Happy 4th of July 2020!!

The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy.  It depends upon the way we occupy that place.
—  St. Therese of Lisieux
[God Bless America and keep us safe through this time of trouble – political and pandemic…  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Happy 4th of July 2019!!
2018	Happy 4th of July 2018!!
	People Got to Be Free
2017	Happy 4th of July 2017!!
2016	Red, White And Blue BBQ
	Happy 4th of July 2016
	IMF’d (Marathon / Binge)
2015	Happy 4th of July 2015!!
2014	Happy 4th of July 2014!!
2013	Patriot Act, Anyone?
2012	Five Lost Wars
2011	Worth Fighting For
2010	Still Learnin’ Hard…
	4th of July 2010

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The Tragedy Of Trump Republicanism

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
―  Socrates
[I would say today’s Republicans fear light – AND – specifically the light which comes from science, truth and facts.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	What Do Your Children See You Doing?
2018	Is #45 STILL Losing America
2017	We Sleep To Remember And We Sleep To Forget
2016	Useful Gift
2015	Who’s The Boss?
2014	What Counts In The Future
2013	Improper Sequence?
2012	Two Gems
2011	A True Test

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So Sad, Faux Crowd

Over the last weekend, #IncompetentTrump was in Tulsa, Oklahoma to hold his first political rally since the COVID-19 shutdown started in March…
What the Trump campaign wanted us to see…
What the “crowd” actually looked like…  (Hint:  less than 1/3 capacity occupied.)
A dejected #DonTheCon returning to the White House (flaccid tie and hat in hand)…
What I hope to say in January 2021…
Get that LOSER off my grass!!!
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On This Day In:
2019	And The Same For Blogs And Posts
2018	The End Of Asgard (For Now)
	I Learn The Hard Way Every Time
2017	For Some
2016	Fragile And Explosive, Provocation And Privacy
2015	Bound Up
2014	Economic Engines
2013	Weren’t You Supposed To Be Reading?
	Absent Friends
	Where I Stand
2012	Hangin’ With His P’s
	Help Save
2011	Six Facets Of Good Leadership

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To Our #IdiotInChief: Wear A Mask!

Liberty means responsibility.   That is why most men dread it.
―    George Bernard Shaw
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On This Day In:
2019	Silent Purpose
2018	Just Bake The Cake, Man
2017	Visible Proof
2016	Poor Enough Means
2015	Still Standing
	Follow Your Heart
2014	Just Reminded
2013	A Fine Balance
2012	One Measure
2011	Seeking The Common Ground
	In Brightest Day…

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#45: 14.81 Lies Per Day

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
—   Anonymous
[#LyingDonald = 14.81 lies per day was his average as of January 2020.   It’s gone up since then.   Wait until he starts holding campaign rallies again.  Just saying…  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Less Miserable Now
	So Near And Yet So Far
2018	I Doubt #45 Is Listening?
2017	Life’s Oddity
2016	Just Asking…
2015	Two Thoughts On Thinking
2014	From The Top, Please…
2013	You Are The Stars
2012	Just One??
2011	Anything But

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Reward Truth In November

I tore myself from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for the truth; and truth rewarded me.
—   Simone de Beauvoir
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On This Day In:
2019	Prepare For The 2020 Election
2018	Why #45 Is Uncivil And Sinking
	Ole! … Ole, Ole, Ole
	Is This Still The United States Of America?
2017	Go Where?
2016	Returning To The Same Box
2015	The Hunter’s Music
2014	Dedication
2013	Unhappy Alternatives
2012	Implications
2011	Never Let Us Down

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115,000+

I do not know which of our afflictions God intends that we overcome and which He means for us to bear.  But this is certain:  Some I have overcome, some I continue to bear.
—  Jean Toomer
[This is an unusual post for me.  This post is being written on 28 May, three days after the Memorial Day weekend.  Yesterday, the U.S. passed 100K in deaths due to COVID-19.  We are dying at just under 1,000 lives per day.  We are engaged in a great social experiment testing whether we can open our economy without a plan to deal with the virus.  This post is scheduled to go online roughly 15 days after the holiday weekend.  If the President’s gamble was correct, the average death rate will be at or below 1,000 per day.  If his gamble (with our lives) is incorrect, the death rate will be higher – and potentially much higher.  Only time will tell.   —   KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	One Generation’s View
2018	The One Thing
2017	Never Give Up
2016	Which Generation Are We?
	Congratulations, Kyle!
2015	Centered
2014	Economic Trinity
2013	At Both Ends
2012	Holding Allowance
2011	The Power Of Good

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Was #IncompenentDonald Born To Be A Diplomat?

To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy.
—   Will Durant
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On This Day In:
2019	Have You Planted Lately?
2018	Something / Nothing
2017	Kindness
2016	Dealing With It
2015	Too Many Choices!
2014	Vini, Vidi, Vici
2013	Heroes
	Education, n.
2012	Who I Want To Be
2011	Mythic Forgetfulness

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Or Frightens Us

A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us.
—  Ralph Waldo Emerson
[#45’s complete lack of intellectual curiosity and overall ignorance both startles and frightens me.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	The Best Gifts
2018	Sweep!!!
	We Must Be Living In TRULY Historic Times
2017	The Best?
2016	Timely Opinions On “The Donald”
	Even Allowing For Coincidence
2015	First Things First
2014	Without The Other
2013	Earn This
	Seeking A View
2012	Stumblin’ Along My Way
	We’re Proud Of You, Jr!
	Union Card
	Two Philosophies
2011	Simply Unpredictable

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The Lesson Of Trump’s Life

Those who think our unhinged president’s recent mania about a murder two decades ago that never happened represents his moral nadir have missed the lesson of his life: There is no such thing as rock bottom.  So, assume that the worst is yet to come.
—   George Will
From his editorial:  “Trump must be removed.  So must his congressional enablers.“
Appearing in:  “The Washington Post“
The online link to the full editorial is:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-one-should-want-four-more-years-of-this-taste-of-ashes/2020/06/01/1a80ecf4-a425-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html
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On This Day In:
2019	You Really Don’t
	No One Can Imagine
2018	Until Integrity, Decency, Wisdom, And Humility Return
	Just Tell (And Re-tell) The Big Lie Often Enough On Fox News
2017	To Laws, Not Office Or Individuals
	Beast / General / Civil
2016	Patronage
2015	For Blogs, Too!
2014	Righteous Anger
2013	An Irish Blessing
2012	But Is It Worth It?
2011	Let Us Start

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Time To Defend The Constitution (Part II)

I Cannot Remain Silent
June 2, 2020
It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel — including members of the National Guard — forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church.  I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.
Whatever Trump’s goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.
There was little good in the stunt.
While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage.
As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today.  But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough — and I’ve seen enough — to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded.
We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community.  We must, as citizens, support and defend the right — indeed, the solemn obligation — to peacefully assemble and to be heard.  These are not mutually exclusive pursuits.
And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard.  The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws.  The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered.
I remain confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform.  They will serve with skill and with compassion.  They will obey lawful orders.  But I am less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops.  Certainly, we have not crossed the threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the Insurrection Act.
Furthermore, I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes.
Even in the midst of the carnage we are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes and our neighborhoods.  They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never become so.
We must ensure that African Americans — indeed, all Americans — are given the same rights under the Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we give to members of our own family.  Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so.
Too many foreign and domestic policy choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become politicized.
This is not the time for stunts.  This is the time for leadership.
The above is an opinion piece appearing in:  “The Atlantic“
The original can be found on-line at:  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-cities-are-not-battlespaces/612553/
The editorial was written by:  Mike Mullen
Mr. Mullen is a retired admiral from the U.S. Navy and was the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
[The above editorial is the opinion of Adm. Mullen (Ret.) and the property of “The Atlantic“.  No claim of ownership is implied or intended by me.  Please subscribe to and support a REAL news site if you are financially able to do so.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Right Or Wrong
2018	Open Doors
2017	When It Deserves It
2016	Expiation For Rest
2015	You’ll Get Through It
2014	A Special Kind Of Fall
2013	Very Rewarding
2012	MIB3 – The Team Is Closer Than Ever
	Yet
2011	Little By Little

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Time To Defend The Constitution (Part I)

In Union There Is Strength
I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled.  The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court.  This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding.  It is a wholesome and unifying demand — one that all of us should be able to get behind.  We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers.  The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values — our values as people and our values as a nation.
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution.  Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens — much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.
We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.”  At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors.  Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict — a false conflict— between the military and civilian society.  It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part.
Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.
James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.”  We do not need to militarize our response to protests.  We need to unite around a common purpose.  And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.
Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’  Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.'”  We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis — confident that we are better than our politics.
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try.  Instead he tries to divide us.  We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.  We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.  We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society.  This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.
We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another.  The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community.  Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country.  We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square.  We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.  At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.
Only by adopting a new path — which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals — will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.
James Mattis
[James Mattis is a retired general who served in the United States Marine Corps.  He also served under President Trump as Secretary of Defense.  Gen. Mattis resigned his position after a disagreement with President Trump about the treatment / support of our Kurdish allies in Syria.
This statement will be appearing in an upcoming issue of “The Atlantic” and appears (in full) in multiple locations on the internet including here:  https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/ .  Note: the link is to an article about the General’s statement.  The article also includes the entire statement.
No claim of ownership is implied or intended by my posting on this site.  Please support legitimate news site if you are financially able to do so.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Right Or Wrong
2018	Open Doors
2017	When It Deserves It
2016	Expiation For Rest
2015	You’ll Get Through It
2014	A Special Kind Of Fall
2013	Very Rewarding
2012	MIB3 – The Team Is Closer Than Ever
	Yet
2011	Little By Little

 

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#45: Time Is Ticking Away

[This image was found on the internet.  No claim to ownership is implied or intended.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2019	Belief Buffet
2018	Change Is Law
2017	A Dog Day Of Summer
2016	Chances Are
2015	Truer Spoken
2014	Not Quite There Yet (Either)
	Many Colors
2013	Distance, n.
	Less Can Be More
2012	Rise Up!
	The Gift
2011	Artful Courage
2010	A Handful of Lessons…

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#45 Claims COVID-19 Defeated To Open The Economy

A belief is not true just because it is useful.
—  Henri F. Amiel
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On This Day In:
2019	Belief Buffet
2018	Change Is Law
2017	A Dog Day Of Summer
2016	Chances Are
2015	Truer Spoken
2014	Not Quite There Yet (Either)
	Many Colors
2013	Distance, n.
	Less Can Be More
2012	Rise Up!
	The Gift
2011	Artful Courage
2010	A Handful of Lessons…

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I’d Include Health Care

The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government.
―   Thomas Jefferson
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On This Day In:
2019	Accustomed To It
2018	Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe
2017	Fear Instead Of Convictions
2016	Memorial Day – 2016
2015	A Handful Of Reviews
	And You Can Quote Me
2014	Get Wisdom
2013	Enjoying The View?
2012	Adam’s Rib
2011	I’m Sure I Remember That…
	Memorial Day, 2011

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