Posts

American Gestapo

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  Tyranny and state-sponsored terrorism are two terms that I would generally associate with the present day United States government, and here we are. Not only is there a demented madman in the White House, but there are his leading henchmen (and women) who are more than happy to bow to his every whim. (And I thought the 1st term was hell, but at least there appeared to be some who managed to contain him. I thought that the first administration was the worst, but I was wrong.) The worst of all of them is Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, the ethnic cleansing policies adopted by this administration, and the tool of terror, Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Or now I will refer to it as the American Gestapo. About ICE: ICE was formed by combining two agencies in response to the 9/11 attack under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which also created the Department of Homeland Security. (Note: for those of you who forgot their civics lessons, it takes an act of Congress to create o...
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Different Decade, Same Story: Invasion of Iraq, err, I mean Venezuela

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  On January 3, 2026, I woke up with the news that the drunken frat boy that is our Secretary of Defense (they like to say war, but if some of you skipped a US Government lesson, it takes an act of Congress to change a cabinet position.) bragging on behalf of the regime that we invaded Venezuela and kidnapped the President of a sovereign nation.  The shock and anger was beyond what I could handle and process. But then that disastrous press conference by a tyrant and wannabe emperor who is probably suffering from age-related dementia and appearing to be falling asleep while speaking just made it worse. But then when my pure hatred of him subsided enough for my political educated brain to analyze the event with history, foreign policy, and possible political outcomes, it occurred to me that he actually said, as the cliche goes, "the quiet part out loud."  And he did,  " We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, g...
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Unattainable Goal: Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize

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Dear Mr. Trump, So this morning, it was announced who was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. And to your regime's disappointment and your wrath and shame, it was not you. Despite reaching a ceasefire deal with Netanyahu and Hamas, Oslo did not give it to you. (Though I will say for the sake of the Palestinian people, I hope the ceasefire works out this time.)  Instead, it was Venezuelan activist, Maria Corina Machado for her pro-democracy activism. (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2025/press-release/)  Which makes me believe that maybe the universe is just and people like you do not always get rewarded for bad and evil behavior. And the irony that it was a Latin woman from Venezuela is not lost on me, though with your dementia setting in, it might be lost on you. Anyway, I am happy that someone deserving got it, and not you.  Speaking of which, it was reported that Norway was/is actually scared of retaliation from you and your regime. (https://www.bloomberg.com/new...
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Steps to Ethnic Cleansing: A Simplified Version

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First,  They claim that it's only "illegals" and the "bad ones" they hate. Second,  Then it's all the "illegals. Third,  Then it becomes some of the "legals" are bad. (We are here.) Fourth,  Then it becomes all immigrants. (We are almost here). Fifth,  Then it becomes the "bad" Americans. Sixth,  Then it becomes who is a "real" American.  And then...so it goes. The rhetoric is subtle a lot of times. Everyday people are slowly made to believe that each step isn't too bad. The bigots will push that boundary a little each day to see how far we will let them go. Then they coat it and slowly implement questionable policies...then when we realize the outcome, it is too late. (The analogy of a  frog being slowly boiled in water as the heat is slowly turned up comes to mind.) They are turning up the heat because it was reported that JD Vance (Peter Theil's whipping boy) stated, "That there are some American...
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Another Rant: Rising Up

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  It's like they want us to rise up... But then say, "Not that much!" They want us to be angry, But "Not that angry!" They want us to fight, "But do it without violence." When the fascists behave violently they want us to behave peacefully. We try, but how does it help when that peace is met with violence? Then the fascists tell them: "You see how yours behave! How dare you all to call out our violence! Hypocrites!" Then they join the fascists by condemning us! Fuck them! I often tell people that I am a peace activist not a pacifist. They'd be better to know the fucking difference. It is preferable that protests be peaceful. No one wants violence. But at times when we are pushed to the brink of fear, of despair, and desperation, we need to take a stand of any kind. Oftentimes, it is not the protesters who are the first ones to draw damage or blood, often it is those who stand on the side of the oppressive state. In our society, it seems t...
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Descension

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  As the markets open this morning, I am fretting what that means for my husband and I, who were told in our 20s and 30s that we should be saving our 401Ks for a rainy day. We both are from poor/mid working-class families and both went to college (he served in the Army before I met him). We worked our way “up” to middle class with 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, and one rabbit.  If you came to our neighborhood you would see a typical suburban setting of homes built in the early 2000s, and to my chagrin, all beige, except a few that went bold with dark grey, slate blue, and red.  This is our second home and we bought it on short sale in 2014. Our first home was in an older part of Joliet, an American Four-Square, all brick built in 1928. We bought that home in 2003 then in 2008, we saw our first home plummet in value over the next four years. Well, we were lucky in that we didn’t lose everything, we both had our jobs even though our 401ks took a hit. But where we really fel...
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