The Worst

Steve Benen nailed it in an August 18, 2017 post on The Maddow Blog on why every week really has been Trump's worst week ever... I will post the link asap.

Incorrigible, Intentional and Damnable

Surprise! Surprise! NOT.
We got what they paid for. A faux CEO who never had a Board or any other check to rein in or moderate his choices. He is an end unto himself, perhaps the ultimate known narcissist. The madman in the market place, whom many still cannot manage to decisively move away from. They fail to put country first, and wrongly hedge their bets, thinking they do not reek of Trump's stink. Decency? Courage? Honesty? Basic American values? All are sacrificed to feed a delusional lunacy. A total misconception, or complete inability to grasp the finite limits of  power and greed, is displayed for all the world to see. It will not end well for Mr Trump. The ignominy of his life and ambitions will unravel, and it will not end well for him. He does not really see it coming, but we do. The world also sees what a farce he presents. Time for gathering rosebuds is past. Engines of the Titanic are failing. The soapbox is slowly being yanked out from under him. Soon even the sycophants and cowards will jump ship. But let us be clear about one more thing: Trump will go down with his own crappy ship, not ours. Trump never ever boarded the Ship of State, the United States of America. He was always strapped onto his pathetic little dinghy. He never even had a paddle, or a life-jacket, just his tiny hands, which explains a lot.

One good nugget today from David Graham's "The White House is Under Seige" in The Atlantic:

" The optimists espouse the view that they can talk Trump out of a central tenet of his political identity. The improbability of that happening is manifest in the case of Trump’s manufacturing and strategy councils, in which he would not sacrifice white identity politics to defend another of his top priorities..."

Transactional Transgender Trumpstopian Wall

Dysentery. Trump needs treatment! His Twitter symptoms point to likely dehydration which is a perilous, dangerous and possibly life-threatening condition, especially for an old guy like DJT. The prognosis is not good! Unfortunately, while we keep seeing the symptoms and the mess, we need to acknowledge the cause.

Yes, it's more true and much more consequential than anyone might have forseen, that Trump is a transactional kind of "businessman." (And his transactions were not all as successful as he makes out, eg a number of bankruptcies, Trump University, Trump Steaks, etc. In fact, he resorted to branding, not building, a long time ago.)

I posted some thought on this just now on Facebook, and will offer a link here, which may or may not work. If it does not work, I will post those thoughts here another way.* And for the record, futile as it may feel these days, every thoughtful and every instinctual thing I and others can offer about the dangerousness and lunacy of DJT is important. He must be stopped. As long as he continues to go unchecked and unopposed our entire American way of life and our democratic values are under siege. No doubt about that.

https://www.facebook.com/sharon.m.ruhland/posts/10207534365275926

Rosetta Stone v. Tabula Rasa v. Word-Salad

I wrote this some months ago. Doubtless, I'd have more words today, but just add this one: hurtling (as in DJT hurtling toward failure).

Okay, starting with a clean slate, here are some words I've streamed live, an Olympic-type game, letting my brain engage in a word-watch: 

Mistake, misspeak, snarky, naive, entitled, astonished, revisionist, puppet, mendacious, hilarious, narcissist, stiff, planted, statue, stalwart, intrepid, constant, careful, transparent, opaque, focused, forthright, honest, dissimulate, archaic, arcane, insane, stolid, stagnant, esoteric, egalitarian, integrated, assimilated, associated, insertive, vacuous, plutocratic, nonsequitor, unassuming, elixir, elite, inconsequential, rabble, unreal, anarchy, democracy, federal, provincial, urbane, free, cosmopolitan, insular, blinded, dead, binder, bound, inquisitive, intoxicated, gullible, enslaved, circled, stalked, bleeding, breathing, brimstone, whisper, shout, bully, deny, heal, fire, earth, snake oil, simulate, water, breeze, alive, hot, equal, fair, cold, hard, heavy, light, vision, dying, dealing, gasp, blush, vent, sputter, stutter, choke, conclude, subtract, divide, add, obscure, proclaim, befuddled, bewildered, besotted, contrary, stupid, wearisome, petulant, psychotic, neurotic, bubonic-plagued., intuitive, theo-political, manichean.

To be continued. Methinks it'll be impossible to exhaustively discuss these word-points!  Maybe I should just alphabetize them or do a phonetic sort.  Maybe later. Oh well, no matter.  Live-streaming, even in Netflix, has merit in just being fun!

Benefitting Little Gray Cells

I've been thinking about thinking. Specifically, how good actually and amazingly springs from evil, and how my little gray cells, as well as my other basic human "stuff" actually benefits from daily attention to the bigly putz: DJT.

A number of friends (non-friends, too, I imagine) can no longer bear to watch the news these days because they, like me,  see the disaster that is DJT for what he is: dangerous, insufferable, shameless, deceitful, amoral, ignorant, pathological, narcissistic, etc, etc, etc.  And they are upset and furious and sickened. My friends and I recognize that nothing is NORMAL about this man and his administration. We know we must RESIST any normalization of this disastrous situation, and we do so in various ways.

As for me, I admit that I have become something of a political junkie. And it occurs to me that this is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it has been quite educational. In addition, my critical thinking skills, emotional equilibrium, and vocabulary are continually being honed and stay pretty much always "engaged." My knowledge and sense of history deepens daily, my research efforts uncover new insights, and my admiration for good journalism keeps growing.  On the other hand, months and months ago I realized how daunting the task must be for those IRS auditors tracking the financial shenanigans of DJT. And now?  I think that the web and cobwebs that DJT has spun are nearly impossible to conquer. But I also think it will not end well for DJT and his sycophants, nor the invertebrates in Congress who think shedding their skin avoids being flayed alive. We do, after all, have a bunch of investigations underway, with linguists and lawyers and professionals with fabulous integrity, experience and acumen "on the job."

Anyhow, one useful image came to me today. It sort of harkens back to the practice some Inuit peoples reportedly had. Whether it is humane or merciful or even true, is another issue. But I once read somewhere that they'd put the dying old person on a ice chunk and let it float away. Guess I should research that again, but....  I do actually wonder about finding a comfy tiny sliver of an iceberg for DJT. I suppose it could be fitted with a GoPro tracker or something,  so we could accurately chart his demise. That seems appropriate since his voting base will want to know and strew flowers.

Me? Not so much. But the image of someone unloading a kayak into the Pacific does conjure up one possible solution to our current dilemma with DJT. (No paddle, of course. Just maybe some sunscreen, a MAGA hat, a strong strap and bon voyage!) It also elicits any number of positive emotions and spurs me onward, in search of ever better adjectives and other parts of speech! One I came across today described failed GOP Senate efforts on their (recently re-christened?) Better Care Reconciliation Act:  HURTLING TOWARD FAILURE.  My little gray cells tell me it may feel like slow motion, but seems to me there is a whole lot of hurtling going on!

Viva La Resistance!

*NB: Having trouble remembering how to add photo here! I have one I hope to add asap! Arghhhhh.

Outsmart A Lava Flow? Nawh!

A recent insight into something fairly obvious has, nevertheless, given me hope. It seems we are doomed, but are we? Probably all we need is tenacity and to keep our wits about us as our current witless administration bumbles on. Here's the thing: Mr Trump cares nothing about ethics. He habitually operates in that risky area between lawlessness and law. Apparently, this has always been a survivable mode in his past real estate (and other) ventures. Ethics be damned.

Now, however, there is a gigantic looming lava flow that will burn up every possible shrub he squats behind. Mr Trump will be burnt to a crisp way before he gets to hell. He just has no clue about this because, for one thing, he is NOT a fast learner. Besides not being curious or smart or self-aware, Mr Trump is clearly unwell. But that is something he, his family and his sycophants are unwilling to admit. Alas. It will not end well for him or them.

This brings me to the impetus for today's blog: articulate, smart, analytical minds who write and share their thoughts. I admit that I have become addicted to political news in recent years. Obama gave me great hope. Mr Trump? Well, definitely a cause for anger and despair. And I might fall into totally irreversible anger and despair except for hopeful things I can hold onto. There are lots of these things,  for me, and I want to share an article here. (NB: I cannot seem to post a link, but am posting the TPM info below. Looks like TPM editor has a good blog, and I will read more of it soon!) I hope this  helps others, and I can say that it has inspired me and is worth reading:

The Big Trumpers Still Don't Get The Trouble They're In
Josh Marshall / editor's blog
July 12, 2017
TalkingPointsMemo.com
@joshtpm

Military Message Foolishness

Comment by guest yesterday on Chris Hayes MSNBC : 'Sending a message is not a military mission.' Excellent point, yes?

So now the analysis and deep look at what and why T did send the cruise missile targeted attack to Syrian airfield. (The current media and political analysis part is good, but sometimes stupid too.) And some even suggest Putin could easily be behind a strike that did much of nothing except trick, lure and bait T to impulsive action, and make him look "strong and decisive" to some. To others he looks even more like an erratic person, a no-strategy, foolish and impulsive "leader" doing unconstitutional and illegal acts. Why? First, because he did NOT get congress or UN to approve... So let's hope T's military decision does not blow up the Syrian world even more. Syria is a quagmire and web of MANY sects and alliances fighting each other and Assad and ISIS, and we know for sure that T does not have the capacity or attention span to remotely grasp all that. We are doomed when he even tries and then thumps his chest & rends garments in faux compassion. In the final analysis, there is still nothing NORMAL in T's administration and decisions. Just look at that weird FL "situation room" photo and who is in it! Definitely NOT the usual suspects. Only Ivanka seems to be missing. God bless America.

The Ugly Devil Dancing

Obviously, I attend to the news a LOT, but tonight, with that chemical weapon attack and simultaneous bombing killing so many kids and adults in Syria today, and the suicide bomber in the Russian Metro yesterday, T secretly sending 500 troops into Syria without congressional approval, Congress & T removing our internet privacy protections, T's lunatic tweeting and insane speech recounting (literally!) his electoral college numbers, politicians endlessly lying, approving gun access to mentally ill, and refusing to do the basics of their jobs, etc... Well, it was depressing today. Then an image came to mind, and it is this: we are now reduced to watching the devil dance. Every day. Just one good thing about it: we see it is the devil, some actual embodiment or personification of real evil. But also, recognizing the singular ugliness of the spectacle means that we are holding onto our humanity and rejecting any suggestion that the current administration or those in Syria and Russia are normal. And there are some smart and stalwart politicians and fighters here and over 'there' who do study ways and find means to actually serve ethically and energetically.  That does tend to lift my spirit. But watching the ugly devil's dance is exquisitely depressing.

Pentagon People: Do Always Rain On His Parade!

Mind-boggle: T supporters definitely drank the koolaid. We can tell. What was in it? How could it eat up absolutely all their critical-thinking brain cells? What addictive substance makes any American worth her/his salt see Russia as our friend? What diseased brains seriously considered mimicking Russian and Chinese and North Korean military parades in T's Inauguration Day parade? Thank God the pentagon people, our military bureaucracy, our democratic structures and governmental checks and balances foiled that outrageous plan. Each day brings reminders of what idiocy T brought us to the brink of. And each day we resist accepting the most imminent lunacy as a normal development of the new administration. Almost nothing is normal now in the West Wing and Oval Office. If these protagonists were half as cunning or chess-wise as House of Cards characters, we'd be depressed and terrified. As it is, chutzpah and lunacy are having their 15 minutes... And, unfortunately, we cannot nap for even a moment lest this pox on our house kills us deader or incinerates us more completely than Vesuvius did Pompeii. God Bless the United States of America. True, we do not yet suffer the devastation Assad inflicts on the Syrian people, but Rome did not fall in one day. Despots find a foothold and tenaciously advance. In the meantime, nothing else does - unless there is unrelenting resistance. And rain, lots of rain on proposed military parades. (One has to suspect that there's significant overcompensating for otherwise tiny... hands?)

Unreal Facades And Shell Games

I have been thinking again about signs that AgentOrange is extremely insecure, weak and paranoid. Why else require his oldest daughter, her husband and his own private security guards at his elbow in White House? Why go almost every weekend to FL? His current wife and young son apparently do not provide any security blanket, just a show and shell facade of (absent) domestic normalcy. And why else must T relive and endlessly rebroadcast the "glory day crowds" of his campaign? Why? I suspect he is a rather perfect fit for the republicans because, currently, neither he nor they have the capacity to actually govern. Their incapacities are diversely  based, but their inadequacy seems to stem from an extremely extremist philosophy of government. Abolishing "the administrative state" is worse than dumb (no matter who or how many billionaires back the idea). Being unable to discern the inadequacies of business tactics for governing the people of the USA while minding the constitutional character of ones Office, well that is dumber than dumb. And worse than paranoia, nepotism, greed, delusional lunacy, narcissism or any possible combination of pathologies. The Dems certainly have their flaws and corruption, and their own particular weaknesses and obtuseness, but on the whole, they know how to govern and legislate and serve the people of our democracy. And they tend to know that Putin (and his Russia) is NOT our friend. And they do not equivocate on that important point. Furthermore, the Republicans have a particular aptitude and unapologetic propensity for playing dirty, e.g. Resolving to obstruct Obama even as he was being inaugurated, and proudly failing in their duty regarding a Supreme Court nominee made by President Obama, simply because he was of the opposite party was and is shameful. Such servile partisan acts have designed and woven an Oval Office carpet of unprecedented blind idiocy.

Savvier Crowd Deconstructs Circus: Bannon Cannonball Fizzles

I never did like the old time circus's of my youth, though some elements were definitely amazing, like the trapeze artists. Cirque du Soleil is, I think, more fascinating and artful, and interestingly astounding.

So here comes Garrison Keillor with a welcome and rather fitting contemporary analogy. Do check out the link for GK's Denver Post article. He nails it in the final paragraph:

"Maybe he could open an envelope at the podium and announce the total repeal of Obamacare...  and then a guy in a tux rushes in - wrong envelope! - and the real winner is.... Front page news on Wednesday..."

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/27/trumpology-is-your-old-uncle-with-better-lighting/

YES! Wrong envelope! We should be so lucky, eh?

BTW, even with better lighting, Trumpology is an insult to even the most despicable or demented of anyone's old uncles, especially mine.

Context Counteracts Chaos (Hopefully)

Restarting my dormant blog will take some time, but here goes. This draft will doubtless need and get editing, and perhaps a few readers. And I have to review the settings to get the "look" I want, and which is important to me.  However, at present, I mostly want to be on the record with some thoughts of my own, and ones borrowed or re-posted from others . Today I merely hope to re-post an excellent piece, one worth reading and heeding.  And keeping. 
So today I post the link, at the end, which seems the best I can do for now to keep and share this.

Also, I do want to note that  I really am not into any big discussion or debates. But if anyone out there does read this, I hope you will indicate that. The world is large, and even our local community is global. What about our brains? There is the brain that can be gifted to the Boston Brain Bank, and then there is the mind that cannot be packed into a container and shelved like a book. It not only creates mosaics, frescos and photographs, it IS all of those. And that is part of the logic of this blog.  

http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/157058066625/we-have-at-most-a-year-to-defend-american

He Takes Religion Seriously? (Seriously)

Sebastian Gorka. He now "wanders the halls of the West Wing." If only T actually brought on the best and brightest! Appallingly, he does no such thing.  We get ample proof each new day. Investigative journalism turns over the rocks, exposes the bits and pieces, the clay feet, the stony hearts, the twisted minds, the sad, murky and ambitious energy.

I always take exception to those who claim some religious prerogative motivates or validates their agenda. It is not that hard to pass a religious test muster even when an alpha male makes the claim. Skeptics, Aetheists. Secular Humanists, along with Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha'i, Hindus, Sikhs and others hear hollow claims for what they are. Hollow. Claims.

The Washington Post article sheds some light. Believe what you will, there is nothing to this thing about Gorka taking religion seriously. To say so may serve his purpose. But who else's?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-a-trump-adviser-an-odyssey-from-the-fringes-of-washington-to-the-center-of-power/2017/02/20/0a326260-f2cb-11e6-b9c9-e83fce42fb61_story.html?utm_term=.3320b5c0b81d

So What About Those Tax Returns?

Of course there is a way to get them, and somewhat obvious reasons Congressional Invertebrates feign disinterest. However, all things considered, the main thing about taxes seems to be that they inevitably show and tell a lot. So what about that? And what about avoiding even the suggestion of corruption, deception, and conflicts of interests? Elected persons claim care and concern about public service but some easily do NOT align their words and deeds, NOR put their money where their mouth is. Alas. And until this occurs, our democracy is doomed.

Thankfully, people pay attention sooner or later, and especially when the sh*t hits the fan or the  overwhelming stench is inescapable. So getting informed is a prerequisite for human thinkers. After all, historically, legitimate Resistance had a solid basis. The French Resistance sprang from a survival instinct and a refusal to let German Occupation obliterate Liberte, Equalite, Fraternite.

So here's a useful link, which I will save and eagerly finish reading pronto!

http://forbesreprints.magreprints.com/

Oops... Will try again to post the specific article link asap.