Twenty-One Years Ago

FIRST – 21 years ago, on 9/11/2001, I stood on the open 2nd floor of the barn we were building at the farm I owned with my former partner. I had just heard about the first plane and I thought that we were entering WW3. David and I climbed down the ladders and headed inside the house where we joined Nancy and watched live TV coverage as the 2nd plane hit the other tower. Then the Pentagon. Then the field in Pennsylvania. Stunned, sick to our stomachs, and fearful we all started calling everyone in our respective families. Cell phone lines were jammed, there was trouble getting through to some people as everyone in America was doing the exact same thing in that moment. In that moment the world stood still; stock still. Every life in America changed on 9/11/2001. From those harrowing moments on we knew of “life before” and “life after” America was attacked by terrorists hell-bent on killing as many Americans as possible as quickly as possible.

Almost 5,000 people died that day. And many more became victims as illnesses from the contaminated sites where they were working so hard to find survivors; rescue the living and retrieve the dead, slowly killing them months and years later. Every living American was affected that day. Those who would be born after that fateful day would read about it, maybe someone would try to explain. But no one could ever put into words exactly what happened inside of each of us; how we felt, how we cried and what our worlds were like before that day. Many things we are now used now were not even thought about before the planes hit those towers and souls ceased to exist. Things changed.

Like everyone that day, I was confused, then super sad as I watched lives being snuffed out in real time, then angry as fuck at those who perpetrated the crimes against America that day. We stopped barn construction that day and the barn went untouched for the following couple of weeks, as my partner and I were as stunned and unsure of what was going to happen. Was our country going to war? Who did this and why? Were other places at risk? What the fuck is happening???

It’s a day I will certainly never forget. If you were conscious there’s no way you could forget. It was a pivotal moment in our country’s history, in world history and in our personal lives.

Americans pulled together over 9-11. Our country was at risk. We knew we had to show solidarity.

The next major historical moment in our history would happen 20 years later, on Jan. 6, 2020 when an insurrection against our country was spawned by an egotistical man who could not accept that he lost an election fair and square. He had been working diligently for the previous 5 years to tear us apart, to get us fighting against one another; destroying the fabric of American pride piece by piece. It’s a well-used tactic that Hitler and Mousellini both used when they decided to rip their own countries apart out of greed and power hunger. Trump studied it well. And here we are…our democracy is now at risk. It’s time for us ALL to come back together as American people and fight to save our country from the evil within this time.

There’s a lot more to say, but I need a break.

Pay attention, shit is about to get very real across this country. It’s no longer just one man, he’s built a fascist army of red hats, his MAGA Red Army, who are working at his will to help him become King. We are all just considered to be collateral damage at this point – unless we pull together and do whatever each of us can do to fight back against them. Speak up. Vote. Do not stay silent, that just gives them your permission to continue their behavior in your presence. WE do not have to accept this. WE out number them and love is always greater than hate. Good will prevail.

~MB

Slow-motion Destruction of Life as we Knew It

White identity politics inside of the completely untethered Republican party – that is blatantly anti-democracy and bordering on being rebranded as a domestic terrorist organization is NOT a good thing for ANY PART of America and should NOT be allowed to continue it’s measured, a slow-motion coup on American government.

If you think it ended on Jan. 6 2021 you are sorely mistaken. Jan. 6, 2021, was the virtual BIRTH of this very active continuing assault on the American government, culture, lifestyle, and every citizen’s expectation of FREEDOM and Constitutional protections. Jan 6th was the conclusion of a “trial run”, the last episode in the Trump Terrorizes America series – soon to be followed by the new mini-docu series titled Insurrection leads to civil war.

I am just an ordinary American citizen. I am part of the LGBT community. I am female. Those last two things make me a second-class citizen in this country. I am also a Veteran who served proudly and believed once upon a time that America was a proud, thriving place of Freedoms that were unlike any others in the world. I served proudly thinking that I was part of protecting the constitution and freedom in America, all the while unknowing that many of these freedoms have been under strenuous attack for decades.

Now I am witnessing the success of these well-organized, often funded by questionable means such as foreign actors in the form of countries or foreign leaders. This whole tearing apart of America from the inside by a minority party with unlimited resources has been in the works for decades and we are now feeling the “success” of their plans to end democracy in America and install an egalitarian government.

I’ve heard “nooo, they’ll never get away with doing this, or that…” only to then watch as they CONTINUOUSLY get away with everything questionable and break all the rules, violate laws and do unimaginable illegal damage to our government entities – and are NOT prosecuted or even reprimanded! They’ve packed the courts with judges who are part of their unspoken “organization” so they are never held legally responsible and they can just keep on tearing down our country piece by piece. They have installed the most extreme right wing conspiracy theorists into many positions of power across the nation – one by one.

Their ultimate goal seems to be contiguous uninterrupted control of the country by a conglomeration of right-wingnuts of the white power party, the domestic terrorist organization formerly known as the GOP.. An org that is wanting to control women from top to bottom, forcing pregnancy. They are “against” the abortion of a glob of cells but could care less about the killing of children in classrooms via blowing their brains out with AR15s. They view women as second-class citizens with no bodily autonomy or privacy rights, to be controlled and basically owned by men. Almost daily they are stripping us of our rights quietly behind the robes of a hand-picked (by Federalists) SCOTUS with pre-determined outcomes dictated by the Federalists. They were very very copious in putting this plan together, methodically over time, having patience until we got to where we are right NOW. They have a “new” America in mind and it’s not one of the Constitutional rights or freedom. There is more to come, just watch.

In my 60 years walking this planet the happenings of the last 5-6 years have been astoundingly the worst I could ever imagine and I fear for myself and millions of others who will be targetted in this evolving scheme of the GOP.

Immigration…

Photo by Darren Patterson on Pexels.com

Another weekend gone by. I managed to get some of my garden stuff, did some raking in the front yard – trying to scratch up the front lawn, it’s so pathetic, sort of thatching and readying it for some new fertilizer and re-seeding – bagged some of the leaves I left in the front gardens to protect my perennials through the winter months and generally just got some spring preparation done. It felt good to be out there with my hands and mind in the dirt for most of the day on Saturday. Today, Sunday, it’s been raining all day so I worked inside putting up some new valances on some of the windows – hand-me-downs from Mom, very pretty ones at that!

This weekend’s main trending news was on the border mess, Georgia’s new voter suppression laws signed into law on Friday by Gov. Kemp, and the huge-ass ship blocking the Suez Canal and bunging up trade worldwide. Get ready for another toilet paper crisis, it’s coming! There are other very important issues in the news and happening world-wide, but I need to narrow the scope here for brevity’s sake!

Our southern border with Mexico, the primary land entry into the USA, is currently quite a debacle. It has been this way for YEARS, it’s just that now that President Biden has been in office 60 days it’s somehow ALL his fault…yeah…NO. The whole immigration to America has been a complete mess for 40+ years, so worse than others. Different leaders – in both Mexico and the USA – have handled it in a wide variety of ways. This is MY personal understanding and take on what’s happening down there.

#1 I am NOT seeing ANY GOOD journalistic coverage of this whole issue, beginning in their home countries; starting with when did the “surge” of people, seemingly rushing our border for entry into the country start AND WHY are they coming? This problem did NOT start on January 20th, 2021 when Joe Biden took office and we all KNOW that for fact. It’s been going on for about as long as I can remember! Hell, I recall Reagan dealing with this – until him and the general got caught selling them weapons, ouch. What we need to SEE is a history of the problem and the reasons behind all of these people believing they HAVE to flee their own countries in order to stay alive.

I do not believe that many Americans even know, understand or are aware of why this is happening because all they are “hearing” on the TV is how horrible it is that they ARE coming, how the conditions at the border where we are forced to take these people, house them, cloth them, feed them and provide medical treatment and comfort to a HUGE number of refugees – that’s what they ARE, I don’t believe these people are asylum seekers as much as they are refugees.

Americans have always had open arms for people fleeing to the USA for a better life; our country was founded on immigration. Unless you are native American you ARE product of immigration somewhere along the line. Providing refuge to people is our way, it will always be our way. We have always shown compassion, empathy and love – bestowing special attention to those threatened by violence, death or human rights abuses of all kinds. But there has to be a process and there must be the facilities to handle the numbers arriving – or we’ll just end up like some EU countries who are dealing with huge refugee encampments with squalid conditions.

The number of people crossing our southern border daily is fluctuating between 3-5000 DAILY. Where do we EXPECT to PUT these people? I don’t believe we even have enough structure to get roofs over all of their heads! It’s going to take TIME and WORK and PATIENCE – from not only US Americans but from the refugees themselves, who should be cooperating to the max and helping us get this figured out and done.

We need buildings, perhaps even a whole military style “base” to handle our southern border influx and all southern border immigration. The base needs to have an intake center, a court with 20+ courtrooms and immigration judges as well as attorneys. The base should have cafeterias, barracks style living for singles, pod style living for family units. There are other things it will need too, but we HAVE to start looking at things like THIS to get this under some sort of manageable control.

I can see thousands of good paying JOBS in building a few of these immigration bases. I would bet that many of these refugees would like nothing more than to have one of those jobs helping to solve some portions of the problems. Construction, food service, laundry, etc…they could fill many of these jobs! WE MUST GET CREATIVE!

As far as stopping them from coming, good luck. That’s just not going to happen. They will always come. Until the horrible conditions in the Latin triangle are remedied the people will continue to flee the violence, poverty and sure death to try to save themselves and their families.

**Additional Notes:

“To respond to the unprecedented spike in arrivals of migrant children traveling without parents or legal guardians, the U.S. government is on track to open at least nine emergency housing facilities within President Biden’s first three months in office. The Trump administration operated three influx housing facilities over four years, and only one of them is currently active.” (Article Link) Mar. 25, 2021

What is happening at the US southern border? This is a terrific, well written and easily understandable article by the IRC (International Rescue Committee) March 24, 2021. The IRC is a non-partisan NGO that provides much assistance and coordinates to provide housing and care for many of these asylum seekers at our southern border. I highly recommend doing some reading on their website and considering donating to lend a hand. We all need to try to be part of the solution!

This issue is very important to me – I wish it were to so many more! These people are fighting everyday to survive, to come to America and make a better life and they are willing to DIE trying to do it. Americans sit here and throw rocks. Bitching and moaning about immigrants while they seriously have NO IDEA what these people are up against in their home countries. We have lost our way; empathy is dying. We sit here in our little red, white and blue cocoons and pretend this doesn’t affect us – unless we have some weird thought that “…MAYBE they are getting something I’m not!” Then they freak the fuck out and turn into uninformed idiots. I wish I could be part of better educating people about stuff like this, I don’t get why people are not more interested in what is happening in their own country and why…just baffles me.

I’m off for the night. Get my first covid-19 shot tomorrow! Yay

Peace ~ MB

Shifting…

When is covid over Dad???

Taken from Fort Foster…early morning sea smoke on the water.

What an insane way to start the week…insane conspiracy theories, four of them in 1 day….wow

Check out this video, you will be astonished. The flat out lies are just insane!

Then there was the Fox interview of Trump with Laura whats-her-name…I almost exploded watching him do THIS…!!! The video is about 1/2 way down the page, I think you’ll – if you haven’t SEEN this shit yet – be quite astonished to hear ANY world leader speak of his own people like Trump does here – oh, he has only “one people” his right-wingnuts – then there are the 70% of the residents of the USA that are evidently “thugs” and “antifa” and “dark people lurking”….we are the “enemy”…so buckle up a bit tighter, things are about to go full postal…if you get my gist.

My mind wanders so much more lately, fucking covid overload has made me spacey as fuck it seems – at least some days it does. The air is so thick with sanitizer that I rarely even get dirty thoughts these days…hahaha

My pot plants are doing really good now. We’ve not had enough rain this year, along with the lack of good snow cover last winter – which we depend onto fill the underground aquifers yearly – has resulted in very arid summer. My yard is DUST. The grass all died, turned brown and then the top level of dirt , when you walked on it, would create dust clouds it was so dry. Anyway, I’ve been watering the gardens – both flowers and the weed – every day at least once a day, even fertilized everything a couple of times.

It’s been a tough grow season this year…figures, with everything ELSE going wrong this just adds a little twang of being pissed off at the dry environment…even though it’s OUR faults because of global climate change. My pot plants are the Black Sugar Rose hybrids. I bought female clones but they came in late, so I’m behind on the grow. They’ve been in solid ground since the end of July, previously in pots. Won’t be as big as the last grow, but should be quite impressive, especially in quality and potency. The BSR is GOOD high THC content with a good back up of CBD as well. I love the buzz personally.

I am smoking shatter, live resin or sauce 85% of the time these days, the other 15% I use edibles, which I LOVE! I am glad that they are now making cartridges that fit the multi-voltage batteries (need higher heat) containing the live resin and sauces. They’re just awesome and FAR less labor or mess intensive. No rig, no dip stick, no mess. Screw it on and puff away. Perfection in stoneage, the ultra potency of this type of THC consumption is out of this world. Never in the 1970’s when I started smoking weed from Mexico – the old Columbian Gold days – never did we even imagine that our grandkids would perfect the methods of intense consumption. haha….little fuckers, gotta love ’em tho.

I’ve been perusing the depths of podcasting and off-beat sites, videos and delving into the caldron of like minded individuals from across the country. Vetting news sources right now is critical and absolutely necessary. The forces working to disseminate mis-information to you through Facebook, Twitter and even direct emails. Be aware of TV or internet commercials, the subliminal seduction factor flipped to subliminal fear factor is incredulous. Journalism is a frightening dabble at the moment. Lives are threatened and taken daily, mostly from the truth pool. Voices are quieted, headlines are twisted and YOU are the target; your vote counts so much that Russia wants it to be cast in THEIR desired direction, i.e. Trump the Puppet of Prickhead Putin.

The only interaction I have personally had with any Trump related thing is that I gambled in his casino in Atlantic City in the late 1980s. It was quite opulant, just about to the gawdy point in places. Dripping in gold, and later I found out in blood as well. Many contractors were gilted out of money when he had them build the casino and refused to pay many of them, forcing those who COULD AFFORD IT to try to sue him. You know how Trump lawsuits go, they get dropped. Contractors lost money, lost their businesses in some cases and their families suffered greatly as well.

Anyways, I didn’t stay there, I stayed next door at the Playboy, a very, very favorite memory in my data banks. I was a wet-behind-the-ears baby Butch just learning my walk through the universe as my more authentic self – I was still nervous and yet resolved to be out and proud in my skin and in the world around me. I can vividly recall so many individual “moments” of that 4 days; forever etched into the dark matter in my skull as some of the finest, most sensual and most memorable moments of my young Butch dive into the world of women, money and sex. I would dabble in this world on and off for a couple of decades, which direclty coincide with my good ole drinking days, Jack and Coke with a twist of lime, or Tequila…my go-to alcohol loves. Finally I got to that point in life where you desire deeper, more secure, loyal, loving connections and less frivalty. I have memories from other trips, but none compared to that first time in AC.

I digress….back to the blog and out of the inside of my head….but it’s such a pretty place, the colors, the music…the voices…BWHAHA…kidding….but it IS funny AF. The hazard of writing while stoned. I tend to amuse myself and end up sitting here cracking up as I type.

I just opened a new group on Facebook with some friends assisting in content and collaborating upon which direction we move with the page. I’m fully open to that morphing and twisting through time, all things change, grow and die. I’m psyched about the page in general. I’ve got a tight little team of cohorts and I’m sure I’ll find more fun, creative talent as time chugs on and we all get one day closer to November 3rd.

For anyone interested in joining the group it’s called The Butchuation Room and is a Facebook GROUP not a page, it can be publically located, but it’s a private membership group, just to try to keep things safe for members. I really think it’s going to be an interesting and engaging group. We’re trying out lots of different topics and ways to engage as a community including the use of Zoom meetings and Facebook Rooms. This is NOT a dating site….but I did add a dating topic page just to keep people from posting in the main body of the page with those kinds of searching for others posts.

Here’s my irrational thought of the evening….I think I have the hots for the journalist, Anna, who works on The Young Turks with John. She’s freaking HOT AF…and a blonde, which is interesting for me to find myself attracted to a blonde, not usually my preference. I thinks it’s her incredible vocal control and high intelligence and political awareness coupled with a very hot make up routine. There is no woman more attractive to me than a very smart, intellectual, well versed and knowledgeable smoking hot femme being.

Ok I need to button this blog up, get it posted and get my sleepy ass into lala land, where i can dream of honey on the lips and deep kisses…but before I can go there I need to show you all this particular article on Covid-19 discoveries that are VERY important. Our government doesn’t follow along close enough, good thing some of us DO!

check this out: Super Computer analyzes Covid-19 I think you will all learn some really wild stuff about how Covid-19 affects the human body, why and what you can do to help your own body be more prepared if you were to become infected. Please read and I think you’ll be astounded at this super computer analysis, I know I am!!

Take care. Be SAFE and Wear your MASKS! Especially covering the NOSE at all times, that’s your #1 main way of giving or getting the virus!!!

Peace ~ MB

Quid Pro Quo

Trump Corruption Fatigue…it’s a fucking real thing now!

We, in the interest in living in a safe, sane, caring and compassionate world of human rights and equality, ALL need to be woke and understand exactly what is happening RIGHT NOW in the White House, DC and with Trump’s world dealings abroad. Our country has been sold, sold-out and purchased by communists cash ala Vladimir Putin and gang. The longer we allow this to continue as our “new normal” in the United States the faster we spiral into a black abyss of infamy.

If one will zoom out, way out, and look at the global picture, you’ll find a ring of autocratic dictators, all apparently working together to oppress the will and endanger the welfare of most the the people on the planet. Their goal, world order and systematic control of the economy, wealth structure, cultural expression and any other rights you may value right now. Our lives are being affected already every day we breathe. Constant surveillance by cameras, digital devices, smart TV’s, home monitoring systems and all the other strange electronics they’ve basically addicted much of the population of the planet to at this point.

Many countries around the globe have their populations rising up in protest over governmental corruption, violence and poor economic conditions. We are not exempt from ANYTHING here in America. We have all three pre-conditions for top level government change already. What more will it take? We watch the leader of our country commit crimes every single day. He lies to his base, lies to the cameras and journalists, he makes his people – those who work for him or who have ANY aspirations in DC – do his biding, follow his barbaric, moronic lead and commit treasonous crime in his and our country’s name, for the money he can gain doing so.

He treats our military like a dispensable force that he can hire out to whoever will pay the highest dollar. Right now he’s sending 2800 troops to Saudi Arabia – a non-Nato country, with a murderous regime controlling the country and who’s currently invading Yemen – who sent 12 terrorists to American soil on 9/11/01…REMEMBER???

He forced our special forces away from their stations with the Kurds in northern Syria, ceding the ground to Russia. Russian flags now fly over US military installations in northern Syria. SAD. SHAMEFUL. DISGUSTING. He ordered the abandonment of these people who laid down over 11,000 lives for US! So that we didn’t have to do it ourselves! In return we protected them from certain genocide and trained them. Until Trump said “done” and pulled us out. I watched as the armored vehicles left Syria today headed into Iraq to fight ISIS – who Trump claims he already defeated? – and the Kurds were throwing rotten tomatoes at them, some begging them to stay and help them. It was fucking sick. Hundreds are already dead. Certain genocide for these former allies of the USA is eminent. Trump knows it. Republicans know it. Democrats know it. Americans know it Putin ordered it. Erdogan is following Putin’s orders and NO ONE is doing a fucking thing to help these 4 million people. WTF WORLD???

Reports from the lines is that the American troops feel they are abandoning friends and are completely devastated by this order to pull out. If I were still in and there I would be so ashamed, so disassociated from my government and would find this as a cowardly act by my nation; one that would go against every fiber of my being as an American and a soldier. I am SURE they feel that now. This will affect moral indefinitely, this is devastating to leadership all around and will affect enlistment and re-enlistment big time, and will tarnish the shine of the American Military for the duration. This angers all of us veterans and I am sure the enlisted as well.

When this man is impeached I think that every household in America should receive a big Trump head pinata and two Louisville sluggers two days in advance, so we can all celebrate together in a proper way! Hahahaha….I’m almost not kidding…this gives me a funny idea for a party… 🙂

I’ve connected with quite a few people recently who are in the same political activism streams I tend to wade into. It’s kinda cool to be able to discuss politics in detail, share our insights, our guesses, the hilarity of some things we see or hear, and to share the fear of what’s happening with in real-time. Been listening to quite a few shows on NPR/MPR and listening carefully to who’s saying, doing, showing what. Chaos and confusion are the tools of this administration, and they know how to use them well. Especially in social media, so it’s worth watching what you’re allowing through and what those around you are being influenced by, and the opinions they are forming. Everyone is exposed. You must find the good people and good information.

10/22

I just lost 3 paragraphs of updated info I was putting here…I am not going to re-type it. Let’s just say that today was another shocking day in testimony from Amb. William Taylor with his copious notes and revelation that the direction for this whole corrupt scheme concerning the quid pro quo of Trump on the Ukraine, was entirely directed by Trump himself with Guilliani being his man on the spot. This was the most damning testimony yet and the credentials of Amb. Taylor are impeccable. The GOP is now trying to argue process, because they cannot dispute the FACTS of this criminal conspiracy cooked up by Trump and Co. in our Oval Office on the American clock and paid for by American tax dollars. Lock him up.

Remember, Trump withheld Congressionally approved funds for the defense of Ukraine who was being attacked by Russian forces, who had already annexed Crimea. People DIED while these funds were being withheld by Trump. This should not be lost on anyone. There were deadly consequences for some and there are huge national security risks to us, reputational destruction, loss of trust and confidence in the USA to do business on the up and up, with honesty and integrity. Trump is responsible for those who died waiting for those weapons and defense funding that had been promised, approved and should have been sent immediately!!!

The impeachment party is going to be EPIC! I am already pulling together a plan!

That’s it for political ranting tonight. I need to do a brief update blog then I’m off to sleep – I hope anyway!

Peace ~MB

Trump Takeover

Yes, it’s happened. #45 has finally done a completely illegal, constitutionally wrong, immoral thing – right in our faces – by coercing the Ukraine president for election gain. Yes, that is WRONG on any and all levels!!! It’s illegal AF. Yet, he cares NOT one iota. And he – and the GOP – are basically saying “WTF you gonna do now America?”

IF he and the GOP are allowed to get away with this flagrant violation of all laws concerning elections and proper presidential conduct (ha!) we are definitely doomed to an autocracy of very vile dimensions. He has committed the ultimate impeachable act, yet Pelosi and the Dems are STILL not moving fast enough toward ousting this criminal.

The man-boy held $250M from Ukraine (defense funding) wanting them to create a criminal scandal against his possible opponent (Biden) and the man’s son in exchange for him releasing the $250M . That is extortion at it’s finest.

This was brought to the head of intelligence’s desk via a whistle-blower complaint, where the person reporting hearing the calls and who then was “very alarmed” enough to risk his/her job and life basically for the security of the country. The law says the DNI must hand this over to Congress for full review. In this case, some idiot told the president and his vultures in the White House and they have obtained and blocked the report/complaint from making it into Pelosi’s hands and put before the eyes of Congress and us – the American people!

#45 has done tons of things already in abusing the power of his office. THIS is the most flagrant and it’s EXACTLY what he did in 2016 to steal the Presidency then!!!

He, and his vultures, know that IF he loses the 2020 election that he will be handcuffed on the podium at the next inauguration and hauled off to prison. Just like other corrupt leaders – past and present, Israel’s Netanyahu is in the same predicament currently. So he’s fighting for his freedom as well as to maintain control of America and her resources.

This is treason. WE must beat this guy like a drum in 2020 – stealing Biden’s words. Then we must be prepared to extricate him and the vultures from the White House – at all costs. This is . seriou folks, these people are about to tear up the Constitution and at that point it becomes Anarchy.

It’s time to ring Pelosi’s bells – phone, email, text, everything…start calling your Congress people and Senators. Pressure them to conduct an investigation into this whistleblower report and start the impeachment process based on that report’s contents and an investigation into the calls. It’s time to ring Pelosi’s bells – phone, email, text, everything…start calling your Congress people and Senators. Pressure them to conduct an investigation into this whistleblower report and start the impeachment process based on that report’s contents and an investigation into the calls.

The youth of the world are fighting these money-grubbers for the environment and adults should take note and also be fighting to eliminate or decapacitate these corrupt elements. Everyone involved would be better off without the evil of these kinds of innate corruption.

My 2 cents

~MB

Be Part of the Solution: Stand UP, Speak OUT!

Here in the USA the news reporters are talking about the “national anxiety” level most nights, kind of in addition to the weather report.

It’s torture to listen to the daily news now. We suffer not only from high anxiety, but also from Trump fatigue. You cannot escape it. He’s managed to turn our lives upside down.

Many people choose not to watch news because it stresses us out. I completely understand that perspective, but myself, I HAVE to watch. I HAVE to know what the hell is going on so that I am prepared and ready as things get worse – and unfortunately the situation with our current fake President will get worse; he will continue his path of destruction and stoke more and more hate. We must be prepared and we must continue to band together and fight against this corrupt administration and take our country back. It will take decades to heal and repair the damage done, but we must do it regardless of the discomfort and pain we will experience.

My girlfriend asks me what she can do. She’s a super busy woman, raising a special needs child and running her own practice. It’s difficult for her to find the time to take care of everything she must do as it is. So, for her and others who may have little time I am going to lay out a few things they CAN do that will require minimal time and effort, but will make an impact and keep the wheels of Democracy turning for the future of our Republic.

Join (and financially support as you are able) one, or three groups fighting for causes that you believe in. Whether it be voicing your opinion on women’s reproductive rights by supporting your local Planned Parenthood – or one in a state or locality where it is badly needed.

Some you may want to consider are:

Planned Parenthood Action Fund. From the White House to the Supreme Court, our basic rights are at risk. Defend reproductive health and rights wherever they’re under attack. Defending Women’s Rights. Women’s Health & Rights. Act. No Matter What. Fighting Extremist Laws. Types: Birth Control, Health Care Equality, Voting Rights. Link

Human Rights Campaign. The Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. Visit them and join at HRC.org

DLCC – Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee We elect local Democrats to statehouses across America.

Stand Up America – a grassroots group of millions of US citizens fighting the Trump agenda that is destroying America. Here’s the link. StandUpAmerica

GLSEN – Supporting youth in the LGBT community. This link will take you to their Safe Space kit,

Planned Parenthood – Official Site Planned Parenthood Federation of America is a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care in the United States and globally.

Democratic National Committee – find your local office and volunteer, write letters, send emails and texts to your representatives. They provide many templates and ideas.

Moms Demand Action working to end gun violence. This is a FAVORITE of mine, dear to my heart. Join this group, please! They are holding “August Recess Rally” around the country on August 18th – in hundreds of cities in all 50 states. They are the strongest anti-gun organization right now. The group started after the Sandyhook murders. Even if you don’t go to their rallies, at least you will know what’s happening with common sense gun reform around the country.

What else can we each do to help our country fight corruption, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia and to make America the safe, loving, receptive space for all of us???

Local elections are important to YOU and government STARTS at the local level.

Get to know your local representatives, Congressmen/women, Sentators, county reps, Mayors, Govenors, and those with political clout in your own state, county and city. Your state, county and town/city NEED you and WANT to hear your voice! If you don’t like how things are done where you live – change it! Become a candidate, join a campaign, volunteer, write and email your reps, get to KNOW their stances/positions on the issues like reproductive rights, gun reform, immigration, jobs, climate change, preservation of our national parks, and corporate welfare programs. Without our voices telling them what we want they are left to their own devices -which is NEVER good!!!

Yard signs, bumper stickers, posters in the workplace, etc. are all good things to do as well. Use your social media accounts to let us know you are concerned; you care and you are mad as hell that things have gotten to this point. You don’t have to post political stuff all the time like I do quite often, but maybe put a VoteBlue2020 hashtag on some posts, use interesting backgrounds that you can often get from the above sites. Be creative.

So, my “list” is just a smattering of what is out there. I will update this as time goes on, but I wanted to get this post up and hopefully help some of you get more involved without too much stress. The above are all good, solid organizations working for the good of America and all of us. Even if you don’t have a lot of time once you check out a site, sign up for their alerts and for them to send you information to keep you up to date on the important issues you can pick and choose what is feasible for you to do and become part of the solution to ending the insanity here in the USA.

Not everyone is cut out to follow and participate in politics like I am. And some of us, like me, are FURIOUS with the destruction taking place with Trump and his cronies in office. I don’t expect everyone to be as involved as I am, but you should KNOW the basics of what’s happening – before it’s too late. And you MUST vote!!! Always be aware of when and where your polling place IN YOUR AREA!!! Register to vote, if you are not already registered. And if you are a woman, did you know that if EVERY woman in America voted we could RULE this country EASILY. That’s a FACT.

Basically, just be a little bit more aware. Try not to stress yourself out, but don’t be complacent either. Do what you are ABLE to do and know that that’s enough. Leave the harder stuff for those of us who are crazy enough and have enough time on our hands to DO the footwork and the harder things. We are all in this together. Support each other, love each other and know that we CAN change things. Be a pebble in the pond…cause ripples that may just turn into gigantic waves!

Vote Democratic in the 2020 election. #VOTEBlue2020 !!!

I do hope that this resonates with you and helps those looking to become more involved. I’m always looking for more good suggestions / actions. So, if you want drop me a line at MainelyButch@yahoo.com or OneAngryAmerican2019@yahoo.com I would love to hear from other politically active women and about your local hot-button issues.

Peace ~ and remember…ALWAYS BE KIND! ~ MainelyButch aka Ang

Another Mass Killing in America

I woke up this morning and shuffled out to my kitchen to get my ritual cup of extra strong, dark roast coffee.  Once I sat down in my spot on the couch where my computer rests on the table in front of me and my TV is across the room, I picked up the TV remote and clicked on the squawk box.  I was immediately visually assaulted with the headlines “Breaking News” and yet another report of a mass murder in America, this time in Thousand Oaks California a suburb of Los Angeles. My heart sank. My stomach turned as I listened to the horrific report.

This is the 307th mass killing (4 or more people) in America this year alone, 328 people have lost their lives as a result and 1, 251 have been wounded. Astonishing numbers. Sad numbers. Repulsive numbers. And somewhat preventable numbers.

I completely support the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution, we have the right to bear arms, I get it and I support that right wholely. I also think it’s high time for us to come up with some common sense gun legislation to start protecting the innocent. If you are a legal, conscientious gun owner you should not object to following some basic, protective rules. Only the criminally minded will object, them and the paranoid among us. We must do something to curb the madness.

There are always going to be the people who say that guns don’t kill, people, do. Or that it’s a mental health issue. Or that no matter what criminals will find a way to get a gun if they want one. Yes, there will always be the nay-sayers and the skeptics. That doesn’t negate the fact that 67% of Americans believe that it is high time for some more restrictive gun control laws.

Basic things like background checks, age restrictions, restrictions on criminals and the mentally incompetent, banning high-capacity magazines while also banning bump stocks and out of the ordinary modifications to any type of gun, would be a start. I personally do not see why anyone would be against any of those things. It’s all common sense and each of those things will add a little bit more awareness and protection in some way.

I am in high hopes that the new Congress will move to take up gun control legislation at the beginning of 2019 when they convene. You can bet your ass that I will be writing to my representatives urging them to do just that and I urge each of you to take an hour and do the same. You can easily Google to see the names and addresses of those who represent you; stay on them and write to them often about issues that concern you and your family, community and the world. It will be through constant communication with these representatives that we will be able to elicit changes in this and other critical issues across the board.

Tonight there are 12 families grieving after the cold-blooded murder of their innocent, young loved ones. These young people went to the Borderline Bar to enjoy Country College Night, where those under 21 are allowed entry to dance and party – sans alcohol – in what’s supposed to be a safe atmosphere. Some were security guards and employees, who were killed as well. Eleven others were wounded and fortunately, they have all now been treated and released – except for one. He was the officer that died.

There are the parents of the killer. I feel bad for them, they are not to blame for the actions of their son, who they also lost as he took his own life after curtailing 12 other young, vibrant lives in a span of 3 minutes. Tonight I am sure they are bewildered, ashamed and also grieving for their own loss as well as for the damage their son caused so many others.

Deputy Sheriff Ron Helus, the officer who ran into the Borderline Bar and was shot multiple times before succumbing to his wounds, died a hero today. I’m sure that is no consolation to his wife and young child, who I am sure are suffering unimaginable pain and grief. He was 54 and only a year from retirement; he had served 29 years with the department and was highly respected and much loved. I watched as they took his body, with a large law enforcement contingent escorting the hearse, from the hospital to the coroner’s office. It was so very sad, yet chilling thing to witness. Too many times this has been the case. Too many times.

Perhaps I am being overly dramatic. I feel like these kinds of incidents have become routine; part of our daily lives, unfortunately. I don’t want to see America become numbed to this kind of horrible violence and death. Instead, we need to band together, get angry, support the victims and their families and push for stricter gun laws across the country.  Our federal government chooses to turn a blind eye (probably due to their dependence on NRA money and support) and ignore our cries for help.  And our “president” could care less, he’s too absorbed in his own ego to have empathy for any other human being. No, if anything is going to change; if we are going to have more common sense legislation regulating gun sales and ownership, it’s going to have to come from the people of America. We have to learn to talk to each other civilly and with respect; to hear all arguments and measure the effectiveness of making good, solid laws.

It feels crazily unsafe to go anywhere nowadays. We’ve seen time and time again mass murderers attacking malls, movie theaters, churches, parks, ball fields, schools, supermarkets, yoga studios, and even driving on the highways. It’s insane. We cannot have armed guards at all of these places, it would just be ridiculous and is not feasible. What we can do is be very aware. Be aware of those around you, of their mindsets, of their moods and if you get any sort of strange feeling do something! Call someone, send up a warning flag of sorts. And when in public places always be very aware. So many of us spend our time with our heads down looking at our phones and not enough time to watch what’s going on around us until it’s too late. Public awareness can save lives – perhaps your own.

In closing, I want to say that my heart goes out to all of those affected by today’s killings. Everyone should hug your loved ones extra long tonight and be glad you have them with you. Call your mothers and fathers; reach out to your siblings. Just spread some love and concern to those you care so much for in this world. And know that you are loved.

Peace and Kindness.  ~ MB

My Nation’s Battle

America is on the very brink of a constitutional crisis right this moment.  We are also 2 days and a wake up from a major mid-term election.  I, like many Americans, am on the edge of my seat, sweating bullets and hoping to hell that we can change the course of this discord and save our government from complete failure.  It’s a very frightening time in America.

Unless you have seriously been in a cave, without exposure to human interaction or any type of media you basically know what is currently transpiring here.  We have a toxic president who is fear-mongering, spreading hate, telling outright lies and misleading his base and trying to undermine the very democracy we have relied on for over 200 years. Donald J. Trump is madly stoking the fires of racism, sexism, xenophobia as well as touting nationalism and white supremacy. It’s sick to see this actually coming from the leader of our great country. And it’s causing so much hate that it permeates the air, social media, and is affecting us in all aspects of our lives. This is what’s happening in America. And it’s shocking.

Enough is enough and too much stinks. Somehow, someway together we must stand against all that is going wrong here; stand and be counted and hold our heads high in this vicious face of adversity. It’s petrifying with all of the outright violence, the threats of more violence and the preparation to be ready for that violence should it become even more real to each of us who rally against the evils trying to gain footholds in America.

This has become a national crisis; a time of danger in America. Trump is leading the charge against about 75% of all Americans. He calls us “evil”. He calls anyone in the news media, or who write anything controversial to his beliefs the “enemy of the people”. This has incited violence that has resulted in 15 pipe bombs being sent to his major opponents – all Democrats, 2 of which are previous US Presidents.

His rhetoric and hate speech stoked the hate in one man who burst into a Jewish place of worship, The Tree of Life Sanctuary, where he slaughtered 11 people in the midst of their worship of their God.  THAT is a HATE crime. Our president’s words to his “base” put this idea that this was “okay” to do because those “Jews” were part of what he sees as the problem for him, into the mind of someone who believed him – who took his words to heart and acted on them.

Another man tried to get into a church where it was a predominantly black congregation during their Sunday service. He was denied entry, but he went to the local Kroger Grocery store and murdered 2 good citizens coming out of that store – while saying “whites don’t kill whites”. His two victims were a black man and a black woman, both who were well known and loved by their community.  THAT’s what’s happening here.  And it’s growing exponentially daily.

Hate permeates the air. Hate permeates his speeches and those of his followers, his political partners and his supporters in the Republican party. He is held high by white supremacists here at home and around the world as their new “fearless leader”.

This mid-term election is about Trump.  Trump has MADE it about Trump. He will TELL you directly it’s “all about him” and if you elect anyone other than another Republican who is aligned with him and in agreement with his lack of values that you are against him. This is behavior we have NEVER seen in any president of the United States of America – EVER in history. It’s unpresidential. It’s dangerous. It’s unethical and it’s immoral, sickening and twisted. I wish it would stop, but I am not afraid that he has this ball rolling so fast downhill that it’s going to just continue to pick up speed, pick up ill-intended people and cause even MORE hate and chaos across our lands. I know it will cause more to lose their lives; to be threatened and killed for who they are. THAT is just wrong. The entire tone of this, the hate and fear-mongering, come from the top – and that top is Trump himself. He is responsible for the toxicity in America and his cronies are complicit in creating and maintaining the toxicity. Every. Damned. One. of Them.  Those who claim they don’t agree with “everything” he says or does but won’t speak against him, or try to rein him in are just outright liars. They are encouraging him to continue.

Trump’s main goal is to completely divide us up into smaller groups that he can then bully in various ways. He doesn’t want unity at all. Division is his goal for America; his method. BUT I am starting to see us understand his tactics and we are getting together. Whites, blacks, young people, women, LGBTs, Latino/a’s and other minority populations are starting to band together in our courageous attempts to fight back against all of this hate and division.

Oprah Winfrey, Barak Obama, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Jeff Bezos, and many, many other celebrities and famous people are standing up and standing together. Rallying to bring us all to the polls on Tuesday, November 6th, 2018 to change the course of this fated voyage into a dismal future of Trumpism. Trump may be counting on polarization, but with some luck it’s going to backfire on him as we all see his true colors and millions of Americans are rising up to fight back – uniting in solidarity for the good of the country, for the good of all people, against white nationalism, racism, and extremism and to return America to a good place for ALL to live and prosper in harmony – despite our differences.

The voting booth is the place where ALL of us have the exact same power.  Every vote is equal to every other vote.  This scares the fuck out of Trump and his Republican buddies. Thus voter suppression, oppression, and denial are running rampant in many jurisdictions. There are fights to get everyone to the polls and to get everyone registered going on everywhere. Maybe we can revisit voting laws to ensure proper voter access after these elections and when we have a more cooperative, well-intentioned Congress and Senate as well as more competent Governors and representatives across the board. There should NEVER be any obstacle to ANY American placing his vote on any election day, EVER.

So, Tuesday is coming up fast. Battles are heated. We’re all on edge. Time for change has come, and it’s NOW. There will be more battles. This is just the beginning. Trump will be furious when his party comes up short – in any way – and he will try to throw a wrench into the works. I bet he tries to say the Democrats cheated and he will try to nullify the elections altogether. He will threaten some new “executive order” or will appoint himself the “final decider” on all things for America. He will be defeated in the end because hate cannot win, and Donald Trump’s entire agenda is one of hate and division.

I hope the whole world is watching. This is going to be a historical election cycle for sure.

Peace – MB

Focus, Happiness, and the News

Today is one of those days that my mind seems to be going in all different directions with my thoughts.  I am really struggling to focus on one thing at a time…thus nothing is really being accomplished here in my world at the moment.  So I sat down here and I will write about it, perhaps that will help me to get some resemblance of order going on in my noggin.

Ok, let me get to this.  I’ll start with 5 things I am happy for today.

1.  Waking up feeling pretty good.  Not feeling sick or irritable today.  This is good.
2.  Waking up to sloppy dog kisses and Nola trying to shove Lulu off of my chest so she can have some up-close and personal kind of loving.  Those dogs love me, this is good.
3. It’s Saturday,  I have the day off and the weather is perfect at 76 degrees.  This is good.
4. My mom called this morning to check on me and told me she’s adopting a little older dog who was in an abusive situation with a former breeder.  The dog ended up at the local rescue with broken ribs!  I’m super happy for both the dog and Mom, this is good.
5.  My best friend and I are once again on speaking terms and hanging out together.  This is good.

The condition of my country right now worries me very, very much.  Trump is driving this country to hell.  I fear for all of us.  And it’s so blatant what he is doing, yet there is still this huge contingent (like 30%) of Americans who actually “like” this man and “like” what he is doing, his policies and his agenda.  THAT is the fucking scariest part of all of this!  That there are actually people, whole swaths of them, that adore the evil man.  It’s just not right and makes no sense to my rational brain.

I get far too emotionally invested in this lately.  It’s part of what is stopping me from pursuing the things that make me happier.  All that is happening is rolling around in my head, making tons of noise and causing me to be super agitated.  I am in a state of perpetual anger and outrage.  I feel helpless – as I am sure many do – to do anything to stop some of this senseless madness, like the separation of children from their loving parents at our southern border.  The problem is that I don’t know how to ignore this and let it go.  I don’t want my country to become this land of “no one cares” and I don’t want to continue to see so many people suffer due to one man’s ignorance, greed and hunger for power.  The tension in America is palpable.  People don’t know what to do.

Trump is so power hungry.  Yesterday he said he wants “his people” to “sit at attention” when he speaks, like they do in North Korea for Kim Jong Un.  He uses rhetoric and speaks so cavalierly about brutal dictators who use torture, murder and mass incarceration to govern their countries.  He wishes he could do the same.  Sad for America.  The guy is just a blithering fucking idiot.  He loves these brutal dictators and wishes to emulate them in all respects.  He has no ethics and is guided by no morals that would tell him that ruling by brutality is just wrong.  No, he openly wishes to be treated just like they are treated – with a fake respect borne of fear of death.

There are a virtual TON of legal troubles brewing for Trump and his family.  Now especially with Paul Manafort, his campaign manager, in jail awaiting trial.  And his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen now considering giving the federal prosecutors some cooperation in order to reduce the sentences he will be facing when he goes to trial.  That’s just 2 of the men that Trump surrounded himself with, and did business with, and cheated the country with over the years.  Manafort is a direct link to Russia and Putin.  That’s a known fact; a given.  What he alone knows will cause Trump a whole heap of problems both personally and politically.  It will be interesting to watch as this all plays out over the next few weeks.  I don’t think it will be long now before either of these two traitors are talking and giving up highly incriminating info on the big orange traitor in our White House.  What gets done with that information is yet to be seen, I know it will be a fucking mess and the Republicans in our Congress will swear it’s all “lies” and try to protect his stupid ass all because they are so afraid of him.

Here’s a fun video from Robert Reich, our fearless leader of the Resistance here in America.  He’s a great source of up-to-date information and videos about what is going on inside of our government.  It’s with guys like this that we will win, good over evil.

How to Survive Summer with Trump in Office

I have turned off my TV for the rest of the weekend.  I just had to do it.  I seem to be unable to watch television without watching MSNBC or CNN, NECN, or local news.  So I had to just turn it OFF.  I am going to try to leave it off for the remainder of today and tomorrow.  I can read, write and do lots of other stuff that will help me release some of this stress that’s building up inside of me from all of the bad news I view and absorb.

I’m sure I will do more blogging or at least some personal journaling.  Writing helps me so very much.  In Groups this week we did a thing on our favorite things, so perhaps I will do a blog about my favorite things next, just for fun.

I hope you are all enjoying this weekend. It’s a gorgeous Saturday here in Maine. Today is Portland Maine’s LGBT Pride parade and festival.  I was going to go, but decided against it when I got up this morning.  Next Saturday is the local Pride parade here, so i will have that one to attend and have fun at.  We have a heat wave coming this way beginning Monday, supposed to get up into the mid-90s here, which is super hot for Maine!  I’m going to make sure my AC units are fully functioning today!

Stay cool!  And be kind!

Peace  ~  MB