Thoughts On Everything And Nothing …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Global Issues, History, Political commentary, Social commentary

I just seem to have a jumble of thoughts bouncing around in my head today – I think that extra hour is somehow to blame for my lack of focus.  So, bear with me for just a few very short thoughts ‘n snippets …

Generally, when a child throws a temper tantrum, only a handful of people at most hear it.  But when that child has his own social media platform and the press follow him around 24/7 waiting for him to have a tantrum, then unfortunately the entire nation is exposed to his screaming tantrums.  And the same people who would be disgusted if they saw a child throwing a tantrum in the grocery store, seem to love the tantrums of a crazy old man with the mind of a toddler.  Any guesses who I’m talking about?

Imagine that in a fit of anger … perhaps he didn’t like what you fixed for supper, or his favourite shirt wasn’t clean … your husband threw something, knocked over a candle, and set the house afire.  Flames are racing up the curtains, spreading across the carpet … you need to get the baby, call 911, and get out of the house, but he won’t let you near the phone and is blocking the door.  He has put his family in imminent danger and is also putting neighbors up and down the street in danger as the fire spreads.

This is the state of the United States today.  The angry, vengeful spouse is the Republican Party, the wife and baby are We the People, and the neighbors are our allies, including Ukraine and Israel who really, really need this nation to be at its best right now.  Instead, it is at its worst.  The House of Representatives, operating under a very slim Republican majority, brought the business of governance to a screeching halt for three weeks, and now that they’re back at work, they are more interested in game-playing and rallying their supporters for next year’s election than in passing meaningful legislation to help our allies and averting a full government shutdown in just 12 days.

From Amanda Marcotte, writing for Salon …

With Netanyahu at the top of international news every day, I hope people are beginning to see it’s not just Trump — corruption and right wing authoritarianism are inextricable. We see that in the federal court systems. These Federalist Society judges were bred for two purposes: Pushing a Christian nationalist agenda and rigging the system so rich people can cheat and steal without consequence. 

It’s demoralizing, because it will take years, if not decades, to fix. But Ukranians are out there dying in the hopes of one day having a functioning democracy. We can stick out our less deadly fight here.

Perspective … we must learn to put it all in perspective.

The most famous line ever uttered by the late President John F. Kennedy was from his 1961 Inaugural Address …

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

It seems to me that today we have lost sight of that message.  In fact, I believe that many have reversed the phrase.  More on this one later when my thoughts stop bouncing.

And speaking of the late JFK, on Friday his nephew, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is running next year for the office of president, received a standing ovation at an anti-vaccine conference (who knew there even was such a conference?) when he said that if elected president next year, he would direct the National Institute of Health to halt all research on infectious diseases for a period of eight years.  A standing ovation … where are people’s minds???

He also said he would appoint a “like-minded” attorney general and use the power of that attorney general to threaten editors of medical journals and force them to publish studies that had been disproven, such as that ridiculous one about ivermectin, the drug used to kill parasites in horses, being an effective treatment for Covid.  He really, really wants to make the U.S. a third-world country that will be shunned by all!  Fortunately, his chances of ever becoming president are about as good as mine.  But wait … didn’t I say that about another famous idiot back in 2016?  And look where that got us.  🙄

And on that note, it’s time for me to move on to something useful, like … maybe a nap?  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll be back tomorrow morning with Jolly Monday!

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18 thoughts on “Thoughts On Everything And Nothing …”

  3. I recently visited Boston and went to the JFK museum. I was able to listen to many of his speeches, saw movies and read about his philosophy and things he had done. Although I was just a youngun when he was president, I sure wish there was someone like him around today. He was an amazing president for the people and country. He is probably rolling over in his grave hearing what his nephew is up to.

    Liked by 3 people

    • JFK was not perfect — nobody is. But he was a man of conscience, a man who DID put country before party, before his own self-enrichment. He was a thousand times better president than Donald Trump was or ever could be, for Trump has no conscience. RFK Jr is a disgrace and a shame to the Kennedy family and from what I’ve read, most are shunning him at this point. I’m sure both his father and his uncle would be horrified to see what he is doing. Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Well done, Jill. I like your analogy very much. As for JFK’s words, what followed should be an important reminder of our role in the world, which I believe the Biden/Harris administration is wisely practicing: “My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

    RFK, Jr is a seriously ill man who continues to do a great deal of damage. I’m attaching a link to a video in which MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who knew him slightly in college, talks about the shameless way he exploits his family name–something all the other Kennedys declined to do–and his other enormous flaws. I don’t think it’s been seen widely enough.

    https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-rfk-jr-s-lies-as-house-gop-witness-have-a-trumpian-echo-188958789666

    Liked by 3 people

    • Thank you, Annie! My mind just sometimes wanders around picking up bits of this and pieces of that. And … WOW … just wow on that Lawrence O’Donnell piece! I knew RFK Jr was a threat, a liar, and was riding the Kennedy name, but I did not know about his drug addiction throughout his early life, nor about some of the things he has said and done. THANK YOU for sharing that clip! I agree … this should be seen by every person in this country! Thanks so much …

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Jill, populist candidates sounds like a good reference, but populists are large on propaganda, lying and name calling and short on facts. Here are few populists:

    Senator Joe McCarthy of communist witch hunt fame was said by a key advisor to make things up on the fly.
    Donald Trump is viewed as highly untruthful by multiple sources and numerous people and resorts to name calling as his primary form of debate.
    Some guy named Adolph Hitler was a populist. He killer people who did or might disagree with him.
    People like Jair Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson, Ron DeSantis are known for untruthfulness and name calling.

    Trusting these folks is a fool’s errand. Discount what they say and verify facts. For example, I start with not believing a word Donald Trump says and adding back what little truth he might use once verified.

    Keith

    Liked by 4 people

    • I think the word ‘populist’ is a misnomer. Populist should mean “for the people” or the average Joe, but today’s populists are anything but that. You use some perfect examples of that very thing. Every one of those you name were motivated by their own greedy desires with little to no regard for the people, for the average working person. It might look good on paper, but the reality is something quite different. And this is where that all important education comes in … people need to learn to understand the differences, to think for themselves and see what these people actually do as opposed to what they claim. If we keep dummying down our education system, then there will be no remaining hope for democracy, for we will be raising masses, not individuals, or as my friend Herb calls them, ‘sheeple’.

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      • Jill, populist may mean for the people, but its principal actors have been more for themselves while using the people to get there. Trump openly ridicules his base and places them in danger, yet they still love him. It boggles the mind. A good metaphor for Trump is putting his biggest fans in danger during the pandemic just so he could hear their cheers. That is sociopathic behavior. Keith

        Liked by 1 person

        • It does boggle the mind … I’ve even wondered if somehow these people were hypnotized somehow … Yes, he is a sociopath and we MUST do whatever it takes to keep him from EVER sitting in the Oval Office again.

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    • I think it’s a toss-up as to which one is the bigger danger, but you may be right, for RFK has one thing that Trump doesn’t … well, two actually … an education and a brain. I’ve long said that the only thing that kept Trump from leading this nation into an autocracy from 2017-2021 was that he’s not intelligent, and that I feared if anyone with his ideas AND a brain were ever to get into office. We really need to start rallying behind Biden, but instead, people are condemning him for everything under the sun. Sigh. Can I come live in your country???

      Liked by 1 person

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