J.D.Vance has told me, somehow, that I don’t care about the future of this country, that I have no vested interest in the future. So, I find myself asking questions…
Do you think Climate Change is an important issue for the future of this country?
Do you think the protection of our water ways is an important issue for the future of this country?
Do you think the well rounded education of all of our children, you know – not just the wealthy ones, is an important issue for the future of this country?
Do you think that the planned family, the desired and celebrated family, is an important issue for the future of this country?
Do you think that a healthy populace given access to quality healthcare without the risk of personal bankruptcy is an important issue for the future of this country?
What does this guy think indicates a value for the continuity of our country? An uber-wealthy oligarchy? A destroyed natural resources? Dying financially ruined for need of routine health care?
Please hit the link for a great song by one of my favorite singers… who we will soon, unfortunately lose. There is a bit of peace and a removal of all my adult worries when I hear that song, even if for just a moment.
I hit planet earth just a bit before Bert and Ernie, Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus. Just. And while my street didn’t look anything like Sesame Street, I was welcome there.
There in the midst of the Vietnam War lived this street where good things and some scary things happened, but at the end of the hour it was all alright. There was a world where little boys and girls lived safe lives, no one got hurt, no one was afraid, and no one ever cried alone. One day I grew up and left Sesame Street, thinking I was too old, too mature. Never would I have considered just how much I miss that quiet little community just waiting for me there on Channel 11.
Pardon me, but I am tired. I’ve been tired for years, and this just seems to get worse and worse as time goes by, and it has made me feel truly disheartened and dispirited about posting things I think on, and frankly of even thinking.
Truthfully, it makes it difficult to speak on serious issues, difficult to think on serious things, difficult to converse with neighbors and friends and family about the hopes and hurts of our day. I don’t know how to speak on seriousness with someone who has given up on respect and seriousness. I don’t know how to speak on reality with someone who doesn’t share a common reality! For instance…
Did you know that if you believe someone has the right to be gay, to be trans even, to be genuine!, to be able to read books about others who have struggled with similar things, that you are “a pedophile and want to maim children”? That’s what we are being told.
Did you know that if you believe in constitutional rights, individual rights, health care rights, and feeding children, you “hateAmerica“? That’s what we are being told.
Did you know that if you think Israel has gone too far and has moved past defending its citizens and interests and is moving down a road of genocide, you “hate Jewish people and are a terrorist“? That too is what we are being told.
Did you know that if you believe that regulations are needed to ensure that people are safe, that industries don’t pollute our waterways and ground, that air pollution is toxic to the continuity of humanity, that you are “a burden on future generations and that you want America to fail“? Haven’t you heard this? I am told this all the time.
Did you know that finding a direct correlation between the prevalence of guns, the romanticization of of guns, and the unwillingness to be responsible for healthy training and use of guns to the number of children and other innocent people being victimized by guns means that you “wantcriminals to ruin our country“? Aren’t you watching the news? This is what we are supposed to believe.
And, I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to argue against utter nonsense and innuendo masqueraded as political wit and the solution to what ails the country is slinging batshit crazy names at someone who thinks there must be a better way. Is it too much to hope that we can get a government interested in tackling the problems and opportunities we face in America, interested in debating the pro’s and con’s and finding good solutions, or must we continue to be part of this Jr. High bullshit?
Last night I sat out at the front porch and had a cup of coffee after work. It’s been a while since I sat out and enjoyed the evening air, and even though it was quite muggy it was nice to contemplate my world and how fortunate I have it in life. I miss my Grace terribly. She would sit out here with me and watch the neighborhood, and I often wondered what she was thinking. She seemed so content to simply watch; to be a part of the life going on around her, the wonderful smells of summer, the sounds of the birds, the kids playing, people walking by getting their exercise. There is a peace in that simple act that I wonder how many people in this world have available to them.
What I miss the most from my walks with Grace was her fascination with things great and small. She loved to go out and see things – like this picture when we went down to a local park for some exercise. Gracie was a great believer in feeling the wind through her ears, smells were fascinating, squirrels were great fun. Sometimes, I must admit, I resented her need for exercise and new sights when I wanted to be lazy and stare at the tv. But, she was mostly patient, waiting and encouraging me to get out and smell the mailboxes.
So, today I went out and did the proverbial smelling of the roses. I got a bit of sunshine on my face. I had a full belly, there was money in my wallet, my bills are paid up, and no one was shooting at me. How many in this world can boast those simple needs in life? How many have watched their homes destroyed, their loved ones hurt. How many are crying with an empty belly? How many live in sadness and despair? How many just hope to keep living? How did I come to be born in Michigan vs. Mexico or Ukraine or some other poverty stricken and war torn area?
So to each of you I wish a bit of sunshine, birdsong, cool grass to lay in and a squirrel or two to brighten your day. Hugs. Randy
The moment Joe Biden said that it was better for him, his family and his country that he does not run for another term was met in my heart with a bit of sadness, but unfortunately not a great deal of surprise. We all come to that moment when we must set down our sword, let another carry the load, and finally be at peace with our fight. So to that, I give a nod to a very human Joe Biden who I feel faced the slings and arrows the best he could and allowed the country to heal from the disaster of 4-years preceding his tenure.
Trump posted that he felt the Democrats owed him a great deal of money because he spent fortunes trashing the Biden name, the Biden presidency and the future of the presidency under Joe Biden. But, Joe stepped aside. Wasn’t that what you wanted, DonDon? Some would say you have a bit of a snowflake problem; I say you are a cryin’ bitch.
So, what has changed? Did the theft of state secrets suddenly now not happen? Did he now not steal from his own charity? Did he actually not defraud his “university” (?) students? Did he now not actually assault that woman, did he not actually cheat on his wife with a porn star as she was giving birth to his son, and did he not actually bribe that porn star to keep her silence? Did he not pump up a crowd to “go fight” for a lost election? Did he not conspire to defraud a state election? Did he now not meet in private with the Russian ambassador, kicking his own staff out of the room? Did he not so incompetently mishandle an international epidemic that we are still suffering the consequences? Did he not destroy nearly every career of every person who worked with and for him? Seriously! Where is the line? What does it take? Who has to die and what has to be destroyed before this man is seen as the con-man that he truly is?
Having watched the goings on in both congress and the campaign trail, I’m coming to understand the typical voter for Trump. I thought I would see if I could make the image clearer with a throwback to our greatest American philosopher. Jeff Foxworthy is a true believer in the power of image and illustration to help the somewhat inebriated and discerning American identify his heritage.
You Might Be a Redneck Moron if…
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate needs permission from his parole officer to campaign in another state.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate is has to pardon himself for crimes he committed during his last run.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate’s heroes are Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate is running because his Washington DC hotel needs money.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate’s most qualified endorsements are Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate can’t call on his former advisory staff to help him because they haven’t made parole yet.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate’s former cabinet have referred to him as unfit for office.
You might be a moron if …. your presidential candidate is your hero because he is going to close the southern border, but refused to do anything on it until his third year in office and only after he made sure he and his other billionaire friends got a tax break, but summarily failed – then his friend got your donation money to put up a fence but actually stole the money, for which he was then pardoned by your candidate~~!
You might be a moron if …. you think a civilly liable fraudster, rapist and ‘friend of Epstein’, felonious, treasonous, billionaire whose first acts of his former presidency was to give billionaires a tax break and destroyed the regulations for the safety of the citizens, downplayed and mishandled an international epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands then blamed the scientists who were seeking to save the world – speaks for you because he thinks like you do.
The presumptive major party nominee for president has been convicted of a felony. He and his party don’t believe it should apply to him. That same individual nominee for the most powerful office in the world has committed fraud, stealing from his charity. He as committed fraud and cheated students hoping to learn to be a entrepreneur, solidly implanting the understanding that real business acumen comes only be defrauding the customer. This same presumptive major party nominee for president has been shown to have allowed himself to be bribed by governments of the world, and the party has shown itself to be ok with that. The same individual has removed secret documents from the government, refused to return them despite repeated requests, then claimed victimhood when those secret documents were recovered despite his obstruction and treason. His party is ok with that.
This same party wants to make America great again, and sees that nominee as the man for the job.
Come to find out, the presumptive nominee of the other major party is old.
I just read Scotties post about Pauly. I sat and imagined a world where this poor child was murdered, where horrible indignities were committed. You know the worst thing? In my mind ran this thought that certain conservatives would throw her trans status as somehow indicative of deserving this treatment. What a cynical and dismissive thought for me to have, and why have I lost my ability to be shocked and saddened for this lost soul and her family? Now how does that apply to the pic above? I celebrate each and every person who finds the courage to be themselves in this scary world. It is safer to live in obscurity, to blend in to the crowd. As an adult, it is truly easier – I remember, regret and resent the time of my own adolescence, and I tremble at what kids go through now with social media and far right fanatics. And let me be clear: I don’t care if someone is gay, trans, straight, a jock, a nerd, a boy scout or a rebel, I just celebrate each and every opportunity for all of us, especially kids, to be genuine, free and loving to self and others. Hugs. -randy
Scottie's Playtime 