March 26, 2024

Difficult Things

"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare." -- Spinoza


A series of four angry phone calls greeted me this morning. I'll skip to the last one, from my cousin, who was very unhappy with the news about the court decision that cut his bond by 68%. I reminded him about our conversation last night, when I suggested he not count the defendant's chickens before they came home to roost.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-appeals-court-reduces-trumps-bond-civil-fraud-case-175-million-vict-rcna144659

This did not, of course, make him happy. He continued to express his belief that the defendant has never been held responsible for his actions. I said that I'd send him the link to a page that documented that among the 4,000+ law suits he has been involved in, he has lost quite a few of the most important ones. I added that I did not think this history had been taught in the infamous Defendant University, although I am confident that E. Jean Carroll would agree with me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_and_business_legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump

Now, this doesn't not mean I agree with the ruling. I don't. But I did not find it to be at all surprising. As a NYS resident, I've wished that we had as good of higher state courts as New Jersey traditionally has had. I could go on a long rant about past corruption, but will instead say that today George Conway gave the best explanation of why this isn't as terrible a decision as I know it to be.

I try to never post/link to anything by (former) republicans. I am not friends with them. But I recognize that we share a concern about the defendant & maga cult. Thus, for example, I've had communications with Sarah Longwell for years, as it provides me with ways to approach conversations with republicans I know in real life.

Despite being familiar with previous issues with past NYS Attorneys General, I want to say that I have complete confidence in Letitia James. If anyone can change the ruling in higher state court, it is this lady. Now, in my long life, I have rarely had that level of trust in anyone in political life.

"How the fuck," I have been asked recently, "can you be confident that anything good can take place?" This reminds me of around 50 years back, a conversation I had with Rubin. He said that "everything under the sun is exactly as it should be, or it wouldn't be." Being young and angry, carrying an enormous chip on each of my shoulders that were almost as fat as my head, I pointed out numerous injustices -- including his legal case.

Everything is a direct result of yesterday, Rubin said. And yesterday was a direct result of the day, week, month, year, decade, and century before. And so on. The only things that can change, he noted, are human beings ..... and when people change, everything around them changes. This includes the potential for both good and bad.

When Joseph Campbell spoke of "the Hero's Journey," each time that person finds him/herself at their darkest hour, it is then that they understand the only thing they can change is their self. When they do, it is when they can bring about change. Now, few can be the hero. But we can all recognize that our country -- our society -- is at the time when the danger of darkness is the greatest.

That leaves but two options. One is to embrace the darkness, in ways ranging for compition to express the most extreme outrage, to saying it's all too much, I quit, guess I'll go eat worms. The other is to recognize that the best thing that you can do is to do everything to elect Joe Biden and other Democrats. Focus energy on that. And once we get that done, we will be in position to bring other much needed changes.

March 22, 2024

Keep Hope Alive

" Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion that prompts people to jump to the worst possible conclusion, usually with very limited information or objective reason to despair. When a situation is upsetting, but not necessarily catastrophic, they still feel like they are in the midst of a crisis."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/catastrophizing#:~:text=Catastrophizing%20is%20a%20cognitive%20distortion,the%20midst%20of%20a%20crisis.


We are in a historic struggle that goes beyond what, in theory, would be an election contest between a Democrat and republican candidate for president. As a "historic struggle," it will involve stumbling blocks, set-backs, disappointments, and frustrations. Without these things, it could not possibly be defined as a "historic struggle," now, could it?

It would instead be "business as usual." But this is truly a struggle between democracy and dictatorship. The foundation stone of democracy is the rule of law. For the first time in our nation's history, a former president is facing both criminal and civil charges. Those criminal charges are at both the state and federal levels. And we all want to see him convicted, for these are serious crimes that threaten democracy.

In order to decrease the chances of the defendant facing consequences, your and my enemy wants to increase the catastrophizing among Democrats. They want us tired, discouraged, and thinking like Eeyore and behaving like Chicken Little. They are the phantoms that Carlos wrote about in "Journey to Ixtlan," seeking to trick you into believing lies.

During the months to come, you can expect to see misinformation and disinformation flowing out like endless rain into a Russian gutter, across the internet. Do not step in it. So not argue with it. Do not repeat it.

Even on a good forum, we sometimes see one of our friends expressing doubts about the future, and even catastrophizing. For it is a human trait, that we all might be prone to once in a while. For example, if your doctor has a serious look on her face, and says she needs to order some tests. Or if you are really tired, and didn't fully read an article, but are reacting to a headline. Maybe you are doing your taxes, have the television on, only only hear a bit of a report, and your kid is asking you about cursive writing. Or you are intoxicated on alcohol, pot, mushrooms, and/or LSD. Could happen to any of us.

The thing is, catastrophizing isn't a good thing for Democrats. Look what it has done to what was once the republican party. Has not the defendant convinced his maga cult that everything is either terrible or tragic? And that only he can fix it? If you don't believe me, try telling some shit stain wearing a maga hat that things are getting better, a little better all the time with President Biden in office. They will tell you it couldn't get much worse.

We are in a historic struggle. There will be tough times and bad things that are real. We need to be accurate, focused, rational, and strong. That makes it better in tough times, and at our best we can not lose. We need to be at our bests. And kick the shit out of the maga cult.

March 19, 2024

Bend the Arc

Bend the Arc is one the the most important social-political groups that I've ever known of.


"In an appearance on extremist Sebastian Gorka's podcast yesterday, Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating their own religion.

"We don’t take voting advice from a man whose embrace of white nationalism has put our lives in danger over and over again. The future Trump and his followers want is one where our multiracial Jewish community, immigrants, and all others targeted by white supremacy can’t be safe. .....

"Bend the Arc is leading the Jewish fight to defeat Trump in 2024, and it will take all of us to win."

https://www.bendthearc.us/trump_gorka_podcast

March 18, 2024

A Car Wash

I was just thinking ...... if when the defendant was talking about the entire country experiencing a blood bath if he loses in November, he really was speaking about the auto industry ........ does that mean Katie Britt was talking about a car wash when she said, "Never forget, we’re steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world"?

March 14, 2024

Momentum, Impulses, and Face Paint

"We make her paint her face and dance."
-- John Lennon; 1971


I'd like to do a follow-up to my post "I've Got a Feeling," regarding why I am 100% confident that we will crush the defendant and the maga cult in November. A line from a "banned" song on the 1972 double album "Some Time in New York City" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono comes to mind. The song's title was taken from a 1969 work by Yoko.

Speaking of things being banned ..... the Dobbs decision by the USSC was the goal of the christian nationalists branch of the republican party. They are attempting to increase the momentum of their national effort to ban women's reproductive rights. Other in their party recognized that Dobbs had added momentum to the Democratic Party, and hoped that Dobbs would fade from public discussion until after the 2024 elections.

Momentum is an essential dynamic in elections. It can be difficult to see which way the wind blows, because of the information overload associated with the media and internet. There are many distractions on the information highway. At unanticipated times, things can collide and throw things off course. This is true on American highways, the information highway, and during campaigns.

We know from the impulse-momentum theorem that the "impulse" that hits a moving object equals the change in momentum. Think of a police PIT maneuver (Precision Immobilization Technique) on the highway. Or the "Monkey Business" that derailed Gary Hart's 1988 campaign. Or the momentum the "Biden is old" bit was getting in the media, before President Biden flattened it head on with his SOTU address.

Just as a PIT requires timing, a campaign does, too. Older forum member will recall that in 1968, had Hubert Humphrey announced he would not follow LBJ's approach to Vietnam a week earlier, he would have beat Nixon. Thus, a campaign's impulese effect its momentum. Let's now look at two current examples.

The republican party has "issues" with minorities and women that have had building momentum in the maga era. Thus, the defendant displayed an impulse, yelling, "Blacks!" at a couple of rallies. Pathetic. Even Lara Trump recognized this -- and we are talking about someone so stupid that she is married to Eric -- and ended the RNC's "minority outreach" after firing about 60 RNC employees. The media has called this a "bloodbath" in the maga party.

In an attempt to appeal to women, and change the momentum of Dobbs, the republicans have inflicted damage to their party by having two women paint their faces and do the maga dance: Katie Britt and Nancy Mace. In essence, the republicans "rat-fucked" themselves. Having Britt read a strange script that she did not write was kind of funny in a tragic way. Mace was simply an insulting call to the darker impulses of humanity.

The timing is perfect. And as the Democratic Party's momentum builds, it will force other republicans to either publicly support the defendant, or voice their opposition. Considering their cowardly nature, we can be confident that they will embrace the ball & chain on their campaign.

March 12, 2024

I've Got a Feeling

I have a feeling that we are going to kick the defendant's flabby, pale ass into the dust bin of history in November. From there, the bin shall be dumped into a sewer, not to be recycled. And we will crush his republican cult beyond repair.

President Biden's great SOTU will continue to make his numbers rise in accurate polls. Katie Britt's performance will continue to be useful in sinking all republicans' number. Both provide the grass roots with exactly what we need for campaigning.

We can donate to Democratic Party candidates. We can volunteer at our local campaign headquarters. We can go door-to-door. We can communicate on the telephone and/or internet. And we can have fun delivering the message from the rooftops.

March 10, 2024

The SOTU

"You watch the speech?"

I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store. While there, I recognized the voice behind me. It was a young man who works there. He had been friend's with my cousin's late son, and a few years ago, my cousin had asked me if I could help the guy in a custody case. I did, and he and his girlfriend have had custody ever since.

My cousin told me a few weeks ago that he had seen the guy in the store, and talked to him about politics. It turned out that he and his girlfriend are not registered. My cousin asked me to talk to them, and I have the few times I'm buying food.

"Yeah, I watched it. It was really good," I said.

"Everyone says he's too old," he said.

Since he (and her) are interested in Indian history, I told him that the older men and women of the Iroquois hold the highest positions. Their approach differs from our own in some ways, though. Those in the Council of Chiefs make sure tat children, the eldery, and the helpless eat first, so to speak. And the elderly are respected, and "protected like clear spring water."

I said that, in my opinion, President Biden delivered the best SOTU I've ever seen. That it was historic. I suggested that he watch it. He said he might watch part of it. I was not convinced. I knew I needed something more. And I had it.

I said that he should also watch a bit of the republican party's response, as given by Katie Britt. He asked why? I said this was her try-out for vice president on the republican ticket. I noted that she placed the features of borderline and histrionic personality disorders on display. He laughed, and I said this was proof that his ex-wife didn't need to be an unemployed meth addict -- for she could be a U.S. Senator.

"Does your television have a 'scratch & sniff' function?" I asked. He gave me a strange look. I said that is needed to smell the apple pie she was baking. More, I noted the official film does not show she is barefoot. Or pregnant.

His strange look transformed into a puzzled look. I said watch it, and tell me how both parties are just the same. Tell me that you want this woman deciding your girlfriend and daughter's health care.

Then he looked at me seriously, and said, "Yeah. I will."

March 6, 2024

A Path in the Wilderness

My favorite verse of this song is:

"When you believe in things
That you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way"

I find the potential relationship between superstition and conspiracy theories is interesting. I had a man say to me that the "Russian scandal" was a Democratic Party conspiracy theory that was "proven" to be false. I asked him if he remembered Paul Manafort? Did he recall that the defendent was not a person of interest in the FBI's investigation of his campaign -- that it was only after he was president that his role was examined closely. He thought a second, and said I was right.

Now, this is easily attributed to a poor memory. People forget things, possibly relating to the rapid pace of information available on the internet. And, of course, a significant part of the Russian interference in recent elections has been the aimed at maga-types. In my opinion, in this year's election, their target will be on potential fractures in the Democratic Party. Indeed, these forces are fully aware that the only way the defendant could possibly "win" is if Democrats are divided.

There are a number of important issues in which Democrats can have very different opinions on. These can include sincere, deeply held beliefs. If we fail to respect others' opinions, we create fractures. When we respect others' thinking, we create unity. And united, we will crush the defendant and republicans down the ticket in November.

Rustin Cohle was correct when he said that time is a flat circle. Yet when running on all cylinders, the Democratic Party is three dimensional. It is a sphere, and as such, it has the gravity that attracts votes from other objects. Indeed, it is the way to a certain victory in November. Should we fail to respectfully unite -- and understand that others in the party can have sincere differences of opinion on some issues -- we still can win, but that is not a sure thing.

The potential to crush the defendant is one option that is available to us. But it depends upon how each and every one of us behaves. I think there is far too much at risk here to not take this path.

Peace,
H2O Man

March 5, 2024

Lamh foisneach abu !

This is my favorite song by Eileen Ivers. With Immigrant Soul, I've watched her perform many times. Talked Irish poetry with her, including my x7 great grandfather's poem while waiting execution by a foreign power in 1779. Some of Richard's works are in the Royal Irish Academy. (The English decided he was an interesting character, and spared his life. His nephew Robert Emmet wasn't so lucky. His blistering speech to the judge is included in Williams Jennings Bryan's 1905 "The World's Famous Orations" (pages 137 thru 148 in the Funk & Wagnells' s edition, if you have it handy.

Now, the above song is, on the surface, about an older married couple, who have kind of split their abode. They can't stand each other. Coming from an Irish-Catholic strain, I can say this is known by social scientists as a "Catholic Divorce." Although they strongly dislike the crap that takes place in the common areas, neither is first to stop stirring the pot. Both know they need their friends' help to stop the crap, since they can't on their own.

But the song is about Ireland. It is a sad song about a senseless war, where people suffered and died. Few Irish songs about war are sad, you know. It was a request for our friends to help. For war is the most destructive of all examples of humanity's inhumanity to human kind. I want to tell a true story I saw about the Vietnam War. I've been watching numerous documentaries on it during the past week, wondering what society should have learned, but maybe forgot.

I saw an interview with a gentleman who had served as a corpsman. He would be on one of the helicopters that picked up those injured in battle, to treat them until they reached the hospital -- about a 20-minute flight. One flight, the only wounded they picked up were a little boy and girl, caught in the crossfire. He immediately recognized that if he tried to save both, they would both die.

He saved the girl, and when they reached their destination, he saw the little boy had died. Every since, he has been haunted by dreams that he is again in the helicopter, with the 5 and 6 years olds. When he looks down on the dead boy, he sees his own face at that age. It took him some time before he recognized that part of him died that day, long ago. That war changes everyone involved who lives through it.

I was thinking about this while considering all the tensions and gross violence taking place on this Earth. And about those old married Irish couples who find it so hard to give up the anger, bitterness, outrage, and violence. Now, this is just my opinion, but I think it would be great if all of us in the Democratic Party could be friends that coach by example.

March 2, 2024

Yes.

" want toI tell you 'bout Texas radio and the big beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master....."
-- Jim Morrison; The WASP (Texas Radio 7 the Big Beat)


We are having spring-like weather in the northeast. Some birds and flowers that usually aren't seen are popping up. The coyotes aren't howling at night as much as they were last week, but the young males are still out looking for a date. Perfect time to be blasting The Doors.

I'd like to tell you about a town and a school board. First, the town board of Sidney, NY, which became infamous when the supervisor, Bob McCarthy, and two board members attempted to force a tiny Sufi settlement to destroy their 100% legal cemetery. Though the three had run for office as republicans, they were from a regional Tea Party that did not take kind to Muslims in the area.

Those of you who were on this forum back then may remember when my friend Andrew broke the story, and Keith Olbermann named McCarthy the "worst person in the world." (I remember Keith from when he covered sports for an area news station as a university student.) I'll link one of Andrew's stories below:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sidney-ny-stands-up-to-bo_b_1134320

Soon, an number of people, including Sean Lennon and my nephew (Sean's bodyguard) were attending the town board members. Although I live in another county, I started attending these meetings myself, at the request of the town and that county's Democratic Party. Soon that asked me if I would help run their candidates for office.

I knew that in the town's history, there had never been more than one Democrat at a time on the town or village board. More, at this time, the majority of registered voters were republicans, followed by independents, and then Democrats. Safe to say that the odds were against the Democrats at that time. How could I refuse their request for help?

Back then, hard as it is to believe, a lot of people got their "news" from area television stations and newspapers. It seemed doubtful that many republicans read Huffpost or watched Olbermann. Because I had numerous media contacts, I assigned myself to outreach and coordination with area newspapers, radio, and television. I connected reporters with the town's best spokespersons.

Tensions at the board meetings rose, as larger crowds -- inclufing media -- would attend. It reached a point where the vase was being covered by some European media. The regional Tea Party came out with a statement that they had kicked McCarthy and the offending two board members out of their ranks. The people in the community did not like the negative attention.

One of the most important things we did was have our people go door-to-door and campaign for the Democratic candidates. Now, there were a lot of people working on the campaign. I only mention my role because that's what I'm most familiar with. I had the most experience in door-to-door campaigning -- decades of it -- so I led this up.

On election day, we put the first Democratic Party majority on the board. We could not have done so without the votes of republicans, independents, and all two Green Party members of the community. When I first had begun working on this, Democrats were concerned that because McCarthy wasn't up for re-election for a couple more years, he would continue to hold power. Baloney. Replace board embers, and make him miserable. And we did.

I remember many years ago, on this forum, one person telling me that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said school boards are the entry level for local politics. Considering, say, Florida, I'd say one of us was clueless. So when some teachers from my daughters' school asked me to run for the board, I agreed. The night of the candidates' debates, the gentleman I was running to replace was walking down the hall. I heard him tell a friend he had spent the day in Albany to "oppose the gay agenda in public schools." Now, I love debate, and think I'd have beat him anyhow. But his saying that gave me a paddle to spank him with, both in the debate and election.

The school had recently hired a new superintendent. It soon became apparent to me that he lacked the ability to tell the truth twice in any month. Yet he wasn't a dumb man at all. Stupid, because he began taking a teacher and the board president -- on different nights -- for rides on the baloney pony. Within a few months, his wife left him, taking their daughters. He viewed himself as the victim, and at the time I was the only BOE member seeing him for who he was.

More, I was the only BOE member with a retired BCI Senior Investigator uncle and a retired FBI Agent cousin in private business. There had not been a proper background check on the guy, as those responsible had taken him at his word. He had a strong personality, and liked to note he had two PhDs. But the free background check my relatives provided presented a very different picture. He had been fired from his last two jobs, including from the State University. They had learned his second "PhD" had been purchased for a small sum from a "university" in the Carribean. He had also lost his driver's license, though he drove all around.

The faculty and support staff (non-baloney pony riders) soon were complaining about his constant lying and threatening their jobs. BOE members were slower to catch on. The one I got along with best told me numerous times that he didn't dare confront him on lies "because he's so smart." I said it doesn't matter how smart a person is when they lie and deny the truth. The BOE president learned he was mating a faculty member, and resigned. I can only speculate if the non-official information I provided her aunt had helped.

One night, after a tense meeting, the teachers' union president yelled at me on the school lawn. He was saying the BOE 'had pounded the last nail in the union's coffin." I told him to quit behaving like a spoiled brat, to act like a man and a union leader. He stopped yelling at me, and he and a group of teachers talked to me off the cuff.

I had already protected five people's jobs -- one teacher, and four support staff. The superintendent had threatened the union president with arrest over some nonsense that could not result in the police or prosecutor of taking seriously. I had experience as the VP of the county workers' union, and knew how close to impossible it was to fire a union leader.

Both of my daughters did well at the school. One was class valedictorian, and the other earned her two year college degree a month before graduating high school. So these were good teachers, who I respected. I had been friends with many of them for years. But the pressure from a guy I now saw as a sociopath intimidated them. Job satisfaction had dropped, and one of the very best teachers took another job. There was at that time only one employee, an art teacher, who dared stand up to him.

Through my daughters, she expressed an interest in learning about both union and grass roots activism from me. In time, the union started functioning properly. They supported the campaigns for two potential board members I had talked into running. This included in the media, and door-to-door. Both one. The guy who beat the fellow who didn't dare confront the superintendent because he was "so smart" one by a single vote. He called for two re-counts, and lost both by one vote.

Within a year's time, by our calling the superintendent out on every lie, and on bullying employees and stidents, the older board members began to turn against him. This led to one funny thing -- the guy had told me he heard I had been a good boxer, and asked me about my various experiences. Then, a board member who attended a state convention overheard him telling others that about "his" boxing experiences. That board member had known me since I was a fighter, and recognized his bold-faced lies. (I can say with zero risk of error that he had ever boxed. I didn't need my uncle or cousin to research that!)

Shortly thereafter, the superintendent was let go. He got a job at a school across the state line, and was largely forgotten inside our school. Because I felt that my work was done, I told the BOE that I was filing for a divorce, and handed my resognation in. They've asked me a few times to consider returning. But my efforts these days is more focused on assisting in other campaigns for Democrats running for political office. However, when the old superintendent got fired from his new job, I did e-mail newspaper articles to a few board members and teachers.

I've told these two stories for a reason. It's not to brag about what I did in either situation. I am just an ordinary guy that local people seem to consider an odd or curious character. But that is because it is human nature -- especially in the context of today's culture -- for most people to become convinced that things are getting worse, and there is nothing they can do about it. So I'm here to tell you that you've been lied to.

It's as much a lie as anything that superintendent ever spread. It's as much of a lie as anything that the defendant currently running for president has told. The truth is that this election season -- at all levels -- will be decided by how hard you and I work for the Democratic Party. Believe it. And believe in yourself.