Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of U.S.Politics!

American Politics - It's Always Entertaining!

One thing about American politics - it is never boring! On any given day you can find ongoing stories that make you just shake your head. Yes, I know. Since most of this stuff comes from the media, in some countries I wouldn't even be reading or viewing it but that doesn't change the stuff!

What have I seen just today? Most of what I saw yesterday and probably tomorrow.

The USA is sabre rattling (again) telling China that it better not take sides in the Ukraine war - or else. Meanwhile billions in aid from the US has flowed to Ukraine and will continue because - she has taken sides. I agree with it but there are at least shades of hypocrisy here.

For over two years now Trump has been spreading absolute crap - the Big Lie - being ever so grateful to Fox. Anchors on Fox were known to agree off camera that there was no election fraud - that Trump lost and Biden won. Now that the Fox owner has admitted to this under oath, Trump is mad as a hatter (OK angry - some think he was always mad) at the very same network. Makes you feel good all over. Too bad The Pope has stayed out of it. What kind of filth would DJT spew in that case?

If you are ever stuck then MTG is always good for a laugh and a headshake. (Google it - I don't want to mention the name.) This woman would have fit right in on The Three Stooges. Where is Ralph Kramden when you need him? POW - right to the moon! No guns involved.

The other day I was hearing a respectable GOP member and media spokesperson stating correctly that every member of the GOP is not right wing. Not all Republicans are gun toting red necks, implying that most Democrats openly said they were. OK true. Funny but he neglected to say that not all Democrats are "Socialists". That is something that too many GOP members DO say. I don't think many of them know the meaning of the word.

Two big topics always guaranteed to get a rise and some coverage are Woke and Critical Race Theory. No matter how you cut it, both smack of many Americans wanting to sweep their sometimes sordid past under the carpet. Throughout all of the horrible cases of genocide and torture inflicted by humans on other humans, one of the most publicized is the Holocaust. Millions of German citizens - some of them now gone - are still held responsible and always will be.

Victims of the Nazi regime are commemorated in various novel ways. One man has created 70,000 small plaques placed on streets and houses naming individuals we lost. see 'Stumbling stones': a different vision of Holocaust remembrance | Cities | The Guardian. Sites like the gas ovens and prisons where victims were killed and tortured are preserved as horrible reminders.

Contrast that to America. What does America celebrate? It's overpaid and glamorous movie and TV stars with plaques in a famous sidewalk. States are trying to erase their American history from books, schools, media, and even the language. Why not honour black people who were lynched, tortured, raped, gutted, whipped, overworked, and repressed on this side of the ocean? It took over 100 years to get legislation passed to outlaw lynching. Then the best Biden could do was make it a hate crime! It is history and must not be glossed over.

What about Dilbert? Good old not everybody gets the humour Dilbert. He has now been banned from many publications because of the rants of his creator. (I agree he went too far.) What will be next? Will Sylvester the Cat be banned because of his violent attitude towards Tweety Bird? How about Minnie Mouse for being bare chested?

If you're bored it is guaranteed there will be more mass shootings this year and more politicians saying "This must never be allowed to happen again!". Most of them will have some kind of automatic weapon(s) at home as they speak.

Don't forget the other "who done it" trial of Alex Murdaugh. Another super rich and powerful family with too much money and not enough to do with it. Maybe he will get a star in the walk of fame. We don't yet know if he is acting but hey that goes for a lot of Oscar winners. Oh yes - those awards are coming up soon also. No politics there!

That's only two months gone with 10 more to go!

#thebrewsterblock

Will theThird World War be nuclear?

Nuclear or Nucular? Same result.

The last President Bush had a habit of mispronouncing the word Nuclear. If there is ever an actual hostile firing of these weapons between or among nations, we are toast - nuclear OR nucular.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospect of a Nuclear war again. We can only hope not. The world would become quite uninhabitable if many of these exploded. I think it is safe to say that if one nation targets another who also has weapons, it will be like a snowball fight between countries. Snow forts won't exist.

We have become almost blasé to national disasters for years. There are many causes: fire; hurricanes and tornadoes; floods; tsunamis; and recently once again earthquakes. It is worth doing a search for what has been written and the horrible visuals recorded when Fat Man and Little Boy were exploded by America over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was hell on earth.

Now remember that these were crude and small atomic devises. Today the nuclear arms race has produced bombs that are more powerful by factors of 10. They have also been perfected. Their use on Japan has been debated many times. It did bring Japan - who had vowed to continue the war in the Pacific - to its heels months after Germany had already surrendered. This was also after prolonged fire bombing of hundreds of Japanese cities which did even more damage to buildings and people than the two big ones. We can only be thankful that Germany did not acquire the knowhow before the U.S.A. although they were trying.

There are very eerie similarities between the Ukraine situation and the last two world wars. Some are: growing economic crises and the differences between rich and poor; scapegoats being named to justify acts of war; despots in control of powerful nations; desire for the expansion of borders which are illegal land grabs; nations forming sides and alliances.

Today there are some major differences that make these times worse. As mentioned, the weapons are capable of destroying the planet and its people.
Britain is no longer a big player but IS and she has not made her position clear. North Korea and Iran could jump in. India's position is not clear either but by proximity siding with China would be very attractive, especially economically.

Adding to all of that, the American people are getting tired of being the world's police officers and paying fortunes to others. American politics is in turmoil and getting worse. Some people in other nations were overjoyed at 9/11. Many would like to see America with a bloody nose.

The one hope is that the madmen in power today have seen what would happen in a nuclear exchange. They would not be immune themselves.

Perhaps one of the worst ironies is this: Mankind and science is learning more about the power of the atom and the sun. New energy sources are being researched and tried. China claims to have new hypersonic glide vehicles that travel at Mach 5 and with much greater efficiency.

So just when all of this knowledge and power should be combined so that future generations can travel to distant heavenly bodies, it would be a shame if it were all used to target and destroy each other. We will become just another distant sphere probably covered in dust and water with a radioactive atmosphere that would kill any alien visitors who managed to leverage their own technology to reach us after we failed.

#thebrewsterblock

Balloons or UFO's?

A Balloon a Day Keeps the Air Force at Play

A monster balloon for "weather",

Mysteriously slipped from its tether.

Completely unfurled, it travelled the world,

Adrift in the breeze like a feather.

A pilot while flying his plane,

Exclaimed "Am I going insane?"

For he saw with his eye, this thing in the sky, 

And radioed in to explain.

"So Captain, what's this about?

Settle down! There's no need to shout!"

"I know you'll be thinking, that I have been drinking,

Listen! There can be no doubt."

"A balloon two hundred feet high,

Above me way up in the sky,

Is scanning our nation, just like the space station,

And staring at us as we fly."

The White House was called in a hurry,

The Pentagon soon in a flurry,

"What the hell?" was the cry, as they did a fly by,

Then everyone started to worry.

Its payload is big as a Boeing,

Where is the bloody thing going?

Although unmanned, it's flight path seems planned,

So rumours were rampant and growing.

Republicans screamed "Shoot it down!"

"Are you nuts?" Biden said with a frown.

"It could kill masses wherever it crashes

Demolishing some little town!"

So when it had flown out to sea,

A jet chopped it down like a tree,

'Though China demanded it back when it landed,

The free world shouted with glee.

But then as quick as a wink,

With barely enough time to blink,

A new thing appeared, and this one was weird!

Could they be related you think?

The next day a third thing was seen,

Just what could this possibly mean?

With Biden annoyed, they both were destroyed,  

What secrets from them could we glean?

The Chinese wouldn't say squat.

Was it some sinister plot?

A devilish ploy, to simply annoy?

Red Herring to see what we've got?

I solved this one on my own.

It's not a spy craft or drone.

To me it's quite clear, so lend me your ear,

And put down that damned bloody phone!

When E.T came from the skies,

An alien sleuth in disguise,

It was a disgrace how we'd ruined this place.

He couldn't believe his own eyes.

His alien kin were quite pissed,

They came to see what they'd missed.

If we don't get back onto the right track,

Then Earth will no longer exist.

#thebrewsterblock

Road Rage and People with Guns

Want to Self-Destruct? It's Easy

Violence is everywhere we look today. How many generations have said that? Not much has changed except the frequency and magnitude. Here are a few things to ponder:

1. ROAD RAGE: Have you experienced this while driving - either the sudden impulse to explode at someone yourself or being the victim of another whose blood was apparently made to boil by you? If you are saying "No" you can leave now. You are a Saint. We all have been there to some degree.

This is probably because all drivers that have acquired a license to drive a vehicle think they are the best drivers on the road. My fault? Not bloody likely. Here are a few habits that really get under my skin. Those who:

a) Refuse to use turn indicators
b) Never completely stop at STOP signs or when turning right on a red light (in my province we can do that.)
c) Those for whom a yellow light means floor it and you will probably not get caught
d) The ones guilty of c) who don't even think about T-boning a car or killing a pedestrian when both of them had the right of way after the light turned red
e) The ones who continue to use Cell phones while driving with one hand
f) Those whose brains seem to malfunction when they enter a parking lot
g) In winter the bozos that don't clean their entire car of snow and ice
h) The really slow drivers - below the speed limit - who are not in the slow lane

I could carry on. But when it is extreme, what is your usual reaction? Flip the finger? Honk the horn? Yell out the window? Follow the person to tailgate them?

There is something about driving that just flips our rage switch. Usually we are in the safety of our vehicle at the time. Store that thought.

2) GUN RAGE: As we have all seen far too many times before a similar thing happens when someone possesses a gun and gets enraged at others. The same switch is flipped! Unlike road rage this tends to happen more with men but when you are the victim, does it matter? Gun shootings do happen throughout the world but America to guns is like Coke or Pepsi to colas - almost synonymous.

So what is the third step mentioned in the heading?

3) If you want to get seriously hurt or killed, especially in America, just remember that that the driver at whom you scream or flip the bird causing them to come after and confront you just might be afflicted by 2).

Step 3: SAME SWITCH! Bang - you're dead.

#thebrewsterblock

Classified Documents: Governments' and Yours

Do you have confidential documents in YOUR house?

Not to belittle the phrase which is profoundly important, but is there going to be a Me Too trend for confidential documents in someone's garage, library, or basement? What a joke this has become. 

One evening on CNN I believe it was #MargaretHoover who hit the nail on the head in my opinion. She opined that it was simple: once out of office people take files home to add legitimacy while they write memoires and books, hoping to make big bucks as authors. If this is true it makes the act even worse. Making money from country secrets is deplorable. In the case of Trump I think he had other reasons.

Having said all that I know that I have violated similar protocols at a corporate level in the past. I also had good intentions. I was taking work home - unpaid work - to get something done in a quiet environment with no interruptions. I felt confident that they would remain safe and secure until their return. This is probably true for many people - until they leave their briefcase on the bus or subway!

It was becoming laughable in America. Instead of spending millions on spy technology, satellites, balloons, and drones, China and aothers should just break into a prominent politicians house or garage. This is grab bag at the highest level - international Cracker Jack! White House fortune cookies!

If you have a Safety Deposit Box at a bank you know how secure procedures are. There are 2 keys required. You have to sign anything in or out. In this case nothing has to be returned but there is a record of visits. It should be easy to do something similar but even more strict within a government. 

Stuff should be read in a locked facility if possible and when finished with them materials should go straight back into a vault, double locked by administrators. If the volume is such that it must be taken from the reading room as homework, records have to be kept including the signature of the reader and a return date has to be agreed upon and tracked.

How does an administrator control or even reprimand the President or Vice President of the country without fear of job loss? How do authorities?

Drop the file Joe a put your hands behind your back! On the floor - NOW! We'll help you back up Mr. President.

Biden: "I had no idea there were any classified documents in my house. I'm serious. No this is no joke ... no joke. Really. Really. I mean this. I'm not being fasetious - fatecious - fasillyous ... I'm not kidding. Just ask Jill."

Trump: "This is another case of the deep state - the FBI gone wild. I read hundreds of documents every night - thousands of documents. More stuff than any President anywhere in history. That's because I have a higher EQ than any other President by far. Besides if there are any they are MINE. I unclassified them. I can do that you know. I can do anything as President. I can just grab them without even asking."

Mike Pence: "It has been recently brought to my attention that it is possible that certain select missives might have been identified in locations that could reasonably be associated with my person. I might not disagree with your contention but I want to assure you that the former President had nothing to do with this and that all procedures and protocols are always followed by my staff. I have also directed them to immediately ..." . Wait. Where are you going?"

#thebresterblock