putting my money where my mouth was

 I've had a few of my readers ask me why I feel the need to "poke the bear" on the topic of Christian-led conspiracy theories.  I though I'd take a minute and explain myself - and yes, Matilda, this is my way of asking you to join me.

If you were a conservative Christian at the time of 9/11, you heard a lot of people showing a lot of ignorance towards people not of the Christian persuasion.  I personally came to the aid of a Muslim family in Kirkland, Washington just a few days after 9/11 who were being accosted by several WASP grown-up people on a sidewalk near a bus station.  When I tried to point out to these miscreants that they were obviously not assailants, one of them said, "It's doesn't matter.  They are a couple of them."  These men were lofting rocks at fucking children.  Needless to say, I found their actions reprehensible, and I quickly put the family in my car and extricated them from the situation.

Also, during this time, I was pretty much at the height of my conservative viewpoint beliefs.  I listened to a lot of talk radio, specifically Bryan Knight and Kirby Wilbur (local Seattle-ites), and eventually more national people like Sean Hannity and Larry Elder.  All these men openly confessed their faith in Jesus, and through the histrionics there was a repeat of one semi-reasonable question- "If Islam is a message of peace, how come the Muslims don't police their own?" I also started hearing this question asked in the pulpit, even by my own pastor at the time, Ken Hutcherson at Antioch Bible Church.  (Hutch left off the first part of the question and just said, "it's time that the Muslims police their own" - paraphrased)   

There's no argument that the first part of this question is inflammatory.  But the question of policing their own did seem reasonable.  At that time, Muslims didn't seem to be doing that (and I'll not debate whether or not they do now.  That is not the point.)  And somehow, from a Christian perspective, this was actually more a central idea than trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.  (THANK GOD that didn't happen, because.......Crusades, anyone?)

I am digressing.........now, where are my ADHD meds?

We all know now that not all Muslims are terrorists.  Most (99%) of Muslims are people like me and you, just trying to make it through their day, go to work, go to the grocery store, have time with their kids, etc.  They have no desire to cause harm to anyone for any reason.  It is a few, very loud and fringy Muslims that have caused problems in the world. Please understand that I am, in no way, trying to convert anyone to Islam, nor am I giving a pass to the Cro-Magnons who use women, children, the aged and innocent hostages as human shields, or hide their weapons caches in schools and hospitals - that is another topic for another time.  (Let's stay on target....)

The Muslims who do these terrible things have injured relations far beyond their religion.  They have created a stigma against not only a belief, but to a culture and a lifestyle.  The average American fears Islam, and yet, the perpetrators of these acts of violence are not in concert with the vast majority of Muslims.  While the case can be made that this is more a case of America's reaction, I'm afraid to say that a lot of European countries share this same belief.  At the very least, it's 50/50 as to fault here.

In this country (U.S.A.) we are actually faced with almost the same problem.  Oh- make no mistake - there is violence in the actions of these people.  At the very least, there is shunning and gossip, in the middle there are legal procedures and arrests being made, and on the far end outright shooting and killing.  And it's happening at a scale that we actually haven't seen before in American history - a history that is being revised based on lies, hearsay, ignorance, really-not-very-thinly veiled racism and gaslighting at an unbelievable pace.

I'm talking about the Conservative Christian movement and churches, specifically Evangelical Churches.

The outright blasphemy that we are seeing now in this country is in equating God with a particular political party.  In the evangelical circles this is the idea that conservative principles are in line with God's will, and everything else isn't.  Since the Bible says, "whoever is not with me is against me" - and since the Republicans are in line with God's will, that means that the Democrats are therefore misguided, anti-God and evil.

Except that's not what the Bible says, nor is this the context correct in talking about a viewpoint.  That text (taken from Matthew 12:30 & Luke 11:23) that is so paramount to the Republican dogma, is said by Jesus, to the Pharisees and Sadducees simultaneously, and it is in regard to Jesus' arrest.  If you must equate this to a political statement, it is very fair to view the Pharisees and Sadducees as opposite political parties (and that's an understatement) and therefore Jesus is scolding both sides equally.  No favorites, no one closer to Him than the other.  God is neither Liberal nor Conservative.  Or a Socialist, a Communist, Anarchist, member of an Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune that takes turns every Tuesday to elect.......(if you aren't a Monty Python fan, I apologize).  God is God.  He transcends all men's flimsy attempts to understand Him.  Full stop.

Here's why this is important: if make the argument that you are in line with God while others are not, that means that others are anti-God.  One of the first time something like this has happened (from a Christian perspective) was all the back in 1095, when Pope Urban II delivered a sermon calling for all the armies of the western world to join ranks and take Jerusalem back from the Seljan Turks.  We now refer to this as the "First Crusade", and the Pope's argument was nothing more than "Deus Vult!" ("God Wills It!"). That set off a chain of events that killed thousands.  The Second Crusade was orchestrated by Pope Eugenius III, and was originally fought to help the County of Edessa (which had fallen to the Saracens). During the march to The Holy Land, the Pope said that the taking of Damascus in 1146 was also "Deus Vult!", and thousands of people were slaughtered (mainly innocent Turks) and the Crusaders were defeated, badly.

This is why a little knowledge of history is so vital, because it shows you what the human species is capable of over time.

The current American evangelical churches do not have a pope.  It has hundreds of them.  Hundreds of men and women who claim that they are "just preaching the word" and filling their congregations with absolute poison.  They deride and divide, and they flat out lie about things in order to control their congregations, and they make any and all excuses to never actually question the things that they have "learned" (read: heard) from others in their particular echo chamber.  And the Republican party has somehow equated themselves with God.

One thing you must understand is that almost the entirety of the rest of the Christian world does not believe that the American Christian Evangelical Church speaks or believes for them.  There is no analog in any other western country that is equating faith in politics the way we do here in this country.  Why is that?  Because most of those countries have already had their fill state-run religion/propaganda and know first-hand what it brings.  America doesn't have a state-run religion.  

Yet.

We've all heard the Biblical statement, "They will know we are Christians by our love" - that actually isn't in Scripture.  It's a loose interpretation of John 13:34-35, where Jesus is charging his disciples:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

This is the serious problem in the Christian church today.  If you look at the Scripture above, the operative word is "if", and the imperative statement is "love one another as I have loved you".  There is no rejoinder of "if they agree with you" or "if they follow what you follow".  The imperative is clear here.  Jesus' love for his disciples (and mankind) knew no boundaries whatsoever.

But yet, we have a set of "Christians" who think it's ok to spread rumor and discord, divisiveness and distance, name calling and all sorts of other things in the name of "God" in the name of "just preaching the gospel". 

Yeah, well so was the Pope Urban II back in 1095.  So was Eugenius III in 1146. So was Torquemada.  So was Henry VIII, Samuel Parris and William Stoughton, Rasputin and Hitler.  They all claimed that they had special knowledge from God, and to disagree with them was to disagree with God.  In turn, thousands of people were injured and killed. 

Their own followers won't hold them accountable.  Recently, it came out that the leader of one of the largest evangelical churches in the US had had sexual relations with a minor some 20 years prior, and the leadership of his church hid it.  When it came to light what had happened, about 50,000 people had their entire spiritual lives turned upside down- and then the congregation was asked to pray for restoration??!??  Does God forgive someone who does this?  You bet your bippy He does, but He doesn't say that they get to keep their gig as a result.  I was a member and on the music team at a megachurch here in the Seattle area in the late 90's who went through something like that (pastor screwing around) and I can tell you first-hand how bad that hurts- and doubly so as those around you double down on the lies that are being said all around you.

And now, these same people who will whitewash the sins of the people they agree with, have no trouble degrading others that are not in their camp who have done similar things at the political level, all the while claiming that their "anointed one" is working with God.  

Yes, I'm talking about the Mango Moron.

Let's look at this: If you want to say that the 34 felony counts and the sexual abuse cases are politically motivated, what can you say about things that happened before he was in politics?  Things like not paying his workers and contractors; his taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the execution of people accused of a crime and not yet convicted; lawsuits brought against him in the 1970's in Louisiana because he had been refusing to rent properties to black people and all his failed businesses.  And the fact that he actually admitted to committing adultery on his 3rd wife; AND is on record having said that he never needed God's forgiveness for anything - and the evangelicals white wash that with "everyone has a past".  That's a fair statement, but when Kamala Harris changes her mind on fracking it's like the world is going to end if she is elected.

Now, if you, my gentle reader is of the more conservative mindset that I am speaking of, and your answer to this is "the liberal churches do this to us, too", let me assure you that they don't.  They don't have the same militaristic "hoo-yah" attitude as God's anointed ones t carry the fight into the godless parts of the country- quite the opposite.  They just shake their heads and mourn the loss of family and friends who can't agree with Jewish Space Lasers, the unseen Kabal and the Mark of The Beast that is a COVID-19 vaccine.  I should also add that any liberal or progressive church that does do this is just as wrong and should be policed as well.

So, where I'm headed with this is actually pretty simple.  I plan to make a lot of noise about the thing I know the most about - that is, the thing that I have better knowledge of because of my involvement in it, and that's the absolute 'moronicization' of the American Evangelical Christian Church.  How am I qualified to do this?  I'm not qualified n the least, but:

I think that some of the OG conservative pundits had part of that statement correct: We do need to police our own.  I am not a Muslim, nor am I a politician (perish THAT thought), but I am a believer in God, and your politics will not and have not ever dictated that, and I plan to speak about it.

Anyone wanna join me?

  

that's it

 For 2025, I am taking the gloves off on far right, "christian" conspiracy theories and those who spread them.  Today is the first of what I plan to make a regular, no-punches-pulled set of entries that will illustrate the lunacy - STRIKE THAT - the lies that are being sent from these people.

Our first installment today comes from Victor Davis Hanson. Mr. Hanson is one of the most prolific writers of history (mainly military history).  He has decided to print his thoughts now as a Republican and frequently releases videos that mark his points.  Mr. Harris knows well how to source statements, as he frequently does so when writing about history.

In the spirit of critical thought, let's all watch this video as Mr. Hanson claims to know the cause of the Southern California wildfires earlier this month:

Now, leaving aside the fact that Mr. Hanson was never in the front lines as a firefighter, there's one thing that seriously bothers me in the video and others made by Mr. Hanson- absolutely no corroborating evidence.  He has copious uses of the word "they" and never tells us who "they" are and makes assertions that are completely unproveable like "they want to take California back to the 19th century" without explaining why "they" would want that in the first place.

It doesn't take long to discern that something is amiss here.  I saw this video at 7:00am this morning, and now it's 1pm and I have completed investigating the assertions made here that seem to be able to be researched.  So, here's what I found:

ASSERTION: LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and Deputy Chief Kristine Larson claimed publicly that they intended to have 70-80% DEI-based hires, regardless of experience.

I could find absolutely nothing to corroborate this.  Researching this a bit further:

The LAFD has implemented initiatives to promote diversity within its ranks. In November 2022, the department launched its first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Bureau, led by Deputy Chief Stephen Gutierrez, aiming to ensure a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace.

In 2022, of the more than 6,500 applicants to the LAFD, 70% were people of color, and nearly 8% were women, which is double the current percentage of female firefighters within the department.

ASSERTION: Gavin Newsom redirected water to the ociean instead of the California Aqueduct, which is the cause of the lack of water and water pressure.

The claim that California Governor Gavin Newsom redirected water from the Sacramento River to the ocean instead of the California Aqueduct is a simplified or mischaracterized explanation of water management policies and decisions. Here's the context:

Water Management in California

1. Environmental Protections: A significant portion of water from the Sacramento River flows naturally into the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. This is not a "redirection" but part of the natural hydrological cycle. However, water management policies sometimes require limiting the amount of water diverted for human use to protect endangered species, such as the delta smelt and Chinook salmon, which rely on adequate freshwater flow.
2. Drought and Water Allocations: During droughts, water allocations are adjusted. Some criticize these adjustments, arguing they prioritize environmental needs over agricultural and urban water demands. Others support them, citing long-term ecosystem health and legal obligations under federal and state laws.
3. California Aqueduct: The aqueduct is a vital part of California's water infrastructure, moving water from northern to southern California. Decisions about how much water is diverted into the aqueduct are based on multiple factors, including water availability, infrastructure capacity, environmental laws, and court rulings.

SOURCES:

• California Department of Water Resources (DWR)

• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

• California Water Impact Network (C-WIN)

• Reputable news outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, and San Francisco Chronicle often cover California's water issues in depth.

• Academic and policy analysis from institutions like the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) provide insights into water management.

ASSERTION: Gavin Newsome claimed publicly (bragged) that he blew up 4 dams on the Klamath River.  These dams provided clean hydroelectric power to 80,000 homes.

Governor Gavin Newsom did not personally claim to have "blown up" the four dams on the Klamath River. However, he has been a prominent supporter of the dam removal project, which aimed to restore the river's ecosystem and support salmon populations. The four dams—J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate—were part of the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project and collectively generated approximately 169 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power about 80,000 homes.

SOURCES:

• Klamath River dams fully removed ahead of schedule | Governor of California
• California Gov. Newsom backs dam removal projects to boost salmon. Critics say that's not enough | AP News
• Tribes celebrate the end of the largest dam removal project in US history | AP News

ASSERTION: There is no timber industry left in California due to fires.

It is not true that there is no timber industry left in California. The timber industry in California still exists, but it has significantly declined over the years due to a variety of factors, including environmental regulations, changing economic conditions, and shifts in land use.

Current Status of the Timber Industry in California

SOURCES:

• Information on timber harvesting regulations, sustainable forestry practices, and wildfire prevention: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | CAL FIRE
• Federal forest lands statistics on timber production: https://www.fs.usda.gov
• Representing the timber industry in California and advocates for policies affecting forest management: Calforest | Advocating For California’s Forestry Sector

ASSERTION: Gavin Newsome gave away firefighting equipment to help Ukraine.

• Several fire departments in California donated surplus firefighting equipment to Ukraine. These donations, initiated in 2022, were part of humanitarian efforts to support Ukrainian firefighters amid the ongoing conflict. For instance, the Los Angeles County Fire Department contributed hoses, nozzles, helmets, body armor, and other personal protective equipment.
• Additionally, the Kern County Fire Department donated a fire engine to Ukraine, which has been actively used in responding to emergencies caused by the conflict.
•  These contributions were made from surplus supplies and were intended to aid Ukrainian first responders facing challenging conditions. It's important to note that these donations were coordinated in 2022 and were not connected to the recent wildfires in California.

SOURCES:

• Yahoo Article regarding fire engine deployment to Ukraine

Interestingly enough (and not surprising to this author) I tried to research these claims using the more "religious/right wing" sources (Truth Social, X, Fox News, etc.) and when I could find mention of these things, those outlets had the same use of "they" that Mr. Hanson refers to, but absolutely no actual corroborating evidence whatsoever.  References like "taking California back to the 19th century" were heard with the pronoun "they", but we have no idea who "they" are and no mention of why "they" would want to do these things, except to say that it's an anti-human conspiracy.

Now, I know what you're thinking- "Why would you waste your time on something like this?" It's pretty simple.  Lies are the transportation vehicle for evil.  It's time to call people like Mr. Hanson what they are- liars.  They are not mistaken or brainwashed.  They are LYING, and it's time this gets exposed for what it is.

Stay tuned here- I have a rather large article (it might be a series) on Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.  He's not a mainstream liar like a lot of the people you've heard of like Mark Driscoll or Charlie Kirk, but his style of preaching is one of the more sinister styles I've seen in a long, long time.

one year since dying

 One year.  To the day.  One year since I died.

While the title might seem self-serving and a tad bit hyperbolic, it is nonetheless true.  And it only seems right that I write this entry to commemorate the single most tumultuous year in my short 60 years here.

To recap (shortly) on December 23, 2023 at about 3PM in the afternoon I literally died for 8 minutes during what was supposed to be a routine biopsy of my left kidney.  That biopsy started at 8:30am and by 4PM, my life was irrevocably changed.  I went in with troubled kidneys, and due to the life-saving measures that were needed to revive me, my kidneys were pretty much gone.  (Full contrast CT's are very hard on your kidneys)

To say that I've gone through a lot would be the understatement of the year.  54 days in the hospital, 4 chest tubes, a thoracentesis, a VAT surgery, CVC implantation, a cardiocentesis (without anesthesia), a nicked nerve in my right leg that make it impossible to walk, countless hours of PT, 2 different types of dialysis and some truly scary moments due to continued hypoxia and low hemoglobin are but a few of the things I've encountered in the past 12 months.  I've also had a pacemaker installed and one ablation done due to atrial flutter.  (not a-fib)  I am now 100% disabled and unable to hold a job.

All of that sounds bad (and it is) but I actually have a couple things to be thankful for.  First off, I know that I have a wife who loves me and has shown herself to be a first-rate caregiver, in spite of my continued lunacy.  It's never been a rose garden to live with me in the first place, but she has tripled down on her love and support of me, and I can't thank her enough for that.  And, if I ever get upset with her, it all disappears every time I see her lug 2 6000ml bags of dextrose upstairs for my nightly dialysis.  Talk about a trooper......I do not deserve her.

Second off, I discovered that I have a brother-from-another-mother in EJ Erickson, who lived with us for 9 months and took fabulous care of me while my wife continued working.  I can't say enough about him and the help he gave us.  We wouldn't have made it without him.

But, after that it becomes a bit of sour-grapes from me again.  Gigging is really hard.  It's hard because I have to time things well and do some pretty creative things if the gig is late in the evenings- like hang a bag of dialysis solution somewhere and fill my perineum with fluid and then be able to play comfortably with an extended belly.  I'm getting used to it, but it kinda sucks.  This means I have to miss a real treatment, and by the end of the next day, I feel like utter shit.  Then there's the problem with my leg that makes it very difficult to walk, so moving my gear around while moving on a cane is a pretty difficult task.

I also have a condition known a myclonus, which is really fun.  What happens is that I get twitches in my hands, arms and legs that can (and have) turn into almost muscular seizures.  While not painful, it is truly alarming to see your right arm just take off on its own and jerk around all by itself.  It gets bad when it's in my legs and I'm trying to get somewhere, and I suddenly find myself on the ground.  There is no cure for this, unless.....

I get a transplant.  

Yep.  A transplant fixes all of this.  I can go back to being normal (as normal as I ever could claim to be) and be out late at night, travel, etc.  That won't bring my leg back to working order, but it would solve a lot of issues.  I'm currently working with 2 transplant centers, but they have mandated some things I must take care of. which I am in the process of doing.  One of the things that the transplant centers have mandated was the aforementioned pacemaker, which is why I had that done.  Once we summit the things they want me to do for the transplant, then I'll start pimping people to literally give me a part of their body- something I'm not looking forward to, as it's such a huge thing to ask.

So, all of the recap and thanks and such are great, but I haven't answered the question I keep getting asked: How do you feel?

That's such a hard question to answer.  I guess the quick answer is, "it depends".  Even though I am in constant pain (thank the Maker for gabepentin) I would say that my physical health is ok, given the circumstances.  I probably shouldn't complain about that, given where I've been.  So, we'll just leave that there.

Mentally is a completely other story.  I'm not gonna lie here - the anniversary of this event brings about some powerful memories, and they are all bad.  All of them.  I remember the pain; the death experience; the waking up 2 days later in ICU- all of that and much more.  That's bad enough, but what it's done to me, psyche-wise is nothing short of profound.  Not only has redefined my relationship with God, but my relationship with people.  The casual observer will say, "well, that's a good thing, right" and my answer will most likely shock them.  No, it isn't necessarily a good thing.

Before my death, I was in the midst of a minor deconstruction from my faith.  I say "minor" as I wasn't sure how far or where it was heading.  Boy, Oh, Boy did I get my answer- or should I say I didn't.  In my death experience, God was nowhere to be found.  In fact, I had the realization that God (as He had been explained to me) was never there in the first place.  To say that I was angry and depressed by this would be another understatement, and to this very day I still feel abandoned by Him.  Every day I try to find Him, and every day I feel Him slip away from me a little more.  I have an earnest regret for spending a good portion of my life preaching to others about something that doesn't exist in the fashion that I was preaching Him, and that gives me a tremendous feeling of guilt that the people who listened to me are gonna find out that I lied to them.

And, speaking of guilt.......wow.  The depth of the guilt I feel over what's happened to me is immeasurable.  I have become a burden to my family and friends.  I have literally been told by one friend over a common shared issue that I'm "out of it because you can't handle it right now".  The trouble is that he is absolutely right.  I can't.

My anxiety level is so high, I have to be medicated.  More than that- my doctor asked me to I have "emergency medication" in case my anxiety is too high for the normal medication.  A few friends know how high my anxiety has gone, and it ain't pretty.  

So with all this negativity here about mental state, I will tell you one really good thing that has happened out of this, and I know deep-down that this would not have happened so quickly and completely without the fun of late 2023-2024.  Ready?

I am a completely changed man as to how he accepts others.  And it makes sense that this would be the change- with my rapidly vacuum-filled space where faith once kept me from engaging people, I find my acceptance of others is now easier.  I see that the christian faith (de-capitalized for emphasis) that I had really was nothing more than a reason to not fully engage with people unless was had that common ground.  Note that I didn't say that we believed the same things.  Belief was never a part of it for me (something else I found out from death)  as it was the ability to talk the same talk seemed more important.  That shallowness of faith bred a similar shallowness of relationship.

Now, I just love people.  I don't care what their faith is/not is - in fact, faith doesn't enter into it all for me now.  This makes the christian apologist in me reel - and I don't care if it does - but I'm not so sure that the Mormons have it all wrong.  Or the JW.  Or muslim-islamic-messianic-jewish-christians-tralfamadorians or whatever.  None of that matters.  What does matter is our humanity and the fact that we all bleed the same color red.  It's interesting to note, for instance, that archeologically, it's near impossible to tell where a human skeleton came from.  We can tell if they were male or female, but not their locale.  It's not lost on me that our skeletons are all humans foundation.  Think about it. We are all the same, foundationally.  And yet, we as a species, kill each other over where we think we will go when we die.  How fucking stupid and wasteful is that?  Or slightly less than that- we discriminate over how another meat-puppet thinks to how your own meat-puppet thinks.  Or less than all of that- how one person wants to deal with/use their junk.

This has also led to a clearer view of the world.  And mind you- clearer doesn't mean better.  In fact, that's the part that is kind of distressing.  For instance, in November, the American people learned that decency and building up the other person is a fool's game.  We would rather place our leadership in the hand of a convicted felon.  Over half of my countrypersons would rather take a chance on draconian governmental practices than to go with the opposite side of that thought.  And no, thoughts aren't reality, but it's much easier to call that side out if they don't do it than to call the other side out when they do it.  

I now find myself angry over stories like the guy who shot the CEO of United Heathcare.  We've COMPLETELY lost our sense of decency here.  This guy (I'll not use his name) shot a man in broad daylight over his occupation. No regard as to him being a brother, a son, a husband and a father- over his fucking job.  And like the coward he is, he ran.  The media and social websites are calling it a "referendum on healthcare" - uh, no.  It's not.  As someone who has seen the business end of the healthcare in this country, I can tell you that there are problems, and I've had them happen to me.  But there is no way in hell I'm gonna go shoot somebody over it.  The guy who did this is a miscreant, full stop. There is something seriously wrong with him, and he has no excuse. But the media thinks we want to know about his time in Hawaii; talk to his roommate; broadcast that, after he was arrested, he was in jail (no shit, Sherlock)- I know more about him over the last 72 hours than anything else- and the victim is ignored.  I know nothing about the victim other than he had a wife and a couple of kids, but no one wants to know about his time in Hawaii or what his whereabouts are now as he travels from street to the morgue to funeral home, nor will they broadcast his funeral- but you can bet that there will be live team coverage of this asshole's trial.

Lest you think I'm hung up on one story, think again.  We only care about these things because we are told to care about these things.  And that is also how christianity has been doled out by a lot of the churches today.  We are told that abortion is a sin, and yet it is not mentioned anywhere in scripture.  (And, yes, I know the verse that they use.  Weak.)  We're told that masculinity is the thing the christian man should be striving for by teachers like Mark Driscoll and Jack Hibbs - again, nowhere to be found in scripture. The same is true about "making America a christian nation again" when it never was in the first place. We're told this and we're told that and no one sees any value anymore in yelling "BULLSHIT!" because that isn't the "right" thing to do.  We'd rather find out what the shooter of the CEO was wearing that day.

This last part has been truly exhausting for me.  Before 12/23/2023 (or more correctly 2023/12/23) I never really paid attention to this, but now.  Yeesh.  It's just so stark now.  It's so not important and yet it's so important.  It's not important because it ignores the important things.  It's important, because people make no attempt to show their ire, if they have any.  And they should.

 Don't take this the wrong way but, no, I don't feel "lucky to be alive", although I've been told time and time again that I should.  There was a simplicity in death in that everything that could or should have happened did, and that was that.  Even though I didn't get to experience that feeling for very long, it was beyond satisfying to do so.  There was no anxiety and no place to be and no one to answer to. 

So, there you have it.  I'll give myfirst bonus year of 2023-24s a C-.  Definitely below average, but certainly not a failure.  I'm hopeful for 2025, but..........? 

unsaid

 "What's all this I hear about presidential erections?" - E. Litella

While usually a pretty funny statement (said by the late, great Gilda Radner on SNL) - this year it seems like that's the underlying raison d'etre for much of what we're seeing in these last few days heading into what promises to be a pretty nerve-wracking Tuesday.

While I have no interest in adding to people's anxiety level, there's 2 things I see (or haven't seen) that have been largely overlooked by all the media outlets.

1. The "Big Day" really isn't November 5th.  Let's not fool ourselves- there will not be a clear winner on Tuesday night.  I expect that it's going to be at least a month before we know who the winner actually is.  (I am not commenting on "cheating" with that statement.  Not yet, anyway.)  The "Big Day" is actually January 6, 2025- when whoever has been declared the winner has the election certified.  That's when the orange will hit the fan.
2. Which brings me to the bigger point- the real issue here is going to be race for Democrats to take the majority in the House of Representatives.  If they do, then we will have a new Speaker of he House- and that, my friends, is who certifies the election based on the Electoral College.

Here's why #2 is really more significant than the actual race for POTUS/VPOTUS.

The current Speaker is Mike Johnson.  He is a far right GOP member and an avowed "the 2020 election was stolen" guy.  If he is still SOTH on January 6th, I think there is a very real chance that he will actually refuse to certify the election if Kamala wins.  He's as much as said this on a few interviews, and some press is actually paying a little attention to this- the operative word being "little".  No, Johnson cannot legally do it, but by virtue of the fact that the SCOTUS has been stacked enough to overturn Roe v. Wade after 51 years, I think it's fair to say that this same court would allow Johnson to not certify the election.  

Full disclosure- I was very vocal about SCOTUS not actually rolling over to Orange is the New Black.  Boy. was I ever wrong about that one.

If the Dems can get SOTH by getting that majority, then we have Mr. Hakeem Jeffries who will take over.  While the GOP paints Mr. Jeffries as a "commie-leftist", I have personally found that he is actually a pretty moderate Democrat (a unicorn!) who seems bent on doing what's right for his constituency and really doesn't fall into the mire that some Democrats seem to be fond of thrashing around in.  I would go as far as to say that Mr. Jeffries would most likely certify an election that didn't have Kamala as the winner with little thought to what he might actually want to do instead.

As it happens, I am a fan of HOR majority having the opposite party affiliation than POTUS because that offers a nice, can't-get-around-it kind of cheque and balance to the whole equation.  I really don't care for POTUS and HOR being aligned on the same side of things.  But not this year.  

Why?

Because as Representative Adam Kinzinger so eloquently put it during the DNC:

"The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself." -A. Kinzinger, R-Illinois

And while that's mildly amusing to hear during the DNC, it is painfully true.  I, myself, and a RINO (Republican In Name Only) just as Mr. Kinzinger is, and for a time that was a derogatory term.  But that is a monicre I wear proudly now, as I still do believe much of the conservative mindset, but not the mindset of the GOP.  The GOP now literally worships the Golden Calf all the while their apologists - who claim Christianity - utter things like this:

Or spill weapons-grade stupidity like this:

No, Matilda- the GOP has completely lost it.  As such, a GOP based HOR is going to be a disaster of historic proportions - even more so if Randall Flagg  and his monkey side-kick win POTUS/VPOTUS.

I find all of this being left unsaid, hence the title of this blog entry.

Then, there's a little matter of the impending civil war that I am 100% sure is going to happen.  Here's those scenarios:

Kamala Wins: A whole bunch of knuckle-dragging, eyebrow sharing Neanderthals who up for the (now) regular "Stop The Steal" convention on the steps of the Capital on January 6th.  This time they're organized, and this time there's a lot more of them.  Ah- but the Capital police are also organized, and there's a lot more of them, and they're backed by National Guard and/or active duty service members.  While the cops might show restraint, the guard and others won't, and when the first fool in the invaders fires a shot........yeah.  That's gonna be ugly.  And probably needed.  That one will be over fast.

Kamala Doesn't Win: This one is WAY more scary and will absolutely happen.  It goes like this: some city near D.C. has some civil unrest to protest the fact that Kamala didn't win.  Guess Who sends in the National Guard; several people die; The Klueless Klux Klan declares martial law, and now it's game on with the 1798 Foreign Enemies treatment, internment (or worse) camps; blockades at ports and border shutdowns and the military hunting anyone that is deemed "subversive".  That's gonna get really bad, and it will drag on for quite a bit.  Everyone (except for you-know-who) will feel that one, and I can see that one tangenting into a lot of really, REALLY bad things.

The Playing Field Leveler: Providentially (not luckily) there is provision made to handle this in Sections 3 & 4 of the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution.  This outlines the criteria and process needed to remove the POTUS from office without impeachment.  I have to believe, in my heart of hearts, that those folks in Congress - when the chips are really down - will do the right thing here.  I know that sounds naive and all, but by virtue of the fact that some Republicans were willing to give up their careers in order to best serve the country, I think that there are even more who would do that if we were in armed conflict with each other.  I just do.  At some point, even thought the media and our respective echo chambers would have us believe otherwise, some will step up.  Yeah, it may take them being threatened directly before they'll take that stand, but at the end of the day, Congress is made up of intelligent people (who are sometimes not very smart) and they won't let this happen.  Keep the Faith here, folks.  We've seen that several times in our history already.

Or maybe this will all blow over and nothing will happen.  At that point, it will be as Ms. Litella also said, "Oh.  Never mind."

Get out and Vote.

accuracy

 Been a while......sorry about that........

I suffer from a malady.  My problem is that I hear things that are supposedly accurate, but I just can’t believe all of them.  Most of the time, if I dig just a little bit, I find that the story isn’t quite what I’ve been told.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve become something of a CNN fan.  I thoroughly enjoy Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and Kate Bolduan – and I largely find their news to be pretty trustworthy.  Being that here in the US it’s pretty much either MSNBC (yeesh- too liberal) or Fox (YIKES- too GOP oriented*) so it’s nice to find something that’s somewhere close to the middle, and for me, that’s been CNN.

That is, until this last weekend and their coverage of the Golden One’s rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  CNN described it as a “profanity laden 2-hour speech” where the crowd was “urged to repeat profane chants back to [main speaker]**”.   As I’m watching this report, I caught myself thinking, “surely he can’t be so dumb as to do that in a public setting”.  So, this morning I watched all 2 hours and 15 minutes of the rally and took 4 pages of notes.  (Please don’t feel the need to say you’re sorry.  I chose to do this.)

(Here is the video I watched if you'd like to see for yourself.)

See- here’s the problem: there is no doubt in my mind that Cheeto Christ is not sane, and he’s not qualified for the job.  He says and does so many ridiculous things that we’ve all witnessed for ourselves - eating pets comes screaming to mind - and he continues to do these nutty things with little or no sign of stopping.  So, there is no need to exaggerate these rallies.  Here’s what I found after watching the rally:

1. For 33- minutes prior to him speaking, the crowd had to listen to songs lie "Top Gun Theme", “Ave Maria”, “Nothing Compares 2U” and others played at concert volume levels.
2. [Main Speaker] entering the stage at the beginning of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and him standing there, swaying, waiving and pointing at people in the audience and singing the last chorus.  Stranger even still, they played Chopin's "Marche Funèbre" just before Greenwood.
3. He launched into his Arnold Plamer story (complete with description of Mr. Arnold’s manhood) which took 12 minutes to tell. 
4. During the Arnold Palmer portion, he said, "Everything the current administration tries turns to…” whereas the crowd said “SHIT!”.  One time and that was all.
5. He described Kamala Harris as “a shit vice-president” One time and that was all.
6. He was taken aback by the build of one of his secret service guys, and said, “Holy Shit” One time and that was all.
7. He said something about kicking someone’s "ass.” One time and that was all.
8. The speech clocked in at 1 hour and 37 minutes, and almost all of the profanity happened in the first 20 minutes.  

And that was it.  Now, I don’t know about you, but this is hardly a "profanity laden speech".  So, he used a couple of bad words- big deal.  There was plenty of other crazy to go around:

·       All the usual suspects - Election was stolen; we’re laughed at by the whole world; he won the Florida case; corrupt judges; it’s all a scam; Kamala is the same as Biden; she shouldn’t be the candidate; Democrats are “lunatics”; Biden is old; Chuck Shumer and Nancy Pelosi “to ok the nomination away [from Joe Biden] him”, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum.....

·       Some new ones, though:

• Harris is dumb, and she didn’t show up for some Catholic dinner.  She “knocks religion” and that “the current administration has been persecuting Catholics – (this was the only mention of Christianity in the whole thing, btw)
• Railed for 2 minutes about Elizabeth Warren and called her “Pocahontas” after assuring the crowd that he’s not a racist.
• Spent 3 minutes talking about Elon Musk, the rocket booster landing and Elon’s black hat.  And that Elon has a golden cap.
• He closed the rally by playing "YMCA" by The Village People- which he danced to.  (He clearly hasn't read the lyrics to that song, which makes it all the more creepy.)

I think you get my point.  There were however, two statements that actually were worse than if he had had a 2-hour profanity laced speech - and neither of these were covered by any media:

In reference to the upcoming election: 

“The 2024 election will usher in a golden age [for the USA] for the next 100 years.”

When talking about “restoring our sovereignty”: 

"I will unlock our magnificent destiny.”

Both of these statements are too close to some of the things a certain German said back in the 1930’s for me.  Quite frankly, I find those more disturbing than the cursing.  Pointing out the cursing is quite pale in comparison to those statements.  (If you haven't read my blog article on that German, you should.)

I must say that while I personally don’t really care much about the cursing, it does demean the office of POTUS.  I would like it if he didn’t do that, but I cannot STAND the bald-faced lies of a stolen election, “the best that ever was”, "never before in history" or the myriads of other somewhat-less-than-true things he’s said.  Salty and exaggerating is one thing; liar is quite another.  Accuracy seems to be a forgotten commodity now, so that means it's time for a story....

(...and the crowd goes mild......)

My paternal grandfather was a Methodist minister and an incredibly smart man- the smartest person I have ever known, and probably the smartest person I will ever know.  He and my grandmother had taken the Methodist vows and treated them very seriously- those being no alcohol, no gambling and no swearing.  (among a few others) He was a very difficult man to live with (yep. that’s where I get it from) and it was near impossible to put one over on the man in any sense of the term.  

When I was young, I had this “gift” of taking my bicycle apart and not being able to put it back together again, whereby I would take it to grandpa, and he would do it for me.  I must have done this at least 5-6 times, and the last time I did it, I managed to be there when grandma had just finished making lunch, so I stayed to eat, even though grandpa had finished fixing my transportation.  So, it’s me, grandma and grandpa eating lunch, and my grandpa starts a conversation:

“So, why do you keep taking apart things that you can’t put back together?” asks Grandpa

“What do you mean?” I reply.

“Like your bicycle.  This must be the sixth time I’ve fixed it for you.” he says.

“Oh- that’s because I’m not strong enough to put it back together.  You’re much stronger than I am.” I answer.

Grandpa takes a bit of his sandwich and looks at me out of the corner of his eye, and speaks with a full mouth, not even trying to hide his real feelings.

“Now, Marc.  You and I both know that’s bullshit.” he says.

Grandma nearly faints.

Grandpa had this thing about “always be accurate” in what you do and say.  Don’t get into hyperbole, and for God’s sake, don’t EVER lie.  If you do, you will get found out, and being called out on stuff like this is pretty terribly in it’s own right.

I’m not saying that CNN lied- Orange Julius Caeser did swear, but it was hardly “laden”.  What frightens me more is how people hear the words like “destiny” and “100 years” come out of Mango Mussolini’s mouth and they think nothing of it.

So, all that to say, check your sources, people.  It’s not hard to do.

 *The GOP is a political party that used to represent Conservative values.  Now, they do nothing but worship a Golden Calf.  You can be a Conservative and not be a member of the GOP.

** I refuse to use this person's real name on the internet, because I will not contribute to the algorithm that catches metrics associated with his name.  If you use his name in a comment below, I can and will delete your comment.

not chicken little

People who know me, know how fond I am of dispelling the notion that "the sky is falling" when it comes to doomsday politics. No POTUS in my lifetime has ever made me truly worry about them, because I studied the US Constitution, and I am well aware of the limitations of power in that office.

Until now.

For the very first time in my life, I am actually worried about this country.

I cannot count the number of times that I have dialed people down in using the term "Hitler" to describe The Orange One.  To me, historical context around that name is extremely important, as in order for Hitler to come to power in the first place took an inordinate type and number of circumstances. Permit me a little cold (and high altitude) history lesson, but please do note some striking similarities: 

WWI was a war that Germany (which was a relatively new country at the time) was ill-advised to get into in the first place with the Austro-Hungarian Empire (that was collapsing); they had been decimated in terms of the number of young men who died needlessly, which helped to bring industry in Germany to a grinding halt; the Treaty of Versailles mandated that Germany repay the other European countries for war expenses and did not allow Germany to keep an active military.  The eventual default of Germany on their loans resulted in an economic micro-depression before the Great Depression of 1929 making the German Deutschmark completely worthless. DM1,000,000 could not buy a loaf of bread.  Hyper-inflation, starvation and disease gripped the entire country, and the German people were left holding an empty bag.  People left the country in droves as economic refugees.  Pretty damned hopeless.

In 1918, a ne'er-do-well named Anton Drexler started a little movement in Bremen, Germany in order to restore the economy and national pride to Germany.  The truth is, there many such groups in Germany that were tried to do this, but Drexler's group gained the public trust. In February 1920, this group became known as "Der Nationalsozialistische Sozialdemokrat Deutsche Arbeiterpartei" (National Socialists German Workers Party), better known as the NSDAP, or Nazis, and moved their headquarters to Munich.  Their platform was that they would restore the God-given glory that absolutely belonged to the German people and do so thru citing "Christian beliefs, actions and ideals" as their central message.  

In November 1923, the Nazis had an uprising against the Reichstag in Munich, led by a former Wehrmacht corporal, Adolf Hitler who was a soldier in the front lines of WWI.  They were declaring that the German government was incapable of governing properly and tried to start a larger movement to overthrow it.  They failed, miserably, and the Nazis were banned in the country.  As a result of the uprising, Hitler and several others were jailed in March 1924, where Hitler wrote the book "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) which became the playbook for the Nazi Party.  In it, Hitler raged against those that started WWI and against the conservatives that were in power at the time because of their "weakmindedness" and inability to see things thru.  Instead, he suggested it was time for the workers to take the country back as God originally intended.   Hitler was pardoned from prison just a few months later, and with his party re-instated, managed to secure a seat in the German Reichstag. 

The Nazi Party was definitely a fringe group, and despite the violence of their actions steadily grew more and more popular with a lot of the German people. In early 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire, and while it was never conclusively proven, the popular belief was that the Nazis did it.  (They probably did) This was the last straw for President Von Hindenburg who had grown more and more scared of Hitler and his thugs.  He made Hitler Chancellor of Germany and capitulated the entirety of the Reichstag to the Nazi Party. 

Hitler immediately banned all other political parties, instituted martial law, suspended elections and the police departments in favor of a Nazi run organization called "der Gestapo" (who were basically nothing more than terrorists) and seeded the entire government with his cronies.  He also appointed a new cabinet position called The Ministry of Propaganda and put his friend, Josef Goebbels as Minister.  He assigned his very elite (and most psychotic) troops called the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron) or SS into roles in the Wehrmacht (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in order to ensure that his control was complete.  In November of 1938, the Nazis staged "Krystalnacht" (The Night of Broken Glass) against the Austrian Jews, which is considered to be the first act of The Holocaust.

Not wanting the rest on his "laurels", in 1938 he also  annexed Austria and declared the Sudetenland (an area annexed by Poland within the borders of Czechoslovakia) was actually part of Germany; in 1939-1940 he invaded  Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and parts of Sweden and attacked England and so on......and from 1938 to 1945 managed to kill 85% of the Western European Jews, and most of the Romani, Jehovah's Witnesses, old and infirm and many, many, MANY more.

And all in the name of "Making Germany Great Again".

I am, in no way kidding.  This is not hyperbole.

Historically, there have been several Constitutional items that kept Cheetos Christ from actually being Hitler.  The first one was that the POTUS is only 1/3 of the government, and he's the weakest part of it in that his time is limited as are his powers.  He is the Commander-In-Chief of the military. (but the military can refuse orders if they are illegal)  He has the ability to pardon crimes.     He has the power of veto from bills being passed into law, he can appoint judges to the Supreme Court and he has a limited ability to execute temporary measures called "executive orders"- and that's it.  Full stop.  He doesn't control the banks and he can't enact laws -not even thru Executive Orders .  He doesn't employ the government (except for his immediate staff) and he has to answer to the people for his actions.  

He is also a US Citizen, and as such he is held to the standard of the law.

Or should I say, he was.  But that's not all.  Not by a long shot.

Schedule F is a proposed restructuring of US Government personnel that would change 50,000+ government positions to be at the discretion of the POTUS.  That is on The Orange One's radar, and if it becomes the law of the land, he will literally have 50,000 jobs that he controls and can say who has them or not.  So much for cheques and balances. 

In Project 2025, which is 900+ page document created by The Heritage Foundation- which is the transition plan from what we have now to complete Orangedom, it outlines things like the abolishment of the EPA, FBI, Department of Education and a host of other things that we have all taken for granted.

And, since this country's laws are based on the Rule of Precedent, once these things go into effect, it will be very difficult to extract ourselves from them.

With these three things and stroke of the pen on some tactically made Executive Orders, he will have roughly the same kind of power and control once afforded to little man with a bad moustache and Parkinson's disease that made a lot of trouble for a lot of people all over the world.

If you've read this far in this post, I sincerely hope that this comparative history lesson is making your blood run a little cooler that it was.  If it hasn't done that, remember that the #1 reason that Germany started WWII was Hitler wanted to make Germany great again.  And before you think that my entire alarm is over the similarity of *that guy's* slogan, think again.  The similarities between what Donald of Orange has been thru and the things he's done are so eerily similar what happened back then.  Remember, too, Hitler did NOT run on the promise of ridding the country of the Jews- that came later, and it wasn't his original idea.  That, like Christian Nationalism, had been around for a long time, bubbling just under the surface, looking for a rogue hero to set it free.  And look what that cost in the runtime.

I love this country.  And I'm proud of my heritage as well.   I can't stand to see what's happening here.

So- what do we do about it?

I've been thinking a lot about this.  Here's some ideas:

• We all need to ardently defend our correct history in order to know what's wrong here.  Know your Constitution.  Know what's in it.  It's not complicated.
• VERIFY the things you hear on ALL sides.  I'm sorry, but I've heard a ton of refutable crap coming out of all sides of the rhetoric.  It's more important now than ever to be accurate and discerning.
• Know the enemy and do your homework.  Check out things like Project 2025 and Schedule F and the host of dysfunction that is headed our way.  It's easy to find on the interwebs.
• GET INVOLVED!  Do things like attend school board meetings and your local governments.  There is great, great power at the local level.
• DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND.  This is as real as it gets, folks.  This country stands at the edge of a very dangerous precedence.

One las thing- and I hope that I am 10,000% wrong about this, but I'm actually afraid of what may happen if we have an Orange Loss in November.  I can see the makings of a Beer Hall Putsch (the 1923 Munich uprising) happening after that.  So please everyone- be safe.  Make good choices here, because I fear that good choices will not be the majority no matter how this shakes out.

<insert your deity here> bless us all.