There’s so much to talk about these days. I still haven’t recovered from my disgust watching individual 1 last night walking across the street from the “White House” for his “photo op” holding a Bible as if to – well, I can only speculate on his motive – what I’m sure of, it had nothing to do with what is written in that book he was holding up. Shortly before he did this offensive action he did something worse. There was a PEACEFUL group of people demonstrating their frustration with police brutality against African Americans – in this instance – specifically the MURDER/LYNCHING of George Floyd and they were “dispersed” by police on horseback firing tear gas into the group and shooting “flash bangs” (i guess that’s another word for fireworks) to push the crowd out of the area for our IMPEACHED so-called president’s ill-advised attempt to make himself look like he cares about the church he was standing in front – or, actually, who knows what he was thinking.

In his press briefing just prior to his Bible photo op he suggested he was declaring war on the American people who are in the streets protesting the MURDER of Mr. Floyd and, it appears to me, their understanding individual 1 has NO empathy for what they’re protesting. Individual 1 expressed his wish that governors and mayors around the country would call out the National Guard to “dominate” their streets. And, if they don’t do as he “orders” he’ll call in our military to “solve the problem.” What the hell does he mean by that? He had a military leader in his combat fatigues walking to the photo op along with (surprise surprise) William Barr – who I nominated for “The worst person in the world” in my previous post. As I said yesterday, the entire shenanigan was OBSCENE! Instead of walking across the street with him, his “advisers” SHOULD have been telling him to “shut up!”

So, today I got up, and as I usually do (I’m an old “creature of habit”), I checked out Yahoo finance where I keep track of what is happening with Wall Street. I don’t invest in stocks but, for some reason, I follow what is going on there – and, in today’s world, it’s coming across to me as almost as obscene as what individual 1 chooses to do on a daily basis. I’m beginning to think what we’re all seeing is how individual 1 has intimidated virtually every person involved in the running of our government – including Jerome Powell, the “head of the fed.” (I’m really not a poet) I mean, every day Wall Street is moving upward as the “news” would suggest things are almost beyond “dire.” I think, in the end, “we the people” will realize what a phony economic reality we’re all dealing with. The disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street is, to me, almost as obscene as individual 1 holding up that Bible apparently as a “dog whistle” to his base.

Oh yes, what have we heard from the Senate republicans who had the opportunity to remove individual 1 in the IMPEACHMENT trial – well, as usual, we’ve heard NOTHING. These are the same republicans I’ve listened to over the years suggesting they believe in “free markets.” Of course, it didn’t take me reading more than a book or two to realize there is no such thing as “free markets.” The markets are free to those who can create regulations which work in their interests but, in my lifetime, they’ve NEVER been unregulated – and, I might add, I believe they SHOULD be regulated, that should be obvious to anyone paying attention these days. Clearly republicans have been at the front of the line with their hands out as the government is handing out TRILLIONS due to the Covid-19 pandemic – which is now in the background as cases of infections are increasing.

Sadly, my guess is that individual 1 is happy the protests have taken the focus off of the pandemic which, as I said, is not only continuing to rage, it is increasing in intensity – which would be expected from the people who gathered in large groups over Memorial Day weekend and now all the HUGE groups of protesters across the country. The next couple of weeks should be very interesting, to say the least. Something I never expected happened today, by the way, which was George Will, of all people, writing an Op-Ed in the Washington Post which agreed with the crux of what I’ve been writing about for the past many years. He said, “It’s time for individual 1 and his republican sycophants (meaning republican senators) to be voted out of office. Of course, Will is a conservative who was, from my perspective, a mentor to republicans.

Republicans in Congress are showing themselves to be as gutless as the IMPEACHED so-called president they continue to support. Some are more disgusting than others, to me, but the bottom line is I really hope “we the people” stand up and cleanse the party of as many as we can. And, as I’ve said, voting them out is not good enough – it’s just the beginning of what needs to happen and they need to be voted out simply because they continue to OBSTRUCT virtually any progressive legislation aimed at “The least of these” (which individual 1 would understand if he’d ever done anything more than hold that Bible up for the picture – a photo which very well could be the defining moment in his reign for reasons OPPOSITE than what he intended – actually, there was a photo of his walk to the church which included all his sycophants – that may end up being the real defining photograph)

There are so many issues which need to be addressed in this nation which have been stymied over the past few years, but the reality is until individual 1 and his republican sycophants are removed from office NOTHING is likely to happen. At this moment in time, I believe, realistically, getting the HEROES Act passed is imperative and you can count on all those republicans who have said NOTHING about what individual 1 did yesterday (Monday June 1, a day which will stand in infamy) being the problem. The bottom line in America is, over the past 40+ years our nation has created a “haves” and “have nots” society – and, I can guarantee you, those in the “haves” category who are the donors to the republicans will not give up their privilege without a fight. And, of course, even should Elizabeth Warren succeed in her idea of a “wealth tax” – the top “1%” will still be the top “1%.”

The need for funding to our “State and Local governments” is more imperative than ever after all these protests. The fact republicans are even stalling their obligation to consider the HEROES Act is enough to cause “we the people” to vote them out of office. If our police officers, fire fighters, hospital personnel, etc. aren’t worth supporting at this point in time we are at a sad point in our history. Well, as I was typing those words, I realized, regardless, we’re at a sad place in our history. However, we can’t allow these “essential workers” to be furloughed because of the inaction of the Senate. We can’t allow republicans to destroy the Post Offices around the country. And, we MUST protect our right to vote in what is likely to be a still raging pandemic come November.

I’ll end this by saying the solution to America’s problems is to listen to her young people – the people who are filling our streets with their passionate protests to the “status quo” – which is not only killing more people of color – but the list of “issues” (grievances) is a long one and won’t be solved by old people like me. That is the positive I’m seeing out of these protests. I keep hearing leaders shout out the key word – VOTE! I’ve been lamenting that the key to having a government which works toward our ideals requires the participation of our Young people. As I looked at all the crowds marching in the streets, all I could think of was register to VOTE! That’s where the “change” starts! I’m optimistic by nature, I remain hopeful.

I believe it’s my Christian faith which is the foundation of that optimism. I’m always questioning God because of my lack of ability to understand so many things. But, ultimately, I believe we’ll understand why individual 1 became president and my hope is that the “backlash” to his pseudo dictatorship will be a return to leaders who actually understand what’s in that book he was holding up for his photo shoot – and, I’m not talking about the Evangelicals who’ve made the “deal with the devil” as they’ve supported his fascist behavior for the past 3+ years. I’m talking about those who know the Beatitudes, who understand our obligation “to the least of these,” etc. “We the people” are facing multiple crises which are going to require a sense of togetherness and a lot of hard work to overcome, but I believe it’s an opportunity to turn America closer to those ideals liberals have been pushing for since the 19th Century. And, as we’re seeing during all these protests one of the key parts of any solution will be the ingraining of “Black Lives Matter” into our public psyche. Stay tuned……………

Final Thought: Individual 1 was “elected” thanks to the work of Vladimir Putin whose Russian surreptitious cyber warriors were busy from the early parts of the campaign to the deciding “victory” – to levels we’ll never know the true effect and, since then, we’ve seen an IMPEACHED so-called president “cuddling” up to Putin in almost unbelievable ways (ie Helsinki) and many have openly wondered what the Russians “have on him.” Additionally, he’s complemented the Philippines’ Duterte for murdering journalists and his own citizens, he’s cozied up to Erdogan of Turkey and MBS of Saudi Arabia – circumventing Congress to send MBS weapons reminding me of the Iran/Contra scandal, And, maybe worst of all, he’s having a “love affair” with Kim Jong un of North Korea while Kim is making him look even more the FOOL than what is obvious.

All of this is despicable and I would remind anyone who still believes they are a “republican” to picture in their mind what their reaction would be had I been just talking about President Obama. Our IMPEACHED so-called president spent the Viet Nam years fighting for deferments to prevent him from serving his country including LYING about “bone spurs” and he spent the last few days, as Americans all across the country are protesting ANOTHER Black American LYNCHED by the police cowering in one of the “White House” bunkers well under the surface of the ground – afraid of what, I do not know. And then, apparently in another futile attempt to make himself look “tough” he threatens to “sick” America’s military might on, well, brace yourself, America! Which, of course, is legally questionable – but that, of course, matters not to him.

He has spent the year + since democrats took over control of the House of Representatives refusing to follow the laws, refusing to produce subpoenaed documents, refusing to allow employees to answer subpoenas intended to elicit testimony in search of truth in varying aspects of our government – in the constitutionally guaranteed role of Congress – all while republicans have stood silent. Shamefully, silent! And, then when protesters, after a series of African Americans are brutally MURDERED simply for being Black, erupt violently to police aggression our IMPEACHED so-called president wants to “dominate” the protesters via America’s military. Sad!

To top it all off by standing in front of the “church of the presidents” holding a Bible he has know idea what is written in it for a photo op after BLASTING peaceful protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets and “flash bangs” to clear the area for the photo is, well, I want to say “as low as you can go,” but I KNOW he’ll find a way to even go lower than that! To all you adults who support this thug if you’re wondering why your children are walking away from Christianity, well, your answer was standing in front of that church holding that Bible as if – well, again, all I can think of is that it was the crudest, most offensive, form of “dog whistle.” Shame on him and on anyone who’s falling for his shtick!

It’s late, I’m tired, so my apologies for all the phoo pahs!