der kleine diktator

  January 06, 2021 I don't know which was worse to witness today, the assault on our nation's Capitol by Trump supporters or the Trumpublican legislators who were willing to obstruct and delay the electoral college vote count. Both believe the absurd, and both were willing to commit atrocities to please a sick man. The elephant in the room is why the security detail for the Capitol was unprepared to handle the protesters and why it took so long for backup. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the siege on the Capitol was planned and coordinated by supporters and legislators following the orders of a lame-duck resident. Call it an  Inside Job or a Fix! What people of color rightfully take away from this day of national reckoning is how white privilege gives persons with white skin entitlement to assemble with violent intent and unlawfully attack our nation's governing bodies without repercussions.  Picture the same attack you saw today, substitute Black Lives Matter or La...

  December 24, 2020 Fear does not reveal its disastrous consequences to the full until it colors one’s thoughts about the source and destiny of life. Folk work joyfully at a picture-puzzle so long as they believe that the puzzle can be put together, that it was meant, completed, to compose a picture, and that their labor is an effort made in reasonable hope. Fear hides its damaging consequences until it negatively convinces one’s thoughts about life’s power and purpose. As long as I believe all parts to a puzzle are in the box, I will work with all reasonable hope and joy to completely assemble the puzzle’s picture. But if they begin to fear that they are being fooled, that the puzzle is a hoax and never can be pieced together anywhere by anyone, how swiftly that suspicion will benumb their work! So joyful living depends on man’s conviction that this life is not a hapless accident, that a good purpose binds it all together, and that our labor for righteousness is not expended on a ...

  December 14, 2020 VOTE To Change Senate Majority  Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Eyes On Georgia " It's Time To Move On " This Blog Supports  Raphael Warnock  and  Jon Ossoff Early In-Person Voting Begins Today

  December 10, 2020 "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." It is long past time for all Americans to condemn republican leaders complicit in attempts to de-legitimize the 2020 Election. Their support of false and baseless Trump conspiracy theories is injurious to Democracy and the American way of life. It’s injurious to those citizens misled by lies as well as those standing up to defend truth.   So, what's at stake if our national elections and  political institutions  are no longer legitimate and chaos ensues?  Empires fall, Civilizations die out and/or are wiped out, species mutate and planets go dark. . . Justice - "The administering of deserved punishment or reward" 5.  Government corruption and political instability If Rome’s sheer size made it difficult to govern, ineffective and inconsistent leadership only served to magnify the problem. Being the Roman emperor had always been a particularly dan...

  November 11, 2020 Today, After reading an  Associated Press article  of the passing of Lucille Bridges, I only felt it fitting to post my thoughts on it.  Lucille Bridges was a mother who allowed her six year old daughter Ruby to be one of the first black children to integrate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. To be chosen as one of only a few black children to participate in early desegregated schooling required a bright and fearless child. But imagine the courage it took a mother and father to expose their little girl to the ugliness and potential violence of Louisiana white racism in 1960. Lucille Bridges was that mother. Driven by a vision of equal opportunity for her daughter, a vision backed by the 1954, U.S. Supreme Court ruling on separate but equal schooling as unconstitutional. Lucille Bridges, a mother who after proudly walking with her daughter on that first day (Nov. 14, 1960) would leave her in the hands of U.S. Marshals for ...

  November 07, 2020 When the Wicked Witch of the East suffered her tragic ending, the cowered citizens of the land  came out from their hiding places in disbelief . Once convinced the reign of tyranny had come to an end, the citizens were overcome with giddy celebration of song and dance. Today's Election Results finally brought the house down on Donald Trump and his wicked administration, setting off dancing and celebrations in cities across the nation. An era of tyrannical leadership over the land of the free and home of the brave will come to an end on January 20, 2021 (Inauguration Day).  Celebrations recognizing the end of this incurable era and the beginning of truth & hope were a beauty to behold today. Citizens of the United States gathered in the streets, in parks, in civic centers, waving and dancing as if a long fought war had ended;  V-J Day 1945  revisited.  On Inauguration Day, President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harr...

  November 05, 2020 He's being compared to the  Energizer Bunny . You know, the drum-beating rabbit that just "keeps going and going and going." What sets him apart from all comparisons is his passion and persistence in providing viewers with much anticipated updates to the 2020 Presidential Election. His name is Steve Kornacki, and he's admirably manning the volatile Presidential election board on msnbc.   Steve is proving to be a master navigator of mathematics, U.S. political geography, state and federal elections laws and projections based on  real  voting ballot numbers. While others mostly discuss and speculate swing state numbers, Steve keeps us engaged visually, pointing out and comparing current counts with past numbers and calculating gains and losses as reflected on his digital battleground map.  During this tense and challenging election his reporting talents are being recognized by both colleagues and viewers alike.  As he fields electoral...

  November 03, 2020      Eric Liu, former White House Speech Writer, talks about how America can overcome divisive ideologies for the greater good of the United States of America. In this short interview with NPR's David Green he highlights where we are at this moment as a nation, then he shines a positive light on the unique opportunity for change lying at our doorstep.  Eric's book, "You're More Powerful than You Think," is a citizen's guide to making change happen in America. And it appears change does not involve armed revolution, anarchy or walling ourselves off from one another. Actually, positive change in America will require majority citizen participation in seeking common sense solutions to problems our society is facing. "I Claim America" Book Overview Is this the America you want? If not, here's how to claim the power to change your country. We are in an age of epic political turbulence in America. Old hierarchies and institutions are...

  October 26, 2020 "A quintessentially American story of how  a Yankee, a Westerner, a Klansman, and a Jew changed America."  - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Still reading this in depth book about FDR and his relationship with four of his Supreme Court nominations. The beauty of reading history as a hobby is you'll pick up a book just out of curiosity and discover within its pages an entire treasure trove of hidden historical facts. It is partly coincidence that I'm reading this book on the night of Amy Coney Barrett's Senate confirmation and the controversy surrounding it all.  Though the book is a long, dry read, the language of power and its use in manipulating politics is laid bare. Politics, if nothing else, is about favors and compromise. And support from a politician comes with a cost. As for a Supreme Court appointment, again, its about politics. Two topics discussed in the book I found very interesting are the proposal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ...

  October 23, 2020 "We Need To Move On" Moderator Kristen Welker's guiding words were definitely a welcome tool that kept this Presidential debate on track and tolerable for American citizens to watch. There were times though that the incumbent rambled on like a runaway truck with no brakes. But Kristen never let it get to where the truck ran through the guardrails to smash-up the debate like it did in the first meeting. Nor did she let some of his deflecting answers go unchallenged. Welker question to the President: “As of tonight, more than 12 million people are out of work,” she said. “Eight million more Americans have fallen into poverty, and more families are going hungry every day. Those hit hardest are women and people of color. They see Washington fighting over a relief bill.  Mr. President, why haven’t you been able to get them the help they need?” “Because Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to approve it,” Trump replied. “I do.” Welker didn’t let him off the hook. “But y...

  September 21, 2020 COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Infected people have had a wide range of symptoms reported – from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache New loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately: Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Bluish lips or face Learn more on  cdc.gov

  September 17, 2020 Extract from an article originally published in the fall, 1939, North Georgia Review, Clayton, Georgia, and later reprinted in numerous Southern newspapers. I am disturbed by the fact that so few people are seriously troubled by the Negro Problem. I refer to it as the Negro Problem, but of course it is not a problem that involves or concerns only the Negro. it is, I feel, a section of the American Problem which involves all of us, white and black, old-stock white folk and people of recent-immigrant stocks. In fact, I think it is one of the things in our country's life that ought to engage our national intelligence most seriously and continously. The ultimate test of the American civilization probably will come with the success or failure of efforts to solve the Negro question. I may be wrong about what I have just said, but I throw out the observation for what it may be worth as stimulus to people from whom I hope to hear. My sympathy for the Negro, both in the...

  September 09, 2020 "You're a bad man Donald Trump, You're a Very Bad Man" President Trump knew  coronavirus was "deadly" and "airborne," and yet he intentionally  downplayed  the pandemic's threat to the United States?  What this so-called commander-in-chief chose to do was ignore and lie about the pandemic's threat to American lives rather than prepare the country for battle against it. As of today we stand at 190,000 American Deaths attributable to Covid-19, and counting. And still this commander continues to lie about the threat, as well as, the lack of success we are having fighting it off.  Mendacity   is a tendency to lie. Your friend might swear that he didn't eat your secret chocolate stash, but you'll find it hard to believe him if he's known for his  mendacity . Anyone in the habit of lying frequently has the characteristic of mendacity. People often accuse government officials of mendacity, or being less than honest...

  August 27, 2020 NBA Players Strike A Note.........Silence! The NBA and its players, coaches and owners have taken myriad measures to make clear their support for the Black Lives Matter movement while standing against all racial injustice and police brutality, but in the wake of a Black man named Jacob Blake being shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday,  cont'd .

  August 26, 2020 I call myself being open minded and made an effort to watch some of the Republican National Convention. I thought, just maybe, the grown-ups in the room would give viewers some cold hard facts as to why Americans should want Donald Trump re-elected as President. With every Republican speaker that came to the podium praising Trump for this or that, I found facts in opposition to their statements. I suppose this convention could and should've been called the  Alternative Facts Republican Convention . It was full of shameful  Falsehoods ! I was slightly impressed with the empathy shown in First Lady Melania Trump's speech. She performed her duty as First Lady well, standing behind her husband when he needs her most. However, as a wife she has shown about as much love for Trump as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, maybe even less.  Melania  has mostly exhibited a cold and irritable disposition when paired with Trump at public engagements. She's been seen...