March 14, 2024

Momentum, Impulses, and Face Paint

"We make her paint her face and dance."
-- John Lennon; 1971


I'd like to do a follow-up to my post "I've Got a Feeling," regarding why I am 100% confident that we will crush the defendant and the maga cult in November. A line from a "banned" song on the 1972 double album "Some Time in New York City" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono comes to mind. The song's title was taken from a 1969 work by Yoko.

Speaking of things being banned ..... the Dobbs decision by the USSC was the goal of the christian nationalists branch of the republican party. They are attempting to increase the momentum of their national effort to ban women's reproductive rights. Other in their party recognized that Dobbs had added momentum to the Democratic Party, and hoped that Dobbs would fade from public discussion until after the 2024 elections.

Momentum is an essential dynamic in elections. It can be difficult to see which way the wind blows, because of the information overload associated with the media and internet. There are many distractions on the information highway. At unanticipated times, things can collide and throw things off course. This is true on American highways, the information highway, and during campaigns.

We know from the impulse-momentum theorem that the "impulse" that hits a moving object equals the change in momentum. Think of a police PIT maneuver (Precision Immobilization Technique) on the highway. Or the "Monkey Business" that derailed Gary Hart's 1988 campaign. Or the momentum the "Biden is old" bit was getting in the media, before President Biden flattened it head on with his SOTU address.

Just as a PIT requires timing, a campaign does, too. Older forum member will recall that in 1968, had Hubert Humphrey announced he would not follow LBJ's approach to Vietnam a week earlier, he would have beat Nixon. Thus, a campaign's impulese effect its momentum. Let's now look at two current examples.

The republican party has "issues" with minorities and women that have had building momentum in the maga era. Thus, the defendant displayed an impulse, yelling, "Blacks!" at a couple of rallies. Pathetic. Even Lara Trump recognized this -- and we are talking about someone so stupid that she is married to Eric -- and ended the RNC's "minority outreach" after firing about 60 RNC employees. The media has called this a "bloodbath" in the maga party.

In an attempt to appeal to women, and change the momentum of Dobbs, the republicans have inflicted damage to their party by having two women paint their faces and do the maga dance: Katie Britt and Nancy Mace. In essence, the republicans "rat-fucked" themselves. Having Britt read a strange script that she did not write was kind of funny in a tragic way. Mace was simply an insulting call to the darker impulses of humanity.

The timing is perfect. And as the Democratic Party's momentum builds, it will force other republicans to either publicly support the defendant, or voice their opposition. Considering their cowardly nature, we can be confident that they will embrace the ball & chain on their campaign.

March 12, 2024

I've Got a Feeling

I have a feeling that we are going to kick the defendant's flabby, pale ass into the dust bin of history in November. From there, the bin shall be dumped into a sewer, not to be recycled. And we will crush his republican cult beyond repair.

President Biden's great SOTU will continue to make his numbers rise in accurate polls. Katie Britt's performance will continue to be useful in sinking all republicans' number. Both provide the grass roots with exactly what we need for campaigning.

We can donate to Democratic Party candidates. We can volunteer at our local campaign headquarters. We can go door-to-door. We can communicate on the telephone and/or internet. And we can have fun delivering the message from the rooftops.

March 10, 2024

The SOTU

"You watch the speech?"

I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store. While there, I recognized the voice behind me. It was a young man who works there. He had been friend's with my cousin's late son, and a few years ago, my cousin had asked me if I could help the guy in a custody case. I did, and he and his girlfriend have had custody ever since.

My cousin told me a few weeks ago that he had seen the guy in the store, and talked to him about politics. It turned out that he and his girlfriend are not registered. My cousin asked me to talk to them, and I have the few times I'm buying food.

"Yeah, I watched it. It was really good," I said.

"Everyone says he's too old," he said.

Since he (and her) are interested in Indian history, I told him that the older men and women of the Iroquois hold the highest positions. Their approach differs from our own in some ways, though. Those in the Council of Chiefs make sure tat children, the eldery, and the helpless eat first, so to speak. And the elderly are respected, and "protected like clear spring water."

I said that, in my opinion, President Biden delivered the best SOTU I've ever seen. That it was historic. I suggested that he watch it. He said he might watch part of it. I was not convinced. I knew I needed something more. And I had it.

I said that he should also watch a bit of the republican party's response, as given by Katie Britt. He asked why? I said this was her try-out for vice president on the republican ticket. I noted that she placed the features of borderline and histrionic personality disorders on display. He laughed, and I said this was proof that his ex-wife didn't need to be an unemployed meth addict -- for she could be a U.S. Senator.

"Does your television have a 'scratch & sniff' function?" I asked. He gave me a strange look. I said that is needed to smell the apple pie she was baking. More, I noted the official film does not show she is barefoot. Or pregnant.

His strange look transformed into a puzzled look. I said watch it, and tell me how both parties are just the same. Tell me that you want this woman deciding your girlfriend and daughter's health care.

Then he looked at me seriously, and said, "Yeah. I will."

March 6, 2024

A Path in the Wilderness

My favorite verse of this song is:

"When you believe in things
That you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way"

I find the potential relationship between superstition and conspiracy theories is interesting. I had a man say to me that the "Russian scandal" was a Democratic Party conspiracy theory that was "proven" to be false. I asked him if he remembered Paul Manafort? Did he recall that the defendent was not a person of interest in the FBI's investigation of his campaign -- that it was only after he was president that his role was examined closely. He thought a second, and said I was right.

Now, this is easily attributed to a poor memory. People forget things, possibly relating to the rapid pace of information available on the internet. And, of course, a significant part of the Russian interference in recent elections has been the aimed at maga-types. In my opinion, in this year's election, their target will be on potential fractures in the Democratic Party. Indeed, these forces are fully aware that the only way the defendant could possibly "win" is if Democrats are divided.

There are a number of important issues in which Democrats can have very different opinions on. These can include sincere, deeply held beliefs. If we fail to respect others' opinions, we create fractures. When we respect others' thinking, we create unity. And united, we will crush the defendant and republicans down the ticket in November.

Rustin Cohle was correct when he said that time is a flat circle. Yet when running on all cylinders, the Democratic Party is three dimensional. It is a sphere, and as such, it has the gravity that attracts votes from other objects. Indeed, it is the way to a certain victory in November. Should we fail to respectfully unite -- and understand that others in the party can have sincere differences of opinion on some issues -- we still can win, but that is not a sure thing.

The potential to crush the defendant is one option that is available to us. But it depends upon how each and every one of us behaves. I think there is far too much at risk here to not take this path.

Peace,
H2O Man

March 5, 2024

Lamh foisneach abu !

This is my favorite song by Eileen Ivers. With Immigrant Soul, I've watched her perform many times. Talked Irish poetry with her, including my x7 great grandfather's poem while waiting execution by a foreign power in 1779. Some of Richard's works are in the Royal Irish Academy. (The English decided he was an interesting character, and spared his life. His nephew Robert Emmet wasn't so lucky. His blistering speech to the judge is included in Williams Jennings Bryan's 1905 "The World's Famous Orations" (pages 137 thru 148 in the Funk & Wagnells' s edition, if you have it handy.

Now, the above song is, on the surface, about an older married couple, who have kind of split their abode. They can't stand each other. Coming from an Irish-Catholic strain, I can say this is known by social scientists as a "Catholic Divorce." Although they strongly dislike the crap that takes place in the common areas, neither is first to stop stirring the pot. Both know they need their friends' help to stop the crap, since they can't on their own.

But the song is about Ireland. It is a sad song about a senseless war, where people suffered and died. Few Irish songs about war are sad, you know. It was a request for our friends to help. For war is the most destructive of all examples of humanity's inhumanity to human kind. I want to tell a true story I saw about the Vietnam War. I've been watching numerous documentaries on it during the past week, wondering what society should have learned, but maybe forgot.

I saw an interview with a gentleman who had served as a corpsman. He would be on one of the helicopters that picked up those injured in battle, to treat them until they reached the hospital -- about a 20-minute flight. One flight, the only wounded they picked up were a little boy and girl, caught in the crossfire. He immediately recognized that if he tried to save both, they would both die.

He saved the girl, and when they reached their destination, he saw the little boy had died. Every since, he has been haunted by dreams that he is again in the helicopter, with the 5 and 6 years olds. When he looks down on the dead boy, he sees his own face at that age. It took him some time before he recognized that part of him died that day, long ago. That war changes everyone involved who lives through it.

I was thinking about this while considering all the tensions and gross violence taking place on this Earth. And about those old married Irish couples who find it so hard to give up the anger, bitterness, outrage, and violence. Now, this is just my opinion, but I think it would be great if all of us in the Democratic Party could be friends that coach by example.

March 2, 2024

Yes.

" want toI tell you 'bout Texas radio and the big beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master....."
-- Jim Morrison; The WASP (Texas Radio 7 the Big Beat)


We are having spring-like weather in the northeast. Some birds and flowers that usually aren't seen are popping up. The coyotes aren't howling at night as much as they were last week, but the young males are still out looking for a date. Perfect time to be blasting The Doors.

I'd like to tell you about a town and a school board. First, the town board of Sidney, NY, which became infamous when the supervisor, Bob McCarthy, and two board members attempted to force a tiny Sufi settlement to destroy their 100% legal cemetery. Though the three had run for office as republicans, they were from a regional Tea Party that did not take kind to Muslims in the area.

Those of you who were on this forum back then may remember when my friend Andrew broke the story, and Keith Olbermann named McCarthy the "worst person in the world." (I remember Keith from when he covered sports for an area news station as a university student.) I'll link one of Andrew's stories below:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sidney-ny-stands-up-to-bo_b_1134320

Soon, an number of people, including Sean Lennon and my nephew (Sean's bodyguard) were attending the town board members. Although I live in another county, I started attending these meetings myself, at the request of the town and that county's Democratic Party. Soon that asked me if I would help run their candidates for office.

I knew that in the town's history, there had never been more than one Democrat at a time on the town or village board. More, at this time, the majority of registered voters were republicans, followed by independents, and then Democrats. Safe to say that the odds were against the Democrats at that time. How could I refuse their request for help?

Back then, hard as it is to believe, a lot of people got their "news" from area television stations and newspapers. It seemed doubtful that many republicans read Huffpost or watched Olbermann. Because I had numerous media contacts, I assigned myself to outreach and coordination with area newspapers, radio, and television. I connected reporters with the town's best spokespersons.

Tensions at the board meetings rose, as larger crowds -- inclufing media -- would attend. It reached a point where the vase was being covered by some European media. The regional Tea Party came out with a statement that they had kicked McCarthy and the offending two board members out of their ranks. The people in the community did not like the negative attention.

One of the most important things we did was have our people go door-to-door and campaign for the Democratic candidates. Now, there were a lot of people working on the campaign. I only mention my role because that's what I'm most familiar with. I had the most experience in door-to-door campaigning -- decades of it -- so I led this up.

On election day, we put the first Democratic Party majority on the board. We could not have done so without the votes of republicans, independents, and all two Green Party members of the community. When I first had begun working on this, Democrats were concerned that because McCarthy wasn't up for re-election for a couple more years, he would continue to hold power. Baloney. Replace board embers, and make him miserable. And we did.

I remember many years ago, on this forum, one person telling me that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said school boards are the entry level for local politics. Considering, say, Florida, I'd say one of us was clueless. So when some teachers from my daughters' school asked me to run for the board, I agreed. The night of the candidates' debates, the gentleman I was running to replace was walking down the hall. I heard him tell a friend he had spent the day in Albany to "oppose the gay agenda in public schools." Now, I love debate, and think I'd have beat him anyhow. But his saying that gave me a paddle to spank him with, both in the debate and election.

The school had recently hired a new superintendent. It soon became apparent to me that he lacked the ability to tell the truth twice in any month. Yet he wasn't a dumb man at all. Stupid, because he began taking a teacher and the board president -- on different nights -- for rides on the baloney pony. Within a few months, his wife left him, taking their daughters. He viewed himself as the victim, and at the time I was the only BOE member seeing him for who he was.

More, I was the only BOE member with a retired BCI Senior Investigator uncle and a retired FBI Agent cousin in private business. There had not been a proper background check on the guy, as those responsible had taken him at his word. He had a strong personality, and liked to note he had two PhDs. But the free background check my relatives provided presented a very different picture. He had been fired from his last two jobs, including from the State University. They had learned his second "PhD" had been purchased for a small sum from a "university" in the Carribean. He had also lost his driver's license, though he drove all around.

The faculty and support staff (non-baloney pony riders) soon were complaining about his constant lying and threatening their jobs. BOE members were slower to catch on. The one I got along with best told me numerous times that he didn't dare confront him on lies "because he's so smart." I said it doesn't matter how smart a person is when they lie and deny the truth. The BOE president learned he was mating a faculty member, and resigned. I can only speculate if the non-official information I provided her aunt had helped.

One night, after a tense meeting, the teachers' union president yelled at me on the school lawn. He was saying the BOE 'had pounded the last nail in the union's coffin." I told him to quit behaving like a spoiled brat, to act like a man and a union leader. He stopped yelling at me, and he and a group of teachers talked to me off the cuff.

I had already protected five people's jobs -- one teacher, and four support staff. The superintendent had threatened the union president with arrest over some nonsense that could not result in the police or prosecutor of taking seriously. I had experience as the VP of the county workers' union, and knew how close to impossible it was to fire a union leader.

Both of my daughters did well at the school. One was class valedictorian, and the other earned her two year college degree a month before graduating high school. So these were good teachers, who I respected. I had been friends with many of them for years. But the pressure from a guy I now saw as a sociopath intimidated them. Job satisfaction had dropped, and one of the very best teachers took another job. There was at that time only one employee, an art teacher, who dared stand up to him.

Through my daughters, she expressed an interest in learning about both union and grass roots activism from me. In time, the union started functioning properly. They supported the campaigns for two potential board members I had talked into running. This included in the media, and door-to-door. Both one. The guy who beat the fellow who didn't dare confront the superintendent because he was "so smart" one by a single vote. He called for two re-counts, and lost both by one vote.

Within a year's time, by our calling the superintendent out on every lie, and on bullying employees and stidents, the older board members began to turn against him. This led to one funny thing -- the guy had told me he heard I had been a good boxer, and asked me about my various experiences. Then, a board member who attended a state convention overheard him telling others that about "his" boxing experiences. That board member had known me since I was a fighter, and recognized his bold-faced lies. (I can say with zero risk of error that he had ever boxed. I didn't need my uncle or cousin to research that!)

Shortly thereafter, the superintendent was let go. He got a job at a school across the state line, and was largely forgotten inside our school. Because I felt that my work was done, I told the BOE that I was filing for a divorce, and handed my resognation in. They've asked me a few times to consider returning. But my efforts these days is more focused on assisting in other campaigns for Democrats running for political office. However, when the old superintendent got fired from his new job, I did e-mail newspaper articles to a few board members and teachers.

I've told these two stories for a reason. It's not to brag about what I did in either situation. I am just an ordinary guy that local people seem to consider an odd or curious character. But that is because it is human nature -- especially in the context of today's culture -- for most people to become convinced that things are getting worse, and there is nothing they can do about it. So I'm here to tell you that you've been lied to.

It's as much a lie as anything that superintendent ever spread. It's as much of a lie as anything that the defendant currently running for president has told. The truth is that this election season -- at all levels -- will be decided by how hard you and I work for the Democratic Party. Believe it. And believe in yourself.

February 28, 2024

Milking Blood

“Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change your attitude. Once you change your attitude, it changes your behavior pattern and then you go on into some action. As long as you gotta sit-down philosophy, you’ll have a sit-down thought pattern, and as long as you think that old sit-down thought you’ll be in some kind of sit-down action.” -- Malcoolm X


I have six LPs of Malcolm X 's speeches, that came out in Detroit. But I do not have a turntable now. Some of the speeches are covered in books, or on old films on youtube. Others are not, including one that went into detail about how what one processes information influences one's behaviors. So I'm going from memory, many years later, and late on a windy night.

Malcolm noted that if someone is attempting to steal something of value from you, by human nature you will fight. He used the example of if someone came up with a pair of pliers, trying to yank your teeth out, you would fight. It is only when a dentist injects novocaine that you will sit quietly while he pulls out your teeth.

He said that too many people were unaware that a non-dentist was pulling their teeth out. As Malcolm could do so well to illustrate a point, he said they were sitting around smiling, while blood was dripping down their chins. Since we can be confident that Mr. X was not suggesting that those seeking to steal their rights from them had literally been dosed with novocaine, I'll suggest that he was speaking of social novocaine.

In the context of today, I will suggest that there are not only types of social nonocaine that numb feelings, but others that inject fear and anger, as well as others that vause hopelessness and helplessness. Let's consider each of these types.

The legal drug alcohol can be used responsibly, but it is often abused. One reason people abuse alcohol is to numb themselves to avoid the often unpleasant aspects of life. It is likely that we all know someone who does this, and possible that we have done so at some stage of our life.

We also have seen a rise in the abuse of meth. This creates changes in philosophy, thought patterns, attitudes, and behaviors in individuals. Even in my tiny home town, which I drive through every so often, each night a group of homeless people hooked on meth come out. They search the dumpsters behind businesses, and some break into houses to steal. I am not unsympathetic to the situations they are in. I talk with some of them. They have no teeth to steal.

There is also a significant amount of "pain-killers" being abused in American society. These include oxycodone, oxycontin, fentanyl, and heroin. Neal Young's song "The Needle and the Damage Done" sounds differently to me today, than when he first released it. I was tempted to tell of some examples involving family members and friends when I started this paragraph, but they are too raw.

Those that sell alcohol, meth, or various pain-killers do so for profits. Purdue and the Sackler family were not concerned with how people were harmed. Those bringing in fentanyl and heroin are not doing so to enrich America, only to enrich themselves while damaging citizens of our country. For this is their nature, and the essence of their making money off of peddling social novocaine.

This brings us to the production and distribution of the social novocaine that social scientists refer to as "the media." Lengthy exposure to Fox News and the like has created changes in the philosophy, thought patterns, attitudes, and behaviors of iys audience. It does not kill their pain, of course. It injects fears, which festers into hate, and is the sibling of the defendant's calls for his followers to be violent. Indeed, the defendant is not the only one seeking to collect money by peddling social novocaine.

We need to pay attention to the fact that other media sources target Democrats and other human beings. They intend to keep you glued to your television, computer, and/or cell phone for as many hours per day as possible. It might be something as exciting as "Breaking News" that reports that President Biden is old, or any of an array of things of similar value. One of the most poison is the "new" poll that suggests the defendant is likely to be elected for a second term in November. This to to put the shadow of hopeless and helpless in your mind, to create a sit-down inaction on your part.

Healthy people consume some media, exactly as responsible drinkers consume safe amounts of alcohol. They stay informed, but know that overdosing on the media's social novocaine is self-defeating. That it leads to thinking the sky is falling because the media isn't "fair," or some poll scares them. Instead, they do things like going for a walk to clear their minds. Maybe a walk in nature. Or a walk to the nearest Democratic Party headquarters.

February 22, 2024

Help Wanted

About those "frozen embryos" ...... I thawed of sending this as a private message, because it's not for public conception. It's important that no republicans learn of this, because it's a secret. Starting today, the Deep State has employment openings for those who can go undercover to register frozen embryos to vote in states with republican majorities.

As we know, Tim and Lydia Ridgeway set the Frozen Embryo Olympic record. See below:
https://abc7ny.com/longest-frozen-embryos-twins-born-lydia-and-timothy-ridgeway-30-years-ago/12479248/

We will focus on registering those frozen embryos that will be 18 by election day, and signing them up for mail-in ballots. Note: Because Phase Two of the Secret Operation is undercover, when you apply at the Deep State, ask about free trips to Central and South America, to smuggle frozen embryos in time to register them.

February 20, 2024

Fixing a Hole

" The moment that I express what I experience exclusively in thought and words, the experience has gone: it has dried up, is dead, a mere thought. Hence being is indescribable in words and is communicable only by sharing my experience. In the structure of having, the dead word rules; in the structure of being, the alive and inexpressible experience rules."
-- Erich Fromm; To Have or To Be; 1976


Last week, I had the pleasure of watching Fani Willis on the witness stand. I was happy to share that experience along with a lot of people, on the telephone, and in various regions of the internet. That included communicating with the Good People here, on an OP/thread. Even the next day, I had conversations with people of my generation, about how we had just witnessed history.

I was not surprised, however, to see that our opposition viewed it much differently. Their interpretation of D.A. Willis's testimony was very different than my own, or all but one of the people I communicated with that day. They seem incapable, for example, of even recognizing what an honorable her father was when he testified the following day.

This led me to go back to a letter from my late friend Rubin, that hw wrote on Tuesday, June 26, 1979 at 9:45 a.m. This was during a long period of self-isolation that his supporters called his "Buddha phase," when other than lawyers, I was one of two people he communicated with.

"In fact, most people do not what the word 'being' means -- or even what the word 'understand' means, for that matter -- and yet both are essential for the acquisition of knowledge. Although, of course, this point of view is completely contrary to what you have been taught in school and, in fact, contrary to all Western thought! For here in the West, here in this den of thieves and charlatans, it is usually supposed that a man is capable of attaining great knowledge, provided that he possesses sufficienr intelligence, and, of course, this is the viewpoint that we inherited from the ancient Greek. ...."

This reminded me of Thomas Merton's introduction to his 1964 classic, "Gandhi on Non-Violence." He starts by paraphrasing Lauren Van Der Post's description of Western man being a one-eyed giant when invading Africa, America, and Asia. "The one-eyed giant had science without wisdom, and he broke in upon ancient civilizations which had wisdom without science; wisdom that transcends and unites, wisdom that dwells in body and soul together and ... opens the door to a life in which the individual is not lost in the cosmos and in society but found in them."

Merton was concerned, as my generation will recall, that human beings were going to poison life on Earth -- if not blow it up with WMDs -- without understanding what "being" means. By no coincidence, this is much the same message that my late uncle, Tadodaho Chief Leon Shenandoah, speaks of in Steve Wall's book, "To Become a Human Being."

This requires balance in a world that is currently out of balance. That balance requires an understanding of human nature, as we are the last in our particular line of primates. Our large brains are complex, and the growth of the frontal lobes has increased our ability -- when used properly -- to understand what it means to be a human being, experiencing the mracle of life on this living planet, at this time in the eternal Now. And to think ahead.

Obviously, not everyone around you or I gets that. For there are those that, in his day, Dr. King called "our sick brothers and sisters," that have thinking that rarely inhabits the front of their brain. Rather, they are driven by four chemicals that come from a lower level of the brain --dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins. Some are easily identified by their addictions to meth, heroin, or other "pain killers." Others get a similar kick from those activities that we associate with the maga crowd. Both of these pose serious threats to the health and stability of our country.

The maga crowd is presently incapable of processing information on specific topics. They might be good at their jobs, and other routine activities. But they do not inhabit the level of consciousness that would allow them to understand that they are being played. On social and political issues, they are like little children who are convinced they are capable of understanding things, if someone explains them. That's why we don't let little children drive. It's why we cannot allow the maga crowd to drive our country.

We have to recognize that besides the half-wits of maga proper, there are others that add force to the negative momentum that is today's republican party. There are business people who are calling President Biden a "socialist," acording to a news clip I recently saw. There are wealthy people who don't like the defendant, but like his tax cuts. And there are numerous officials in all three branches of the federal and state's governments, that Rubin described in that letter:

" Because here, in this Western world, and particularly in America, it has always been accepted that a man may possess immense knowledge but without ever having seriously considered his level of being. In America it is acceptable that a man may be a Supreme Court Justice, or Doctor, a National and International Politician, or an abled Scientist -- and at the same time it is considered legitimate and even fashionable, in this country, that this Supreme Court Justice, or Doctor, or Politician, or Scientist has the right to be a racist, or a petty, egoistic, caviling, mean, envious, vain, and malicious snake! The people of America have placed great value on the level of a man's knowledge, but have no shame on their own level of being."

I'll admit that a lot has changed in America in the 45 years since Rubin wrote that letter to me. But while there have been some improvements, a whole heck of a lot has become worse. We need Good People to step up now -- especially in the months until November -- to continue the effort of President Biden to bring stability and the rule of law back to firm ground.

February 15, 2024

Fani Willis

A couple of things: first, watch her on the witness stand. She is telling the Truth. Second, don't take the media's word on this. They aren't in the business of selling the Truth. As Malcolm X often said, if you believe the media, you'll be carrying an umbrella on a sunny day, and getting soaked when it rains. (Malcolm told the Truth.)

Think for yourself.