Democrats Succeed at Mid-Terms

Trump has gone into hiding and is having a full-on meltdown. 

It’s a weird and scary time to live in the United States.

What I mean is it’s weirder and scarier than it had been before the 2016 presidential election! The US always seems to have some undercurrent of things to be wary of when you hail from a marginalized community – mine being the LGBT community. While 2018 isn’t anything like it was in the 1970’s when I was a teenager, as far as being out and gay, it’s beginning to remind me that my being out doesn’t and hasn’t come without a price to pay and a fight to continue fighting.

Our mid-term elections were held November 6th and the lead up was very heated between the parties and due to all of the division that Trumpism has brought to the surface here, as evidenced by the massacre at the temple in Pennsylvania and the bombs sent to major players of the Democratic party. Our televisions were abuzz with hateful advertisements accusing this candidate, ridiculing that one and spreading out-of-context misinformation. I personally hate political advertising like that. Any candidate that has to resort to cutting down their opposition because they don’t have a decent platform of their own to tout will never get a vote from me. Voting for anyone who runs that type of ad is just condoning it and feeding their hatred. I choose to ignore it, note who did it and not to vote for whomever it is running the ad.

I wish we would do some campaign reform here in America. Starting with getting PAC money OUT of all politics. Then requiring candidates to pay for their own ads and media content and they should not be allowed to accuse, ridicule or point at anyone else, but only talk about themselves and what they will bring to the table if elected. Get the hate out of political advertising. And no one should be allowed to lie – it’s false advertising!  And it’s just unappealing because it’s just gone too far. We also need major campaign finance reform, i.e. do away with PACs and outside funding. Make the playing field more even for everyone. The PACs and other donors give this money and pump their chosen candidate so that they can get a “foot in the door” so to speak by holding their candidate up to do their bidding in legislation and regulation. It’s all about the money. Fucking money sucks.

We had record voter turn out on both sides of the slate. Democrats really put a ton of effort into getting out the vote and getting people psyched up to get to the polls. There is no duty more important, in my opinion than showing up and voting when you’re called on to do so. Elections are how we the people have our say in governing the country and steering it in directions that are good for us, not just for the politician and their donors. A prime example is the Trump Tax plan of 2017. He was put in office by money and outside influence and a sheepish base who believed he would be “different” somehow. HIs tax plan gave trillions of dollars to big corporations and the uber-rich across the board. It did nothing for the middle class, working stiffs of America. Wages remain stagnant and profits of corporations are skyrocketing while our national debt is through the roof and climbing by the minute. This will be Trump’s legacy – the financial ruin of America.

Just over 113,000,000 people turned out to vote. I am pleased that Democrats did very well all across the country.  We elected 235 Democrats to the House and 47 to the Senate.  This gives Dems majority control of the House of Representatives while leaving us as the minority party in the Senate. This is really very good for now. It means that the Republican party is no longer in full control of our federal government and Trump no longer gets a blank check. Across America, Democrats replaced 335 state-level Republican legislators. We turned many formerly red states and areas blue. Yes, we got our Blue Wave regardless of what Trump says because of course, he’s claiming victory despite major Republican losses in key states.  Here are some of the outcomes explained more specifically.https://www.politico.com/election-results/2018/

Over 100 women were elected to go to Washington DC; as well as many men and women of diverse backgrounds, minorities, and LGBT are going to be serving us. They are younger, more diverse, enthusiastic and ready to bring progress and civility back to US soil. This is a sign of the future of government in America; a very positive, incremental sign. Congress is finally starting to look like a representation of the population. We really have some terrific people now in office! I have high hope that they will serve us wisely by putting forward a positive agenda and doing much-needed oversight of our government workings.

I was impressed with Democrats as a whole. There was no huge celebration or a big gloating party upon their wins. Calm and classiness has been maintained and the only people suing and complaining are the sore-loss Republican candidates in some particular states, such as Florida. Florida’s elections were overseen by the Governor, who also ran for re-election – talk about the referee playing in the game!  Their voting machines broke down, they tried to suppress votes, discouraged voters, as well as threatened and frightened people. It’s a real mess, but it was mostly expected and primarily was a Florida issue. I don’t understand what it is about that state that they can’t seem to get their electoral system up to par and always seem to have problems, but I hope that someone will pay attention this time and FIX the freaking problem! The state, as well as many others, is also gerrymandered to death. Hopefully, now that Dems have majority control across the country we can remedy this issue when the district lines are redrawn to make it a more fair and balanced system. Gerrymandering has cost us dearly and must be stopped. 

Here in Maine, where I reside, we turned the state blue again. We have one single Republican left – Senator Susan Collins. We elected a Democratic governor, Janet Mills from Farmington Maine, and now our state house is also filled with Democrats. After 6 years of LePage and his Trump-like antics and personality, we were sick and tired of all of the hate and of him disregarding the will of the people. He would go against things we voted to do and try to prevent laws from being enacted after the people voted to enact them! It’s been very aggravating for us here. We voted to expand Medicaid here, and he refused to enact it. He withheld the funding and just wouldn’t allow it to happen – even after a court order to do so! So, his hateful ass is out of here. I hear he’s moving to Florida! Hahah…they can HAVE him. I’m hopeful that Gov. Mills will stick to her promises and start with addressing the opioid crisis here, then healthcare, the environment, and education. It has to get better.

Of course, Trump has been freaking out. He’s gone into hiding, for the most part, Tweeting outrageously about the Mueller investigation and that people are changing clothes to vote twice. He’s not doing his presidential duties, is brooding over his loss of control and the possibility that his kids are going to prison for bilking America. Plus a whole lot more…but I’m tired of his shit show. And he somehow feels less threatening at the moment. The fact that his own party has been pretty much silent since the mid-terms is great too, although it does make them complicit in his dirty deeds in my opinion. But they are peeling off slowly, starting to whisper behind his back that they need to distance themselves from him. America voted on Nov. 6th and HE was the main reason his party lost. America stood up and said NO to Trumpism. 

In 721 days we vote again. This next time to replace Trump. I’m sooo looking forward to that one!!!

Peace & Kindness!  ~MB

America in Crisis

The Republican party of the United States of America (GOP) is retiring, resigning and being thrown out like trash at an alarming rate; flinging the doors open wide for the Democrats who will most likely be replacing them and taking over Congress and the Senate.  Our House is on fire, and the rats are running.

I have some fairly liberal views, yet part of me is also conservative.  I’m more conservative when it comes to budget issues, the military, and protection of our homeland, but absolutely liberal when it comes to issues of environmental protection, renewable energy strategy, healthcare for all, and having a transparent, ethical governmental body.  Some of me is even Socialist…we SHOULD all care and take care of one another – no one benefits from isolationism, classism, economic bullying or closed borders.

The world can see that right this moment my country is in a state of chaos and public crisis.  We are a country divided.  Divided by race, economics, religion, sexuality, social status, and a myriad of other cultural issues.  Our leadership has deteriorated beyond what we ever imagined possible.

Our infrastructure is in a state of decay, crumbling and killing people.  Our national debt has skyrocketed into the trillions.

Farmers’ crops are rotting in the fields of California due to lack of migrant farm workers due to their fear of our government and the government’s cruel immigration policy enforcement.  ICE agents lurk in bus stations and local parks.

Eighty thousand “Dreamers” live in fear and limbo, not knowing if tomorrow they will be deported to countries that they know nothing about and have never even seen to remember, countries that are at war-torn, impoverished, crumbling and ruled by corrupt leaders, gangs, and drug cartels.

Our military is being spread around the globe, fighting in places that none of us have ever even heard of in some cases.  They’re being forced to the Mexican-American border to assist with what some think is a “crisis” of people flowing by the millions across our borders – this is NOT true, actually illegal border crossings are at a 40 year low and our current 16,000 border patrol agents are doing a remarkable job in successfully apprehending illegals more now than ever before – because they have better tools to do so!  NOT because crossings are up!

It has been proven beyond a doubt that the Russians interfered in our 2016 election processes, not only in our presidential election but in about 31 state ballots as well.  Yet, there was $125M set aside to deal with this issue, and to date not ONE PENNY has been spent to do so.  THAT is a crime all by itself!  Someone should be held responsible for that lack of action.

Cyber-security is a joke to America.  There is NO cyber-security.  Our power plants are at risk, water systems are vulnerable, electrical grids could be taken down in a nan-second, and even our personal information has been pirated by Cambridge Analytica via Facebook to the tune of over 87 million peoples’ profiles.  Cambridge Analytica is the company that was hired by Trump to aid in his election campaign.  Coincidence?  I think not.

We currently are living under the rule of a man who believes that being “President” of our country means that he is above the law, untouchable, and can do anything he chooses without repercussions or consequences.  He does not even have a vague understanding of our country’s Constitutional articles, amendments or laws.  Now, he could depend upon assistants, advisors, aides, and attorneys for guidance, but instead he has chosen to dismiss, fire or force the resignation of almost all of them.  He tells us he doesn’t need a National Security Advisor because he can advise himself – a man who received 5 draft deferrals and who has NO military experience whatsoever.  And who does not read; who does not like reading so chooses not to read but to listen to a very biased, shadowy news station on his television set.  His idea of “governing” is to send out harassing messages via Twitter on a daily basis, usually starting at 4am every day.  No one can control him.  He refuses to listen to anyone, takes no advice and is belligerent in making the point that he is always “right” about everything.  He admits no wrong, ever.

This man is racist, sexist, a misogynist, unethical, immoral and just downright rude.  He has NO “people skills” at all.  He believes women are inferior beings to be used for sex and to wait on their men.  Any woman who challenges him politically is instantly on his Twitter shit list and he will harass and degrade her forever.  His opponent in the election that he stole in 2016 is the prime example.  He mentions her almost every day on Twitter, always in very demeaning terms and with vitriol and hatred.  He’s obviously very threatened by smart women and wishes to silence all women as a result.

There are not enough hours left in my night here to go on and explain all of the other unbelievable, crazy, chaotic, vulgar and consequential nonsense that is happening here in America right now.

I think I have made my points above and that you, dear reader, get the gist of what I am trying to convey.  We are in trouble.  And the leadership that is currently running this country is destroying it quickly, more and more so every day.  All of those in positions of publicly appointed leadership (Congress, Senate, Cabinet members, Department Heads, Governors, etc) seem to be frozen in time.  They either cannot or will not take action to save us.  But they are streaming out of Washington DC to save their own asses by the hoards, leaving a leadership vacuum in their wake.

No one knows what to do, or how to control our lunatic “President” who’s positioning himself to become America’s first Dictator.

So, if you live in another country and you ask your American friends why we are letting him destroy our country, please remember that we are not “letting” him do anything.  He has basically got us all hostage.  His dispersal of hate, his corruption, immoral behavior and lying rhetoric have us torn in half and unable to convince our representative to go against him in any way.  Russia is pulling his strings, that we KNOW this and it is obvious to us all.  We march, we write, we call, we march some more….we are screaming and hollering at the top of our lungs. all to no avail.

It’s very frustrating, scary and even dangerous for many of us.  But, we are Americans.  We’ve been through hell and back before.  We will overcome this somehow.  We will find our way out of this mess, it’s just going to take some time and perhaps a lot of pain – for every American, whether they know it, acknowledge it, or not.

These are very trying times.

Peace.  ~MB

My Pure Anger and Outrage

Yes, I have been messing with the theme and settings on this blog once again.  I am just not happy with the way it looks.  Grrr….  And I’ve tried the building a web page thing, it’s just too complicated for me. I just want to write and have it presented decently.  What I need is an editor!  Someone to direct me, and to see to the necessary web stuff.

Today, Dec. 4, 2017, has been a VERY aggravating day for me.  As an America citizen I am fucking ANGRY and outraged at my government and the asshole occupying the Oval Office in the White House.

On just this ONE day alone the Moron has managed to destroy a couple of national monuments in Utah by opening them up for possible oil and gas drilling, coal mining and other nastiness. Whether he is in his legal right to do this is still in question, because according to our Antiquities Act he cannot do this!  He didn’t consult the people of Utah, hold any debates, no hearings, or consider anyone’s opinion, he just DID it.  And no one seems to be stopping this moron from doing anything he’s not supposed to be doing.  He does as he pleases.  He IS the dictator of America.  Don’t be fooled, we are no longer a democracy.  We are an autocracy.  His word is the only one that matters anymore.  No politician will stand up to him.  He does anything he likes, and he even tells us that he will do as he pleases and we cannot touch him.  Like today, he insists that he “cannot obstruct justice” because he is the “head of justice in the US” and he reports to no one.  This fucker forgot he was “elected” and he honestly doesn’t care.

I, as a single citizen, am fucking so angry at every politician that is allowing this asshole to ruin our country.  I want them all to drop dead.  I know, that’s awful to say…but it’s true, I cannot see any other way that things are going to stop or be saved, or changed, other than the dying off of these OLD, NASTY, WHITE people called “politicians”, our “leaders”, our “representatives” (who represent NO one except the RICH), and all of those who so blatantly support their EVIL deeds.  It’s awful to think that we have to wait for all these stupid fuckers to die off before we can FIX all the idiotic shit they have DONE in such a short amount of time – less than a year!!!

I know I am not alone in my thoughts.  I am not alone in my wish for the end of the Republican party, the Trump administration and all the paid lobbiests that hound them and bend the to do their will; to submit to the desires of the most wealthy – their “donors” who they are so fucking afraid will not fund their next campaign or fill their coffers so they can continue their over-paid, overly extravagant lifestyle at the cost of US taxpayers and on the backs of US citizens.  No, I am NOT alone.  Millions feel JUST like I do.  But TOO FEW are standing up, finding their balls, and speaking out against all this corruption.  At some point we will all be sorry for not taking extreme action much earlier.  This country needs a coup.  NOW.  We need to over-throw the current administration, put in an emergency government, hold special elections and get our country back to order.  Right now it’s headed for complete disaster, including an end to our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

I don’t know what to do.  I don’t know how to make more people aware of how bad this crisis REALLY IS right now.  Am I one of the few who SEE this so plainly?  Am I delusional?  Is it me?  Am I wrong, is this all really “normal”?

I truly fear for my country.  I fear for my own safety and well-being.  But I mostly fear for the well-being and safety of the ones I love; particularly my aging parents.  Unfortunately one of them is a #45 supporter.  He is blind to the evil; he believes the daily lies that come from DJT and his representatives.  If this idiot continues; if his “tax scam” passes into law in this country, it WILL hurt most of us – especially those on fixed incomes (like myself and my  parents) and on medicare insurance (also, me and my parents).

I fear for the future of my nieces and nephew, and for their future children.  I fear that they will be the ones cleaning up all these messes and repairing the destruction – possibly even rebuilding the country after World War III.  THAT I really fear.  It’s so not fair to give them a deficit that is TRILLIONS of dollars deep, and expect them to pay for the GREED of Trump and his cronies.  It’s just NOT FAIR.  The “tax scam” he is trying to put into law here is a real “declaration of WAR” on the middle-class and struggling of this country.  Families will be devastated by it; torn apart by it, and may not survive.  No, none of this is right, or fair, but it’s our reality at this moment.

Sadly, the only thing that Trump really knows how to do is sign his name.  And he is so enamored with his own name that it’s all he wants to do – sign it and put it on buildings, bills, and laws.  He does not have the capacity to “govern” his way out of a paper bag.  He’s a reality TV personality – who is in love with himself.  I bet he jacks off and screams out his OWN name when he cums!    It’s SICK how he thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread, and that everyone should worship him.  He even tells people to worship him, and they DO, because, as he told Billy Bush – “you just say it and they do it”  He believes that his followers will believe ANYTHING he says, and they DO, SADLY!!!  It’s sick, he’s like a disease on America; a kind of rotting of the soul – he contaminates minds and poisons souls.  He is pure evil.

I don’t know what to do.  I don’t know what is going to happen to America.  I know our reputation with the world is in the shitter – it’s not our fault, it’s Trump’s doing.  The American people are good, caring people – at least 75% of us are.  The 25% supporting this asshole are just confused and blinded by shiny objects…his “distraction technique” that he bends them to his will with.  It’s SAD.  It’s horrifying.

We really need to be marching in the streets.  We need to be banging on the office doors of our representatives and screaming for them to act now to stop this man before he goes any further.  I truly hope that these things will happen.  And I will participate when they do….or maybe I will start just doing it myself…and encouraging others to join me.  In the meantime, I will continue to write, to write letters to my representatives, to Tweet the asshole, and to fight for what I think is right in any way I am able to do so.

Peace.  ~MB

Code Red: Republican Tax Attack

It’s become very hard to live in America under the current President and his administration – albeit an ever-shrinking administration, it’s still got it’s key assholes in there making things worse by the day.  Tillerson has been dismantling the state department; eliminating women, people of color and anyone left from the Obama administration.  And he’s not re-filling the positions, he’s just leaving them empty.  The “plan” it seems, is to shrink the government.

Smaller government is not a bad thing, but when you do it like it’s currently being done it becomes a real problem.  We are left without key positions filled.  Ambassadors to foreign countries for one example.  We have very few ambassadors left.  Trump tells us that we don’t need anyone but him, he’s enough and he’s it.  He is trying to “micro-manage” every aspect of our complex democracy and we are suffering from his narcissistic need to do it.

He’s cutting back or eliminating some very key departments, like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), any agency working on LGBT issues, women’s issues, minority issues.  Some of them are: Planned Parenthood, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), Minority Business Development Agency, Economic Development Administration,  International Trade Administration, Office fo Community Operated Policing Services (COPS), Office of Violence Against Women, Legal Services Corporation, Environment and National Resources Division of the Justice Department, UN Governmental Panel on Climate Change, Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Fossil Energy.  All viable agencies that serve and protect America and us as citizens.  (reference article in Time.com)  He is also now seeking to cut millions from counter-terrorism funding…right after the attack on NYC.  Yes, deep cuts to funding to our Department of Homeland Security…just doesn’t make any sense!!!

Trump is a creepy, authoritarian moron.  He’s hell-bent on erasing ANY trace of Obama’s presidency.  He is the #1 consumer of FOX News (which is now banned in the UK and Canada for false/fake information distribution), and Brietbart.  The man is so entangled with the Russians that he can’t even piss without Putin’s permission.  He’s under MAJOR investigation for collaborating with the Russians to win the election of 2016.  As are most of his close allies and staff.  The man is a clear and present DANGER to the United States.  He obstructs justice, he violates the emoluments clause daily, he verbally promotes violence, he says racist and bigoted things, often tweeting them to the world.  He insults foreign leaders and ridicules our long-time allies. He has moved America into last place in the arena of world respect.  And his #1 trait:  HE LIES CONSTANTLY.  He seems to lie so much that even HE believes his own lies!

Right now Trump is trying to jam a new “tax reform bill” through our Congress and Senate and into law.  The bill is horrendous to say it mildly.  It’ is completely geared towards making the wealthy even MORE wealthy, by eliminating tax deductions for the rest of us, and giving HUGE tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations.  The bill eliminates deductions for teachers buying stuff for the classroom, eliminates the deduction of state and local taxes (resulting in double taxation), eliminates deduction for interest on student loans – and makes them claim the loans as income!!!  And that’s just SOME of it…I can’t even go into everything here….I am furious.

In the bill they have hidden a repeal of Roe vs. Wade, naming a fetus as a viable human being – thus redefining the start of life.  They have hidden a break that now will allow churches and religious groups to donate to political campaigns and candidates, and making their donations deductible!!!  A serious breach of the division of church and state!  He’s snuck in steep taxation on renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydro power – he claims coal is “clean”, proving how very ignorant he truly IS.  There are also tons more of these little “sneak ins” in the new tax scam bill.  It’s not just a big fat tax break for the rich, but it’s a giant attack on the middle class and poor here in America.

AND this “tax reform” will increase our federal deficit by $1.4 to $1.7 TRILLION dollars over 10 years.

Less than 20% of this country even “likes” this tax bill.  And even they aren’t understanding just how horrible this will make things here in the USA.  It could cripple our country, plunge us into a huge recession and cause much unnecessary suffering by millions of people.

People making $40K a year will see a tax hike.  While people making $1M a year will see a huge tax cut.  HOW does that make any sense?  How is that fair and equitable???  Even our Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says this bill is NOT GOOD.

All Democrats will vote against this new “tax reform bill”.  It will be passed into law – IF it is actually passed as is – by ONLY the Republican party.  THEY WILL OWN THIS PROBLEM.   It’s the Republican Tax Attack.  And they are DETERMINED to RAM this through, making it law before the end of the year.  Trump claims it’s going to be a “Big, beautiful, very beautiful, Christmas present.”   HE LIES!!!  And LIES some MORE!!!

They are rushing this bill through so that it cannot be properly vetted and debated as it should be.  They don’t want people to figure out just how sneaky and conniving they are being with this bill.  They don’t want us to know how bad things are.  It’s trickle-down economics.  We have tried it before with Reagan, and it resulted in a recession during the 80’s, remember?  This bill should NOT be passed into law.

If you have read me this far and are as angry as I am take some time today to CALL YOUR SENATOR!!!  Google your Senator and speak up against this Republican Tax Attack!!!

I’m done.

Peace.  ~MB

 

Just WHY???

I can’t wrap my mind around WHY anyone would support or try to defend the words, actions, inactions, lack of words, absurd behavior, rudeness, lack of tolerance, and blatant lies of Donald J Trump, our supposed “President” of these United States of America. I just am completely baffled by anyone who promotes this man and his hate-filled agenda. I see it occasionally from some people that I know on Facebook, and it just makes me cock my head in awe, and it makes me want to ask them directly “Do you NOT understand anything? Are you so blinded by his lies and deceitful tactics that you are willing – that you CHOOSE -to follow him like a stupid little, lost sheep? Would you jump off a bridge if he told you this was necessary for him to remain your president? Some of you would, I just know you would.”

No one likes Trump or his crew of evil doers. He is so concerned with “party” and not with “people” and it’s so very easy to SEE exactly where his loyalties and priorities lay – with the richest and his most wealthy donors. He has absolutely NO concern for the citizens of this country, or for the well-being of any part of this world – unless it directly correlates to his bank accounts. WHY is this so difficult for some people to see and understand? Do they seriously “believe” that Trump cares about them in some way??? Because, believe me – and all of the millions of others who see, understand and truly get it – he doesn’t give two shits about YOU or about “making America great again”…that’s not even HIS slogan, that was stolen from Ronald Reagan!!! Reagan is the one who used the “make America great again” in his campaign. Trump is nothing short of a total copy-cat. Anything he sees or hears that he can use, he uses. He has NO IDEAS of HIS OWN. It’s all just complete nonsense in his head!

Trump instigates Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, basically egging him on to do something that will give Trump the necessary reason to obliterate North Korea. Trump verbally threatened to “completely destroy North Korea” and I believe he fully intends to do just that because he thinks it will make him look “fabulous” and make more stupid people love his old ass.
Trump himself knows nothing about war or military service. He was a draft dodger, 3 times even! He didn’t have the fortitude, patriotism or guts to fight for or serve his country in the military. He only knows what he has watched on TV or in the movies, and he thinks it’s all glorious. He doesn’t consider the affect that a war of nuclear missiles will kill MILLIONS of innocent people – not just Kim Jong Un!

If Trump had ANY sense he would order a strategic removal of Jong Un…Obama did it to Osama Bin Laden, so we KNOW it is possible. But Trump can’t seem to do it with his buddy the “Rocket Man” as he calls Jong Un nowadays. Another “stolen” nickname originally given to Jong Un’s father by Newsweek magazine years ago. He’s just re-using other people’s words to make himself look good in some weird way. Like it’s very grown up and very “presidential” to call the leaders of other countries vile nicknames and speak of them in derogatory terms, yeah must make him feel REAL GOOD about himself.

Trump tries daily to convince his dead-brained followers that he has nothing to do with Russia. He claims Russia had nothing to do with our recent presidential election process. Yet, 16 security agencies of the US Government have VERIFIED this as a FACT. Trump does not even have confidence enough to believe his own security advisors. And THEY verified that Russia did INDEED interfere with our presidential election process. Whether this had any effect on the outcome is vaguely debatable, but it DID happen nonetheless. And how can you not believe all of the people who tirelessly work in our intelligence and security agencies who say this is a fact? All of them say it is so, and ONE man says it is not…and some people believe that one man? WHY??? I just don’t get it. It does not make sense.

And the new attempt by Trump to have Obama’s name removed from our healthcare is abominable. This “Graham-Cassidy” bill is the WORST suggested bill to date! All 50 state Medicare director has come out against it, the AMA is against it, doctors, insurance companies and most every health-related institution is against this bill. It is so horrendous that even some senators say they would not vote for the bill, except that they must because if they don’t they will lose the $$$ they get from their “donors” who are the ONLY ones who benefit in the form of the largest tax break for them in history if this bill passes. It is a very shameful thing when our elected officials choose “party” over “people”…just completely shameful. IF Trump is so fucking worried about Obama’s name being on the American’s Care Act (ACA) then just change it to Trump care and be DONE with attacking it and causing 30 MILLION people to worry about losing all practical healthcare and protections. IF they repeal the ACA as it stands the only ones who will be happy with the end result of a very, very poor standard of care for America will be it’s very wealthiest citizens, and no one else. Ordinary American’s WILL suffer and suffer very greatly.

Donald Trump is completely delusional. He is so focused on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that he can’t see anything else past his nose. He is SO envious of those two that it’s pathetic. He can’t get over the FACT that Hillary Clinton garnered MORE POPULAR votes than he did! FACT!!! He can’t get by the FACT that Obama did more in his 8 years than Trump could even THINK of doing in his however-many years…let’s hope it’s a VERY SHORT number of years!!!

IF you believe Donald Trump, he is the ONLY one telling the truth here in America. He claims that EVERYONE else – every media source, including Facebook, and every government organization – is telling lies about him and promoting “fake news” as he so readily calls EVERYTHING he disagrees with now. The man just can’t get over himself! He’s a blatant LIAR, yet a few very naive people seem to want to fall for his lines. I am very sorry for those people; they will surely be very disappointed when Trump goes down in flames. And it IS going to happen – in one way or another!

There are SO MANY fucked up things going on here with Trump and his family and his cohorts that I can’t even scratch the surface. From the RNC funding the Trump family’s legal fees to Price taking government planes to watch the eclipse…it’s all so corrupt and illegal that it stinks to high heaven! And so many other things too! But, I shall leave you here with these paragraphs to ponder about what is going on with Trump and America right now.

Peace. ~MB

PS…as I was writing this Trump sent US fighter jets over the airspace of North Korea…now we wait for North Korea’s response – or World War Three – not quite sure just yet!

Hate Boils Over in the USA

This is what is going on here in the “land of the Free”

Our “president” is now actively and vocally defending white supremacist, white nationalists, neo-nazis, the KKK and the alt-right.  Yes, defending it.  He has gone on live TV, in front of the whole nation, and showed us – TOLD US – just who he is and what he represents.  He is an immoral, degenerate FUCK.

And he says he is “without regret” for any of his words, no matter who they hurt, scared or offended.  No Regret.  Think about that.

The White House is in complete turmoil.  They have a choice now, either they become part of this fold into the promotion of white supremacy or they have to go.  Trump has been called out, by name, by no fewer than 20 of his Republican comrades.

This is not a matter of Republican vs Democrat.  Nor a matter of left vs right.  This is a matter of RIGHT vs WRONG.  And you can either be on the right side of history, or on the wrong side with Donald J. Trump – the racist, bigot that sits in the Oval office eating fucking ice cream and tweeting hate around the internet.

Trump is a friend of David Duke.  A friend of the Nazi’s and the most hateful people and groups in our country.

His CEO’s have all abandoned his sinking ship.  After 9 of the quit today he suddenly tweeted that he was disbanding the councils, thus doesn’t need them.  Something that pleases Steve Bannon to no end!  What a loser.  They were distancing themselves from his racist rhetoric, plain and simple.  They realized that his views were so toxic and destructive that they could no be aligned with him, personally or professionally.

He has not moral or ethical standards.  The man-boy is a piece of white trash.

He is continuing to fuel the fire of this disgusting issue.  He is successfully dividing the country, very effectively.  We are being ripped apart.  And it hurts.

My country is in chaos.  We are at a tipping point.  Our democracy is in trouble.  We have a man in office who has “no regret” for inciting hate and violence among his own people; who actually encourages it!!!

I do not know how we will come out of this.  I don’t know what will happen here.   There is much argument going on.  I just had one with one of the guys who’s staying with me even.

I know people around the world are watching.  Please, KEEP WATCHING.  This will be used against us as propaganda in places like Russia, N. Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and others.

I have been told that there are 13 alt-right rallies scheduled for this up-coming weekend around the country.  13.  WTF is happening???  I swear Trump and Bannon had this planned all along.  They are hell-bent on destroying America; on destroying Democracy.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, our top military personnel, have stepped into this conversation as well.  All of the Chiefs have publically weighed in on this violence in Charlottesville.  All say they stand solidly against intolerance and hatred.  They are not “challenging” Trump, but challenging his stand on the issue and challenging his lack of values.  All condemn racism, extremism and hatred.  So, our military does not have the same view on this as our President.  Thankfully.  It is very RARE for any of our top military people to ever speak about political stuff, but they felt compelled because of the incredible severity of what is happening.

Trump’s words DO NOT reflect the majority views of this country and it’s good citizens.

And to quote CNN:

“While the paths forward remain very murky, what’s crystal clear is this: Trump won’t change. And on his current path, this is a presidency that will collapse around him.”

As I lay my head down tonight I pray that our country will survive another day of this destruction.  I pray #45 will resign.

Peace.  ~MB

Disgusted.

Just when I thought his Tweets could not possibly get any worse, or go any lower, Trumpski tweets out a video this morning made up of him beating the crap out of a CNN correspondent.  Sick.  I’m surprised he didn’t make it a woman that his likeness was beating on…it would be just like him to do something like that.

Yes, world, it’s been another disgusting week in America.  The man holding the office of President hostage has been acting like an 8 yr. old school yard bully.  He’s been name calling, belittling and demeaning the media and especially women.  His seething hate for women is so blatant it’s sick.

And he is planning to disband all panels and any helpful committee on womens’ issues.

His disdain for women, blacks, Muslims, the LGBT community and anyone who is of minority origin is despicable.  He has ONE agenda, to further his own personal popularity and personal financial portfolio.  THAT is his only goal in being “president” of this country – a country that he cares NOTHING about at all.

America is in serious trouble with this idiot at the helm.  The Republican party has NO balls, they refuse to stand against him on any issue, even encouraging him to Tweet.  They are just as disgusting as he is.  Every last one of them is responsible for this mess.  And we should hold them so.  Re-election should not be an option for any one of them.

I am off to a party.  A 4th of July party where there will be people who are Trump supporters.  God help me.

Peace.  ~MB

Trump PROVES He’s a Total Idiot.

Yes, as if he could get any worse, this imbecile has gone above and beyond stupid.

And it only takes him a mere few hours to make himself look stupider than EVER!

Remember, it’s ONLY TUESDAY morning and so far he has:

called our Constitution “archaic” and “bad for the country” – meaning it’s bad for him because he can’t fully extend his totalitarian rule with the Constitution standing in his way.

Wishes to change the 1st Ammendment of our Constitution so that no one can criticize him.  Says “no one should be able to protest” him at all.  This is his attempt to silence the press – a VERY NAZI move and the move of a fascist.

Says he would be “honored” to meet with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and that Un is “smart”…yes, a dictator with blood on his hands, the killer of his own brother, he’s some “smart” alright, and just who I would like to see meeting with the leader of my country – NOT.

Invites a mass murderer to the White House – Duarte.  Enough said.

Has put into action the dismantling of Michelle Obamas healthy school lunch program.  And is ending her “Let Girls Learn” program as well.  He just cannot stand anything that was anyone elses idea, especially if your name is Obama.

Praised Andrew Jackson up and down, saying he “didn’t want the civil war” to happen.  THEN he finds out that Jackson had been DEAD for 16 years when the Civil War started, so he changed it to “wouldn’t have let it happen”.  Of course. Jackson was a slave owner, he forced Native Americans from their lands, thus starting the “Trail of Tears” and was an ignorant fuck.

THEN the Idiot in Chief says “Why did the Civil War happen?”  WTF???  He doesn’t even realize what he says anymore, or understand basic US history.  The Civil War happened to stop people from owning other people; to stop slavery.  It’s pretty simple, but he wouldn’t get it even if you tried to explain it to him.  He WANTS to own other people and thinks it’s perfectly alright.  Asshole.

I am just beside myself.  Just what HAS to HAPPEN before Americans wake up and get this fool out of office?  When will he get irritated enough with not being adored and admired by all, and RESIGN?

I do not fully understand what is happening with my country or my government.  We have this Orange Buffoon in charge who is trying to hold a coup and flip us to a dictatorship.  Yet, I see NOTHING being done politically to get him out of office or get control of him.  Republicans are cowed to him completely.  They just choose to ignore him, because as long as they have ANYONE who will identify as a Republican as their leader they will deal with the guy being a fool.  They don’t care about the American reputation or the American people one fucking bit.

It’s very early on Tuesday morning here, so we have the day to see what else will happen with this guy and his posse in DC.  I don’t predict that it will be anything good at all.  More of the same hateful rhetoric and destruction of the American life.

That’s your update…pray for us!

Peace.  ~MB

A Glimpse into My Life

I know I’ve been writing about a lot of different things lately, like my political rants and things like that, so I thought I would write you all a personal note tonight, to say #1, I am very very appreciative for all of your presence here on my blog.  Thank you for your readership, comments, conversations and support.  It means a lot to me, I mean it.

On more personal notes, I’ve been doing quite well lately.  I’m strong in my recovery and have been attending Groups: Recover Together meetings every Wednesday.  It’s group therapy for opioid addicts, primarily heroin and oxycodone.  We meet weekly, voluntarily are tested for substances abuse, see the doctor once a month and pick up our Suboxone prescriptions.  The Suboxone is a life saver.  I haven’t felt this good about my recovery ever.  The suboxone kills the cravings for the drugs.  Flat out.  It’s a miracle drug in my opinion.  I had previously tried detoxing and maintaining with methadone, but I found that it made me high just like the heroin did and I didn’t want the “high” feeling.  With the suboxone you don’t get that, you just don’t have the craving for the opioid at all.  Don’t know why, but it works the balls!  I highly recommend it as part of your recovery program if you are an addict.

Also, the group therapy piece is important too.  It gives me a place where I can bring up subjects and talk about things that are challenging during this process, with other people who are in similar situations with their addictions; a place where I am not ashamed and can actually be proud of my accomplishments and have someone understand that pride.

Around home things are going really well.  I did run out of heating fuel this weekend, which was unfortunate.  I didn’t want to pay for an emergency weekend delivery so I borrowed two 5 gallon diesel fuel containers from my brother and hauled 20 gallons of diesel over (2 trips to the station) and put it in to burn until I can get 100 gallons of heating oil.  The hardest part was getting the furnace running again.  I had never had to do that before, so I watched a YouTube video on it, tried to bleed the line and get it running myself…no luck.  Several tries later, I conceded my defeat and called my heater technician.  He came by and was here all of 12 minutes, got it going and walked me through the entire procedure so that I can do it myself next time.  I just have to get over to Home Depot and pick up a jumper wire, which will help me to get it going in the future if this ever happens again.  I’m going to be a bit more vigilant now and not let it run out!  I did calculate and figured out that I am burning approximately 50 gallons of fuel mix per month, in the dead of winter, to heat this place.  That’s not bad!  And knowing this will give me a better idea of how to budget for next winter’s oil deliveries.  Live & Learn.

I have been uploading new videos to my YouTube channel.  It’s been a struggle to get back into the swing of doing videos.  Plus, of course, I have changed a little bit in the last couple of years, and the world has changed too.  I’ve gotten older, perhaps a bit wiser, and definitively more comfortable with myself.  It’s fun to go back sometimes and watch the really old videos of my younger, cockier self.  I feel like I am much more conscientious of what I am saying in my videos now.  I am more aware of my own internalized phobias and prejudices to begin with, and I fight to change those.  I never realized that one could have those types of things.  I like to think of myself as open minded and educated, but I had to admit that I, like most every person, also have my baggage and am not perfect in my thought processes.  Like today for instance, I was reading about the Russian people revolting against Putin and the powers that be in Russia where they suffer under his rule.  It occurred to me that while I hate Putin and Russian politics, I am not a hater of the Russian people, and I hope they over throw that demon.  Formerly, I would say I hated Russians…but it’s not exactly that way, it’s more a hating of the authoritarian rule of Russia and a healthy fear of it as well.  Am I making sense?

The first day of Spring was last week, but it still is very cold and wintery here in southern Maine.  I am really looking forward to some warmer weather, sunshine and the greening up of the landscape.  Right now everything is brown and dead looking, with smatterings of snowbanks that haven’t yet melted.  It will be good to see green grass and buds on the trees soon.  I always fight my depression more in the winter too.  Although this winter seemed to be a bit better on that front.  I had my best friend Linda around a lot and she helped me snap out of my moods quite often.  She wouldn’t LET me get sullen and depressed; she would refocus me on doing things to keep myself busy and not give me time to get bored, which often brings on the depression for me.  I really thank my lucky stars that she is there for me.  I’ve even come to depend upon her in many ways, which takes a large amount of trust for me to do.  She’s shown me real friendship, and for that I am grateful.

The dogs, Nola and Lulu, are doing great.  Of course they have been cooped up a lot with the inclement weather of winter too.  I try to get them out of the house any chance I get, taking them with me in the truck whenever possible.  They love to ride in the truck and are just as happy to wait for me in the truck when I get out to go into any place we stop at.  Thankfully they are good dogs, don’t chew or destroy stuff and can be trusted to wait patiently while I get things done.  As the days get warmer we will do more outings like going to the local beaches and parks for walks and outside time.  They also have a nice pen outside of my house that they can safely be outside in during good weather, and to do their business every couple of hours.  That pen is a lifesaver.  I built it right out my back door, so all I have to do is open the door and they can scoot out into their yard, which is like 20′ x 40′ in size.

So, there you have it.  A basic update about me.  No politics.  No deep questions.  Just a little window into my more personal side.  I’m healthy, happy and doing well.  And I hope all of you are too!  Peace!  ~MB

 

TrumpCare…strike 1

Well, TrumpCare did NOT get voted on today.  Seems that Donny Boy is having trouble garnering enough votes to get it passed, so he cancelled the voting so that he wouldn’t look worse when it got voted down.  I wish they had voted on it, so it would have been killed.  Trump is not happy with this, as one can imagine.  He wanted to pass his descimating health care bill ON the 7th anniversary of the ACA (ObamaCare) being signed by President Obama.  But, it backfired.  He cannot get the votes needed to pass it because so many from his own party can see how horrible this AHCA will be for everyone.

They had meetings all day as he tried to apply pressure to representatives to vote his way.  One of the meetings was on whether or not maternity care and mammograms should be considered “essential” treatments covered by all health insurance policies under the Republican proposal.  NOT ONE WOMAN WAS IN THE ROOM, OR PART OF THE DISCUSSION ON THIS…NOT ONE.  I personally find this highly disturbing.  Women have been excluded entirely from all of Trumps agenda.  But to have them also excluded from a discussion that DIRECTLY affects all of the women in the USA is horrible.  It shows me that Trump is so threatened by women, that he wants to control all aspects of women, he wants to strip us of any freedom of choice or rights that we have.  I am sure if he can manage it he will also try to take away women’s voting rights.  The man is a seriously dangerous threat to all women.

Trump should not be allowed to continue with his “agenda” at all right now.  He is under investigation for “collusion” with the Russians and it’s getting very serious.  In my opinion, and in the opinion of many, he is an illegitimate president and should be halted from signing any more executive orders or pushing any more laws through until after this full investigation is over.  But he seems to be trying to “fast track” things, like the AHCA and the Immigration Ban – I think because he KNOWS that his time is limited now; that he’s in deep, deep doo-doo and he’s going to be thrown out soon.  Impeach the bastard.

If it were a Democratic president in office under these same circumstances right now the Republicans would be having a shit fit about him pushing any sort of legislation through while under investigation.  So I think it’s only fitting to hold Trump and the Republican party to these same standards.  It pisses me off that the Republicans seem to have this “high and mighty” idea that they are somehow “above the law” in so many respects.  Just because they happen to hold a slight majority right now in the house and senate they think they have everything in their control.  They are very narrow minded it seems, everything is about the almighty dollar and nothing is about compassion or caring about the people of this country.  It must be a very sad thing to be a Republican. Very Sad.

I am praying hard for my country right now.  Things are just going to get worse and the ride is going to be very bumpy for sure.  When all of the nastiness comes out publically I think that it will divide us even more.  There are so many people still that actually believe this outrageous liar called “president”.  I am scared about what will happen; scared about possible riots and violence.  I am scared that Trump will try something foolish, like trying to over throw our government in some way.  He is very much acting like a dictator and is unwilling or unable to see that he is NOT above American law.

I’ve heard that TrumpCare will be postponed indefinitely, then I heard that they would try to put it to a vote on Friday.  Trump will NOT let it go to vote unless he has a sure win in his pocket.  I pray it will be blocked.

That’s it for tonight.  Peace.  ~MB