Commies

I am a proud cold war veteran. I served in the US Navy while Vladimir Putin was serving in the KGB. The Commies were our sworn enemy. Still are. What’s left of them anyway, the Russian Federation. They and China want our country to fail; along with an unfortunately growing list of other countries. But for me “Commies”, especially as an epithet belongs to those two countries.

Russia is not a communist nation anymore. But it’s leader-for-life wants to restore the glory of the old Soviet Empire. But he really isn’t a commie. He’s a totalitarian. China is a communist nation. A big powerful communist nation that runs on communist principles. As far as I know. I don’t know that much about them or communism actually. Except that they want the entire world to be a communist world state with it as it’s natural leader. They’re aggressive and tenacious. They are our enemy in international relations and if left unchallenged would run rough-shod over its neighbors.

So, can you tell them I am not a “Commie”? Because what I am is a member, dues-paying member, of the Democratic Socialists of America. So my politics are left of center, but they are not Commie. Socialists are to the left of us. Communists are the way out there. Just like those fascists nazi cosplayers who marched through our capitol July 4th are on the far right of MAGA. Hopefully far away, but that’s up to the individual MAGA.

So the MAGA megaphone that is Fox News has been blasting the air waves with misinformation and misrepresentation of what DSA is and what its members believe is a tenet of DSA-ism. Yes, there are some really lefty politicians who are a part of the DSA that have extreme views. I agree with some on principle, even if I think they are extreme in their rhetoric.

I’m not a DSA scholar. I joined the DSA in 2016 when the DCCC stole the primary from Bernie to crown HRC as the democratic candidate. I’ve been paying dues mostly every month ever since. I have voted against Trump every chance I’ve had. I was depressed after the 2024 election when 3 million people who voted for Biden in 2020, couldn’t be bothered to vote for Harris. I have no doubt, ok maybe a little doubt, that Trump won the election without interference from Musk, but it’s a good conspiracy theory. Americans voted for the same guy that violated his oath. Knowing he was going to be tried for his crimes against our nation’s top secret files. We’ll never know now what Jack Smith found out in his investigation that he was ready to go trial with. But I digress. Trump is our president. You voted for him. We collectively elected him president. Again. SMH

Anyway, don’t get all of your news from one place and don’t let someone do the thinking for you. Do your own research, but take into account that every news source has a bias. Including you. It’s easy to disregard out-of-hand things you don’t agree with. It’s hard to suspend our judgement to weigh the evidence objectively. Find someone who has the opposite opinion you have. Someone you can trust. Make friends with them and be honest with your opinions. They’ll let you know where you’re full of baloney. Those are the best friends;.

I’m a cold war veteran. I’m a proud DSA member. I’m a proud American. I’m not a commie.

But I am ANTIFA!

You brought this on yourself

The realization I’m seeing and hearing on the left is, stunned shock. They voted him in anyway?

Sure the ultra-MAGA are embarrassing to everyone else but themselves , but it wasn’t them who put Trump back in power. It was a two-parter.

First it was all of the “mainstream” conservatives who heard what crimes Trump had been convicted of and accused of (now never to be adjudicated and tried for) but were ok with it. They were ok with his friendship and fawning of other autocrats.

In fact with the US Supreme Court being a “Conservative” lock for the next 30+ years, and their past decision that a president can’t be held criminally liable for “official” acts, he will almost certainly commit atrocities. He will push his authority bigly. He will provoke confrontation.

He’s said he will pardon the convicted and sentenced J6th Insurrectionists. Bannon, Proud Boys, and the like are gearing up and preparing. Protests. Like you’ve never seen.

While Trump got a majority of the popular VOTE, he doesn’t have above 50% approval ratings. He doesn’t have the support of the majority of Americans. So there is a large group of left-leaning voters who are looking at their fellow citizens in disbelief.

First they look at their friends and family on the right and can’t believe they voted for him knowing what he is going to do. And they’re ok with it!

Second they look at the millions of people who voted for Biden, but couldn’t muster the urgency to get up and do it again for Harris. Knowing what Trump’s going to do!

I thought I’d be mad. Maybe later. Now I’m mostly sad that my fellow Americans have gotten it so wrong. Surely they’re somehow uninformed of what a monster he is. They couldn’t be ok with that too? Or do they really want a king?

Because that’s what they’re going to get. We’ve made the biggest mistake (hopefully) of our lifetime. I’ll be hear to say I Told You So!

Trump loves to tell the story of The Woman and The Snake. Look him up on YouTube. He LOVES to tell that story. Why? The punchline, “You knew I was a snake when you took me in!” His eyes shine with delight as he gets to it. He is the snake. He’s back!

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Thoughts while I go to sleep?

I’ve been trying to decide what I want to write about. Or more accurately, what I should write about. Whenever I think about writing I get stuck trying to choose one thing.

It seems pointless. What do I want to accomplish by writing? Am I looking to convince others to what I believe to be true? Do I just want to entertain? Am I writing for myself or for others? So, I end up writing nothing.

So, tonight as I lay here in bed in my one bedroom apartment I want to write about my life so far. I’m dictating this into my phone. For several months now I’ve had a hard time getting to sleep. This has never been a problem for me before. I suspect it’s because it’s been a long time since my life has been stable.

I’m waiting for my divorce to be final. It’s been a year and a half since my wife filed. While it’s been almost a year since we agreed on the specifics, there’s been a paperwork snafu at the courthouse which has prolonged this ordeal. In turn this continuation of the limbo I’ve been living in has put me in a precarious financial position. I haven’t been able to plan for the future. I live month to month. So I think the stress of this uncertainty contributes to my difficulty getting a good night’s sleep.

I’m 60 years old. I spend a lot of time wondering what’s going to end up killing me. It’ll most likely be some kind of cancer. I don’t want it to be some kind of stupid accident. But then again, I don’t want a long drawn out illness either. If I’m lucky I’ve probably got about 20 years left. What will those 20 years be like?

I can already tell that I don’t think as well as I used to. I avoid complex decision making. I have the same memory problems that people that are aging are prone to. But I also have some cognitive issues when it comes to motivation to take care of basic needs.

For instance, it’s a major undertaking to just do the dishes, sweep the floors, or put away laundry. It’s just me here and I don’t really care about them. Except of course when someone wants to come over and visit and then I’m embarrassed by it.

John Cougar Mellencamp wrote in Jack and Diane, “…Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” That’s how I’m feeling nowadays. I can hear the objections from others, but for me, life is getting monotonous.

I believe I’ve already fulfilled my life’s purpose. Procreation. The purpose of life is to pass on your genetics to the next generation. If you fail to procreate, you failed in life. You failed the generations that led up to you. I don’t believe in life after death. I believe in death after death.

The only thing about me that has a chance of surviving my death is my DNA. In 100 years there won’t be any trace of me left. I will be like the great majority of people who have lived and died over the last 100,000 years. One of the nameless billions of individuals that have existed on this Earth.

So if I have 20 years left what do they hold for me? It looks to me now that it will be pretty bleak. Climate change is a problem that we’re only just now starting to address. We lost precious time because of the denial of politicians under the influence of corporations that would lose money if we made the necessary changes to avert the worst of it.

In the United States, one of our major political parties wants to usher in a new era of Fascism. With the changing demographics of our country, the republican party is becoming a minority party. So wherever they can, they are gaming the system in order to stay in power, and rule as a minority. The next election in 2024 will be the most consequential in our nation’s history. If Donald Trump somehow gets to the White House, our democracy will come to an end. But it may be that, regardless of who wins the White House, our nation will become embroiled in a Civil War.

I’m not a prophet. I don’t have a crystal ball. So of course, my pessimistic outlook may be completely wrong. But this is what I believe and it keeps me up at night.