How About A Slightly Better 2020?

If 2020 is slightly better than 2019 won't we all be better off?

I sincerely hope so.

10 Behaviors People Don't Realize They Display Because They're Spiritually Awake - 2019

Time for a Humane Nation

Never one to make New Year’s resolutions in the past, I’ve concluded that it is now well past time to change my pattern.

So, for 2020 and for all the years I have remaining, I have concluded I must, we all must, spend every moment working toward making our nation a humanitarian nation. That is, one dedicated to improving life for all of us.

By working to better living conditions, improving health care, improving education, lessening economic burdens, improving working conditions, renewing our national infrastructure, and taking care of all of our people in need – the homeless, the mentally ill, the elderly – just to name a few of the forgotten millions of Americans, we will put our nation on a life engendering path

That is a path opposite of what we have become, a nation of endless wars and outright cruelty, intolerance, and hatred. We have become our doppelganger USA.

Once we make that “path navigation” correction, point ourselves in the right direction, toward the light, so to speak, without fail, we will make our nation work toward life for the living rather than for the dying.

House at Pooh's Corner - The Mini Adventures of Winnie The Pooh - Disney - 2014

Short Circuit Their Plan

Ds can short circuit the Rs just like the Road Runner did.
More Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner art at Connor Ratliff.

Dear Speaker Pelosi. We must win. We must remove Mr. Trump from office.

Mr. McConnell has already declared what the Republican-controlled Senate will do... exactly what Mr. Trump wants them to do -  because it's all about politics as usual.

So, let's make a superb offensive move by doing what the Republican Senate leadership does not expect. Here's what we will do... short circuit their plan.

Nancy Pelosi: Pull a Mitch McConnell, and President Trump is Toast, Dr. Richard Behan, OpEdNews, 17 Dec 2019.

Speaker Pelosi: When the Impeachment Resolution is passed, do not send it immediately to the Senate. Withhold it instead until the court cases are settled, until Don McGahn and others are forced to respond to their subpoenas, until the President is forced to submit his tax returns, until all the evidence has come to the surface and makes an airtight case to remove him from office.

Take a page from Mitch McConnell's playbook and game the system. Remember what he did to Merrick Garland? The hundreds of passed House bills he refuses to bring to the Senate floor? Use your power the way he does.

Sending the Resolution to the Senate right away hands the initiative to McConnell, and he will game the system, beyond doubt. He's already disclosed how he'll do it, boasting he'll align Senate procedure with the wishes of the White House. If he could, he'd refuse to bring the Resolution to the floor, but by law he can't do that. So he'll orchestrate a short trial with no witnesses and call for a quick up-or-down vote and he'll win as he always does, with foul means or fouler. If you let McConnell proceed the President will not be removed from office in January, when the Senate is scheduled to undertake the trial.

So finesse the Majority Leader. Withhold the Resolution. The court cases should all be resolved by June, say (not incidentally when Bill Weld's primary challenge will be blazing full tilt).

Then hold some more hearings. Answer the Republicans' demand for "fact witnesses" by calling McGahn, Pompeo, Bolton, Pence, Giuliani, and Mulvaney to testify. Make the Trump tax returns public. The lurid truth of his misconduct will dominate the nightly news for weeks.

When all the bombshells have exploded, then hand off the Impeachment Resolution to Mitch McConnell. Now you have set the stage, not the Majority Leader and what could be more politically damaging to Trump than standing trial during the heat of his reelection campaign?

The case against Trump is not at the moment open-and-shut. Committee chairs Schiff and Nadler may claim the evidence is "overwhelming," but Republican Senators hotly deny that, and so do half of the American people. When the damning evidence now blocked by lawsuits is a matter of record, the case will be unassailable: it will be impossible for Republican Senators to deny, and McConnell's capacity to game the system will vanish. The Senate will have no choice but to vote removal.

Speaker Pelosi, wait until you have an airtight case and then spring.

O.K. It's done. Now we can all enjoy Christmastime and look forward to a "perfect" 2020 dust-up!

Here's a start:

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime - 1979

In Creativity No. 2 Wins Again

The creative process fascinates me.
Improving something.
Creating a new concept.
Solving a problem.
Finding a solution.
For me that is a special “spice” in my life.

I guess it might be the challenge of coming up with an idea. Or, perhaps, it’s being a part of a team working together to do the same that is so rewarding.

Whatever.

Stanford University researchers have come up with some data that supports the idea that your “second” best idea might be your most creative.

“Fascinating,” as Spock says.

I’ve always been partial to number two. Here’s the story….

Why your best idea may be your second favorite, Dylan Walsh, Stanford University, medicalexpress.com, 13 Dec 2019.

“A realistic first idea might not be as creative as an abstract second one, new research shows.”
Michelangelo reportedly said the job of every sculptor is to discover the statue inside the stone, then work around it. Liberate the form.

But for those of us who lack such exacting creative vision, how do we know the right chisel from the wrong, the good idea from the bad? "Evaluating creativity is difficult," says Justin M. Berg, an assistant professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business who studies creativity and innovation. "A lot of research suggests that people are not very good at it, that a number of biases and challenges get in the way."

In a research paper that was recently published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Berg investigated a relatively understudied part of the creative process: the very early stage, when rough ideas are first generated. This, he noted, is when people are brainstorming in their own heads or sketching in secret; many of these ideas are never shared. But if you work in a job that involves creativity, these earliest choices about which initial idea ought to be pursued can greatly impact your creativity. Investing your time in the right idea can lead to a breakthrough.

So how good are people at knowing if an initial idea is worthy of time and energy? Not very good, it turns out, but also not terrible, which opens a path to improvement.

Your Gut is Partially Right

-more- 

Spock - Fascinating!

My Truth May - or May Not - Be Truth

Miss Barbara and her mirror, Romper Room, WEWS Cleveland*

It’s my fault.

All those fake news articles, lies, etc. I did it!

So says a recent research report. Well, at least I did the misremembering.

After all, it’s always been true (not fake?) that we believe what we want to believe — truth or not. Still, it’s interesting. Misremembering, that is.

Here’s what the Ohio State researchers discovered.

"We need to realize that internal sources of misinformation can possibly be as significant as or more significant than external sources," she said.

"We live with our biases all day, but we only come into contact with false information occasionally."

You create your own false information, study finds, Jeff Grabmeier, The Ohio State University, phys.org, 9 Dec 2019.

A new study found that people given accurate statistics on a controversial issue tended to misremember those numbers to fit commonly held beliefs.

For example, when people are shown that the number of Mexican immigrants in the United States declined recently—which is true but goes against many people's beliefs—they tend to remember the opposite.

And when people pass along this misinformation they created, the numbers can get further and further from the truth.

"People can self-generate their own misinformation. It doesn't all come from external sources," said Jason Coronel, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University.

"They may not be doing it purposely, but their own biases can lead them astray. And the problem becomes larger when they share their self-generated misinformation with others."

-more-

*I always wondered why Miss Barbara never saw me through her famous mirror. Now I know. She misremembered me!

Why Misremembering Can Be Good for You

Why Tolerate Insanity?

"Man, so if you're poor, you're dead."

Sadly, it is true, not only for the "poor" but for all of us.

Our "healthcare system" is insane. "Why?"

Why are we tolerating this scam?

Ambulance call out? $2,500. Childbirth? $30,000.

Our NHS is not for sale, @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/q9z4r6Ni6g

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) December 3, 2019

In a Pickle

So, here we are. It's early December, 2019 and we seem to be in a big old pickle.

Mr. Trump has empowered his zealot followers to the point of violence against the evil Democrats in support of God's chosen one, Himself.

Others see another biblical character in Mr. Trump - the Antichrist - the evil force opponent of Christ expected to appear before the end of the world.

Still others see him not only as a schoolyard bully, but also as a fraud, a con man.

Interestingly, back when America was Great, in 1958, the coming of Mr. Trump, our president, was portrayed in Trackdown, a CBS TV western.

Sure, I’m taking liberties by comparing the character, Trump, with President Trump.

Still, there’s whole bucket full of similarities between the two. For me, they sure do seem to be one in the same. I'm sure you'll judge for yourself.

One more thing. About those town people, the judge says:

"I live here. I know these people pretty well. And right now there's nothing in the world that can change their minds and anybody who tries to can end up getting hurt. They're not gonna listen...You might as well try to spit out a forest fire. It's a funny thing. When we were kids we were all afraid of the dark. When we grew up we weren't afraid any more. But it's funny how a big lie can make us all kids again."

We sure are acting like ignorant kids today. Don’t you agree?

CBS 1958 Trackdown 130 The End of the World Trump Wall

Black Friday Fatigue?

Shopping overload?

Here's a pick-you-up so you can go back to simulating the economy!

Seriously. Happy spending!

King Tut - Saturday Night Live - 1978


Steve Martin performs his funky musical parody "King Tut," which satirizes the popularity of the King Tut exhibit.

God's Grace to You and Yours

Someone said Thanksgiving is lost. So he announced he's saving it since he already saved Christmas.

My guess that Thanksgiving is buried underneath a pile of over zealous Xmas consumerism.
Seems to be true, doesn't it? Go anywhere and you'll experience unhinged Xmas trappings and tons of stuff for sale.

So what happened to Thanksgiving?
Gone, it looks like.

So, to help restore the "thanks" and the reason deep underneath it, here is this rendition of Amazing Grace.

Just saying... I'm really thankful that spring will come and most amazed when it does.


DUDE ROCKS OUT AMAZING GRACE TO AMAZED CROWD

Baby Steps

After a bazillion years of killing each other, hating the other guys, beating up and stealing from our most unfortunate, and stomping on refugees and asylum seekers, it is time to acknowledge that the old ways just have not worked out so good for the most living humans.

O.K. so a few people are living is great style.

That’s O.K. let them keep on keeping on.

But, as a society, we generate a lot of wealth, trillions every year.

It’s time to take a few baby steps toward treating ourselves better and improving our life. That means all people. Not just the fortunate few.

That’s why I agree with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).

It’s clear that the time has come for our society to begin to acknowledge that human life is more important than accumulating more and more wealth for the already stupendously wealthy and powerful .01%.

It is time to take more baby steps toward emphasizing improving life for the humans living and begin to move away from allowing most our society’s wealth to be metastasized into trillions of dollars of corporate welfare and weapons of death and destruction.

Here’s what she said the other day…

Ocasio-Cortez Debunks Neoliberals' Favorite Talking Points Once and for All, Julia Conley, Common Dreams, truthdig,com, 25 Nov 2019.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won applause and cheers from her constituents on Sunday at a town hall in the Bronx where she expressed deep frustration with the routine dismissal of investment in public goods as “free stuff.”

“I never want to hear the term ‘free stuff’ ever again,” Ocasio-Cortez told the audience.

The progressive first-term Democrat explained her vision for newly proposed legislation—the Green New Deal for Public Housing—for a $180 billion investment in upgraded public housing that would prioritize communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, retrofit units with energy-efficient insulation and appliances, and create 250,000 jobs. The bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Like public roads, schools, and libraries, Ocasio-Cortez said, public housing should be recognized as a public good funded by taxpayers, particularly the wealthiest people and corporations.

“It is possible and it’s not that we deserve it because it’s a handout,” the congresswoman said. “People like to say, ‘Oh, this is about free stuff.’ This is not about free stuff… These are public goods.”

At Sunday’s town hall, Ocasio-Cortez denounced the term “free stuff” to dismiss progressive proposals for benefits already available to people in many developed countries as a “neoliberal” talking point.

“I’m already hearing some of these neoliberal folks who are trying to flip the script on us and say…’Oh, I don’t want to pay for a millionaire’s kids to go to college,'” she said.

The argument makes no more sense, Ocasio-Cortez suggested, than saying publicly-funded infrastructure unfairly benefits the rich.

“I believe all people should be able to go to a public library,” she said. “Everyone can drive on our roads, everybody should be able to send our kids to public school, and every person who needs it should have access to public housing.

-more-

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son - 1969

Bugs Gone

Art credit below*

I've been looking forward to today.

The word is finally out that those nasty bugs of all kinds are not long for this world.

Medisieve scientists/researchers have ciphered out a magnetic way to separate bad bugs from the blood stream and send them packing.

Here's the story...

This company wants to extract diseases from your blood using magnets, Mark Anthony Karam, ameinfo.com, 15 Nov 2019.

A new breakthrough in modern medicine could be upon us. A UK company called Medisieve wants to cure tenacous diseases like malaria using... magnets!

To understand how Medisieve works, think how you're asked to drink a Barium solution before an X-Ray

If pathogen cells could be bound with magnetic nanoparticles, you could extract them with a magnet - that's Medisieve's belief

Human trials will start very soon.

We’ve covered news of a longevity fund that hopes to extend human lives past a hundred years. We’ve explored the concept of remote surgery, where a doctor miles away operates on a patient through the use of mixed reality technology.

Now, a UK company called Medisieve literally wants to use magnets to pull out diseases out of the bloodstream. Yes, you heard that right.

-more-

*Art credit: Cartoon Germ Cliparts and Horseshoe Magnet, giant

Hit the road Jack! - Ray Charles - 1961

Connected Dots Lead to National Nightmare

A clear understanding of why Nixon ordered the break in of Democratic Headquarters in 1972 has eluded me for years.

Watergate has never made sense to me.

But now, Thom Hartmann and Lamar Waldron have cleared away a great deal of disinformation, found some clarity, and connected the dots. That’s to say, many more dots than I ever could have imagined… from the murder of President Kennedy, multiple attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro, the failed Bay of Pigs fiasco, and much more... revealing our national nightmare.

Here’s the story…

Trump is Hiding The Truth About JFK (w/ Lamar Waldron) - Nov 22, 2019

56 years of Continuous Disinformation - President Kennedy’s Murder and Conspiracy

The Johnson administration for the Vietnam War – the Bush administration for the 9/11 Wars – Afghanistan & Iraq –  the Obama administration for drone, remote control assassinations – and now the Trump administration for human rights atrocities involving separation of children from their asylum-seeking parents and imprisoning them under inhumane conditions , a free world could judge the leaders of the United States for crimes against humanity just as we, the victors, judged the leaders of Nazi Germany (Nuremberg) and the Empire of Japan warlords (Tokyo) upon the conclusion of WWII.

Clearly there are considerable and major differences between the atrocities which were perpetrated by the Nazi / Japanese leaders vs. the administrations of U.S. Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Geo. H.W. Bush, Geo W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Yet, as leaders, with the power to do otherwise, these U.S. leaders, including cabinet members and other appointees under their control — both Democrat and Republican — led our nation and our allies into unnecessary wars and condoned heinous atrocities, such as murder, mass murder and torture, in violation of the Geneva Convention, based upon false and deliberately misleading propaganda which they used to justify their actions.

These U.S. leaders never paid a price for their roles in planning, permitting, carrying out and condoning the various deceptions, intrigues, murders of democratically elected heads of state and coups d’état to say nothing of unleashed terrifying weapons causing death, dismemberment and unimaginable destruction upon innocent civilians.

However, millions of everyday people did pay the ultimate price — with their lives — and millions more are still paying due to the weapons of carnage – agent orange, spent uranium munitions, napalm, landmines, and many more.

Additionally, trillions of dollars were squandered feeding the war machine, enriching the cadre of war broker beneficiaries and a multitude of small-time criminals.

Alone, a president, cabinet member, department head or a general could not have created the original lies plus the sustaining mechanism to fan the flames of destruction we have witnessed over the past 60 plus years.

That has taken a plethora of specially honed psychopathic talents brought together under the auspices of an unrestrained, unaccountable, intelligence community led during the 1950s by John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles, Secretary of State and Director of the CIA; then perpetuated by subsequent leaders of the U.S. intelligence department (s) and Secretaries of State.

Together, the Dulles brothers were responsible for creating, contributing to and exploiting anti-communism hysteria in the U.S. during the 1950s (Please see my previous post: below: Lies Too Big to Fail, Part I, How We Lost Our Naïveté.) and paving the way for the “Black Ops” atrocities - which are ongoing - right up to today.

Why do I believe these things? What has changed over the past 60 years and more? The answer is:

• JFK Records Collection Act (1992);
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA);
• Most importantly, the historically unequaled courage, compassion, professionalism and “applied” intelligence of Dr. Joan Mellen, Douglas P. Horne, James Garrison, Lamar Waldron, Thom Hartmann (and many others), for shinning the light of truth on those who conspired to murder President Kennedy;
• And likewise, the historically unequaled courage, compassion, professionalism and “applied” intelligence of Dr. Judy Wood and UK researcher Andrew Johnson, for uncovering what really took place at the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.

As a result of the documents made available through multiple FOIA requests, the JFK Records Collection Act and a handful of courageous souls, information long held secret has come to light exposing our Doppelganger past and sadly, our present, as well.

Please go to the DownriverUSA post 27 April 2018.

Someday we will have the whole truth. But will we know and believe it when confronted with it?

dion - the truth will set you free - 2000

Super Moscow Mitch

MAD Magazine... see art credit below.

"Slower than molasses! More powerful than a democrat! Able to obstruct any House bill at a single glance!"

"Look! Down in the sewer!"
"It's a rat!"
"It's disgusting!"
"It's Super Moscow Mitch!"

MAD Magazine has done it again by giving us a perfect satire of Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate Majority Leader and Mr. Trump’s best bud, otherwise known as “The Man of Stall”. MAD editors correctly pointed out that Moscow Mitch (MM) has been “able to block democracy in a single bound.”

Yes, it’s MM, the super star Republican, the main man who single-handedly stymied everything… not only this year, but every year, back to the beginning of the Obama era.

MM sure does know how to be the man!

Art credit: COURTESY OF MAD MAGAZINE
Mitch McConnell MAD interior by writer Desmond Devlin and artist Kerry Callen.

The Old Man Song

Heart of Stone

See caption/article below.

Simply put, as a nation we have lost our connection with goodness and morality.

All that our nation once stood for… the common good… human rights… democracy… freedom… even law and order… has been trashed like yesterday’s coffee grounds by this gang of depraved, perverted, miscreants currently occupying White House and the Executive Branch.

How long will we stand inactive and mute, permitting this administration to commit more and more outrageous crimes against humanity?

Yes, there was a time when America had a compassionate heart and a soul, too.

But, that was then and this is now… Has America’s soul as well as her heart turned to stone?

Caption: A young migrant girl sits on the floor as her father, recently released from federal detention with other Central American asylum seekers, gets a bus ticket at a bus depot on June 11, 2019, in McAllen, Texas. (Photo: Loren Elliott/AFP/Getty Images) Story follows.

Causing 'Profound' Trauma, Trump Administration Detained Record-Breaking 70,000 Children in 2019, Eoin Higgins, Common Dreams, 12 Nov 2019.

"Does the U.S. provide mental health services for separated families who ask to be deported in order to reunite?"

The U.S. held a record 69,550 migrant children in detention facilities in 2019, a Tuesday report from The Associated Press and PBS Frontline found, leading to major psychological and physical harm and lasting trauma.

"No other country held as many immigrant children in detention over the past year as the United States—69,550," said AP tech reporter Frank Bajak in a tweet promoting his colleagues' work. "The physical and emotional scars are profound."

-go here for more-

and this...

Millions in U.S. Lost Someone Who Couldn't Afford Treatment, Dan Witters, gallup.com, 12 Nov 2019.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 13% of American adults -- or about 34 million people -- report knowing of at least one friend or family member in the past five years who died after not receiving needed medical treatment because they were unable to pay for it, based on a new study by Gallup and West Health. Nonwhites, those in lower-income households, those younger than 45, and political independents and Democrats are all more likely to know someone who has died under these circumstances.

-more here-

and this…

Leaked Emails Show Stephen Miller Is Exactly Who You Think He Is, Amy Russo, huffpost.com, 12 Nov 2019.

Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller in a series of leaked emails pushed white nationalism, bemoaned opposition to Confederate symbols following a mass shooting at a Black church in South Carolina and embraced immigration policies once lauded by Adolf Hitler.

On Tuesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, published an investigative report from its Hatewatch arm, which reviewed more than 900 messages Miller sent to Breitbart editors from March 2015 to June 2016. More than 80% “relate to or appear on threads relating to the subjects of race or immigration,” Hatewatch said.

-more-

Yes, once America had a compassionate heart and a soul.

Bang the Drum Slowly - Emmylou Harris - 2000

Looking for “Capsoulism”

The other day the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) made an announcement claiming that the Congressional Democrats were treating Mr. Trump unfairly – not ensuring him with due process. Transparency, they said was missing – regarding the impeachment investigation. Further, they claimed, Congress favors criminals and illegals, defending them over police officers.

Interesting, I thought. I know that some police have made it clear they want more freedom to abuse the rights of Americans by beating, shooting, even killing – all in the name of self-defense, and perhaps, justice, too.

Interesting, also, I thought, that the FOP believes it needs to defend the king of obstructionism,  obliterator of  human rights, and ignorer of laws.

Odd, is it not, that many of Mr. Trump’s loyal supporters voted for him because they earnestly believed he’d drain the “swamp” and make government work for them.

After three years it is fair to ask, “So, how is that working for you?”

What about the $3 trillion Mr. Trump and the Rs added to the national debt by cutting taxes for the rich and the corporations? How about the expansion of the defense budget by more than $133 billion? And, about those manufacturing jobs… ad infinitum.

Look, the systems is just not working for average Joes – like me – or, other average Joes and Janes, like police officers, either.

The Common Good

We must change our game from the current out of control predatory capitalism and make it evolve into modern "Capsoulism". That would be “capitalism” with a soul inside. A system that works for the common good.

We need to eliminate the pain we feel when we go to the grocery store. We need relief from the stress that engulfs us knowing that our paychecks have retrogressed well past today's cost of living. To say work is no longer satisfying is to admit that our daily quota continues to move upward while our reward remains rooted in the 1970s. Management gets the big bucks while we must choose between feeding the family, paying the rent, paying for grandma’s prescriptions, or her hospital bill.

Something is really out of whack. Our current version of U.S. capitalism is just not cutting it.

Could it be because we have managed to delete our collective conscious, our souls?

We are literally spending all our efforts trying to make a living within an out of control, predatory capitalistic monstrosity that requires sacrificing grandma and our children on the insatiable altar of conspicuous consumption.

I think it’s time to take a lesson from the Republicans who excel at moving the goalposts on the clueless Democrats.

So, let’s try this - stop trying to make the corporate CEOs and the big banks happy.

Let’s end corporate welfare and begin to pull ourselves out of the swamp muck by simply doing what’s called “the common good”.

That translates into:

Make every law, every decision meet only one test - if it is not good for everyone... it's not good for anyone.

Finally, one more thing.

Until we make “weapons of war” a nonprofit, free for the common good, enterprise, we will always have wars and killing. We will never experience peace until the profit is taken out of war making.

Now, I feel better.

How about you?

The Simpsons - Homer Sells His Soul For A Donut - 2017


We all are selling our souls for a donut. But the devil is making us pay in the here and now.

One-Trick Party

The other day my friend, Zane, mentioned his annual prediction.

This time he predicted the Republicans, should Mr. Trump lose in 2020 or become unemployed prior to the election, will return to their ol’ tried and true strategy: misinformation, misdirection and obstruction.

“I predict”, prognosticated Zane, “That the Republicans will return to the days of yore by once again demanding that the federal budget be balanced and the national debt be reduced or eliminated, else the USA will become bankrupt.”

“And, if those far-left-leaning liberals (read socialists) a.k.a. the Democrats, don’t do their bidding, by eliminating or at least greatly reducing those outrageous ‘entitlements’, a.k.a. Social Security, Medicare, child support, unemployment insurance, food stamps, etc., they’ll shut down the government.”

“Why?” I asked.

“That’s the only strategy they have ever had,” he explained.

“They’re a one-trick party.”

“But, what about the $3 Trillion Mr. Trump and the Rs added to the national debt by cutting taxes for the rich and the corporations? Plus, the expansion of the Defense budget  by more than $ 133 Billion? And, the missing, $21 Trillion?”, I exclaimed.

“Like I said”, Zane reiterated, “A one-trick party.”

"Cut taxes for the rich and the corporations; eliminate our (the 99.9%) meager social safety net; and, make a whole bunch of blood money for their corporate benefactors through endless wars."

Expecting something else, like Mr. Einstein said, is the definition of insanity.”

I guess we'll see, won't we? But, then, I thought, I've lived through this before.

Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony (Live) - 1980

Blood Tests Out of Whack?

Please watch this video and do this protect your liver and feed your gut: eat real food.

Stop eating processed food.

Robert Lustig and Fat Emperor - The Bottom Line on Processed Food Toxicity
May 22, 2019


Ivor Cummins

Before enjoying this podcast, please help by subscribing for free right here: https://thefatemperor.com/subscribe - and help us to get the message out; it only takes a second - thank you!

Needs no Introduction - the great Professor Robert Lustig on the real problems that we face in chronic disease (hint: it ain't "cholesterol"). In this podcast Robert reveals that he and his team have discovered the specific metabolite which gives sugar its dangerously damaging effects - it's all downhill from there. Sugar, refined carb and seed oils: the "unholy trinity" that sits at the processed-food center of modern chronic disease!

Recorded in London at the PHCUK annual conference in the College of General Practitioners.

We Have a Food Problem

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. (Photo credit: UCTV screen grab)

We have been and continue to be under the influence of black hat hacking and propaganda to the point of chronic illness and death.

It's perpetrated by the people in charge of some of our most trusted corporate brands and by our government agencies operating under the control of "bought" politicians and administrators. And, it is sold to us under the cloak known as the “safe”, “good for you” American diet.

We have a food problem.

We all must understand this fact. You and I must stop being patsies and take charge of our lives to become healthy.

Dr. Robert Lustig explains:

The Hacking of the American Mind with Dr. Robert Lustig

6 Sept 2017

University of California Television (UCTV)

The best-selling author and UCSF endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig explores how industry has contributed to a culture of addiction, depression and chronic disease. Always provocative, Lustig reveals the science that drives these states of mind and offers solutions we can use.  Series: "Great Minds Gather Here" [10/2017] [Show ID: 32572]

The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains Paperback – September 18, 2018

One More Myth Disappears

Like an ostrich hiding its head out of fear, an invisibility cloak is also a myth.

Really? The ostrich head-hide thing is not true. It's just a myth.

Ostriches don’t stick their heads into the ground, they tend to run away from a frightening situation - they can reach speeds exceeding 40 mph.

Now, here’s the proof that another myth has disappeared because what may not be visible is still there, hiding behind an “invisibility cloak”. Oh, "my lyin' eyes".

Here’s the story…

Watch a Real-Life Invisibility Cloak Designed for Military Use, Kristin Houser, futurism.com, 21 Oct 2019.

Invisibility Cloak
Canada’s Hyperstealth Biotechnology already manufactures camouflage uniforms for militaries across the globe.

But now, the company has patented a new “Quantum Stealth” material that disguises a military’s soldiers — or even its tanks, aircraft, and ships — by making anything behind it seem invisible.

Light Bender
Earlier in October, Hyperstealth filed a patent for the material, which doesn’t require a power source and is both paper-thin and inexpensive — all traits that could make it appealing for use on the battlefield.

According to a press release, it works by bending the light around a target to make it seemingly disappear. This light can be in the visible spectrum, or it can be ultraviolet, infrared, or shortwave infrared light, making the material what Hyperstealth calls a “broadband invisibility cloak.”

Ready For Battle
Alongside the news of the patent application, Hyperstealth released more than 100-minutes worth of footage describing and demonstrating the material — and if the press release doesn’t make it clear that the military is the company’s target customer, the video footage sure does.

-more-

'Invisibility cloak' that could hide tanks and troops looks closer to reality

Eagles - Lyin' Eyes - 1975

Stealing the White House Silverware, too, Mr. Trump?

So, now we know. Mr. Trump is above the law.

By awarding himself the contract to hold the G-7 meeting next June at his Miami golf resort he will make millions of dollars.

No competitive bid. No problem. Mr. Trump makes the decision as to where the multi-million-dollar event will be held.

Yes, that breaks the law, but no one will prosecute a sitting president… ah… I mean conman/ thief. Call him what you will. Just don’t call him President of the United States.

Impeach him and convict him. Get him out of office before he steals the White House silverware, too.

Elvina - Nothing but a Thief - 2014

Let's Imagine Our Nation

Norman Rockwell - Four Freedoms

Given the constant turmoil we are living today and the fact that our nation has lost it's moral compass, I want to change course, stop the degradation and resume the path our ancestors blazed for us.

Let's imagine our nation to be the United States of our childhood.

The nation that not only created the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Bill of Rights but also makes the words within them apply for all people.

The nation of equality under the law. The nation that defends human rights, no matter a person's skin color or ethnicity.

That nation that not only believes "no one left behind" but also never, ever abandons our people or our friends

Please. Imagine with me.

Now, let's make it happen today.

We really are the creators. We can make our nation be the nation we were all taught it was. 

Here's how:

"Make your future dream a present fact by assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
That which you feel yourself to be you are.
And you are given that which you feel you are.
So assume the feeling that would be yours were you already in possession of your wish.
And your wish must be realized.
So live in the feeling of the one you want to be and that you shall be.
If this assumption about what you'd like to become is persisted in until it becomes your dominant feeling, the attainment of your ideal is absolutely inevitable.
You must first assume the feeling of a wish fulfilled in all aspects of your life."

Now, can't you feel yourself a citizen of the United States, "land of the free and home of the brave"?

YOU ARE THE CREATOR | Warning: This might shake up your belief system! Morgan Freeman and Wayne Dyer
Feb 9, 2018

Trail of Tears Big Bucks Grab Repeated - $740 Billion

See ICE Detention and Trail of Tears photo credits below.

A long time ago, I remember listening, on my one-transistor radio, to Johnny Horton’s recording: Battle of New Orleans:

In 1814 we took a little trip

Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip

We took a little bacon and we took a little beans

And we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans

We fired our guns and the British kep a-comin'

There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago

We fired once more and they begin to runnin'

On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico***

That song was the genesis of my thinking of Andrew Jackson as a hero. He was, in fact, a courageous military leader and respected by his troops, too, including the native Americans who served with him at the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812).

Later in life, Jackson ruthlessly pursued, and became enormously wealthy through, “land speculation” - mostly native American land. Jackson was responsible for dispossessing thousands of native Americans of their lands (Trail of Tears) and profiting from it by reselling to white settlers.

I no longer respect President Jackson.

But, I know one person who still does, because he has Jackson’s portrait hanging in his office - Mr. Trump.

All this Jackson stuff has come to mind because I was wondering who is currently profiting from our modern day “Trail of Tears”, the immigrant detention centers and Mr. Trump’s border security industry.

"An analysis of the “border-industrial complex” by the Transnational Institute shows that the budgets of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have exploded in recent years. The combined budgets of the agencies have more than doubled since the mid-2000s — and are now 60 times higher than the immigration enforcement system received in 1980. By one estimate, the border security industry will more than double in value from approximately $305 billion in 2011 to some $740 billion in 2023."

I have never respected Mr. Trump. It is well past time for the United States to stop profiteering from exploitation and misery.

Here's the story...

The US Border Security Industry Could Be Worth $740 Billion by 2023, Michelle Chen, Truthout, 6 Oct 2019

Over the course of a few days in early 2019, Selene Saavedra-Roman went from starting her dream job as a flight attendant to scrubbing toilets in a dreary Texas detention center.

“I knew not to argue or talk back — refusing to obey the guards’ commands would end up hurting us greatly,” she recalled in her testimony last week at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigrant detention. Saavedra-Roman, who was born in Peru and came to the U.S. 24 years ago at the age of 4, was in the process of applying for legal residency. But she was detained at the airport in Houston, Texas, after flying in from Mexico. Recalling the trauma of being locked up with other migrant women in desolate squalor, she testified, “If you volunteered for the work program [in the migrant jail], you would be compensated $1 an hour,” though it was understood that refusing to “volunteer” could jeopardize their immigration cases.

While Saavedra-Roman’s harrowing experience in the migrant jail came as a shock to her, the system she was trapped in had been building up from the time she first crossed the border as a child. Her unjust detention was the product of the Trump administration’s hardline deportation agenda. But the militarized border that had ensnared her was the product of a massive security infrastructure that has been building up for decades. Although Trump’s unabashedly anti-immigrant agenda has amplified the brutality of the border regime, he is merely capitalizing on a massive, entrenched network of corporate power and political influence.

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Photo Credits
*Men stand in an Immigration and Border Enforcement detention center in McAllen, Texas, on July 12 during a visit by Vice President Mike Pence. | Josh Dawsey/The Washington Post via AP, Pool
**What Was the Trail of Tears?

***Johnny Horton- Battle of New Orleans - 1959

U.S. Labor Needs Honest, Inspirational Leadership

Sara Nelson, International President of the Flight Attendants Association.
Photo Credit: screen capture Now This

More than ever, the U.S. labor movement needs honest, inspirational leadership. Sara Nelson, International President of the Flight Attendants Association, is a proven leader who meets those requirements and much more.

To understand why I believe so, here are a few descriptive quotes from recent articles:

“No one is born with sexism, racism, ageism in their heart,” Nelson said in her Atlanta speech. “These are the tactics of the boss, of those who want all the money and all the power to deny us solidarity, the greatest force for good. Expose it. Call it out. Deal with it. And in our unions and on our picket lines we can do exactly that.”

“What Sara Nelson offers is a different kind of labor movement,” said Erik Loomis, a labor historian at the University of Rhode Island and the author of A History of America in 10 Strikes. “One that is, for the first time in a long time, charismatic and inspiring and one that speaks not only to current labor union members but also to the vast majority of the American working class that doesn’t belong to a union, or can’t have a union, or where it’s really difficult to form a union.”

‘Using power builds power’: meet the woman tipped to lead the labor movement, Lauren Gambino, theguardian.com, 9 Sept 2019

Here’s More…

"Already, she’s been called “the most powerful labor leader in the country.”

"Not only does Nelson have the passion and presence sorely lacking in other labor leaders—who, for instance, can remember a single speech by Trumka?—she’s willing to fight at the front lines—not just for workers in her unions, but for all American workers—on a number of crucial issues."

Sara Nelson Is the Face of America's Resurgent LaborMovement, Natasha Hakimi Zapata, truthdig.com, 4 Oct 2019

Sara Nelson, International President of the Flight Attendants Association, talks to Dharna Noor at Netroots Nation 2019

Universal Vaccine to Prevent Cancer

Cancer cases art credit: Canon Medical Systems USA, Inc.

Cancer Facts

• There were 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2012.
• The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades.
• In 2018 in the U.S., 1,700,000 new cancer cases and 609,640 cancer deaths were predicted.
• National medical expenditures for cancer to reach at least $158 billion in 2020.

Wouldn't it be a miracle if we had a vaccine that could prevent cancer?

We may soon have one.

Here's the story...

Discovery of new source of cancer antigens may expand cancer vaccine capabilities, Arizona State University, medicalxpress.com, 2 Oct 2019.

"What all of the cancer tumor mutations have in common is making neoantigens, or small protein fragments called peptides made inside a cancer cell that the host's immune system has never seen before. The aberrant peptides ——only found in cancer cells——can prime the immune system in a vaccine."

"Surprisingly, the source of these neoantigens was found not at the DNA level but rather, errors in the RNA of tumors."

For more than a decade, scientist Stephen Albert Johnston and his team at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have pooled their energies into an often scoffed-at, high-risk, high-reward goal in medicine: to develop a universal vaccine to prevent cancer.

The mindset is simple, according to Johnston. Treat cancer just like an infectious disease. So, when his team looked deep within tumors, their research gold was discovering 200,000 cancer neoantigens, the components of cancer vaccines, that had been missed by others. They also found that enough of these neoantigens occurred repeatedly in different tumors that it might be possible to make one vaccine for all tumors.

Now, in a new paper published in Scientific Reports, his research team has demonstrated the first experimental proof-of-concept bearing the fruit of their labors.

Their tour-de-force study examined mutations in more than 50 cancer cell lines, and 85 tissue samples from Mayo Clinic Arizona cancer patients, as well as the blood from patients from five different late stage cancer types: lung, breast, brain, gastric and pancreatic cancers.

They have found a common, new source of tumor mutations that could offer three levels of therapy with a cancer vaccine: 1) a broadly protective, or pan-cancer vaccine 2) cancer-type specific vaccines (e.g. breast vs. pancreatic), 3) personalized cancer vaccines based on mutations unique to an individual.

To discover the neoantigens in tumors, Johnston's team developed a new type of chip. They made chips that presented all of the 200,000 possible neoantigens, allowing them to simply screen for the antibodies in the blood patients raised against them. This is much simpler than the common practice which involves obtaining DNA from the tumor and sequencing it, a starting point for "personal cancer vaccines' that many companies are now pursuing.

"Personal cancer vaccines are complicated and expensive," said Johnston. "Also, only about 40% of tumors have enough mutations in the DNA to make a vaccine from. We discovered that even 'cold tumors' at the DNA level make lots of mistakes at the RNA level. And the mistakes we focus on are frameshift peptides which are much more immunogenic than the point mutations used in personal cancer vaccines. Most importantly, we can make off-the shelf vaccines for therapeutic or even preventative vaccines which will be much less expensive."

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Kenny Rogers - The Gambler - 1979

Immigrants All

Our only difference is the date we arrived.

The other day Pope Francis unveiled a sculpture honoring refugees and migrants at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

The theme struck home for me because we are all U.S. immigrants. Every one of us, or our ancestors, arrived here from somewhere else, most often with just a dream and prayer in our hearts.

Our only difference is the date we arrived. Otherwise, we are all the same.

Here’s the story…

New Vatican Statue Proclaims Pope Francis’ Concern For Refugees, Carol Kuruvilla, huffpost.com, 1 Oct 2019.

Caption:VATICAN MEDIA / REUTERS Pope Francis attends the unveiling Sunday of the sculpture commemorating migrants and refugees by Canadian artist Timothy Schmaltz in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." - Hebrews 13:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

A new statue has been installed in St. Peter’s Square for the first time in 400 years ― and it’s a testament to Pope Francis’ enduring concern for the plight of refugees and migrants.

Francis dedicated the 20-foot tall bronze sculpture at the Vatican on Sunday to commemorate the Roman Catholic Church’s 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

The life-size sculpture, titled “Angels Unaware,” depicts a group of 140 migrants and refugees from various cultural backgrounds and time periods traveling together on a boat. There are figures representing Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, Irish people escaping the potato famine, Cherokee traveling the Trail of Tears, as well as modern-day Syrians fleeing war.

A pair of angels’ wings peek out from the crowd, suggesting the sacredness of migrants’ lives. The artwork was inspired by a biblical passage, Hebrew 13:2, that encourages Christians to show hospitality to strangers, since by doing so, “some have entertained angels unawares.”

The statue by Timothy P. Schmalz is seen after Pope Francis held a Mass for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees at the Vatican on Sunday.

In a message on Sunday, the pope decried economically advanced societies’ growing “indifference” toward migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking.

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The Judds - November 21st, 1985 - The Tonight Show - Grandpa

Whose Karma?

Living and Dying by the polls... Karma? 

CBS News poll on Trump impeachment inquiry

 Do you believe in karma?

In Hinduism and Buddhism it's the idea that the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, decide their fate in future existences.

The Christian concept of destiny or fate is similar and expressed with, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall they also reap". (Galatians 6:7-9)

I’m comfortable with the biblical kind of karma. Especially as I glance at today's corporate media headlines replete with talk of a Trump impeachment.

Still, I can't help but think about the past sins of our nation - our dark side as explained in The New York Times Magazine 1619 Project.

The days ahead will reveal whose karma will play out. Will it be our national karma or Mr. Trump's? Or, perhaps both are inextricably bound. We shall see.

In the meantime, I believe in Redemption. Don't you?

Here's a repost from 10 Nov 2017:

Do You Believe in Redemption?

One Sunday morning, a long time ago, I stood next to Mom and listened to her sing her favorite hymn, I Come to the Garden Alone.

I Come to the Garden Alone - Anne Murray - 1999

Back then, for me, it was just a beautiful song and I knew Mom loved singing it.

Today it somehow reassures me of redemption… my belief that we all can be saved from our own sins, the sins of others and evil.

This morning I read Pres. John F. Kennedy’s famous American University “Peace Speech” from 1963. I glanced out the office window and watched, mesmerized, at the beautiful sunrise before me. Suddenly thoughts of that beautiful song came flooding back in my mind.

It occurred to me that it would be a certain "redemptive" miracle if we all could walk in the garden together for a moment or two and consider together how much we do have in common… even people who believe and trust in Pres. Trump and those who do not.

Then I looked at my computer and read:

“So, let us not be blind to our differences—but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”**

President John F. Kennedy, "Peace Speech" American University - 10 June 1963

I know miracles happen. I’d rejoice if a redemptive, talk and walk together in the garden could be one of them.

*Examples of Bad Karma 

As I see it, Mr. Trump seems to have accomplished all these in just this life:

• Levying baseless allegations on others.
• Laughing at somebody’s situation.
• Taking away somebody’s everything.
• Taking advantage of somebody’s situation.
• Doing injustice to others.
• Spreading lies and hatred.
• Misuse of authority.
• Cheating and hurting others.
• Giving and taking bribe.
• Being mute spectator and watching injustice happening to others.
• Hurting others physically, emotionally, and mentally.
• Being rude to others.
• Being unfair to others.
• Forcing and bribing others to do something. Wonderful display of skills. What signal does it send to your family, country?
• Judging instead of accepting others.
• Intentionally creating hurdles in others progress.
• Progress filled with unaccountably and injustice.
• Hating others

-there are many more, of course-

Our National Shadow Side

I learned a great deal about my shadow side from my friend, psychiatrist Dr. Robert F. Slattery, MD.

Bob helped me understand that all of us have hidden facets of ourselves which are painful to confront and own. Often, we are ashamed of our actions and even our thoughts. Too, we unconsciously imprison hurtful memories in the deepest, darkest caverns of our minds.

Then, one day, something frees them and forces us to confront those hidden terrors.

The New York Times Magazine 1619 Project is one of those unanticipated, mind-freeing, shackles-breaking, uncontrollable happenings that will help us discover and hopefully deal with our national shadow self. Please read the PDF below and watch the two interviews.

I promise you will free your mind.

For the complete 1619 Project – a free PDF – please go here.

The 1619 Project details the legacy of slavery in America



PBS NewsHour

Four hundred years ago this month, the first enslaved people from Africa arrived in the Virginia colony. To observe the anniversary of American slavery, The New York Times Magazine launched The 1619 Project to reframe America’s history through the lens of slavery. The project lead, reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss.

The 1619 Project: A Nation Born in Contradiction, a Democracy Defined by Black Struggle