Why can't people just leave the violence?

The Israel flag

Is Christmas just two months away? It's true that some businesses are premature in putting forth Christmas-themed stuff. Does that reflect society's urge to start acknowledging Christmas so soon? No, I think it's just done out of marketing. Marketing is the key to everything these days, right? It's what makes the world go 'round. 

It's no wonder we have had a political leader for whom everything, even his marriage as we now learn, is "transactional." You do something for someone only if you can get something tangible in return. This is the outlook of Donald Trump as he continues to hover over us every day. It continues even as we get another absolute deluge of "downer" news out of the Middle East. 

We hear of babies having their heads chopped off. This sounds more like sick satire about what has been going on. We hear that certain of the shady actors are "animals." Isn't this the way an enraged nation always talks about the adversary? This was done with Japan during World War II. It is done because once we adopt a firm position on the war stance, we have to make it easier to "kill the enemy." We do this by dehumanizing them. Call them "animals." 

Biden said he saw "photographic evidence" of the beheading thing. This morning there's a headline that maybe the administration is "walking that statement back." Ah, the "fog of war." "The first casualty of war is the truth." 

Our top leaders back Israel because that is what they always do. This will happen even with political "liberals" tending to feel for the Palestinians quite a bit. 

A lot of this is hard to figure out - typical of trying to understand our human species. I sometimes use the quote "we are so human an animal." I started using this on impulse without having a real understanding of its origin or precise meaning. It just seemed appropriate for acknowledging when we do mystifying things. 

Well, if you live in a place where your newborn baby might be beheaded, what on earth are you doing there? Why not just get out? Come to America. Your life and limb will not be endangered. 

Looks like Israel will never be a fully safe and secure place. Why not turn the area back over to the Palestinians? Have a real nation called Palestine. Let that region of the world be "Arab." It is their place. They'll fight among themselves anyway, to be sure. Remember the Iran/Iraq war? Even at the end of that, leaders of the two nations "exchanged ashes" as a gesture of peace. Could you imagine an Arab nation doing that with Israel? 

Israel quite simply has never been welcomed in that part of the world. When you are clearly not welcome, maybe you should scram. Come to America. Go (back) to Europe. Any reason why not? But Biden says we must be fully supportive of Israel. Even at the risk, I guess, of absorbing prolonged and tragic conflict. There will be no ceremonial exchange of ashes over this. Obviously the conflict will just roll on. 

Is the U.S going to direct all sorts of "aid" to Israel now? In addition to what gets provided for Ukraine?

Still top of mind

And there's a very real chance that Trump will return to the White House. This would mean an about-face and that we would become aligned with Russia. Heaven knows what else it would mean for all of us. 

But there's no point in wringing our hands over this prospect, much as we would like to. There is no point in yours truly trying to make any points about Trump and his element in America any more. MAGA continues to have gravity. These people never listen to logic and reason. 

 

The pattern accelerates

We have gotten so carried away out here in western Minnesota, with the "red state" thing, there is now a Republican opponent to Michelle Fischbach who is running against her from the right. That was certainly the impression I got from the Star Tribune article. Guy's last name is Boyd. 

Fischbach to begin with wanted to help Trump stay in office, by voting against certifying the 2020 election results. Hardcore conservative Tom Emmer did not do that. He voted to certify. So in surveying the basic attitudes around us now, just assume there's lots of MAGA, no doubt fueled by churches.

 

Suggestion for schools

I believe strongly that our public schools should no longer set aside Wednesday as "church night." School activities have proliferated greatly over the years. Heck, when I was in high school, we had no high school hockey, and girls athletics was just getting started. Can you believe living in an environment with no girls athletics? Well, that's the way it was. Hockey was strictly a sandlot type of sport. 

Today all these activities for kids are so highly prioritized. Kids don't have anywhere near the temptation to be drawn into drugs and partying and other foolishness, not like when I was young. The early and mid '70s were probably the low point in all of U.S. history for kids to gravitate to pointless activities. It was also a time when we all were dealing with the nation's profound failure with the Vietnam war. 

Intervention in foreign affairs? Just because it worked in WWII, we return to such matters with jingoism? Like what we hear in connection to Israel now? "The U.S. is solidly behind Israel." That's our top political leaders talking. 

I hate to suggest this is just because of the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. This theory can naturally get you shot down for anti-Semitism. Around and around it goes - never changes. Discussion of the Middle East devolves this way. My generation has experienced this all our lives. I hesitate to even check the day's news now - so predictable. "Atrocities, terror, Hezbollah" etc. What is "Hamas?" Do they wear uniforms? It's not a nation-state. 

A convenient thing about WWII, what set it apart really, was that we were fighting nation-states. Japan had a return address when it attacked Pearl Harbor. Hamas? Hezbollah? Trump thinks Hezbollah is "smart." No matter, he keeps all his support, because he always does. So my advice is to just live with that. Live with the inevitability of Trump getting back in power, joining hands with Putin, most likely pulling the strings to get behind Mark Milley's execution. Oh, and others to be sure. James Comey? Trump fired him. 

At first these scenarios strike us as outlandish. I mean, it always starts out that way. Always. Then little by little, we are forced to accept that it really will happen. The death penalty by what means? Lethal injection? Electrocution? Firing squad? Pretty soon the news hosts on TV will seriously discuss all this. Because they have to. They make their living reporting the news. It's their gig. Surely a lot of them have considered MAGA crazy all along. But they take care of themselves first. 

I will repeat: we are so human an animal. Maybe we are a hybrid between space aliens and Earth primates. I have long thought that and not just because I listen to George Noory on late-night radio sometimes. 

 

"Dark" Christmas song?

I have composed a Christmas song that is political in content. Really? Me? I could have it recorded but discretion is now the better part of valor. With all that has been going on in the U.S., the world and our congressional district, it is no time for thinking much about Christmas. 

Right now I have no plans on having a Christmas song recorded. I will share the lyrics here to the little thing I wrote. Let's just call this poetry. It is set up in verse-climb-chorus structure, like a real song. Which it is, actually. I do thank you for reading. 

Let's all just try to get through Christmas. It will be the last Christmas before Trump gets elected again. And to make myself clear, let's open Wednesday night up for school activities. Maybe we'd see more band concerts.

"It's Christmas Once Again"

by Brian Williams

In this time of MAGA

In this time of Trump

Can we find our scruples

Like when we were young

Plain and simple manners

Careful how we speak

Show respect to people

When you disagree

Look at E. Jean Carroll

"Access Hollywood"

Then there's Pocahontas

Surely it gets old

Now he's in a courtroom

Make that two or three

Still he is the leader

Of the GOP

CLIMB:

We need a respite

From the crazy stuff

Can we achieve it

In December's run?

CHORUS:

So now it's Christmas once again

Can we be calm?

Can we be friends?

Can we make MAGA go away?

At least it's Christmas once again

Someone who pays porn stars

So he could have fun

Should not be our leader

He should not have won

Now he's like a specter

Will not go away

In the news each morning

Just like "Groundhog Day"

He caused quite the tempest

With his "Stop the Steal"

Those who would believe it

Really should get real

They were really lemmings

For a foolish cause

They have their delusions

I'll take Santa Claus

We're in the season

For the olive branch

Reach out and feel it

We can all join hands

(repeat chorus)

Rudy Giuliani

Likes to have his booze

With his hair dye dripping

Trump just turned him loose

He was once the mayor

That we looked up to

What became of Rudy?

Just a looney toon

Enter Sidney Powell

Grinding out the lies

She released the kraken

Just in her own mind

Someday if we make it

Past this fever swamp

We will ask our maker:

How did we go wrong?

Pause the emotions

Try to get a grip

Just feel the season

You can handle it

(repeat chorus)