Dear Republican friend

 I'm not against banning abortion. But I would like the laws to hold the father responsible for the baby as well as the mother. Our DNA technology today can precisely identify the father.

I'm not against ending birthright citizenship. That's only in the Constitution because our country was brand new and nobody was a natural-born citizen.

And I'm not against cutting the wasteful spending by the government. But I don't think putting a man who makes billions on government contracts in charge of cutting is wise. How come none of his contracts is being looked at? And how come he's gutting the services that oversee his operations?

When Trump won the election I congratulated you. I said, "Your person won."

You replied, "Thanks! I feel the country won as well."

Are you still of the opinion that our country has won?

My New Year's Resolution

I told my brother in an email that my New Year's Resolution was to do all that I can and a little bit more to listen and learn, to speak and teach, to love and be loved, to share the wealth and the load (this is the most important one), and to promote laughter (or maybe this is the most important)!

And then a few hours later I wrote about the mass mowing down of revelers in the French Quarter of N'awlins by an enraged pickup driver, and concluded that it was a harbinger of what the year will be like.

We're going to be anxious but hopeful until January 20th when Trump takes office and then we're going to know that we are fucked.

How can I keep believing in the inherent worth and dignity of every person?

Like I said in my memoir ("The Winter Of My Discontent")... There's more to being a man than just slugging somebody, but there's more to being a Christian than just turning the other cheek. I think... I hope! I do more slugging than turning these next 4 years. I have to resist, persist, and insist. And keep looking up.

This is the beginning of four years of tribulation for liberals. We must resist the forces of evil. We must persist in hope that we can make a difference. And we must insist that our freedoms remain. The freedom to be white or not. The freedom to be male or not. The freedom to be Christian or not. The freedom to be native born, or NOT!

I pledge allegiance to the flag, not some fat ageing draft-dodger who has been privileged all his life and thinks he's "God's chosen one." A pox and a virus on him!

Trump Abortion Laws

 

The Democratic National Convention opened last night. Sally and I watched it until Biden's speech ended. We may pick it up again, but I doubt it since we'll have another 4 or 5 hours of DVR recording again tonight.

But I wanted to talk about the testimonials on the Trump abortion laws. The first couple was from Texas. They really wanted another child, but their doctors told them there was 100% certainty that the fetus would not survive. Even so, the mother was not allowed an abortion. When she started bleeding they went to 2 emergency rooms who turned them away. She finally expelled the fetus and then could be treated.

The second woman, a woman of color, had a similar story in Louisiana, who also barely survived.

The third woman told of how she was varsity soccer captain, cheerleading captain, home coming queen. an all-American girl. But when she was 12, after being raped by her sexually abusive step-father, she became pregnant. But in Kentucky then, there were no Trump abortion laws, and she was able to have an abortion. That would not be true today. Today a raped 12-year-old would have to carry her rapist's baby to term. So forget soccer, forget cheerleading, forget home-coming, forget that All-American Girl description.

Donald Trump MUST be denied a second term! And men who rape children should have their spinal chord severed just below the base of the skull.

Project 2025 Takes Us Back to the Middle Ages

 An excerpt from the Project 2025 document, pages 4 and 5:

"The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists."

While claiming these actions will guarantee Americans their First Amendment rights, it denies the First Amendment Rights of everyone who isn't a cisgender white evangelical Christian. That includes only 14% of Americans. The other 6/7ths are left out.

Download your own copy of the Project 2025 document at: https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

Christian political power

A poem this morning brought back to me the thoughts that have been shaking my mind like a 4.0 earthquake lately. Wailing fathers holding bloody kids amid the rubble of the house where they once found love and rest. I walk into my living room after a good night's sleep. The light on the timer has come on. The coffee pot is gurgling away according to its programming. My coffee is hot and ready. How do I deserve this and they deserve that?

The worst part of this... the war in the "Holy" Land... is that Christians seem to think it's a good thing. It portends the "End Times" to their deceived minds. "Senator" Tommy Tuberville thinks he's doing God's will, trying to force the military to make its members obey Alabama's abortion laws. He has the political power to hold up 400 top brass promotions, crippling our military's ability to respond to international crises.

But where did his political power come from? From God? After Jesus was baptized, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, he was led into the wilderness where Satan came to him and tempted him.

"You must be hungry. Why don't you turn these stones into bread so you can eat?" said Satan.

"No," said Jesus. "Man doesn't live by just bread, but by the Word of God." Strike one.

So Satan flew him up to the highest pinnacle of the Temple and said, "Jump! God has said the angels will catch you."

"No," said Jesus. "You must not tempt the Lord your God." Strike two.

Finally Satan took Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. "I can give you political power over all the world if you but bow down and worship me," said Satan.

"Get away from me, Satan!" said Jesus. "It is written in the Scriptures, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve!" Strike three, bub. You're outa there!

So when Satan offered Jesus political power, he turned him down. Apparently Sen Tuberville and the white Christian nationalist Republicans didn't. It's not God they're serving. It's Satan.

Gaza, Ukraine, Maine, Acapulco and Formula 1

Alan Alda once said, as his character Hawkeye in M*A*S*H:

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.

So I watch the videos of the destruction in Gaza, in Ukraine, in Maine, in Acapulco. ALL of those catastrophes, including the so-called "acts of God" like hurricanes, can be prevented by humans taking positive action. But we don't. We say, "They are killing us, so we have to kill them." We say, "Everyone, including psychopaths, has a right to own a gun designed to kill scores of people in a handful of seconds." We say, "Climate change is a hoax. Just more woke nonsense."

Maybe this is all God's will. If it is, then human beings have no right to continue.

Have you seen the videos of the destruction in Gaza? Bleeding kids? Dead kids? Have you heard the "Brass" in the Israeli military, the Minister of Defense? "We are fighting human animals." Even President Biden is refusing to urge Israel to obey the so-called "Laws of War". Specifically, to avoid causing civilian casualties. Yes, Hamas is evil, but Palestinian children, cripples, and old ladies are not. The UN passed a resolution to pause the bombing, but the US voted against it.

There's a Formula 1 race today. In Mexico City, a few hundred miles from where Hurricane Otis killed 27 people (maybe more now). It was a tropical storm and then 24 hours later it was a Category 5 hurricane hitting Acapulco. It could only become that strong that quickly because humans are heating the oceans with their carbon emissions. How can I sit and watch 20 rich guys burn fuel and dump carbon into the atmosphere while they race at 200 mph around in circles and go nowhere?

 

The Problem Is With The Human Heart

I tuned in the other day (has it been 2 or 3 days ago now?) to watch some political news and all I got on any channel was the mass shooting in the safest state in the country, Maine. For three days (or two? -- seems like weeks!) there's been nothing but rehashing of the same reporters at the same scenes, and interviews with survivors and loved ones. But the right wing is right: gun laws won't stop this shit. But the right wing is still responsible for it because they are the ones who've been mongering the hatred.

The new House Speaker is a radical evangelical christianist and his take on the problem is that it is in the human heart. But he's so loving and kind he would never condemn anyone. Unless of course they were gay, married to someone of their own sex, had an abortion, changed their sexual identity, or were an atheist or a Muslim or a Hindu or a pagan or a Black or a Jew. Those people, in his estimation, are equivalent to folks who have sex with their dogs.

It's a problem with the human heart, all right. It's the "I'm right, and you're wrong" syndrome and their answer is: believe my way or go to Hell.

We can vote those guys out, though. And if nobody gets out their guns to enforce a change in the electoral count, we'll have a Democratic House, Senate, and President next year. You think that problem with the human heart will accept a loss? They haven't yet accepted their last 3 losses: 2018, 2020, and 2022.

I'm reading Rachel Maddow's new book, Prequel. I'm learning a lot about the mood in this country during the run-up to World War II. The Germans had people here in the USA who were on Hitler's side and wanted us to stay out of Europe's war. "Europe for Europeans; America for Americans." There has been no change in the bigotry, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, islamophobia, and xenophobia in the last 100 years. Hell, in the last million years. We, as humans, have always hated our neighbors. It's that "human heart" thing.

So, I will turn off the teevy and work on my "semi-autobiographical historical novel". My human heart will enjoy that a lot more.