It's About the Threads that Bind Thing

Dear America,

 "Thus, what enables 

the wise sovereign 

and the good general 

to strike and conquer, and achieve things 

beyond the reach of ordinary men, 

is foreknowledge."

Sun Tzu

chapter thirteen

so, the good news --- even Alabamans recognized Roy Moore was a couple of nuts short of a fruitcake...whew.  we can all get a good giddy up for that, right?

that guy had no business representing the fine state of Alabama, let alone the Republican party; while the winner, Doug Jones -- oh he knows that he must represent the whole of Alabama, and that means the Senate has received a more temperate democrat than the far left norm.  He must also know, when he runs for re-election, he will be met with an entirely new set of conditions on the ground and the opposition will be fierce, ready with a commanding -- and far more deserving -- candidate.  [At least, a girl can hope.....G-zoo, what a whackadoo; and the Alabama  GOP better be moving in that direction, as of six months before yesterday., just sayin'.]

Let's go to Sun Tzu on this happy thursday morn...and get to more from his killer chapter on "The Use of Spies."

He rattles off "five classes" of spies....local; inward; converted; doomed; and surviving.  And goes on to say, "When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret system.  This is called 'divine manipulation of the threads.'  It is the sovereign's most precious faculty."

And this, "Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity...cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness...without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports."

And this, "The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived , in the first instance, from the converted spy.  Hence, it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality."

........."Spies are a most important element in war, because on them depends an army's ability to move."

Gosh, I love this sh*&  teehee.

What I am stuck on, though -- totally captivated in its intelligence and caught in its web  -- is that part when he articulates the sovereign secret: the "divine manipulation of the threads."  It takes a clear thinking leader to not only orchestrate the retrieving of information, but the experience and shrewdness to know what to do with it, to separate truth and lies and manipulation from the enemy within and without, in order to ultimately use the information to devise the proper response in a timely fashion and win -- be it just a battle or the whole dang war.

It takes a mind that is already three steps ahead of the enemy; it takes a disposition that does not show emotion, or the actual state of mind.  It is always thoughtful; always awake; always working, weaving the threads together into the magnificent weave of  war and peace.

A wise sovereign and the good general, Sun Tzu says, often and much...

This is my wish this Christmas.

For I'm missing that feeling of total confidence in this country's leadership (and mind you,  it has less to do with Trump, and more to do with the entire Republican party -- not to mention, just how dirty overall politics has become).  

I'm missing that feeling of total security, that those in charge are wise, are capable of recognizing that at their disposal are these long and sometimes twisted threads of intelligence, and is prepared to manipulate and move and make plays based upon the integrity of the information, and all with the greater good and sovereign nation as it's benefactor.

That level of enlightened leadership has come to America only a spattering of times:  under the nation's founding, under the leadership of our founding fathers; under the Lincoln Administration; under the Reagan Administration; and for a nano-second under the W Administration, just after 9/11.

With the rise of Identity Politics -- the Trump Administration will never be given a fair opportunity to fully lead the nation under the things that truly unite us all --  unlike the grace and latitude given to the Obama Administration, which in fact, resulted in a rather tyrannical force against our foundations right from its start.  And that is a shame.  A real shame; whatta sham.

[Proof...Just look at what they are capable of -- just look at how the Fake Dossier, Russian Collusion, the Clinton State Department, the Clinton Foundation, the FBI, the Justice Department's Special Counsel, the Obama Administration and its Deep State intrusion into the security of this new administration.....is being met with just more mainstream media in denial, more spies, more inside manipulation of the truth and lies, in order to protect the power of the Left.]

So this morning, my spies are telling me a couple of things:

The first:  America is in the middle of perhaps the most gravely essential war in over a hundred years -- that being the Left warring and DIVIDING AMERICA into itty bitty parts....standing on the front lines and headlines, one front after another, against the very things that have made America exceptional, and in no uncertain terms, pretty great (BT: way, way, Before Trump).

The second:  The Left waging war against the half of Americans who legally, and ethically, and systematically voted for Trump, for reasons The Left will never respect, let alone understand. 

Which brings me to my second Christmas wish -- that Santa brings President Trump a whole lotta foreknowledge.  Like huge.  Like, really big... Like, a lot.

All of this brings me to a little required reading for you today, a piece from Hillsdale College IMPRIMIS:  The Problem of Identity Politics and Its Solution by Matthew Continetti.  

Continetti lays it all out there, as if he knows a thing or two; he goes big and broad, just as our founders did, and would probably do today; he looks to America's common threads and higher purpose, and not to the things which carry the potential to disconnect us -- as the Left has done -- causing factions to rise up, only to bring harm against the very nature of the whole, the whole of who we truly are as a country, as a people.

The Left has spies everywhere, in every class, from the elite of Hollywood and Media and Politics, all the way down to the less-affluent community organizers; and manufactured, the final product is the stuff that made Obama into the leftist god he is today.  

But make no mistake: America --- in part or in whole --  has become enemy number one to The Left; according to their reindeer games and strategies the whole year through, America stands in the way of sugar plum dreams and globalist schemes. (...this day did begin on a fruitcake, doncha know) 

So, on that note, allow me to close with the very same close from Continetti, quoting Abraham Lincoln:

"We are not enemies, but friends.  We must not be enemies.  Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.  The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

exactly.

And once again, THIS DAY, this G, goes full circle, taking a hold of each unique thread, each strand of pure intelligence, and then coming to a nice, tight, conclusive knot;  everything. and I mean everything,  comes back to "the better angels of our nature."  [In some circles, this is also widely recognized as a constant target and/or tool of leftist strategies far and wide (See also, Rules for Radicals).]

this day is about the beauty of threads that bind, not break; the threads that do not even resemble a broken candidate (like Roy Moore); the threads that together, infiltrate the enemy and return with knowledge, being the stuff required to strike and conquer, and achieve things 

beyond the reach of ordinary men....

....revealing the truth of who we are as AMERICANS, living securely, under "a wise sovereign and good general," under God, and in the company of "the better angels of our nature."

(touche, day; well played)

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Fine Time to Giddy Up Thing

Dear America,

karma takes way too long.  

i'd rather just smack you right now.

today, as I sit drowning in headlines -- from Trump's tweet war with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to "Judgment Day" leading the Drudge Report...awaiting the results of Alabama's Senate campaign between Roy Moore and Doug Jones -- this girl has chosen to retreat to an email from my papa.  It's a string of stories, each one merely a few sentences long; the subject -- empathy.

And to the twelfth story I go:

"Today, I was traveling in Kenya and met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating.  The first thing the man said was, 'we can share it'."

and I know, it was probably entirely made up -- all of it -- as in right from the start, from the first vignette to the last -- for the web is full of it.

Does it matter?

Nope; for the message and the messenger are swaddled together in the deep and dreamy state of being in relationship with one another.  For this world, this world was made for humanity to live and breathe and connect and to love one another as ourselves.

Safe to say, though, that that kind of innocence is long gone; we've trashed our basic need to touch and to love and to show our affection for one another, probably about the same time Leave It to Beaver left the air.

Life, itself, is no longer sacred -- beginning with rampant abortion being used as birth control and ending with every homicide, genocide,  and terrorist attack.  Even as I say "no longer," I have to laugh; asking, under my breath, has it ever?

Now look at us.

Showing a little empathy for our fellow man is the least we could do, right?

How many of the world's problems could be resolved overnight, if only we would take a moment to walk in each other's shoes just a little bit more often?

Or, perhaps, if paid more attention into how we treat others -- being more concerned with what we contribute to the whole, than upon what we receive.

I look at the options in the Alabama race and cringe; how can this even be possible?  Is this the best Alabama can be, with respect to filling an open seat at the United States Senate?

And Kirsten -- how does it feel with your political views on sexual harassment so tangled; have you even noticed that you've tied quite the little knot?

I love how a former Clinton Adviser, Philippe Reines, puts it ---- and it's plucked from a fabulous  post by Aidan McLaughlin at Democratic Underground: 

"Ken Starr spent $70 million on a consensual blowjob. Senate voted to keep POTUS WJC. But not enough for you @SenGillibrand? Over 20 yrs you took the Clintons’ endorsements, money, and seat. Hypocrite.Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck."

Kirsten:  Bill Clinton's problem was that he LIED about the affair with that girl in the blue dress and a cigar...as in "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky..."

But the act, itself -- oh that was consensual!!!! At least get the facts right.
Being adults -- there is no sexual harassment when two people canoodle with no regard to what happens next.


(now look at me, being pulled right back in........so much for my retreat...teehee)

Kirsten's announcement that Clinton should have resigned, way back when, is no more than foreplay to the main play -- that which has led to a twitter battle with President Trump today, calling upon him to resign.   When running for U.S. Senate in the great state of New York, did you go to Trump for donations, Kirsten?

ah huh, lookie here --   according to NBC15...."The political money website OpenSecrets.org says President Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, have donated nearly $8,000 to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's congressional campaigns since 2007. The group says the figures are based on individual contributions data from the Federal Election Commission...."  Shall we continue?

You accepted money from Trump -- the guy who has been essentially running for office since the late eighties and who finally got there in 2016.  And isn't it funny how it wasn't until the near end of the campaign for president in 2016, when suddenly these accusers popped up out of nowhere.

......ONLY to go back under the rock from which they came following the election of Donald Trump; that is until now. 

So the calculated risk by the Trump tweet insinuating that you, Kirsten, would "do anything" for a campaign donation is essentially just that; and it is precisely this game of politics and politicians and business that happens day in and day out, all the year long.  And you know it is, Kirsten.  And not to get kinky, or anything, but in a word it's called "grease." It can get a wee bit messy; and if I were a betting girl -- which I'm not -- betting this president insinuated what he insinuated just to make it as messy and ugly as he possibly could because that is just how he rolls. (And it just so happens to be not one of his finer points; there is that.)

The irony is -- this grease -- marks the reason Trump slipped into the presidency this time around with such ease; the people were fed up with the D.C. swamp, and finally willing to put an outsider and businessman into office to roto-rooter and drain the be-G-zuss out of it.  end of story.

This morning i feel like everybody is dirty.
Everybody has something to get out of something or someone; everybody is a player in one way or another -- while the moral pendulum swings wide and wild and free.

And the likes of one decent human being --- much like the heart of the refugee from Zimbabwe in the imaginary story at the top of the morning -- is nowhere to be seen or found.   I mean, why would CNN take the time to find that story, right?

Thing is, none of us can retreat, not even for a moment.

We have to watch how the game is played at every turn.  And all the while, taking the time to imagine being above ourselves, looking down upon the world, and watching our own participation...

How do we add or subtract to the whole?  Are we genuinely kind and thoughtful, or are we that way because we want something?  Do we give from the goodness of our own heart, or is it the expectation of what we will get in return?  Are we being honest with ourselves, with our neighbors and co-workers, large and small?  Are we living with integrity and treating others with respect -- sans manipulation, sans bribery, sans hypocrisy, sans regrets.  We could ask these kinds of questions all the day is long, and not ever get to the end.

This girl may be looking down at the perfectly manicured fingertips tapping away at the keys, but rest assured I know my imperfections run deep.  But to wake up in the morning with the intent to be a better human than I was the day before -- what's not to love about that?  And just imagine it -- to multiply these good intentions times however many more; imagine all seven billion people on the planet doing it -- oh my goodness --- that carries the potential to make me just plain giddy.

It's a fine time to giddy up, indeed.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's about the Same Fronts Meeting Up with New Seasons Thing

Dear America,

"31. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. 32. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. 33. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain."  and thank you....The Art of War...

love Sun Tzu

this morning presents me with an immediate question, and even though  totally revealing my naivete, this girl is just going to spit it out anyway:   at what point did Islam become at war with other religions, let alone the entire Western culture?  I mean, there has to be a date, right?

Although quite aware of the modern history and experience surrounding the rather splintered international relations with regard to the Islamic world, including, but not limited to:  Radical Islamic terrorism, the decades of warring in the region, the loss of life of the many brave soldiers in the our military,  the rise of Al Qaeda and Hamas, the ongoing struggles between the Sunni and the Shiite, the Coptic Christians living as a minority under constant attack, the broken peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians -- this decision out of the Trump Administration to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and eventually move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem gives rise to great praise. 

This is courage under fire, and, in a manner of speaking -- while returning to the words of Sun Tzu -- this is a shapeshifter of international proportion, a victory in the protection of Israel, that gives Jerusalem the respect it has long deserved. 

Mohammed didn't even walk the earth until the day he was born, in the year 570 AD; Mohammed was not considered a prophet until hundreds of years after the resurrection of Jesus.  And yet, the Palestinians have the unending nerve to call for partial claim -- but mind you, in a comparatively apocalyptic way --  of this sacred Judaeo-Christian center of the world?

And this is interesting -- as well as, deeply troubling, considering this woman was the death-target of extremists only a couple of days ago:   UK May has rebuked the move.  [um Theresa, "kissing ass" is a proven military strategy of many flaws....see Obama Administration...and, just thinking Sun Tzu would adamantly agree with me -- but what do I know, right?]

But back to my question -- and simply choosing Wikipedia for back up (I know, shame on me) -- 

 "According to Islamic doctrine, he was God's Messenger, sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.[3][4][5][6] He is viewed as the final prophet of God in all the main branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief.[n 3] Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and his teachings, practices, and the Quran form the basis of Islamic religious belief."

IF it is generally accepted that the origins of the Islamic doctrine, the teachings of Mohammed, are to "confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets" then Jerusalem stands solidly on Judeao-Christian land...period.  

Let it go.  

Leave it alone. 

You all have your Mecca, and that Mecca is not there.

[and yeah, this girl has absolutely no future in diplomatic relations.  you got me there.]

BUT THIS ISSUE -- this issue continues to be more and more about hating Israel, and the West, and basically wanting to extinguish it --  as in all of us infidels -- off the face of the earth.

 

with my last word on this, being this:

I would bet my life that President Trump has read The Art of War.

................................................................

And in other wars --

shifting fronts entirely.  Get a load of Nancy Pelosi, what a riot (courtesy of The Washington Times):

"Here’s what Pelosi said about the $1.4 trillion tax overhaul that came out of the Senate, which includes — thankfully — an end of the Obamacare mandate: 'If this goes through, kiss life on earth goodbye. The debate on health care is like death. This is Armageddon'.”

Armageddon, she says.

No, Nancy, what is worthy of "Armageddon stature" goes back to the passing, in the dead of night, under the cover of darkness and the closed doors of the capital building,  the thousands of pages long, "Affordable Care Act."  

This  legislation --- YOUR LEGISLATION -- created a brand new entitlement on the backs of everyday taxpayers, and remains today as not only evidence of pure fraud -- through the unconscionable usurping of the Rule of Law, with the audacity of actually re-writing the legislation within the decision of the liberal leaning Supreme Court, designating the generation of a new tax outside of the proper legislative channels, but continues to this day being a piece of (sh*T) legislation totally unsustainable. [see also a whole slew of unfunded liabilities...U.S. Debt Clock]

Nancy, YOUR LEGISLATION is not only broken, it never created a free market fix to the health care insurance industry. [Which was intended, by the way...to end up at the goal of a single payer system. But I digress].  

Without competition -- like the car, home, fire, flood... insurance policies accomplish in the everyday -- the healthcare industry and policies will continue to take advantage of those who need it. 

The thing is, hello?

...the cash-strapped, now indebted in the hundreds of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities, America reached the point of Armageddon ages ago.  To reverse this kind of true, unyielding and desperate, reality, will take great courage of a true, and real, steadfast leader; generating a wider, deeper, greater tax pool with this tax overhaul is merely a decent start.

While thing two tells me this:  Islam will never co-exist in peace with other religions, as long as Islam continues to choose war with it --  whether that looks like a war against its own or against the modern, western world and the variety of faiths and non-faiths which accompany it.  Just look at the immediate response from Hamas, from Palestinians, today -- their first impulse is to rage, they didn't even wait for Trump to make it official.   

There is no peace amidst unhinged rage; how is that being diplomatic? 

Trump made a decision; a straight-forward, honest to goodness, choice was made.  Yes, a line was drawn and it is clear, and there is no grey area anymore.  Praise to the clarity, instead of the continuation of the definition of insanity, allowing for the region to continue doing the same thing over and over and over again and getting the same results.

At the very least, this shakes things up and forces attention to mend the region; the decision is evidence of  what Sun Tzu says  -- "the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing...who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain."

Like winning....like chocolate, like Sunday morning, like peace in my my book.

ALL in all, it is most definitely not an end, Nancy....Palestine....and anyone else who considers these wildly disconnected events disconcerting;  truth is, it is entirely the opposite of that.  

Making a massive over-simplification now -- because I CAN (as it is my blog, and all)  ---  as of today and where we are right now, these things are simply seeds to new beginnings on all fronts. 

For the Greater GOOD needs peace, demands peace, starting now.   

Clear, refreshing spring water is flowing over these seeds, granting it new life.

To envision the true and everlasting success, perspective may be everything; the origins of fault lines tend to become more clear if we stand back, or above it, as if from a mountain high...or as if hovering above it, like a drone, with no attachment to anything. 

And given the season -- being the season of peace, light, brotherhood and all -- perhaps a little demonstration of this kind of peace is in order;  on fronts large and small,  true peaceful hearts and minds should not only be encouraged, but cultivated, even protected, and thereby totally respected.

This may as well be the new mandate of the whole entire world:  to create the very conditions on the ground revering true peace, allowing for all of us to live to see another day, in abundance.  How beautifully diplomatic would that be, right?

 

So the best response from us laypeople should be....wait for it.... taking a chill pill; all the while, saying a few prayers for good things to come -- on behalf of the greater good, no matter where we live around the world -- is not a bad idea either.  And may all of the religions and peoples of peace UNITE, and win, in the end...whenever that may be.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About Whiners and Winners Thing

Dear America,

Physically I'm here, 

Mentally 

I'm in a Galaxy 

Far, Far Away

there's a part of me totally unaffected by the times, 

and then, 

there's also a part of me just waiting for the lit match, ready to blow like the biggest bang ever.

everyday we are bombarded with the most wretched news -- bad news, fake news, disgraceful news, partisan news, stupid news  -- the whole world is a mess.

to survive -- if only in heart and mind --  it calls for us to purposely think higher, striving to live better than this or that, and simply be better people. (unless, of course, the dark side speaks to you like the devil inside...there is that.)

this diary of mine, this day in the life of America, has witnessed much.  

and with certain, this girl can confidently add, that no matter left or right, young or old, rich or poor, black or white, male or female......no demographic holds the distinguished honor of having the greater moral character over another.  none.

it always, always, always gets down to one; as in ONE INDIVIDUAL.  

this is how America was made; at the core of every failure and every success is a citizen.

while we go about our days and make choices all the live long day, the reality is, each choice we make is intimately connected to the whole.

and no, there may not be one capital letter 

beginning a single sentence 

for this whole entire blog.  

why?  

not exactly sure yet; 

stay tuned for news expected 

straight outta the cosmos, 

the Source of Everything.

the good news is, nothing surprises the Great Source of Everything.

even the clear and present danger of the unconstitutional intent to buck a sitting president out of office, simply because the whole of the entire opposition ....(the entire left).... can neither tolerate nor co-exist living in an alternative universe, under TRUMP.

the only evidence of collusion is found ON THE LEFT -- through Obama and his STATE DEPARTMENT under HILLARY CLINTON -- and as bizarre as this may sound, the entirety  remaining unconscionably linked, to this day, to the CLINTON FOUNDATION.

profiting from the RUSSIANS is synonymous with HILLARY an HER FOUNDATION! 

the only evidence of obstruction of justice is ON THE LEFT -- through Obama and his DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and the FBI under COMEY!

dodododododododododododododododo

oh me oh my, we have been here before, but where to begin?

...remember when OBAMA ridiculed candidate TRUMP, getting down to the final weeks of the campaign (October 2016)....stop whining, he said...like, if you can't handle this, you're not fit to be president --- 

"you start whining, 

before the games even over

...eh eh eh eh eh 

if whenever,eh things 

are going badly for you...

you start blaming someone else."

.... classic, right?

flash forward to What Happened next; and how ironic.

talk about whining....that girl, Hill, wrote an entire book blaming everyone else but herself, and yet, Obama remained silent.  huh.  wonder what that's about? (teehee)

oh OBAMA, you can poke fun all you want at the guy in D.C. sitting in your old seat--- but just look at this morning's news; just who has the balls to be man enough to be president?  #moving U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. 

who's whining now? eh?

keeping this silly diary, capitalizing on the day's news is just what I do -- and it's a rather small portion of my day, too; it's not who I am.  this THING --- merely offers me a means to reconcile the sides of me who run counterproductive to the whole of me; it's a way to use the cathartic method of writing things down in order to find my refuge, my relief -- as tapping it out, getting things off my chest and out of my head, at times with great furor, allows me to walk out my door with a clear head and a smile (goes double when it rains, being here in socal).

THING IS, in the great scheme of things, nothing that happens on this planet is really all that important, anyway -- especially in light of the fact that the things that should be important to us, are not, and the things that end up important and plastered across websites worldwide are routinely a big fat waste of time and precious energy and resources all the way around and back again.  it's like a constant, obsessive, counterproductive rotation around the sun itself...only to start up all over again the very next day.

we all play a role according to the whole; and while none of us get out of here alive -- it's up to each and every one of us to think about our own legacy, no matter who we are.  legacies are not just about what remains after four years of service to country, as a president of the United States of America.

whether of the moral or the immoral  -- our mortality leaves a mark, one way or another.

altogether it's a many splendored and splintered thing....and currently looks like a Trump, a Mueller, and a  Strzok --  a Clinton, a Comey, and an Obama.....and not to be overlooked by the naked eye, a you and a me...even if it takes a squint.  ;)

whiners and winners -- characteristically in constant spin --  making whoppie with truth and lies...that's who we are and we are the world. 

is it good for you? she said, with a wink...  

well, the answer to that would rest entirely upon YOU, now wouldn't it  -- as in what you do and how you do it matters a whole helluva lot -- just sayin'... 

.....as the Source of Everything whispers in my ear, 'shshshshsh baby girl.' 

okay then, it is finished.

OM.

Make it a Good Day, G

and please!

 say an extra prayer 

for the people who are in the path 

of the wildfires raging 

in southern California...

God Bless you all, and to our first responders,

as Santa Ana winds do what they do.

It's a Culture at War with Itself Thing

Dear America,

old t-shirt proverb says: 

 BE CAREFUL 

WHEN YOU BLINDLY

FOLLOW THE MASSES

SOMETIMES THE M IS SILENT

and we're back to... wrong is wrong, even when it would seem everybody is doing it...

as another one falls to sexual misconduct allegation(s), America is a walking, talking, gawking, mocking -- socking of the solar plexus' times 300  million souls --  social experiment gone totally awry, wrong,  all wrong, gone terribly terribly wrong,  just to put it mildly. 

Just breathe, G...

Just breathe.

This morning, as I opened one of my favorite little red books, A Guide for the Advanced Soul by Susan Hayward, a page quoting J.Allen Boone reads --  "We are members of a vast cosmic orchestra. in which each living instrument is essential to the complementary and harmonious playing of the whole." 

Naturally, having this magnificent metaphysical observation come in the wake of the breaking news on Matt Lauer, my first inclination was to barf.  (And my sincere apologies for being so crude....really.)

What in Sam Hill is going on?  (wait, perhaps I should check the history books, maybe Mr. Hill is guilty of sexual harassment, too...and how inappropriate would that be, right...)

Is all this really about one vast conspiracy masterminding the taking of Trump out?

Are they all in on it -- from Weinstein to Lauer, from Conyers to Spacey, from Halperin to Thrush, and lest we forget Charlie Rose?   And my apologies, again, if you are one of the ones left unnamed; this post has only so much room, you know.

Are they all willing to let the leaks fall where they may just to get to Trump.... eventually....no matter how long it takes or how many have to go down in the process?

OR

Is this just who we are?  

And mind you, this question specifically goes out to Barack Obama to answer.  

I want Barack Obama to explain this, if only to have the opportunity to poke a little fun at him, given how many times the man opined the words "that's not who we are..."  Clearly, he must know who we are, right; he claimed to know who we are and who we are not with a certain flair rather often.

On second thought, never mind. 

Indeed, I mock myself.

President Obama is a man of constant contradictions -- in speeches to the whole, he would aim to go broad and deep and long and wide while making grand overtures to American ideals and principles; however, in action, in policy, he turned on these very ideals and principles with glee.  The true character and trajectory of his presidency was more aligned with the radical, the progressive, the community organizer deep inside his soul, hellbent to transform America and usurp the very ideals laying the foundation of America since our birth.

Although America is not perfect ---

Foundations matter.

Ideals matter.

Principles matter.

Values matter.

The problem America has right now, is that the integrity of the whole is at risk.

And we must have the courage to ask why,while being receptive to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth -- as the answer is far more complicated, Megyn Kelly, than a "sea change" of the masculine and feminine forces.

I , for one, do not applaud or glorify the women staying silent until now. That isn't a display of courage; that is putting up with the injustice, the nonsense, while playing along with it, while doing the whole a total disservice.  To be afraid to go to the geek in Human Resources?  Really?

An easy answer may just be, that maybe we all need to go back to the olden days, when the boys were guided to grow up to be big, strong men -- real men --  the kind that live to honor women, open the door for them, and in no uncertain terms, treat women with respect; while the girls were taught to be ladies...strong, educated, inspired to be anything we wanted to be, all the while aligned with certain and definite standards that actually commanded respect ...anyone?  Oh, yes, I guess some might say that is so Victorian....to which I say, whatever, with attitude.  

A simple observation should reveal to all of us by now ----- America has a problem; we have a definite problem with the simple things... all things associated with the embodiment of good character, keeping the integrity of the whole, alongside the individual, downright duty, to assimilate with the founding principles and values as we go about our day.

ALL OF THIS MUST BE TAUGHT!

America needs to emphasize the good -- through role models and teachers and preachers and leaders -- and double down on the the individual mandate and duty to uphold these things, leaving no boy or girl left behind.

This is a cultural war; and the war on women has got nothing on this -- for that narrative war is derived purely through the media, the same media which is bias-ly and un-piously in bed with the leftist agenda; the end game, the Left controlling the masses, like asses, and destroying all opposition.

And only you and I and the generation of the little ones before us (who are presently observing every step we take) can make this level of sea change, in order to see the change.

This is a day of reckoning.  

The day has arrived for the American culture to take a stand, because THIS IS about who we are; and you're right, Megyn Kelly, it will not be easy.  

But make no mistake; this isn't a man problem.  [As there are many, many good men around America...with a nod to my papa... and to Mike Pence --- just an example of a boy who won't even have dinner, alone, with a woman who is not his wife. yay you.

Strangely enough, it would seem the American culture is pointedly at war with itself.

What are the chances of survival?  What will success, in the end, look like?

Continuing on a thread -- at the end of Chapter Five, Sun Tzu says:  

"23. Thus the energy developed by good fighting men [and women] is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height.  So much on the subject of energy."

 

Which, I believe, if I calculate things correctly, that would depend on the caliber of the energy itself...

This is a problem of, and about, the whole -- be it how we interact and communicate with each other; be it what or who we elevate to stardom and fame; be it how we have drifted from being a people of faith, a life "under God"; be it how we have allowed sex and sexuality become less than sacred; be it the generations of family dysfunction; be it the unconscionable loss of the sanctity of all life, beginning in the womb and ending badly in the inner cities of nearly every metropolitan area from sea to shining sea.

R E S P E C T 

...It's really what we all need a little more of... besides love sweet love.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Society's Sins to Sun Tzu Thing

Dear America,

"Right is right 

even when nobody is doing it; 

wrong is wrong 

even when everybody's doing it."

Quote captured from an old episode of No Reservations.

Bourdain didn't say it, of course; 

it was said during a guest interview of

a rancher, somewhere in Montana

...sorry I can't give you a name.

you know, a number of years ago, while attending a wine fest at Liberty Station in Point Loma, my girlfriend and I met the owners of a few of the Massage Envy's around town -- a husband and wife team...

although he rubbed me the wrong way (badump ba), she, on the other hand, was a stand up kinda gal.  (I know, that was a two-fer-one.)

But this news of 180 sexual assault allegations -- what the buzz?

so one of these women, if maybe all, kinda allowed the rub to wander inappropriately and didn't just get up and run out, right on the spot?  Seriously?

I'm trying to imagine that -- for if it were me, from the very second hands would grope anything....from my little itty bitty buttocks to my little itty bitty tata's, I would be screaming bloody hell and running to the front desk!  I mean, even engaging in reading the entire BuzzFeed piece --as graphic as it is --  is difficult.

And guessing it is no wonder, for duly noted in the post --  the Massage Envy manual claims, "Only 4% of upset customers will tell you when there is a problem."

Um, I don't believe that this is a problem resolved by a free massage or getting your money back, just sayin'.

But for this news to be surfacing at the tail end of such a glorious Thanksgiving weekend....

and when commingled with the news of a couple more high profile guys  (Conyers and Branson), now allegedly guilty of sexual harassment and the like....

and when added to the last few months and a trail of catching tail a mile long -- beginning with Harvey Weinstein --  it feels as if no man stands clear of charges. 

It also feels like a whole lot of women have been way too silent while sitting on a ticking time bomb, and for what?  Why be silent?  As a girl, I do not understand that kind of fear to speak up....after being sexually assaulted!  Suddenly feeling a pang in my upper shoulders and a tightening at the nape of the neck.

I do not understand how one can continue to lay there on a massage table and not high tail it outta of there, while dialing 911, and promptly having the dude arrested on the spot.  In this day and age of social media news going viral -- where's the post?  Where's the alert to the media?  Where's the telling all Facebook friends, all Instagram followers, the latest news?  Thing is, how is it now fall of 2017 while the beginning of Massage Envy's demise -- courtesy of James Deiter, and others  -- began in the fall of 2014?

If the Richard Branson incident, in question, occurred in 2010 -- just how does Antonia Jenae not say a thing until now?

Thing is -- and it's a pretty big thing -- how does an entire hand go up where it doesn't belong received without incident, as in without the return of a swift kick to the groin?  That's just nuts.  Suddenly experiencing a Charley Horse piercing my entire left side, all the way down from my sciatic nerve to the big toe.

Which all leads me to the new book I'm reading for kicks and giggles:  The Art of War by SunTzu, translated by Lionel Giles.  Thinking it wise to take it slow, perhaps with a heating pad on the lower back; for this guy packs so much with so few words.   word.

But just maybe my inner feminist is telling me that women are in a new age of fighting back or playing the victim....it appears out of nowhere like a fine line; -- and just to be clear, this gal doesn't align with feminism in the way true feminists behave and have their origins, okay.  I simply believe strong women -- the kind resembling female strength and conviction and drive -- have existed since the beginning of time.  True feminists, real women,  just DO; there is no need for political agenda, no need for special treatment, no need for exclusivity that runs lock step with Leftists, no need for lambasting half the women in the country just because they lean conservative...but look how quickly we digress.

So, in the first two pages, Sun Tzu says: 

 "18. All warfare is based on deception."

and adding:

 "19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."

and adding just one more:

"20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy.  

Feign disorder, and crush him."

And in this light, may boys and girls begin to recognize that being in relationship with one another -- especially in business -- is sometimes complicated, to say the least; but sad is the day we become enemies -- or worse --  that women begin to use our skill sets of deception and manipulation, using our feminine ways to alter realities in an effort to make our way in a man's world, and turn around to use it as leverage or blackmail; and in equal portion -- for the masculine world to taunt and take whatever they want, whenever they want, unable to keep their hands to themselves or coexist with any semblance of mutual respect and honor with the opposite sex.  Having said that: consent should look and act like clear consent; and the same goes for the other way around.

But we are not enemies, boys and girls; we are on the same side of society as a whole.  The yin and the yang, the forces of masculine and feminine, are dependent upon each other for many things (especially that of reproduction xox).  This relationship between the sexes demands that we respect it, protect it, nurture it, and honor it.... in order to ensure a healthy longevity; and perhaps most important, we must teach it to our children, with each new generation.

To steal a line from a really good movie, He's Just Not That Into You:  "If a guy treats you like he genuinely doesn't give a crap, he genuinely doesn't give a crap."  And likewise, if a girl dresses like a tart, she will be treated like a tart....and so on and so on.  Respect and responsibility go hand in hand.

We all have a responsibility to make it work; and taking the high road in all situations, in all interactions, seems to be the crying, bellowing nature of the day...and without question, calling out to each and every one of us to pay attention.  Nobody is immune, it could happen in a nano-second, so be prepared!  Be completely loaded up and ready to stand on the side of conviction and moral courage.  And then get up the next day prepared to do it all over again.

This is really a war as old as time; good and evil does not get along peacefully, okay?  It never has and it never will.  We must be prepared to fight, but please, fight fair for every inch of mutual respect; we must live with integrity, respective of the golden rules, dating back to the golden child, from one golden sunrise to the next.

Much like the Art of War, some advice is just timeless, priceless, and unmatched -- no matter how old it is, no matter what new age we may be experiencing as a country -- as a boy or a girl in an ever-changing world.

I just love how certain Sun Tzu is..."14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.   15.  The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: -- let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:  -- let such a one be dismissed!"

That is powerful stuff. (And to think, it's only chapter one!  yippee skippy)

I'm puzzled and conflicted and upset and all tied up in knots over the scope of our sexual dysfunction in society;  but as sure as Sun Tzu says in certain (say that ten times fast), this problem is not only revealing deep-seated societal woes and liabilities, it is giving us a warning shot across the bow. It points the way towards a certain truth -- that for a society to remain solid and good depends upon the attention and retention of all that is good and mighty and disciplined and morally right, otherwise we fall.  And it can be swift. 

Oh, this girl didn't want to start back up with this little itty bitty diary on such a sordid note.  It kinda breaks my heart.  But here we are anyway, in a day that wraps warm blankets and soft music around a sordid tale and somehow, or other, wanders right into the opening strategies of Sun Tzu.  Go hourglass figure under the sheets :).

Hope you all had a beautiful time with family and friends over the holiday -- so grateful to be surrounded with men who treat women with nothing but respect and honor and love. And just as an afterthought, may the last thing you do today is be online x teehee x   wait it out for just one more day and rest in the spirit of thanksgiving for just a wee bit longer, you will thank me. 

See you real soon.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Holiday Cornucopia Thing

Dear America,

"Be completely humble and gentle; 

be patient, 

bearing with one another in love.  

Make every effort 

to keep the unity 

of the Spirit

 through the bond of peace."  

Ephesians 4:2-3

that's just a little sage advice from the Apostle Paul, as we merrily head into the festivities of family and friends, celebrating Thanksgiving.  

[And a cooking tip: 

fresh sage goes with everything. teehee]

Actually, to tell you the truth, this girl is kinda surprised that we get to keep Thanksgiving; how has The Left not destroyed this holiday already?  

Of course, it's getting there, with the tearing down of Columbus statues and all the rest, it may take only a few more years before these stunts turn into a force of capital punishment against the Thanksgiving tradition, and all that comes with the annual celebration.   The Pilgrims survived and lived to not only tell about it, but become the raw seedlings of a new nation....and now look at us.

Since we are not all stupid  -- as if born, like, yesterday  -- most of us are pretty well aware of what has  happened since the first Thanksgiving...at least in part.  It is in part because we are wholly reliant upon what history books tell us; and perhaps more so, we are reliant upon who tells the story, the chosen narrative and perspective.  Translation:  we, as a people, are subject to personal bias, downright lies, the perverse twisting of the truth, and not to be outdone, human error.

HUMAN ERROR describes so much of the errors of our ways -- whether we are talking in the macro or the micro.  

[Oh, cooking tip #2: 

 micro greens are so pretty! 

Make a bed of big greens,

 add a few micro greens, 

and then toss a handful of dainty, edible flowers on top

...boom. Is it a salad or a centerpiece? ]

BUT here's the thing; it doesn't matter how little or how much human error has come before us.

We are here...

I am here.

You are here.

If you are here in this moment -- if you are living within the boundaries of America's fifty states.... then you are reaping the rewards of every good, every bad, and every living breathing thing in between, in THIS here and THIS now. 

Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is not here yet; all we have is this day...and some of us may not even get all of that, right?  Which means, all we have is this moment right now, that which we universally recognize as the present.

Since the days of Plymouth Rock, the last four hundred years of America's history has been sordid, broken, violent....and that just describes yesterday.  Get it?

Some of us in America  -- right now, today, this very minute and especially last night -- are guilty of doing bad things to other people in America. 

Did you know that in the Bay Area alone, it is estimated that 100 children are sold for sex every single night...and Oakland Won't Quit on Trafficked Kids."  (And that has to be old news by now, given that post dates back to 2013.)

As a matter of fact -- today -- it is estimated that 4.5 million are enslaved through human trafficking around the globe!   Multiply the entire population of Rhode Island by 4 and that's how many people across the globe are sold into the sex slave economy around the world every single day.  [Not sure why I picked Rhode Island -- with all things considered, crime wise, the smallest state in the country ranks third, nationwide -- following Vermont #1 and Maine #2.  This little state that could...downright be one of the safest places on earth, deserves desert and a gold star.]

Speaking of Rhode Island and our history of giving thanks -- the U.S. News and World Report opening page, linked above, includes this:

Forced to flee religious persecution in Massachusetts, Roger Williams founded the first permanent settlement in 1636 in Providence on land purchased from the Narragansett Indians. Newport became a major trading and shipping port, and Rhode Island’s economy boomed. 

Rhode Island was the first of the original 13 colonies to renounce allegiance to Great Britain in 1776 and was the last to ratify the Constitution in 1790, insisting that the Bill of Rights be added.…

And I bet the whole town celebrated with a big feast...

Indeed.
Now desperately trying to segway away from human trafficking as the main dish...

In the words of Leo Buscaglia, and his book LOVE:

"An earthquake, flood, or bolt of lightening may destroy him or those he loves.  An accident may permanently cripple him.  But how he responds, reacts and lives with the handicap or through the earthquake or flood is another matter.  This he can regulate.... 

In order to change, then, man must trust that he is capable of change... 

Knowing that one is always capable of change, the second step lies in making the decision to change.  Change does not occur merely by willing it any more than behavior changes simply through insight.   One can know something is evil, painful or dangerous and still pursue it relentlessly. One can only move toward change when he willfully arrives at a proposal to do so... 

The third step in change is perhaps the most difficult.  It involves the actual processes of the relearning." 

If we are the grown ups this year  (ergo, not sitting at the kid's table) --  then we have a duty to act like grown ups, every single day.  (I know, it sucks, doesn't it....Washington D.C. Hollywood, Clinton's old and new....;  but I digress, now swimming in mashed potatoes and gravy and chestnut stuffing and yams with marshmallows toasted on top, and pie -- lots of pie -- and not coming up for air until I pop.)

[Cooking tip #3: 

just be the one who brings the rolls and the wine!]

If we remain true to ourselves, to our children, to our country, to our God -- then we must admit to ourselves that we are not perfect.  We are only human...And this is simply just a good place to start.

And to that end, the humans who have come before us are only human, too. 

Framing America's history with the same allowances and generosity that we extend to our own family -- you know, all the characters who will be joining hands around the table, giving thanks in only a matter of a few days from now -- then we may give each other the best blessing of all. 

The chance to change, to accept our past and our transgressions, to applaud our gains and our lessons, to give thanks for the pure abundance that surrounds us in the every day, then we may actually begin to love each other unconditionally, systematically, and according to my world, in the way God intended -- wholly separate from every ill, sordid, broken, and violent thing that has not only come before us, but sadly, remain in the here and now, today.

Moving forward, we are free to write, or rewrite, our own life, beginning with wherever we may be in the present moment.

We can choose light over dark.

We can make things new.

We can give thanks for every thing and every season -- from the seed planted by our first settlers, to the seed who grew up to be the wheat that made the bread that we will break in a mere three days, to the seed that creates change to reverse horrendous conditions happening every day from sea to shining sea, in America and beyond...

It's what I like to call heirloom seeds.  Every single one of us carries the same genetic material to make the next generation better than the one who came before -- through knowledge, not ignorance; through education, not indoctrination; through love, not hate; through an INDIVIDUAL DUTY to uphold the things of good character and totally native to the foundations laid so very long ago.  Anything, or anyone, that robs us of this goodness, must be overcome, must be overcome.

This is what I pray.

[Cooking tip #4: 

always come with a toast:

'Live light, travel light, 

spread the light, BE the light. 

cheers']

you're welcome.

SO given the holiday -- consider me gone girl until next time.

May this Thanksgiving find you with the ones you love and be blessed in every way.

God's neat; Let's eat! xoxo

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Just a Girl with a little Cleavage Showing Thing

Dear America,

Boys To Men 2.0.1.7.

it's a tale of three boys going to China and returning men.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill, Cody Riley each gave a statement yesterday, thanking everybody and their mother, for the swift return to the U.S.A. after allegedly being found guilty of stealing from the Louis Vuitton store, during the team's visit. 

Their statements and their faces said it all.

And whether their statements are insincere in any part, being coerced by coaching staff or parents or anyone else (as each one thanked -- nearly verbatim -- the Chinese government, the U.S. government, President Trump by name, the entire UCLA coaching team and staff, family and associates, yadi yadi yada...) -- it does not matter.  Nationwide, this press conference did what it needed to do for the good of the country, the good of the team, and most importantly, for the good of these three men who returned home.

Yes.  Their actions were stupid.  And they admitted just that over and over and over again.

And we can only hope a fair portion of the nation's children -- alongside the parents of these children -- listened.  And after they all listened, we can only hope these parents explained the set of circumstances and crimes to their children fully, and thoughtfully, and pointedly making clear the lessons we can all walk away with.  

And yet, having said that -- young and old alike --  nobody is too old for a good life lesson....and America is witnessing a number of them hitting the front pages with breaking news, in what seems like every minute of every day.

Nevertheless, this girl would bet her life the three statements ARE sincere; for these boys were able to come home!  Given a natural propensity to do stupid things (given the age group, right?), they came home grateful to be back on American soil after receiving only a passing glance of just how quickly things can change, and not in a good way.  They consider themselves to be part of the lucky ones, an elite crowd; for without perhaps their own connections to connections, things may not have turned out so well, or as speedy -- I mean, c'mon, we're talking a major theft crime perpetrated in the People's Republic of China...for anyone else there would be stiff punishment.

This girl would also bet her life these statements were well on the way well before the nudging of a sitting president from the bench; these boys had to make solid apologies, for their actions were truly a disgrace.  UCLA, the USA, China, their moms and dads -- were all due a get down on your knee, praising Jesus, moment of pure begging for forgiveness with the clear intention never to make this kind of error in judgement again.....And THEY did!  They did.

I only wish the president just waited for it to play out, that's all.

I just wish his usual brash, egotistical approach to everything, just stood still for a moment, thereby allowing time for the boys to do the right thing on their own without the presidential interference (only because it gives CNN and MSNBC plenty of material to bounce around).  But isn't that what we all want as parents, to watch our children figure out the right thing to do on their own?  Isn't this the level of maturity we painstakingly try to model, aiming to teach them well, that lies in wait, only to surface when we least expect it -- and unconditionally love them anyway?

Anywho, after a serious foul --  traaaaveeelllling with a designer Louis Vuitton ball, shaped like sunglasses...badump ba! --  this was their moment to make right and not the president's moment to take credit, just sayin'.

Trump could learn a life lesson or two, as well; better for the nation to witness the president stepping aside, allowing for his state department, or press secretary, to do all the talking and tweeting; and then ---  when asked to respond --  give credit to all the players who made this monumental, international feat of saving the day happen.  

When it comes to ego, sometimes less is more, more or less -- and I would be remiss not to add that the president is not alone with this little life lesson...and we'll even give it a number: 45 (teehee.  that one's for Maxine);  yes, indeed, this girl is right there beside him (not under him, not over him, certainly not touching him, just beside him, okay). 

Which brings me to the second half of today's feature:  how so many men are turning into boys (or is it more correct, never stopped being boys????) hmmmmmmm

Just the other night -- Tuesday -- had dinner with my girlfriends at a brand new eatery in La Jolla, the Red O!  And oh boy, was it good!   From the tres tequila flight, to the Queso Fundido to share, to the main dish of Carnitas in Red Chili Guajillo, to a side of plantains to share, mashed potatoes to share, corn tamales to share, to the plate of churros to share and served with two dipping sauces of chocolate l'orange and caramel filling the last crack of tummy space -- this girl rolled out of the Red O with glee and stuffed to my pretty pink lips.  But I digress....teehee

For part of the night, the subject matter was fixated upon what the O stood for in its name; but for the remainder, we were all about the fall of man....literally.  And don't get me wrong -- this foursome loves boys.  [Although, there must be something said in the fact that only 25% of us are married....hmmmmmm what up wit dat?.....]

well, anyway, it's not like there isn't enough to talk about on the subject -- men have made it rather easy for us to fill a night out on the town chock full of conversation from one bad boy story to the next; ever since the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein went down, the country has been inundated with whispers of unwanted sexual advances (by men), declarations of rape (of men on men, and men on women), tales of catching tail -- of sexual harassment (by men), long overdue claims of sex with underage girls (yes, by men) -- from coast to coast, within government, within elite social circles, from the capital building to the corporate boardroom....it is everywhere and often.

ugh

The thing is -- from the boys to men basketball players, to the pure corruption of our beautiful, sexual nature, this land is my land and this land is your land is in much need of keeping our hands to ourselves.

Of course, on Tuesday -- all of us girls quickly spiraled into cursing all men.  Was it the tequila talking, you be the judge; but just as fast as we ginned up a chorus of we can't live with them -- in an equally, thundering, passionate reply, we admitted that we can't live without them either.

Oh this country.  heavy sigh

Not sure how we manage to embrace our sexuality problems -- ranging from the mild neurosis to full blown psychotic addictions ending with victims and convictions of statutory crimes.  But in the hopes of ultimately gaining control of it,  this girl knows exactly where to start: with the individual. 

You're welcome.

(oh girl, gonna smack you upside the head if you don't settle down.)

Indeed.

so as I try to choke down some humble pie, let me repeat myself:  It always gets down to one.

Do you even remember who we are, as a people, people?

America is designed to be all about good self-government -- which includes, but is not limited to, self-reliance, answering to a higher moral authority,  with a side of a little humility, and a whole lot of grace, bubbling over...

You

Me

If each and every one of us leans towards good behavior, treating each other with respect, then all is good; if each and every one of us begins to lean poorly, behaving badly, if not criminally...treating each other with disrespect, then all is not good.  Get it?

I know, sometimes the answer is so easy we overlook it, even when it is right in front of our eyes.

I bet --  just thinking outside the blog now -- I bet if we dress it up with a short skirt and a little cleavage, point would be moot by a beaut.

 [I know, I don't know how I do it either...teehee]  

[wait.  scratch that....I do know; it isn't me.  It is only by the grace of God I get up and do anything.  I just aim to make God proud, make Him smile a little -- you know, given his view, and all...Things must be looking pretty bleak by now.]

and my apologies, you get all the way to the end to discover there is no cleavage showing.  my bad.

Make it a Good Day, G

Epiblogue

Kudos to the three boys to men that began the day...LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill, and Cody Riley. Pretty sure you guys will turn out okay; as an American, I am proud of you for the courage to say what you needed to say.  God Bless you boys to men, to family, to all the rest of your days.

It's Just an Open Response to Ekow N. Yankah and a couple other THINGS

Dear America,

I believe the children are our are future

Teach them well and let them lead the way

Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier..

yes, happy tuesday.

and this girl is beginning with the opening lines of a Whitney Houston song, Greatest Love of All! [and my deep appreciation for the mother-lode of lyrics available online....everything from A - Z, including G x]

Becoming a hit, getting the chorus occasionally stuck in our heads, and being completely overplayed for what seemed to be decades, pop culture embraced this cheesy, sappy, sugary sweet song right from the start -- because it was Whitney!  Pretty sure nobody else could have pulled it off...just sayin'.

Gosh, she was gorgeous, and talented, and so full of life!  

Rising into stardom after being raised singing gospel in her church, she made it -- and she did it with her heart in the right place.  What broke her spirit, and maybe her heart, was everything that came with it -- the high life, the fame and fortune that accommodated luxury and indulging in all the things that have the power to change us, inside and out: drugs, alcohol, associating with people who don't have our best interests at heart while partying until the wee hours of the morning.

Although it didn't happen overnight, the fullness of this lifestyle -- the people, the profession, the passion --  preyed upon her, slowly and over time; although she may have tried to correct the course, Whitney lost sight of the greatest love of all and eventually the lifestyle killed her.

The thing is -- what is true for Whitney, is true for all of us -- that being, we are always at choice to change course, to make good decisions, to listen to that still, small voice inside ourselves that knows the way (the right way, right?).

Yeah, we often like to ignore that voice.

But on this day, on the old G Thing, this is just the start of something going on inside my head, across this land we call America, and even across the globe, and it has much to do about nothing and everything. 

If we do nothing -- we lose our heart and soul.

We must do everything to pay attention to our children; I mean, talk about impressionable, right?

So here you go-- in response to an op-ed in the New York Times, November 11th:  Can My Children Be Friends with White People?   by Ekow N. Yankah.  [(@ekownyankah) is a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.] 

Second paragraph:

It is impossible to convey the mixture of heartbreak and fear I feel for him. Donald Trump’s election has made it clear that I will teach my boys the lesson generations old, one that I for the most part nearly escaped. I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people.

to paragraph six:

As against our gauzy national hopes, I will teach my boys to have profound doubts that friendship with white people is possible. When they ask, I will teach my sons that their beautiful hue is a fault line. Spare me platitudes of how we are all the same on the inside. I first have to keep my boys safe, and so I will teach them before the world shows them this particular brand of rending, violent, often fatal betrayal.

"Gauzy national hopes," Mr. Yankah?  Good one.

Oh dear sir; mine may be pink, but certainly not gauzy; if you wanna conversation about it, let's start at my dreams being pink, and frilly, and happy......and yes, at peace with my fellow man,  no matter the color of skin.

Teach them suspicion and distrust?  Oh that is a fine start. 

Should I be now teaching my little white girl the very same thing, but in reverse?  And when I say reverse, it is in every sense of the word -- as in, ass backwards  and in every possible way taking any of the strides this land has made across race relations to a brand new low?  It's a new low -- given we have seen America at its worst before, and now you want to go back?  This is YOUR answer? 

And in spite of having a pretty normal childhood yourself -- as you say...

Let me assure you that my heartbreak dwarfs my anger. I grew up in a classic Midwestern college town. With all its American faults, it was a diverse and happy-childhood kind of place, slightly dull in the way that parents wish for their children. If race showed in class lines, school cliques and being pulled over more often, our little Americana lacked the deep racial tension and mistrust that seem so hard to escape now.

This doesn't make any sense.

But what does make sense is your anger towards this new president, Mr. Yankah -- that seems to be the root cause:

 Of course, the rise of this president has broken bonds on all sides. But for people of color the stakes are different. Imagining we can now be friends across this political line is asking us to ignore our safety and that of our children, to abandon personal regard and self-worth. Only white people can cordon off Mr. Trump’s political meaning, ignore the “unpleasantness” from a position of safety. His election and the year that has followed have fixed the awful thought in my mind too familiar to black Americans: “You can’t trust these people.”

oh wow..."you can't trust these people."
(no comment)

so sad
so sad
so sad

and as for your rather jaded opinion of Martin Luther King's dream.....

Meaningful friendship is not just a feeling. It is not simply being able to share a beer. Real friendship is impossible without the ability to trust others, without knowing that your well-being is important to them. The desire to create, maintain or wield power over others destroys the possibility of friendship. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous dream of black and white children holding hands was a dream precisely because he realized that in Alabama, conditions of dominance made real friendship between white and black people impossible.

Let me first give you a little two cents on this idea of meaningful friendship; you can't have real, meaningful friendship by group, or by an entire swath of country and Americana all at once.  This kind of friendship is PERSONAL!  It is INTIMATE!  It is shared experiences with another soul, most likely of like minds (again, having nothing to do with color of skin), over a common interest, or something, that grows -- naturally and organically.  And that kind of friendship is rather priceless, if not hard to find, no matter the color of our skin. 

And certainly -- after my fifty some odd years -- sensing that if you find that kind of friend, a certain and steadfast trust comes with it, almost by default, as the two of you have earned it over time and effort and whole lot of mutual respect and love.

Martin Luther King was speaking of this "famous dream" -- on behalf of the Greater Good -- because, I believe, as a preacher,  as a deep thinker, and as an American who truly cared for race relations -- HE truly BELIEVED we could achieve it! 

Matter of fact, I STILL BELIEVE IT!

So - teaching our children well, in my mind,  means teaching our children to believe it, too.

And not only believe it like happy endings in a fairy tale, but believe it in the core of their very being -- as if they were actually raised with the understanding.   Not stopping there, that they can be not only be a part of this dream coming true, like bystanders, but actively apart of this dream  --  intimately, integrally, and honorably connected in the very creation of this dream coming true. 

It does not have to stay a dream.

Dare I say to you, Mr. Yankah -- teaching YOUR children suspicion and distrust is NOT the way.

How many African-American families have been teaching this, do you know?  Has this been a hidden agenda and generational course correction all along, that all of us white people simply don't know about?   [G side note:  the Political Editors at The Patriot Post have just put up 2016 statistics on hate crimes...and it's worthy of a read.]

ah oh.  now look at what you've done; now I'm starting to feel a wee bit angry....

I have to stop thinking about this.  My head and my heart and my soul hurts like a motherf@&***(

Let's go in another direction.

France:  2017
The French courts are considering to allow adults to have sex with thirteen year old's -- only with their consent, of course.   Read all about it, here.  Or  here. 

This being now the occasion, when answering the age-old question of when having sex with a child isn't rape, leads us frantically to another question -- just how in the world did we get here?

Much of the comment feed dwells in the realm of the bad influences arising from the influx and homesteading of families bound to the Islam, which permits the gross, yet widely accepted, allowance for grown men taking sexual advantage of children, beginning as early as kindergarten.

But no matter its origins, France is embracing this new age where sex with children will be generally, and widely, and unconscionably, be acceptable?

As we meander from teaching our children well to protecting them first -- this girl suddenly realizes that we may be going back to the stone age there, as well. ugh.

One last thing in the news, as we play with this idea of teaching our children well, and protecting them as best we possibly can -- let's move on to the GQ's idea of the CITIZEN of the YEAR.........drum roll, please........................Colin Kaepernick.

The guy of mixed race who was adopted by a white couple, given everything he ever needed, and made it to the NFL, only to become the poster child of a downright perversion of the truth surrounding systematic racial bias within police departments nationwide.  [As you know, we have discussed that here on more than one occasion....and we will not go there today....But feel free to read old G things....they will surely delight, but I digress.]

So the CITIZEN of the year goes to the citizen who doesn't even choose to vote?   Who doesn't salute the flag?   Who wears socks pocking fun at the PoPo -- personifying pigs as cops, or is it cops as pigs?  And after being raised in a country famous for capitalism and all the benefits of a free market --  citizen of the year goes to the guy who loves Ernesto 'Che' Guevara  -- a radical,  militaristic, guerrilla warfare fanatic who dreamed of communism healing all wounds and societal issues?  The guy who is now whining his way through the court system because he failed at doing his job, and doing his job well?  This guy is named CITIZEN of the year?  Wow --  if this is the new role model for all of our kids to follow, then we all need to go to our rooms until we are ready to talk about it without yelling and screaming.


Nearing the end of this day, this blog, something tells me more than anything else, the choices that we make, who we associate with, and what we give our attention to, becomes our tomorrow - both large and small.

We have work to do; we have a duty to uphold order, to preserve the integrity of our relationship with the whole AND with each other, individually.  And although this stance is nothing new on the old gthing, it may all begin and end upon what we say to our children.

It will take every parent to tell their children --

"first, I am here to protect you 

and to love you with my whole heart."

Second,

"we must choose to find the good in all people, 

no matter the color of our skin -- 

let us trust each other

 to say and do the right thing, 

no matter the situation. 
AND this begins with YOU, honey --
 be good,
 trustworthy, honest, caring,
loving, and the best
you can possibly be and  
good things will happen."

Third,

 "choose the greatest love of all

-- to love yourself -- 

then, aim to find the Great Spirit inside you

 that guides you, 

helps decipher between right and wrong, 

and blesses you with a unique purpose in life.

--- Finding something Greater than ourselves 

to dwell upon, to place our attention, 

always seems to be a good idea...

For it teaches us good things:

 things like humility and grace,  

instilling an attitude of gratitude and courage, 

even during the most difficult of days 

(and those days will come)."

Oh I could say more,

this girl could probably rattle off a hundred things to say to our children, en masse.

But this is a great start; better than Mr. Yankah's approach, right? 

[Mr. Yankah is off on the wrong foot just by buying into the myriad of false narratives trumped up by the leftist media and liberals in general.  It would do him a world of good just to stop listening to those voices, and listen to what his heart taught him during his childhood....but what do I know; I'm just a girl, you know.   teehee]

The thing is, at the end of the day -- it's a beautiful thing to have this free will playing hopscotch with us each and every day; for it gives us everyday, imperfect human beings a chance to change our ways...to change course... to believe we can become true friends, if it is meant to be....and to believe in Martin Luther King's Dream.

It all begins with the very next step we take, along with the very next words of advice we give our children.

oh this girl can dream 

and believe the dream can come true indeed.

Make it a Good Day, G