I bet on Beto and glad I did.

Beto O'Rourke is a great candidate, and he has show the way for other Democrats, if they are smart enough and willing to do the hard work of bringing Texas into the modern age politically.

I was Born in Houston, Texas and have lived here for the bulk of my life. Grew up in Alvin. Went into the Military for 2 years. Lived in Houston and then Austin - where I found my heart city wise, I Love Austin. It has grown too much but since I moved there when I was in my 20's and lived there most of my Adult life, until it got too big and I moved back home to Alvin and Houston.

Texas is a great place to live in all areas except Politics. But I lived in Liberal Austin so I was fine.

It did not surprise me at all that Beto did so well. He had a liberal message, but then most Texans are not conservative or liberals in the absolute sense. I am sure that there was some hanky panky in a race that close. Republicans are going to have to learn that Texas is not going to remain that sleepy state where small groups corrupt politicians can wield their way. No single party can survive in Texas and win races unless they are active I and address the issues of all the people.

https://blog.chron.com/…/today-in-texas-history-lbjs-stole…/

People call Texas a non-voting state, and I suppose it is. One of the reasons might be the history of corruption in the election process. Duval county and the 1948 election was a saga that I cut my political teeth on. I began as a Republican, but as I went to Vietnam and became more informed about issues and process, I became a Democrat. In a Two Party system, you do not have a lot of choice.

Now I am an independent that usually votes Democrat because they are the lesser of the evils. That is no way to vote, but it is the best I have found. Parties are not the best measure of who a person is Politically. I declare myself an unrepentant Liberal. Reagan made Liberal a bad word and the Democratic Party ran and hid. They began to call themselves anything but Liberal. I never ran from my liberalism. The Democrats adopted "Progressive" which I have no idea what it means. Progressive means to me moving very slowly and I guess that is pretty accurate because the party has been moving slowly, very slowly, so slowly that one can not really tell where they are going.

I hope that Beto can raise his family and then get back in politics. Beto did what no other politician has done. He went every where in the state and talked to the people. Standard Democrats before this election did not even do that in the Cities. The Democratic Party needs Beto to reshape them in to people who engage with real people where they live. The Democrats are not too liberal, they are too withdrawn and lazy.

Now that Obama has opened the way for Healthcare and other more liberal positions the Democratic Party can distinguish themselves from Republicans.

To be successful in politics you need to have a fire in your gut. When I first saw Beto, I said this is my guy, I sent him money and supported him every way I could. It has been a long time since I have had a real enthusiasm for a candidate. This year I had two, Beto and a local candidate for State Representative, Adam Milasincic. I hope this change in the Democratic Party can continue.

Wave the Bloody Shirt

Loss of a Child to gun violence is bad enough, and then having people who will not rationally consider reasonable gun control is disgustingly irrational in a Democracy.

Fly the bloody shirt. I do not have children of my own but if the children I have cared for over the years routinely were killed, like they are now I would be tempted if not driven to wave the Bloody Shirt of the child/youth/adult in front of those who turn a deaf ear to the reasonable regulation of Guns and other weapons.

I went to Vietnam. Not my choice but I learned that seeing war is very different that thinking about war in the abstract. I was a medic and I saw, touched, and carried the dead to graves registration. When war is made real to a person it is hard to rationalize the death and destruction of soldiers and others bodies. Seeing is believing even if is forced seeing.

Wave the Bloody Shirt, make those deaths, avoidable death, real and those lives loudly proclaimed as valuable and not some thing we can casually throw away and forget.

I was a Conscientious Objector in Vietnam and was a medic and soldier that did everything without carrying a gun that my fellow soldiers did. I claim nothing for me, I never killed anyone, but when you are part of a sordid system that casually supports death you see the world and the people in it differently. I love human beings - they are my species - and seeing what war does to them changed me.

I was a pacifist before I went to Vietnam, but just the knowledge that I did not kill does not change the fact I was part of the process of supporting the machinery of death. It is not just the death and destruction of the flesh. The most unnerving thing I saw was a young man who was brought to my work area with out a scratch on him. The first thing we did was to remove the clothing to see what needed to be fixed. This young man/boy wasn't there. His brain had shut down. He was for the time being Gone.

I think in the face of killing regardless of Who, When, Where, or Why, we need to remind people the reality of violent death of the innocent. Wave the Bloody Shirt.

Beto O'Rourke is a great candidate, and he has show the way for other Democrats, if they are smart enough and willing to do the hard work of bringing Texas into the modern age politically.

I was Born in Houston, Texas and have lived here for the bulk of my life.  Grew up in Alvin. Went into the Military for 2 years.  Lived in Houston and then Austin -  where I found my heart city wise, I Love Austin.  It has grown too much but since I moved there when I was in my 20's and lived there most of my Adult life, until it got too big and I moved back home to Alvin and Houston.

Texas is a great place to live in all areas except Politics.  But I lived in Liberal Austin so I was fine.

It did not surprise me at all that Beto did so well.  He had a liberal message, but then most Texans are not conservative or liberals in the absolute sense.  I am sure that there was some hanky panky in a race that close.  Republicans are going to have to learn that Texas is not going to remain that sleepy state where small groups corrupt politicians can wield their way.   No single party can survive in Texas and win races unless they are active I and address the issues of all the people.

https://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/08/today-in-texas-history-lbjs-stolen-senate-victory/

People call Texas a non-voting state, and I suppose it is.  One of the reasons might be the history of corruption in the election process.  Duval county and the 1948 election was a saga that I cut my political teeth on.  I began as a Republican, but as I went to Vietnam and became more informed about issues and process, I became a Democrat.  In a Two Party system, you do not have a lot of choice.

Now I am an independent that usually votes Democrat because they are the lesser of the evils.   That is no way to vote, but it is the best I have found.  Parties are not the best measure of who a person is Politically.  I declare myself an unrepentant Liberal.  Reagan made Liberal  a bad word and the Democratic Party ran and hid.  They began to call themselves anything but Liberal.  I never ran from my liberalism. The Democrats adopted "Progressive" which I have no idea what it means.  Progressive means to me moving very slowly and I guess that is pretty accurate because the party has been moving slowly, very slowly, so slowly that one can not really tell where they are going.

I hope that Beto can raise his family and then get back in politics.  Beto did what no other politician has done.  He went every where in the state and talked to the people. Standard Democrats before this election did not even do that in the Cities.  The Democratic Party needs Beto to reshape them in to people who engage with real people where they live.  The Democrats are not too liberal, they are too withdrawn and lazy.

Now that Obama has opened the way for Healthcare and other more liberal positions the Democratic Party can distinguish themselves from Republicans.

To be successful in politics you need to have a fire in your gut.  When I first saw Beto, I said this is my guy,  I sent him money and supported him every way I could.  It has been a long time since I have had a real enthusiasm for a candidate. This year I had two, Beto and a local candidate for State Representative, Adam Milasincic.   I hope this change in the Democratic Party can continue.

You are what you let live in your heart.

You can not preach hatred without inviting the devil into your house.  Period.  If we allow and support leaders that engage in hate speech then we can not expect to not be visited by evil and all that comes with it.  OK Pentecostals,   where are you now with the prince if incitement or the Prince of Peace.

John Bolton "National Security Advisor"

First,  a note of presence, get rid of that thing growing under your nose.  When you open your mouth the combination of the trash coming out of it and that thing on your upper lip is way too distracting.

The only reason that you are a "National Security Advisor" is because Trump fired or ran off every one that was qualified for the Job.  But you and Trump should get along well, neither of you know what you are doing.

Beto: Do not let the Democratic "Leadership" cause you to go negative.

The reason I am voting for you and sending you money is because I believe that you can win on the High Road.  Any "Leader" in the Democratic Party that wants you go "negative" is a "leader" that we need to get rid of as a "leader".

People do not want to tune in to a mud slinging election like we had gotten used to in to in the previous several elections.   You make the statement over and over that you are not running against something or some one, but For Texas and For the USA.

You do not need to abandon the positive thrust of your campaign.  We the people need your positive out look on politics that says we can get things done in Texas like taking care of all our people with healthcare and the whole list of your idea and ideals that improve life for everyone not just the few.

I am a born and raised Texan, and a Liberal Texan at that.  I am 72 years old so I am used to "Losing" an election.  But I am positive we have Bernie and other Progressive candidates that have arrived at this time on a road paved with principled losses that paved the way for a more liberal Texas.

There is an Irony that I am very conservative in how I conduct my life, but very liberal in how I see developing a government that works and lifts all the people of this great state.

So positively plow away at all the negative politics for it is that struggle where we win.  Not just an election, but a way of life that lifts up all the hopes and aspirations of a free people.  Hopes of the next generations having possibilities that have not been available before.  Aspirations to be the best people we can be and inspire the best in others as well.

Heads up and stay positive, that is where the American Dream resides.

Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyers demand senators stop spreading ‘lies’

How are the Senators going to be Senators without lying.

The Danger in our Coutnry: Turning back time to early 1800's.

Roe V Wade, decided in 1973 and now in danger of being overturned.  It is hard to see the connection here between Roe V Wade and a repeal of other liberties we have now taken for granted. but there is a clear connection. This connection has been articulated in the last two years and is what the people who support President Trump support.

In 1969, when I was turning 24, I registered to vote when I got out of the Army.  Four years later Abortion came a part of my reality. I was surrounded by females - two sisters and my Mother.  Those relations began to shape my feelings on Rove V Wade.

The History I observed along the way is one that created the great division in the US that we have today. 

I was and am still a Liberal in political theory.  And as the US has only two Political Parties, I was a Democrat. I plan if, I Iive that long, to write about the History of the abortion issue and has it has divided the country almost fro the very beginning. 

I will make a statement that I hope when lay it out, will show that this one issue has been at the heart of American Politics from 1973 until now and if over turned will be the fulcrum upon which other restrictions of Liberty in this country will lead to a repressive dictatorship that will end Democracy in the US. 

Of course this does not have to happen, but there are forces at work that have that as their goal.  The Heritage Society has a tame enough name but the reality behind that organization and others it a desire to move the US to the Concept of Original Intent which at it center is the desire to return the US to status of a country where many of the Freedoms we now take for granted are overturned by a very Conservative Court.

At the top of the list after Roe V Wade is the repeal of post Civil War Amendments that expand the terms of Individual Freedoms. 

So fasten your seatbelts it going to be a bumpy ride.

Poor Baby

Cruz is playing the victim and whining about it.  This is exactly why I would NEVER vote for Cruz.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ted-cruz-sending-donation-mail-disguised-as-summonses/ar-BBNq14R?ocid=spartanntp

Un-zipped vs. Un-hinged

There is a very important distinction between the Clinton failings that created calls for his impeachment and the calls to impeach Trump.  Clinton was accused of being a horny President that acted on his impulses in the Oval Office, and Trump is being accused of being unfit to serve as President because he simply does not understand the nature of the Executive Power and his position as the head of only 1 out of 3 branches of the Government.

I guess when you spend your time accusing someone of being a Dictator, and your own impulses are dictatorial it is easy to drift in to an unreal ether of delusion.

If one looks back at Clinton's approval ratings as the impeachment went forward prior to the impeachment Clinton did not have the majority of men supporting him.  After Clinton was found guilty of having an affair in the Oval Office men suddenly supported President Clinton for the first time in his Presidency.  Check it out.  It is true and he has held that support.

Trump on the other hand has no comparable support change.  Trump changes are all negative.  The Trump Press are trying to create the impression that Trump's base is unmovable.  That is not true.  When your approval rating gets below 40%, you are in a poker game holding only a pair.

The difference between Clinton and Trump is truly the difference of what kind of "pair" they were/are holding.

Donald, you are President, Not King

No matter what Putin told you, you are not King of America.  We, the people  of the United States have an office of President to which you have been elected.  You are President, for now, nothing more.

Brain Laundry Blues

The US has caught the Trump Disease. The Irony is that Trump is under a spell cast by Putin.

Now there is something to be outraged about but the future Dictators of American want you to respond to knee jerk "Patriotism", that is not patriotic at all.

It is clear that the 56 % need to lead the 46 % that is under the spell out of the Brain Laundry.

False Gods

The only thing that Preachers can do to help Trump is to advise him to come clean and confess and repent from his financial misdealing's and repent and change his ways.  One clear signal that he could sent would be to begin to tell the truth about his actions and live a life of obedience to God.

We should be reminded about the man who asked Jesus how he could get into heaven.  Jesus told the man to give up all his wealth and live on faith.

We are led to believe that this might have been a move to hard to make, but one can not seek to be free of the consequences of Sin if they can not free themselves from the love of money.  It is one of the biggest challenges that people in the US have today.

God and Politics

God is not a Republican, Democrat, or Independent.  God is not concerned about what form of government a country has.  God does not care about how you treat the flag or any anthem.  God does not champion worldly things.

What God is concerned about is mans soul and toward that end he has given us very clear guidance about living our lives.  First, God is a God of Love.  Jesus tells us we are to Love God with all your heart and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.

If you have any difficulty understanding what Love is First Corinthians 13 lays it all out.  The Bible does not contradict itself, so if you find your self on the horns of a dilemma, where it seems that you have found a contradiction to Love being the solid Core of God's Law, one needs to seek a resolution that resolves this divergence from God's Law.    

Just remember, all you need is Love.  God is Love.

Presidential Cancelation: Impeachment

President Trump needs to be very careful about canceling clearances of Intelligence ex-employees, Trump can actually be cancelled when he finally crosses the wrong spook.

Note to Attorney General Sessions:

If you try to placate the Devil Your life will be hell.

Retreating

I have given up on expecting rational behaviors in our country.

I am a turtle who has crawled in to my shell and sealed the opening shut.

I will take a trip to the polls in November and then go back in my shell.  I highly recommend that others do the same.

Don Lemon is a Brilliant Journalist.  He conducts real interviews, keeps the dialogue on topic and usually does not suffer fools well.  I am sure that Mr. Lemon is human and has faults, but I have not noticed any of them yet.  I like Anderson Cooper as well and remember when he was just beginning.

I am a Liberal, and Damn Proud of it,  I am turning 72 next week and have been a Proud liberal since 1968 when I was serving in the 1st Air Cavalry just about 25 miles from the DMZ in Vietnam.

Reasonable People can differ on points of policy in politics, but we must be civil and united in the respect for our fellow citizens.  I am a Liberal, not the Enemy.  I fought the "enemy" in Vietnam, and when my generation came home there was divisions in the country as there are today, most created by those who wanted things to be their way, not our way.
Three times in my life I have seen unacceptable divisions among people of the United States, and I had hoped that we had matured as a culture. In the 50's there were Communists behind every tree in some people's mind.  During Vietnam it was a generational clash with the new generation much less favorable to Johnson's War.  Now we have War between the people of the US.  Dangerous accusations about the 1st Amendment Press are creating great incivility .

We must find a way to express our political differences and still remain united and strong.  

If he Only Had a Brain

Of course North Korea has not ended its Nuclear Program.  Only the Brain Washed Trump "Loyalists" fell for that.  (Oh and Trump)

CNBC Says that we are in for a big crash

Yes we are and it has Trumps finger prints all over it.  Can't we start, if we recover, start giving tests to the people who make policy about our economy.

The Idiot Right has put the economy in the hands of one of the most celebrated financial failures of all time.

Decline and Fall

When a Great Power declines it does so slowly and many people do not realize the decline until well after the Decline is clear.

Case in Point:  Led on by the President of the US, Trump supporters challenge and harass the Press. and much like the Brown Shirts in NAZI Germany with the Jews.

The US is rather like parents who do not know what their rowdy kids are up to.  Vladimir Putin isthat older kid down the block who is  corrupting our kid, Donald Trump and teaching him unacceptable behavior I  our Democratic Family.

After years of increasingly negative behaviors being encouraged by Talk Radio and the like, we now have a strong negative base for hostile behavior to the very principles that had made the US a great power.

Today the political talk is just as likely to be wild ranting theories great plots to destroy what ever the radical extremes think is being destroyed.

The Dumbing down of the US began in the 80's and has just about reached a critical crescendo. Trump is now directing these lunatics, the new brown shirts, to attack the target that they are given.   This is no accident.  I have always thought the fall of the US would come from within, not from some military force. The snake for Adam and Eve was in the garden not attacking from outside.  

Trump is a Reactionary when A Stable Leader is Required.

And the US will suffer.

It takes about six months to a year for the economy to respond to big gesture events like a neophyte playing with trade when the neophyte has no real knowledge about "the economy".  Even a large number of "Economists" still have not wrapped their thought process around the idea that the US is not the Power in the world that it was in the 60's and 70's.

The Vietnam War and the Nixon Debacle diminished the influence dramatically and the US was set adrift with the adoption of Reaganomics or Supply Side Economics.  We are still adrift today and our Adversaries (Enemies) are well aware of it.  (Evidenced by Putin's Arm in Trumps Back).

The US is one "Crash" away from removal from World Domination and obscurity.  Sadly that "Crash" is creeping up on us, and Trump is just the man to push us off the edge.

A Good Read

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/ending-birthright-citizenship-will-make-republicans-look-like-the-party-of-dred-scott/ar-BBKZ1zj?ocid=spartanntp

Respect is given where Respect is earned

Note to Kellyanne Conway:  Respect is not just given, it has to be earned.  When the White House is run by a Rude Bully one should not look for Respect Just for the office that is being defiled.

When Donald Trump learns humility and manners maybe some that you Respect you long for will come his way.  As long as he is an uncontrolled Adult Child, only people who think it is ok to abuse others they way he does will respect him.  That does not include me.  But my mother and my father, in word and act taught me to respect people and that is what I start with, but that lasts only so long.

Respect and Donald Trump are two things I do not see being connected.

"White" Civil Rights???

I am about as white as you can get, physically.  White as in the White in White Anglo Saxon, Protestant, WASP. My Lineage Genetically is 50% British and then the rest various varieties of Irish, Scotch, and a little German.    How much more white can I be.  Yet I do not feel I am discriminated against at all.   When I walk down the street I feel free.  I am White in the USA and it does not get any better in the USA.  Or so I thought.

Apparently I am greatly discriminated against if I can not demean and Hate people who are not white and will not stay in their place or are deviants.

Ah, there is the rub, I am a deviant of sorts but I do not outwardly act upon it.

I do not understand this martyr attitude of people who feel discriminated against because they can not make sure that non-Christians and Non-whites are not made to feel inferior and suffer because they exist.

I grew up in the Church, Methodist hence the "P" in WASP.   I loved Church, and as long I was a compliant Child was loved back, but when I got older and had to face my faith in the ravages of War in Vietnam, the Church was less loving to me.  I went into the Army and served in Vietnam, just with out a gun.  My personal Faith tells be that God is the giver and taker of Life.  I refused to kill.  I got little support, not that I needed it from man.  The Discipline of the United Methodist Church says that the Church does not believe in participating in acts of war.  Not one person in clergy of that Denomination encouraged me, but rather told me I was ruining my life.

Christians talk a good game but when it comes to actually living, it is not clear at all they know what any of their Disciplines or Bibles say about life on Earth.

I have no complaint about Black people being black.  I grew up in the White South and the black experience for me is mostly from secondary sources.  In the Military I had a number of non-white friends, good friends as along as we were in the army.   Once in open society, I found I had no opportunities to befriend black people.

Civil Rights??  Maybe that should be the right to be civil to all of our citizen not just those like ourselves?  Try that on for size.

My mother was born in 1903 in Alta Loma, Texas, now known as Santa Fe, Texas, the place where one of the latest school shooting took place.  My Aunt wrote a book* about that area where our family were founding fathers and mothers.  My Grandmother was a Mid-Wife there.  My Grand-folk were the business owners and office holders there.  But it was and still is a white community.  I never went to a Public School that was not segregated.  The Black school age kids were bussed, before the  controversy of bussing White Kids, the Black Kids had to be bussed 20 miles to another city to attend their Black School.

Next month I will be 72.  I am so tired of living knowing that after all the talk in the years from 60 on about equality and freedom we still are a shallow people who can not live up to our ideals.

White Civil Rights.  There is no such thing.  It is "Civil Right"  and they are for every one.   Or at least I want it to be that way.  I cry a lot as I have gotten older.  When people ask me why I cry, I relpy, "why aren't you?"

Trump is Delusional.

The Donald is finally gone loopy.  Hard on Russia and Putin?  Outright Laughable.  Of course, Trump can't see this because he has his head so far up crevasses of Putin's body he can not see much anymore.

Mr. President do say this too loud or people will think you are really too Hard on Putin.

Beto and his Campaign Staff in Houston.

Fundamental to having supporters in a campaign is giving the voters the confidence that the Candidate has the positions on the Issues that the voter is looking for, and then the ability to get elected and get their positions enacted. 

I am sad to say that I have lost confidence in Beto for Senator.  His staff seems completely clueless.  I made a healthy donation and they do not even know I am here.  That was a month ago.  Then they seem to think everyone uses Text.  I do not.  I am 71 and a big guy.  I do not have nor will I ever have a "Smart"Phone and that is beyond the imagination of the people I was able to get to talk communicate (of a sort) with me. 

I began voting in 1970 right after getting out of the Military.  Considered my self a Democrat as I am a real Liberal.  Do not know what a "Progressive" is, and really no one else does either.  That is why the Democratic Party is now a minority Party. 

FDR and the Democratic Party got this country through a Depression and World War.  Those are days long gone.  Now we have Republicans that are scared of Trump and we are in danger of become Putins Puppets, too. 

It is a sad time for the US.  I had hoped Beto was someone I could have faith in, but you are no better than your staff, and his staff can not keep track of the donations people make to the campaign. 

I do not know why I am still here. 

Not getting correct, Trump it getting Right, Way Right.

Trump finally got something right, my favorite President did do nothing wrong. My Favorite President is a tie between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.  Both good decent men, neither anything to write home about as President.  Trump is NOT on the list.  He lies more that he doesn't and that alone disqualifies him as my favorite.  And that is just for starters.

Good and Decent will outlast just about all other character traits.  

"God Saved My Child"

No.  God did not specifically save your child.  You and your child are not the center of the Eternal Universe.  There are billions of people in is world that we know.  God does not reach out and selectively save any given child or adult.

Life happens and so does death. We do not always understand the Why and How of things. That is because we are fallible and limited in knowledge.

I like how Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12; "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

Thank God that your child is alive and then spend due sorrow that others are not.  We live but a fleeting fragile time.  Be glad that time is short for us to be back where we came from.  

Putin's Plan

Putin's Plan was getting Trump in office.  All you dead head Republicans that still support our Traitor President, just take a look at Vladimir's new toy.  A Missile system designed for attacking the EU and the US.

All he needed was a "Good Buddy" as the US President, that you are keeping in Office, to not use our much larger Nuclear Force against him.  God is not bringing ending times except maybe by bring the earth much closer to the sun.  That is a real concern.  But then is that not the prophesy, Sun of God.

Intellectuals in Drag

It seems that a gathering of Ultra Right Conservative "Intellectuals" of late drew up list of approved Court Nominees for our Supreme Court.  They met in secret and in the dress of Colonial Gentlemen penned that list and sent it to the successor to General Washington.

I would have loved to see that sight.  It is hard to believe that these men of prestige wore those colonial clothes to get in to character so they could think as prewar, that is Pre Civil War, but I guess one must do what they must.

I mean, who thinks of days when there was a British Class System still.  There were Slaves then and a whole list of amendments that had yet to be added to our Sacred Constitution, that literal Political Bible in these men's minds.  This Document must not be rewritten by Amendments and Decisions by revisionist, Judges.  That is true even though the real Writers of the Constitution wrote wording to allow Amendments and a method of deciding differences among the Judges.

Sadly this farcical episode is true.  Not Trump Truth but Real Truth.

The Truth is the Truth.

No, Donald Trump you did not miss-speak.  You said exactly what you wanted to say because your are arrogant enough to think you could get by with it.  What you did say was right in line with everything you express everyday,  Just lying about it now and then later going right back to your original Statement, like you did before is not going to work again.  Resign.  Don't make yourself get impeached.  Give yourself a Break.  Give us all a break.  Resign.

You have made a pact with the Devil, now live with it.

Trump and Kavanaugh: Headed in any Wrong Way they can.

Kavanaugh believes that in our Government of three Separate but Equal Branches the Executive Branch is more equal than the other two.

Dump Trump and Kavanaugh.

Pathological Liar

Pathological Liars are people who have to lie when reality is inconvenient for them.   Trump is a liar, I am not a Doctor so I can not say it is Pathological, but it sure looks like it to me.  

So if you are one of his blind followers, be careful.     You may be a Pathological liar as well.  Anyone in the USA that does not by now that Trump lies more often than he doesn't, is not playing with a full deck. 

We will be in Financial Crisis soon - always hard to tell exactly when -  but when it comes it will not be nice because there is no one running the shop.  We were caught with no real solution in 2008.  I had been telling people that the crash was coming. 

I was a manager at a Storage facility.  I saw people coming in storing all their stuff so they could move to their new house when it was ready.  I had a pretty good idea that these people did not have the money for this new house.  In conversation they told me about not being able to afford it but their bankers gave them two notes at low interest rates to so they could afford it.  I could feel that they just had to tell people so they could feel assured that this was right. 

It was not, and these people, young minorities, lost everything.  We the People who are supposed to know better, bailed out the financiers and left every one else hanging.  We are headed there again, because the Financial Guys went right back to their thieving ways. but this time it will be different.

All the fuzzy headed Evangelists will be running around looking for the Chariots from the sky and in panic start killing all the people they think are keeping God from saving them.  I hope I will be dead by then, but it looks closer and closer.  

Plan B rush

Would you not guess that Trump's "Spiritual Advisor" would be a Blond.  What Spirit is she supposed to move.  Well, the advisor says, "it is clear that just because you are a refugee, you do not have to break the law, Jesus didn't."  O, really? Which Law?  The law for Jesus was a dual thing as the Roman Empire allowed the Local Jewish Hierarchy to deal with Civil Law.  The Jewish law for forbade pretty much everything on the Sabbath and Jesus routinely broke the Jewish laws - there were a great many of those laws.

I suppose that the Evangelicals version of Jesus does not break the laws that they do not want him to break.  Jesus, was very careful not to challenge directly the Roman Empire.  It was not because he was afraid, but because Jesus was concerned about man's souls, not their political structures.

I am reminded of the song from Monty Python.  Every Sperm is Sacred every Sperm is Great.  When a Sperm is wasted God gets quite Irate.

Yeah there is that God of Wrath, but Jesus said was a God of Love.  There is no wrath in God or Jesus.  When Jesus tells us to live like Him, he did not mean to return to Rome of over 2000 years ago.

The decision about abortion is the business of the person bearing the child.  I am a single man, so I will never need an abortion for me, but at one time someone I cared about did.  I am opposed to killing human life, and a fetus is a human life, but I told this pregnant person that it was her decision. If she decided to have the child I would help her in every way I could to care for that child.

Having morals has consequences.  If you are going to deny a person an abortion because of your morals, then those caring morals should extend for the next 18 to 21 years.  Too many fundamentalist Christians have "no fault" morality.  We are a neighbors keeper and also the keeper of their children regardless how they get here.

If every sperm is sacred, then every life that is produced by that Sperm is sacred.  Yes is Life is sacred and we of Faith are required to honor that.

The US's curious Self-Loathing

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Now it seems to me that if I start a Business, I am the boss of the Business, or at least am the owner  place someone else in Charge under my guidance.  So why are not the People of the United States the Government?  The answer is quite simple the People are the Government.  

So why so I hear citizens of the US whine about how bad the Government is?  How can one call themselves "Anti-Government" in a system that the people began and is a Democracy where those very citizens choose on a regular basis, who and how, their Country is run.  It seems clear that being "Anti-Government" is a psychosis, where one hates themselves.

That view says a whole lot about the US and why we are in the sad shape we are in.  

The Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond seem to be good examples of this self-inflicted psychosis.  This merges right into the tensions about the Supreme Court and the ill informed opinion that the Constitution is not a Living Document.   For the Founders the Constitution was the first Draft of a form of Self Governing.

We began in the mid 1770's demanding that is was our God Given right to rule ourselves and not by Some King or some wanna be King.  Today we hand off our responsibilities and then moan and groan about how bad we treat each other.  If that is too strong, then Pardon me. 

Post Birth Abortions

I was born on August 14, 1946.  Or so I am told.  I was one of those pregnancies, you know, unwanted.  While the Right-winger, Evangelicals, and other people that do not think abortion is a good thing, giving the new born a chance at a good life is not the High Minded Moralists is not their concern,

For these hypocrites, the answer is, as it was in Charles Dickens' day: Are there no work houses!

I was given up for adoption. The my maternal grandmother, pushed her daughter to try to raise me and I was cruelly taken to satisfy someone else's morality.  That lasted about a year and an one half and then I was taken away by the Welfare Department and then was immediately adopted (as immediate as the state can ever move) and delivered to a wonderful couple in their Mid-Forties.

This was great, but the damage, permanent damage, had already been done.  With my real mother I had been neglected and pretty much abused.

I tell you this because were it not for the magnitude of the Love and caring  of these two people who became my parents who knows what would have happened to me.

Things like life and death of fetuses is not as clear as it may seem. When there is no help for those tasked with raising an unwanted child bad things happen.  It is a very sad thing to see, when people of faith put a wall around their Love.  Love is given to those who seek it, free and freely by God.

Krugman is not the Problem

Krugman is what he is, an economist that has a better understanding of the US economy than most other economists. He is schooled in Economics and still managed to keep a pretty objective view of things. So what do his detractors have to contribute?

The Average American has no idea of how our economy works and as a result we are herded like sheep to the slaughter. The Democratic Party has become a Corporate Party. Clinton in the 1990's as an outsider President could not get Democrats to work with him to get things done so he turned to the Republicans and got what he could. It is not help that he was married to a former Republican that still has Corporate Leanings.

What good is it to have two parties when they are the same. We need a Conservative and Liberal Party, or even better several of each. We need to pull out of the cowering mode that Democrats have been in ever since Reagan ridicules them and Liberals, using the "L" word classification to ridicule the Political Philosophy of FDR. I do not know what a Progressive is, except it is not Liberal. At best Progressives are moving, but it not clear the direction they are moving or at what speed.

To fight Trump we need people in office who know where they are going and can articulate that with a passion that will get the Liberal Voter out to the polls. In short Democrats need to quit being victims. We have the right issues and in the past when we sold them we won. We do not have Abortion Rights and Gay Rights because we were victims, but because we sold the Idea that these rights were Human Rights and positive for the Country.

We are in a back lash era with Trump, but do not mistake our adversaries. If Democrats do what other winning liberal candidates have done and articulated the strength of these basic rights, we can stem the Trump Tide. (not really a tide, but more like back wash.

"Exposing" the Trump as Hitler mime.

Allan Richarz, opinion contributor for "The Hill" is displayed on the MSN site as saying how Trump is being unfairly portrayed as a "Hitler".  Please Allan, what am I missing?

He came away from the "Communist" Block Countries literally Gushing about how orderly their countries are and how much their people show their leaders respect.  He wants big military parades where the people can gather in huge throngs to worship their Leader - Trump.

Good God what have they been teaching in our schools since I graduated in 1964.   We were taught how to tell propaganda because our adults then were more likely to think that Communists where around every corner.  Now the people where I lived in 1964 think that Putin is so much better than that Black man who was a "dictator" to them.

How has our country gone so far adrift?  That comes from affluence fed by a corporate media that views our duty as the consumption of junk at exorbitant prices.  Gee, am I being too harsh?  No, I do not think so. Trump as Hitler?  No.  Just put "Wanna Be"  before "Hitler"  then you are right on target.

The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance. 

Where Goeth the Party?

In 1964 I was in a small Bible Belt Town in Texas.  I was 17, far to young to know much about politics.  The establishment was Democrat so I was Republican.  I was a rebel then and still am.

In 1966 my Dad died and I was in shock.  I realized then for the first time, I was going to be on my own soon.  I looked around at our world and looming over the horizon was the Draft - Free Trip to Asia.  I was never a good student.  I was coming to a dividing point in my Faith.  I had to make a choice my life and I discovered that I was a Liberal.

Still am a Liberal.  Still a Rebel, so when Ronald Reagan made the "L" word a dirty word, I still brandished it .  I do not know what a Progressive is.  Liberal has a long term definition which is, "more free."  The right wing hates nothing more than the people being "More Free".

I can not say what others might do, but for me and I hope the American People, Life without Liberty is not life worth living.

Early Christmas at the Intersection of the US and Russia.

Looks like Trump is giving Putin his Christmas wish list early.  What is that?  A Defenseless Europe as the US removes its military.

The Living Constitution, the Founders Intent

Original Intent.  The bugaboo of the Ultra Right Wing.  The Heritage Society and the like.  These people think that the Constitution is a Bible and the Bill of Rights is the Ten Commandments.  The believe that the Founders intended this to be carved into stone and is unchangeable.

This set of ideas are absurd and fly the face of the records kept at the time on the discussions between the group of men that compiled the Document.   In fact, before the Constitution was adopted a set of 10 amendments were approved to be attached to the Constitution, as amendments, when it was ratified.

What rational thinker would look at a document that contains the ability to amend and even rewrite in convention and say that the writers of that document intended to keep this document in tact as written. Absurd.

Then there is the fact, get that FACT, that there were issues that the members of the Convention where the Constitution was written could not come to a clear agreement on, and left in the Constitution temporary "Fixes" and then kicked the Constitution down the road for future generations to resolve.

Of Course the Constitution is and was intended to be a "Living Document" so those who lived under its Structures and laws could make the document relevant to those who are living contemporarily  rather than those long dead.

New Blood for Democrats

Sorry, Biden does not need to be our 2020 Candidate.  Biden should put together a committee to find qualified Candidates for National Offices (He already has Beto) and get behind them.  We need leadership from the people in their 40's and 50's that are not tainted with the recrafting of the Democratic Party that made it weak and beholding to the 10%.

That is it.  Democrats, get out and do it.

Revolutions are not Cautious

One must be very cautious when revolting.  History, that long ignored record of our past, tells us if we listen, that change, revolution comes with an uncertain past and future.  That famous admonition that those who do not know their past are doomed to repeat it, is balance by the bleak reality that even when we know our past, there is no guarantee that we are less doomed.

So House Candidates are running away from Pelosi as Speaker is the Democrats take the House.  I think that is a good sign, but there is a greater need to make sure we have somewhere to run rather than just away.

Ever since the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, in the year 1968, 40 years ago, the Democratic Party has drifted in  uncertainty about what they really stand for. The answer seems to be continually a money center Corporate Party. We already have one of those. We do not really need another.  I keep hearing that Democrats are Progressive, but I do not know what that means.  It sounds a lot like a Party that does not have the courage to take a stand, and be assertive in our goals and decisions.

Change takes time and we must understand that, but determination of direction has to be certain before one heads in to the future or one finds them self lost and confused about where they want to go. When I went back to regular duty at Darnell Army Hospital I was in Medical Holding.  I had a Wall above the head of my bed and I posted things there that were questionable because there was a picture of Eldridge Cleaver with it.

If I am going to be smeared by being derisively called "LIBERAL", then I might as well be myself and a Long Term Liberal.  Maybe even a Socialist.  The direction we are going now - toward fascism - certainly is not the way we need to go. There is not a whiff of difference between the two parties in actuality, and that does need to change.

We need to find and support people who walk the walk and talk the talk to lead us.  I am from Texas and that is a statement politically of reality not pride.  Our Politicians are a joke.  For 100 years our state was nominally Democrat and was so because Lincoln was a Republican.  Reagan made it safe to be a Republican again and the entire south suddenly were Republicans again. Great way to develop political plans and programs.

Right now I have found two maybe three candidates that I can with clear conscious support with my time and money.  One local (State) office seeker, and one national (Senate) office seeker.  The one seeking a seat in Congress would be some one that might have the courage, platform, and exposure to change the direction of the Democratic Party.

I will not support any one who I do not think can and wants to move the Party a bit further toward the left.  We need to have candidates that step in the path that Thomas Jefferson followed when writing the Declaration of Independence.  What a radical Document.  We need to again fix our radicalism in the founders actions of making a new Creature called a Democracy. A Government of the people and for the people, not the money changers.

The Way Things Are: Socialism - US Civics 101

Euphemizing a term is rather like euthanizing small animals.  We do it all the time whether by using a word improperly or joining terms to mean something different than either separate term on its own.  And then there is the twist - the flipping of the word that begins the combination to mean some thing different.  Like Social Democrat  and Democratic Socialist.

So the body politic of the US is FINALLY getting around to the notion that the US, in its inception, is a Socialist Economy.  Socialism is an economic System where the means of Production is owned by the Government.

The first three words of the Preamble to the Constitution are "We The People".  We the people are the power behind the Government that we created. As the Constitution is a Living Document that  the Creators made amendable. The People alive can change and make the Governance of the Government serve the people living today rather than over 200 years ago.

So when we talk about our Government we should combine the additional words, "as Amended", to it. This is part of what makes our form of Government so great - when we use it properly - and strong.

Getting back to the Socialist part of the Constitution, the "We The People" announcement means that all the citizens are the owners of everything within the borders of the US.  We collectively own all the Land and Wealth of the United States.  By the Constitution, "We" are responsible for Electing Members of the Governance, Creating a Judicial System, and Electing an Executive to direct the Governance, all who serve at the people's "Pleasure".  We broke away from a King and have no need for a new one.

The above mentioned Governance is the temporary group of people that serve the people by keeping the Governance running and informing the People when there are needs to keep the Governance operating.

Governance also means that Individual Citizens do not out right own any wealth in the United States.  The Governance is tasked with maintain an orderly system where qualifying citizens can take responsibility for acting as a sole care taker of temporary owner of land and other wealth and the returns it makes. We can treat this property and wealth as owners but are aware that with use of the land and wealth we must support the Governance and pay rents.

I could go on, but I think the fundamentals of the idea that the US is a Socialist System regardless of the order of words as one describes it.  Bottom Line is that the US is a Democratic Republic with a Socialist Economy that is run by capital principles making it a Capitalist Socialist Economy.  If the Founders had common usage of the word Socialism in the 1700's we might very well be using that term today.

Summer of 1968: Martin

On April 1, 1968, I was wounded in Vietnam by Friendly Fire.  What that means I was injured by ordinance from US forces.  It is not unusual, and is part of the "Fog" of war.  This resulted in wounds all along the left side of my body and my return stateside.

After being wounded, I was treated at the Aid Station that I worked at when I was not a patient.  I was sent to a Mobile Hospital for any surgical stabilization, and on to the Philippines.   I was there on April 4, 1968, when Martin Luther King was assassinated.

Other than the fact that I was troubled and sad by this event, nothing else was unusual, except one of the patients there expressed that he glad that that "Communist" was dead.  The US Military was desegregated since Truman, but there were still racists in the Army.

During TET the Army open a "Graves Registration" unit right next to our Aid Station so they could make use of our Helicopter landing zone.  The result was that when wounded patients were brought in out of the field, dead soldiers were also flown in to us.  At this time I was basically a litter bearer so it was my job to take the deceased soldiers to the Graves Registration Tent.

One time the person I was taking to Graves Registration was a Black Soldier.  The other litter bearer said, "that's another good Ni**er".  I was stunned that even while we were in the heat of battle that racism toward a fellow soldier was still so strong.  It has always haunted me.  We in the USA like to think that Racism is a thing of the past, but I have known all along that ugly racism is alive and well.

One thing the Current Administration  has made clear is that racism is alive and well.  It was in 1968 in the Streets of the United States, and in some of the soldiers in Vietnam and it is now.

Summer 1968

I see that there is some interest the Year 1968 this summer.  I have written about this before, and often.  1968 was a Watershed Year for the United States. Some of what I write here may be redundant, but it bears repeating because the events of that year have loomed over largely in shaping how the future of the US played out.

Of course, I think that my view of these events are correct, but everyone who was alive and aware of the Events of that year have a view.  I am not really a writer.  I often write like I think and talk - all over the place.  I will however try to discipline my self to stay on topic.

I was in Vietnam on New Years Day of 1968.  I arrived in Vietnam at the beginning of December, and was assigned to the 15th Medical Battalion attached to The First Air Cavalry.  I was assigned to Landing Zone (LZ) Uplift just north of the Bong Song area where there was a lot of Fighting.  I was not aware of this fighting and LZ Uplift was quiet.  Very soon we moved up close to the DMZ.  I can look up these dates, but for now time is not significant.  We were awakened in the middle of the night and told to pack up everything and flew into Da Nang Air Base and began convoyed to a cleared out piece of land that only had a Medical Pod on it.  We waited there until day light.  Some of our people stayed with the Pod and this became LZ Jane.  We then proceeded through Hue, the old provincial Capital of Vietnam, and on to LZ Sharon outside Quang Tri.

LZ Sharon was where I was for the rest of my stay in Vietnam.  It was also a Camp for Marines.  The Marines had some real good food.  Being in a Medical Battalion with Doctors, we had pretty good food, but the Marines had us beat and we were ahead of our supply chain, so we got to eat with the Marines.

On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese Launched the "Tet" offensive, the largest Offensive of the US - Vietnam War.    It was odd timing because the First Air Cavalry had moved up to the North of South Vietnam, for the specific goal of assisting the Marines at Khe Sanh which was a air base in a valley between two mountain ridges.  The North Vietnamese had pinned the Marines down by keeping them from being able to fly in and out of Khe Sanh so they were stranded.  

Technically, the Tet Offensive was militarily a failure for Vietnam, but for the US it exposed that the US was no closer to a Victory than they were before.  This changed the politics of Vietnam and gave strength to the growing anti war movement. The first tremors of this disruptive year had begun.

References and other sources:

I am a Movie fanatic.  In my life time there have been many movies that are the equivalent of a Book of History or Sociology.  There are several Vietnam Movies that I can recommend that can give you a feel of what the War was like.  And then there is a book that accompanied a special on PBS that has the best history of the US Vietnam Conflict.

Movies:

Full Metal Jacket, Director - Stanley Kubrick

Apocalypse Now, Director - Francis Ford Coppola

Platoon, Director - Oliver Stone


Book

Vietnam: A History, Stanley Karnow

TV Documentary 

Vietnam: A Television History , PBS and Stanley Karnow

  

Note:  When the AP calls Beto O'Rourke a Former Punk Rocker, let us remember that we were all something in our youth that a Media that fears Trump can use to dismiss us as a new actor in our politics.  AP needs to know that we the people are keeping track of who stands with the people and who stands with people who fear Trump.

The Media Historically has been strong against people who seek to silence them.  AP needs to find that spirit in their souls again.

Me I do not care what Beto was, I care who he is today.  He speaks the same political language I do and that is all I care about.  When he sees injustice, he says so.   Where was Cruz at the border.  He was making a silly publicity grab with Jimmy Kimmel two days before, while Beto was on his way to see the situation on the border first hand.  For me, a on site man with a plan is the kind if person I want as Senator, not a "me too" candidate.

Fall of the American Empire

On Monday June 18, 2018, Paul Krugman wrote an Editorial in the New York Times, that indicated that Trump is the bringing about the Fall of the American Empire.  Mr. Krugman is a bit behind the times.  The beginning of the Fall of the American Empire began our myopic vision and entry into Vietnam and with the Creation of the OPEC and their use of oil to blackmail the US into terrible Policy positions. 

The Economic Failure of US Economists to understand what was really going on in the economy and the folly of Vietnam by the time Reagan rolled around with his "Revolution" the US was already in decline and had to be propped up by massive debt.

The Supply-siders, Those that thought if you borrowed money and pumped it into the economy (Supply) that the engines of the Economy would power up and  just merrily roll along as if the debt was not there.  That was the 70's and early 80's.  During the Clinton and the Obama second term the deficit was brought down but then time ran out and the Republican Warriors gained office and ran the Debt right back up. 

Trump is trying to be Reagan but does not have the staff that Reagan or the lack of a huge Debt to deal with at the beginning of his Term.  Trumps knows about as much about the economy as the average Citizen of the US does, which is not much

So here we are when there is not much hope of getting an intelligent Administration put together, stuck with a President that is as Krugman described, "trashing the things that made us great, turning us into just another bully — one whose bullying will be far less effective than he imagines."

But what are we to do about Trump, or for that matter the destructive ignorance of the People of the US about Economics. 

Posted on originally by me on the David Parkman Show Web site comments.

There is a reality that the National Democratic Party died in the streets of Chicago in 1968 - that watershed year.  Despite three wins in the Presidential Races, two were of Deep Southern Governors and one was Barack Obama one of the most gifted politician in our History.  While there were these 3 wins, all of them were outsiders to the Party Organization.  After the Convention and subsequent loss there was a period of trying to "fix" the party from the abuses of kingpins like Daiey in Chicago but in fact fixed nothing and the party stumbled from McGovern, Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis.  Then Clinton won in1992.  By the time Clinton left office the Party had become a Corporate Party and had no ties what so ever to the Party of Roosevelt.  The Party remains a corporate party and even though Obama did get some liberal legislation passed the Party, as indicated by the nomination of Hillary for President was firmly in the hands of the Corporate powers in the Party.  The excuse for this travesty was that the party needed win with no care for how Hillary would Govern. 

So now we have Trump.  Trump is a ball of clay in his right wing operatives hands, and the support of Putin and nominally China.  The US is most strongly tied to our former "enemies"  and alienated from our former allies.  This is a win win for Putin who needs to start getting aid from the US Treasury.   The Alarms should have started going off when North Korea became our buddy and Canada became our enemy.  According to Trump the Press and Canada are our greatest enemies.

So what does the Democratic Party do?  Nothing.  I personally have found here in Texas several Liberal Candidates to support.  I think that Beto O'Rourke is one of our best hopes on the national level.  He reminds me of a young Robert Kennedy with out being a Kennedy.  He is Liberal, (I am sorry I do not know what a "Progressive" is except a reaction to the demonization of the word Liberal by Reagan.  Democrats need to develop a backbone) and has no problem showing it.  This week end he was on the Border here in Texas spotlight the insanity that Trump is perpetuating. 

Meanwhile his opponent for Senator, Ted Cruz was having some play off with Jimmy Kimmel. Great visual playing elite games on TV rather than giving support to the immigrant children who have been taken from their parents.  Laura Bush spoke out against the separation of Parents and Children at the Border.  Where is the Democratic Party leadership.  This is the reason Democrats need to worry this year, lack of any kind of effective leadership. 

I do not know if Beto has a Written Platform, but I sure do know he lives his Liberal beliefs as evidenced by his actions.  Beto is a leader, not a follower, and I am beginning to see an emergence of Women here in Texas that are activists for Democratic ideals.  There is hope for the Party it is just not fully surfaced yet. 

The Texas Democratic Party is still in shock from falling from the majority Party here to the Minority Party.  Every 4 years I hear that the Party is going to turn Texas Blue and of course every year they do not.  The only Blue they have is in the Black and Blue bruises they get from their defeat.  I have a glimmer of hope, even though it will be difficult, that one or two or my candidates I have chosen to support will win and they can start the long road back to belonging to a Relevant Party.

I am Proud to support Beto O'Rourke in his March and Demonstration for the Children of our neighbors to the South that come to the US to escape the ravages of neglect from their Authoritarian Leaders who were placed there by the US.

One might ask why are these people coming here.  The 1920's Bank Robber John Dillinger was asked why he robbed banks, and his answer was simple.  He said that was where the money was.  

That is why the people of Central America come here.  The US has spent a lot of time stealing their wealth by placing Dictators that were told by the US Corporations what to do.  There is a book, one of many, about this called "Bitter Fruit" that tells the story of how United Fruit used those dictators to force the people of those countries to grow produce for sale to the US so we in the US could have cheap produce.  The people could not grow food for themselves on their own property with out being called Communists and being arrested or shot.

What the US, under Trump, is doing now is an abuse of Power and can Explain the Closeness of Trump to China and Russia where this is regular and acceptable behavior.

Beto is running for Senator from Texas as a Democrat.  Democrats are not the ones causing this.  Trump is and the Republican Party are too afraid to oppose the Pirates who commandeered their Party.