Palestinian ambassador to UK disappointed with Labour response to Gaza bombing

Palestinian ambassador to UK disappointed with Labour response to Gaza bombing: Speaking to MEE, Zomlot defended the PA's controversial decision to postpone long-awaited elections

The latest offensive against the Gaza Strip and the final curtain in Israeli elections seemed recently to converge in a surreal way for me. So, this confirmed for me that, indeed, there is an increased awareness and outpouring of support for the Palestinians. Fantastic! But....

First, the fact that former President Donald Trump and then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were both being investigated for the same or very similar crimes was weird enough. But, the fact that Bibi's successor is far right wing, and that the most recent conflict started with far right youth storming al Aqsa, well...what am I trying to say here? We have The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the U.S. According to this article, the "Khanists" are becoming an issue in Israel, following a right wing rabbi who advocates the complete removal of all Palestinians, by force if needed-wow! 

My key take away from this interview is that Netanyahu has driven international unity with the Palestinians. Ambassador Zomlot's unique perspective left me wanting to better understand this potential "perfect storm" I sense is coming. It may already be here. I am unsure how it will all look when the wind quits blowing, but it won't be the same. I only hope it will be better, more humane.

The global movements advocating protections for minorities, for the poor, for native peoples, for the very planet we call home, are being met with fierce resistance by the wealthiest, most powerful people in the world, and by those they are able to whip into a frenzy. Meanwhile, as the Poles melt and wildfire season starts early, stay tuned. It may be a very long, hot summer, in Palestine and here in  America.

You Might Be a Trumpster

Following the 2020 Presidential election, I began to think of comedian Jeff Foxworthy's famous bit, "You might be a redneck". I do love his humor! However, my own celebration of another free and fair U.S. election was soon urinated on by sore losers and psychopaths.

The now former president, Donald Trump, has claimed without any evidence that he, in reality, won the election, "by a landslide".

Apparently, sixty separate court appearances by his legal team did not sway a single judge. Mind you, some of these were conservative, Republican Trump appointees!

The state of Georgia counted their votes and then did TWO recounts. All showed there was no fraud. The count was correct and Georgia went blue for the first time in decades! Two Republican senators there also lost and Georgia sent its first African American Senator to Washington!

BUT, it didn't really end there.

We know what happened on January 6, 2021. Trump supporters were encouraged by their leader to come to Washington to "stop the steal". On that day, literally thousands showed up in our nation's capitol to hear the man claiming to have been cheated by a "rigged" election. No such evidence has yet been produced. However, with their Supreme leader egging them on, and with Don Jr. and Rudy "Bleeding Hair" (I think that must be his "Indian name"), calling for them to "fight like hell" and for "trial by combat", the mob marched to the Capitol building. Former President Trump assured them, "I'll be with you". Of course, that was another lie. Trump retired to the White House, to watch his mob with glee! Others in the room reported he seemed delighted with the violence playing out on live television! He was smiling and seemed confused that others were not equally thrilled to see the People's House attacked and lawmakers threatened with DEATH!

The insurrectionists' intent was to stop the election results from being certified. They failed. But, not before five people lay dead, dozens were injured and lawmakers were literally being hidden by the Secret Service to protect their lives! A gallows had been erected and the mob chanted "Hang Mike Pence" and "Bring us Pence". They had been told by Trump that Pence had the power to stop the electoral votes from being submitted officially, another lie that put his own Vice President's life in danger! It was the most sickening, completely misguided effort I have ever seen in my 56 years in this country! How any reasonably sane person could think this was acceptable is beyond me! Worse is to call this "patriotism". Some of the mob very plainly said to reporters, "This is the revolution!" AGAINST WHAT?! DEMOCRACY?!

Now, we have seen Republican controlled state legislatures passing voter suppression laws. Arizona's lawmakers approved doing a recount of millions of votes in the most populous county to go Biden. Rather than following normal procedures for recounts, Arizona hired the "Cyber Ninjas", a company with no experience in election recounts. Ballots have been "scanned" for bamboo fibers from China and watermarks on the "real" ballots, which bear Trump's very own, hand stamped watermark he personally put on them, they say. It has also been rumored that an Italian satellite or laser or Christ, maybe it was Ted Nugent, changed ballots from Trump to Biden votes, from SPACE!

Whew! Ok...deep, cleansing breath...sanity will surely prevail. This is what I tell myself and try to believe.

What started as an idea for a funny "Foxworthy"-style list became this serious post. I don't really like that, so let's at least spend a few minutes being more lighthearted.

After each item on the list, say "You might be a Trumpster." We will do my "so far" Top Ten. Ready? Go!

1) If you love the Second Amendment of our Constitution but haven't read the Second Article...(you might be...)

2) If you have to flush your toilet five times and blame the blockage on government regulations....

3) If you still think Mexico is going to pay for anything...

4) If you believe the sound of windmills causes cancer, or even if you can just make a fabulous whirring sound...

5) If you do not yet understand that people in Puerto Rico are American citizens...

6) If you think taking bleach internally, through any orifice at all, will cure a deadly viral illness...

7) If you have been referring to your phone calls as "perfect", even when it's that annoying person from work, wanting to know what you plan to bring to the company potluck picnic and you just want to scream but instead you say, "I can bring noodle salad-but first, I'd like a favor"...

8) If you think Coronavirus is a hoax, "Space Jews" are real, and stealth aircraft are invisible to the naked eye, even when you stand next to one... 

9) If you still think the former President would enjoy having a good ol' cold brew with you on your boat (or that he will pardon you for treason or even a traffic ticket)...

10) If you don't quite understand how the FBI uses facial recognition technology to look at  your selfies from the insurrection, many of which you plastered on social media...

Now, I could keep going and add a belief in Satanic, blood drinking politician cults and we could throw in Jeff Epstein's untimely demise or we could talk about Bin Salman and his "Bone Saw Band" or Putin and his famous tea parties, or Jewish space lasers and the ghost of Hugo Chavez, or a hundred other things from Black Lives Matter to black Sharpies-but I'd be exhausted! I can stand just so much before my reserves begin running low. Fighting fascism is not for sissies! But I need a nap.

So, I'm signing off again, from the lake. Stay safe and well, friends-and remember, if you haven't read the Constitution, how will you ever truly defend it?

Living With the COVID 19 Blues

Note: I began this post on April 12, 2020. That was before we had lost some 220,000 Americans to this pandemic. Now, it is October 23rd, new cases in the U.S. are at 60,000 per day and the President is still insisting this virus is just "going away".

It has not gone anywhere. For most of 2020, we, the people of this country, have not gone anywhere!

So here you go, for what it's worth-my take on how it was and how it is!

(April 12, 2020)

Today, we are on about our third week of "stay at home". We gradually worked into it. At first, we were allowing our thirteen year old son's friends to come over. Now, no one but family and one next door neighbor comes in. We also do not go out, save for a daily walk. Only one person is allowed in the store, so if the kids go, they have to wait outside.
In America, this is very difficult. We are so accustomed to going where we want, when we want and with whom we want, I have to confess, I am feeling put out!
My energy level is in the tank, as well. I think it's mostly boredom, though I cringe at every dry cough I emit! No fever, so I'm good, I tell myself.
But mentally good? That's another story!
I don't know how to "have a pandemic". None of us know this stuff! Well, except for "Donald, the Greatest Genius Ever to Walk the Earth". Right?!
Yes, I know. I am dripping with sarcasm, but somebody has to say these things!

So, COVID 19 is proving to be more of a mental challenge for me than anything. I wake up early, see if the sun is shining and depending on how gloomy it looks outside, I may have coffee then or go back to sleep a while.
Soon, though I must have that hot, slightly bitter, black liquid washing over my tongue or I am not happy...

And that is where I left off in April.

Now, here is the rest...in October 2020...

After that, all bets are off what I may do. I might burst out in song, or in tears, either one. It makes it hard for others to predict whether walking on eggshells is a good activity or a waste of time. I can honestly tell them it doesn't matter. Eggshells or not, my mental state "is what it is", to borrow a recent "Trumpism" Run along! Nothing to see here! And I head back to bed.
I tried hot baths. They made me more tired. I don't drink anymore-not for ten years now. I do, however,  thoroughly enjoy my evening "herbal remedy", the only thing that really soothes my jangled nerves!

As for any sense of normalcy, it may be to my advantage that my adult life has never had much of that. I am not sure what people with "normal" lives do, but I suspect they don't have conversations with cats, as though they are humans(who speak English, no less!). I have to imagine they do not have a grown autistic son camped on their living room floor for months due to a major change in group home arrangements. Did I mention his favorite cat appears to be wanting to "check out"? I doubt many "normies" are dealing with all this today! I am also pretty sure that normal people don't have blogs they rarely write on-and that they don't use writing to avoid washing the dishes! It doesn't really make for good blog posts!

See? This is probably my worst post ever. So, chances are I will never publish it. But it kept me awake a while and kept the housework at bay!

In closing, let me say that when all else fails to cheer me, often I can come up with a song about how things are. Not 

The COVID 19 Blues:

I got up to go to work
Then on my radio some jerk
Said "Stay at home! Don't ya roam!"
And I lost my spunk and perk.

I need a reason to smile

So in just a little while

I'll watch Trump try to grin

As he polishes his spin...

I'm sorry, Donny. No, it's not funny.

It's the Covid 19 Blues!

That's it. The COVID 19 Blues is a crummy little song for a crummy little time in Murika!

The America of My Upbringing

 I realized today that I have not written anything about the current presidential election. One would think that as often as my head has nearly exploded from it all, I would have put down some notes, at least!

When I watched the first debate, what I saw was depressing, at best. Here were two supposedly grown men, acting like children on a playground engaged in name calling, and talking over one another, as an ill and tired nation shook its collective head. 

Now that we have heard Trump once again publicly disrespect a veteran-this time, Biden's now deceased son, Beau-and we have heard Biden call Trump "this clown", let's take a deep breath. Now, take another. Take as many as you need! And then listen to this liberal, 50+ year old, life long Democrat mom from Iowa. I am about to just say it the way I see it.

No white supremacist or nationalist group should ever have the ear, let alone the blessing, of the President of the United States. To those who would give these bad actors the benefit of the doubt, I say perhaps you should "go back where you came from". I don't know what vision of America was painted for you, but the one I loved and believed in is the one where we all count equally regardless of race, religion or national origin. Maybe that was only a dream, but it was a good one. It was nothing resembling the vile hatred we have seen and heard in the past four years under Donald Trump.

       I grew up in a small rural county and never laid eyes on a black person, in person, until the age of ten. The student pastor of our church brought a van load of African American boys to our farm. They were close to my age, maybe a couple years older than I. They had never been outside their impoverished neighborhood, and definitely  had never seen farm land!

      Did we look down on them? Ridicule them? Tell them to "go back where they came from"? My God, NO! There was no way our family would have dreamed of being anything but welcoming! The boys had a great time, as did we, all of us huddling around our kitchen woodstove to warm up, while Mom cooked lunch in the gas oven.

It was a  very good experience for all of us.

THAT is the America of my upbringing, and the country that we will be again. THAT is the true "Make America Great Again" campaign and we will make it inclusive for all people. 

Where anyone gets the idea that one group of people is  not the same, not like us,  not to be trusted is just beyond me. Taken to the extreme, it costs lives. I see no room for that in our America.

That's  really all I can say right now. The Presidential election is upon us and I hope everyone votes. I think we have seen that complacency favors tyrants. Let's  not be  asleep at the wheel my friends! The future of our democracy is  at stake, and I don't  take this lightly and hope you too see the handwriting on the wall.

 

 

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Peace: The Hard Sell

Hi! It's been a while. Well, I have to admit that after the election in November, I went into a bit of hibernation.
But I think it's time to come out of hiding and rejoin society, however screwed up it may be.

     A friend of mine told me recently that she had a disturbing encounter on Facebook. Someone in another country was accusing all Americans of supporting our government's policies. My friend felt understandably angry and hurt by this. She tried to explain that many of us did not vote for the current President. Additionally, some of us are active in organizations that protest war, speak out for human rights and lobby Congress for progressive issues.

     It is unfortunate that some individuals in other countries lump us together and assume we agree with all that our elected leaders do. Such is not the case, of course! We wonder why they would think that.

     First, we must understand that the media in other countries may be just as biased as ours-or even more so. Secondly, leaders in other countries bicker and rattle sabers just as ours do. But we have done more than threaten; we have attacked one country after another until people believe the United States to be a bully. Is someone in a war zone supposed to NOT hate his attacker?

     But wars are never fought by those we elect. The White House and halls of Congress continue to be occupied mostly by those who have never been in uniform. Leaders give the order for war; young and healthy people fight it. Often, they do not make it back alive and if they do, their mental wounds can be every bit as bad as their physical ones.  Many of them sign up because their prospects for education or a good job are not looking good. The military promises full time employment, benefits, and money for college, not to mention the travel and adventure every recruiter peddles. They must play down the facts about war.

     I love the quote, "What if they threw a war and no one showed up?"

     Think about that. How do we get young people around the world to refuse to fight a war? That's a tough sell, even here in America. Somehow, our flag and national anthem have been mixed with so called "patriotism", which could better be described as "nationalism". That has led many down the road to xenophobia. They seem not to realize the irony of their bigotry against those in other countries.

     These are people who have forgotten we Americans, for the most part, are the descendants of immigrants. It is precisely because of their hard work that this country has been successful for so long. It is our diversity that makes us truly great! We really are a melting pot of many cultures and religions.

     So, I say to the rest of the world, especially those in war zones, to those who are angry and fearful of us, many of us wish you only peace. I am sorry we have not yet been able to get all Americans to say "no" to war and "yes" to peace and compassion for all people. This awakening that must take place is manifesting itself more slowly than we would like. But we are grateful for the progress that has been made.

     The vast majority of people in the United States are good folks. They mean no harm. But they are lied to by our government and the mainstream media. We do not often get to hear the voices of the oppressed. We need them! We need all of our voices, demanding the insanity of perpetual war be ceased!

     Those are my thoughts today, as I ride a city bus and contemplate my mutual humanity with the rest of the world. 

     From somewhere near The Lake, be well and wage peace!

     Peace Train

Water is Life-DAPL is Death

It's been busy here this week. We got through the Thanksgiving gatherings with grateful hearts and full stomachs.
On Black Friday, my son and I stood with one other person outside a Wells Fargo bank, holding signs and raising awareness of what the Dakota Access pipeline dispute is about. Why Wells Fargo? Because it is one of numerous banks that have been funding "The Black Snake".
Lakota prophecy says "If the Black Snake crosses our land, our world will end."

So, I am putting a link here to more information about the  movement to defund DAPL. I encourage you to tell these banks "Dump DAPL-or I dump you!" If you wish to do more, there is plenty to be done in both North Dakota and Iowa. This battle is not over!

 pdf of Banks funding DAPL


Signing off from The Lake....stay tuned for more later.

Welcome to My Couch | The Holderness Family

A friend sent me this video and I love it!
As a nation, can we set it all aside for just one day and be grateful for all we have?
Can we at least not argue? Ok-well, can we at least not punch each other?

With Love..Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Dear America, you are already great. Just remember what made you that way! And keep a sense of humor, huh?!