End of Week 327 – Loss, Distractions, and the Unknown…

Abnormal is the new normal. As much as I wish our days could be filled with trips to the gym, healthy cooking, and travel, that is not to be for a while. Things are up in the air for us personally. I’m not going into detail until I know more, but as you can imagine, it revolved around the world of medicine. I’m getting very tired of doctors.

Medical happenings and my son’s birthday kept me from writing this last week. Since then there has been a lot of loss. The world mourns Aretha Franklin and John McCain. Since I am political the loss of McCain hit me particularly hard. I often disagreed with him politically, but I respected the hell out of him, as any sane person did. I also knew he could be counted on to reach across the aisle when necessary. Don’t know who will do that now. I can’t think of another US senator who is willing to do that, except maybe Delaware’s own Chris Coons. He seems to be able to work with opponents. I’ve seen bills he has sponsored with GOP senators. Maybe our state can lead the way.

SCROTUS was specifically not invited to Senator McCain’s funeral. This happened months ago and everyone who follows politics knew about it. There was a lot of controversy surrounding what SCROTUS did and did not do when McCain passed. First, the flag at the White House was lowered for a day and a half – the minimum required by the Flag Code. Normally, a president signs a proclamation directing that flags be at half-staff through the day of interment. SCROTUS did this only after receiving major blowback for not doing it right away.

SCROTUS was silent about McCain’s death for a long time. When he finally tweeted something, it was a one liner with sympathy for the family and not one mention of McCain’s personal qualities. SCROTUS disliked McCain, and we all know how SCROTUS acts when he doesn’t like someone. The one line tweet came before he finally signed a proclamation to lower the flags through today.

Perhaps the most telling SCROTUS reaction came during the funeral service in Washington DC. It was beautiful, moving, and inspirational, and it made SCROTUS seethe. He could not stop tweeting. He tweeted constantly while the rest of the nation was watching the service (which was televised by the mainstream news services). Surprisingly, he did not tweet about McCain or the service, so I guess that’s something. It was reported that he said he thought coverage of McCain’s passing was “over the top” and suited more for a president.

What it all boils down to is SCROTUS cannot stand it when he is not the absolute, unquestioned, and sole center of attention.

Case in point, when he said something about the passing of Aretha Franklin he said that “she worked for me a lot.” Regardless of the subject, he has to frame everything around himself.

Many see this as one of the signs of a developing despot. SCROTUS displays several. He has convinced his base that only he can be trusted to give them the truth regarding the country and what he is doing to it; regarding things like Mueller’s investigation; regarding just about anything. He’s trying to convince the rest of us, but it isn’t working as well as with his base. He’s best buds with other dictators and has alienated our longtime allies. He has warned Congress not to interfere with what he wants to do with things like trade agreements – threatening to take unilateral action without consulting them at all. SCROTUS wants to be all-controlling with no checks or balances.

Sound scary? It should. We should all be very afraid.

Until next week….

End of Week 325 – Holding Pattern…

Last week it was Mr. Sleuthy. This week it is Ms. Olyvia. Just for the hell of it. She’s a pretty cat and I like this picture. This entry may be short since I have a lot of non-writing things going on. Not much happening on the diet and exercise fronts, except that I keep trying to improve. When I have something to report I’ll be sure to do it here.

Omarosa seems to be playing Trump’s game of reality TV. She shares a little of what she has and teases the public and the news media with promises of more. Rumors abound regarding how many recordings she has, or how many texts. This is all geared to sell her book and I do not have time for it. I’d like to tell her, “Let me know when you are ready to get serious about telling the truth.”

This week we got word that the Pentagon cancelled SCROTUS’ Self-glorifying Military Parade, perhaps postponing it until 2019. Almost immediately SCROTUS broadcast (Twitter) that HE cancelled the parade because the local WDC government demanded too much money. All of this happened after the estimate of the parade’s cost rose to $90M. Most of the cost involves the transport and use of military personnel and equipment. The city of WDC would get some compensation for services they have to provide, but that is not the majority of the cost by a long shot.

Most people were against the parade anyway. There was serious backlash about spending so many millions of dollars on something that was obviously intended to glorify SCROTUS when SCROTUS has been cutting veterans’ medical benefits. When the cost estimate went up the backlash worsened.

In an unrelated issue, last week the jury in the first Manafort trial started to deliberate. They will return tomorrow (Monday) to continue deliberations. SCROTUS made a public statement that he feels the trial is horrible and that Manafort has been mistreated. He said this while the jury was deliberating, which amounts to disgraceful conduct and possibly an attempt at influencing the jury. My only question is how long it will take SCROTUS to pardon Manafort if the verdicts are “guilty”? I’d wager the paperwork is already prepared.

In the end, SCROTUS reacted strangely. Seems a combination of pressure from the investigations/trials and the cancellation of his parade was too much for SCROTUS. He decided to take his toys and leave. The latest reports are that SCROTUS will spend the US Veterans’ Day (Nov 11) watching a military parade in FRANCE. He would rather be in another country than visit with and honor the military veterans of his own country. My husband pointed out that SCROTUS could visit American military graves from our world wars while in France. True, he could. But that is not why he is going. He wants a military parade and he knows France will be holding one to mark the ending of World War I (the Armistice). How do I know this? It is what SCROTUS said he will do. He mentioned the parade and nothing else.

Besides, as appropriate as it may be for an American government official to visit US memorials in other countries; Veterans Day is for honoring our living military veterans. Memorial Day is for those deceased. I am not overly pro-military and I do think we overdo the current tendency of worshiping the water everyone seems to think the military walks on, but even I can see that all SCROTUS is doing is his usual petulant toddler act. He should stay in the US and honor our veterans here. Funding their medical care would be a good start.

Think France would keep him? Nah, probably not.

Until next week….

End of Week 324 – Just waiting for Summer to end….

Yes, I am in the mood for my own version of grumpy cat. This is me at this point in the summer each year. I’m not much for hot weather. The only good things about August are baseball and the birthdays of friends and family – like my son. Otherwise, you can keep the heat, the humidity, the bugs – I could go on, but why bother.

This year is better than some. At least I can choose when to go out in the heat most of the time, since I retired. I don’t mind going out to the gym since I do that fairly early in the morning. I’ll go out to the store, and I’ll go out in the back yard to fill the bird feeders. I’ll go out for medical appointments when required. The rest of the time I’m a creature of air conditioning, looking forward to the Fall when the house cools off by itself and my husband and I fight over turning on the heat. It takes a big drop in temps for me to want the heat.

Not much happened politically last week. One of the big stories was about the upcoming release of a book by Omarosa, who used to work in the SCROTUS administration. She has a last name, but her first name, Omarosa, is the only name I’ve ever heard. She’s known SCROTUS since his days on The Apprentice. I think she got “fired” on that show. No one seems to know what her White House job was. She was fired from that as well, at least that’s what I remember.

People who have read the book in advance (all part of promoting it) have mentioned that she tells a tale of a racist SCROTUS who used the “n-word” in the White House in front of her, and other bad stuff. One article said she wrote that SCROTUS tried to keep her quiet through threats and offers of money.

Don’t know about the rest of the book, but the title is appropriate: “Unhinged”

I think both the author and the subject are unhinged. SCROTUS, of course, cannot stand it when someone publicizes things about him that aren’t 100% positive and complimentary, if not full of glowing praise and adulation. He is not only addicted to adoration; he is allergic to criticism of any description. Consequently, he has been frantic about the release of this “tell all”. This is hardly a surprise.

I don’t trust SCROTUS, and similarly, I don’t trust Omarosa. She accepted a position with SCROTUS. This makes her instantly questionable. No one knows what she does for a living. She seems to be a lot like the Kardashians – famous as a celebrity and not much else. Having been on The Apprentice, in the White House, and now in a position to talk about SCROTUS adds up to one thing: notoriety. I think she is out to make a buck off that notoriety while she still has it. It can be a fleeting thing. As fast as the modern news cycle. She’s in this for the money, and I don’t blame her. We all gotta make a living, right? It’s just not going to be MY money. I don’t trust her to tell the truth without sensationalizing it.

The other subject this week, which was considerably more entertaining, was the Space Force proposed by SCROTUS. He wants a brand new military service for defending space. Understand that everyone knows the area of space near our planet is a perfectly valid area of concern. There are situations involving satellites, missiles, and natural objects such as asteroids that we might need to address. I’m not being sarcastic; the security of our space is a genuine concern.

The ridiculous part of this is that SCROTUS wants a separate service branch. The existing military branches already have forms of space commands, and the powers that be at the Pentagon have said they want to create a unified space combatant command, but not an entirely new military branch. Ok, a unified space command might make some sense, but only within our existing military branches. SCROTUS is apparently willing to spend billions to create this new branch, but says we can’t afford our basic military exercises with South Korea, which cost $14M. He says he wants to cut veterans medical benefits, but wants a new service branch.

What was fun about all this was the public’s reaction. There were memes and GIFs featuring everything from Buzz Lightyear to the outer space car to The Right Stuff to Apollo 13 to the original Flash Gordon. It’s nice to have something to laugh at every once in a while.

In the meantime, just remember – to infinity and beyond! LOL!

Until next week….

 

End of Week 323 – Wishing for Summer Doldrums…

Still trying to take some kind of break. I’m going to try a new workout schedule based on a change in my husband’s dialysis schedule. He will be going very early in the morning, so I’m planning on getting up as he leaves and going to the gym early in the morning. That would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which is not bad. My physical went well. All my numbers were good. The doctor did not mention my weight, but I’m not stupid. I know I have to drop some pounds (make that a LOT of pounds, LOL). It has been such a long battle, but I have to keep trying. I’m hoping this new workout schedule will shake something loose. I’ve been a little lax in the eating department this week – another kind of break – but I know how to get back to the way I was eating leading up to the physical (which seemed to be working).

We have a busy week coming up – an appointment with my husband’s surgeon, an appointment with his diabetes specialist, my mammogram (oh, joy), lunch with a friend (now THAT I’ll enjoy). Perhaps we have enough going on that I’ll ignore some of the news. Problem is, when it comes to SCROTUS the news is always so outrageous it is difficult to ignore.

It’s not that anything big has happened. As far as important things like Mueller’s investigation are concerned it seems things are still percolating just below the surface. SCROTUS has been traveling to more and more rallies. His need for adoration, to which he is addicted, seems to be increasing. He is supposed to be campaigning for other candidates, but he talks about himself the whole time. Fortunately, most networks have stopped their live broadcasts of these specially casted, staged, scripted, and choreographed productions. The only time one catches my attention is when SCROTUS is reported to say something totally out of line, even for him.

That is what happened at the rally SCROTUS attended in Ohio. I think it was his second adoration fix of the week. He bragged to the crowd that he destroys the careers of Republicans who say bad things about him. Not only did he acknowledge that he bullies other GOP party members; he seems proud that he ruins those who dare to have an opinion different from his!

So, what do we call a “head of state” who claims to be all-powerful and routinely destroys those who oppose him? There are a lot of words we could use. Despot. Autocrat. Authoritarian. Dictator. Technically, SCROTUS is a wannabe since we still have some semblance of a congress. However, SCROTUS has also threatened to shut down the federal government, thinking he can stand in opposition to the entire congress. He is holding the federal budget hostage and the ransom is money for his idiotic wall. Kidnapping children didn’t get him what he wanted, so he is going back to an old standby – refusing to sign the federal budget bill.

Speaking of kidnapped children, that was another outrageous statement from last week. The SCROTUS administration is not doing what it should to reunite the kidnapped children with their parents. Rather than trying to find a solution, SCROTUS stated he thinks the ACLU should be responsible for finding and reuniting these parents. Harry Truman is probably rolling in his grave since in this administration the buck stops, apparently, anywhere but there.

Everyone has their own favorite SCROTUS issue. Besides those listed above, there is the military parade. SCROTUS is planning a military parade in Washington DC in November. It has been said it will include everything except tanks, which would tear up the DC streets. This is wrong on so many levels it is difficult to know where to begin.

Some have pointed out that the parade is NOT to honor the military (contrary to what SCROTUS says), but is really just a self-promotion stunt for SCROTUS’ glorification. A large group of veterans is planning a march in Washington DC for the same day. They hate the idea of the parade, which will cost around 12 million dollars – money they say would be better spent for veterans’ benefits. They have a point.

Not only would the money be better spent on benefits; SCROTUS cancelled military exercises with South Korea, stating they cost too much. The exercises cost about $14M. The totally unnecessary parade costs $12M. If this makes sense to anyone, please explain it. Frankly, I’m picturing SCROTUS sitting in a reviewing stand while US military people and machines parade past him, with him thinking it is all for him, like the dictator he really wants to be.

And the circus continues.

Until next week…

 

End of Week 322 – Need a Break?

This is how I feel right now. Overwhelmed by the politics; overwhelmed by the animosity. I’m feeling a need to stop, to shut down, to listen inside myself and to my non-electronic surroundings. The current political landscape is set in a cacophony of belligerent sound bites, and I’m as guilty of this as anyone. It’s just that I’ve reached a point of needing a break. I’m sure everyone reaches this point eventually.

Politically, we seem to have been in a week where important things are bubbling just below the surface of the Great SCROTUS Swamp. Mueller’s investigation is plugging along; witness lists are being submitted and approved with immunities granted; SCROTUS is still communicating regularly with Putin and NOT with our allies while Russia continues to cyber attack our electronic infrastructure; the federal government can’t meet its deadline for reuniting immigrant children with parents; Cohen is preparing to turn on SCROTUS; etc. etc.

The rest of us are waiting for another shoe to drop.

My social media participation is limited to this blog (WordPress), Facebook, and Twitter. I am not on a lot of extra sites and I’m sure someday I’ll be left behind as the younger users migrate along. It may have already happened. That’s ok, as long as I can still communicate with my family. When not exhausted I enjoy the political give and take of FB and Twitter, as long as it stays civil. I get exhausted because so much of it isn’t civil.

Make no mistake, I cannot stand having Donald Trump as SCROTUS. I don’t dislike him personally since I don’t know him. I suspect I would not like him considering the size of his ego, his constant lying (and I don’t say this in a mean way – it has been proven), the way he views and treats women, and his addiction to adoration. That simply does not seem like the type of person I would enjoy being around. However, there is a difference between the man and the position he is trying to fill.

I am a firm member of what is known as The Resistance. The most important job resisters have at the moment is trying to get as many people as possible registered to vote in time for the midterm elections. At this point no one knows what is going to come out of Mueller’s investigation or whether SCROTUS will ever face impeachment. I’m old enough to remember Bill Clinton’s ordeal, and I know it is very difficult to impeach, much less convict, when the occupant of the White House is of the same political party as that controlling Congress. Nothing is going to happen to SCROTUS as long as the GOP controls Congress, which is why voter registration, and getting out the actual vote, is vital.

One problem with promoting The Resistance on FB and Twitter is that we are pretty much “preaching to the choir”.  We need to figure out how to reach those who don’t get on social media. Another problem is that posts tend to cause a lot of back and forth that sometimes gets heated.

I’ve noticed that most of the time those who do not like SCROTUS try to keep the discussion on an intellectual level, using facts to support their positions. Unfortunately, SCROTUS has a habit of calling his “enemies” insulting names when he tweets (which is constantly). His language and behavior have broken the dam of civility and allowed a torrent of nastiness and bullying to flood social media, emulated by his supporters. SCROTUS is a classic bully and his supporters feel it is now ok to express their long suppressed anti-social tendencies, such as racism and xenophobia. They also copy their idol’s name calling using things like “libtard” and “snowflake” (although I see nothing wrong with snowflake – I guess they think it is an insult). For supporting “facts” they use SCROTUS talking points that usually have no evidence.

So, these two groups, Resisters and Trumpers, go back and forth at each other constantly. When I’m not so exhausted it is a source of amusement. Many postings are clever. Sometimes I find out things I didn’t know, or read something I want to research to be sure of its accuracy.

Now, however, it is just noise. I need to stop, take a break, listen to the birds in my backyard and some music; read a real book just for enjoyment, maybe even meditate. I’ll return to the fray. I’ll continue the fight. And I’ll do it better because I’m rested and have evened out my perspective.

Until next week….

End of Week 321 – In Distraction Mode….

I love this picture. We need to remember this now more than ever. My mom lived by this belief.

Well, I didn’t get to the gym at all last week, but I did work out on our home treadmill. Hoping to get to the gym tomorrow. Between medical appointments and people fixing things on our house I haven’t been able to get away. However, I’ve been eating well. Less junk, more veggies/salads. All I can do is keep trying.

There is so much going on with SCROTUS and his efforts at taking over the country that it’s difficult to decide what to include. The reason there is so much going on is that SCROTUS is in full distraction mode.

The investigation/charges/trials scene is getting crowded and murky. It is difficult keeping track of who is doing what and who is involved. Mueller got immunity for 5 witnesses against Manafort – that trial starts today (Monday). The DOJ released a FISA warrant report, heavily redacted, that states why the FBI needed to surveil Carter Page, former Trump campaign advisor and possible collaborator with Russia – don’t think the results are in on that yet. The warrant was issued; the surveillance accomplished.

SCROTUS himself spent the week spinning around about Russia’s attack on the US election system. I’m tired of the word “meddling”. Call it what it was and is – an attack! Hell, in this modern age of automation it is almost an act of war! SCROTUS started by discounting all intelligence information and saying he could not see why Russia would “meddle” in our elections. He was standing next to Putin at the time.

• Once back in the US, and without Putin by his side, he tried to say he meant to say “wouldn’t” rather than “would”. Well, that went over like a fart in church with everyone except his hard-core base (who will grasp at anything to keep from considering they may have made a mistake supporting SCROTUS.)
• Then SCROTUS stated he believed our intelligence agencies (something he has not supported before) about Russia.
• Then he took that back the following day saying Russia is not targeting the US.
• Then, through Sarah Sanders, he said he didn’t say that.
• Etc., Etc.

Through it all SCROTUS has not said one unkind word regarding Putin. No ultimatums that we know of, no demands for extradition of the 12 Russian officers who have been indicted, and no indication to the US people of what exactly was said in the closed-door meeting a week ago.

Then SCROTUS invited Putin to the White House this Fall. Not sure of the details yet, but this may coincide with the idiotic military parade SCROTUS has decided to have in November. It is going to cost around 10 to 12 million (according to most recent estimates). Note that SCROTUS cancelled our military exercises with South Korea saying they cost too much.  They cost around 14 million. I guess now we know how he was planning on paying for his ultimate adoration fix. The only encouraging thing about this is that many veterans plan to march in Washington DC on the same day as the parade, in protest. I hope they are a million strong!

To wrap things up this week, a 29-year-old Russian student and gun activist, Maria Butina, living in Washington DC, was arrested in connection with being a Russian agent and working with two Americans and a top Russian to infiltrate the NRA. This is a developing topic – more to come.

There is so much else still going on. We are still hearing horror stories about the immigrant children separated from their families, including a father and toddler separated for a very long time and they are both American citizens; that the federal government is saying they will not be able to reunite as many as a third of the children aged 5 to 17; that there are children being held in the US whose parents have been deported already.

Our intelligence agencies have determined Russia is still hacking our systems and trying to influence our mid-term elections.

And in the area of tragedies, I wish healing energy for the victims of the boat sinking in Branson, MO; the shooting victims in Toronto; and everyone affected by any act of gun violence (there have been a lot in the news recently) and any act of nature (lots of violent weather).

I wonder if SCROTUS got a good rating on his annual performance review from Putin?

Until next week….

End of Week 320 – The Week of the Russians…

I got to the gym 3 times this past week! I’m hoping to do the same thing this coming week. As for the weight I lost when I was sick, I put a couple of pounds back on (expected), but not all of it. I think the net loss is 4 pounds. So, of course, my husband makes French toast for breakfast this morning. LOL! Been eating a lot of salads and protein in preparation for my pre-physical lab work.

We’ve had very hot, very dry weather for a while. No rain in the forecast until next weekend, and we’re supposed to have another series of 90-plus days before we get any rain. The grass is crunching and turning brown. I hate summer.

It has been an interesting week politically.

SCROTUS went to Brussels to meet with other NATO leaders. When he got there he proceeded to talk trash, insult everyone, and try to bully all the other nations. He then left for England, saying that everyone kowtowed to his will and things were going to change in NATO because of him. The other leaders immediately said this was not true. In other words, it was all more of SCROTUS’ typical lying behavior.

In England he behaved like the ass he is, insulting PM May, walking in front of the Queen when they were reviewing her honor guard, looking for all the world like everything should be about him. The saving grace was that the people of GB turned out to protest his visit. There were an estimated 250,000 protesters and a giant “Baby Trump” balloon. Naturally, SCROTUS steered clear of any area that would expose him to anything negative.

There seems to be a pattern in SCROTUS’ behavior. When he is speaking in a situation that will be reported by the press to his base – those supporters who love him because he encourages their bigotry and hatred of anyone different, and because he makes them think all other countries will bow to his will – he talks tough and bullies whoever he is scheduled to meet.  THEN, later, in private meetings, he tends to back off a lot of his blustery talk. So, he is not just lying to all of us daily, he is also lying to his base by saying what they want to hear and then not following through.

AND THEN THERE WAS RUSSIA. Tomorrow (Monday) SCROTUS is meeting with Putin in Helsinki. SCROTUS insisted that no one besides him and Putin be in the meeting. No aides, no press, no witnesses. That was suspicious enough, but after SCROTUS left on his trip (on July 13th to be exact) Rod Rosenstein of the DOJ announced an 11-count grand jury indictment of 12 intelligence-associated Russian army officers for hacking the DCCC, the DNC, the Clinton campaign, etc. with the intent to interfere in our 2016 election.

Keep in mind that prosecutors do not go to grand juries unless they have the evidence to support their charges and pretty much know they will get the indictments they seek. These are indictments stemming from the special investigation into Russian election interference – the investigation SCROTUS has called “a witch hunt”, “a hoax”, and “fake news”. Turns out that Rosenstein briefed SCROTUS on what was coming BEFORE he left for Europe.

Naturally, reporters asked SCROTUS if he would bring the indictments up to Putin. The response was (paraphrased) “Yes, I guess so.” He did not seem very interested in the idea. Now, that could be due to the fact that during his campaign SCROTUS actually, on camera, asked that the Russians hack the Democrats and Clinton specifically. Within hours of his saying that, the Russians began the hacking that is the subject of this indictment.

I consider myself a member of what is commonly known as “the resistance”. We oppose the GOP in general, and SCROTUS specifically. We feel SCROTUS is trying to become an autocrat and that the GOP controlled congress does not have the spine to do their job of checks and balances. We are truly frightened at what is happening in this nation. Most of us do not recognize SCROTUS as a legitimate president. We feel he was appointed rather than elected.

Individually, we have many different theories regarding current events. Personally, I think this meeting with Putin is SCROTUS’ annual performance review. I believe he works for Putin, and have the feeling “bringing up interference” will consist of apologizing to Putin for the indictments and assuring him it will all go away. This is strictly my opinion, but since SCROTUS refuses to have any witnesses in the meeting, what else are we to think? He has made more than one statement indicating he would like to be more like a dictator for life.

Make no mistake, SCROTUS will come out of the meeting talking tough; claiming they had a good meeting and that progress was made on important issues. I’ll need material proof before I’ll believe anything. I’ll need to hear from a witness who is American and not one of SCROTUS’ minions.

After bad-mouthing all our allies, SCROTUS is meeting with another dictator. Putin knows he finally has a senior US official in his pocket, and I think we are all in trouble.

Until next week…..

End of Week 319 – SCROTUS Meets With Another Despot….

Yeah, I use this picture every so often. It’s one of my favorites. I missed a week of blogging because last weekend I was in Fredericksburg, VA at a family wedding, and this picture symbolizes the best thing about it – seeing family.

I unplugged for a few days. Didn’t take my computer and had my phone only to keep in touch with my husband, who couldn’t make it. I rode down with my son and his fiancée. The wedding was on July 1st, at 2pm, outdoors, and it was HOT!!! It was also beautiful. The reception was indoors, so we all recovered.

When we arrived Saturday night my body decided it was time to get sick. I fought an intestinal problem the entire time, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying myself. Everyone danced including me. My son said he was proud of me. I had to laugh thinking about how our kids see us sometimes. I used to be one hell of a dancer, just like I used to be one hell of a swimmer. Don’t do either much anymore, but the love of both still lives inside me. The intestinal thing has been with me most of this week, but at least I dropped a few pounds. Now to see if I can keep any of it off. Some of the weight will return I know, but maybe not all of it?

With SCROTUS at his gold-plated resort and Independence Day in the middle of all this I thought maybe things with the pretender would be slow. Should’ve known better. I should warn you, there has been a lot going on so this list is by no mean exhaustive.

• SCROTUS lied about winning a lawsuit against “crazy Dems” in a Washington DC court. The judge simply said the suit needed to be in a different court. She did not comment on the arguments of the suit in any way.
• Seven GOP Senators spent Independence Day in Russia, where SCROTUS will be in a week or two. Independence Day?? What the actual f**k????
• It has been announced that in Russia SCROTUS will have a meeting with Putin behind closed doors, no press, no witnesses. Again, what the actual f**k?? Could this have something to do with why the GOP senators were there? THERE IS TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS MEETING THAT WE DO NOT KNOW AND TRULY STINKS. Of course, SCROTUS has to meet with his handler face to face once in a while.
• As we all know, a federal court has given the SCROTUS administration 30 days to reunite the kidnapped immigrant children (under 5 yrs old) with their parents. With the deadline approaching, the administration has asked the judge for an extension. They can’t meet the deadline because one of the lawyers IS DOGSITTING. So, this administration considers dogsitting more important than children?
• The SCROTUS administration is taking DNA samples from the kidnapped immigrant children, supposedly to help with the process of reuniting them. I’m not sure I trust them. WHAT WILL THEY DO LATER WITH ALL THIS DNA INFORMATION??
• SCROTUS put out his usual crazy tweets, but my favorite was when he said that if not for him we would be at war with NK right now. Really?? SCROTUS is the one who has put us in danger of war with NK in the first place! He dispatched SecState Pompeo over there to talk to Kim and company about denuclearizing. Afterward, Pompeo said “we made good progress”. Kim said the US position was “regrettable”. IT’S PRETTY BAD WHEN I BELIEVE A DICTATOR OVER OUR OWN SECSTATE!
• SCROTUS spent the weekend and holiday at one of his resorts and in Washington. After 18 months in office he has never visited any of our troops in overseas combat areas. Seven GOP senators can go to Russia, but he can’t visit the military. I am not one of those who worships the water everyone thinks the military walks on, but come on! Part of the job SCROTUS is pretending to do is supposed to be “Commander In Chief”!
• And speaking of the military, everyone is aware that one way for a legal immigrant to earn the right to become a naturalized US citizen is to serve in the US military, right? Many are doing that right now. Well, it has come out that orders have come down from the SCROTUS administration to discharge many of these military members en masse. It is all being done very quietly, at least up til now. We need to know why this administration is discharging all these people!! One article I read stated that one of the reasons given was that the soldier had relatives overseas. Hell, I have relatives overseas! So what??
• Finally, SCROTUS had to have another adoration fix so he went to a scripted, sanitized, centrally casted, choreographed rally in Montana. There he proceeded to make fun of Elizabeth Warren as well as the entire “Me Too” movement and all Native Americans. This doesn’t surprise me – SCROTUS is always mocking someone. What amazes me is that he seems to have no concept of how something as basic as his choice of words can insult entire groups. He dredged up that old thing of his – calling Warren “Pocahontas”. Does he not realize that Pocahontas was a true Native American woman, daughter of a chief, and accomplished in her own right?? SCROTUS takes the perfectly fine name of a very real and important historic figure and uses it as an insult!! He knows absolutely nothing!

There is so much more, but I have to draw the line somewhere. We are watching the trade wars SCROTUS is starting with his new tariffs, but that is a complicated subject for another time. Besides, I want to say that I am trying to keep positive thoughts about those young soccer players trapped in the cave. In my own way, I am praying they are rescued. I’m sure we all are.

Until next week….

 

End of Week 317 – If You Can’t Dazzle ‘Em With Brilliance…

Well, another week has come and gone. During the birthday/fathers day period I picked up a few pounds (less than 5, but still too many), but this morning it appears I’ve lost them again. That tells me a lot of it was water weight. Got to the gym twice. Gonna shoot for at least 3 times this coming week. Baby steps.

Like this week’s picture? It is my handsome male cat, Sleuthy. I have better pictures of him, but I’m using this because it truly represents how I’ve felt about what has been happening in the US lately. I look a lot like this when confronted with the idiocy spouted by members of the SCROTUS administration, or by SCROTUS himself. I look a lot like this when changes in policy make the US look more like Germany of the late 1930s. I look a lot like this when celebrities use the problems we face as a way to put themselves in the spotlight. If they do something truly helpful then ok. That is a good use of celebrity. But every so often we see someone acting foolish or saying things that don’t make sense. We don’t need that. It just hurts our resistance efforts.

I looked a lot like this while the immigration drama unfolded this past week. I honestly think the breadth of the opposition to the family separation policy took SCROTUS and his minions by surprise. They spent a lot of time blaming the Democrats, saying it was a law; that they were forced to take the children because the Dems would not vote to change the law; that it was not a policy and there was absolutely nothing they could do. And then SCROTUS stopped the non-policy, at least temporarily, with a unilateral executive order.

He pretty much had to. Just about the only people who supported taking immigrating kids from their immigrating parents were SCROTUS, Sessions, Nielsen (Homeland Security), Miller (political advisor), Sanders (press sec), and possibly a lot of his blue-collar base. The majority of the public, all the congressional Democrats, and a good portion of the congressional GOP were against it and were very vocal about it. Once SCROTUS signed the order he tried to take credit for solving the problem. Of course, if  someone is hitting you over and over you don’t call them a hero because they decide to stop hitting. Many people wasted no time reminding SCROTUS of this.

While all this was going on Congress, specifically the GOP part, was trying to pass a bill on immigration. They were not successful. SCROTUS told anyone who would listen that a bill could not be passed because the Dems were obstructing it. Another lie. The bills never got to the point of allowing the Dems to even try to obstruct. The real problem is that the GOP is divided into 2 camps: the somewhat-more-moderates and the ultra-conservatives. Each group had its own version of an immigration bill, and neither group would support the other’s version. Consequently, nothing ever reached the floor of either house for a vote.

Meantime, the public does not forget atrocities quickly. Members of the SCROTUS administration have found themselves confronted by citizens while leaving the theater, or asked to leave a restaurant. Excursions into public may be a problem for these people in the short-term – at least until the news cycle comes around. Shouldn’t be too long. I’m sure another preposterous situation will be created by this administration soon.

The immigration atrocity has produced its share of low moments. If you’d like a complete list, read “Womp My Gorilla” by Clay Jones. He is a self-syndicated political cartoonist and blogs on WordPress. He’s my favorite political cartoonist. As Mr. Jones mentions, some highlights from this past week include Corey Lewandowski making fun of a 10-year-old with Downs Syndrome, Laura Ingraham calling the detention centers “summer camps”, and Ann Coulter calling the separated children “child actors”.

However, the award for facepalm move of the week goes to Melania Trump. She decided to visit a detention center. Of course, she saw only a small, completely cleaned, sanitized, and carefully scripted detention center. But, that’s not the facepalm move. When boarding the jet to leave Andrews everyone noticed that on the back of the jacket she was wearing were the words, “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” I did not add the “all caps”; that’s how it was written on the coat.

When I first saw the photo of the coat with those words I honestly felt it had to be photoshopped. I spent a lot of time researching and verifying, only to discover she really did wear a jacket that said that. Hence, the facepalm award.

Finally, SCROTUS decided to try to counter the protests against his “zero tolerance” kidnapping scheme by holding a staged, scripted photo-op in the White House with several “angel families” – people who have lost a family member because they were killed by an illegal alien. Don’t get me wrong; what happened to them is horrible and I hope each and every perpetrator was brought to justice. However, it disturbs me that these people allowed themselves to be used and politicized by SCROTUS.

You might say, “Wait. Isn’t the other side politicizing those separated children?” Yes, but those children are in an intolerable situation that needs to end now. The separation is not something that happened before that we are holding up as an example. And pointing out a current atrocity does not negate the problems with SCROTUS’ angel family stunt.

Of course, the problems are not with the families, but with SCROTUS. The purpose behind his little show was to make us all think all immigrants from the south are murderers, drug dealers, or both. He is playing to the irrational fears of his older, white, resistant-to-change base  (and I can say that since I am also older and white). This is exactly what Hitler did to demonize the Jewish population in 1930s Germany, so that he could enact extreme measures against them. Truth be told, I hate “Hitler comparisons”, but this is due to a specific practice that is happening again.

Yeah, I’ve looked like Sleuthy a lot lately. Also, this keeps popping into my mind: Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.

Until next week….

End of Week 316 – Happy Fathers’ Day from SCROTUS….

I’m still exercising and trying to eat correctly. Not sure how much good it is doing, but to be honest I’m not worrying about it too much right now. Fathers’ Day is today and my birthday is tomorrow (which is more important to those around me than to me) so I’m not worrying about my eating at the moment. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

There were some midterm primaries last Tuesday. The most interesting thing about them was that in one state the GOP voters actually nominated a pimp. That’s right. A brothel owner won a GOP nomination to run for congress. It happened in Nevada and pretty much cemented my opinion that the GOP of my mother’s time is completely gone. I may not have agreed with that GOP, but I could at least respect their civility and decency.

Of course, that was not the only thing that convinced me the GOP has self-destructed, but it was the only thing that did not directly involve SCROTUS. SCROTUS had a very busy week. The State of NY is suing the Trump Foundation and all the individuals in charge (including SCROTUS) for breaking all kinds of laws and regulations that govern charitable organizations. It is a civil suit and civil suits take a long time. It will be interesting to watch it develop.

On Friday SCROTUS saw Faux Noise out on the White House grounds and decided to go down and talk to them, followed by an impromptu press conference with other reporters, also on WH grounds.  Here’s the thing about talking to reporters “off the cuff”; these types of interviews tend to reveal how a person really feels about any particular subject since the person speaking does not have the benefit of the filter of preparation. This is no problem for someone who normally thinks about what he says, but SCROTUS does not fall into that group. With SCROTUS it is usually “in the head, out the mouth” and consequences be damned (since he feels he is not only above the law – he feels he IS the law).

So, what did SCROTUS say? A lot, but one thing stood out. SCROTUS stated that Kim Jong Un was a great and strong leader; that “when he speaks his people sit up at attention.” Then he said, “I want my people to do that.” Later he said he was kidding, but I note the following:

1. I watched the interview. There was no levity in his tone or his expression. Also, he did not make any effort to state he was kidding or joking.
2. All comedy is based in truth.
3. As mentioned above, this interview did not have the filter of preparation. Make no mistake, this is how SCROTUS really feels about the type of leader he wants to be. SCROTUS has autocrat envy. He wants to be a dictator. Anyone who has been paying attention already knows this.

The most serious event of last week has actually been going on for a while. SCROTUS and his minions, especially Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions, decided to celebrate Fathers’ Day by kidnapping children.

Sounds odd, right? We all know that people trying to enter the US illegally are subject to detention and deportation. After all, there are legal ways to enter. That is not the problem. The problem is, not long ago AG Jeff Sessions announced, with a great deal of glee, what he called a “zero tolerance” policy. Until this change we charged illegal immigrants, but did not always detain them prior to their hearings. Now all illegal immigrants are to be arrested and detained. The SCROTUS gang made this change knowing full well that to enforce it they would have to separate children from parents because the children can’t be arrested, only the parents can. This is what the law says, but the law does NOT require a zero tolerance enforcement. That is a totally GOP decision.

It took a while for the rest of us to realize what was really happening. When a family is caught trying to enter the US illegally the federal authorities arrest the parents and remove the children, forcibly separating the screaming, terrified children from their mothers and fathers. The children are then placed in detention centers. Of course, that’s not what the feds call them, but the only other name I can think of is concentration camp. Using “detention center” is being charitable.

If it stopped there, then the line heard from Trumpers, “Well, they should not have tried to sneak in,” would be difficult to contest despite the fact that this reasoning displays their lack of compassion.  However, (you guessed it) it does not stop there.

Many immigrants, when they arrive at our southern border, immediately ask for asylum in the US. This is a formal request with a formal system in place, and it’s completely legal. It is the farthest thing from sneaking in. Now we know that the feds are detaining those requesting asylum and taking their children as well. Additionally, it has been reported that officers took a child while that child was breastfeeding. To be fair, DHS has denied that took place saying they have not been able to find a record of that happening. Really? Like the feds are going to record “Took breastfeeding child” for all the world to see? Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not, but I don’t trust the federal government these days.

Outrage has been growing. There is an immigration bill with a provision to stop this separation process. SCROTUS has already said he will not sign any immigration bill with this more moderate provision unless he gets billions to build his border wall. Let this sink in. TRUMP AND HIS GANG HAVE TAKEN CHILDREN AND THE RANSOM THEY WANT IS MONEY FOR HIS WALL.

It’s one thing to be outraged. It’s another to be able to do something about this.  Many are calling it terrorism and I agree. I wish I knew what to do, but I’m afraid I’m not very imaginative. Obviously, we must get people to register and VOTE this year so we can get rid of some of the GOP. However, how many children will suffer in the meantime. I hope the ACLU is getting involved! I’ve read they are. At the end of it all, there is one thing I know for sure:

MAGA, DEFINITION: MONSTERS ARE GOVERNING AMERICA.

Until next week….