Where are you, Christmas?

Sometimes when I look out at the world I wonder who we are? I see only fighting and discord. This is the season where we should be coming together and working toward a better world. I am sending this message to all of those on the frontlines, both near and far, who are fighting for their homes.

 May we all find a just peace one day.  

Putin's Puppets

If there is one thing the United States has stood for it is freedom. That a significant segment of our population is ignoring a country that is so desperately fighting for it is a sad statement to the state of our politics today. The Ukraine/Russia war will have far reaching consequences if Putin is allowed to prevail. Those who would use aid to Ukraine as a tool of blackmail do not belong in our government, because they are no better than Putin’s puppets.

I will tell you in advance that I stole this…

@S0ulinth3machin3

To all my fellow Americans here: This is a critical point in this conflict, not just because the Russians are attacking, but because Congress is playing games with Ukraine support. This Russian offensive isn't actually meant to achieve a military goal, it's aimed at a political goal - to try to convince Western skeptics that supporting Ukraine is a waste of time. We cannot let them succeed with their longer term perverted idea of geopolitics, that Russia is superior to all other cultures and deserves to rule the world. Please pick up the phone and call your elected representatives in Washington and let them know how you feel. You don't need to try to convince the staffer of anything, just let them know what your opinion is and let them know how strong that opinion is. Most of their calls are from political busybodies. If they get calls from new sources, they pay attention. All of them are very interested in keeping their cushy job. We need to collectively ensure Ukraine receives the support it so deserves. Ukraine has shown over and over that they are indeed a worthy ally and friend. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Slava Ukraini!

I found it in a comments section on a Ukrainian vlog and felt it needed more publicity, even if only my small blog, so I stole it and posted it hear for you to see. Because he or she is right and I am tired of the Republicans who are working to advance Putin’s goal and stymie the cause of freedom in Ukraine. Our border problems are peanuts compared to the problems Putin can cause us.

Listen.

Screaming in the Darkness

Do you ever have the feeling that you are talking but no one is listening? Seriously disappointing. I have been wanting to write something in this space for some time, but between fall clean up and the depressing turn of world events, and those closer to home, I have found myself without words.

The world seems to be turning in the wrong direction. We continue to see the war between Israel and Hamas hemorrhaging lives both near and far. The horrendous attack by Hamas has only enraged those who see only the victims of Oct. 7. In turn the sledgehammer that Israel has used to try to destroy Hamas and its military infrastructure has only enraged those who see only the suffering of Gazans. In the United States we have seen attacks on Palestinians leading to the death of a little boy and the paralysis of a young man. We have seen hacking of a water facility in the name of those who support the Palestinians as well as threats to individual Jewish people. To put it simply this conflict has encouraged the extreme actions of those who seem to think extreme action is the only solution. Innocent people are the ones to suffer. If violence worked this conflict would have been solved a long time ago.

In the United States House of Representatives we have seen a vote taken to expel a member, George Santos, on ethics, if not criminal, violations. The Republican leadership in the guise of Mike Johnson chose to support this member. It was abundantly clear through the investigation by the Ethics Commission that this GOP member lied about his credentials and was voted in on false pretenses. As we saw down in Texas where the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, survived an impeachment effort by his own party with the support of MAGA Republicans we see at the national level the effort by Republicans to save their more sleazy members, because it is expedient for them. This behavior by House GOP leadership should be a wake up call to the venal character of that leadership. Beyond policy issues integrity and character matter. Yet the far right Republicans have managed to attain power in the House that causes dysfunction and chaos.

In Ukraine the war with Russia rages on. This is what happens when an autocrat, Vladimir Putin, is in control of a country. His actions are not checked. The Ukrainians have been fighting bravely and are waiting for much needed continued support from the United States. Support which has been blocked by the far right Republicans in the House. Their methods of “compromise” are not to compromise but to blackmail and use force to to push through their agenda, which in the long run supports Vladimir Putin. That the United States has come to this pass is because many voters have supported Donald Trump and his self centered agenda. They have chosen to believe his lies. They have fallen for the far right’s propaganda which has focused on social issues like abortion and gender identity. They have allowed themselves to ignore the dangers that forcing people to bend to the far right’s beliefs will have.

Are we to continue to be the beacon of democracy we have striven to be? Or are we going to fall into the trap of the extremists who exist in all countries? Will we devolve down to an autocracy controlled by Donald Trump? As long as there are those who believe his lies we will need to stand up and be heard.  All of us.  This goes beyond social or economic issues.  It is our existence as a nation.

 It was pointed out to me that I skipped over a very critical point in that last sentence.  It is what type of nation we will exist as that I was referring to.  Do we want to continue on as a democracy or do we choose to allow those who would drag us down the path to autocracy to succeed?


Listen.

Pouring Water on a Grease Fire

On Oct.7 Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel killing innocent civilians and kidnapping others. It was one of the most brutal attacks since the advent of ISIS. But it wasn’t just the loss of life that was so horrendous but also the loss of something less tangible, hope. Hope for normalizing relations between Israel and the rest of the Arab world. Some speculate that it was the possibility of that which led Hamas to conduct this attack now.

 Israel has responded with massive force, pummeling Gaza with airstrikes. While it is understandable that Israel would need to bring to justice those who perpetrated the Oct.7 attack the humanitarian catastrophe that is now Gaza is not justice. It will not bring any solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it will only feed hate. Just as Hamas wants. Hamas has been using the people of Gaza as human shields and by bombing Gaza Israel has fallen into the trap set by them.

As I type this the anger around the world towards Israel is growing stronger. There are protests in many countries and fears of the war between Hamas and Israel spreading in the region are growing. Attacks against American forces in the region by Iranian proxies have escalated leading the US to respond with missile strikes. The US has sent ships to the Mediterranean Sea as a warning to Hezbollah, but fighting is now occurring on the Israel Lebanon border between Israel and Hezbollah.

As of this writing there are over 200 hostages being held by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. Hamas has also been refusing to allow American citizens to leave Gaza. They too are being used as human shields. I would say this really is not working for Hamas.

None of this has been of benefit to anyone except perhaps Vladimir Putin, whose war in Ukraine has been going rather badly for Russia. The Middle East going up in flames is something that would certainly distract the world from his own brutal war.

The realities of the suffering of the people:

One Minnesota family's tragedy

Israel's tragedy

The protest at a Russian airport which, as rumor has it, may have bought those arrested a one way ticket to the Ukrainian front line.

Crazy Town during War

It has been a tumultuous week, with the Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy removed from his seat at the instigation of the far right of his Party as represented by Matt Gaetz.   It has been a struggle for him to lead since he was given the gavel due to the inability of the far right of the Republican Party to compromise.  His standing up to prevent a government shutdown, instead of being lauded was instead derided by this group of people.  There are those who say they don’t want to govern.  I would go one better and say they don’t want to govern a democracy.  Given the rule change which allowed only one person to move to vacate the Speaker’s seat it was probably a forgone conclusion that the rule would be invoked eventually.  It is why it was a condition for their support in the first place.

This is just the latest in a long string of actions the far right Republicans have taken in various areas of the country.  The reactions in some areas have been rather interesting.

In North Carolina:

There are other young people who are looking very critically at the MAGA Commander in Chief:

So there is a glimmer of hope that people are starting to understand that MAGA Republicans’ desire is not to govern a democracy.  The reason behind our government of checks and balances was to prevent the rule of a single individual.  

In the wake of the bumbling actions of those in the House the United States is ill prepared to deal with international crises such as what is happening in Ukraine and what has happened just the other day in Israel with the attack by Hamas.  One of the things President Biden has been intent on in the Ukraine war was trying to prevent the spread of fighting.  Now we have Israel declaring a state of war.  While this is not, on the surface, connected to the Ukraine war Hamas’s backer is Iran, which is also involved in supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine.   No they are not connected, yet both Ukraine and Israel are supported by the United States.  

Israel has been racked with division recently with the right leaning government of Netanyahu passing a law that removes the power of Israel’s Supreme Court to cancel government decisions deemed “extremely unreasonable”.  Some have speculated that this distraction has led to Israel’s not being prepared for this kind of attack.  It is something we should be thinking about in our own House. 

It only takes a spark and the Middle East has always been volatile.  The spread of the war in Israel is a very real concern.  

I stand with all the innocent people caught up in the horrendous fighting in Ukraine and Israel.  

I Want My Flag Back

Today is the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It was a shocking day that had us all reeling from the pictures pouring from our television sets. No one realized at the time that this day would change so much in our lives. Nor did we realize that what happened that day would bind us all together in a way that we hadn't seen in a long time. That day we were all Americans, there were no Democrats, Republicans or Independents. Just Americans. We flew our flag proudly in defiance of those who had attacked us. Because it truly was a symbol of all of us.

I want that flag back.

 

Lately it seems that the flag has been co-opted by those who follow Donald Trump.  They somehow seem to think it is his flag.  You will see it waving at his rallies and billowing behind pickup trucks filled with his supporters.  Yet democracy is not on Trump's agenda.

 

Lately you see some Republicans who are intent on marginalizing segments of our population cloaking themselves in the flag even while they are repudiating the basic principles of a democracy.   They are supporting the banning of books which depict things they don't agree with.  They are harassing elected officials for doing their jobs.   They are doing everything in their power to force people to ascribe to their religious beliefs by curtailing women's reproductive rights.  We have Senator Tuberville of Alabama single handedly holding hundreds of military nominations hostage, threatening our national security,  because he opposes the Pentagon's policy of paying for service members to travel to states where abortion is legal for health care. By supporting this behavior Republican loyalists are leading our country down the path to an autocracy.

 

On 9/11 we stood as one against the external forces that would try to tear us apart.  It is time to realize that there are internal forces that are trying to do the same.  

Robin Williams said it right.

I want my flag back. 

Paradise Lost

The scent of flowers. That is what I remember about my first moments in Hawaii. I remember the beautiful sunny days where a passing shower cleared up almost as soon as it showed up. I remember standing under that famous Banyan tree in Lahaina taking pictures. There was history around every corner. As a vacation destination it truly was paradise.

This fellow has a nice video on the Maui I knew.

That was then, this is now.

Lahaina will not be the last casualty of climate change.

It is a very sad day. But I know that the spirit of the people of Hawaii will not be broken.

"Barbenheimer"

A number of weeks ago a friend talked me into seeing The Little Mermaid. Not my usual movie genre. But it was surprisingly good. Anyway, during the previews of coming movies Barbie popped up. At the time I looked at the trailer and thought, who on earth would want to see that? If looked totally without substance. And, well, totally pink! Fast forward to the opening weekend of what was labeled “Barbenheimer”, the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer in the same weekend. Barbie totally demolished Oppenheimer at the box office, garnering almost twice the box office take. Don’t get me wrong, Oppenheimer had a very good take for opening weekend at $80.5 million. But Barbie garnered $155 million.

I thought, what the heck? Have we fallen so low that a fluffy, pink movie would out perform the story of what was a world altering history of the father of the atom bomb? I went to see Oppenheimer on opening weekend. It was more than just the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role in creating the atom bomb. It was also the story of the attempt to ruin him by one vengeful man. It was the story of the cutthroat world of government. The three hour length wasn’t a drawback. It went by very quick, because it was a very good film.

But in the meantime I was hearing from people who had seen Barbie and loved it. Adults, not kids, because contrary to my first thought it really isn’t a children’s movie. So, I talked a friend into going to see it this weekend. It is a clever fantasy that hits at gender roles into which not just women, but men, have been pigeonholed. It’s message of the unfair advantage some people may have due to their gender in its different worlds, Barbie Land and the real world, should resonant with everyone, not just women. It’s message of how people should be able to be who they are without being judged as worthy or not reminds me of the America I believe in. While it is pink it is certainly not fluffy.

Now we have people who are complaining that it is too “woke”. Really? This seems to be a catch all term used by some people who feel threatened by the empowerment of certain segments of our society. As of this writing Barbie has grossed $1 billion, and I realized I misjudged what America was saying with its movie vote.

Both of these films have powerful messages. They just say them in different ways.

I Still Believe in Us

 This 4^th of July we find ourselves still struggling to find unity in times of strife. We have recent Supreme Court rulings that have overturned long term precedent. If there is one thing that can be said of my country, it is that it is always changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. Time will tell how we deal with those changes. But I still have faith that we can be what was dreamed of by those who found themselves on our shores, despite the actions of a few.

We just need to give everyone a chance to be what they are meant to be. We need to believe in freedom for everyone, not just a few. We need to believe in the dream of America.

A message from some friends:

If there is anyone who understands what happens when freedom is lost, it is our friends in Ukraine. I hope that someday they will be celebrating the liberation of their country and can enjoy what we have come to take for granted.

Happy July 4^th and Slava Ukraini!

Smoke

Last week in Minnesota we were on the receiving end of the wildfire smoke from Canada. You may have heard about the noxious blanket of the stuff that had taken up residence in New York and other areas of the east coast of the US. Well, it wasn’t just those states that were affected. Nor was this the first year that we were on the receiving end. But it appears to be getting worse.   

Some have compared the poor air quality to that of other notorious cities, such as those you might find in China or India. We seemed to have topped them. It has also forced some people to reach for, yes, those masks that were so prevalent during Covid. Although I am not sure that those would actually help, but they made one feel a little better.

Here where I live we are seeing drought conditions increase again. This after what was a very snowy winter and rainy spring. But it was like someone turned off a faucet. We haven’t had any significant rain for weeks now and it is a struggle to keep things green, and alive.

That there are those who still don’t believe in climate change boggles the mind. We were supposedly going to have rain today, but so far that has been a no show. The saying that it is too dry to rain is quite accurate.

Maybe we could use a little help?

Update:

Maybe that rain dance worked.  We did end up getting a half an inch of rain.  Not enough to turn things around, but I will take anything at this point. 

A Small Light

I was paging through my most recent copy of National Geographic and came across a short story about Miep Gies. I would not be surprised if you don’t know who she was. I didn’t. She was the woman who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. She was an ordinary woman who did an extraordinary thing. Although she never considered her actions to be unusual. Someone has made a miniseries, "A Small Light", about her life and the backstory behind what she did for the Frank’s. It aired on National Geographic on May 1 and Disney+ the next day. I will have to see if I can find it.

The actor who portrayed Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was Liev Schreiber, whose grandfather emigrated from Ukraine. This is what he had to say about Gies:

“The Miep Gieses of the world-the small lights, the extraordinary ordinary people who did something, who pushed back against tyranny, who pushed back against authoritarians, who pushed back against fascists-remembering what they accomplished, I think, gives us some perspective on what we can accomplish.”

In the world we are living in today it is important that those small lights be seen, and heard.

So I have a video of a statement made in court in Russia by a woman who was just sentenced to prison for telling the truth about Putin’s war.  Please listen.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Slava Ukraini

A Reckoning Will Come

 I thought it important to shine a light on the words of Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was just sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason by a Russian “court”. His crime? He had the audacity to speak out against Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

My Last Statement to the Russian Court

Why should we care? Because this should be a lesson to all who love democracy about what can happen if it disappears. As we watch in our country the attempts by Republican legislators to silence any dissent to their policies we must begin to realize that, yes, it can happen here too. If we do not stand up for the rights of women, of voters, of people who are not exactly like us, of even our elected officials, we run the risk of sinking to the level of a place like Putin’s Russia. Think carefully about book banning, depriving elected officials of office on trumped up issues, forcing women to bear children against their will, or taking on Mickey Mouse because he had the nerve to oppose a Governor and speak out.

Yes, that’s right, I stand with the Mouse and all those who oppose oppression. Ronnie, Vladimir Putin, and others like them, can take a long walk on a short pier.

This Easter...

It’s Easter and, despite the white snowy cover in my yard, there is hope for Spring.

It is a time of renewal. So pick up a phone and call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.

Ignore the haters who are intent on banning people they don’t understand.

Stand up for those who are ejected from their rightful places, in effect overriding the will of the people for their own selfish reasons.

Remember what America was meant to be.

Happy Easter!

Consequences

I know I have been writing a lot about the Russian war on Ukraine. I have been told that there are many people in the world who are actually not that interested. They have more immediate concerns than a war that exists far from their homes. I have also been told that many people are not that upset with the actions of Putin’s Russia. They like the guy. So I was thinking perhaps this would be a good conversation to have now.

Let’s look at those who support Putin. They seem to include Iran, India, China, Syria, North Korea and others who do so more subtly. I would suggest that all of the leaders of these countries have domestic reasons that encourage that support. That may be their similarity to Putin’s mentality or they are getting some really good deals on oil or weapons, naming just two.

Then we have the people in various countries who resent the West in general or the United States in particular. Why would they step up to support them when they deserve what they are getting? After all, didn’t the United States invade Afghanistan and Iraq? Didn’t we overturn their governments, who were doing such a good job? Yes, maybe they had a few little problems, like persecuting various members of their population or curtailing certain freedoms, but at least they picked up the trash and more importantly, were not foreigners. If you knew the red lines you could live just fine. There were many innocent people who suffered in those wars. Then, and for some this is even worse, the West and the United States are just too nosy. They have the nerve to take to task those countries who may engage in certain domestic practices that are detrimental to their citizens health and well being.

There is not much I can say that would change any of those people’s minds. They are either out to gain something or they are mired in, in some cases, a justifiable resentment. They have no incentive or desire to look a little deeper at the consequences of Putin’s actions. But they will be affected eventually, just like everyone else.

What about those, perhaps in my own country, or others who are living in areas not immediately adjacent to or allied with Ukraine? They have their own concerns, such as their economic issues. Why spend all of that money in Ukraine when we could be fixing roads, improving education, dealing with social issues etc.?

Why support Ukraine? Why join with the West in opposing Putin?

To those people I say there are things taking place now, because of this war, that will affect our lives in the future. First, look very closely at how Putin, and Russia, is treating not just the Ukrainians but their own citizens. Is that the kind of world you want to live in? This is not a trick question. There is a reason a lot of refugees choose to flee, for various reasons, to Europe or America. You do not see them fleeing to Russia. You do see a lot of people leaving Russia, however. There is a reason that Russia has kidnapped so many Ukrainian children.

Also, there is a finite amount of money that the West can give to other countries. If it is used in Ukraine it will not be available to other countries who may have enjoyed some of that in the past. Will that improve those people’s economic or health situations?  While the war goes on there will continue to be a strain on resources.  While Europe feels threatened both it and the United States will funnel resources to defend her.  

Second, and this is what will affect even those who support Putin. I know many out there still do not believe in climate change. Perhaps you will if you are one of the many who is, or will be, involved in an extreme drought or flood. Perhaps you will when it starts to affect the food supply chain. This war has really upended the traditional oil supply. You have Europe trying to wean itself off of Russian oil, mothballing pipelines. You now see more ships, some not exactly sea worthy, trekking around the oceans with Russian oil in their holds. Environmental disaster waiting to happen. You had President Biden holding talks with KSA and Venezuela in hopes of their upping their supply to stabilize world markets, despite the fact that both of those countries do not have warm relations with the Biden administration.

And now we have this:

The Willow Project

Yes, this was originally approved in the Trump administration and yes, the Biden administration says there are legal constraints to stopping it. Yes, Biden will break a campaign promise if Willow goes forward. This may or may not have happened anyway. However, this or something like it, will probably need to happen if we want to maintain some independence from foreign oil supplies until we can transition, hopefully, to alternatives to fossil fuels. I know I may sound like a Republican, but times they are a changing. The reason we need to remain independent of foreign oil supplies is that there are less friendly foreign suppliers out there. The reason we need to remain independent of foreign oil suppliers is that there are those who would use oil as a weapon, like Russia.

So we are caught between a rock and a hard place. Climate change will worsen. We are being set back in our chance to fight it because of Putin’s war on Ukraine. This will affect everyone.

One Year

It has been one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is still fighting and those who support their efforts to defend their sovereignty are still with them.

In my home state:

To say it is difficult for the brave people defending Ukraine is an understatement. A small sample of their world:

Those trying to help:

Please take a moment and consider what it would be like if your country were invaded by a hostile power intent on destroying everything you have known.

Slava Ukraini!

What is Truth?

I know I have been focusing on the Ukraine War for many of my recent posts. But it will have long reaching consequences for all of us. Not just because of the shocking loss of life and destruction of infrastructure but because it has laid bare something that perhaps many of us did not realize. I speak of the way in which people see events. We have experienced a little of that here in the US with our political divisions. But in the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we see delusion taken to an even more extreme degree that has resulted in this horrendous conflict.

These interviews were conducted in Russia by, I have to say, a very brave group of people. This video was very difficult to watch. Because after watching it I came to feel that I might have been being too generous with the people of Russia, giving them a pass for being deluded by the propaganda of their government. This video made me realize that perhaps there are those in Russia who really support the atrocities committed by their government.

I know there are many people who do not support Putin and his war. But it is those who do that are a real danger, not just to their own country, but to the world. Those who dare to speak out deserve respect.

The reality that is, or was, Bakhmut. This video is a month old. So I fear that some of the people in it may not still be with us.  This video is only available on YouTube, but there is a link within the window.  Or, if you prefer, you can go there and search for "The Battle for Bakhmut" by Vice News.

I would wish that some of the people in the first video could meet some of the people in the second. But I fear that there is little hope that it would change their mindset.