... and short term "gain". That's a cute way to put it, but I can't see any kind of gain for anybody.
Maybe Trump gets a bit of a delay in The Epstein Files drama, but that's not going away. In fact, the war just amplifies the suspicion for most people.
A hundred years from now, we'll still be the bad guys in this one. And we won't have to wait anywhere near that long to see the shit back up on us. It's already started.
If you can, take a few pictures or a few seconds of video. Then call 911. Tell them you're being threatened by men with guns, wearing masks, and showing no ID. Get something on the record.
And white people: We have to be an ally. But more than that - we have to be an accomplice.
In the 80s, there was a church group thing my mom got involved with called Witness For Peace. She spent time in Nicaragua and Guatemala, simply accompanying women who'd been threatened by the government for resisting - taking part in protests - doing things Daddy State assholes don't like people doing.
And it worked. Or something worked, but those women weren't accosted, and it could've been just because there was a witness.
BTW, my mom made it thru in good shape. Those cops were far less likely to fuck with somebody who had a white-haired gringa walking around with their potential targets.
Because slugs and cockroaches can't stand the sunshine.
"...all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable..."
-- The American Declaration Of Independence - Thomas Jefferson
In the face of threats and dangers that are meant to intimidate and conquer, the seemingly tiny, insignificant, individual people who decide to stand up and stand together have proven over and over that a certain invincibility is possible - it's just not something you get from yourself alone.
I'm just one guy - one voice - one vote. And besides, what's in it for me?
I'm no Christian. I've been actively trying to give all of that up over a fairly long string of years, and I'm mostly atheist now.
I was raised Methodist, so we were taught that Catholics were on the expressway bound for hell because they served wine at Communion. Plus, the nuns were "virgins" married to Jesus, hanging out with unmarried "celibate" priests - so lord knows what they got up to after hours.
But - I was also taught that any clergy who ministered to the poor, visited the sick, and prayed with the imprisoned were OK, no matter who they worked for, or what they did on their own time.
These MAGA jokers are against everything Pope Bob has ever done, and they just can't quite grasp why the rest of us have problems with their shitty attitude.
Do not count Trump out - not until he's been stomped on so there's nothing left of him but a greasy spot on the rug.
We've seen how the guy will go all in on every hand. And now that he owns the house money, it seems he believes he can't be beat, which will probably make him even more reckless - more willing to throw down - and more willing to pull us all into the vast black emptiness where a man's soul is supposed to be.
Just remember - nobody's bulletproof.
No, I'm not suggesting somebody should Luigi the motherfucker - the drugs and the cheeseburgers will eventually take care of that for us.
When you say stupid, hateful, truly misogynistic things about a woman in a position of some power, she doesn't hear you. But your sister does - your wife does - your aunts and nieces do - your daughter does.
We don't always model the kind of exemplary behavior we want our kids to emulate. Lord knows I haven't. There have been many mistakes, and many regrets for not doing and being better.
Of course, we can't always be at our best when it comes to doing anything, let alone when we're trying to raise kids to be good and decent people, and it's all we can do just to get them through homework, and supper, and bath time, and bedtime one more night without murdering the little darlings.
But we can try. We can maybe hold back a little on our oh-so-clever, sharp-as-a-razor rhetorical wit, and remember 'little pitchers have big ears'. We can make some small effort to be more aware of the example we're setting.
