It's About a Crime Against Country Thing

Dear America,

Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive; it is in the pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen.

 yes, this girl has headlined a blog with this one before; let it not diminish its deep and soulful plea, as each and every one of us find our way today.

the prayer just seems to cover it all

but does this really require of us to pray for those we consider to be an enemy -- and further, understand them, pardon them, console them, and maybe even extend an arm of forgiveness?  When something totally evil in nature doesn't jive with our own hearts and minds,  how is it possible to reconcile the two extremes with a loving heart, a peaceful spirit, and a hopeful look to the future for making things better all the way around the globe and back again without going insane in the process?

For me, the Southern Poverty Law Center is what comes to mind.   For here is a place, an organization, a community of fellow Americans, who choose to preach hatred, spread hatred, inspire hatred across the nation....and then, stash millions of dollars off-shore!  (a non-profit, my tiny tushy)

For today, anyway, this is primarily about the organization taking the confederate monument take down, just a wee bit too far.  (Although, if you have been a frequent visitor here, we have covered a wide range of stories linking to the SPLC over the last few days.)

The latest:  see here, at The Daily Caller

Just as 400 soldiers based at Fort Hood are carrying out orders to assist Houston rescue efforts, the SPLC is basically calling for a mutiny against our own domestic tranquility -- and as crazy as it may sound, they are totally okay with inciting havoc while leading parts of America into complete chaos; they are totally okay with seeking ways of violence and brutality and upheaval and civil unrest, as they perpetuate and propagate and permeate a quite irrational approach to dealing with the issues of America's confederate past.  

Calling for all anarchists, Antifa, and Leftist activists to follow through on what may as well be a direct order is fully expected -- and perhaps even supported by the mainstream media at this point....pretty sure the talking points have already been widely distributed.   (like so, with some old news on how Media Marches To Orders,  and like so and so, describing some fairly new news, understanding the Media Bubble, from Politico)

But back to the SPLC staging a coup against the United States of America as an ongoing attempt to take America down, beginning with confederate monuments, moving on to schools and Army Bases, and all the while, not accepting a simple name change as an appropriate answer  ---  this is stunning news.


STUNNING.

And it must be investigated by the FBI, as well as, the Department of Homeland Security; but first things first, this calls for an immediate response:  shutting the doors of the SPLC for conspiracy to band together with the intent to attack the nation's armed forces.  Um.  No. You can't commit conspiracy to commit crimes against country, no way, no how -- and as a non-profit, you can't shelter profits off-shore......

Where are the authorities?????????

Oh my, not sure there is anything else to say on the matter, except maybe this:

The divide of this great nation just keeps getting wider and deeper and broader... vigilante-style.

It almost feels like we are collectively going backwards; and yet, how can that be when we are clearly drowning in a sea of progressives?   Oh the irony is rich indeed; its like scallops beurre blanc, followed by pasta with foie gras and truffles, followed by brown-butter risotto with lobster tails,  and but of course, ending with a simple flan  or a melange of gourmet cheeses for dessert, your choice.

Oh Divine Master, 

grant that I may not so much seek 

to be consoled as to console; 

to be understood as to understand; 

to be loved as to love.

amen
amen
amen

Make it a Good Day, G

It's High Time We Get Our Priorities Straight Thing

Dear America,

"As water reflects a face, 

so a man's heart reflects the man." 

Thank you, Solomon...Proverbs 27:19

indeed

Providence, as Divine as It is, is surely with us, enabling us to get through anything and everything -- be it a Clinton presidency, a Bush presidency, an Obama presidency, and even a Trump presidency (which at this present time, is still standing, and standing fierce....well, at least he is.).   Forever a Never Hillary, while Never being a Never Trump-er, my heart and vote were one and the same come election day, come hell or high water.  I may have even said that phrase aloud; surely it came with a prayer. 

Thing is, as I believe anyway, Divine Providence has been with us from the start, built into our hearts and minds and spirit, because our founders recognized something, and something huuuuge.  America has been the exception -- ergo exceptional -- by the making of the INDIVIDUAL king, and as long as the INDIVIDUAL held up to its end of the bargain, all would be well, and well indeed, and there would literally be no end. 

As long as the INDIVIDUAL stayed on the path of right action -- aiming to move and witness and relate to one another in the same spirit as our Creator, with awesome intelligence built in, being fully made in God's image -- then surely all the days of our life would be good.  Of course, not without adversity -- but all good, all God, as each day would come same as the day before only asking of us one thing: to stay connected to the Source; for a people, individually and collectively, acting in faith, responding with love, and uniting wholly under One God, indivisible, can do anything when we put our hearts and minds together.

So the thing is, just how can this formula continue to work if we take out the foundation right out from under all of our feet?

Newsflash:  It Doesn't

It is no accident that the more the establishment in government has ballooned to promote the idiocy that the government is the one who can fulfill and satisfy and make tangible every individual need, the less the people are inclined to know God and rely on God, first and foremost.

In my favorite read, The Five Thousand Year Leap, W. Cleon Skousen briefly summarizes something pretty profound from John Locke's thoughts in, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and proceeds to give us this little gem:

"In it Locke pointed out that it defies the most elementary aspects of reason and experience to presuppose that everything in existence developed as a result of fortuitous circumstance.  The mind, for example, will not accept the proposition that the forces of nature, churning about among themselves, would ever produce a watch, or even a lead pencil, let alone the marvelous intricacies of the human eye, the ear, or even the simplest of organisms found in nature.  All these are the product of intelligent design and high precision engineering."  Again, that's Skousen paraphrasing a Locke thought...

and Skousen then added this in the very next paragraph....and I add it now just for our own amusement (because a little levity is good right about now) --

"Locke felt that a person who calls himself an "atheist" is merely confessing that he has never dealt with the issue of the Creator's existence.  Therefore, to Locke an atheist would be to that extent "irrational," and out of touch with reality; in fact, out of touch with the most important and fundamental reality."

wow, right?   

Mind.  Blown.

So I look about now, at the forces of nature afoot -- whether it be the floodwaters and unrelenting rain in the city of Houston and its surrounding counties, or the floodwaters raging within the halls of government, leading America into total bankruptcy in every way -- and my heart bleeds and my mind explodes.

Here is just a mix of stories to churn about in your head --

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The greatest fears of our founders is coming about -- the totality of our goodness for which it stands and from which it comes,  is being torn asunder.

Communists have always known the secret in the skillful takeover of the mind, setting up for the moral authority to be handed down by man, allowing for the oppressor to take command:  simply take away thy faith in God.  (For more on that, go to another Skousen read:  The Naked Communist)

Our strength does not come from Washington D.C., people.

Our courage does not come from Mitch McConnell -- or anything close to that.

Our ability to do the right thing, for the right reasons, at the right time comes from somewhere deep inside our being -- for as its been often said before, we are human beings not human doings.

The kind of peace that passes all understanding only comes from one place and nothing can substitute God....even if it sounds almost the same -- as in everything ending with dot GOV dot COM.

Looking to government to act according to its purest of nature is a lost cause completely; for what is government but a group of human beings with human frailties and weaknesses.  And yet our entire culture has wrapped itself around it like its the mother of all mothers, the end all and the be all of every living thing we do.

 This is a good read, although from a decade ago, and it comes via The Heritage Foundation, titled: 

A Moral Case Against Big Government: 

How Government Shapes the Character, 

Vision, and Virtue of Citizens

read it.

And now a word from our sponsor, George Washington, from his Farewell Address:

...But this leads at length

to a more formal and permanent despotism. The

disorders and miseries which result gradually incline

the minds of men to seek security and repose

in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner

or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more

able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns

this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation

on the ruins of public liberty. 

and THIS, too:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to

political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable

supports. In vain would that man claim

the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert

these great pillars of human happiness, these

firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.

The mere politician, equally with the pious man,

ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume

could not trace all their connections with private

and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is

the security for property, for reputation, for life, if

the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths,

which are the instruments of investigation in courts

of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition

that morality can be maintained without

religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence

of refined education on minds of peculiar

structure, reason and experience both forbid us to

expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion

of religious principle. 

Did you know that the U.S. Senate reads George's Farewell Address every year?  It began in the year 1862, being used as a "morale-boosting gesture" during the dark days of our Civil War....according to THIS page, anyway, @ wide world without end amen   dot  senate   dot  gov...  Senator Ben Sasse read it this year.

Given the level of productivity and depravity coming from the flood of oppressive legislation and the clear, unmitigated, unconscionable, usurpation of America's Constitution over the last hundred years, what began in 1862, with honorable intention and providence, has seemingly become nothing more than empty sentiment, for appearances only, my guess.  Wonder if any of our fine gentlemen and ladies are even listening,  with the ears that which our good God gave them?   Are they even aware, with eyes wide open by the gift of God, of all that is seen and unseen through the human eyes and human spirit and human mind of good ole George?  For me thinks not, as his masterful recommendations and thoughts point directly to our downfall, the consequences of our ways are here.... and here to stay unless we do something about it.

And don't even get me started -- it's not just about the waywardness of our fine Senate.  C'mon, now, we are all at fault for the reality we make, good, bad, or indifferent.

-- Things this girl knows today --

twenty trillion dollars in debt, with no end in sight, and with half a nation totally dependent upon government to live -- is a nation underwater

Instagram and Twitter and Facebook are not the Way, the Truth, and the Light.

attacking Christian groups and individuals and getting away with it, takes a nation, once firmly under God, nowhere good  -- it becomes a nation drowning in a soul-less, secular disaster

growing dependency upon government over God, goes against everything this nation was founded upon -- taking with it our firm foundation, taking with it our brotherly love, taking with it our peaceful co-existence with our fellow man, and all the while, taking with it our capacity as individuals to rise above our troubles and adversity to grow good character, taking with it our capacity to excel in our life's work following our God-Given purpose, and in the end, crushes our ability to live in liberty and freedom for one and for all, and albeit, collectively in the end.  This is life underwater and sitting at the bottom of an ocean of a new deity called GOV.

This should smack each and every one of us across the face, just as much as the horrific scenes coming out of Houston.  It's just high time we get our priorities straight.

and to that end, I must depart.

Make it a Good Day, G

 

It's When the Press and Presidencies Collide Thing

Dear America,

praying for Houston this morning...as catastrophic, Revelations proportion, rains continue to pour down.  upon awakening this morning, the news has spawned my own inclinations to shelter down, to remain in place, to seek refuge in the words of our Creator, and make whatever peace I can with the circumstances thousands of my fellow Americans are facing -- and in that light, here I am.  

It's been a rough ride here in America this past summer.

We can call it past summer, as kids are already returning to school -- like, tomorrow.

And right on cue, this girl has taken down the patriotic bunting that waved handsomely over the doorway for months now; this girl has taken down the baby flags posted into the half dozen flower pots, since Memorial Day; for a new season is upon us, that it is, indeed -- while the irony hangs in the lazy gray haze outside my window, leave it to the month of August to have its light's out like a lion.

For some -- as in Houston and the surrounding areas hit by Hurricane Harvey...Corpus Cristi, Rockport -- this new season begins with unshakable faith that each and every one will rise from the apocalyptic force and unrelenting rain and unimaginable flood waters by the grace of God, while the rest of us bear witness in stunning awe.  While for those Americans who can't just sit back and do nothing, they may already be on the ground -- in spite of whatever horrendous conditions there may be -- with arms carrying bottles of water, provisions of all sorts, and rescuing people from total disaster; while others may simply be sending money to the Red Cross.

This is really and truly who we are --- right, America?  Right.  

We are Houston; we are not Charlottesville, be it scrutinized by our defining moments, by precedent, or by every good deed. (No offense to Charlottesville...it is just about the metaphor of time and place, context and circumstances, alongside the difference a couple of weeks may bring.)

Which, all being said, leads me into an even deeper thought:  no matter what happens around the nation, we, the people, are held captive to the story, to the reality, by whatever point of view that comes via the media source.  [um, duh ---  just a girl meet Captain Obvious -- oh nice to meet you, come here often?   teehee]

Anyway, while the whirlpool of context and catastrophe began to make me dizzy, I finally reached the surface, treading water upon the day after the Benghazi attack, September 12, 2012.  

There we all were -- Americans --  the day after the anniversary of 9/11 and waking up to the news of four Americans dying in a terrorist attack at the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  It was a pretty big deal.

This is the first response from President Obama; this is how the president framed it (and bear in mind, this is while HE KNEW it was an actual Islamic Extremist terror attack -- and even, all the while, after abandoning his post as Commander-in-Chief.  For during the entire, real time, terror attack --  when our military and the administration were thrust into an act of war and our response --  the president left the Situation Room to get some rest...as he had a very big day scheduled in the morning....)... so here he is now, in the Rose Garden, with Secretary of State Clinton by his side, saying:

...Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi.  Among those killed was our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith.  We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed.  And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers. 

The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack.  We're working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats.  I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world.  And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people. 

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths.  We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.  But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence.  None.  The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts...

Then, the president gets on Air Force One and flies to Las Vegas...for a campaign rally! 

And the press didn't think twice about it. 

So.

I'm thinking about how the press has exasperated all avenues of the Russian collusion story, being clearly unable to leak any evidence of any link with the Trump campaign...even with an army of investigators and insiders at their fancy ----  and then suddenly, almost as if it were orchestrated and planned, the skies opened up and Charlottesville happened.  

Let the Trump Take Down narrative begin! -- beginning with building upon a character attack, the one criminally based upon a lie, with every pail of water carried by the mainstream media, to the extent of breaking every levy, wall and dam built over a career denouncing white supremacy and the KKK and David Duke.  [How many times does he have to say it?]

NO matter.  The trajectory changed overnight....a propaganda ambush is about the only way you could describe it.   And who knew that eventually, the character assassinations would not start and stop with Trump -- as we spoke of just yesterday...within the week, all republicans, all Trump voters, were all thrown under the proverbial, racially charged, narrative bus to boot. (say that ten times straight...)  Calling everyone on the right racists...wow.

And the press didn't think twice about it.

By the time President Obama returned to the White House, a brand new narrative on Benghazi had already surfaced (it was so close to the election, and all, they had to do something to save face, especially after  the Democratic National Convention ran with this motto: GM is alive and Bin Laden is dead, right?)

So after the  "act of terror"/ "by killers" / that we will "bring to justice the killers who attacked our people" -- and after the celebratory rally in Vegas --  and another rally in Golden, CO (with a totally different vibe going...amusing) --  President Obama gets back to the front, to deal with the act of war straight away.   teehee.  And by that time a plan was in place; the new narrative blamed it all on a video (but we have not the time or energy to re-litigate that today, do we now?)

Thing is, the press didn't think twice about that either -- hook, line and sinker, they were sold.

How sad that the press didn't get stuck on something the president said in his first response...the line that went like so:   "The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack."  It's like, really?  There are not words.   Granted, a President Trump would have come out and called it what it was -- radical Islamic Terror at the hands of radical Islamic Extremists; but this "condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack."  Whoa, me thinks you need to settle it down there, Mr. President....

And of course, here on the old G Thing -- we spent months talking about it, so this girl can give it a rest, and she will -- right after I add this observation.... that the press, in no uncertain terms, cowered to their king.   Where was the hell and fury in the president's face, right?  

They just let Obama slide down the 'oh he's just so measured and articulate and measured and articulate...so presidential...so calm....so presidential ...there is not a question in my mind that this president knows what he's doing  AND look at him, being  all transparent and all to the American people....oh my, simply and always, a stunning display of diplomacy' right into the press pool and then offered him a towel.

Oh the press --  the puritanical, pontifical, pretentious place if only in their own minds; just a place somewhere between la la land and hades, where they didn't think twice about whatever President Obama and his administration said or did... or even entirely made up out of thin air. 

And this part too -- when President Obama said this:  "I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world."  AGAIN, where was the "unbiased" press doing their thing then -- for it is of record, that Ambassador Stevens, and his people,  REPEATEDLY asked for more security way before the attack!

Indeed.  The press didn't think twice about it.

And just to be sure you understand the amount of grace given under the Obama Administration -- as compared to Trump -- no one in the press questioned Obama's mental health when he went from the serious Rose Garden moment in the am to the raucous rally expressing everything wrong with republicans in the pm, then waking up to do it again in Colorado, before coming back to the Oval Office....no one questioned the Commander-in-Chief for being, for a no better term, completely AWOL on the best interests of the American people.  Our country, our four Americans killed, were in the middle of clear and present danger and what did Obama do?  He went to bed and got up the next day for a political rally, no questions asked.

The press didn't think twice about it.

In the beginning of the rally in Golden, CO, President Obama said: "To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished."  To which I  must respond, huh.  Did they?  Are we catching these bad guys and are they being punished?  Here is an UPDATE from 2014.  However, what remains to be seen is -- going back to May of this year --  will he actually be "brought to justice" or will he be let off on a some technicality?   America is so generous like that, you know.

Oh, look at me get so carried away.  [And to think, this Benghazi catastrophe is only one glaring example.]

I do love how Obama navigated from the seriousness of the Benghazi attack and into the real reason he was on stage and ready to rally; just before he went all divide and conquer in Colorado, he said this (and not leaving any of it out):

Now, I know that it's difficult sometimes seeing these disturbing images on television, because our world is filled with serious challenges. This is a tumultuous time that we're in. But we can and we will meet those challenges if we stay true to who we are, and if we would remind ourselves that we're different from other nations. We are different not only because of the incredible landscape that God has given us, we're different because we're a nation that's bound together by a creed. We're not made up of a single tribe or a single religion or a single race. We're a collection of people from all around the world who came here because of a certain set of principles: the idea that all men and women are created equal, that we are all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. That's what binds us together. That's what our flag means. 

But we also believe that these are not just American rights. We believe these are universal aspirations and they're held by people who live in tiny villages in Libya, prosperous cities in Europe. That's our light to the world. And our task as the most powerful nation on Earth is to defend and protect and advance our people, but also to defend and protect and advance those values at home and around the world. That's what our troops do. That's what our diplomats do. That's what our intelligence officers do. 

That's what our citizens do. That's what we believe. Those are the values that we hold to.
And here in America, there is no more fundamental part of our democracy than the fact that all of you get a say in the decisions that are made about our country's future. And that's why we're here today.

good one, Mr. O; allow me to give you a standing O for that right now....

The guy could charm, couldn't he?  The guy could charm.

Question:  wonder how we got from one 'creed...collection of people...[same] certain set of principles....endowed by our Creator....binds us together...that's what the flag means"  in September of 2012 to this, nearing September 2017 -----  

...to this... football players kneeling with no respect for the flag and what we stand for....statues of Christopher Columbus coming down....free speech rallies being shut down....conservative speakers at colleges being shout down and even viciously attacked....Catholic schools having to hide statues of the baby Jesus....Black Lives Matter protests escalating to riots, and killing, the assassination of,  police officers....antifa leftists rising up with billy clubs and face masks ready to fight with an equally violent gang of white supremacists, neither of which were stopped by the police, and was allowed to riot in the beautiful city of Charlottesville.   

[For more on that last topic, and an interesting take,  go to Charlottesville -- Where's the Truth, posted by Michael Giere, TBE.  PS  Never hurts to ask questions.]

Or never you mind, press -- by all means, don't think twice about it.

Context --  Catastrophe --  and the Commander-in-Chief, oh my...

what a difference a day makes;

 

what a difference when the press and presidencies collide, be it for better or worse.

Hate to be too dramatic, given what we are going through in this country right now, but the thing is, it could be said that the very rise and fall of nations have often hung in the balance of one well placed post.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About Making Gray Thing

Dear America,

Gray in Your Service

March 14, 1783

General Washington's Headquarters

Newburgh, New York

"For perhaps the very first time, 

George Washington felt completely alone."

(Just the beginning of the Eleventh Chapter,  go to Glenn Beck's Being George Washington, for more)

truth is, given yesterday's blog --   and when I say yesterday, it was really days ago, being last Saturday ----   if  the original Black Lives Matter protesters were comprised chiefly of the members of the GOP, being the party clearly on the right side of history and in concert with the U.S. Army and the Commander-in-Chief, President Abraham Lincoln.....then it makes the case for the characterization of the Confederacy and the Confederate Army being nothing more than a band of violent thugs, similar to the groups such as the Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, KKK, and even including, the resurgence of the anti-fa movement, under the guise of being the "counter-protest" -- suffice it to say, throughout history, these groups are chiefly comprised of democrats and socialists and communists and anarchists.  

But lets be clear -- Any group that operates to undermine, threaten, wreak havoc, upon the security and unity of a nation and it's people -- whether it be on a college campus, at a parade, whether town or country  -- is not good.  Every act bears responsibility, being completely liable to be considered actions equal to that of any enemy of the state, both foreign and domestic.  



Anarchists and Fascists, fascists and anarchists...Extreme left and extreme right, unite, to untie the threads that bond and tear America apart.

The south shot first.

The confederacy shot first, coming on the heels of establishing its own southern republic (well, kinda -- sorta) in February of 1861 -- when, over time, a total of eleven states set out to secede from the Union. 

[They officially didn't succeed in seceding; they merely lost representation within the federal government.  The territory, itself, was always considered to be part of the Union.  After the war, the 14th Amendment was used as the means for the southern states to re-establish representation within congress -- the states had to agree with it, in full, or have no voice.  And while along those lines, much to my surprise, eventually, Congress considered all members of the Confederate Army to be veterans (warning: that's a rather long read there and some of the conversation may be considered controversial, try and get over it and through it.).  Thing is, congress allowed for pensions to be paid to their widowers, and even moved to allow for a few to be buried in places like Arlington National Cemetery,  having such considerations made possible through legislation dating back to the early 1900's and as recently as 1957.]

But as we all know -- what happened at the end of the Civil War was not really the end, was it?  For the southern states didn't take no for an answer, they didn't take their loss quietly, and spent the years following the war trying to save face, to the extent of rewriting its own history, and all the while egregiously continuing to foment divide between blacks and whites. 

Words from the link just above, in How the Cult of Robert E. Lee Was Born,  posted by Becky Little, the former president of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, said this:

“By the 1890s, the Lost Cause arguments had become really a racial ideology, they had become a set of arguments for white supremacy.” 

As Little goes on to add, "[T]he idea that slavery had been a gentle institution that benefited both masters and slaves, and that freedmen could not handle their emancipation, was a foundation upon which Jim Crow laws were built."

In the process of researching this morning, the twenty-fifth president of the United States came up, President William McKinley.  After victory in the Spanish American War, he gave a speech in Atlanta that basically aimed to heal all of America, in order to move forward with great hope for the future, to come together as one nation.  And it goes something like this:

Speech before the Legislature in Joint Assembly 

AT the State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia, Decem- 

ber 14, 1898. 

3Ir. President and Gentlemen : 

It is with more than common pleasure that I meet 

these representatives of this great State. I am more 

than glad to be with you here at this time and share 

with you in the general rejoicing over the signing of the 

treaty of peace between the United States and Spain. 

Sectional lines no longer mar the map of the United 

States. [Great applause.] Sectional feeling no longer 

holds back the love we bear each other. [Applause.] 

Fraternity is the national anthem, sung by a chorus of 

forty-five States and our Territories at home and beyond 

the seas. [Applause.] The Union is once more the 

common altar of our love and loyalty, our devotion and 

sacrifice. The old flag again waves over us in peace, 

with new glories which your sons and ours have this 

year added to its sacred folds. What cause we have 

for rejoicing, saddened only by the fact that so many of 

our brave men fell on the field or sickened and died from 

hardship and exposure, and others returning bring 

wounds and disease from which they will long suffer. 

The memory of the dead will be a precious legacy, and 

the disabled will be the nation's care. [Applause.] 

A nation which cares for its disabled soldiers as we 

have always done will never lack defenders. The na- 

tional cemeteries for those who fell in battle are proof

that the dead as well as the living have our love. What 

an army of silent sentinels we have, and with what 

loving care their graves are kept ! Every soldier's 

grave made during our unfortunate Civil "War is a trib- 

ute to American valor. [Applause.] And while, when 

those graves were made, we differed widely about the 

future of this government, those differences were long 

ago settled by the arbitrament of arms; and the time 

has now come, in the evolution of sentiment and feeling 

under the providence of God, when in the spirit of fra- 

ternity we should share with you in the care of the 

graves of the Confederate soldiers. [Tremendous ap- 

plause and long-continued cheering.] 

The cordial feeling now happily existing between the 

North and South prompts this gracious act, and if it 

needed further justification, it is found in the gallant 

loyalty to the Union and the flag so conspicuously 

shown in the year just past by the sons and grand- 

sons of these heroic dead. [Tremendous applause.] 

What a glorious future awaits us if unitedly, wisely, 

and bravely we face the new problems now pressing 

upon us, determined to solve them for right and hu- 

manity ! [Prolonged applause and repeated cheers.] 

---------------------------- pink highlighting courtesy of G

Perhaps he aimed a wee bit high, considering how the next century went down...

Such lofty ideas, though, eh?  Oh McKinley could dream, he could dream.

Can't blame him for trying...
What an army of silent sentinels we have, and with what 

loving care their graves are kept ! Every soldier's 

grave made during our unfortunate Civil "War is a trib- 

ute to American valor. [Applause.] And while, when 

those graves were made, we differed widely about the 

future of this government, those differences were long 

ago settled by the arbitrament of arms;

(Or so he thought.)

It is a tribute to American valor, as McKinley said to applause, rightly so, because each side fought bravely in the mission at hand.   Lives were harmed, even lost and buried; warriors were wounded and widows were made.   Sure, it is easy to be the great arbiter of history, placing the moral and immoral characterizations just like so...we all know which side was right, right?  But the reality is, all of these men fought with courage, bravely aiming to be a part of making history, come hell or high water, whether wrong or right.

And now, this girl is gonna wander deep into the woods for just a moment -- here's another history wake up call for you, as President McKinley was assassinated not all that long after that speech, in 1901; he was just six months into his second term as president.  From the whitehouse,gov website:

  "He was standing in a receiving line 

at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition 

when a deranged anarchist shot him twice. 

He died eight days later."  

[And yeah, that's exactly how the post on McKinley ends.  Weird.]

Anywho...  A republican president shot and killed by an anarchist.  huh, now there's a precedent President Trump probably doesn't want to think about...especially when there are state representatives making these kinds of statements, here.

The anarchist:   After going from one moderate socialist club to a more radical one, Leon Czolgosz fell victim of a swift indoctrination, leading him to take matters into his own hands and the making of a radical choice: assassinating the 25th president of the United States.  Upon the day Czolgosz was scheduled to die by electrocution (just 45 days later...) he apparently said this:  "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people – the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime. I am sorry I could not see my father."

The thing is...now getting close to the end of my long about day today, for which I will not apologize...America was designed to be the exception, fully committed to the vision born out of the pure brilliance of our nation's founders; a republic such as ours, built upon the Rule of Law and under the checks and balances of three branches of government, was not only skillfully crafted, every word, but it had never been done before on this earth.  We honestly were the exception, being admired for our courage to break from England -- coming after another long war in American history -- and eventually, over time,  becoming the leader of the free world.

We cannot sanitize or rewrite history to make it feel better.

We have laws against defacing/destroying public property.

We are a nation of free people under Article I of the Constitution -- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

The key here is 

"PEACEFULLY to assemble, and to petition..."

We've lost our sense of peace.  Somehow or other, we have evolved -- no, depreciated and descended  -- into committing indefensible acts of violence and reckless name calling and extremist statue toppling, risking total civil unrest, as a means of dealing with each other face to face, from sea to shining sea.  Anarchy has become the way...while hating this president has become dangerously vogue.

How is this okay?  The conservative press was never this disrespectful to President Obama.  

And what gives?  When the shameless press promotes a left winged activist who nonsensically labels all 60 million Americans who voted for Trump a racist...that is, through the words of Michael Moore while on CNN ...does it even matter if  Don Lemon warned Moore he may get a little blowback...[#kind lesson #3,  #never let bullies win ...right, Ellen DeGeneres?  Just fresh word in September's Good Housekeeping.  Please don't misconstrue, I love ellen!]

or read this one, same verse, same as the first.
or read this one, same verse, same as the second.

Does the mainstream media -- especially CNN -- have any idea how reckless this is, let alone realize they have pathetically crossed the line?

Does the mainstream media really have the credibility to decide for all Americans just who has the moral authority and higher ground to protest over another, especially when, in fact, it's all bad when it ends in tear gas and fists?

Doesn't the free press have children, too?  Is this, shockingly, the new neighborhood now?

God help us if we are back in an age when our differences are being "settled by the arbitrament of arms," fully supported  through  the posturing and propaganda of a free-wheeling, left leaning, unconscionable press, who would rather watch America go up in flames then support this administration's call for unity, no matter color or creed, no  matter the politics.  It's simply disgraceful.

We've seen an age immediately following a president's call for unity before; time and time again, history reveals America's response, with or without the free press providing for the correct account.

If in all things we learn to blend a wee bit better, smudging the imaginary sectional lines that  continue to divide and bury us under skies of gray and rivers of tears, this nation may amass the courage to live another day towards achieving real peace and genuine brotherhood.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Toast to the Grand Old Party...the ORIGINAL Black Lives Matter protesters THING

Dear America,

here's the thing,

and pretty sure this girl may be the first to say it out loud --

but let's get one thing straight, right here and right now...

The GOP are the original Black Lives Matter* protesters -- #civilwar [#hatehashtags] ( *The only difference, of course, is that the GOP respect our police.)

This fact is indisputable, while the GOP today should be saying this at every turn at the podium.  

It is the DEMOCRATIC party who is completely guilty, throughout history, of cultivating hate, bigotry, prejudice, against people of color, having been the party to allow this kind of hatred to continue to ravage, enrage, and enslave African-Americans in the decades that followed the Civil War, leading the country back into segregation and then promptly into the civil unrest of the 1960's. [that being put in a tattered, broken, long story short kind of way...]

AND NO WOLF BLITZER, the deplorable, unconscionable acts of James Fields was not what set off the rogue Islamic Extremists, responsible for driving a van into a crowd of tourists and townspeople in beautiful Barcelona, as in performing some kind of "copycat" crime of terrorism.  IF anyone was copying anybody, it would be the Racist/Nazi/White Supremacist who copied the umpteen Islamic Extremists who preceded him -- following a string of attacks, by vehicle, this year alone.  But go ahead and read the long list for yourself.

And who exactly was Robert Byrd, the man  -- you know, before he became one of Hillary's very own mentors, admired and revered all her political life?

Oh The Left is so forgiving when it comes to suspect -- no, racist -- alliances among their own kind, no?

How many times does this president need to say it -- that he denounces ALL forms of hatred, bigotry, racism...and even naming the groups out loud?   [White Supremacists, Neo-Nazis, KKK........]  When in fact, Robert Byrd was allowed to be a Senator after being a member of the KKK??? Really???

What about Jimmy Carter? With family roots including a cotton plantation run by slaves, a peanut farm, and being a southern democrat...was slavery withheld from the selective biography of Jimmy's past when running for office?  Where was all this nonsense then?

So perhaps, if we are to venture down this road -- upon the developing civil unrest, from both the left and the  right, fighting over which statue deserves to stay and which must go --  maybe we start in Washington D.C., per the wishes of Cory Booker and Nancy Pelosi, of course -- and take down every reminder of Jimmy Carter; then, of course, dismantle the entire Democrat Party and give them 48 hours to legitimize their party with a new name, a new mission statement, an apology to all Americans and especially to the conservatives of the republican party and most importantly to every African-American!,  and then, clearly denounce all past associations to their racist, bigoted, wrong side of history party, the one they have grown to love, and consequentially  grown to make the biggest  example of a  political hypocrisy/fraud on earth!

[I would like mine in writing.  Thank you]

And just a thought -- going out to Al Sharpton, just a guy famous for not paying his taxes  --- who takes issue in paying taxes to fund memorials of slave owners, like, for instance, the Thomas Jefferson memorial; I can relate, not in specific thought, but deed; it is the same feeling I have about my taxes supporting the death of the unborn, funding Planned Parenthood.  Millions of babies have died through the repugnant works of Planned Parenthood, supplemented by tax payers who believe in the right to life.  And to think, the founder, Margaret Sanger, who wanted to basically get rid of the "unfit" in society, has done more to reduce the African-American population then any other person, still beyond her grave.  Sanger was a racist, 

moving on dot org...

Did you click the link, 'an apology?'  What a humdinger that is, no?

Oh, how doth he, Mitt,  begin?  Like so --  "I will dispense for now from discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements..."  Seriously?

Now, first off ---   I believe Romney would have made a very fine president, very fine; he just isn't the president now, which makes his remarks somewhat, oh how do you say, advantageous; it was outrageous self-promotion and, a gutless siding with the flow of the politically correct filibustering of the narrative against the sitting president.  Not only that, it was misdirected; his anger should have been leveled against the White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis, and KKK who led the fight against the counter-protesters....that being, a paid group of leftists thugs, acting under the guise of social justice reforms, called antifa. Have you seen the ads?   Apparently, the organization pays somewhere between 25 -45.00/hour!

How did I discover this?  When googling more information on Heather Heyer -- wondering if she was an actual member of anti-fa....the ad was posted on the very bottom of the first page that came up.  Not that it's here nor there, right?  It's just fascinating.

And yet, this girl, as in me, would be remiss not to head straight back up and hang on the words of Mitt's beginning thoughts....that whole, "discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements" thing...

That, in and of itself, Mitt, leads us to believe, that you believe, on a scale of one to ten -- ten being stellar, and an atmospheric position you shamelessly believe you achieve upon every starry moment in the public eye -- that President Trump's statement is a minus eleven (oh, like you say, whether that was your intention or not).

But you don't mince words, do you Mitt?

"...He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize. State forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville. Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis--who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat--and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute. And once and for all, he must definitively repudiate the support of David Duke and his ilk and call for every American to banish racists and haters from any and every association."

Fact:

ONE racist was 100% to blame for the murder of Heather Heyer.

Fact Two:

Hundreds were to blame for the violence that escalated in Charlottesville, with the help of a police stand down.  Romney should question who gave the order for the police to stand down...just sayin.  The protesters and the counter-protesters came locked and loaded in spirit, with bats and sticks and head gear, fully intending and ready to rumble.  What about the anti-fa injuring the journalists in attendance?  Thank you, Jake Tapper.

Truth is, Mitt, things are not exactly as clear cut as you say here  --

"Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis--who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat--and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute."

Is that really what YOU came away with when the president simply said "many sides" are culpable to the violence that ensued?

The president said, in a tweet:  "We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST."  And on the day of the event, last Saturday, this is a full transcript of what he said to the American people:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. As you know, this was a small press conference, but a very important one. And it was scheduled to talk about the great things that we’re doing with the secretary on the veterans administration. And we will talk about that very much so in a little while. But I thought I should put out a comment as to what’s going on in Charlottesville. So, again, I want to thank everybody for being here, in particular I want to thank our incredible veterans. And thank you, fellas. Let me shake your hand. 

They’re great people. Great people. But we’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama, this has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America. What is vital now is a swift restoration of law and order and the protection of innocent lives. No citizen should ever fear for their safety and security in our society. And no child should ever be afraid to go outside and play or be with their parents and have a good time. 

I just got off the phone with the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, and we agree that the hate and the division must stop, and must stop right now. We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation and true affection– really, I say this so strongly, true affection for each other. Our country is doing very well in so many ways. We have record — just absolute record employment. We have unemployment the lowest it’s been in almost 17 years. We have companies pouring into our country, Foxconn and car companies and so many others. They’re coming back to our country. We’re renegotiating trade deals to make them great for our country and great for the American worker. 

We have so many incredible things happening in our country, so when I watch Charlottesville, to me it’s very, very sad. I want to salute the great work of the state and local police in Virginia. Incredible people. Law enforcement, incredible people. And also the National Guard. They’ve really been working smart and working hard. They’ve been doing a terrific job. Federal authorities are also providing tremendous support to the governor. He thanked me for that. And we are here to provide whatever other assistance is needed. We are ready, willing and able. Above all else, we must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country. We love our god. 

We love our flag. We’re proud of our country. We’re proud of who we are, so we want to get the situation straightened out in Charlottesville, and we want to study it. And we want to see what we’re doing wrong as a country where things like this can happen. My administration is restoring the sacred bonds of loyalty between this nation and its citizens, but our citizens must also restore the bonds of trust and loyalty between one another. We must love each other, respect each other and cherish our history and our future together. So important. We have to respect each other. Ideally, we have to love each other.

If I were a betting girl -- and I'm not -- my money would be on a President Obama getting away with saying the exact same thing. (Oh, except that he would probably leave out the part about the flag.)  Anyone?  [and Thank you to a place on the web called Shallow Nation for the transcript!]

Fact Three:

President Trump has continually "repudiated David Duke and his ilk"  -- how many times does he have to say it before very fine people, like yourself, believe it?  Because he has said it on more than one occasion, at more than one venue, and it seems it will never be enough.

But certainly like how you began that sentence,  "testify that there is no...." [italized and bolded and made huuuge for emphasis]; oooooooh, you might as well have placed Trump sitting next to a judge and jury right then and there while making your point.  Great imagery, Mitt, great imagery.  But I digress.

The president was measured in his first response (something all Americans should appreciate)!  He was waiting for more information to come, like any other sane, political leader, should do.   It's not like Barack Obama scores high in this regard, truth be told, jumping to asinine conclusions, while at the same time, asking for all the rest of us not to do so.  But once again, Trump will always be handicapped with the double standard, and being completely damned if he does or damned if he doesn't in widespread public opinion, all the days of his presidency will be forever influenced in the fact that it is politically expedient to hate him. #hatethehaters #allofthem #manysides

And if we go down the road of placing a moral equivalence to things anywhere and often -- perhaps now, after all is said and done in the last seven days  -- just maybe we can have the courage to correctly put the moral equivalency of the slaughter of innocents of non-Muslim decent at the hands and arms and vehicles of radical Islamic terrorists in their proper perspective, as well; for its been too many to count.   Here's a good read, from Saher Fares, Is a Tolerant Culture Being Replaced by an Intolerant One?

I could go on and on and on.
But it's Saturday in southern California; and for certain, if "this day in the life of an American girl" can't give all of this a little reprieve here and now, then she can't do it anywhere.  It's always sunny in my world, no matter what happens; and tomorrow is another day.

One final note, unrelated to anything said today:  I'm happy Steve Bannon is out -- if he really and truly was the "Chief Strategist" in the White House, then, by all means, he should be out, for his strategies sucked.  I may have to toast to his resignation later today... it will come right after I toast to the REPUBLICAN party, for having the political courage to wage a war against slavery....and win! Even on the Wikipedia page it classifies some of  it's originating members as the "anti-slavery activists" in terms of its demographics.  So there!  [And yes, I did just stick out my tongue.]

Something tells me that the battle has only just begun against The Left's heinous assault upon America and her foundations, only just begun.

In the meantime and until we meet again, cheers!  and to the sunshine I go.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About Trump Being Eaten Alive by Wolves Thing

Dear America,

you know, if we keep ripping each other apart, bit by bit, we may as well just call in the vultures to finish us off.

buh-bye America

Trump, just yesterday....freely answering questions to the press --

"Frankly, people still don't know all of the facts. It was very important that – excuse me, excuse me – it was very important to me to get the facts out and correctly. Because if I would have made a fast statement, and the first statement was made without knowing much other than what we were seeing. 

The second statement was made after – with knowledge, with great knowledge. There are still things – excuse me – there are still things that people don't know."

........

Seems Fair to say.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Was it – two questions. Was it terrorism? And can you tell us what you're feeling about your...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, I think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family and his country. And that is – you can call it terrorism. You can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. I would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict. That's what I'd call it. Because there is a question. Is it murder? Is it terrorism? And then you get into legal semantics. 

The driver of the car is a murderer. And what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing.

Seems Fair to say.

next up, after a bit on Bannnon, we get to this --

TRUMP: Senator McCain?

QUESTION: ...the alt-right and...

TRUMP: Senator McCain, you mean the one who voted against Obamacare? Who is – you mean Senator McCain who voted against us getting good healthcare?  [LOVE THIS!]

QUESTION: Senator McCain said that the alt-right is behind these attacks, and he linked that same group to those who perpetrated the attack in Charlottesville.

TRUMP: Well, I don't know – I can't tell you. I'm sure Senator McCain must know what he's talking about. But when you say the "alt- right," define "alt-right" to me. You define it, go ahead.

Seems Fair to ask.

QUESTION: Well, I think that (ph)...

TRUMP: No, define it for me, come on. Let's go. Define it for me.  [LOVE THIS!]

Seems Fair to ask...again.

QUESTION: Senator McCain defined them as the same group...

TRUMP: OK, what about the alt-left that came charging them (ph)? Excuse me. What about the alt-left that came charging at the – as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?

..........

TRUMP: Go ahead.

QUESTION: Do you think that the – what you call the alt-left is the same as neo-Nazis?

TRUMP: Those people – all of those people – excuse me. I've condemned neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were White Supremacists, by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, Robert E. Lee. 

So – excuse me. And you take a look at some of the groups and you see – and you'd know it if you were honest reporters, which in many cases you're not, but many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. 

So this week it's Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson's coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? 

You know, you all – you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop? But they were there to protest – excuse me. You take a look, the night before, they were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. 

Infrastructure question, go ahead.

Seems Fair to say and question.

no, really....QUESTION: Should the statue of Robert E. Lee stay up?

TRUMP: I would say that's up to a local town, community, or the federal government, depending on where it is located.

This is where he blinked -- the final answer should have been more like, absolutely; for this allows the country to continue to have teachable moments into the next generation, and even the next, and the next. 

Next:
QUESTION: Are you against the Confederacy?

QUESTION: How concerned are you about race relations in America? And do you think things have gotten worse or better since you took office?

TRUMP: I think they've gotten better or the same – look, they've been frayed for a long time. And you can ask President Obama about that, because he'd make speeches about it. 

But I believe that the fact that I brought in – it will be soon, millions of jobs, you see where companies are moving back into our country, I think that's going to have a tremendous positive impact on race relations. 

We have companies coming back into our country. We have two car companies that just announced. We have Foxconn in Wisconsin just announce. We have many companies I say pouring back into the country. 

I think that's going to have a huge, positive impact on race relations. You know why? It's jobs. What people want now, they want jobs. They want great jobs with good pay. And when they have that, you watch how race relations will be. 

And I'll tell you, we're spending a lot of money on the inner cities. We're going to fix – we're fixing the inner cities. We're doing far more than anybody's done with respect to the inner cities. It's a priority for me. And it's very important.

Seems Fair to say and encouraging.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, are you putting what you're calling the alt-left and white supremacists on the same moral plane?

TRUMP: I'm not putting anybody on a moral plane. What I'm saying is this. You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other, and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible. And it was a horrible thing to watch. 

But there is another side. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left. You've just called them the left – that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's the way it is.

Seems Fair to say -- 

although, sadly, also revealing how everything 

gets deciphered through a politically correct prism; 

a prism entirely controlled by the Left, 

and disseminated through the left-wing mainstream media.  

next up..............a crosstalk bonanza...............

QUESTION: (inaudible) started this (inaudible) Charlottesville. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest...

(CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me. (inaudible) themselves (inaudible) and you have some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group – excuse me, excuse me – I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.

Seems Fair to say.  

Although became immediately clear,  to offer a plethora ofpathetic 

fodder for the left and weak republicans to feed off of for days.

like....Mitch, Bush, Romney, Ryan, Kasich, blah blah blah

TRUMP WASN'T CALLING THE NEO-NAZI'S PART OF THE 'VERY FINE PEOPLE' !  You Idiots!!!!!   He was talking about the other people who were in the crowd WHO WERE JUST THERE TO PERFORM A CIVIC DUTY to protest the erasing of America's history --  through the reckless act of demolishing every politically incorrect statue in town.  Unfortunately -- those few, those proud, were ambushed by two violent groups who were determined to ruin and fully corrupt the day....which they did.

so, that's as far as we'll go with the transcript, as the presser finishes with a chorus of crickets and crosstalk; thank you, McClatchyDC for graciously providing the link for the take.

 ONE MORE THING -- 

 and continuing on a theme, 

we might as well call this section "no man's land"

Let it be known that upon this day -- the sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord 2017 --  

Big Business  (all the president's men providing special counsel) ----- are just a bunch of pussies with weenies.  There... I said it.  

YOU'RE all that weak?  really?  Is it just that favorable these days to be on any other side but Trump's?

There was nothing wrong with Trump's first response.   

There was nothing wrong with Trump's second response.

And his third response -- answering to the fire and fury, of what amounts to automatic weaponry, at the hands of a mad press (with a few very fine ones, indeed) -- was nothing other than stellar.  And yet, here we are -- The Donald stands nearly alone.

Suffice it to say, there are now three sides to every story.  The Left, The Right,  and The Donald's.  

Or is it the wrong, the right and the Donald's?  

And what's up with the latest news on WHO IS jason kessler -- the organizer of the event??  Let's go to the Southern Poverty Law Center for more on the Occupy Wall Street protester and Obama supporter.

Or is it more correct to say that the truth of any story is somewhere unseen to the naked eye, at first, and only unearthed once the individual bias is revealed, and thus making way for the buried facts to come back to life.  A soft brush will surely shake off the dirt with careful consideration and time.

What do you think Fake News?  No, really, 'let's go' as they say....

The thing is, the president was more than fair, and surprisingly measured, through the entire media melee -- and it was a melee.  It was a melee.

Sadly, it has become politically correct to rip a sitting president apart, limb by limb, word by word -- even to the extent of making a firestorm from a falsehood....SEE HERE.  Thank you, Politico.

I hate the press; wait, can I say that out loud anymore?

THIS reality,  in the realm of the distribution of fake news,  should be making all Americans squirm; realizing that the PRESS Corps has taken sides, and are so disrespectful to boot, reveals a very bad state of affairs; also realizing that the Left's goal is really not about what makes them uncomfortable at all, says it all. 

Trump is being eaten alive by wolves every single day; all sides seem to find a piece of him with shameless delight.

The Left's villainous goals are right out of Rules for Radicals, and as such,  they will not stop until they take out ALL opposition  -- conservatives, the Christian right, the pro-lifer's, the republicans as a whole, even the innocent, very fine, and peaceful Americans who simply wanted to show support of  keeping our history -- the good the bad and the ugly -- front and center in the town square, lest we ever forget the truth of our sordid past.

The UNITED States has not a chance of survival if we continue to separate by the identity politics that the Left perpetuates and preaches, to the point of stifling any alternative opinion or ideology outside their own....and sadly, to the extent of erasing all evidence of America's painful, almost unbearable, past.

WE MUST COME TOGETHER, people.  All of the very fine people of this great land must come together.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's America in Dire Need of a Re-ligamenting Thing

Dear America,

forgive me father, for I have sinned; it's been 25 days since my last blog.

what up, girl...you sorry slacker; you think having your college girl home for a few winks gives you any excuse? or was it the unexpected encounter with a dentist saying, oh girl (to my girl) you have no cavities, but....all four wisdom teeth need to come out, like, now.   If all goes right -- and so far so good, now that we are on day three of the long day after -- she will have plenty of time to have an In N Out Double Double, like for four days in a row, at least, before she has to go back to school.  Cross your fingers.  (and No.  There is no comparison to any other burger joint on the planet...and that includes, Five Guys, Splunkers, and Shake Shack, and the like.  So there.)

I digress.
Perhaps it would be an understatement to say that much has happened since my last entry.

ugh.

double double ugh.

At least, as of this moment, we are not shooting the muthafucka out of North Korea yet; there is that. But what a war of strategery going on, eh?   Perhaps if good ole boy BillyBobClinton settled this once and for all, way back when, we wouldn't be in this situation....anyone?

Um something tells me North Korea doesn't really wanna join the "community of nations" in any meaningful way.  (so,  given where we've been and where we stand today,  just maybe somebody should be looking deeper into that "good deal" we  made with Iran, um not so long ago.   Just sayin'; and second, is anyone gonna get Billy to comment on this downward trajectory of late and our fate? That would be fun.   No?)

But here we go --

into the fray --

into the furor and fury --

into the terrible things that happened just today, in America.


In Charlottsville, VA to be specific.  August 12, 2017.

At one point during the afternoon, our president's twitter account said this:  "We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST."

Oh my.  America has endured so much.

Timing is such, that just this morning I was reading my monthly issue of IMPRIMIS, from Hillsdale College.  In it -- the July/August edition -- there is more than one excerpt, of more than one occasion. adapted and made available through their "readers monthly."  Dr. Michael Ward is featured, with an adaptation of his convocation address, at the ground breaking in April, of Hillsdale's  new Christ Chapel, and titled:  A Time to Scatter Stones and a Time to Gather Stones Together.  It's REALLY GOOD!  BUT sadly, for some reason, the web is not cooperating in giving me access to this latest edition, perhaps its too early.  Not to fret; here is a link to the video of his actual speech from the day itself!  [It's only 25 minutes. But I don't care; watch it or don't watch it.]

The Imprimis edition hits all the hot spots; like the part when he describes one of his life's missions,  "to reclaim the word 'religion' from this verbicide it's been suffering.  [Given it's bad rap of late.]  It doesn't mean formalism or fanaticism.  Etymologically, it means rather something like tying back together -- re-ligion:  re-ligamenting, re-ligituring, finding the unifying reality behind disparate appearances, seeking oneness, integration, wholeness, 'a theory of everything' (as Stephen Hawking might say)."

And I just love this flashpoint -- beginning with something Richard Dawkins once said, that "religion flies planes into buildings but science flies rockets to the moon."  Dr. Ward goes on to poke fun at that kind of logic like so:   "Firstly, religion and science -- being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents.  And secondly because, if we are going to play that game of ascribing agency to abstract nouns, one might as well say 'religion gives us Mother Teresa but science gives us mustard gas."


There is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones together....indeed.
And after a day like today in Charlottesville -- apparently, there is also a day to throw stones.

Oh for the joy of nation building...over and over and over again.

I'm not aiming to make light of what happened; there are so many things wrong with what seems to have happened today, not sure where to begin, really. So let's not.  Let us then get distracted one more time --

The second piece in the July/August Imprimis happens to be upon the dedication of a very special statue at Hillsdale....a distinguished American and change maker:  Frederick Douglass.  He was elevated to "statue-hood" by direct association with the township of Hillsdale, coming to meet one day with the ladies of the literary society.  As history would have it, he spoke in the College Chapel on January 21, 1863.   And as Imprimis highlights, the "title of his lecture was 'Popular Error and Unpopular Truth.'"  Douglass is quoted as saying, "There is no such thing as new truth.  Error might be old or new; but truth was as old as the universe."  So beautiful.

Going on to emphasize one of his observations, the Imprimis continues, quoting "that the Constitution knows no distinction between citizens on account of color....we utterly repudiate all invidious distinctions, whether in our favor or against us, and only ask for a fair field, and no favor."  And adding, "Douglass was no fan of 'race pride', counting it 'a positive evil' and a 'false foundation'.''   For Douglass, "the only relevant minority in America was the minority of one -- the individual.  The government of all should be partial to none."

That is all well and good, indeed.

Until today...

When a certain "race pride" rally got out of control.  What is wrong with the south? -- and so close to the Mason Dixon line, too.  What is this 1860?

Yes, the Constitution is color-blind and similar to religion and science  --  that "being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents" -- the Constitution relies on the people to uphold its full and gracious and grand scope of all things relating to liberty and freedom for all.

Make no mistake -- INDIVIDUALS made bad decisions today in Charlottesville.  INDIVIDUALS are to blame for the horror of all things executed today, things that most Americans believed we thought were long past.   long past.

Suffice it to say, though,  it wasn't the fault of the Dodge Charger; it was the person behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger.   (whether planes, trains, or automobiles...or guns...it's all the same.)

And who is he?  Someone equal to the age of my very own baby girl?  A twenty year old -- from Ohio -- who purposefully and recklessly and shamelessly and with malice in his heart, went to Charlottesville to wreak havoc, to dispel his kind of hatred towards another human being (or 20!)  God bless their souls.

So just as my twenty year old was dealing with the recovery of oral surgery, here was somebody's boy, of the exact same age, plowing down innocents -- and all I can compare this to now is the feeling of total shock.  If I put the two beside the other -- my girl and this boy --  as a mom, my heart sinks into an abyss of what his mama may be experiencing right about now.

...and I thought my last 48 hours was difficult.  

Truth is, the rally itself, never really got under way.  The warring factions took to the streets before the actual event -- even before the speeches, before the lament of times changing and the process deciding the fate of historical statues of ill repute (like that of Robert E. Lee) -- which as the courts would have it, suddenly had to come down simply based on the gut wrenching feelings of guilt, and being an open reminder of an age when many individuals aligned with the wrong side of human rights; for some, it was simply too upsetting for the faint of heart, unable to reflect upon the grace of God that brought us OUT of such dark ages to begin with.

The thing is:  wouldn't a statue such as this be almost necessary?  To remind us, with brutal honesty, of our transgressions, in order to never go back?

Couldn't these statues be looked upon in terms of being a constant re-ligamenting to the horror of the actions of other humans against other humans, and its effects upon American history of long ago?  We have to know these things, or what, pray tell, keeps us from sliding back into the way of so much of the rest of the world?  Is knowing the fault of our stars and stripes too much for us to handle these days? Really?   Are we really that weak?

I want my girl to know the damage of what's been done in all of America's 241 years -- along with every good.  And there has been lots of good.

It's all essential....the good, the bad and the ugly.

Today was really ugly.  And very bad.

I firmly believe that the people who voted for Trump, predominantly,  want good things for ALL AMERICANS.  I can say this, because I AM one of those Americans and I know what's in my heart.

I refuse to slide back into a civil war -- these "white nationalists" and "white supremacists" do not have the power over this land and do not speak for the majority.  It's of a certain false foundation, relying upon harmful civil disobedience to gain a foothold, and that I will have no part of.   The whole point of the Civil War --  the age of the sixties of both centuries, nineteenth and twentieth -- was about unification; a mountain top religious experience that made the theory of everything and nothing at square one again in equal portion (with maybe some lingering growing pains).

And with some certainty and a whole lot of travesty, there just may be a connection with the Black Lives Matter protests with what the centuries old stones turned over there in Charlottesville today...especially taking into account of what happened about a year ago in Dallas, Texas with the assassination of five police officers --  that was not a good day in America either.  Protests and rallies based upon the color of our skin is never a good idea, it's just not.

This is a time to gather stones together and rebuild.

This is a time to come together and revile all attacks that get in the way of the process of re-ligamenting America, every step of the way.

And the good news: this kind of resiliency and strength of courage is built into our very roots.  Time and time again we have dug deep, and time and time again we sprout, we heal, we make hay, we grow.  Nothing gets in our way when our intentions our good and pure and wholesome and of one, sound, loving mind in an e pluribus unum kinda way.

This is a sad day.  But here I sit, nearly exhausted of my own world of worries, and yet, fully confident that something good will come from all of this.

At this very moment, my baby girl -- of all of twenty years -- is resting peacefully...hence, the time to blog instead of a time to not blog; while also in this moment, my wish for another twenty year old is for him to rest in jail for the rest of his life, and may he never have a good night's rest.

My prayers go out to the families unexpectedly struck with grief -- so far, three people have lost their lives and many more injured.  God bless us one and all.

Make it a Good Day, G