Higher Order Hypocrisy

 

The Supremely Hypocritical Court ruled against Roe v. Wade because abortion was not mentioned in the Constitution. Of course airplane travel was also not mentioned in the Constitution yet we have a Federal Aviation Authority. The right to bear arms was given to state militia, not to teenagers … oh, I almost forgot, AR-15s were also not mentioned in the Constitution, nor was the right to safely attend elementary school without fear of hiding from weapons of war in the hands of teenagers.

We have lost our democracy to bullies, billionaires, intolerant and hateful religious groups, far-right-wing anarchists, holier-than-God bigots, white nationalists, and others comprising a powerful and highly vocal and volatile minority of citizens. I am guessing that AR-15s are owned mostly by men and many in Texas where an 18 year old person can purchase multiple AR-15s and untold boxes of death yielding bullets. According to ownership data, most gun owners are while, male, and Republican. Let’s simply say that assault rifle owners are mainly white males. According to medical reports, [most] abortions are performed on women … of all races and political orientations. If men decide gun-ownership issues, then women should decide abortion rights issues. Yet, that is not how democracy in these divided and misguided states works. The supremely stupid opinion removing the 50 year old Roe v. Wade ruling was made with the premise that abortion was not mentioned in the Constitution and Roe v. Wade was dividing Americans, in spite of polling evidence suggesting that the overwhelming majority of Americans were in favor of keeping Roe v. Wade.

Who is dividing Americans? The gun-righteous fanatics who want to allow AR-15s in the hands of teenagers? The righteous- religious fanatics who want to completely ban abortions of all kinds everywhere in America? One can no longer believe that anyone being nominated to the court will tell the truth when being vetted by Senators. One can no longer believe many Senators, although the minority righteous leader does seem to usually tell the truth even wallowing in his beloved nickname, Moscow Mitch.

I now have tremendous respect for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who seem truth-oriented without appealing or yielding to popular far-right sentiments. And there are hollow regrets at the court’s ruling offered by such lawmakers as Susan Collins and Joe Manchin and a lame vote by John Roberts not to over-turn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Divide and denigrate are the watchwords of the Trumplicans and the Mitch-McDuckheads … meanwhile Roger Stone and Steve Bannon and many minor facilitators and shadow boxers it is easy but not best to forget are tearing down the weak walls of our constitution… the facilitators of the decline and fall of the American Republic are numerous and unfortunately surprisingly successful.

Well, it should not be a surprise and the regrets will only accumulate after the lost of a shining city upon a hill. America was not meant as a citadel for Christians … it was not meant as a citadel for gun-owners … it was not meant as a citadel for billionaires and bigots, as they require so much more than a citadel. America is not a shining light for other nations or societies. New Zealand may be that shining light … or perhaps Norway where there are so many immigrants wanting to come to American according to #45. How stupid can some people be???

And there is Lady Liberty with these words welcoming visitors to our shores:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Those who are destroying this fragile democracy might propose the following words to replace those sacred words:

“Give us your rich, your privileged, your massive egomaniacs yearning for more wealth and power. Send then to our polluted shores. We lift a lamp beside this golden goose-egg Republic!”

I know … too much sarcasm and too little action on my part to help preserve our fragile democracy. I have donated what I can to a few worthy politicians … mostly democrats but I will will support Cheney and Kinzinger if they run again. I cannot walk far due to back pain and no one reads my blog so small donations are about all I can muster at present. I wish I could do more to repay the education I received as an Air Force Academy distinguished graduate.

Mike Spector

June 2022

 

 

I admit it ...

 

I have been told that I am spending too much time watching or reading the news, and that is causing me stress and detracting from my professional and personal responsibilities. That advice has come from multiple persons including family members. I admit it. They are right. However, all the things that have been happening occupy my thoughts much of the time, and I simply cannot purge those thoughts.

The long-time agony of Trump’s presidency and the deplorable … despicable … behavior of so many Trumplicans has been with me for years already. Then came the insurrection and the deniers of what we all saw. And the continuing sad saga of those unable to speak out publicly about the ongoing attacks on our democracy. So damned deplorable.

What could be worse? The insane Putin the Pretender invading Ukraine … but then there is at least the bravery and persistence of freedom lovers resisting that maniacal invasion. A glimmer of hope by some people with integrity and internal strength. How different would the world be if the Polish people had been able to muster the courage and persistence exhibited by Zelensky and so many brave Ukrainians? Now there is a new Hitler menacing the world – Putin, who will eventually receive his just desserts … hard to be just when so many have been killed due to his egomaniacal rule. We had a former President who was heading down the same dark tunnel.

And a teenager purchased two AR-15s and several boxes of ammunition and walked into an elementary school in Uvalde and murdered 19 children and two teachers. And that deadly massacre is now almost forgotten due to other senseless murders and violent acts. And the leaders of Texas and the gun lobby see nothing wrong with allowing any 18 year-old kid to buy a weapon of war that most police officers have to be trained to use and only allowed to carry when needed in special circumstances. Arm the maniacs and send them to Ukraine … or, better yet, send them to Russia.

We are losing the war with civility … and it appears we have already lost the war with the climate. Stick your head in the sand … hold your nose … collect your obscene profits … let others struggle and starve … no need to change your minds or hearts … the times are not changing after all of that … so damned depressing …

I admit it ... I am so depressed I often find it hard to concentrate and work ... 

 

Mike Spector

June 2022

Some original quotations:

 

Adults are just big kids with wrinkles.

If you can hear your own heartbeat, you may  be paranoid.

I used to be younger but now I'm not.

If you can laugh, you may be human.

If you can still laugh, you may still be alive.

A third of me is a writer; another third of me is a teacher; the other half is a logician.

I used to be a genius ... then I woke up.

Smile if you have teeth; otherwise, suck on a lemon.

Keep your money in your pockets and keep your hands out of there.

My father, the rabbi, told me once that for every tear you caused, you would lose one year of life ... by my own calculations, I should never have been born.

If bartenders ruled the country, there would be more bloody marys.

If there were more bloody marys, there would be fewer bloody martyrs.

If every adult was required to vote and every vote counted equally, we would be living in another country.

Once I ran away from home and got lost and ended up back at home. That was an example of circular reasoning.

Dead reckoning is a form of navigation that involves knowing where you want to go, the shortest way to get there, and running out of gas before you arrive. 

if you failed to smile at any of these one or two liners, then go suck a lemon. 

Mike Spector

June 2022