Monday, January 27, 2020

Trump Is A SYMPTOM, Not Just The Problem

Welcome to my blog and thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.
Image result for trump a rich guy convincing poor"

Trump exists in a different realm. He thinks he is the law, an untouchable and all-knowing sovereign. Reality bends to his will. He stands in front of the American people and tells them to believe the opposite of what they see and hear, tells them that he alone can fix what’s broken in American politics.
This is the behavior of a president who believes he’s a king. 
The evidence presented during the impeachment hearings was overwhelming in showing his abuse of power and obstruction of lawful investigations.
Yes, there’s surely much more information to be gathered in lieu of the Senate trial. None of it is likely to move Republicans—either the senators expected to sit through an impeachment trial or members of the party more generally. They simply do not care.
And here’s our real constitutional crisis. Rather than a sharp conflict that cannot be solved by our political institutions, we suffer from constitutional rot (a term used by the Wesleyan University political scientist John Finn and Yale law professor Jack Balkin to underscore the erosion of the civic prerequisites of constitutional health). Republicans have become indifferent to upholding the Constitution. And much of the wider public is apathetic to constitutional issues that do not speak to their immediate self-interest. This suggests a constitutional failure not in legal terms but in civic terms—a failure not primarily of political institutions but of civic attitudes. Most Republicans are indifferent to constitutional wrongdoing by a fellow Republican.
President Trump is a culmination; a byproduct of many years of choosing "the lesser of two evils" in the general presidential elections, to culminate with a man that our nations founders so worried about and extensively wrote about in the Federalist Papers; a lump sum of the narcissism, depravity, immorality, and lawlessness that defines the modern era of the United States of America, a man unworthy of the highest office of public service in the nation; dumbing down the nation and its political process for personal gain; attacking the Constitution and the freedoms it protects for citizens.
He has attacked the first and most dear of our rights, the freedom of speech and freedom of the press, causing irreparable harm that will take many more years to undo all his damage. Combine that with the damage he has done with our allies and foreign relations; beating the war drum to start conflict with Iran by sanctioning the assassination of a top military general...
This man shakes the hands of despots like Putin and  Kim Jong Un, then denegrates a deceased former prisoner of war, Senator, and his family in John McCain. This mad man has pardoned war criminals that were found guilty of murdering innocent non-combatants of women and children in the Middle East. What kinds of precedence does this set for the behavior of the hard-working men and women of the armed forces? Nothing good will come of this, I say as a Navy veteran and patriot. Plus, his failure about ending the endless wars and pulling our troops out of the Middle East has all been a lie, as he redirects troops to aid Saudi Arabia's interest in a war with Iran rather than his promise of bringing the soldiers, sailors, and air force personnel home safely. Did sanctioning the murder of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and alienating our allies really benefit the United States? Or did it benefit Mr. Trump?
To make matters worse for America, 45 claims to be Christian, the religion based on a middle eastern Jew that preached peace, tolerance, empathy, and the fellowship of humanity. Mr. Trump defines ZERO of the applicable traits of the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is a liar with over 15,000 known lies told on camera or audio recording/ live mic since taking office in 2017. 45 is a multi-time adulterer, got caught paying off a porn star Stormy Daniels, then calling her a "horse face" when he was caught. His excuse for allegations of sexual misconduct were, "She's not my type" and derogatory slurs of all types. He hung out with other rich scum like Weinstein (pervert, sexual abuser, rapist), Epstein (sex trafficker and pedophile), and the Clintons, among others. 
He's made fun of the poor, the handicapped, homosexuals, women, minorities, yet his base blindly looks the other way... and why? Because 45 is just a means to an end for their goal of turning the United States of America into a Christian version of Shariah law; a Christian theocracy that embodies ZERO of the traits taught by Jesus himself. It is a means to an end, to place judges (that will set policy for the next 30 plus years) strategically that will dismantle the freedoms for women, their bodies, and their reproductive rights by overturning Roe v Wade. Make no mistake about it, this is a direct attack on women, their rights, and their protections under the Constitution. 
45 has made legal immigration now the death of  the American dream... it's become nearly impossible for non- whites, non-European, and anyone living south of the border to immigrate here legally, thus increasing those choosing to come here or be here illegally. FOR-PROFIT migrant detention camps tore families apart, humiliated, tortured, and some have even died from these inhumane treatments that stem from a policy by the president that is based on racism, xenophobia, sexism, classism, and blind hatred for those who do not have a voice to defend themselves; all the while denying that the so called crisis at the border is too a culmination of years of failed foreign policy by ALL FORMER PRESIDENTS of BOTH PARTIES; a failed war on drugs that only empowered the cartels, and a failed promise to his base that Mexico would somehow fund his promise of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. 
Donald Trump is a fascist. Former vice president Henry Wallace stated, "A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends."
At the same time as the previous quote, a New York Times reporter warned, "When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labelled ‘made in Germany’; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism’.” This is what we are facing as a nation, an urgent need for a paradigm shift away from these mindsets and ideologies that are not in the best interest of the majority of Americans, yet here they are. Front and center is this "Americanism" that hides prejudice, sexism, and hatred behind the American flag and behind religious dogma. 
Blind party loyalty in the face of our Constitutional crisis is un-American, immoral, and inexcusable. It is disgusting and unacceptable for Americans to call themselves Americans, let alone Christians if they look down on fellow humans, denying aid and assistance to those in need, to include basic living wages, medical care for all, affordable housing, clean air and water to drink, among other necessities of the modern era like access to communication (cell phone), Internet, and a means of conveyance such as a car or truck. We can not brag about this nation being great if we are not serving the interest of ALL,  rather than the few. We cannot brag about how great we are when there are families homeless or hungry at night; while there is an illegal street drug epidemic of prescription and non-prescription opioids, methamphetamines, heroine, and cocaine. We cannot brag about American greatness when 3 individuals hoard more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of earners COMBINED. We cannot brag about our morality and freedoms while we bomb brown people overseas and deny them basic human dignities and rights. We too cannot say we are "pro-life" while bombing foreign lands and creating new generations of terror as those children growing up without family are jaded and swear revenge against the United States of America for our invasion and occupation of their home lands. We can't brag about freedom when the President orders a drone bombing of a high-level Iranian military general, Soleimani, in what likely could be the catalyst for World War 3, as tensions are rapidly escalating in the Middle East and Iran has threatened retaliation that could easily get ugly; China and Russia siding with Iran. We have no more allies in Europe thanks to Mr. Trump. Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective. So the only way he figures that he's going to get reelected — and as sure as you're sitting there — is to start a war with Iran.

The problem isn't JUST Mr. Trump, however. The problem is under-education of the populace (across the board, but seemingly more, primarily in the lower income bracket of his voting base) and the divisive choice of the lesser of 2 evils rather than actually voting for elected officials (that AREN'T EVIL) that do their job rather than pandering to their base. The problem is a system that is based on the exploitation of inequality between the classes THEY created to divide us, keep us from learning, developing, and evolving for our higher purpose, rather than being a hamster in a wheel spinning endlessly from birth to death, lost to the true meaning of life... that isn't the love of money and power, but the balance between order and chaos. The masses hold a tremendous power, but when nearly half or more fail to perform their civic duty of electing and holding those representatives accountable to "We the people...", the rich always win. Around 5% of the American public has enough disposable income to even participate in campaign contributions, let alone get their nominee elected in this rigged system that overwhelmingly favors those who have extra income to participate effectively in the democratic process. Less than 5 percent of the population decides EVERY SINGLE ELECTION. It is disgusting, shameful, and in desperate need of enough Americans actually giving a shit to DEMAND the necessary changes to take our gross domestic product and use it effectively and equitably to help the most amount of tax paying citizens as possible. It's really NOT asking for too much. We had better figure this shit out soon, as we cannot afford Mr. Trump to get us, as a nation, into World War 3. This is the time for patriots and concerned citizens to stand up and demand the change we so desperately need. 
Lastly, don't for a second get the facts twisted. Just because the GOP Senators are willing to give this guy a get-out-of-jail-free pass, DOES NOT mean that he is innocent of continual criminal behavior and abuses of power.

This has been the one and only Quiet Mouse. Learn. Grow. And Participate. Lest someone else choose their interests over what's good for all. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

A Perspective On 2019

Namaste and happy holidays my friends, family, and fellow knowledge seekers. I think we all could agree that some interesting things happened over these last 12 months, some good, some bad. This is not a comprehensive list, so please don't be offended if I missed an important event of significance to you, my reader. As many of you may know, I am a huge cinephile and geek, so much of this blog posting will include things deemed as nerdy, lol. There will be world issues and events as well as domestic, political, and entertainment points.
Image result for 2019 in pictures

Let's start simple with the battle of the generations. We hear a lot about millennial's and generation Z being upset with the Baby Boomer generation allowing the destruction of our planet. The phrase "OK, Boomer..." became social media meme fodder passed around ad infinitum.
Much of the angst from younger generations comes due to the issue of climate change, student loan debt, and a huge disconnect with major political party ideals.
Image result for greta thunbergImage result for ok boomer
A major voice of the cause came in Greta Thunberg, a young woman who has made mainstream media attention for her passionate speeches and world tour spreading the message of desperate need for radical reform in energy policy, carbon emissions, and deforestation due to mass animal agriculture, among other things. It is sad and shameful, however, that the United States of America is the only country in the world to NOT sign the global climate change accord and acknowledge that climate change is indeed real and is indeed a crisis for much of the world, even if it's effects on our nation are not as drastic as other nations, yet. It was, however, a really bad year for America's farmers as they had to be subsidized by tax-payer dollars due to the trade war raged by 45 and his globalist billionaire buddies.
Image result for war on plasticImage result for world on fire
A war on plastic, primarily single-use plastics like straws, bags, cutlery, etc., has been waged to cut down on the toxic trash refuse that has been dumped into the oceans, raising the acidity of the oceans, destroying the biodiversity of life in the waters. Much of the seafood caught in these affected waters are littered with plastics, radioactivity, and toxic levels of mercury; not to mention the drastic environmental effects of over-fishing.
Another side effect of the deforestation is mass extinction of the biodiversity of life on Earth. Many more species are being put on the endangered species list including bees that we need to pollinate plants to grow food to eat. Monsanto merging with Bayer pharmaceuticals creates a dangerous scenario for the future of our global food supply.
Tied in with this subject is the devastating forest fires of the Amazon and Africa, all the way  to our own backyard in California. Much of the fires in the Amazon has been confirmed to be used as a cheap method for corporate interests to clear large amounts of land needed for animal agriculture, destroying the natural biodiversity, replacing it with farm animals that are not allowed to reproduce naturally, only for eating and the products made from them.
Image result for plant based foodsImage result for beyond meat
There has been an equal rise in individuals choosing the path of conscious eating and conscious living by adopting a plant-based, vegetarian, and/or vegan lifestyle. The IPO for Beyond Meats rocked the industry and quickly rose in market value with their products hitting both grocery store chains and restaurants alike, similarly to the Impossible burgers that are featured at Burger King, who consequently been sued for cooking their plant-based Impossible burgers on the same grill as the beef burgers, creating cross-contamination that can be a serious issue for those with severe dietary restrictions, like myself for example.
Image result for school shootingImage result for nra
This year has had all too many school shootings. It is shameful that many kids are learning active shooter drills before they have learned basic grammar. The argument along the division between public safety and constitutional rights rages on with heavy lobbying from the National Rifle Association to our often traitorous elected officials that fail to address these issues.
Image result for lil nas x old town roadImage result for lizzo
Americans continuously sought ways to relieve from the stresses of the world and we saw musical hits like "Old Town Road" from Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo, and a breakout year for Post Malone.
Image result for avengers endgameImage result for rise of skywalker
Other entertainment news saw Avengers: Endgame overtake Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time, followed by Spiderman Far From Home to end the 11 year MCU "Infinity Saga". We also saw the end come to the exciting show Game of Thrones as well as the end of the Skywalker saga with the Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker this holiday season; conjoined with the Mandalorian, fully equipped with the Child/baby Yoda on the Disney+ streaming service. DC also hit big with the movie "Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character.
Image result for mandalorian baby yodaImage result for joker dancing

Image result for genocide in middle eastImage result for not holy lands
The drums of the war machine beat on this year with civil war revolving around ISIS in Syria, along with Iranian, Turkish, and Russian interference as the superpowers attempt to gain a foothold in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, America's ALLEGED ALLY in the middle East, kept their reign of terror going with genocide against the neighboring country of Yemen. Israel too kept up its own reign of terror against the Palestinians in the Gaza region, annexing more lands for expansion of the terror state and continued destabilization of the region, based upon "holy lands".
Image result for hong kong is not china
Hong Kong made international news attention as they are rebelling against their Chinese overlords, fighting for democracy and waving flags for American intervention that NEVER CAME as President Trump spent most of the year waging TARIFF wars across the globe and a war against immigrants at the southern border of the United States with illegal detention centers that treated their captors like animals, per the rhetoric of the president calling them "Invaders. Animals. Vermin. Etc." This has made LEGAL immigration that much more difficult, especially for those covered by the Obama era DACA or "dreamers" act that was meant to protect them while they live in the U.S. waiting for citizenship.
Image result for china trade warImage result for threats to daca
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned nearly to ruin.
Image result for notre dame cathedral fireImage result for jimmy carter kicks ass
Oldest living former President Jimmy Carter turned 95, had several disastrous falls and hospitalizations, yet still gets  out and builds homes for Habitat for Humanity and is even more bad ass than most people a fraction of his age.
Image result for 5g towersImage result for julian assange arrested in london
We saw 5G Internet take center stage, with mixed reviews, as some scientists claim this bandwidth is damaging to humans and animals alike, potentially causing mental health issues as well as physical health problems. I'm sure more study and attention to this will be paid in the upcoming years.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was kicked out of his asylum in London and then promptly arrested for his leaks of sensitive and secret government information on illegal spying, foreign wars, etc.
Image result for boeing crash
Boeing CEO resigned amid pressure from the U.S. and foreign governments in relation to 2 of its 737 MAX 8 planes crashing this year in Malaysia and Ethiopia, due to faulty cockpit equipment. The planes have been grounded and going through upgrades to the tune of millions of dollars, plus the cost of the planes being grounded vs in the air.
Image result for north korea rocket man Image result for net neutrality
De-nuclearization talks have stalled with Iran and North Korea. Sanctions have been imposed, but it will be a long difficult road for the president and diplomats to get both sides back to the table to minimize the global threat of nuclear war.
Net-neutrality has been a constant battle ground subject for the world in 2019 as the large social media giants like Google, Facebook, etc. have been forced to be accountable for its users posting hate speech, terrorism propaganda, nationalism, white supremacy, etc.
Anti-semetism is on the rise once again, mirrored by the growing global fascism and nationalism.
Horrifically, there has also been a correlated rise in mass shootings, at concerts, schools, and churches/synagogues.
Image result for anti semitismImage result for america is racist
The "Squad" featured by AOC took center stage as they have tried to take over the Democrat party as the voices for the often under-heard population groups of Hispanics and blacks.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been desperately trying to contain another EBOLA outbreak from reaching a global pandemic scale. Thankfully, there have only been a few, isolated, cases of this disease hitting the Americas.
Image result for the squadImage result for vaping death
Vaping deaths have dominated a bit of the 2019 news. Although the primary culprit of the deaths has been discovered as a knock-off Chinese import, there are now still millions of kids from Middle School and older that have become addicted to the nicotine products supplied by the tobacco/vaping industry that caught its users by marketing candy flavors and other targeted advertisements toward the youth. Litigation's are underway and several lawsuits have already been settled. The long-term health effects of vaping are still unknown. The next 10 years will be very revealing.
Police shootings are up in what can only be regarded as a gross abuse of power. A police officer, WITH training, is allowed to lose composure and break protocol to shoot a person or animal and then often gets let off duty with PAID time off, rather than being fired. On the flip side of that coin, UN-TRAINED civilians are instructed to REMAIN CALM with a pistol pointed in their face by a rogue police officer? Seems rather hypocritical and seems like BOTH the cops and the civilian counterparts need more training, plus Americans could like STOP BREAKING THE LAW, and stuff...
Image result for police shootingImage result for opioid epidemic
For 3 years in a row, the average life expectancy for Americans has gone DOWN, rather than up. Much of the contributing factors are the OPIOID EPEDEMIC, SUICIDE (especially among younger people and Veterans), and lack of mental health treatment.
2019 also nearly saw a mass casualty situation as Internet geeks started a campaign to raid AREA 51, top-secret military base. Thankfully it turned into more of a social event, though a few dumb-asses tried to raid anyway and were arrested for their efforts. Idiots.
Image result for veteran suicideImage result for mcnugget robin hood
In other news, the Robin Hood of McNuggets was discovered and fired from McDonald's as for over 2.5 years, this culinary guerrilla terrorist added extra nuggets to all who ordered the combo pack during his employment with the corporation. I don't eat meat, but I still think this guy is a hero.
Image result for undisputed era 2019Image result for aew 2019
The Undisputed ERA dominated the sports entertainment world of WWE's NXT. Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, the Miz, the Phenomenal AJ Styles (with the OC), and the New Day also had dominant years with the WWE.
The son of NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars owner Tony Khan started his own wrestling promotion AEW on Wednesday nights on TNT, reigniting the war between WWE and a viable competitor in AEW: Wednesday Night Dynamite, led by Cody Rhodes and le Champion Chris Jericho, among others like John Moxley (formerly known in WWE as Dean Ambrose).
The NFL has had a battle of old vs new quarterbacks in Tom Brady vs Patrick Mahomes. The KC Chiefs and the New England Patriots will likely meet again in the playoffs in the next few weeks to settle this culminating grudge match-up.
Image result for tom brady ringsImage result for patrick mahomes
Transgender-ism and transgender rights took center stage of American media with biological males being allowed to compete and dominate, unfairly in biological female sports. Hate crimes against this demographic of self-identifiers has been on the rise and will no doubt again be a huge issue going forward into the next year and decade. I don't have to understand the psychology and physiology to respect my fellow human beings rights and their access to the same rights all Americans have to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Image result for equality transgender rights
Now we are going solely domestic and going to discuss American politics.
We saw the beginnings of the Democrat party debates on who is going to be the party candidate for election in the 2020 voting cycle. Top leaders, so we are told, are former Vice President Joe Biden (whom the president and many of his staff and cronies have personally attacked and sought foreign interference and investigations regarding Hunter Biden's association with Ukraine gas company Burisma), Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Bernie Sanders. Other big names in the race are tech-savvy Andrew Yang, billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer, mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Image result for top democrat front runnersImage result for trump impeachment
President Trump, 45, has become only the third president in U.S. history to be IMPEACHED. The other 2 are Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. The President using his position of power to coerce the Ukrainian leader to use political power to attack a political opponent in Joe Biden was inexcusable for many Americans who saw a 55% favorable support to this impeachment. A trial will start soon in the Senate to figure out if criminal charges and/or removal from office are warranted. The 2 counts of impeachment are for:
1) Abuse of power - in asking a foreign government in help with dirt on a political opponent.
2) Obstruction of Congress - who was tasked, by law, to complete their independent investigation which led to warranted impeachment on these 2 articles of Impeachment as of 12-18-2019.
Image result for we the people vs electedImage result for citizens demand accountability
The upcoming election in 2020 will be HUGE for the future sake of prosperity against the constant attacks on our democracy from foreign interference and domestic interference like voter suppression and gerrymandering. There is a lot to be hopeful about and a lot to be concerned about, equally, but as American citizens, we need to step up and demand accountability in our elected representatives and remind them that they indeed serve "We the people..."
Image result for good luck 2020
Last but not least, as we start the new year, remember this last thing. The governments and religions of the world are full of liars, creeps, and pedophiles.
EPSTEIN DIDN'T KILL HIMSELF!!!
Image result for epstein didn't kill himself

This has been the one and only Quiet Mouse. Happy New Year and new decade. Let's try to fix some shit and stop making the same mistakes of the past over and over again.

American Conservatism

Once we recognize that Libertarianism is essentially neo-feudalism, and that it is now the dominant conservative philosophy of the Republica...