay people now feel safe enough in their surroundings to "come out", and to openly be who they really are. And that, of a sort, must be regarded as progress, though limited. Progress at a price. All too often it turns out to be a deadly mistake for gay people to courageoously live as openly gay citizens. We Americans, if nothing else, are a nation steeped in violence, bigoty, ahd intolerane, much of it still aimed at gay folk. A recent TV comercial tells us that anti-semitism is on the rise in America, and that hatred against all minorities are as well; black, brown, Jew, Muslim, Asian-American, Latin-American;none escape the current wave of extreme right wing hatred currently sweeping through America. We must fight back, says the TV ad. Quite right, we must. But there is no mention of the other minority; the gay community. Bigoted hatred against that community is also on the rise. And that, in essence, why I object so strongly to and condemn so unreservedly the common religious dogma that to be gay is a "sin'. The world, if only sluggishly, is "trending" towards greater tolerance and acceptance. The arrow is history clearly points in that direction. Isn't it about time, indeed past time, for the world's great religions to catch up with the trend, to join the modern direction of society, to reform and improve itself just like the rest of us have, or are at least tryin to do, even if only with great kicking, screaming, wailing, and gnashing of moribund teeth.

Sinning The Gay Way, Part II

IN THE PREVIOUS ESSAY "Sinning the Gay Way" Part I (scroll down), I indicated that there is a genetic cause of human homosexuality. I overstated, misstated the case, and I humbly reract it. No specific gene for hoosexuality has been positively isolated and identified. However, it is widely believed, however, and well supported by evidence, that being gay is an emergent quality in huamns, a combination of certain genetic patterns, in essence, an inherited trait, like hair color. By the time I was eight years old I knew that I like girls. My girl-like has never changed, only maybe mitigated a bit through age, although I doubt it. All I know is that I never consciously chose to like girls, then or now, I just did, and do. I have overwhelming anecdotal evidence that this is basically true of everyone; we do not "choose" our sexual orienation at any conscious level, we just are what we are, even if we change it, as often happens, later in life. Sexual orientation just happens, and is beyond our control. And that is precisely the point, with regard to nature versus nurture, genetic rather than environmental. And that is why I find the religious dogmatic tenet that homosexuality is a sin to be so repellent, so hateful, judgmental, verily, evil. I assert unabashedly that to consider, officially on religious grounds or otherwise, homosexuality to be a "sin" is a sin. I find contemptible this particular, common aspect of religious dogma as heinous as any other, and for me, there are many, many others. I'm pretty sure that our religious judgmental friends consider homosexuality to be a personal choice, or a sickness, presumably self inflicted, curable and correctable. That is complete, unmitigated bullshit. Blatant lies, indteded to justify cruelty. Trumpian, as indeed, the "gay as sin" crowed does indeed tend to coincide with MAGA folk, like all other forms of bigotry. "Conversion terapy", which is essentially brainwashing gay people into being straight through "therapy" is a disaster of dogmatic religious hatred, and it kills people. The same people who falsely assert that homosexuality is a sin also, by and large, tend to beleive that anyone wo does not embrace the Christian fatih, anyone not saved by Jesus Christ, is doomed to spend an eternity in hell. Its the same basic approach; demonize that which you persoally hate, behavior and people, and invent horrible imaginary outcomes for those who embody the characteristics you personally choose to deplore and persecute. This serves the twin nefarious purpsoes of not only justifying your unreasoning hatred, but also, explaining it. Divide society into different levels of acceptability, create superior and inferior classes of citizens, create enemies of society. In essence, fascism, of the strictly religious kind. Hatred is a form of fear, applied fear, if you will, just as technology is applied science. We hate that which we sense threatens or survival, and our survival instincts are strong. Exactly how honosexuality threatens anyone's survival. is quite beyond anything remotely resembling common sense and reason. Or maybe the heterosexual conservative religious people, who are the ones who tend to hate gay people, sin and sinner, are merely reacting logically to the perfectly correct and logical reality that if a sufficient percentage of human beings become strictly homosexual, a "critical mass" of gay, say, then homo sapien sapiens is doomed to extinction, (which we may be anyway). Yes, this off the wall theory sounds a bit, shall we say, "far fetched", but, as a scientist might say, extraordinary, far fetched phenomena require extraordinary, far fetched expanations.

Sinning the Gay Way, Part I

MY FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR FROM GUATEMALA entered the country legally years ago, did everything by the book,and became a naturalized citizen. I have never seen anyone work as hard as he does. Although trained as an accountant who worked in a bank in Guatemala, here in the U.S. he has his own house repair and renovation business, and spends many hours each day happily being a carpenter. He makes good money, honest money, supports his family,and seems to love every minute of it. I mentioned to him that every person I have ever met or known from Latin America who lives in the U.S. seems to work as hard as he does, and that all these immigrants, legal or not, work very hard, and produce much more wealth for society than any assistance they may require or receive from the government, which is usually none. I also mentioned that many Latinos who legally enterted the US. are resentful of these who entered illegally. He assured me that he has nothing against undocumented immigrants, because he has been in a similar situation himself, wanting desperately to escape his native country, to escape chaos and violence. In Guatemala he was raised a Catholic, but here in America he converted to the Pentecostal church, and became a fundamentalist evangelical Christian. Well, there's no accounting for taste. to my way of thinking, one primitive barbaric religion is about as good as another. Among his many redeeming attitudes is that he hates Donald Trump. Our converstaions usually center on our mutual despising. We have fun doing that. I mentioned to him that in his despising Trump he is a member of a very small minority of the funcamentalist evangelical Christian community. A large percentage of them, more than eighty percent in fact, are very politically conservative Trump supporters. He allowed as that he himself is not. Good for him! He and I learned long ago not ot talk about religion. I don't like his, he doesn't like mine, which, in short, is non Christian. But, he's reasonably tolerant, for a devout Christian. I told him that the Christian support for Trump is everywhere, that on every Christian radio station I have ever listened to for more than five minutes, in between bible study segments and praising the lord and Christ is the savior segments, inevitably, invariably, they prasie Donald Trump as being the chosen political representative of Jesus Christ on Earth. I told him how I feel about this; namely, inimical, disgusted. Jose branched off, explaining that what he tries to do is to live by the bible. I refrained from suggesting better books. He wandered into the area of "loving the sinher but hating the sin", which I think is total bullshit, but didn't say so. Then he mentioned gay people. He loves the sinners, but hates their sin, being gay. What I hate is people who consider hoosexuality a sin, but didn't say that to him. What I did tell him is that homosexuality is an inherited trait, a recessvie gene, that a gene has been isolated and identified specifically for hoosexuality, and can be seen under a microscope. Actually, there seems to be a combination of genetic circumstances involved, but, a genetic component cannot be ignored. The point is, people do not "choose" to be gay (and live in sin) anyore than they "choose" to be straight, heterosexual. Either you are, or you are not. You can change hair color far easier than sexual orientation. The former is voluntary, the latter, involuntary. Unsurprisingly, he rejected this without reservation, refused to accept it. How dare modern science deprive him of his god given right to love the sinner and hate the sin, to deprive his hatred of the "sin" of being gay of any logical, reasonable basis! Much like Trump supporters, Christian fascists of all political persuasions cling to their hateful misguided beliefs, like dust on their Bibles. He's still a good friend and neighbor.

Digging Up Dirt

WELL, WELL, WELL. What have we here. What we have had, for years, is a dogged wild goose chase of a Republican pursuit of President Joe Biden, as they desperately try to dig up dirt, and, failing that, to manufacture some. You may recall that's what President Trump was trying to blackmail the president of Ukraine for; dug up dirt on Biden, manufactured or othwrwise. That was Trump's first, but not least nor last, impeachment. In the spirit of revenge, after several years of concerted digging, absolutley no proof has been found of any corruption on the part of Biden, such as receiving money from foreign countries, allgegedly in concert with his reformed son. Again, they, the Republicans, have nothing on Biden, and they have said as much. And yet, absent any evidence of any wrongdoing by this president, the Republicans have opend an "impeachment inquiry " against Biden. Impeachment inquiry...for nothing. That's how desperate,angry, and perfidious mainstream, normal, everyday Repbulicans are, in their moral and intellectual bankruptcy and vacuity. But there's more, much more. After a seven year investigation, a congressional House subcommittee announced yesterady that it has comprehensive documented proof that while he was president, Donald J. Trump received more than eight million dollars in payments frmm foreign countries, countries such as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia. This is not hollow accusation, not falsehoods and lies, like those by Republicans against Biden. Nor is this evidence. This is proof. Absolute, documented proof. Trump, while president, on the take, in the pockets of foreign countries, enemies of America to boot. No wonder Trump spent all four years sucking up to Putin, kissing his dictatorial, murderous ass! He was paid to do it! This was a news item for about one day, and already has now receded into the realm of ancient history, largely overlooked by the mainstream media. From Trump and his mob of supporters not a word. Of course not a word. Why would they? How could they? More Trump criminality, to be swept under the rug like all the rest. Who cares? When a man is already under indictment for ninety one felonies, including stealing classified documents and incitement to insurrction against the United States, what'a a little graft among international friends? Although his fellow Republican presidential candidates are too frightened by Trump to tell the truth about Trump, they are beginning to do exactly that, through desperation, albeit in subdued tones. Meanwhile, somebody got to Biden, and persuaded him that if he only tells the truth about Trump, reiterating his massive criminality, the American people will, a least by a slim majority, choose correctly. Biden is beginning to tell the truth. Its so easy. Merely state the facts, and leave off the insults about Trump being a moron, or an idiot, and about his organge hair. Beating Trump is easy; just tell the truth.

Commemorating, Or Denying the Insurrection

TODAY IS INSURRECTION EVE. Tomorrow, a day which will live in purely American infamy, is Insurrection Day. We should be responding accordingly, appropriately. Flags should be lowered to half staff, local prayer vigils and solemn patriotic ceremonies should be underway all across America's fruited plain, and we should all, as a nation, be once again resolving that never again shall the taint of treasonous, traitorous insurrection stain our history and our souls. President Biden will be at Valley Forge, delivering appropriate remarks, the location appropriate because of George Washington, and because one of the jet airplanes turned missile, the one which was heroically prevented from destroying the White House of the nation's Capitol building by the heroic actions of the doomed crew and passengers, crashed nearby in a Pennsylvania pasture on September 11, 2001. The twin tragedies of modern American history, of the early twenty first century. May the dear lord bless and keep all who died in these two national tragedies, nine eleven, and the insurrection. As we face this somber anniversary we are confronted with the horrible reality that the second great tragedy was entirely American made. No foreign hatred precipitated it, but only the greed, hatred, and criminality of the president of the United States, and his criminal associates and accessories. January 6 has become and shall always remain a sad day of somber national reflection and resolve. That is, except for the roughly forty three percent of the benighted American population which almost inexplicably chooses to ignore this important day, and considers Trump's insurrection to have been "overblown"by the media, or merely a peaceful protest that got a little bit out of hand. The United States government was nearly violently overthrown by a criminal madman who wanted to become dictator for life, dozens of police offiers were maimed for life, several people died. The unpatriotic, un-American forty percent are, of course, Trump supporters. Traitors, if unwitting, all of them. Donald J. Trump, the traitor president, insurrectionist-in-chief, will celebrate Insurrection Day in an entirely different way. He will praise and glorify the criminals, the insurrectionists themselves, more than three hundred of whom are currently serving time in prison, as Trump hemself should be and, if jsutice adheres, will someday be. He promises, if elected, to pardon them all. He calls them, these treasonous criminals, "political prisoners", and "hostages". His supporters, who are no less criminal than Trump or those incarcerated, presumably agree. Trump's insurrection was no accident, nor was it a peaceful protest gone amok,nor a guided tour of the capitol building with an unusual format. Emphatically, it was not a glorious crusade for freedom and the American way, intended to keep Trump in power by correcting the results of a "stolen" election. It was an attack on democracy,a violent attempt to overthrow the United States government, thoroughly conceived and planned to the last detail by Trump, weeks in advance. If justice is served, Trump will end up in prison. Arguably, he should end his life facing a firing squad.

Forcing the Issue, Part II

THOSE BLOOD RED STATES never relent, nor cease to amaze. Persistently, inexorably, like green slime creeping across a parking lot after an industrial accident,Christian dominionsts, among other far right extremist lunatics, fight on, onward Christian soldiers. (Fortunately this far right wave is doomed to dissolution, thank goodness). Take Arkansas, for instance. (You might prefer to leave it after reading this). In 2015 the Republican controlled state legislature pulled one of these religious fanatical stunts, and voted to erect a big rock with the Ten Commandments written on it in the parking lot near the capitol building. Then, they did it. Erected the written upon rock. Within twenty four hours somebody drove a car into it at high speed and destroyed it. It was rebuilt, like the temple in Jerusalem. Then, of course, began an eruption of lawsuits,in defense of constitution and country. Seperation of church and state, first amendment. The ACLU, among other freeedom fighting organizations in defense of American values, hopped on. And, incredibly,there they remain to this very day. In court, grinding away in the snail sluggish legal system, creeping, like green slime across a parking lot. The rock with words similarly stands erect, by court indulgence, and is going nowhere, fast. Presumably somebody is keeping an eye on it, perhaps a local unit of The Proud Boys", maybe the KKK, or some other of the innumerable far right extremist white Christian hate groups with which America the beautiful and especially dixieland is infected and festooned. But it doesn't end there. Oh noo..its gets better, much better. In the year and a half since the morally superior so called "pro life" movement succeeded in eliminating women's reproductive freedom from the constitution, many blood red states have essentilly banned abortion, from sperm cell to full fetus. Arkansas is among these, shockingly. Back onto the stage come strutting our conservative Christian extremist neo-fascists, proud of their authoritarian perfidy, as always. A bill is circulating like blood, creeping like or proverbial green slime into and through the Arky state legislature, by now an even more extremist organization than before. Another bad bill. A bunch of bible bangin' Trumpers, to wit, including the governor, who vigorously endorsed and supports the great insurrectionist-in-chief, dirty Don, are back in action. Trump, and Jesus, two peas in a pod. Christian America, crusading. The proposed bill would erect another monument on the same parking lot near the Capitol; a monument - get this - to the banning of abortion. No, I am not making this up. I couldn't. Nobody could. Whether said monument would consist of another rock with words, perhaps the abortion ban law itself inscribed, or a proud pregnant woman chiseled in granite standing defiantly holding a cross and confederate flag and wearing a red MAGA ball cap is, at press time, uncertain. How to revent some deranged baby killer from "Planned Parenthood" from driving a pick up straight into the granite lady's bloated belly has neither, to our knowledge, been discussed. But, of certain things we can rest assured. One, assuming that this lunacy comes to term, to fruition, as in Arkansas it ceratinly seems likely to, once again, the lawsuits will erupt, and begin their green slime creep into the well litigated and repeatedly appealled future. Secondly, a whole lot of women, progresive women, pro choice women, women who have endured emotionally painful abortions over the last fifty years - will have their say.

Forcing the Issue. Part I

IN ONE RED STATE AFTER ANOTHER, the Republican party, buffered, anchored by the MAGA insurrretionist mob, is proposing legislation which is blatantly, egregiously unconstitutional. It almost seems as if the sponsoers,supporters and promulgators of this nonsense are doing it only out of spite, pushing the envelope as we say today, testing the waters as they used to say, or, in a word, making trouble. A bill is ready for presentation in the Oklahoma state legislature that would make it mandatory for every classroom in every public school in the conservative Christian reprobate sate of Oklahoma to display "The Ten Commandments" on the wall, prominently, in a format no smaller that eleven inches by sixteen inches, preferrably larger,much larger. Preferrably framed or even guilded with gold, with the option of hanging a cross directly below God's orders. Perhaps, even an alter,vestments, and candles, replete with lecturn and podium, and congregational pews, which are mostly already effectively part of every classroom in most schools. The alter being the teacher's desk, the pews, the student's desks. In lawsuit after lawsuit accross America's fruited plane courts have ruled that this is unconstitutional, a violation of the first amendment, that widely misunderstood little sentence having to do with church, state, and the spearation thereof. Every ruling ever issued by every version of the United States Supreme Court over the years clearly supports the same conclusion. "Congress shall make no law..regarding...establishment..religion..or, preventing... free exercise therof....The Ten Commandments (respect requires capitalization) can by law be displayed on any piece of private property in the land of opportunity, but not on public, civic soil. The law says nothing about scriptural display of any of the world's other several thousand religions, almost all of which have votaries in America, legal citizens without religious representation in government. That, in a nutshell, is discriminatory, or, at best, mob rule, a dictatorship of the majority, against which the foudners also took measures, most particularlt, by creating plutocratic republic, rather than an actual democracy. The next step is of course for the lawsuits to start flinging, with the inevitable delays, motions, depositions, testimony, and endless appeals before finally, at long last, the SCOTUS overturns the idiot law.(assuming that the law is actually passed and signed into law in Oklahoma, which may or may not happen, but somehow seems likely, if not inevitable). And yes, even our current far right wing extremist conservative Catholic Christian hand picked Republican disgrace of a high court will do precisely that, for, sadly to some, it has no other choice, but to flush all precedent law down the proverbial toilet. On the other hand, it has already done precisely that...Menawhile, the Commandments will likely stay in the storage closet, stayed by a federal court from display prior to any potential future court approval. Its all so silly. But maybe it will have ultimately the beneficial effect of solidifying, reinforcing the seperation of church and state in these United States, so sacred to the fundamental beliefs and values upon which America was founded, and so important to the founders themselves. These myopic religious fanatics who want to impose their personal religious opinions and their chosen religions upon our secular democracy have conveniently forgotten several facts. First, anybody can pray anytime, anywhere one wants to, with or without anyone's approval or permission, including the government's. Jesus instructed us to pray in private, not in public groups, where it is tempting to show off one's piety in fornt of others. Also, God has not been removed from our public schools or our soceity, and neednt' be replaced there by legislation or mob violence. God has always been, is, shall forever be firmly ensconced withitn the hearts and souls of all who seek hom/her.,, just where he/she belongs. And, for that matter, how do we know that God is a Christian, rather than a Moslum, a Hindu, or a votary of some other religion on some other planet? The answer is, we don't.

Banning Books, and Librarians

MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, desperate to obtain or cling to political power, is on the attack. Characteristically, this cancer goes after the weakest possible vitims, or those it mistakenly thinks weak; minorities,imigrants,the disabled, LGBTQ folks, an even inaninate objects, like books. Oftn, indeed most often, good books. Sometimesit seems that the better the book, the more likely it is to be attacked and banned by mobs of pseudo intellectual pseudo moral Christian conservatives. Problem is, sometimes he or she who might seem outwardly, superficially weak and vulnerable is in reality a potent force, tightly coiled but ready at any moment to uncoil and defend itself vigorously against an attacker. Such is the case with books. Book, small inaninate objects though they at first glance may appear to be, are in fact among the most potent, powerful forces known to humanity. Books have a way of fighting back. Very often the words and ideals contained within books are a force to be reckoned with. There are millions of exmples of this, from the Bible to "The Grapes of Wrath". Millions of great books in thousands of libraries. The difference is that the Bible is banned nowhere, and Steinbeck's classic novel is. That in itself speaks volumes, pun intended, about the people doing the book banning; to wit, the conservative Christian community. By "banning", it is meant that a particular book has been ordered by some authority, like a library or school board, removed from public school libraries. Local authorites can "ban" many different books in many ways and many places for many reasons,and often the book banners themselves cry and moan that the term "ban" is misleading. It isn't. The people doing the banning are always the same, as indicated above. So are the "reasons". Any book which espouses or even mentions anything having to do with progresive, liberal values is in danger of being banned. Books about LGTBQ people are banned, inclduing sweet, happy,innocent little books for kids which advocate love and tolerance for gay people, intaed of hatred and exclusion. Banned. Book talking about and describing racism in America historically and in contemporary American society will almost certainly be banned. Christian conservatives do not like gay people, both sin and sinner, despite their hollow sanctimonous claims about hating the sin and loving the sinner. They don't like any discussion of or proof of racism in America in history or social studies classes. This is particularly true of the many racists among them. Books asserting that hunan caused climate change is a proven reality? Banned! Books espousing the virtues of religions other than Christianity? Banned! Evolution as scientific fact? Banned! Banned! In one community the local conservative dominated library board banned a book for being "woke", meaning, aware of systemic racial injustice in America. (As if the book banners have even the foggiest notion of what "woke" actually menas). A local librarian protested, raised a fuss about it; and got fired. She fought back. She sued, and won several hundred thousand dollars from the fascist library board. Too bad that the money was taxpayer money, which could have been better spent buying books. Too bad that this book banning movement derives from a decades old conservative project to take over state and local government in America, as well as the judicial system. Even worse that both strategies seem to be working. Seem to be. Sanity ad intelligence will organize and fight back, already are, and, even if later rather thans sooner, will prevail. Democracy will be restored, book banning will be banned, and the current dark age imposed on us by the extremist Christian conservative movement will, with God's help, wither and die.

Recycling Racism

THROUGHOUT EUROPEAN HISTORY, anti-semitism, the Christian European bigotry of choice, has come in cycles, waxed and waned in waves as societal circumstances change and so dictate. The key, overriding factor is, obviously, the Christian religion, its historical domination of European society, and its inherent and manifested intolerance to religious freedom and diversity. Currently, Europe is in the throes of yet another of it reliably unending cycles of heightened anti-semitismm. This, despite the precipitous decline in popularity of and participation in the Christian faith throughout Europe. Europe is rapidly becoming a secular culture, and yet, anti-semitism again rears its ugly head, as it were. Economics also plays a part. The Catholic church traditionally forbade the charging of interest in business transactions, seeing it quite correctly as exploitation. Usury, a deadly sin, in opposition to charity and good will. No such prohibition exists in the Jewish faith. Thus the rise and historic success of Jewish bankers and businessmen, evoking envy and resentment among Christian capitalists. Minorities other than the Jews have never attained a sufficient population in Europe to inspire such institutional racism, although that is rapidly changing, with predictable results. Politics is all important. When someone like Adolf Hitler comes to power, anti-Semitism blossoms.aditionally racist Americans. Increased immigration of dark skinned racial minorities into Europe and the United States over the past few years has ignited another round of enhanced reacism on both sides of the Atlantic. The bigoty is squarely, undeniably centered within the still dominant but declining white conservative Christian culture in both places, as always. Both Europe and the United States, as well as several countries in Latin America have and in many cases stil are desperately experimenting with extreme right wing racist, anti-mmigrant governments.Donald Trump began his political career by openly declaring his anti-latino racism and has never altered or relented. Emboldended and motivated, the white evangelical Christian community hopped aboard the Trump bandwagon, and there they remain. Racsim, once again is resurgant in the land of the free and home of the brave, with equal opportunity for all, as we laughably, sanctimoniously, dishonestly continue to proclaim. Our present day incarnation of what is among humanity's most heinous evils will, one fine day, recede again, as it has in the past. And, it will undoubtedly emerge again in the future. Racism is among the greatest failings of the human intellect. Categorization instead of observation. Simplistic irrational thinking instead of logical, scientific thinking and analysis of reality. Why not hate all bwown eyed people while we're at it? Down with short people! To heck with women! On second thought, we alrady have those forms of discrimination, and always have. Whether we always will depends on whether humanity ever takes its intellect to a higher level, and whether our future waves of racism tend, like a tsunami, to gradually, slowly lose strength and die out through lack of energy and interest.

Getting Serious

ITS OFFICIAL. The big election year is here. It seems like such a short time ago that we were being astonished by Biden's victory over Trump, Trump's shocking denial of reality, and his traitorous plot to remain in office permanently by overthrowing the U.S. government by violence. For a sitting president to even think of or design such an outrageous plan is shocking enough, that Trump not only conceived and designed it and then actually implemented it, and nearly succeeded in so doing, is beyond shocking. And yet, here we are again, seemingly on our way to a Biden-Trump rematch, incredibly. When Trump was first elected in 2016,and a friend of mine compared him to Hitler, I thought the comparison was an exaggeration. I no longer do. Donald Trump has made it undeniably clear, with his words and through his behavior, that if he ever becomes president again, he would soon become a dictator. Immediately, in fact. Or so he said. Evidently, that is exactly what his followers desire; a great leader, an authoritarian populist dictator who will remake America in their desired image. They've given up on democracy because democracy in America results in a country governed by progressive values. A majority of Americans are progresssive, although the majority is not huge. Opposing Trump at this point means opposing authoritarian rule, rule which would be used to implemnt a thoroughly insane agenda. I am now telling people that to oppose Trump everyone must do more than merely vote. Voting is of course the most important thing. But we can never be too confident of our abiliy to defeat the MAGA mob. Send money to the Democrats, no matter how little. Volunteer for the Democrats locally. Talk to people about Trump, and simply state facts. Against Trump, the facts are the best weapon. Trump supprters are trying to wiggle out of their responsibility for the insurrection by encouraging Americans to forget about it, to "move on", that to continue talking about it only increases divisiveness, that it has been talked about to death, and much overblown. That argument, of course, is complete bullshit, intended not to heal the country, but ony to save the MAGA movement from American accountability and justice. But justice will ultimately prevail. There is no better time than now to talk about Trump's big election lie and the insurrection it coused. There are two main reasons for this. The presidentail election approaches, and so does Trump's criminal trial or incitement to insurrection. Now is the time to carefully scrutinize not only the policy proposals and political agendas of all candidates, but also, their resumes, life histories, and moral character. What better time than now? Biden's liabilies are serious; he seems too old for the job now, he seems to lack energy. What about the next four years? Trump is not much younger, and plainly mentally ill. That can't hurt Biden. Beginning now is the time to relentlessly remind everyone of the milllions of crazy comments Trump has made and continues to make, and bout his lifelong criminality, including the ninety one serious felonies for which he will soon stand trial. Although Trump's increasing criminal insanity seems to only motivate his defiant followers to support hime more passionately, that can only continue for so long. That has it limits, and will inevitably come crashing down. We the good sane citizens of these United States need only give the crashing down as much assistance as we can, and await that glorious outcome.

Ringing In the New Year

MIRACULOUSLY, I was up at midnight to ring in the New Year. Only I didn't do much ringing. A few sips of leftover beer, fireworks on television, a few in my neighborhood, but, thankfully, not many. I had to cheat to even be up at midnight. I went to bed at eight, slept a few hours, then got up. The days of starting the party at eight, ringing in the new year, and partying on til the wee hours I abandoned before I turned thirty five. Too debilitating. No new years resolutions for me. Haven't done that in years. I like the idea of using the first of the year to establish, reset, and reinforce goals, but I do that all the time anyway. The year 2024 sounds like something out of a science fiction novel from the nineteen fifties or sixties, and, in reality, it is. One goal of mine is to live long enough to get some kind of sense about whether the human species is going to fight and reverse climate change, and thus save ourselves and the planetary ecosphere. It may be that the answer to this will not yet be evident even within the next twenty years, although it seems like it will be. If we don't start doing more soon, there will be no hope, and within twenty years the climate change will have become extreme. If we do, then by the year twenty fifty or so it should be evident whether we have done enough, and climate change is being reversed or stopped, the cliamte no longer out of control with global warming. As we speak, here in 2024, the effects of global warming are obvious to nearly everyone, its getting worse fast, and the future, quite frankly, does not look good. Neither do future human prospects look good from a political, geo-political, sociological, and economic standpoint. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza are shocking, horrifying reminders that human nature remains intact, uchanged, and that the near and distant futurees look to be soaked in blood. More than ever, nuclear war seems inevitable. In both of these wars, two of the world's nine known nuclear armed nations are involved, in both cases as the aggressor, and both Russia and Israel are quite angry, governed by ultra conservative war mongers, currently losing much and destroying much in their ongoing conventional wars, and both have already threatened and hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons. Until now, and perhaps now still, many analysts have believed that he most likely participants in a future nuclear war are India and Pakistan. The world wide political turn to the right, with far right wing populist demagogues taking power in many countries, is alarming, even as it seems quite likely to be but a passing socio-politico trend which will burn itself out, as its insanity and failure becomes obvious. The question is, how soon will it "burn itself out", and how many of the rest of us will it take with it? The nineteen thirties, with Hitler and Mussolini, among other right wing dictators, comes to mind. We see how that worked out. People today are so frustrated, angry, and disappointed with the cumbersome and growing pains of democracy and progress that they are reacting reflexively, trying desperately to return to a supposed bettter past, an imaginry past which never existed, and which, in truth, we would not want to ever exist. A past where innovation and progress are stifled by rigid, stagnant tradition. Change is as inevitable as the future itself. OUr only choice is to embrace it. Our choice is whether to make it progressvie change. We must try, and I'll try to stick around awhile to try to help, and to see what happens.