Favorite-Films-TV ... (at-the-moment)

... could change couple-times-week-or-year

... this-all want-to-include right-now ... there's-lots-more

... these all kinds of movies-TV-series can-will watch more than once

    _______________________________________________________________________

2 Nights Till Morning  (2015)
... showing that cinema doesn’t need classic-Hollywood-narrative or intensely-complicated-plots to strike a chord

5 to 7  (2014)
... 'older'-woman-(mid-30's) younger-man hardly ever done much better

A Walk on the Moon  (1999)
... all the leads-cast-are-exceptional.. of an 'era' firmly-implanted-in-memory

After The Wedding  (2006)
... after many viewings remains one of top favorites

Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong  (2016)
... they both are very good ... Hong Kong the star

Anna Karenina  (2013-18)
... sweeping-cinematic-drama of Tolstoy's-classic-work

**Apple Tree Yard  (2017)
... Emily Watson is just phenomenal ... must-be-watched  -  3h 43min

B. Monkey  (1998)
... little known gem.. several-great-performances.. he's-son of great Richard Harris

 Big Little Lies  (2017-19)
... only-Season-1 ... here discovered the amazing Shailene Woodley

Chinese Puzzle  (2013)
 ... several favorite European actors in an-easy-fun-film  

Come Undone  (2010)
... when passion comes into-conflict-with-reality.. an-Italian-romantic-drama

Dates  (2013)
... some great talent with a very entertaining script-format

Doctor Foster  (2015-17)
... she's just-sooo-exceptionally-good ... the-'dinner-scene'-priceless 

Ei kittos (No Thank You)  (2014)
... anyone tracks down another English-subtitled-version.. LMK

En Equilibre (In Harmony)  (2015)
... favorite Cécile de France film

Episodes  (2011-2017)
... Matt LaBlanc's best work.. entire cast outstanding-funny

Far from the Madding Crowd  (2015)
... she's consistently one of the absolute-best-in-the-business

Fidelity (Vernost)  (2019)
... a-rarity... a-good-adult-Russian-film

**Fleabag   (2016-19)
... doing-it-all... she's-absolute-genius  -  5h  27min

Four Lovers  (2010)
... could be best-partner-swap-movie have come-across  

Friends With Kids  (2011)
... top-notch-ensemble-cast.. all-doing-very-good-work

From the Land of the Moon  (2016)
... no-actor-does-more with-their-eyes-alone

Gentleman Jack  (2019-)
... another Suranne Jones triumph

Happiness Never Comes Alone  (2012)
... forty-six hardly-ever looking-this-captivating

Killing Eve  (2018-22)
... Oh & Comer beyond-exceptional.. marvelous-programming

Laggies  (2014)
... a favorite film of many of these actors

Man Up  (2015)
... film's $3M worldwide-gross-receipts belie-its-worth

**Normal People  (2020)
... to remain one of best-of-its-genre  -  5h 39min

Not Suitable For Children  (2012)
... when-I-got-Snook'ered.. (he's-good too)

Pulp Fiction  (1994)
... 27-yo-film ... as-good-today

**Rust and Bone  (2012)
... another film remaining-among BJ-top-five  -  2h 3min

**Scenes From A Marriage  (2021)
... will take very special performances keeping them from their Emmys  -  4h 56min

**Showtrial (2021-)
... fantastic series, Celine Buckens is brilliant - 5 h

Spotlight  (2015)
... very good reasons won Academy Award for Best Picture

Taboo  (2017-)
... very-dark &-weirdly-alluring

Take This Waltz  (2012)
... she's-always-good... mho - some of Rogen's-best-screen-work

The Bourne Identity  (2002)
... beginning of a terrific-franchise

The Great  (2020-)
... start to finish just wacko fun... Elle Fanning is charming-terrific

The Matrix  (1999)
... to-think Will Smith passed-on-being-Neo for-'Wild-Wild-West'

The Painted Veil  (2006)
... superb-acting.. visuals-locations-are-breathtaking-stunning

The Reports on Sarah & Saleem  (2018)
... when infidelity becomes an-act-of-terrorism

 **The Split (2018-2022)
... most of the genre nowhere-near-as-believable-enjoyable  -  17h

The Vicious Kind  (2009)
... her-philanthropic-work nearly-impressive as-her-acting-career (from-age-8) 

Those Happy Years (Anni felici)  (2013)
... one reviewer's comment:  "A filmmaker’s love letter to his-formative-experience
.. a heated & heartfelt swell of emotion, enthusiasm & empathy."

Une nouvelle amie (The New Girlfriend)  (2014)
... two favorite French actors... their work always special

(updated 10.12.21)

 

... gun-ownership-possession is waaay-too-laissez-fare in the U.S.

~ guns are a political-issue in this country... &-must-never-be thought-otherwise

~ gun manufacturers don't G-A-S ... sales are what's of uppermost-importance-priority

~ laws-regulations if-when they exist at all are totally-ineffective at best for protecting people

~ every-sale-transfer at every step of ownership-possession s/b fully-regulated-documented

~ w-severe-compulsory-penalties (financial-penal) for non-compliance

~ weapons-of-war (AR's, etal) must never be sold to the civilian-population.. EVER

~ mandatory-gun-registration w-local-law-enforcement is tantamount to population-safety

~ guns are a crisis in this country... school-education need reflect this-critical-situation

... we go nowhere till we get this right.. we opened this door.. we control these weapons

... or they will forever be controlling-killing-us in-ever-greater-numbers

 

 

 

... invader ... colonizer

 

... versions of history are-have-always-been highly politicized
... my generation being-taught 'Vikings' were marauders-invaders
... while other European nations were portrayed to be 'Colonizers'
... as they invaded-taking-over huge portions of the known & New-Worlds

... colonial, colonist, frontiersman, homesteader, pioneer, settler
... whatever ... it turned into becoming genocide on a massive scale
... far greater than when Hitler slaughtered millions during his reign of terror

... when the New-World was 'discovered' it was far from being an-unoccupied-land
... estimates range from upwards of 30-50 million people were then already here

... in North America millions-of-indigenous-peoples 'fending-for-themselves'
... going-back-thousands-of-years ... hundreds of tribes coast-to-coast
... then-they-got-invaded 'colon-ized'.. (look-how-well that's-been-workin-out)

... as far as we know it was first instance of massive-plague[s] in North America
... one's Europeans brought with them decimating a completely-vulnerable-population
... for sure 'Indian-Wars' took lives of hundreds-of-thousands probably-millions

... yet the real deadly toll came by way of numerous-infectious-deadly-diseases
... smallpox, malaria, viral influenza, yellow fever, measles, typhus, bubonic plague, typhoid fever, cholera, & pertussis (whooping cough)
... tens of millions of indigenous populations perished

 

... at same time we were invading foreign lands capturing-kidnapping several-hundred-thousand of other-nations'-peoples
... to be used as beasts-of-burden slave-labor on-'our-soil'

... then came the numerous prejudices against:  limeys.. micks.. frogs.. kikes.. cochise.. dagos.. gooks.. nips.. jungle-bunnies.. chinks.. spics.. pinkos.. wetbacks.. etal


... we live today with-these-outcomes legacies-from-our-past into-our-present
... true-history of who-we-are ... the-darker-side of our 'melting-pot'-heritage

 

Disturbing NASA photo of Amazon fires captured from space.

Wildfires and plumes of smoke from the Amazon rainforest can been seen from space in satellite images captured by US space agency NASA.
The disturbing photos show smoke and fire across several Brazilian states as the crisis reaches record-breaking levels.
More than 75,000 fires have erupted since the start of the year [2020] — an 83% increase on last year & the highest since records began in 2013.

The latest fires have been burning for weeks now, prompting anti-government protests & international furor.
NASA’s images show the increase in smoke & fire activity as flames break out in Rondonia, Mato Grosso & Amazonas.

More than half of the fires are in the massive Amazon Basin, where more than 20 million people live.
Some 1,663 new fires were ignited, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.
Environmental organizations & researchers say the blazes were most likely set by humans who wanted to clear & use land for business purposes.

Amazon Watch, a non-profit organization working to protect the rainforest, said farmers had been setting the forest ablaze to create pastures, emboldened by Brazil’s conservative pro-business government.

“The unprecedented fires ravaging the Amazon are an international tragedy and a dangerous contribution to climate chaos.”

Fires are “directly related” to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, a climate skeptic who in the past has been criticized for claiming environmental protections hinder the South American country’s economic growth.
“This devastation is directly related to President Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental rhetoric, which erroneously frames forest protections & human rights as impediments to Brazil’s economic growth.”  

Bolsonaro’s message allowed farmers & ranchers “to commit arson with wanton impunity.”
“The vast majority of these fires are human-lit.”  
Farmers & ranches had long used fire to clear land, which was the most likely cause of the unusually large number of fires burning in the rainforest.

Bolsonaro, who has previously described rainforest protections as an obstacle to Brazil’s economic development, sparred with critics who warn the Amazon absorbs vast amounts of greenhouse gases & is crucial for efforts to contain climate change.
The Amazon fires have become a global issue, escalating tensions between Brazil & European countries who believe Bolsonaro has neglected commitments to protect biodiversity.

The Amazon is often referred to as the planet’s lungs, producing 20% of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.
As the largest rainforest on the planet, it's considered a vital instrument in slowing global warming.

According to the National Institute for Space Research.. more than one-and-a-half soccer fields’ worth of Amazon rainforest are being destroyed-every-minute.

AP

  

Before coronavirus, 14.5 million people in the UK were caught up in poverty, equating to more than one in five people...

... all-loving-their-Monarchy ...

 

1. Balmoral Castle
Set in Scotland, Prince Albert bought this property for Queen Victoria in 1852. It's a place where the Royals still escape to each summer on holiday. Boasting baronial-style features such as turrets and dormer windows, it really is like something out of a fairy tale book.

2. Buckingham Palace
Perhaps the most famous of all, Buckingham Palace is the London residence & official administrative seat of the monarch of the United Kingdom. It's also where the Queen gave birth to Prince Charles & Prince Andrew. 

3. Craigowan Lodge
Just a stone's throw from Balmoral Castle, this seven-bedroom stone house was once a firm favourite of Prince Charles & Princess Diana. Today, however, it is mainly used to host visiting VIPs. 

4. Hillsborough Castle
In the heart of Northern Ireland [Queen's residence], this country house was built back in the 1770s. As well as four giant Ionic columns added by local architect Thomas Duff in the 1820s, it has incredibly breathtaking gardens. 

5. The Palace of Holyroodhouse
Over in Scotland, Holyroodhouse was home to Mary Queen of Scots and now serves as the official residence of the monarchy in Scotland. If you pay a visit, you can still see the many ruins today. 

6. Sandringham House
The Queen inherited private ownership of Sandringham from her father, King George VI, back in 1952.

7. Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is the largest & longest-occupied castle in Europe, which was founded by William the Conquerer in the 11th century. The 1,000-room castle is a timeless blend of both Victorian & Georgian style.

 

8. Birkhall
Home to the Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall, Birkhall is a beautiful private residence in Scotland. Hidden in the gardens, you'll find the famous Wendy house which was built for Princess Elizabeth before she took the throne.

9. Clarence House
Today, Clarence House is the official London residence of Charles & Camilla, who have apartments on the second floor.

10. Highgrove House
Prince Charles first bought Highgrove House in 1980 and it now serves as his family home. The property is also close to the prince's Duchy Home Farm [organic farm operated by the Duchy of Cornwall]. The farm is part of the gardens of Highgrove House.

 

11. Llwynywermod
This property is Charles & Camilla's Welsh home, which they bought & refurbished in 2007. Previously, the home was owned by relatives of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. 

 

12. Tamarisk House
This home on the Isle of Scilly also belongs to the Duke & Duchess of Cornwall, where they often visit for a holiday. Most recently, they have opened it up for holidaymakers to rent.

 

13. Kensington Palace
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live in this 20-bedroom property with their three young children. Back in 1689, King William III and Queen Mary bought the mansion for £20,000 and commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to expand it.

 

14. Amner Hall
Anmer Hall was a wedding gift to William and Kate from the Queen, which now serves as the Cambridges’ country home. It is part of the Queen's Sandringham Estate, and is where the Cambridges spend much of their time together.

15. Frogmore Cottage
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex renovated this quaint cottage before moving in after the birth of their son Archie. The couple commissioned Soho House designer Vicky Charles to add a 1920's style to the interior. [now they live in California]

16. Gatcombe Park
This Grade II listed property was purchased by the Queen as a wedding present for Princess Anne in 1976. Anne now lives there with her daughter, Zara Tindall.

 

17. St James' Palace
This is the official residence of Princess Anne and also contains the London residences of Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Alexandra. The interiors are remarkably striking, with a red brick exterior and four courtyards.

 

18. The Royal Lodge
Prince Andrew moved into this 30-room property back in 2004. 

 

19. Bagshot Park
Home to Queen's youngest-son Prince Edward - Earl & Countess Sophie of Wessex, this 120-room Tudor mansion was previously used as a hunting lodge. Before they moved in, Queen Victoria arranged the construction of the property for her son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, in the 1870s.

 

 

 

Are we much better.. we had Trump spending $150,000,000 playing golf ... in addition to all the hundreds of millions his-royal-family cost American taxpayers... still are.

 

... supplying this-family with-subsidies... like propping-up fossil-fuels or-war

... money needs-to-have much-higher-purpose

 

 

  Property descriptions by Lisa Walden, Digital Writer, House Beautiful & Country Living

... they are gone-going

... when we first moved to the Vegas-Mojave-Desert twenty-plus years ago
... the natural world out here was just beginning to get interrupted

... at first there were lots of smaller animals & insects (even a small bobcat out back)
... now most all are gone

... years & years of development along-w atmospheric-chemtrail-spraying taking their toll
... large roaches once were plentiful in warmer months

... now have not seen a one for more than a year or so
... smaller creatures being slowly poisoned are first to go

... our time ever more unavoidable can come as no surprise

 

... where's the real-estate-industry

 ... when's last article you've read where industry-members are rallying-against-climate-disruption
... philosophy appears to be.. we don't talk about it it'll have less effect

... or at least we'll sell more properties until whenever it's blatantly-obvious there's-a-major unavoidable-climate-issue gonna impact each & every one of us on-the-planet-severely

 

... all have been told in the past sooo many times
... this is gonna start happening 2100-2150

... too many alive believe they're not gonna-see-it
... few-realizing it's-starting-happening right-now

... whatever-the-calamity.. major-storms.. rising-seas.. heat-drought-wildfires
... we're a-big-country.. yet few places are not to be badly-impacted one-way-or-another

... there's a chance to keep a society where you'll want your-kids & g-kids to live
... yet we're wasting it each-every day we do sooo-little to-save-rescue-it

 

 

... certain-things:

progressives 2b mostly cast-aside in Biden-administration

Trump most likely never to go behind-bars

trillions-to-bail-out failing-banks Wall-Street

lots more billions given to the Pentagon than-they-even ask-for-request

'tax-cut' handing trillions over to the rich

2,000 billionaires w-more-wealth than 5-billion-people on-the-planet

work to stop-climate-destruction gonna-be 2-hard-4-us

we-can-get whatever-we-want whenever-we-want ... not-enough-money for-you-though

$140,000,000 super-yacht ... crosses-Atlantic on $300,000 worth-of-fuel

healthcare.. education.. prisons.. pandemics.. all-4-profit - all-perfectly-ok-acceptable

let's-block-out-Sun w-giant-balloons to help-w-global-warming  (B. Gates)

U.S. sold $175B+ military equipment to foreign governments fiscal year ended 09.30.20

whistleblowers-are-terrorists

hundreds-of-years of-continuing-racism

74 million Americans wanting-voting status-quo

literally-anyone can-will-be elected-POTUS

don't-even-really-know.. 50-60 million-in-poverty ... how-many-millions-homeless

one-guy-today makes-near $2,500 a-second ... net-worth almost $200-billion

maybe-there's ... no-such-thing as-chemtrails ... all-over-the-world

methane's-the-one ... taking-us-to increases-in-temperatures beyond-imagination

more than 57,000 U.S. wildfires scorched 10.3 million acres in 2020

a record 212 land & environmental-defenders murdered-in-2019  (more-than 4-per-week)

we're being-spoken-to ...  just don't-presently-have wisdom-humility-to-listen

 

more-to-come

 

Optimism is the madness of insisting all is well when we are miserable.  ~Voltaire

TheWeek.com

 

COVID-19 keeps proving everyone wrong

Noah Millman

 November 2, 2020

 

America once again broke its own record last week for daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, with over 100,000 new cases on a single day. That's not as many cases as we actually had back in the worst days of March when testing capacity was almost nonexistent and the virus had been raging essentially unchecked for weeks through the Northeast. But it is clearly worse than the summer surge through the Southeast & Southwest. 

And while the current wave is hitting Midwestern states like Wisconsin hardest, in every part of the country, from Texas to Massachusetts, numbers are rising, and in an accelerating fashion.

It's a terrible & depressing state of affairs. So imagine how we'd feel if the numbers were more than two and a half times worse — if, instead of 100,000 new cases a day, we had nearly 250,000. Because that's what America would look like if we had the same number of new cases per capita as France.

The ferocious return of the virus across Europe is not exactly an under-reported story. But it has been under-assimilated to the dominant narratives of both sides in America's COVID culture war. This past summer, advocates of stringent measures — aggressive lockdowns, universal mask-wearing, etc. — could point to Europe's success as proof that the virus could be beaten with sufficient determination, organization, and social solidarity. If America would only get its act together, we could emulate the approach of countries like France and have some semblance of our normal lives back by Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, advocates of a less-stringent response could point to Sweden, Europe's outlier country that never locked down, to say that ruthless suppression of the virus was unnecessary. With adequate protections for the residents of nursing homes (which Sweden failed to enact in the initial phase of the pandemic), and with restrictions on large gatherings, much of life could continue almost as normal and without massive economic and social dislocation. The virus would spread slowly through the population, taking a modest toll in life and health, but there would be no crisis, and eventually herd immunity would cause it to peter out.

Both views have now taken a serious hit. France successfully suppressed the virus to a level well below where states like New York got it, declared victory, and returned to something closely approaching normal. And it was precisely that return to normal that allowed the virus to return as well — and once it achieved a critical mass of infected individuals, the number of cases exploded.

Nor is France unique. The Czech Republic, a country that responded swiftly and forcefully in the spring, and thereby managed to avoid the first wave almost entirely, is now suffering one of the worst outbreaks in Europe. After doing surprisingly well through September, Sweden is facing its own surge, and abandoning its earlier lax approach to the virus. Meanwhile Belgium, arguably the worst-hit European country back in the spring, is also having a devastating fall, with two and a half times the number of daily cases per capita as France — over six times the U.S.'s rate. If Belgium hasn't benefited from herd immunity, it's hard to think of what country could.

 

Where does that leave all of us, staring down the barrel of a brutal winter?

Many may be tempted to take their prior views to new extremes, as if, like socialism, the only reason they haven't worked is that they've never been tried. So the advocates of lockdowns can point to the virus' resurgence and say they should never have ended — we should all have stayed maximally distanced until a vaccine is widely distributed. But this is neither a socially nor economically viable strategy. Indeed, one reason that the virus was able to surge back in France and elsewhere in Europe is precisely that European governments were loathe to crush their economies for a second time in only a few months and aware that the population was unlikely to comply in any case. If the only way to beat the virus is "lockdowns forever," most people are going to take their chances with the virus.

The "it is what it is" camp would seem to have the more plausible stance, in that case. If the virus is going to win regardless, why not just give in and get it over with? And while herd immunity hasn't quite panned out the way they hoped, they do have one other good talking point: though the virus appears to be as contagious as ever, it has had a markedly lower fatality rate lately than was estimated to be the case back in the spring. Indeed, even accounting for the younger population now being infected, the fatality rate has fallen to a fraction of what it was. It wasn't just the flu back in March, but maybe it is now?

The problem with this view is the same as it has been since the beginning of the pandemic when a certain segment of the American right first began to air it. Even at a lower fatality rate, the virus would prove devastating to vulnerable populations who cannot be ring-fenced if the virus is raging out of control in the general population. 

But further, that lower fatality rate is itself largely a function of improved therapeutic techniques. If the health-care system is overwhelmed with cases, that improvement will vanish. Now consider that in Belgium they are asking doctors with active COVID infections to continue working, and ask yourself whether you'd still take your chances with the virus if that was the case in your community. Once the virus is raging out of control, the government won't have to order a lockdown — people will lock themselves down, and take the economy with them.

Of course, there are still things we can do to improve overall outcomes. We can wear masks; we can take (and distribute) vitamin D; we can invest in testing infrastructure and contact tracing. It's still better to be Germany than France. But the unfortunate reality is that none of that will eradicate the virus. We have to live with it. And our only two alternatives for living with it are each deeply unsatisfying.

One choice is to adapt to the virus's new abnormal in which we prioritize the essential (e.g. education) even when it cannot be deemed wholly safe, but where many if not most of the pleasures and conveniences of life (eating in restaurants, attending a friend's wedding) are simply out of reach for many months to come. It's a gray and depressing prospect, where, regardless of how well the government cushions us from dire need, our lives are all persistently poorer. Unsurprisingly, no country I'm aware of has freely chosen this path. I haven't chosen it myself.

The other choice — the one the Western world has largely made — is for a manic-depressive cycle of opening and locking down with economic gyrations to match. The tougher we crack down at first, the harder it will be to resume cracking down later after a respite brings the virus back. But the laxer we are at first, the more ephemeral any period of respite will be. The death rate will almost certainly be higher in this world, but we'll likely tolerate it better than persistent misery. Indeed, in the context of so much volatility, with dread alternating with euphoria and plans subject to continuous revision, perhaps we'll barely notice.

 

"One of the most magical times of year...

... as we reach the December-21st-Solstice, the shortest day of the year. 

 

 

 

Celebrated all over the world, this is the moment when the rhythm of the earth changes and the heartbeat of Gaia, the mother Goddess, takes on a new charge of energy.

 

We are told that she is a goddess who, by all accounts, inhabits the planet, offering life and nourishment to all her children.

 

In the ancient civilizations, she was revered as mother, nurturer & giver-of-life. And in Greek Mythology she represented the Earth, birthing all forms of landscape, plant & creature.

Though her creation was majestic, her solitude was great. She longed for love & created the sky with whom she mated, igniting a creative force which birthed-countless-offspring: 

... Time & the Fates, the Muses & the Oceans ... to name a few. 

 

She’s considered the-primeval-mother of whom-all-gods - & life-itself - descended. 

As-mother-figure she represents the Divine Feminine."

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

 

"A concept grounded in spirituality, definitions vary depending on who you ask, the Divine Feminine is an energy that has been with us since-ancient-times.

 

Consciousness is basically divided up into ‘masculine’ & ‘feminine’ sides, both are needed to achieve our highest creative potential.

 

 

In other words, the Divine Feminine represents the connection to the part of your consciousness responsible for nurture, intuition, & empathy, regardless of gender.

 

The Divine Feminine is the aspect-of-the-self associated with 'creation, intuition, community, sensuality (felt-sense rather than thinking-sense), & collaboration.'" 

 

 

 

'GAIA as the mother figure represents 

... the Divine Feminine'

 

 

 

... I'M A-F-S

 ... that sooo many have such little capacity to understand how serious a predicament we are all facing

... that almost-half 48 percent of-voting-Americans can't-see or want-to-believe: 

• ... that war-4-profit is one of our main exports costing-squandering the country's-precious-resources desperately-needed for all-our-underfunded social-programs

• ... that our major-political-parties are still-more-concerned beholden-to-plutocracy than-lives-concerns of all-hardworking-decent-Americans 

• ... that our-government has-been-corrupted into-believing healthcare-education-housing-jobs & safety-security of-its-citizens are-no-longer of-its-responsibility
  

• ...that our species feels so little towards millions-of-others it-wipes-them into oblivion-extinction at alarming-speeds with-not-so-much of-any-thought-concern at-all

• ... that the disruption-destruction of earth's-climate has such an excruciatingly low priority we are facing doom within the lives of our-younger-generations existing-on-earth-today

• ...that millions are suffering-dying resulting-from-one-man's complete-insanity-hubris-stupidity ... now-attempting leading-our-nation into-tyranny
  

• ..that hatred-misogyny-bigotry-racism are to-such-degree so alive & well in this land we continually call-refer-to-as.. 'greatest-on-earth'

 

... and ... I'm-Angered-Frustrated-Saddened

... that all-of-this has-happened-is-happening to-all-of-us during-the-course of-one-lifetime

 

 Hopes for Humanity

 ... that-this-was-from seven-years-ago ... &-where-are-we-today

SCOTUS v. USA

 

 

 

Republicans plan to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. When installed, she will form a 6-3 majority on the court that represents a small minority of the country. 

A Republican president hasn’t won a first term with the popular vote since 1988, but the chaotic nature of Supreme Court appointments plus the anti-democratic nature of the electoral college mean that five of those six justices were appointed by Presidents who lacked popular support.

This problem isn’t limited to the Supreme Court―lower courts are now just as skewed. And our polling shows that voters don’t like the way these arch-conservative courts have been ruling.

 

Mitch McConnell took control of the Senate in 2014, and immediately erected a blockade on judicial nominations from President Obama. Senators from red states had already been placing holds on nominees over the previous six years, leaving enormous numbers of judicial vacancies at all levels of the Courts when Trump took office in 2017―and he and McConnell went to great lengths to pack those courts full with young, unqualified conservative hard-liners.

Republican judges are positioned to strike down abortion rights, voting rights, and environmental regulations. Republicans can lose every election for the next 50 years and still enact their agenda.

 

Voters don’t approve of Republican jurisprudence. We want government to be able to regulate greenhouse gas emissions:

And voters don’t want an activist court to strike down state-issued public health measures to contain the coronavirus:

 

 www.dataforprogress.org

 

...World-at-War ... w-Trump

 

... our-world continues doing a-poor-job dealing w-this disease

... ten-months-in w-a mortality-rate-nearly 3%
... number-of-deaths continue-being our-choice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... flu pandemic(s) could-(will) return, doctors warn"

... this article comes from Sept 2018

... when-Trump-was already-hard-at-work dismantling & defunding those-organizations-tasked w-protecting-us from-deadly-virus-attacks

... now he wants to get more years to continue on w-his death-crusade
... many-foolishly-acting like they just want this all to go magically-away.. insanely-believing-wanting this-to-happen
.
... not only is this not-going-to-happen (that-world is-forever-gone)
... w-him it's-guaranteed-getting MUCH-MUCH-worse

.
... it-will-not-be until-we-return to-leadership having-belief-in-science
... only-then will-we-begin to-have-a-chance against-these-viruses

... bad-as-may-be-now
... it's-only-a-fraction what-would-be-like should-he-manage to-steal-another-election

... WE-CAN'T-LET-HIM

 

... Twitter finally comes around

From:    SquadVictoryFund.com <info@squadvictoryfund.com>

Reply-to:    "SquadVictoryFund.com" <info@squadvictoryfund.com>

Date:    Oct 9, 2020, 1:43 PM 

Subject:    Twitter finally comes around

 

Shortly after Donald Trump announced that he’d contracted COVID-19, Twitter announced their official policy: Anyone wishing harm or death on an individual or group would be suspended from the platform or be required to remove their content.  

That’s the correct stance, but why did it take so long?

If Twitter truly wanted to prioritize eliminating hate speech and threats of violence on their platform, why have they been ignoring the flood of death threats, racial slurs, and sexist attacks that every member of the Squad has faced for years?

Twitter has been fully aware of the problem. A quick search of Ilhan, Alexandria, Ayanna, or Rashida’s mentions shows a torrent of verbal abuse, hatred, and death threats. Yet Twitter’s officials apparently didn’t see this dangerous and disturbing content as reason enough for them to take action.

What’s the root cause of this flood of hatred and threats of violence? Everything the Squad represents and who they are: A group of powerful, progressive women of color leaders who are unafraid to speak out against injustice. If you can afford it, contribute $3 to help each member of the Squad keep speaking truth to power.

Contribute $3

We hope that Twitter will take concrete action to combat the rise of hatred on their platform. It's just too bad that it’s taken so long and that, once again, the violence and trauma experienced by BIPOC women has been discounted. Meanwhile, the continued attacks won’t cause the Squad to falter – the fight for justice is too important to let that happen.

In solidarity,

Squad Victory Fund

 

 

 

Vote them out... Vote them all out.

 Vote-them-out ... Vote-them-all-out

by David Nir, Political Director, DailyKos.com

Donald Trump could have—should have—been the very last person in the country to contract COVID-19. He had access to the most up-to-date science, limitless rapid testing, the best of modern medicine, a personal physician round-the-clock, and a miniature army devoted to nothing else but ensuring his safety.

Yet he got the disease anyway, and it’s entirely his fault, for reasons both small and monumental. On the individual level, Trump ignored, overruled, and distorted the scientific findings his own administration produced, most notoriously in his mockery of masks and his refusal to wear one. He has, of course, also engaged in multiple high-risk behaviors, like holding the indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that likely killed Herman Cain, one of Trump’s own campaign chairs, as well as frequent travel with a large entourage, including a jaunt to his New Jersey golf club for a fundraiser Thursday evening after learning that his own aide, Hope Hicks, was sick with the coronavirus.

But much more broadly, Trump’s failure to combat the pandemic has left the virus rampaging throughout the country. With a national mask mandate, smart lockdowns, a universal testing strategy, and regular stimulus checks for idled workers and shuttered businesses, the U.S. could be in the far healthier and freer situation today enjoyed by Australia or South Korea or Vietnam or our neighbor Canada. Ordinary civilians and top government officials alike would be vastly less likely to come down with COVID. Yet here we are.

The most important lesson in all this is that it’s not just Trump’s fault: Our alarming state can be laid at the feet of the entire Republican Party. 

Ask yourself this: When have GOP leaders ever criticized Trump’s response? When have Republicans in Congress ever sought to pass legislation over his veto threats? When have they simply stood up and said, “Wear a g-ddamn mask, for f-ck’s sake!”?

Sure, a few isolated Republican governors who don’t have a personal death wish have, often belatedly, taken some steps to halt the pandemic’s spread. But the party as a whole has, as ever, gone along with the menace who leads it.  

Republicans have always known Trump was a danger, never more literally so than now. But when GOP senators had the chance to remove him from office, they declined, even though they would have would up with a less embarrassing and even more conservative president instead.

This, then, is all on the GOP—everything from the mess we’re in today to Trump’s own sickness. There is only one cure: Vote them out. Vote them all out.

I’m going to propose we rip them out by the very root. Republicans have devoted decades to developing their farm system in the states by winning elections for legislatures that have produced battalions of drones who’ve zealously carried out the Trumpist agenda. That’s where Lindsey Graham got his start. Thom Tillis, Joni Ernst, and Cory Gardner, too.

Daily Kos has endorsed several dozen stalwart Democrats seeking to flip Republican seats across the country. We can not only take back a whole bunch of GOP-held chambers, we can terminate the careers of the next generation of Republican apparatchiks before they can even start. If we want to cut out the rot that’s infected this great nation, this is where we begin.

Thank you,
David Nir, Political Director
DailyKos.com

 

... For The Public-Good ... FDT & Melinia Too

Whatever Removes Donald Trump—a Miserable Bastard—From Public Life Is Good

Donald Trump has been laying waste to our Constitution, our democracy, and our very society.
by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Published on Friday, October 02, 2020 by Common Dreams

“First and foremost, I pray for a speedy recovery for President Trump and the First Lady.”

Okay. I got that out of the way.

The honest truth is that Donald Trump is a miserable bastard, and indeed a sociopath, who routinely demeans and debases others in his personal life and in his public performances.

That lead is a quote of what virtually every pundit and politician has said this morning upon learning of the COVID diagnosis of Donald and Melania Trump. Indeed, it is reasonable to think that many of those people also spoke with those quotation marks implied. They were saying what others have said, or what they think The Ideal Human Being would say, or at least what any decent human being would be expected to say under normal circumstances.

These are not normal circumstances.

One small sign: some skeptics have raised questions about whether the entire announcement is a ploy by Trump to gain sympathy and curry favor with voters. The very fact that smart people can wonder about this is a sign of how dangerously low things have fallen in this country. Anything is possible with Trump. In other words, we are all still in real danger.

It is often said that “hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.” One can slightly extend the notion, and fairly observe that civility is the tribute that vice often pays to virtue. It is often good to be nice even to those we despise. It is good to perform a basic decency in our interactions with others, whoever they may be, as a way of enacting integrity for oneself, and of promoting some minimal level of decency in the world.

It is also true that honesty is the tribute that virtue pays to vice.

And the honest truth is that Donald Trump is a miserable bastard, and indeed a sociopath, who routinely demeans and debases others in his personal life and in his public performances.

This was on full display in Tuesday’s so-called “Presidential debate,” when he abused Joe Biden, went out of his way to viciously attack Biden’s son, and could not even show a minimal amount of respect for Biden’s other dead son, a man who did something that no person in Trump’s family has ever done—volunteered for military duty and devoted his life to public service.

Trump’s COVID diagnosis is The News today, the major headline in every medium, including the New York Times.

But today’s Times also features these stories on its web “front page”:

“Trump Virtually Cuts Off Refugees as He Unleashes a Tirade On Immigrants.”

“In Profane Rant, Melania Trump Takes Aim At Migrant Children and Critics.”

“Wisconsin Is Frazzled By Surging Virus Cases and Growing Campaign Frenzy.”

“After Wild Fires Stop Burning, a Danger in the Drinking Water.”

“Why ‘Stand Back and Stand By’ Should Set Off Alarm Bells.”

The point is simple: as every honest person has been saying for at least months now, Donald Trump has been laying waste to our Constitution, our democracy, and our very society.
He has promoted the most cruel and vicious tendencies among us. He has deliberately lied about the pandemic and has defiantly held huge public rallies, both indoors and out, in which many thousands of people have been crammed together without masks. He has deliberately conducted business in the Oval Office in defiance of all social distancing and mask guidelines.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for the many tens of thousands of deaths that could have been prevented through an honest and serious response to the pandemic. Over 200,000 Americans have died of COVID in the past nine months. It will be at least 300,000 by the end of the year. And Trump has not cared.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for the cruel family separations and mass immigrant detentions at our border.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for deploying federal forces to assault a peaceful protest in Lafayette Square, and for deploying federal forces to kidnap people off the streets of Portland, and for encouraging police brutality, and for threatening martial law.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for inciting the violence of his right-wing, white supremacist supporters.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for repeatedly and deliberately announcing that the only legitimate election result is one where he is the winner, and that if there is another result, he will refuse to honor it.

Donald Trump’s very existence has been a disaster for the vast majority of U.S. citizens and residents not named Trump.

Donald Trump is personally responsible for more cruelty and injustice than any president, and any single American citizen, in recent memory.

Is it “cosmic justice” that he is now infected by the very disease that he has allowed to spread among us? The Plague gets the plague? Let the philosophers argue about this. One of my colleagues posted on Facebook last night that “Karma is a Bitch!” That seems about right to me.

Donald Trump is no different to me than any other stranger who is also a tyrant responsible for mass suffering. I really do not give a shit about him or his rather vile family members. If I am being honest, I will admit that, having been subjected to his Public Domestic Abuse for four years, I was not the slightest bit sorry to learn about his illness.
Why should I be sorry? It’s not like my feelings about the matter caused his illness. Indeed, his own irresponsibility caused it. And surely caused many others around him to also become ill. He is a despicable man, and he deserves nothing more than he has given to others. It is normal and legitimate for those whose lives have been disrupted and threatened by a bully or a tyrant to feel some exultation when the tyrant suffers.

Pundits are now worrying about the “national security” implications of Trump’s illness. It is true, such instability in the Presidency is always a cause for concern. But can those of us who are responsible for public commentary at least be honest:
Trump at full capacity is a malevolent, ignorant, and irresponsible man who has never taken his job or its public responsibilities seriously. Do you really think we are in greater danger now with Trump in bed than we were when Trump was sitting in front of his TV threatening war via Twitter?
Yes, the President of the U.S. is responsible for the nuclear codes. And quite honestly, I would feel safer with those codes entrusted to my neighbor’s fifteen year old daughter than to Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s very existence has been a disaster for the vast majority of U.S. citizens and residents not named Trump.

Nothing that takes Donald Trump even the slightest bit away from public life is bad.

And, honestly, all further consideration of his illness bores me.

The only thing that matters politically is the decisive defeat of Trump next month, and his expeditious removal from office by January 20, 2021.

Nothing else matters.

Fuck Donald Trump, and Melania too.

Constitutional democracy is on the ballot next month. Defending it is the most urgent imperative of our time.

We must defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden.

~Jeffrey C. Isaac

Jeffrey C. Isaac is James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. His books include: Democracy in Dark Times (1998); The Poverty of Progressivism: The Future of American Democracy in a Time of Liberal Decline; and Arendt, Camus, and Modern Rebellion.
.

.
“Fascism's not-a way-of-life but a-murderous-mode of-deadening-reality by-smothering-it with-lies.”

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

... growing up in NY.. was two-years-older

... ​we had ​actually ​attended​ a-business-charity-event-dinner in NYC​..​ he also w​as-present​​

... those-days as now he's-always hard-to-avoid

... big-deal-news-now is how much-an a-hole he-is

... seriously.. his ENTIRE-miserable-life he's been a royal-d!ck-bastard

... screwing-everyone (near-literally) he's come-into-contact

... he's-filthiest-garbage literally

... voting-him-again in-fact s/b considered a-criminal-act

... cause-most-all-his​..​ sure-are-2-be