It's Cue Another Day Thing

Dear America,

Apparently, when speaking to a room full of Jews,

 the good prince made this incredible statement:

"agree to come to the negotiations tables 

or shut up and stop complaining" 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman 

think someone's taking a few cues from The Donald?

what I love about this, given the fact that the Saudi's are not real fond of Israel (the Jews) -- is that this guy just calls it like he sees it; either come to the table or shut up, for this current approach you Palestinians are choosing is very much in the way of making real progress and the making of real peace possible.

And now globe trotting across the continents, and taking a quick glance over to President Trump's direct approach to North Korea -- just look at the stunning turn of events between the North and the South!  And much to the chagrin of the mainstream media and Leftists far and wide, large and small. 

Cue the latest planetary alignment between Trump and the Moon.

But let's leap across the stage -- to a parallel galaxy far, far away............

Cue Mike Allen @Axios, and his analysis of Michelle Wolf's Correspondent's Dinner appearance...

Cue a second take from Axios, and all of her vulgarity, here...

Cue the pep rally -- instead of attending the Correspondent's Dinner, serving the overdone roast, the president just did his own thing, like, two years in a row now.

All indicators prove, Trump takes his own cues; and he certainly doesn't need to share the air space with someone like a Michelle Wolf.

And it's not like her approach even worked, right? 

And more than that, isn't it amusing when Wolf's method of making funny gets put on the twitter spit and continues to be roasted for days later... How's that smokey eye of yours, eh Michelle?  Feeling the burn?   [The good news is, you will more than likely never be asked back for an encore...so don't you sweat it, girl]   [Call me funny, but she isn't that funny]

Oh the world is a busy place, isn't it?

Get a load of what Netanyahu just said....Breaking News:  "Iran is lying, big time."  

and more.

Cue the reality of the continuous play within alternate universes in which we live.

Oh this day could be so long, if I wanted to go there...and I don't.

So back to present day reality of finishing this blog --

Real journalism --- the very thing the Correspondent's Dinner celebrates, with real awards even, and becoming the highly anticipated annual platform to perform  a complicated routine mixing political hi-jinx with beltway comedy -- seems  to be a dying art;  the whim of our political fancies frame what we say, how we say it, and even who reads it; whether it is received in laughs of approval or falls flat center stage, under the heat of the spotlight and a barrage of partisan critique, the audience lines up accordingly, right on cue.

There is left and there is right -- and if there is anyone remaining in the true center, they are surely the ones who not only suffer through it all, but revolve around a constant refrain, the joke is on US....

But more and more, as time goes by, this correspondent's dinner yearly rip seems to have run its course...  So cue its off-Broadway future, like, yesterday.

Michelle came to a close saying this:  "Trump is so broke he grabs pussies because he thinks there might be loose change in them. Like an immigrant who was brought here by his parents and didn’t do anything wrong, I’ve got to get the fuck out of here. Good night." 

Like, cue that mouth shut already. 
And looky there, we just went full circle -- from the Crown Prince to anything but a crowned comedienne jewel. 

All in a day's work round these parts.
You're welcome.  [girl taking her bows]

Nothing else to do but cue the music.

as this girl exits, stage right.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's about the True Source of our Strength Thing

Dear America,

"...[But] self-reliance is not highly valued by the Lord." 

 Reverend Charles F. Stanley

say what?

just a teeny revelation tucked neatly under the covers of this morning's devotional, under the title, "The Source of Strength;" it came alongside, for companion reading, a couple of Bible verses from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  Basically, according to my crib notes edition, the Apostle Paul explains how every weakness and torment in his life has actually cradled him, securely and lovingly, in the arms of the Lord, so to speak; recognizing that without the abundance of issues to deal with on a daily basis -- between his poor health, imprisonment, harsh treatment, and the like --  keeping his natural born ego in check and tightly under wraps would have been a constant challenge.  He would have easily grown conceited, full of himself in every way, and over time, certainly begin to neglect the guidance and direction from the Lord. [As in, I can do this all by myself...so there...nanny nanny na na]

His point -- having a certain amount of dependency -- having a "thorn in the flesh" and keeping our hearts and minds on the Lord in childlike faith, keeps us centered on the right things, the spiritual principles designed by God to keep us happy and whole and connected to the very things that truly matter.  [Mostly, HIM!]

But taken out of context, oh me oh my --  this itty bitty line carries the power to be so misunderstood; for in the downgrading of what would ordinarily be considered a natural strength -- this thing called self-reliance -- it would seem not only contrary to what God wants, but against how we, the people, have been programmed and raised to believe [...you know, according to America's founding principles bubbling up from the hearts and minds of our brilliant and enlightened founders].

America loves its self-reliance, right?

We were built on it.

Success requires it.

Life happens all around it, and through it, and with it.

Who needs God when I can do ------------

It is interesting watching the theatrics around this Ronny Jackson dude...once up for nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the same guy who has just bowed out of the nomination process, under the pressure of what may be best described as a pile on from every corner, and highlighting every weakness -- either of ones of his own making or of the broken humanity he treated, in total, reckless abandon, some would say.  

There is a part of me who wonders, just maybe this Ronny guy... just might have been.... perfect.  

For he is imperfect -- much like the restless, badgered, defeated, infringed, band of brothers (and sisters) who make up the mighty force of soldiers under the title of America's Veterans.

Sure, America's got an opiod problem; and Americans love their dependency on everything from caffeine to Dramamine, from ambien to provigil, from whisky to wine to pot.  We pop it, shoot it, bottle it, and make whoopee with it....all the live long day, it may also seem.

Let he without sin cast the first stone...right...

America can be so holier than thou, can't we now?

[But let us not get too wrapped up in that]

Let us scroll back to the top and to the place where we are to entrust our firm reliance -- because surely, mankind has its fair/unfair share of faults, to a fault. 

Mankind has its faults, large and small, for this is how the world -- under God -- was designed; free will and all. 

God wants mankind to come to Him; He wants our reliance to be upon the spiritual truths and principles, and not of THIS world, for this world IS imperfect; it is broken; it is fallen; it is dependent upon Him, even if we walk around totally unaware, or worse, totally full of ourselves and dismissing our inherent push to be in relationship with God, above all else.

It is in these times of brokenness and struggle, when true character and strength is revealed.  And very well can prove to be the kind of strength we quite possibly never knew existed.   It is in the brokenness we often fall on our knees and pray, humbly seeking direction, or just acceptance and forgiveness.  And this is all good.

But as brokenness and weakness comes and goes,  this girl has come to realize that this very same God also responds when we find ourselves coming to Him in praise and thanksgiving, no matter the highs or the lows; and the more we come to Him, whether broken or in our Sunday best, the greater this relationship proves to be the one true Love, steadfast in the bonds of living in relationship every waking day; keeping our firm reliance not upon self, but upon Him --  in the fallen world in which we live --- takes us to places truly unimaginable, almost out of this world. 

Under the covers of our human-ness, lies our greatest  limitations when we leave our experience within human boundaries; our humanity is a weakness, and we are surrounded with it every single day.  There is not one perfect soul in all the world.

 SO here's the thing --

our founders built this fine nation upon the firm foundation of self-reliance, and independence, and liberty, because THIS land, this crib, this nation -- and the very individuals who were beginning to migrate to her seeking shelter and security of every kind  --  were already a faithful people, and fully reliant upon the Lord.  This was not new to them; matter of fact, this faith was such an integral part of their daily lives, they left everything behind to make a new life in America entirely around, and through, and UNDER this God.

long story short...
they understood the first principle of entrusting one's reliance...and it was not upon self; whether talking about the cornerstones or the framing, our foundation recognized the One True Source of our Strength.

...and that, my friends, has made all the difference in the world.

It is only now -- within this deep state of deep conceit -- that we bear witness to a fault as firm and self-evident as the naked earth. 

Make it a Good Day, G

It's how Freedoms Come and Go Thing

Dear America,

"...[c]overs the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd.  The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting.  Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."  

Mark Levin, Plunder and Deceit; quoting Alexis de Tocqueville's description of soft tyranny...

this quote comes just after Levin aims to identify the very nature of the American government today...and it ain't pretty.

As he explains in nearly all of his books, the judicial oligarchy (of Leftists) is continually altering and reshaping our Constitutional republic, usurping the rule of law...while a bureaucracy of Statists, complete with their Statist agenda, expand and enforce the federal Statist agenda through an intricate and burdensome bureaucracy; over time, the original intent of a body republic and thoroughly independent of government, becomes a growing alliance and reliance upon the federal dole/programs/services/guidance/"assistance," be it individually or collectively, from sea to shining sea.

Of course, we hardly feel a thing.  But what an evil empire we weave.  The fabric of a good soft tyranny comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, with the most common being the universal appeal of the one size fits all.

What got me started in this direction this morning?   An innocent, 100% cotton, t-shirt worn by a seven year old.

Subject:  "Bill of Rights 1791" plastered across the front; while the back rattled off  the "First Amendment's Five Freedoms"...."Speech, Press, Religion, Assembly, Petition"

It was the simplicity of it, really, that really got to me.

How is it possible that only a couple of hundred years later, that the simplest of ideas are being challenged in our every day? Or worse, more like, mocked, censured beyond recognition, and virtually, indistinguishable.

But just look at the level of dominance within the realm of this evil weave, confined and designed by the joint powers of authority --  across this land and ever-expanding around the globe.   When it gets down to it, our natural freedoms -- the freedoms that come from God, our Creator, and becoming the very cornerstones of our origins in the making of this government  -- are now essentially in the hands of a mere few.  Everything gets weighed and measured from a central power, whether we read it in the press or not.

This goes against our founder's intent, large and small.

I guess, more than anything else this morning, the more I rest my thoughts on the way we grow busy in our day to day -- even if it is for good cause, good reason -- the more I think, not so fast G...

slow down
keep it simple stupid.
pay attention to the little things.

Even Facebook has become a good example of how we, as a collective body, have allowed the control into our lives without so much as a check or balance.   Facebook elevated the sensations of popularity and social status and keeping busy and constant activity and being connected to all the popular things so quickly, it is no wonder that with its latest string of bad press, for basically behaving badly, that the very same people who once loved and liked without a second thought are now questioning every little thing.

But now to a fine example in government -- namely, Obamacare.  What nonsense.  By centralizing all health care under the authority of the federal government under the "Affordable Care Act," true health care is neither affordable or caring in the least bit: insurance costs have skyrocketed, while choices have became more limited and less cost-effective, while the consumer is being forced to pay for services of the whole, as well as, financially supplement the costs for the poor altogether.

Has Universal Health Care -- socialized medicine -- ever worked??
That would be a big fat, overweight and bordering obese, high blood pressure, no.

It's these little teeny tiny nudges that we take that makes me crazy.

Our local Safeway/Vons store has recently undergone some changes...but it shows another example of the gentle push of soft tyranny running away with our lives.   If you don't buy organic now, very soon, it will be your only choice....so says the produce guy in aisle five.

It's as if regular produce has no voice anymore.

poof!

Oh and then there is this ...

as I was trying to gather my thoughts yesterday, for this blog, I was interrupted all the live long day.  Needless to say, here it is, now clearly a day after --- here I am, dodging and weaving, dodging and weaving --

in the meantime, my fabulous pop sends me an email...and lo and behold, my immediate response was like, yes...that's just the kind of material I've been looking for!

And then it got strange, almost psychedelic.

I tried to find this David Vincent Gilbert, the source, and was immediately met with web curtain after web curtain after web curtain.  It's as if the guy doesn't really exist...

I did find another guy, one that I have heard of before -- Frank Gaffney Jr., of the Center for Security Policy --citing this Gilbert for a speech about a month ago, but that's almost where it starts and stops.

BUT LET'S NOT LET THIS GET IN OUR WAY, shall we?

One of the things attributed to this ghost of a writer, David Vincent Gilbert, is this:

“That’s the basic issue here. 

Who decides who runs the country? 

When you hate each other 

but accept the election results, 

you have a country. 

When you stop accepting election results, 

you have a countdown to a civil war.”

Here is the link to the entire Gaffney speech, incorporating more of Gilbert's ideas.  I believe it is worth your time on the full read, but you decide.

“Every kingdom divided

 against itself 

is brought to desolation, 

and every city or house 

divided against itself 

will not stand.”

Jesus

(I just like this quote he used)

now, granted this girl is all over the place today;

some days, the weave is just better than others, what can I say.  

At least I'm beginning to detect a pattern --  when my life is all over the place, this blog goes all over the place...  and you can take that to the printer and back.

The thing is --

be it this morning or every morning or just yesterday --

since this IS my diary and I can do what I want, my style usually involves throwing all kinds of ideas into the weave, at once.  But I do try to bring it to a nice little knot at the end each and every day, this I do try.  so let's just wrap ourselves up and around this and be done with it already:

Our world -- this country -- has been here before.

Our five freedoms matter more than ever (again)

SPEECH

PRESS

RELIGION

ASSEMBLY

PETITION

And not necessarily in that order, on any given day, right?  Be creative.

And most of all, make it a good day in every way that you know how.

Make it a Good Day, G

PS... and about this guy, DAVID VINCENT GILBERT -- if you are real --  come out, come out wherever you are...

It's Have a Nice Day Thing

Dear America,

this has been some spring break...

by just the sound of it, you would think it would be all pina coladas and lounging by the pool.

but no.

between pet sitting a fine little pooch named Simon 24/7 and my man having a little surgery...there is no such thing -- even an utter -- of spring and break in the same sentence.

[but of course, whisky is made for days like this, days like this]

I consider it perfect timing to be so overwhelmed I can't see straight --- for the headlines are so horrendous, and so all over the place...to narrow things down to just one little thing, or two, worthy of highlighting in this lowly little spin of yarn would be an exercise in futility, leaving this girl so spun tight, she would surely fall down in a wicked purple haze... so not even going to try.

So please, allow me to lead you astray....

Close your eyes, 

feel a cool breeze brushing over you, 

and in an instant, 

when I say "click," 

you say

yes please.

CLICK.

Rethinking Nice.

What a provocative thought...

and a perfectly nice way to start and stop on a day.

Cuz I gotta run.  Have a nice day. (mean it)

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Love and Hate of State Thing

Dear America,

Is this what the founders had in mind?

Is this what the founders had in mind?

i have a serious love/hate relationship with this president; i mean, like, it's bad. it's bad.

it's like that commercial, when the actors say the same thing, but playing off a contrasting context -- like the girl walking out to her brand new car, saying, "is this is my car?!  this is ridiculous!" all excited -- while the guy walking out to find his car jacked up on cement blocks, with the tires missing, says "is this is my car?! what?  this is ridiculous!" and about to have a heart attack.  Thank you, State Farm.

is this is my president?!  this is ridiculous!!

is this is my president?!  this is ridiculous!!

is this is my country?!  this is ridiculous!!

is this is my country?!  this is ridiculous!!

thank you, state farm -- as in, this state of all states, with fifty in all--  and, including the back forty, making a farm the size of  300 million, plus farm animals, and then some; some days it feels like we are all being raised in a barn, while other days, we're all winning first prize at the State Fair.  And all the while, the pendulum keeps swinging, the markets keep freaking, the fat ladies keep singing, as the carnival of all carnivals, large and small, keeps attracting the crazies and the people who just love to watch the spectacle... 

there's something to be said for the this president -- 

of the guy who seems to wake up every single day with the confidence to keep shaking things up, to keep asking the tough questions -- like, is this my border? As in the very border marking the sovereignty of this nation,  the nation that he swore upon the Holy Bible to secure and protect.

And -- is this my market?  As in the very market place built upon the shoulders of Americans, using the resources and investments of Americans, for the express service and benefit of Americans...if not for all people from around the globe.

this is all about positioning
this is all about posturing
this is all about re-setting, as if with a little red button, a new approach.

For the most part -- every tactic this president takes is about salesmanship.... like, taking the audacity of hope, and kicking it up a notch or two... or make that a lot.  (like a lot.)

The art of the deal is not only about the deal, itself, it's also about setting precedence for the deal down the road that we don't even know about,  the one we can't see from the rocking chair, sitting on the porch, that surrounds the house, that sits on the farm, that we built (even if it's not a farm, but a remodeled mid-century condo with recessed lighting and all, somewhere, like, sex in the city style -- or perhaps like that of a prized homestead, in ranch style, with three bedrooms and two and a half bath, sitting in the middle of suburbia...).

And yet, for a guy who loves the free market so much -- his perspective sometimes reveals a few flaws... as in, questioning the free enterprising genius of Amazon, getting lost in the hay  with the Bezos/Washington Post association and the constant manure shoveling of fake news, and for simply picking and choosing when to follow the rule of law and when to just chuck it. 

The thing is, America is all about whatever the free market makes or breaks!  The marketplace is meant to be FREE flowing.  Which means, the commingling of supply and demand determines price, which ultimately creates profits and losses, and in the most enterprising way, leaves all possibility for success in the hands of the consumer.  The consumer is always at choice to buy it or not to buy it; the consumer has ultimate control of the winners and the losers.

Since election day,  the voters have expected Trump to be a president who DOES NOT pick winners and losers; his win was, in part, about draining the congressional swamp of crony capitalists; his win was, in part, all about bringing America back to all of its free market glory! Like, hello.... MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

Yes, we want trade to be fair.
And yes, we want Amazon.

We want the goods.
And yes, it is up to the consumer on what the consumer decides to read, too.

I do like this post from Politico, posted just today by Jack Shaffer, "Trump is Right. It is the Amazon Washington Post."

To save you time and money, let me just cut to the finish --

"Trump’s bullying works best against flawed or weak adversaries like Hillary Clinton and Mexico. But when rumbling against the strong and confident, his record ain’t so good. In Business Insider, Josh Barro predicts that Trump will lose his stupid fight with Amazon, which is far too popular with consumers for him to successfully demonize it. People delight too much in Amazon’s convenience, selection, low prices and cheap delivery. They willingly deserted the shopping malls Trump says he wants to “save,” and they don’t want to go back. If Trump can’t demonize Amazon, he won’t be able to demonize Bezos. And that means he will fail to demonize the Post, too."

and from Josh Marshall @ Talking Points Memo:

"But the bigger point is that it’s not really about McCabe or Amazon. Having a sitting President launching scathing personal attacks on a federal law enforcement officer and demanding his firing or imprisonment for personal and political motives is wildly outside the norms that govern the American system. Similarly, a President who routinely threatens prosecutorial or regulatory vengeance against private companies because they are not sufficiently politically subservient to him personally is entirely outside of our system of governance. At present, Donald Trump is an autocrat without an autocracy. The system mostly resists his demands because it’s not designed to operate that way and we have centuries worth of norms that are remarkably resilient. But systems change. And it’s clear that ours is already starting to change under his malign influence."

[and yes, I hear you, Always Trumpers thumping; don't hate -- just making my own talking points, k?]

SO about this thing Josh calls "malign influence;" seriously?

Josh -- just how would you characterize the last eight years under Obama...the president famous for the phrase, "we are five days away from fundamental transformation" and followed through with it.  Hello?...  Transformation R US, Inc.:  born and raised, grass fed, to fill the bellies of the masses anyone?  You didn't see the "autocrat without an autocracy" under Obama, now did you?  huh.

Big Influence of Big Government is winning...it's we the people who seem to be just taking turns loving and hating it...and that's surely not what our founders intended!

Is this what the founders had in mind?
Is this what the founders had in mind?

But like I said at the top.

There are good days and bad days for this girl under the influence of this president.
Some days there is just more to love than hate; other days, not so much.

It's enough to make a girl crazy.
But more than that, guessing Josh and I will just take turns on the tractor.

Make it a Good Day, G