Summertime...

  Sittin' here, basically alone.  There are other people in the room, but I don't exactly know any of 'em.  Not countin' the gal behind the bar, but I don't really know her, other than that her name is Lori.             

   (Me?  Apparently my name at this particular point in time is "Hon'".  Good with that.)

  It's a young, budding relationship- hour, hour and twenty minutes, maybe- but we've already found we have somethin' in common:  Lori used to live in Kansas.  I've been to Kansas.

  (Did you know that if you order a "double" that the entire process is streamlined for all involved?  It is, in a number of ways, but it's just me and Lori.  Lori and Hon'.  But we're friends.  Friends look out for one another.)

  Lori's workin' today, so I'm gettin' the occasional moment to myself to just think.  Just to think.  Consider.  Even reflect.          

  (Reflection is always a big damn deal.  It's a personal favorite of mine, even when it breaks me into tiny, tiny pieces.  Little, tiny pieces.  Some so small that somethin' like a door held open or someone walkin' past can scatter 'em like so much dust or pollen or bug shit.)

  But, I digress.  (That's pretentious ass speak for ramblin', but it sounds cool.  Cool in that pretentious ass kinda way.)

  I am really havin' trouble gettin' rollin'.  Apologies.  Gonna just go:

  Bein' the creatures we are, we all carry somewhere between a preoccupation and an obsession with the Passage of Time.  It ain't our fault, it's basically unavoidable.  Just like Time itself: Unavoidable. 

  For the average cog we're most familiar with, or happen to be, it's typically driven by a schedule over which we have little or no control- shit like work or kids or maybe even vices.  Or a million other things.  It's complicated.

  For the tiny pockets of folks that have somehow managed to hold on to and strictly live by the genuinely necessary shit- eatin', sleepin', not dyin' if you can avoid it- the Passage of Time may be as simple as Day and Night.  Dark versus Light.  Live or Die.  Beautiful in its Simplicity.  

  These are the Lucky Ones.  The People that Time Forgot.  Or, perhaps better described as the People that Everybody Else Forgot and Could Give a Right Goddamn About.  Yep.  That's a better description, that.  

  (Distill that down to "Fuck 'em.")

  Shit.  Did it again.

  Most of us tend to mark time with the common conventions: minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, blah, blah, blah.  But, I've come to realize that, for me, I've always tended to gauge the Passage of Time mostly in relation to the Change of Seasons.

  I've tried to trace this back, relative to myself, and I believe it began, again: for me, with the association of the season of Summer with the break between school years, beginnin', obviously, with grade school.

  It was somethin' like this:

  Kindergarten?!  Are you jokin'?  You expect me to trade an absolutely perfect Life of Leisure for this dumb shit?  Colorin'?  Learnin' how to use those shitty, cartoon scissors and the friggin' limited pallett afforded by those chunky crayons that were flat on one side 'cause me and my fellow inmates couldn't be trusted to keep that shit from rollin' off the desk?  

  I had a theory back then:  Why can't my desktop be flat, level, not unlike the kitchen tabletop or the coffee table or even the friggin' floor at my house?  Then you knotheads could just give me access to a crayon with a point more acute than my thumb!

  But that ain't most of us.  Most of us tend not to measure Time by the Seasons.

  I expect that I tend to use that as my guide, my gauge, mostly because of that- that first measure that was forced upon me- the "School Year".  And that was, for a kid, not about the Task, but about the Break.  Summer Break.  Single-Digit Salvation.

  After that, it was ingrained in me.

  As a relatively-speakin' grown man, I spent a decade or so wonderin' why I got the Blues on toward the end of Summer.  There were the obvious reasons:  Cold weather comin' and all the restrictive shit and what came with that.  Basic End-of- Good-Weather shit.  Everybody experiences that stuff, right?

  That ain't me.  Not my thing.

  I've come to realize that, since I was apparently about five years old, my personal primary marker in regard to Time has been Summer.  Not exactly a clock or calendar thing.  Not quite.

  Clearly, I ain't had to go back to school for a while.  But I still, every August, I get that feelin', that sick-to-my-stomach, every-day-is-friggin' Sunday feelin'.  Hurt me more than it hurt my boys durin' that sixteen years of school thing they endured.  Never quite got how they were able to move through it like they did.  Stronger than me in some way.

  Days, weeks, hours, moments, all that shit- finite.  You can count days or years or whatever device you've settled upon to make you feel better, lighten you condemnin' load, maybe even fool yourself into thinkin' you got more than you got comin'.  Maybe just color it all with fat crayons, flat on one side so they don't roll away, screw you out of a particular shade of somethin'.  Press really, really hard.  Perhaps even tear the paper in your effort to cover somethin' up, obscure it with a coat of thick, colored wax.

  Or just count Summers, or the End of Summers.

  Apparently, that's what I've been doin'.  

  There's worse things.

Fish~

  

  

  

ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS...?

*Note:  Another thing started months ago in a different place.  The topic, however, should make plain the point in time.  I personally don't consider this rant to be a political one, but I can see where many would be quick to color it as such.  It's a reasonin', acknowledgin' kinda thing for me.

Gonna go over this in a deliberate fashion in the hope that it helps me get my head around it.

Go!

Okay... the President of the United States is admonishin' people for their opposition to another group?  Oh, sure- he's waggin' a finger at the other guys, too.  He's givin' everybody shit, apparently in some kinda bizarre attempt to spare somebody's feelings.

Anyone else remember anything from History class about a Bigass War that claimed the lives of millions?  What was it that a lotta people called it?  World War II, the "Big One"???

From what I can recall, our enemy was pretty damn clear cut.  What was the name a big part of those monsters called themselves...?

"Nazis!"  That's it!  "Nazis"!

Seems like they were easily distinguished by their flag, their special salute to their psychopath leader, their claim of racial superiority.  Even made a pretty good run at Global Conquest, I'm thinkin'.  

Yep.  I remember somethin' like that.  Anybody else remember any of that shit?  Anybody?  Anybody seen anything similar to any of that shit lately, especially over the past couple days?  Sure, smaller in scale, even amateurish, but somethin' a whole lot like all that other.  

Yep.  All comin' back to me...

War.  Intolerance.  Hate.  The extermination of the Infirm and the Indigent, even the Handicapped.  Even among their own Citizenry.  Murder in the Name of God.  Genocide.

But the President of Our Country...?

Why would an American President  lump Americans standin'against the resurgence of such a Bone Deep Evil in with the very Traitors that embrace and would resurrect the Aberrant Ideology of Nazism?

Seems to me, in this particular instance, that it's pretty damn easy to distinguish who the bad guys are.  It ain't even some kinda new threat- we actually have the advantage of havin' access to an incredibly detailed Historical Record.  It ain't even that old.  There are still people alive today that were alive then. (Hell- Some even have tattoos as reminders.)

This is major serious , and we can't just stare at our shoes or, even worse, make up ridiculous excuses for this kinda dangerous shit.  To do so is not just to slip backwards a few generations, but to slip back centuries, even eons.  The ever-childish deflection or comparison to someone else's prior acts, be they factual, exaggerated, or pure fabrication, changes nothing about the immediate, the current.  That's just some infantile excuse that's worth absolutely nothin', changes nothin'.  Grade school shit.

Remember that "two wrongs" thing?  

Yeah...

Fish~

COLOSSAL FAIL

*Note:  Written back in the Summer.  Contains mature themes and strong language.  And some just plain sorry shit.

Amendments voted down in the early AM today, in the Senate, nearly entirely along party lines:

Allowing young people up to 26 to stay on insurance.

 

Lowering prescription drug cost by allowing importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada.

Guaranteeing that women do not pay more for insurance than men because of their gender.

 

Guaranteeing that rural hospitals will stay open.

 

Guaranteeing that those with pre-existing conditions will not be charged more and will be protected.

So, everybody pleased?  Gonna throw a big party and cheer about the Poor and the Sick and the Indigent, the families that will go bankrupt- lose homes, possessions, dignity, the people whose lives now will end sooner?  How about sick children born into Poverty through no fault of their own?  Is this really your idea of "making America great again"?  Or does something like this now qualify as some Glorious Christian Act to some of you?

Y'know, contrary to what you've allowed yourself to believe, what so many of you seem so damn desperate to believe, in direct opposition to the Truth, (remember that?  The Truth?), everyone that needs help ain't a Piece of Shit.  And this Country wasn't founded on the principles of "Every Man for Himself" and "Tough Shit" and "Too Fuckin' Bad, Loser".

Nor are those things present in the minds of genuinely Christian People, or in the minds of Compassionate Atheists, Agnostics, or Hebrews, Muslims, or good people of any other religion.

Here's the thing, or things:

Nobody's perfect.

And no one subset of humans has an exclusive claim to virtues such as Honesty, Empathy, Kindness, Humility, Grace.  These are the traits of an individual, not of a clique or a club or a race or religion.  Just like other traits:  Hate.  Pride.  Greed.  Pettiness.  Cruelty.

So, tonight.  If you're scared, worried about the fate of loved ones, even concerned about the futures of strangers, I can bring you no solace or comfort.  Not without pretending or just plain making shit up.  Not within my scope.

But if you're kicked back wearin' your best shit-eatin' grin, nice and snug in your home and your knowledge of the desperation of others, have another cocktail.  No skin off your nose, huh?  Fuck 'em, right?  Probably Trash, anyway, right?  That's how things work now, right?

Fish~

From the plaque mounted at the Statue of Liberty, in its entirety:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus  

November 7, 1883

CIVICS

From  the Federalist Papers, 68 (link to complete document below)-  

"These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils."

2016 Interpretation, (by Me!):

Among others, one of the purposes for the establishment of the Electoral College was/is to keep foreign governments, (like, let's say Russia, for example), from influencin' our political process and installin' surrogates, (like, uhh... Donald Trump, perhaps), who are sympathetic and/or beholding to governments other than our own.

Go on- use the link below.  Give it a really good read.  (It's a couple hundred years old, so the language might seem a bit "flowery", some of the words archaic.  And it's Hamilton.)  

Now, consult various reliable sources- cross-reference usin' things like the Dictionary, current and past essays on the subject from people with some sense, and study current events relative to our most recent presidential election. (Again: reasonable, verifiable sources.  This obviously excludes extreme partisan digital rags and Interweb propaganda mills- think garbage like Alex Jones' "Infowars".  One of the best examples of Absolute Crap out there.)

Next, in your most reasonable, thoughtful, non-paranoid, intelligent capacity, ponder the Direction of our Country, the Futures of Your Family, Your Neighbors, Your Planet.  (Always good to include your Planet.  I know: should go without sayin', but...)  Spend a moment considerin' just who profits, not only from where our Government is now, but where it's headed in our Collective Immediate Futures.  Think about what entities might have somethin' to gain by influencin' our political process....

I realize this is a lot to ask.  Hell, it'd probably take anywhere from thirty minutes to as much as an hour or two, dependin' on how much time you want to spend on that last part, the "thinkin'" part.

Oh!  And just one more thing:

When you're searchin' for facts and references, try and not get distracted.  Remember: Obama didn't ban the word "Christmas", and Trump didn't keep Ford from closin' an assembly plant in Kentucky...

Fish~

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp

ASYLUM KEYS

Y'know, the election is over and a winner was chosen.  Didn't turn out the way I'd have preferred, but I'm glad it's over.  Mr. Trump will be the president and he'll be my president.  

Initially, I was reassured when the president elect appeared to soften extremist and unreasonable/unworkable views on some key campaign issues.  That's the typical flow of Our Politics-  neither party ever has the will or power to follow through on all their campaign claims.  In other words, much of the campaign chatter is just Good Ol' Fashion Bullshit, regardless of party affiliation.  Always has been.  Not expectin' any kinda sea change any time soon.  

So I set to work revisitin' areas where I actually agreed with some of Mr. Trump's campaign rhetoric.  There are a few things- like congressional term limits, reducin' the unchecked flow of money into our political system....  I really wanted him to be successful, 'cause as goes the Presidency, so goes the Country.

But the choices he's made for cabinet and staff positions this week have only served to validate and reinforce many of the more grave concerns I've had all along.  The disturbin' shit.  Racism, Anti-Semitism, Intolerance, disdain for Human Rights, the championin' of the Wealthy over the Remainder...  (And the crazy, outright lyin'.  Really hoped that would at least subside a little bit.)

Then I read a post from a friend yesterday- she was describin' an experience she had just had this week while out with a coworker at the end of the day.  In a public place.  I'll give no other details here, but I will say that it was one of the most disgustin', ugly, racist/misogynistic, even frightenin' things that I have ever heard in my life.  (And I ain't young and I've heard some damn terrible shit.)  Just readin' her brief account disturbed the Hell outta me and I'm havin' a damn hard time shakin' it.

Sadly, it's more than a little obvious that the thinly veiled hate speech that has been such a huge part of what we've been subjected to over the past year or so is squarely to blame for the Emboldenin' of the Darker Side of far too many people in our country.  An anything-but-subtle invitation has been extended.  An invitation grantin' Permission and Acceptance to the Hate and Vilification of anyone of your choosin', for any reason or excuse, regardless of whether Anchored in Fact or simply a Product of Imagination or Fear.

I was hopin' things would wind up goin' okay, but now I just can't, not for the life of me, see it bein' anything short of a nightmare.

Damn worried, y'all.

Fish~

MISDIRECTED INDIGNATION

I continue to be amazed by the things we choose to be enraged over.  (And, no- it is not improper grammar to end a sentence with a preposition.  Another example of bullshit we've all been fed...) 

Sorry, distracted myself.  (That was quick!). 

Anyway, you might not agree with the method a professional athlete in our country may have used to bring attention to somethin' about which he clearly feels very strongly about, and that's fine.  This is the United States of America.  In our country, you have that right, just as he has the right to do what he chose to do for the reasons he had.  We are all afforded that right.  Right?

But, know what?  If you're focussin' on what he did, as opposed to why he did it, then both he and you have failed- only in starkly different ways.

Here's the thing:  

Wanna get pissed about somethin'?  Get pissed about Institutional Racism, Childhood Poverty or Food Insecurity.  Get vocal over how Money and Greed have destroyed our Political System.  Or maybe you can raise some Hell because our Soldiers have been killed and maimed in the Name of No Bid Contracts for Cheney's Halliburton and Company.

Stop usin' Bullshit Flag Worship as some kinda Holy Hobby you can use for damnin' anyone who tries to bring attention to a Real Issue.

No shit.  Pick a genuinely legitimate thing, a true injustice to get mad about.  Ain't like there's some kinda shortage out there.  

And another thing:  All that "Support our Troops" bullshit that gets regurgitated every time somebody chooses to speak out about War for Profit and the Wholesale Murder of the Innocents like it's a reflection on Those Who Serve?  You people?  Sit down and shut the fuck up, 'cause if you really supported our Troops, you'd be mad as Livin' Hell over their bein' treated as Cannon Fodder in the Name Corporate Profits.  

Know who I feel is guilty of not supportin' our Troops?  All you Sonsabitches without the wherewithall to challenge our "Leaders" regardin' Their Preference for Monetary Support over Human Life.

Stop for a second and think!  Damnit, y'all!

Are you so afraid of the Real World that you would seek comfort by Embracin' the Misdirection that extinguishes your very Capacity for Reason?  

Does your Pride prevent you from recognizin' and condemnin' the Dirty Tricks you choose to fall for almost daily?  

Y'all are killin' me.

Fish~   

DECISIONS, DECISIONS!

Hey...

Got somethin' for y'all:

Followin' each of the acceptance speeches of both major party nominees, NPR posted the full texts, complete with fact-check annotations.  Havin' only watched around half of Hilary's speech last night and only around fifteen minutes or so of the Donald's speech, this gave me a chance to not only go over both in their entirety, but also be enlightened in regard to the validity of the points that each stated as Fact.  (I found a couple modest surprises among what both had to say.)

Let's face it: this is American Politics and both sides (we effectively have only two choices) are attemptin' to sell you their particular Bill of Goods.  

Like so many other things in Life, for one to truly make somethin' as close to an "informed decision" as possible, we owe it to ourselves to, no matter how unpalatable we may find it, we owe it to ourselves to take a hard look at all (both...) choices and give thoughtful consideration to what we are presented with.  

I found the contrast between the content and the pitches to be pretty damn interestin'.

I have included links to the respective speeches and the fact-checkin' below, and I'd like to invite you to do as I've done;   Set aside the time to go over the points these folks have chosen to frame their particular cases, as well as the style in which they approached them.

It's the smart thing to do...

Thanks, Y'all,

Fish~ 

http://www.npr.org/2016/07/21/486883610/fact-check-donald-trumps-republican-convention-speech-annotated

http://www.npr.org/2016/07/28/487817725/fact-check-hillary-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-convention-annotated