Friday, June 2, 2017

Lost In America: Do You Feel Like a Stranger in a Strange Land?

Good Day World!

Do you ever get the feeling that you're a fish out of water? 

A stranger in a strange land? Left behind in the march of time?

Values. Ethics. Truth. Compassion. Morality. All are victims of the times we live in. 

In my youth, the office of the president was beyond reproach. Little boys and girls were told they could be the president of the United States if they worked hard.

After Nixon, the prestige of being the president was forever tarnished. I was forced to recognize reality. 

That revelation also came with the knowledge that America really needed to know more about its politicians to avoid repeats like Nixon in the Oval Office.

So what happened in 2016 when Trump slithered into office? Did the press go on a holiday? Were we so overwhelmed with fake news that logic no longer played a part in the choice for a new leader?

I wake up each morning hoping Trump's rise to power was all a bad dream. Reality slaps me in the face then. 

It's not just that we are living in the era of Trumpism that troubles me. The whole country seems to have broken up into principalities of partisanship. Compromise is now only a 20th century concept.

After 66 years, I find myself looking back and wondering if there were ever any good old days. It was more like the naive days when I think about what I didn't know.

My life education continues. I survived Vietnam. Numerous surgeries. Learned how to cope with my PTSD. In doing so I have come to the conclusion that youth is a big factor for feeling lost in America.

Age strips away illusions. It's harder to be optimistic when your life experiences have taught you to be wary. And that there is no free lunch.

George Bernard Shaw once said; "Youth is wasted upon the young."

One more thought from Curtis Tyrone Jones:

"Some situations are just like bad dreams, they're only unbearable while we're giving them our full attention."

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Thursday, June 1, 2017

I've Got The 21st Century Blues Full of Fake News and Views


                                   Good Day World!

"Find the sunshine leave the rain they say this town'll waste your mind
Must be right cause it's wasting mine. 
Some got to win some got to lose good time Charlies got the blues."

Waylon Jennings - Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues Lyrics  


The 21st Century isn't like what I thought it would be.
We have a demented president in our stressed-out country

No one seems to know what to do about the hate in the streets
No one wants to the the object of Donald Trump's tweets.

Oh! I've got the 21st Century blues 
just full of fake news and views

The 21st Century isn't like what I thought it would be
Friends, family and strangers just can't seem to agree.

Dreams of international peace have died
civilization's hope has been denied

Oh! I've got the 21st Century blues
just full of fake news and views

It's so hard to tell what is false and what's true
only common sense will get you through

Thinking about future dreams I had as a lad
and where we are now makes me sad

Oh! I've got the 21st Century Blues...

R.D. Stancliff










Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Trump's Bully Politics Are Popular With Republican Politicians

Good Day World!

If the president can get away with it...they can.

Republicans have found that Trump's bullying tactics work up to a point. Then there's a backlash.

The most recent example:

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R), attacked CNN for reporting on AG Jeff Session's failure to account for two meetings in 2016 with Russian Ambassador Kislyak while applying for his security clearance.

Duncan posted, "CNN's story was easily disproved within hours, and has since been removed from their website."

It didn't take CNN long to reply with a tweet, "No, Rep. Duncan...we did not retract or backtrack on our story. We stand by our reporting. Those are the facts.

So, once again facts have exposed another Republican bully trying to discredit the press.

Republicans have learned from experience by watching Trump's thug-like actions. Many of them have chosen to follow in his dirty footsteps.

Republican Greg Gianforte literally attacked a reporter, body slamming him, the day before the special election was held to see who would be the next senator from Montana.

Because the attack happened less that 24 hours before the polls opened, it didn't have that much of an impact. Almost two-thirds of the votes had already been mailed in. 

Gianforte won by a narrow margin because Montana has been Republican for over two decades. But his Democratic challenger Rob Quist came closer to defeating him than most experts thought he would.

Of course, Trump called him to congratulate him. I wonder if he sent Gianforte one of his old WWW belts?

Look what the Republicans have shoved through the House; a monstrosity that was meant to destroy Obamacare. It was such a perfect example of bullying the poor and middle class that Senate Republicans have been forced to rewrite it.

Apparently, there are still some Republicans that aren't buying the bully boy methods endorsed by Trump. 

How long can this bullying policy go on? Did Trump go too far in firing FBI Director James Comey?

Hopefully, we'll find the answers in the days and weeks ahead as several committees look into possible collusion between Trump's team and the Russians during the 2016 presidential election.

The main bully boy, Trump, is in for hard times as a special committee looks into the possibility of him obstructing justice by trying to bully intelligence officers into dropping the Russian probe.

One more thing. Trump's attempt at having a Muslim Travel Ban has been shot down by the courts. Again. The last recourse now is the Supreme Court.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Why We're Watching Chaos Devour America - And It Isn't Pretty

Good Day World!

Today, I'm going to attempt to explain why America is in political chaos.

For starters, our president is demented.

Experts have studied his speech from 30 years ago, and compared it to his speech today, discovering a startling fact - he's definitely showing signs of dementia.

Coupled with forgetfulness, and use of filler words and non-specific nouns point to mental deterioration, according to experts. 

Next.

Team Trump is under investigation for collusion with the Russians during the 2016 election.  

The fallout of the investigations is a lack of important legislation that the Republican Party had hoped to pursue with their dominance in Congress.

Instead, GOP members in the House and Senate are torn between slavishly following their leader,or jumping off the Trump train while there's still time. 

Most are afraid of him. Most don't like him. Most are concerned about getting negative feedback from being associated with Trump and his crazy tweets and conspiracy theories.

Next.

The only counterbalance to the chaos created by Donny, is the Democratic Party, which is unorganized and uninspired. 

The good news.

A grassroots movement to Resist Trump has sprung up since his election. We've seen hundreds of thousands of Americans marching in protest of Trump's policies since the second day after he assumed power.

The majority of Americans don't approve of Trump: the man, the king, and the con man. 

The bad news.

The loosely organized resistance to Trump's reign hasn't produced fresh new leaders with a vision. No great leaders are emerging from the discontented masses.

Many Americans still believe Trump's claims about "fake news" despite facts that counter them. This "Tribalism" is the root of our political chaos.

In summary;

We've degenerated from die-hard political partisanship into full-scale tribalism. We're stuck. The era of Trump has descended upon us like a plague. 

We've all become mute witnesses to the fall of our once proud republic.

Sad.

Time for me to walk on down the road... 

Monday, May 29, 2017

Memorial Day 2017 - Remembering Fallen Comrades

Good Day World!
Here in America it's Memorial Day.
A day set aside to remember and honor military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.
I remember my comrades in battle who didn't come back from Vietnam alive. Boys. Mostly teenage boys like I was then.
I remember smoking - what we all agreed upon was - the best kick-ass weed ever. It made the stuff  we had in the states seem like oregano.
We'd pass joints under the Asian sky, dreaming of home, while privately afraid we'd die. Dark humor designed to hide our horror.
I still remember the one's who didn't come home. This bowl is for you bros...
Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, May 28, 2017

He's Back! World Glad To See Trump Go Home

Good Day World!

Hold on a moment...I'm counting how many friends Trump made on his Magical Mystery Tour...

The answer is; zero.

Remember that King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Trump were already buddies putting together business deals. So he doesn't count.

So, what happened on Donny's Big Adventure? What deals were made? 

Pause. No diplomatic deals.

Signing a big arms contract between the Pentagon and Saudi Arabia, is hardly a diplomatic coup. We've been selling them, and other countries in the Middle East, arms for decades.

Trump wouldn't committee to the landmark agreement the U.S. has ready made during the Paris climate accord. He certainly didn't make any new friends at the G7 summit. 

One of Trump's favorite lackeys, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, went with him to the first stage of the tour; Saudi Arabia.

When he returned to the U.S. the next day he gleefully gloated that "There was not a single hint of a protester anywhere during the whole time we were there. Not one guy with a bad placard," to CNN.

Just to enlighten Wilbur, I would like to point out that protesters in Saudi Arabia lose their heads. Hence, no one protests.

Too bad Wilbur didn't stay with the Trump troop through the rest of the trip. 

From Tel Aviv to Taormina, protesters took to the streets as Trump stomped through their countries, shoving and name-calling.

Now that he's back, watch the spin on Donny's first foreign adventure.

Read some headlines in the newspapers today. 

You'll see an entirely different account of the tour from conservative sources - such as Fox and Friends - who will be gushing about Donny's statesmanship.

Meanwhile, Donny has to face the music here. The Russia probe is expanding, and not going away.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...