A May Day Mayday

After 100 days of poorly planned and incompetently executed policies from the full pardons of violent insurrectionists, to DOGE cuts, to ICE abductions, to “Liberation Day” and it’s ridiculously determined and rashly implemented tariffs America is having a Mayday moment. Those of us who sincerely care about the country and would like to see it continue working towards the ideals that until recently made it leader of the free world and a beacon of hope for many need to do all we can to show the world that these ideals are still alive and well and that we will not let them and whatever remains of U.S. credibility be destroyed by one severely flawed individual and his cult of personality.

I supported ending DEI policies but now key government positions are being filled with whoever can best flatter and brazenly lie in support of the dear leader who they along with the dear leader himself believes is on a mission from god. The government isn’t being staffed with the most capable and qualified it’s being staffed with the most flattering and loyal and not the most loyal to the country, the constitution, or a set of ideals like freedom of speech and the right to due process but loyal to an insecure man with an overwhelming fear of people ripping him off and laughing at him which he constantly projects onto the country. A country that by most measures was doing pretty good before he took office but not so good 100 days later.

Trump and his minions are removing as many checks on his power as they can and since the Democratic Party has proved itself basically useless and is largely responsible for what is happening we the people need to act. If the Democratic Party hadn’t pandered to woke radicals and allowed massive numbers of unvetted immigrants to pour over the border and allowed transgender people to compete against women and girls in sports and didn’t completely fail in its withdrawal from Afghanistan and hadn’t given Israel a blank check to massacre so many innocent people who had nothing to do with putting Hamas into power we could have avoided this. Instead the war Trump said he’d have settled in one day still rages on and the massacre which Trump said he’d have a ceasefire for before he took office continues.

As for the deportations I know throwing good people into a dungeon will persuade others not to enter the country illegally however this is utterly un-American as America is known for giving people freedom and not for unjustly taking it away. We do not simply sacrifice innocent people like this and lie to cover it up. Instead we get things done in a legal and humane way because we at least in principle though not always in practice respect human life and human dignity. Therefore those mistakenly caught up in a drive to catch the worst of the worst must be freed. Maybe they don’t need to come back to the U.S. and at this point they might not even want to but they certainly can’t be locked in a dungeon for the crime of heeding the words written on the Statue of Liberty, seeking to escape violence and persecution, and trying to create a better life for themselves.

Now is the time for Americans to drop their party affiliations, come together as independents, and tell ideologues and extremists on the left and right “Not in my country and not with my tax dollars.”. We should also encourage our government representatives to consider dropping their party affiliation and to represent us as independents because if the Congress and Senate had as many independents as it did Republicans and Democrats it would help to ensure a proper check on the excesses and extremism of both sides. Then we could begin tackling an issue that has harmed the average American far more than any scapegoat a Democratic or Republican administration could create and that is the influence of money in politics but we aren’t going to see a change until we break the two party stranglehold on our government so let 2025 be the beginning of a shift to an active and informed citizenry overseeing independent politicians and a non-partisan government.

Due Process

Hello, it’s been a while. I hope this post finds you in better shape than the U.S. credibility and moral standing in the world. Many of us knew a second Trump term would be bad but few of us expected it to get this bad this fast. Of all the “un-American” things Trump and the minions he has surrounded himself with have done over these past 77 days the most “un-American” of them all has to be disappearing people in the United States of America.

Regardless of immigration status the U.S. has no right to disappear someone into an El Salvadoran dungeon based on hearsay and tattoos which have nothing to do with gang membership or criminal history. Some of these people need to be brought back to the U.S. immediately so their case can be heard in a U.S. court and all of them need to be given due process before deciding if there are any among them that actually do deserve to spend the rest of their life in an awful prison.

If it turns out they aren’t violent criminals, which according to this 60 Minutes report appears to be the case for the vast majority of them, then they should at least be returned to their home country. If you agree and feel that this should not be happening in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter then please share this video and take a minute to contact the White House,the Secretary of Homeland Security and your elected officials. Thank you for standing up and speaking out against this grave injustice.

Gay Venezuelan stylist sent to Salvadoran prison after a disgraced cop’s report

Harris 2024

Biden should have announced he wasn’t going to seek re-election a year ago and if he had there would have been time for a proper primary election and actual voters could have chosen the best candidate to face Trump however it looks like it’s too late for that so Kamala it is. Give her a chance because you know the alternative and another 4 years would be even worse with an aging Trump and his puppet JD next in line.

If a Harris-led ticket isn’t exciting enough for you just be happy the election isn’t a Biden-Trump rematch and if you want better choices next time you need to make more noise in the primary. Although I voted for and still wish Dean Phillips was the nominee I am all in for Kamala Harris. Tuesday November 5th is only 100 days from now so spread the word and help keep America moving forward towards a better future and not backwards towards some imaginary past.

Disgust and Hope

It’s too bad thousands of dead Palestinian kids do not get the same attention and generate the same public outrage as 7 aid workers working under a celebrity chef do otherwise the U.S. probably would have taken a firmer approach to Israel months ago. This long overdue approach of conditioning U.S. support on concrete and immediate actions to alleviate suffering and avoid civilian casualties is most welcomed but it is still too little too late as this should have been a starting point, a precondition to any foreign aid or weapons transfers, and not where we arrive after the deaths of over 10,000 kids and at least another 10,000 innocent adults.

U.S. tax payers should not be buying the bombs used to indiscriminately drop on innocent people even if there are a couple of terrorists hiding amongst them. Fighting a war like this where you are killing far more women and children than you are terrorists or even military aged men is only bound to create more terrorists than it destroys and make a solution to this decades old conflict even more allusive. It’s an absolute shame that the U.S. and Israel didn’t understand this before the post October 7th retaliation even started when much of the world was on its side and instead dealt with Hamas and justifiable Palestinian discontent in a much more effective way.

Akira Toriyama

On March 1st 2024 the great Akira Toriyama passed away while in the midst of multiple projects due to an acute subdural hematoma which is a type of bleeding near the brain. He was just 68 years old and is best known for creating the Dragon Ball series which was first published in 1984. Dragon Ball Z Kai Episodes 1-98, which originally aired between 2009 and 2011, is by far the best segment of the ongoing Dragon Ball series which has entertained and inspired generations of people around the world. I strongly recommend you watch these 98 episodes of greatness in the original Japanese audio with subtitles in your native language. Thank you Toriyama-sensei!

Dean Phillips 2024

I sent in my vote for the Michigan Presidential Primary on February 27th 2024 and was just notified that it had been received. I strongly encourage you to vote in your State’s primary elections and not simply allow your November 5th options to be chosen for you. The U.S. needs to move on from Biden and Trump and the only other choices we have on the Democratic and Republican sides are Phillips and Haley and that’s an easy choice for me as an independent voter who seriously considers every viable candidate.

I hope others will step up and say NO! to a repeat of Biden vs Trump because I fear the Trump cult and a weak Republican Party who doesn’t dare to criticize their orange demigod will ensure that he is the Republican nominee and as was the case with Hillary in 2016 the Democratic Party will do all it can to prevent primary challengers in order to take a chance, a chance that is looking worse by the day, with the candidate most entrenched and loyal to the party rather than the one that actually stands the best chance of defeating the dangerous and delusional Donald.

Trump must not be reelected therefore we must choose the candidate most capable of beating him in November and at this time that candidate is Dean Phillips. I thank him for having the foresight to see what will happen in a Biden vs Trump rematch and the courage to go against the Democratic Party establishment and their undemocratic system of coronations of party elders and loyalists in order to ensure the U.S. doesn’t have to endure another Trump presidency. The U.S. needs a sane, moral, and pragmatic president that puts country before party and personal interests and that is why I support Dean Phillips for President.

A Free Press

I thought it was suicide when Navalny went back to Putin’s Russia in 2021 after recovering in Germany from being poisoned in Russia so although news of his death is sad it’s not surprising. At the same time Assange is still in a U.K. prison and his extradition to and imprisonment in the U.S. would set a chilling precedent for the free world and that is why I sent the following to my representatives in government.

While it’s good to see the U.S. and other nations that claim to cherish the right to free speech and support a free press provide their condolences and criticisms of those responsible for Navalny’s death it’s quite hypocritical of them to do so when Assange, an Australian citizen, is still rotting in a U.K. jail as he continues to fight against extradition to the U.S. where he faces up to 175 years in prison. Regardless of what you think of Assange no journalist should be prosecuted for shedding light on the misdeeds of those in power as that is their most important job and it’s why good journalists, freedom of speech, and a free press are essential in a free society.

Assange did not obtain the material he published illegally and the person that did was tried, convicted, and spent 7 years in prison. Whether or not that is too long or not long enough is up for debate however Assange has done nothing other than publish material that was in the public interest. Imagine how the U.S. would respond if someone in Russia leaked classified information which documented Russian war crimes to an Australian journalist that was based in the U.S.? Do you think for a second the U.S. would even consider sending this person to Russia to face punishment? The U.S. needs to decide if it’s going to start standing for the values it purports to espouse or if it’s going to continue to act like Russia has with Navalny.

Never Again

Never again can we elect a president who blatantly puts themself above the constitution and country they were chosen to protect and serve and that has no qualms about incessantly lying in pursuit of personal gain. To the remaining Trump devotees: Wake up and free yourself from the cult. Wrong is wrong and unfit is unfit so dump Trump and choose a half-way decent Republican candidate. If the talent pool in your Grand Old Party is that shallow then just pick a name out of a phone book in a deep-red district and as long as they prove to be a decent or good person with average or above average cognitive skills and are willing to serve their country for 4 years then maybe I and other independent voters will vote for them as we aren’t looking forward to another 4 years of Biden either.

East China West China

Today is election day in Taiwan and I hope voters will shun any candidates or political parties intent on moving towards independence. The U.S. needs to oppose moves towards Taiwan independence as strongly as it does reunification by force and make it clear that if the voters of Taiwan do decide they want to elect pro-independence parties and politicians then they will be left to face the consequences on their own without any economic, political, or military support from the U.S..

The U.S. and the rest of the world must understand that the situation between China and Taiwan is not akin to Russia and Ukraine which are and have been separate countries. China and Taiwan are more like East and West Germany or North and South Vietnam. This is because their separation is a relic of the cold war and like these other two countries that had been divided over capitalist / communist ideology and U.S. / U.S.S.R. alliances China too will eventually be reunited.

The question is will it be reunified by force because of the irresponsible words and actions of politicians and the inability of the voters of Taiwan to see that the DPP is leading them towards disaster, or will it be reunified peacefully when mainland China looks and functions a lot more like Taiwan. The best thing Taiwan can do for itself, the rest of China, and the world is to maintain the status quo and continue to set an example of what kind of an open and prosperous society freedom and democracy can bring.

The UN Chief and Israel

It’s unreasonable for Israel’s UN Ambassador to accuse the UN Chief of “tolerating terrorism” and call for him to resign when all he said was “It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation” moreover he followed by saying “the grievances of the Palestinian people can not justify the appalling attacks by Hamas and those appalling attacks can not justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”. Ignoring the underlying causes of this century-old conflict will not help achieve any kind of long-term peace and any attempts by Israel to rewrite, cover up, or silence those who shed light on the history of this conflict will fail regardless of how hard they try to keep people ignorant of the crimes, past and present, that their nation was built upon and continues to illegally expand upon in the West Bank.

With that said Israel did return all of Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005 and instead of making the most of it while peacefully advocating for an independent and contiguous Palestinian state they elected Hamas in 2006 who was already well-known for their violent fanaticism. Although Hamas did not win a majority of votes in that election and although most of the people in Gaza were too young or not even yet born to vote in that 2006 election they have been stuck with them for the past 17 years. As for the West Bank while all Israeli settlements there are illegal it unfortunately seems that continued Israeli military control, NOT continued settlement expansion, carried out as respectfully as possible is necessary until the vast majority of Palestinians come to the realization that despite being unjustly founded Israel is here to stay and that the best they can hope for is a two-state solution and that can only come by renouncing all forms of violence and opposing any groups or political parties that advocate for it.

Better yet if they could all put their religious differences aside and agree to a unified secular state, something like a Singapore of the Middle East, then there would be no need to put up security walls and fight over borders within the same country. Unfortunately there’s no shortage of violent fanatics on both sides who would never accept living with each other within a secular state and under a modern constitution that gave everyone equal rights. Maybe one day when more people can breakout of their old tribal mindsets such a state will be possible but in the meantime it seems the only viable path forward is two independent states living side by side but I think this would only work if the Palestinian state disarmed and allowed Israel to secure the borders in the interest of both states while allowing Palestinians to govern and police a contiguous Palestinian state under Palestinian law and under what I would hope would be a modern and tolerant Palestinian constitution.

Stop the Bombing – Free the Hostages

What happened to those poor people in Israel on Saturday October 7th was horrific and it’s hard to believe such large-scale and indiscriminate violence specifically targeted at innocent civilians is even possible. To make things worse rather than seeking to reduce tensions and prevent future terrorist attacks Israel is responding exactly how Hamas wanted them to and as a result it has already lost much of the sympathy and support it had gained from that tragic and unprecedented terrorist attack.

Rather than relentlessly dropping bombs on such a densely populated area and preparing for a ground invasion and possible occupation Israel should have focused on replacing its own incompetent leadership and on fixing its massive security flaws by doing things like expanding the buffer zone around Gaza to the point it would be impossible to cross without ample time to detect, respond, and repel any future attacks. All aerial bombing should be reserved for clear and legitimate targets like rocket launch sites.

As for the monsters who orchestrated and perpetrated the October 7th attack/massacre if they aren’t killed on the spot and can be taken alive they should be sentenced to a life of hard labor or serve as test subjects for new drugs and vaccines. Regardless of the punishment I hope they all eventually meet up with Israeli Special Forces in precisely targeted operations because this is preferable to the current approach of mass bombing which is without a doubt creating more terrorists than it’s destroying and sowing the seeds for future violence.

P.S. Here is what I sent to the President and my state’s Senators. I also tried sending it twice to my representative in Congress but his website is garbage.

The U.S. needs to stop funding Israel and become a neutral broker of peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. It can start by advocating for an immediate cease-fire and the release of all hostages. The vast majority of people suffering in Gaza are not responsible for the atrocities committed on October 7th and therefore should not be collectively punished for them.

No More Near Misses

The U.S. should reach an agreement with China before there’s an accident in the Taiwan Strait and before it further emboldens Taiwan separatists into thinking the U.S. will send its citizens to fight and die in support of Taiwan independence. To put it simply, if the Chinese Navy doesn’t sail their ships into the territorial seas controlled by Taiwan or take any other unprovoked military actions against Taiwan then the U.S. navy should not sail their ships through the Taiwan Strait as doing so is an unnecessary provocation that serves no positive purpose.

If an agreement like this was enacted China would not be as pressed into feeling an increased sense of urgency to retake Taiwan and voters in Taiwan would be less likely to press their luck by supporting politicians and political parties that increasingly and irresponsibly flirt with the idea of Taiwan independence. Moreover this gesture of respect, show of support for the One China policy, and meaningful attempt to reduce tensions will not diminish the U.S. capability or resolve to come to the aid of Taiwan in the event of an unprovoked invasion from the mainland.

Peace Talks Now

After 9 years of armed conflict, which includes the past 53 weeks of death and destruction, there needs to be immediate peace talks. These talks should be held by the U.N. and in these talks Ukraine and Russia need to state their case and tell the world what they want in order to immediately end this war and remain good neighbors in perpetuity. If an agreement can’t be reached then after hearing both sides all U.N. member states, particularly those responsible for directly or indirectly fueling this conflict, need to decide which side is being reasonable and which is not, and drop their support whether it be economic, military, or moral for the country they feel is responsible for perpetuating this conflict and gambling with the fate of humanity.

Police Belligerence and Brutality

I watched the Tyre Nichols video so you didn’t have to and was shocked at the incompetency of the police involved and shocked that the Memphis police department, or any police department, would hire such unqualified people to serve as police officers. Moreover whoever decided to put them into a group and give them the name “Scorpion Unit” should be fired as if that in itself wasn’t a warning sign that such a unit might become even more aggressive in order to maintain their reputation as the bad-ass unit and to one-up their fellow scorpions. It seemed like for every point of police incompetence came two points of police anger and aggression as if they were punishing Tyre for their own lack of cardio and composure. From start to finish the officers involved did everything you’re not supposed to do to deescalate a situation and turned a traffic stop into a murder so it’s good they were fired and are being criminally charged. The Memphis police department, and all police departments, need to reevaluate their training programs and raise the mental and physical requirements for serving the public as a police officer.

Police Officer Training Lesson One:

Just because a person may not be in full compliance with your instructions, especially after being manhandled, tased, and pepper sprayed, you as a law enforcement officer do not have the right to punch them in the face, kick them in the head, or beat them with a baton. A police officer does not have the right to punish people for not fully following their instructions or respecting their authority regardless of whether it’s because that person is intoxicated, mentally ill, or in a state of shock and panic, however a police officer does have the responsibility to try and deescalate the situation and get the person under control with as little force as possible while protecting themselves, fellow officers, and the public. Once in custody any suspects or perpetrators will face whatever charges they have coming to them and serve any punishment that is given to them not on the street, in the back of a police vehicle, or in a police station, but in a court of law.

Colugo

A colugo is an arboreal gliding mammal native to Southeast Asia and they are more closely related to humans and other primates than they are bats, squirrels, or sugar gliders. If you’re hearing about this interesting animal for the first time count them as one more reason on a list of many to protect the forests, preserve biodiversity, and save the planet.

2022 Midterms

It’s already been two weeks since my vote and all the other votes were counted but I still feel I should thank and congratulate the U.S. voters who rejected many of the Trump-endorsed election-denying crazies who were endorsed by Trump not because they were the best choice for the country but because they were the best choice for him. It seems more Republican voters are waking up to the fact that with Trump it was never “America First” it was “Trump First” and it will always be “Trump First” and the sooner the rest of Republican voters wake up to this reality and start supporting candidates who are for democracy, against dictatorship, and put the country before their own narrow and narcissistic interests the better.

Congratulations Brazil!

Thank you for sparing us another four years of Bolsonaro and we look forward to a return to responsible environmental stewardship of the Amazon rainforest.

Every vote counts and that’s why I went out of my way today to send in my absentee ballot for the U.S. mid-term elections. Stay informed, speak up, and vote!

Iranian Protests

The world is inspired by the brave people protesting injustice in Iran. Governments need to focus on improving people’s lives and not on enforcing what they can or must wear.

Brazilian Elections

Another 4 years of Bolsonaro would be a disaster for Brazil, the Amazon, and the World so Brazilian voters need to vote this dangerous and delusional joke of a president out of office like we did with Trump!