Trump has skin thinner than his wife and an ego bigger than my ass.

Posted by: Helen Philpot | January 17, 2017

Trump has skin thinner than his wife and an ego bigger than my ass.

helen-mug1 HELEN:

Margaret, somebody called me an elitist because I think Trump and his supporters are morons. I wasn’t’ quite sure what being an elitist means these days and I am pretty sure most people using that as an insult probably don’t either so I looked it up. After all, I’m just a little ole’ gal born in Georgia and I am not sure I qualify to be an elitist.

Now the Oxford Dictionary says an elitist is someone who supports the view that a society or system should be led by an elite. Well that just begged the question: What is an elite? I got confused at first because evidently an Elite is a size of letter in typewriting, with 12 characters to an inch. Of course, for this particular scenario it also means a select group that is superior in terms of their ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society such as an elite athlete or an elite armed forces. My favorite definition of elite, however, is from Merriam-Webster: the choice part or the best of a class. So I guess I am an elitist after all, because I want the best candidate for the job and I know for damn sure I want an elite President and not this orange man-child who is about to take office.

And I am in good company. They said Meryl Streep was an elitist after her speech at the Golden Globes. You remember, don’t you? That moving speech she gave where she dared to say that we shouldn’t mock the disabled and a free press was vital to our democracy… What an elitist that Meryl is. How dare she make speeches about standing up for the disabled and defending the Constitution! Wait… what’s an elitist again?

You know Margaret, I was feeling lower than a snake’s belly in a ditch after a rain shower about this election. Kellyanne Conway is so good at lying… I mean telling us what is in Donald’s heart. And I thought to myself that maybe I should give the man a break. Maybe Trump deserves a second look. Maybe I should show some respect for the office to which he has been elected. But then I thought, nah he’s a moron and I’m an elitist who doesn’t think a society or a system should ever be led by a moron.

For goodness sakes, he’s not even trying to rise to the occasion. The man is tweeting about national intelligence agencies one minute and Saturday Night Live the next. And shockingly he is paying attention to the latter and ignoring the former. Damn right I’m an elitist because I actually do think society should be run by someone with superior abilities instead of an idiot who can’t prioritize security briefings over comedy sketches.

And he is surrounding himself with idiots too. Are you really telling me that of all the people he could have nominated for Attorney General, he didn’t know even one without racist attitudes? What does that say? Think about it. What does that say about this man? He appointed a known plagiarist to be a senior communications strategist. And then he asked Omarosa to be… actually I don’t know what he asked her to be. But Omarosa for anything? What does that say? And incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer actually whined to the media, that Saturday Night Live wasn’t being funny, they were being “mean-spirited”. Oh Really? You know what’s mean-spirited, Sean? Mocking a disabled person. You know what else is mean-spirited? Laughing about sexually assaulting women. You know what else is mean-spirited? Suggesting most immigrants from Mexico are rapist and drug dealers. Also, mocking a disabled person. And yes. I know I said that already.

An elite athlete knows how to win a game. An elite army knows how to win a war. An elite President knows how to put down his smart phone and look the nation in the eye and apologize for his inappropriate behavior. Hell. You don’t even have to be elite. You just have to be decent. Decent enough to admit that it was wrong to make fun of the disabled. Admit that it was wrong to have disrespected and then denigrate women that way. Decent enough to tell the American people that you’re not perfect but you’ll strive to be a better president than you were a man. But we don’t have an elite as President-elect. We don’t even have a decent person about to hold the highest office in the land. We have a buffoon, man-child with skin thinner than that size 2 model/pin-up immigrant he’s married to. And even she doesn’t want to live in the same house with him.

Call me an elitist. It’s a badge I will wear proudly. I’d rather be an elitist than the racist, misogynist, mouth-breathers who voted for Trump. That’s right. I said it. I insulted Trump voters and I won’t apologize for it. We all knew what he did and what he said and what he stood for. There was no mistaking what you were voting for. I have no intentions of pulling punches. You people elected a moron and the rest of us “elitists” get to look down our noses and point our fingers and ask you to explain yourselves. Is it OK to make fun of the disabled? Yes or no? Is it OK to sexually assault women? Yes or no? Is it OK to commit fraud? Is it OK to discriminate against minorities? Is it OK to refer to your daughter as a nice piece of ass? Is it OK to vote for someone who did? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you can kiss my elitist ass.

Trump is not my president. I will challenge him at every turn. I will hold him accountable for every ignorant, vapid tweet. I will hold him to the very highest of standards and ridicule him when he comes up short. Why? You ask. How dare I? You say. Because he made fun of a disabled person and that’s all I ever needed to know about Donald J. Trump. I mean it. Really.

margaret-mug1 MARGARET:

I understand some folks are planning to wear black on Friday in protest of the inauguration. I will be in black as well as Howard, but we will be attending a funeral of another kind.

Posted in Politics | Tags: Alec Baldwin, Donald Trump, Elite, Elitist, Inauguration, Jeff Sessions, Kellyanne Conway, Omarosa, Sean Spicer, SNL

Responses

Good evening, Mageen – Well, all we’ve seen so far is the usual run of distractions: “Failing NY Times Caught In Big Lie!” “Big Tax Reforms Coming on Wednesday!” “Huge Rally Next Saturday In Pennsylvania!” (Same night as the Correspondents’ Dinner, which Big Rooster is too tender to attend…) Ivanka’s hiring her own staff… And so on, and so on. Interesting that both Nunes and Chaffetz are “absenting” themselves from any further Russian investigations. Perhaps that seemed a better option than never setting foot on any hotel balcony, anywhere…

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on April 22, 2017
at 8:31 PM
Did something just freeze over in Hell? Three top security tsars are to testify on the Hill about Russians and their attempt to “bend” the presidential election. Expect bombast from the white house!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on April 21, 2017
at 6:43 PM
Someone please get this manthingy out of the White House. We are becoming the laughing stock of the world…and worse he may just start WWIII with one of his stupid remarks.

Peace.

PS – Helen we really need you these days!

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on April 20, 2017
at 5:33 PM
Time to take the current POTUS situation, fold it neatly into a very small square and put it in a corner for a few minutes while we wish you all a Happy and Blessed Easter!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on April 15, 2017
at 7:28 PM
And during the campaign he was shouting about how China is raping our country, and now because they had cake together and China “educated” him on history he’s had an epiphany and we are now best buddies. It’s just endless the stupidity he santorums out.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: delurkergurl on April 13, 2017
at 8:09 AM
Gato, smack on target! This guy is so dumb that he did not know that NATO had forces in Afghanistan since 2001. And he insulted them by calling them obsolete. Someone pointed out his mistake. Rather than apologizing to our NATO allies he simply declared them “not obsolete”. This guy is hanging around everyone’s neck, including the people who voted for him. The longer he stays in the Oval Office the more dangerous/unstable he gets. Open shout to McConnell and Ryan: start impeachment now!!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on April 13, 2017
at 6:33 AM
That’s just pathetic, isn’t it? But saying that North Korea is “asking for trouble” is terrifying. North Korea is NOT going to kiss his butt… He hasn’t a clue.

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on April 12, 2017
at 4:29 PM
An interesting contrast between Trump and Putin/Assad is that Trump is a disheveled mess with primitive vocabulary, devoid of class. I don’t defend Putin or Assad in any way, but they are both masters of their image. Well dressed, fit, tidy, and very good communicators. Persuasive speakers. Even if Trump knew what he was doing (and he doesn’t), the image he presents to the world is embarrassing.

Can you imagine a president ever who would say things like “We got along very well. Very well. And I think he liked me. Well, maybe he didn’t like me but I think he liked me.” WTAF? He’s talking about an important meeting with the president of China! SMH

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: delurkergurl on April 12, 2017
at 4:23 PM
This man explains trump and company so perfectly! His family’s involvement, most of the cabinet posts, his attack on the regulations, his use of his properties for high level meetings, his conversations with the world’s leaders, etc = Amateur Hour! We are soooo sczrewed.

“I see so much rank amateurism at work here,” Col. Lawrence Wilkerson told Chris Hayes on MSNBC’s “All In” on Tuesday.

The White House, Wilkerson said, “not only is low on people, it’s low on experience and talent.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lawrence-wilkerson-donald-trump_us_58eda1cfe4b0c89f912292a6?

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on April 12, 2017
at 10:52 AM
Porch dwellers et al., we are supposed to have such pin point accuracy on our missiles – – then why wasn’t one of them sent through Assad’s bedroom window! Well gosh all whiz! It seems tRump thinks he will need a semihemidemi war going in order to distract us all from the invasion into our sacred secret ballot system, so why take out Assad right now when pounding an airstrip will do? And no it did not go over very well with a lot in his base who swore openly that this is not why they voted for him! Keep thinking 2018 and working towards it. A full Democratic house and Senate!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on April 11, 2017
at 9:04 AM
It’s been reported that Syrian aircraft are already using the airfield again. The “destruction” of the airfield is apparently just like a “degree” from Trump University: Totally without value. But waaay more expensive, and the whole country gets to foot the bill for this.

We’ve already seen where high-powered “shock and awe” got us. Now we’ll see how some half-wit “stupid and ineffectual” works out…

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on April 8, 2017
at 8:58 PM
59 missiles fired and what did they hit, what real damage did they do?? NONE. I have better aim with my eyes closed. He is playing “big man with little dick”, IMO.

Peace

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on April 8, 2017
at 8:00 PM
You may be on to something there Gato! The whole Syrian thing is not smelling right to me. The part about Russia condemning when they have been told ahead of time is what kind of rang my doorbells. We shall see. Nothing remains hidden in this day and age.

LikeLike
By: Easier on April 8, 2017
at 5:57 PM
Hi, Easier, and All…

So here’s a hypothetical (HYPOTHETICAL!?) conversation I ran by my husband earlier today:

VLAD: Listen, Donny, your people are getting a little too close to finding out what we’ve been up to with the hacking. I didn’t think even you could screw up this badly! Now we have to do something about it. That’s why we got you elected, remember… I have an idea. I’ll get the Syrian guy to gas a bunch of little Syrian kids, and then you act all upset when you hear about it, okay? Then you bomb that airstrip. Yeah; use the real bombs – a lot of them. Don’t worry, we’ll get everybody and all the equipment out of the way before you do it. We don’t want any of our people to get hurt. Thursday would be good…

LITTLE DONNY: Thursday?

VLAD: Yes; Thursday. This Thursday. Then on Saturday I’ll come out and say how it was really dangerous that you did it, and how it messes up our “relationship,” and I’ll do something – you know, maybe move a ship around, or do something with our planes… I’ll act all scowly and tough…

LITTLE DONNY: Well, okay…

VLAD: Then you do YOUR scary thing, you know, with the big frowny face, and the “America isn’t going to stand for hurting innocent children” speech, You know that bit, right?

LITTLE DONNY: You mean “Make America Great Again”…?

VLAD (exasperated): No, Donny; not that one… The one about hurting little kids. Try to pay attention! Have you got your other guy there to write all this down for you?

LITTLE DONNY: Pence! Are you getting this? It’s complicated!

VLAD: Okay… So here’s the cool part. I’m going pretend to “back off,” because you and I will quietly make a deal for that oil that we were working on with Rex… Then you can tell your people you “won” because I stopped doing scary stuff. And I can tell my people I “won” because we get the oil fields. Win-win, right, Donny? You’ll look tough, I’ll look like I got a good deal, Exxon comes out smelling like a rose, and we all get some big bucks. Just like I’ve been telling you we were going to do it, right? You could even throw in something about “job creation,” if you feel like it. Ha! It’s just like the Keystone pipeline! Tell them Russia companies are your friend again, just like Canada. And don’t forget to blame Obama and the Hillary woman if any of your people don’t like it…

LITTLE DONNY: Right! Now I remember! That’s yuge… And then you’ll say you like me again, and you can come down to Mar-A-Lago, right? It’ll be great!

VLAD (eye roll): Da, Donny. I’m sure that will be very nice. Maybe I bring along some of those nice girls you met in Moscow…

LITTLE DONNY: But wait a minute! What if the crooked media starts talking about all the hacking stuff, and the taxes thing, again…?

VLAD: Trust me, Donny. They’ve already forgotten about all of that. We’ll make sure they don’t think about it again, at least not for very long. I’ve done this before; you don’t have to worry. We know what we’re doing. You just have to do what I say; that’s all you have to do… Oh, and TRY not to tweet about it!

END OF CONVERSATION. VLAD HANGS UP. LITTLE DONNY’S KENTUCKY FRIED ARRIVES. HE TURNS ON FOX. NOTICES “O’REILLY FACTOR” ENDS EARLY. PICKS UP HIS CELL PHONE…

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on April 8, 2017
at 4:29 PM
Hi Mageen,

Right up there with not even giving President Obama’s choice for the supreme court a hearing. This is abuse of power to the highest degree. Then they were complaining that the democrats were obstructing and changed the rules when it came to their choice. Their duplicity knows no bounds. They don’t know the first thing about fairness. Justice Scalia died at the time he did for a reason, so that we may all see what the republicans are truly made of. They are a duplicitous bunch. It is repulsive that they use God when they see it fit, but don’t go about applying God’s laws. They stole the seat, which is now Mr. Gorsuch’s.

About the pro-life thing, we all know on this blog that being pro-life is all about the fetus. They care nothing about the refugees. Let them be gassed by the Syrian butcher. In my estimation, I feel like it is all a set up by the Russian to pro-up our Tman’s sagging poll numbers. This is not about the Syrians. But then, I am just advancing a theory, may not have anything to do with reality. Maybe I have become too cynical.

LikeLike
By: Easier on April 8, 2017
at 2:39 PM
Did anyone notice that when Obama wanted to do the same thing Trump just did, Congress would not let him? But then Obama was playing more by the rules than This Guy is. Obama went to Congress first with his plan. Trump gave them the finger and ordered the rocket launches. Then clothed himself in the pictures of dead and dying gassed Syrians, including babies. How so ever, he still won’t let Syrian refugees into this country, so how pro life is that?

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on April 7, 2017
at 6:29 PM
The people who sold you out – internet privacy:

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/29/15100620/congress-fcc-isp-web-browsing-privacy-fire-sale

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 29, 2017
at 5:30 PM
How do you compromise with people so intent on destroying themselves? Have learned from experience that it really can’t be done, no matter how hard you try. And the Republicans proved it yesterday. Now they have completely pulled back on the idea of health care repeal largely because they hadn’t a clue about replacement, largely because they never wanted to do so in the first damn place! You know, you can’t even wish such people luck as it just wouldn’t work.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 25, 2017
at 7:11 PM
This may be too late but…

“Many parts of the world will go dark for an hour Saturday night in more than 170 countries and territories in a show of support for protecting the planet.”… (8:30 ET for one hour – think of the fun you can have during that hour)

http://www.wtsp.com/news/why-lights-will-shut-off-worldwide-at-830-tonight/425539213

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 25, 2017
at 5:31 PM
Jim Wright has a new post. One to give thought to when you think about those “evil conservatives”.

“But that’s exactly what a number of people thought as soon as they heard the word compromise. Because just like conservatives, liberals hear the word compromise and they’ll be damned if they’ll budge.

Folks, I submit to you that there are far, far more reasonable people, on both sides, standing closer to the middle than to the edges and the only thing which really divides those people one from the other is … fear.”…

http://www.stonekettle.com/2017/03/no-mans-land.html#comment-form

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 23, 2017
at 3:29 PM
Hey, Cynthia – THANKS for this! I signed up… Had to roll through my email inbox this morning to find something for a friend, and was stunned by the number of solicitations, “news breaks,” political screeds, and more solicitations, all relating to “politics.” These are probably eighty percent of my incoming – and all of them are URGENT or CRITICAL or DEMANDING…

Lord knows there are a thousand things that could be addressed (and deserve to be addressed), but if I want to have a life, I have to figure out a way to pare down this stuff, while still keeping up the pressure. This link looks very promising!

I’m grateful that someone took the time to put this together, and grateful to you for sharing it!

Gato

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 20, 2017
at 10:57 AM
“What to Do This Week of March 19, 2017
Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience
By Jen Hofmann

19 weeks down, 85 weeks to mid-term elections. Take a moment to breathe.

The intention of this weekly document is to make clear, hype-free suggestions for action backed by well-considered research. If an issue doesn’t affect you, consider whether you would support this issue on behalf of other Americans, then act accordingly. Although diligently prepared, contents are subject to human error. Please do your own research.”…

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kR8t7gxQkoZoq-qDTry7xY3upFXedOcJWuvgUkhX8vk/mobilebasic

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 20, 2017
at 7:56 AM
Hey, y’all! When I dropped my daughter off on campus for her very first day of college I gave her something to think about that was very pertinent to the experience she was then entering: what is the difference between power and influence? Which one do most people admire more? Turned out to be power because culturally that is a guy thing and it can really take the quivering out of the old backbone. Influence is something that way less powerful people do and as for the power people, it resembles dandruff. It can easily be brushed off or even cured. Bekah and Bannon may resemble each other in certain ways but not sexually. He’s the power behind the throne and he is damn well going to keep it that way no matter how badly the throne occupier abuses him. And Bekah can pout all she wants.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 19, 2017
at 11:01 AM
Yo, Cynthia… Let’s do our best to make sure it’s not four years. Gotta vote – and get others to vote. Seems to be a big movement supporting Jon Ossoff in Georgia. Now, what I know about him, and what I know about Georgia, is next to nothing – but, in this case, I’m going with “any enemy of my enemy is my friend,” or something like that. It’s a good start, anyway. He’s a Democrat.

And what was that Russian thing that popped up here shortly ago? Dang – I clicked on it; it was all in some cyrillic text. I hope I’m not hacked! (If so, it must be Obama… Right?)

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 18, 2017
at 4:54 PM
mageen – while I know that there is money behind these candidates it shocks me to know that one person can wreak such control over our elections, advisors and cabinet posts etc. That she decided bannon should be trump’s advisor! trump is definitely not in charge. I don’t know if I can live through 4 years of this (*^%$#@&() man.

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 18, 2017
at 4:48 PM
Cynthia, thanks for the link to that piece about dang spoiled rich brats with diddly to offer except all of daddy’s bucks. Bekah’s comeuppance awaits in the wings and she will never see it coming. It also looks as if the Trump transition team had little regard for her personally which should tell you a lot. it is probably clear to most everybody that the Repubs are not much into super rich women. They are pretty much an all boys club. Hence, her influence comes up short.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 18, 2017
at 12:22 PM
Did anyone read this article? If so what do you think?

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/mercers/

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 17, 2017
at 5:20 PM
Thank you for sending some postcards! We are still snowing in the Finger Lakes. About 18″ but now the wind has picked up. All the snow in the fields around me will end up in my driveway and pasture. We were having such a pleasant winter until now. What did we do to piss off Mother Nature???

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 15, 2017
at 8:09 PM
PCs done and sent. (Snow stopped late yesterday afternoon.) Wonder if the minions will even let the orange one see them? I wasn’t as creative as many others evidently were, but we’re talking QUANTITY here.

We just have to KEEP DOING THINGS…

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 15, 2017
at 4:08 PM
Cynthia, good to hear from you and the news you brought. I read the newspaper article about the professor at Middlebury College who got a concussion as she ushered an unpopular guest speaker off site. The students got way too damn rowdy. She very correctly puts the burden of this on the Prez who is a role model for uncivil discourse. And then there is Congressman Joe Barton who also can wear that mantle. His reaction to a constituent who wanted to know about the reason for his vote against the Violence Against Women Law was, well, pure Joe Barton, you know what I mean. I guess if verbal communication with these two people won’t work, then postcards it is!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 14, 2017
at 6:30 PM
“President Donald Trump probably won’t be too pleased with a lot of the mail that shows up at the White House this week.

As part of the Ides of Trump campaign, thousands of people plan to send postcards to the president on Wednesday to share messages of concern, frustration and a little bit of mockery.,,”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ides-of-trump-postcards_us_58c821d5e4b081a56defd866?

We are dealing with a bit of snow at the moment so mine will have to wait a day.

Peace

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on March 14, 2017
at 4:42 PM
Mary, a note about the friend who is fearful (listens only to other who make her even more fearful) and religious. Have noticed over the years the difference between religious and religiosity. Religiosity is actually a demeanor worn by people who insist in one or many ways that they are religious. In sum, they really have no idea of what religion really is, or of being actually religious. Apparently Pope Francis has taken note of this in a recent homily about people who always are seen in church on Sundays, observe the church calendar, being to groups associated with the church, etc. but do not for one moment go out of their way to actually practice the heart and soul of religion, for example, as in Matthew 25. The Pope and I are on the same page on this one. Matthew 25 gets you out of your comfort zone and can put you in touch with people who are always hungry because of their poverty, as well as homeless, sick, and unbathed. These people may weep and moan because of their painful condition. A good number of them are not capable of holding a job due to health reasons both mental and physical and even due to a lack of a decent education, so they really cannot help themselves and may well be on some sort of assistance for their entire lives. Religiosity can lead to finding these people repugnant even though they are redeemed. Religiosity also looks at a religion pretty much as a country club: entrance fee required along with consistent dues. Oh, and they must adhere to the club rules on attire, behavior and social/political outlook. Got it? I hope this clears things up at least a little. Do not waste your time or feelings on that “friend”. Her change of heart is her bounden duty.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 9, 2017
at 7:29 AM
Hi, Mary, and All…

Yes, these are dangerous times… But SELLING the “terrorism,” and the vastness of its existence, is apparently this president*’s primary function, and something at which he is a master – because HE believes everything he says. As far as he’s concerned, he’s ALWAYS been a “victim.” (He has probably always been convinced that people don’t like him because they’re so “unfair,” or “losers,” or “crooked”… It couldn’t possibly be because he’s an uncouth, incompetent, awkward, unpleasant bully, could it?)

Unfortunately, that makes him the perfect tool to be used, IMO, by a cadre of others who have their own agendas – encouraging him to stoke fear gives them plenty of cover to move forward with disemboweling health care, the EPA, corporate regulations, a free media, voter registration, the court system, our intelligence agencies, and on and on and on… If his endless tweeting did not serve their purposes, you can believe he wouldn’t be doing it. (And nobody would be handing him Breitbart bullcrap, and telling him it was important, would they?!) He really hasn’t a clue, and anyone who kisses his booty knows that’s all it takes to get him to do what they want. (“SAD!”)

The wonderful Jim Wright posted a terrific piece on his http://www.stonekettle.com websIte – about FEAR. He makes the case that most of those who voted for the current president did so, not necessarily because they like him, but because he “respected” their fears. (I don’t think we can argue with that.)

In my experience, we humans are often embarrassed about being afraid of anything, whether it’s “commies,” or “fags,” “libtards,”or spiders or heights or sharks or walking under a ladder. And it’s a rare one of us who finds comfort in being told that our fears are ridiculous or unfounded. And we certainly don’t react well to being called stupid, or uneducated, or… Deplorable. (We should remember how all of us here – MYSELF CERTAINLY AT THE TOP OF THE LIST – react to various “trolls” who dare to call any of us any of those things!)

When that happens, some of us turn our fears into hatred – not only of whatever we fear, but also toward those who call us ridiculous for having the fear. And then some of us feel justified in shooting anyone who looks “foreign,” in defiling a cemetery, bombing a mosque, or beating up a transgender citizen. When this becomes government “policy,” we have what we’re seeing now. It’s ineffective at actually accomplishing anything, and none of it makes us any safer, but it’s made to look like it’s doing both. It’s a lie – but it makes us feel that our fears have been recognized. And our current head of state keeps telling us that’s what he’s doing: Making us “safer” from what he keeps telling us we need to fear. (Pretty cool, huh?)

As I think I’ve said before, progressives must offer a viable alternative – and that has to start with acknowledging the fears. “Acknowledging” isn’t the same as agreeing. We may certainly THINK that those who voted for this current disaster are ignorant, dangerous, and immoral – but every time we call them something like that, we shoot ourselves in the foot. As Wright points out, what alternatives did the Democrats offer those who felt fearful and ignored? Not much, unfortunately – and certainly not enough.

Without the outside interference that’s become more and more undeniable, it might have been “enough” – and I’m not putting full responsibility for the results of this election on us progressives. But I do recall, with regret, how many times I personally thought, during the campaign, some version of, “How could anybody vote for someone like that?” And I spent virtually no time whatsoever actually looking for the answer to my own question. I wish I had. There were plenty of those “anybody”s out there, and they voted. And we got “someone like that.”

So now, in addition to continually supporting all those in public office who act in ways I find laudable, I take every opportunity I can to engage with those who don’t. I do my dangedest to listen, to be respectful, to ask questions, and to never once yell at them for being hopeless idiots. (Often this isn’t easy; I save that yelling for my husband.)

We will not win this battle by being as hateful and fearful as we judge our “opponents” to be. We will win by sticking to our principles, and by persisting in objecting to the “normalization” of hatred and the institutionalization of oppression. We’ve seen this happen elsewhere, as well in our own history; we must do our best to keep it from happening now.

This is a democracy. If we, the people, let ourselves be divided, we will be conquered.

Do not be afraid. Or… Be afraid, and RESIST ANYWAY.

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 7, 2017
at 8:13 PM
Mageen ..you are right on. This is very scary! Please can someone tell me WHY people still support him? I have an acquaintance that only watches Fox News, listens to Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. These are the dangerous crazies of our time. This aquaintance is college educated, smart and cultured, but religious. Is this the bottom line….religion? I I see extremely dangerous times ahead. I never knew such hatred and racism (not just against blacks) existed in our country.

LikeLike
By: Mary on March 7, 2017
at 4:52 PM
Gato, Terri and all Porch Sitters: I was recently part of a telephone town hall arranged by my Congressman who is having a hard time finding a venue big enough for a real town hall. Every time he advertises that he has a site and a date, people RSVP immediately and in overwhelming numbers. We have at least two high school gymnasiums in his district that you would think would be big enough, but he may have to go out of district to the local university and see if he can get their field house! At any rate, the phone town hall was absolutely great! My big issue was the free ranging ICE raids that are going on, one of them in my own neighborhood at a church sponsored site and event. No, they didn’t go jack-booting in and haul people out. They simply laid in ambush outside. It was God awful how they did their job. There were agents among them wearing navy blue windbreakers with the word “police” stitched across the back. Our local county supervisor and the county police swear that none of their people were involved. Out of that raid, only a few men were retained and the rest were released. I am trying to find out if the pro bono immigration lawyers who work on Saturdays can use a volunteer like myself. My father was an immigrant and he told me some stories that mirror what is happening these days with the hatred of “others”.

As for the revised Executive Order on immigration, it is so unconstitutional that it was obviously not written by real lawyers. Giving ICE complete latitude on arresting someone just because they think he is illegal reminds me of the same attitude practiced in El Salvador by the military. Some ranking officer would simply scan a crowd and decide that a woman was an insurgent and have her shot down in the street. You may recall the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero in his own church during a religious service was murdered by military death squads because they viewed him as an insurgent. I truly do fear that this is what is happening in this country and even if the SCOTUS strikes down the EO, this sort of thinking and behavior will already be entrenched.

Cannot believe that the R leaders in Congress are biding their time in taking him down with either an impeachment process or a mass meeting in the WH ending in his resignation and immediate vacancy of the job and property and the country! Whatever damage Trump does in the meantime will also fall on their hands as well do to negligence.

Post Script: Gotta remember that most folks viewing the rise of Hitler belittled the fears I expressed above claiming that no one would ever go that far. Well, years of war and millions dead . . .

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 7, 2017
at 10:08 AM
Hey, Terri, and all –

I forgot to include “vindictive bully” in my earlier summary. (Well, there is so much, isn’t there…?)

So our question – and it may be our most important question – is WHAT DO WE DO?

From my POV, the most important thing to do is to get involved, in whatever ways we can. Call our Senators and Representatives and express our opinions. (HTG, it’s really easy. There’s always some nice young person on the other end of the line. When you’ve done it a time or two, it becomes a piece of cake.)

Secondly, work locally. Hard to remember that “local” matters, when the DC craziness is so all-pervasive. (A GF convinced me that it does, since a lot of important issues – like gun control, voter eligibility, health care, education, and a lot more – are essentially local issues.)

Get behind Democratic candidates in swing states. Send money; make calls; go door to door, if you can bear doing that. Plenty of on-line groups already at work on that, such as swingleft.org. Join them.

One interesting race coming up, and being supported by Moveon.org is Jon Rosoff in Georgia. There will be others. Look for them, and support them.

Finally, take every opportunity that comes your way to engage in civil and compassionate conversation with anyone from the “other side” who may cross your path. I think this is incredibly important. We will never be able to convince a hard-core supporter (just as they will never be able to convince us), but I think any opportunity to demonstrate to someone who’s disappointed and worried about the current occupant of the WH – ESPECIALLY if he was their choice – that there is a real alternative should be grabbed wholeheartedly.

“Progressives” are not the enemy of the middle class; kleptocrats are. Having a transgender kid pee in a particular bathroom is not going to hurt you; having no medical care will kill you. Your job will not be eliminated by some immigrant; it will be eliminated by outsourcing. Isolationism will not protect us; cooperation will.

We all have way too many assumptions about what “the others” think, on both sides, and those assumptions are toxic. As I’ve mentioned here, I think, I have a long-time neighbor whose “politics” couldn’t be more different than mine. (Hell; I have a husband like that, too, but that’s another story!) My neighbor and I have had an “understanding” that we would never discuss politics, and we rarely do. Recently, we did, at my instigation. I asked her if she were “optimistic” about the results of the election. She said she was, as were all of her friends. When I asked her why, her immediate response was, “Oh, no, I’m not going there. You read ‘The New York Times’ so there’s no talking with you..” Amazingly, we got past that, and we now HAVE been talking. It’s hard, for both of us, to keep it civil, but so far, so good. She sends me right-wing articles; I read them and reply politely and as thoughtfully as I can. Changing opinions doesn’t matter; dialog does. (And, ultimately, getting non-voters into the booths matters A LOT!)

It’s very hard to hate someone you actually know. This administration is doing its damnedest to make sure we are all terrified of someone “other.” Don’t let them do that.

Every little thing matters. Sharing possibilities are what sites like this are all about – and thank heavens for them.

HANG TOUBH!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on March 6, 2017
at 8:24 PM
Hi Gato,
Agree with all you say. He’s a dangerous man, he’s damaging our country’s reputation and he has no respect for our institutions, laws or people. He disgusts me more than I ever thought possible.
And so far he has spent four weekends in Florida and played eight rounds of golf. Maybe we should be glad he isn’t in the Oval Office full time.

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on March 6, 2017
at 5:42 PM
Hi, Terri… If I could point to one single thing publicly known in the history of this individual that even HINTS at the slightest possibility that he might be diabolically clever, I would certainly seize upon it. However, I can’t locate any such thing, and so find myself, like you, considering “dangerously deranged” more likely.

In addition, he seems to know very little about how government is actually intended to work (even when it doesn’t), and has shown virtually no interest in that subject whatsoever. (No, the president doesn’t just get to tell everyone what to do whenever he feels like it. And no, the other branches of government cannot just be “fired” for non-compliance and then we cut to commercial…)

He also seems totally oblivious and/or unconcerned with the real global damage his endless accusations are causing to the international status of this country. His actions not making America “great” again; they are making America into what much of the world has long considered him: A lying, xenophobic, untrustworthy buffoon, with no class, no morals, and far too much money.

It’s a shame that his doing do is apparently not an impeachable crime.

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 6, 2017
at 8:31 AM
It’s time to admit Trump is mentally unstable and he is dragging our country into a genuine crisis. The man is sick and Congress needs to be do something to get him out of office. This is not America.

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on March 6, 2017
at 7:28 AM
Gato et al, there will come a time and maybe not very soon at all that he will be caught roaming the White House in the dark of night saying incomprehensible stuff and irresponsive to anyone. Thats when the net comes out and his schedule is reset so his incarceration in someplace safe remains a secret. It will then be announced that he has suffered an irreversible whatever in his health and Pence is sworn in. Now take a breath. Pence is going to be gone over with a fine tooth comb as to how close he was to all the machinations. After all, he walked behind Trump ever since the inauguration, carrying a shovel. How much closer could you get? Really! Shame on you for thinking such a thing!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 5, 2017
at 11:08 AM
Implosion imminent, or getting closer by the nanosecond. Yes, very nervous-making! HOWEVER, I feel certain that no one is more terrified than that sorry soul cowering at Mar-A-Lago again this weekend… Rachel Maddow did an extraordinary “time line” on activities over the past few months, involving Deutchebank, Russian oligarchs (including the “King of Fertilizer”), money-laundering, a bank in Cyprus, and a number of recently-elected and/or appointed US high-ranking officials – some of whom have recently stepped down, some of whom have not… yet. Much of the info was already public knowledge. It’s a Tom Clancy-worthy scenario: Essentially, wealthy Russians needed to stash vast sums of money and they found a US “public figure” desperate for an infusion of same. BINGO! And, should that public figure happen to become President of the US, so much the better. And anyone with any experience as a “player” knows you don’t give anyone your cash without making sure you’ve got some means to control them… (Tax returns, anyone, just for starters…?) So here we are. Sometimes “conspiracies” really aren’t just “theories”… Hang tight, porch sitters, and stay all over your congresscritters, all the time, about everything. And take some courage that, at least so far, even the wildest attempts to make this “Russia thing” go away have not been successful.

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on March 4, 2017
at 5:14 PM
I don’t know about you all fellow porch dwellers. I am totally panicking about our safety based on the latest from the T camp. He is accusing President Obama of having hacked or wiretapped into his phone during the campaign. Somebody in that capacity should realize that his actions, deeds, and words carry some weight. He should not be trowing accusations out there without backing them up. Suppose there is even truth to his assertions, a person entrusted with the safety of this country would wait till the facts are proven before saying anything that may rile people up. What is he trying to do? This country is divided enough as it is. Instead or trying to work toward bridging the gap, he is adding fuel to the fire. I am afraid for us and to where we are headed.

LikeLike
By: Easier on March 4, 2017
at 1:50 PM
Terri, There are two roads here and they all start and end with the same point. Trump has been trying forever to get the Kremlin to OK a Trump Tower of some sort on Red Square. On the other hand, the Russians have been trying forever to get their claws deeper into this country, hence for one thing, the hacking during the presidential campaign. Trump and Putin are scratching each other’s back. Oligarchs only in that club! Sessions is in trouble because he deliberately avoided revealing that yes he had conversations with the Russian ambassador during the absolutely particularly critical time of the Presidential campaign. He knew Al Franken was asking just that but pretended not to realize it, thus giving the answer he spouted to the committee. Also, if you check back into Trump’s past when he was just starting to emerge on his daddy’s whopping financial gift, you will see that he was at the least a hanger-on of the late Roy Cohn, a master of the stuff Trump is now spouting. Roy was a lawyer and mixed up with some really heavy stuff before he died of an illness. There you have it. Two really, really, really creepy guys. One dead and the other carrying on in his footsteps.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 4, 2017
at 11:49 AM
What is the deal with the Trump administration and Russia?? We need to find out. Why do they all continuously lie about things they are now claiming are innocent? They are hiding something.

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on March 3, 2017
at 4:30 PM
Trump in a whole lot of respects is a rerun of LBJ but he would have to be smart to know that. But even LBJ never saw himself as George Washington! the whole idea that Trump, with his ego, could conceivably think that – and I don’t doubt it – gives me the hyper creeps!!!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 3, 2017
at 7:13 AM
What no one seems to understand is that Trump thinks he was George Washington in another life. That would explain EVERYTHING! Plus the Russian connection and love of all things Putin.

LikeLike
By: iwasgeorgewashington on March 2, 2017
at 7:30 PM
Spent Tuesday evening cleaning my house, a much more beneficial activity than watching Trump bloviate for an hour. Per the Washington Post, he is going to institute something called VOICE, supposedly to assist victims of immigrant related violence. First question: has he checked to see if this would even be constitutional? If it is, he has to go through the House Appropriations Committee for the $$ to run that effort. Good luck with that! He has already told Congress that everything but military will be cut from head to toenails. Maybe he is counting on outfits like Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR) to support it which means another constitutional question. Of course, he has never heard of the religious office a previous administration tried to gin up and how quickly that went belly up. FAIR, by the way, is the special club for people like Kris Kobach, Attorney General of Kansas, who writes all those anti-immigration laws for states like Alabama and Arizona. The courts struck down those laws. Moreover, there are FAIR members and others from a complete range of anti-immigration outfits who want to outlaw ALL immigration, even the legal kind. Jeff Sessions is of the same mind and has said so. And moreover, if your grandpa or grandma came from some place else, you are to take up your entire family and go back there! To hell with all that you and yours have done to make this a good and decent country with your sweat, tears and even blood that earned Purple Hearts.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on March 1, 2017
at 7:23 AM
Gato, I totally agree about the Russian connection. My gut tells me there is something there he doesn’t want us to know. His soft approach to Russia and Putin is the one and ONLY thing he has been consistent about. I fear our country is in for a bad time and Bannon’s presence only adds to the feeling that bad times are coming. I am buoyed by the passion on the left, and I hope to God it lasts.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Terri in NY on February 26, 2017
at 5:11 PM
Hi, Terri –

Frankly, I doubt we will be subjected to four years of what’s-his-rump and company; all this could well become real ugly, real fast. We MAY, however, be subjected to quite a long period of non-governing, Congressional infighting, dreadful appointees and attempted dismantling of critical departments, and so on.

I have long sensed, very strongly, that somewhere in the current Oval Office occupant’s connections to Russia he has a real terror of some equivalent of “cement boots” potentially lurking in his future… I cannot forget one of the young spawn’s bragging, a few months ago, about how much of their “business” was financed with Russian money… I’m guessing it is.

Anybody who fancies himself a big-time “player” – and we know who does – has no idea the kind of player Putin has to be to keep a grip on his country. And he does. Many years in the KGB have served him well. I once had occasion to work with a gentleman who had “formerly” been in our FBI (on a totally unrelated project I assure you). I remember his telling those of us on his crew that “Once you’re in the FBI, you’re always in the FBI.” I see no reason to think it is otherwise, anywhere else. (And there, of course, is another reason that what’s-his-name had better be careful trying to mess with our intelligence agencies.)

Nobody behaves this hysterically unless they’re terrified…

HOWEVER, taking a “break” (or a bath) can’t hurt, as long as we don’t quit entirely. We have to keep remembering that no one huge thing that any of us does is going to “change everything,” but if we all just keep doing “little things,” over and over again, change will inevitably happen.

It’s kind of like meditation, maybe, where your guide just keeps saying “Follow the breath,” over and over again. Do it once or twice and you wonder the heck is the purpose… Do it fifty times, and everything is different.

Hang in there!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on February 26, 2017
at 3:21 PM
Hi Mageen, I appreciate your calmness, but I can’t seem to share it. I have never seen anything like Trump’s attacks on the media, and Bannon’s apparent influence on the direction of the administration. Watching Sean Spicer lie and spin every day really pisses me off.
Gato, good on you for getting involved in local elections. The Dems really need to get back to grassroots. I, too, have been busy writing letters. I can’t believe we have to endure four years of looking and listening to Trump.

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on February 26, 2017
at 2:53 PM
Couldn’t say it better. Wonder if anyone could. Trump is a cockwomble. Thank the wonderful Scots for that one. Nutshell: a useless man who wombles his balls. A couple of other things I won’t mention. But you can easily look them up. Things are going from bad to worse. Bannon actively supports the destruction of the US. In fact the cabinet appointments were made to do just that destroy the agency they were picked to run. We need to clean house but the cowardly quisling republicans are trying to duck and hid or just run. Mitch McConnel used a barb wire fence to keep his constituents out of town hall meetings. So much for leadership. So ladies and gentlemen let’s take back our country. VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT!!!!

LikeLike
By: Tilphousia on February 26, 2017
at 2:52 PM
Please we need a new post…I am dying here..

LikeLike
By: GiGi on February 26, 2017
at 12:06 PM
Hi, all – Glad to see some percolating going out there; I’ve been pretty lax myself. But not exactly, now that I think about it. Went to my first phone bank last weekend, in support of a local Dem running for CT State Senate, and have been regularly hounding my Senators and State District rep, blue as they all already are. (Murphy! Yes! Blumenthal! Yes! Elizabeth Esty! Yes!)

Another nice little campaign going around send: Send a postcard to the president* on March 15, specifically detailing what you don’t approve of among his activities and so-called “policies.” Hell, send ten postcards; send fifty! c/o The White House. (Sorry – lost the link; some activist I am…)

The idea is to provide a deluge that will all arrive on or close to the same day. Tell all your friends, too. (I do apologize to the USPS, but we gotta do what we gotta do…)

BTW, Mageen, I wouldn’t count on the WH “not daring” to do much of anything these days. Bannon apparently has a pretty iron-clad pair, whether or not anyone else around there does. And who knows about the so-seemingly-benign young Mr. Kushner…

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on February 26, 2017
at 11:37 AM
Terri, take a nice relaxing breath. From all that I can tell there are more than sufficient citizens out there who are resisting and their energy is empowering! Two committees, one in the House and one in the Senate are taking up investigating the Russian interference in the election. It would be a good thing to have an Independent Prosecutor do all this but with Sessions as AG he is too busy bullying DeVos to bother with anything else. Also, if DOJ did appoint an Independent Investigator, the White House would have to have the sense to not fight that move. So we carry on with Hill committees – and the press, as long as it remains free. And they have all the power they need to remain so! No matter what anyone else says!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 26, 2017
at 11:07 AM
It has been awfully quiet here these days. I guess we are all stunned into speechlessness by how awful the Trump administration is. I have been busy writing my congresswoman, urging her to push for an independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s involvement with Russian intelligence, among other things. Yesterday’s attack on the press is very disturbing and upsetting. I hope the press and all reputable journalists are not intimidated by these tactics. In fact, I hope they are emboldened. I have never been more worried about our country than I am today. If you haven’t seen it, Google the Indivisible document. It has lots of good information in it.
Cheers.

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on February 25, 2017
at 10:01 AM
From Juanita Jean:

“I did not write this, but it’s too funny not to share with you.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it looks like Trump is actually making America great again. Just look at the progress made since the election:
1. Unprecedented levels of ongoing civic engagement.
2. Millions of Americans now know who their state and federal representatives are without having to google.
3. Millions of Americans are exercising more. They’re holding signs and marching every week.
4. Alec Baldwin is great again. Everyone’s forgotten he’s kind of a jerk.
5. The Postal Service is enjoying the influx cash due to stamps purchased by millions of people for letter and postcard campaigns.
6. Likewise, the pharmaceutical industry is enjoying record growth in sales of anti-depressants.
7. Millions of Americans now know how to call their elected officials and know exactly what to say to be effective.
8. Footage of town hall meetings is now entertaining.
9. Tens of millions of people are now correctly spelling words like emoluments, narcissist, fascist, misogynist, holocaust and cognitive dissonance.
10. Everyone knows more about the rise of Hitler than they did last year.
11. Everyone knows more about legislation, branches of power and how checks and balances work.
12. Marginalized groups are experiencing a surge in white allies.
13. White people in record numbers have just learned that racism is not dead. (See #6)
14. White people in record numbers also finally understand that Obamacare IS the Affordable Care Act.
15. Stephen Colbert’s “Late Night” finally gained the elusive #1 spot in late night talk shows, and Seth Meyers is finding his footing as today’s Jon Stewart.
16. “Mike Pence” has donated millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood since Nov. 9th.
17. Melissa FREAKING McCarthy.
18. Travel ban protesters put $24 million into ACLU coffers in just 48 hours, enabling them to hire 200 more attorneys. Lawyers are now heroes.
19. As people seek veracity in their news sources, respected news outlets are happily reporting a substantial increase in subscriptions, a boon to a struggling industry vital to our democracy.
20. Live streaming court cases and congressional sessions are now as popular as the Kardashians.
21. Massive cleanup of facebook friend lists.
22. People are reading classic literature again. Sales of George Orwell’s “1984” increased by 10,000% after the inauguration. (Yes, that is true. 10,000%. 9th grade Lit teachers all over the country are now rock stars.)
23. More than ever before, Americans are aware that education is important. Like, super important.
24. Now, more than anytime in history, everyone believes that anyone can be President. Seriously, anyone.
– Susan Keller”

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on February 20, 2017
at 10:07 AM
Easier, I’m inclined to think that when such a judgement does come around that CJ will be notified while teeing off at one of his golf courses! Its very noticeable even now how he prefers to get the blazes out of the White House and prefers the proximity of golf courses. The betting around here is that he will very, very soon outrun Dubya’s 1,000 days away from D.C. The time outs that Obama spent at R & R, if produced on a bar chart, would look like an ant hill compared with some of his predecessors and certainly the current occupant of the WH – and I’m using “occupant” rather loosely inasmuch as he prefers his own property – is on a sharp upward curve already!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 20, 2017
at 9:22 AM
Thanks Mageen! I won’t dare hope for such outcome up until the scenario takes on a semblance of likelihood or plausibility. However, I have to confess I am enjoying the current White House reality show. It is very entertaining to see such incompetence on display. Can’t believe all the events of these past three weeks. Wow!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Easier on February 15, 2017
at 8:18 PM
thanks mageen I will add…I agree as well!

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on February 15, 2017
at 1:29 PM
Easier, my money is on Trump being very, very nervous right now. The FBI is looking into Flynn’s communications etc. and if they find any sort of link to the Russians, Trump may make history as the first president ever to be arrested while in office. If that really is the case, don’t count on Pence succeeding to the oval office. That entire bunch may be tarred with the same brush used on Trump. Would that throw the situation into the House of Representatives? It might not. Instead, SCOTUS could get to make the decision inasmuch as there is a crime against the state involved; furthermore, if the investigation does give even a glimmer of proof that the Trump/Russia connection rigged the election, the court could simply give it all to the popular vote winner who was “harmed” in all legal definitions.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 15, 2017
at 6:54 AM
Thanks for your post Cynthia! Inspiring!

On another note, the chicken are coming home to roost. Kingdom, America ain’t and anybody thinking this country could be run like one is sorely mistaken. This democracy has been hard fought and hard won, and it is still alive and well. I did not think I would be feeling so hopeful three weeks into the next four years, which I was dreading. Karma is a bitch like the saying goes. We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg with the Flynn story. May we stay the course and hold feet to the fire. Who knew what, when, and how? All questions need to be answered.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Easier on February 14, 2017
at 9:03 PM
Cynthia, great stuff! Really! Maybe just one more thing.
I will not work together to worship a false god inasmuch as the creature has that mighty-ilk-a-god thing going.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 14, 2017
at 2:13 PM
Sorry a bit long –

“This is where I stand. I make no apologies to any or all of my FB friends for this. I know some of you are tired of political postings and rants. But apart from the cutesy posts of recipes, flowers, seashells, balloons, and my daily diary, FB is a vehicle to express my outrage of how far my country has fallen on the humanity scale. To me it is a useful vehicle for my activism. The person who lost the popular vote and now occupies the White house – and the majority of the Republicans in congress – are a threat to me and my way of life, to my children, and to my grandchildren. So I will #RESIST and I will be part of the resistance. You can join in or not. If not then you probably need to consider unfriending me. I won’t play “nice.” Our country’s well-being demands it.
Those who say we should give the #RepublicanAutocracy a chance, need to realize that I will not forget how 45 refused to admit the legitimacy and even the citizenship of President Obama and I will always remember how badly his supporters treated that president for 8 years. Those who tell me that we should “work together” with him because he won the election and he is everyone’s president, need to know that this is not going to happen.
•I will not “work together” to build a wall.
•I will not “work together” to persecute Muslims.
*I will not “work together” to break up families and deport parents.
*I will not “work together” to help Russia destroy America.
*I will not “work together” to make propaganda equal to fact.
•I will not “work together” to shut out refugees from countries where we destabilized their governments, no matter how bad they might have been, so that we could have something more agreeable to our oligarchy.
•I will not “work together” to lower taxes on the 1%.
•I will not “work together” to increase taxes on the middle class and poor.
•I will not “work together” to help him line the pockets of himself and his cronies.
•I will not “work together” to weaken (or demolish) environmental protection.
•I will not “work together” to sell American lands to companies which then despoil those lands.
•I will not “work together” to remove civil rights from anyone.
•I will not “work together” to waste trillions more on our military when we already have the strongest in the world.
•I will not “work together” to alienate countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive.
•I will not “work together” to slash funding for education.
•I will not “work together” to take basic assistance from people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
•I will not “work together” to allow torture and “black op” prison sites.
•I will not “work together” to “take their oil.”
•I will not “work together” to get rid of common sense regulations on guns.
•I will not “work together” to eliminate the minimum wage.
•I will not “work together” to suppress scientific research, be it on climate change, fracking, or any other issue where a majority of scientists agree that Trump and his supporters are wrong on the facts.
•I will not “work together” to criminalize abortion or restrict health care for women.
•I will not “work together” to increase the number of nations that have nuclear weapons.
•I will not “work together” to put even more “big money” into politics.
•I will not “work together” to violate the Geneva Convention.
•I will not “work together” to give the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and white supremacists a voice in our government, or to normalize their hatred.
•I will not “work together” to deny health care to people who need it.
•I will not “work together” to increase the profits of the insurance companies.
•I will not “work together” to deny medical coverage to people on the basis of an alleged or actual “pre-existing condition.”
•I will not “work together” to increase voter suppression.
•I will not “work together” to normalize tyranny.
•I will not “work together” with anyone who is, or admires, tyrants and dictators.
•I will not “work together” with 45 or anyone who supports him, because I will not allow one man to feed upon the fears of the populace, blaming minorities for their condition or their inability to thrive.
Instead, I will use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and anyone else who will LISTEN. I will call a lie a lie, a fact a fact, and alternative facts propaganda. If you agree, please copy and re-post and if you can, sign your name beside mine. Also, if I have left anything out, feel free to add it to this list. This is the first step in becoming part of The Resistance.”

Peace.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Cynthia on February 14, 2017
at 11:12 AM
oops. sorry about the spello…
constuencies =constituencies

LikeLike
By: alaskapi on February 14, 2017
at 8:22 AM
Amen mageen! Amen! 🙂

LikeLike
By: alaskapi on February 14, 2017
at 8:02 AM
gato-
I’m not sure what to say- folks have to think through, like you are, what they have time and energy for. For me, it has to touch local, state, and federal bases.
I support, with limited dollars , PP, the ACLU, our local women’s shelter, local Housing First project, various projects Our Revolution has taken on and a couple more.
The NYT has a program where one can make a one time donation ( as small as $10) to get their paper into schools- kids need to be reading decent reporting!
Here , we have huge environmental issues- mining and resource extraction, real effects of climate change to name a few. A long awaited and heavily vetted plan to transition timber sales out of the Tongass National Forest towards 2nd growth is in peril- thanks for nothing Senator Murkowski!

swingleft looks interesting though I see something askew with their algorithm as regards my state so would caution folks to look closely at whatever district pops up for action.
Their assertion that Rep Young only-won-by-44K votes and thus might be vulnerable is false. He took 50.32% of the vote. The Libertarian candidate took 10+% and our D took 36+%. We are large in size and small in population so that 44K is a LOT of Alaskans ( dippy ones to be sure but still in the majority who love them some obnoxious Mr Young- who is more likely to die in office than be defeated)
So- I’m just saying folks should do some independent looking around if they choose to engage there. One plus is that swingleft is not affiliated with the D party per se- which right now is a possible plus.
Pay attention Ds- we have a new party chair coming on board at the end of the month. Somehow we have to reconcile the Centrist and Democratic Socialist views within the party without making the sicko accommodations the Rs have with their multiple constuencies.
Watch the anarchist left and disavow them at every turn! The black Bloc does NOT speak for me and I’m way left of just about everyone who stops by here.
Make damned sure the WH and the Rs get called out when they call the Black Bloc the D resistance! They are working on doing that every time they talk about rioters in the streets and burned cars and all that crap.
I’ll think on this more because one of the biggest things is to address what kind of real jobs will and should replace all those lost to mechanization. The WH crap on that subject is just that- crap.
anyone else have ideas?

LikeLike
By: alaskapi on February 14, 2017
at 8:00 AM
Gato, Flynn is out! May he blaze a trail for all those who should follow quickly behind him starting with Bannon and maybe even the Creature himself!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on February 14, 2017
at 7:44 AM
Gato, this creature also lives on the shattered homes and dreams of all the people he promised so many things to during the campaign and has simply gone in a completely different direction since the swearing in. Farmers are freaked out as he insistently chums around with millionaire and billionaires in private and in public and not once has he had a farm organization – and there are a lot of them – to the White House for a hug!!! And Joe Sixpack can just forget about all those jobs the creature promised to bring back into the country. Those corroding hulks that were once smoke belching factories will continue to corrode as the jobs do not materialize from overseas. Factories these days are a whole bunch smaller, usually on only one long level, do not belch smoke andemploy more robots than human beings. The only ones to get jobs in such a situation are those who build the robots. One of these days the unemployed backbone of America will finally wake up and boy howdy when they do, things will get a whole lot messier!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on February 12, 2017
at 12:34 PM
Hi, Mageen – Well, I keep wondering if this hasn’t been some “Grand Plan” all along… Just encourage the press-and-ratings-obsessed “blunt instrument” to keep throwing out endless tweetstorms, so we’re all constantly distracted. (Nordstrom? Ivanka? SNL? Combover? Jeff Sessions…? The softness of towels…?)

And, under such effective cover, just keep moving things along in Congress: ICE raids, move to gut the EPA, “repurpose” National Parks, all the cabinet appointments, remove hurdles for pipeline construction, whatever…

Makes as much sense as anything else these days.

MEANWHILE… Looks like the interesting Mr. Flynn has likely been chatting with Russia ever since the campaign days. Gee… What a surprise… WHERE IS THIS STORY, other than on Rachel Maddow’s show??

AND as for the WH Correspondents’ Dinner, I’d suggest that they have the thing, and just never mention a certain name the entire time. (After all, the “official” WH recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day omitted any reference to the Jews, and fair’s fair, right?) That would make him crazy, if they could pull it off.

THIS CREATURE LIVES ON MEDIA COVERAGE. IMPEACHMENT WOULD PROVIDE HIM WITH JUST ANOTHER “PLATFORM.” TAKE AWAY THE ATTENTION, AND THE PROBLEM WILL EVENTUALLY FADE FROM SIGHT…

To paraphrase a widely-known question, “If a president blusters in the forest, and no one hears him, does he actually exist…?”

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on February 12, 2017
at 9:14 AM
Gato, Terri and all – its finally in print. Trump is totally hitting the wall (if you know what that means) in the White House. He actually thought the job would really be like a Divine Right monarch: wave the scepter and make it so. He cannot understand why the minions are resisting. He also does not have the creative thinking to get himself out of the mess he made. Bets are already being made that he does a Pallin and just walks! One caveat here: IF the Senate R’s will let him. they really want to get everything they’ve ever wished for and as long as Trump submits as a puppet, they will put up with him. then they will visit the White House and advise him that there is a strong, well founded impeachment coming his way and Lo! If he repents, he just might escape it. If not . . .

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 12, 2017
at 8:40 AM
Hey, Terri! Nice to hear from you…!

I agree with all your thoughts and inclinations here. But, like you, I live in a blue state, so it can be a little frustrating to think that all I can do is call my Senators and tell them I support what they’re already doing… Casting about for how to reach other areas, a friend told me about a site called swingleft.org. They can tell you the Congressional district nearest you that went “red” by a relatively small margin, and so can be considered vulnerable to persuasion. (For me, it’s NY-19; that might be yours, as well.) You can sign up to call Democratic voters in that district and urge them to get out and vote; volunteer to do other things on the phone, or in person; or even organize your own group to participate. They haven’t been around long, so I would advise doing a little research before signing up. They also have a FB page. So far, they seem reputable to me. And, interestingly, they don’t ask for money!

There was also a good article in “The Nation” about various resistance groups, which included swingleft. (Don’t know how to link to that, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find.)

You know how I love to rant and snark, so I have to keep reminding myself that neither will have any real effect on anything. It’s a total waste of time to try to “outsnark” any committed supporter of the current POTUS. They won’t hear it, any more than we heard any of their endless trashing of Obama. What matters is to just keep focusing on actual “issues,” actual possible breaking of laws, ethics violations, and so on – and to avoid thinking anything remotely like “What difference does it make?” Some things are more important than others – Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as AG is more “important” than the “tweetstorm” with Nordstrom, for example – but they both “matter.” I try to apportion my energies appropriately.

Also, I’m not a “crowd” person, so I’m not likely to be physically out there on the barricades. But I AM good at researching and mouthing off, so that’s what I do. Follow your instincts, and do what works for you. We each have our skills, and they all matter.

I love Mitch McTurtle’s statement about Senator Professor Warren: “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”

Nothing could piss them off more!!!

Gato

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on February 11, 2017
at 4:15 PM
Hi Gato,
I think that we need to be in constant contact with our senators and congress people. I also personally think that the protests are very effective. I was totally blown away by the visual impact of the huge crowds at the Women’s March. Those images were impossible to ignore.
I also think that Trump and his minions have offended and pissed off so many people (judges, journalists, Democrats, gays, immigrants, etc.) that they will soon reach a saturation point.
My other wish is that members of the GOP will have the fortitude to resist his totally chaotic and incompetent leadership. I’m not counting on that though. We must just persist and voice our opposition.
And as long as I’m wishing, I wish I never had to see or think of Kellyanne Conway again!

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on February 11, 2017
at 3:39 PM
Hey, :Pi… Thanks… And I meant “now treason,” not “not treason.” But you knew that… Look how many of us are here. How do we coalesce all this power, all this “persisting,” into something that really works? Where do we put our energies somewhere off the porch? I think you’ve proposed some thoughts about that; let’s revisit them.

Our courts still seem to have some wits about them, and many of our judges seem to still care about the law, although muzzling them ASAP is certainly on the “White House agenda,” far as I can tell.

Before we no longer have this option, how can we congregate ourselves to make the maximum impact? I know we can do it; friends here are asking me how… Now I’m asking all of you…

Gato

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on February 10, 2017
at 10:06 PM
So Sean Spicer announces today that not buying Ivanka’s stuff is a “direct attack on the president.” Does that mean that we could be arrested for shopping at Nordstrom’s…? “Not shopping at designated outlets” will now be considered treason, and a felony? Don’t laugh, Porch Sitters… This may be where we’re headed…

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on February 10, 2017
at 4:54 PM
Porch dwellers: Morning Joe this AM proved to me that what I have been suspecting is the case. The WH is out of control and it starts at the top. There was some discussion about the uncontrol being a deliberate distraction from the fact that Trump is really not getting his agenda out. Hey! I live and work not far from D.C. The lack of control IS the agenda! And as for McTurtle treating Senator Warren as he did, I can only think the guy is suicidal and Elaine should punt that cabinet job, stay home and take care of him. Seriously. You never tell a woman, Senator or not, to shut up and then lay on a thick layer of frosting with an ancient Senate rule about imputing another member’s integrity. That rule was written so long ago for a different occasion that it has its own pension! At that time there were only men in the Senate! And they could get into fisticuff dancing! McTurtle really, really blew it! Right now there is a postcard campaign on the rise. Send a postcard to McTurtle or whoever: Just put their name on it, then “U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.” The recommended message is: We persist!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on February 9, 2017
at 6:58 AM
[…] has skin thinner than his wife and an ego bigger than my ass,” Helen Philpot wrote on her insightful blog to her […]

LikeLike
By: Bannon Runs U.S. While Unhappy Trump Takes Heat | Nel's New Day on February 7, 2017
at 10:06 PM
Is in just me or does the White House seem to have finite cracks in it permitting a whole lot of leaking! Now where is that little boy who stuck his finer in the crack in the dike when you need him!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 7, 2017
at 9:14 PM
Jeez… The “campaign” just never ends, does it? I notice that they don’t seem to ever SHOW The Orange One actually speaking… I admit I didn’t go through every sub-category so I may have missed something, though. I wonder who’s writing this stuff… The Bannon? Krikeys…

LikeLike
By: gatodicima on February 6, 2017
at 2:22 PM
Have you all seen the “new” White House website? You won’t believe our eyes. So much of it is gone, such as the “comments” section. Other Cabinet level websites are being “revised” as well. They used to be full of information for us taxpayers. Now, not so much. Actually yoyo would notice all of this if you had used such sites before. But the WH site is freaking alarming. Go yee forth and see!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 6, 2017
at 12:45 PM
“ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM”!! A sort-of Latin translation of “Don’t let the b**tards grind you down,” left over from the Sixties. Hardly thought I’d need to be thinking about that again these days, but I/we certainly do!

To all you Faithful Porch Sitters: I’ve been out of town since the end of December, still dealing with wrapping up family stuff, with “only” my phone & iPad. For some reason, neither of those devices chose to recognize me here, so pretty much couldn’t reply. But been reading all of your wonderful posts, people! Just got back home a couple of hours ago, and am ready roll once I get unpacked…

Your advice, Pi, is right on target: Pick just a couple of “issues,” work local, and FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. No single thing is going to solve everything, all at once, but every single thing counts. Enough “single things” will do the job.

Ferocious love to all!!

Gato

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: gatodicima on February 4, 2017
at 2:31 PM
Porch dwellers, glad to see you are united in the resistance! Please note that everything Trump does by executive order is hitting the courts fast and getting banned. This crumpled dude thinks that he has a magic pen and can sign away what he doesn’t like. Dodd-Frank? Really? That is legislation and any change or total repeal has to go through Congress. Dodd-Frank is stuffed full of complicated legislative language and you know how “fast” Congress gets things done. For instance when legislation is entered in one Congress and is not completed, it is then re-introduced in the next one and the plodding continues. The re-introduction and plodding is very much like the movie Ground Hog Day where the “hero” gets to relive the day over and over again. Also, executive orders are ending up in courts that are doing the judicial version of preserving them in amber. ACLU et al. are working hyper fast on all of these. The Supremes are going to be over worked. Bet on it!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on February 4, 2017
at 9:04 AM
JoanPM- It is a fricking mess but please don’t give up.
The asshat is going to make it worse before we can make it better.
Choose one or two things you can do. There are millions of us and we’ll get the work done by each choosing a couple things we can work on.
If you can afford a few bucks- there’s the ACLU and Planned Parenthood and plenty others.
If you have time- choose something local you can lend a hand to. Community garden, food bank, your local shelter, whatever. Things which help real people in real time- which give you something concrete to hang on to.
A lot of the time we can vote and get decent to good folks in and not think too much about things until the next election cycle- sometimes we have to do a lot more in between.
This time we have to do a whole hell of a lot more but none of us can do it alone, nor can we do it all. Choose 2 things.
Take best of care . Please don’t let the &^$#%^-ers win any more ground and don’t let em grind you down.

LikeLike
By: alaskapi on February 3, 2017
at 9:43 PM
I missed this column, Helen, until today -2/2/2017. So sorry. Since the day you posted and everyone commented, OMG, the situation in DC is ever so much worse than I could ever have imagined. Every day another disaster. Alternative facts, Kellyanne? I simply cannot stand it. One day he stops all immigrants with zero notice even to the departments that are supposed to be in charge of that. With no forethought. A five year old stuck in the detention at an airport without his mother! Can it get worse? Well, yes it can and does. Nominate a judge to SCOTUS… ok, so bring both last candidates to the White House just so he can play with them and us a day then name one and brag and boast, laugh even, about the huge surprise he did. Personally neither is liberal enough for me, but how’d you like to be the runner up? One does not do that crap to real people. He plays with people just to remind himself what a great dictator he really is. Today he was yelling at the Prime Minister (? Sorry, I’m not sure of his title) of Australia. An ally of the USA for well over 100 years. Their soldiers were and are fighting along side ours in the Middle East. He was throwing a temper tantrum on the phone with that poor man. The whole world is laughing at us!! I cannot watch TV anymore. Can’t read the news on line. Can’t look at FB anymore. I stay just too angry. I’ve let this election take over my life. This man is and will ruin my country, my life. Everything I’ve stood for, marched for, burned my bra for (now you know how old I am!) everything I taught my granddaughters about how far and high they can go, I see it all floating away on that orange mop on his head. Oh my, is it really the end of my world?

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: joanpm on February 2, 2017
at 5:05 AM
Yes…a decent person. That’s all I ask for!

LikeLike
By: Bart on February 1, 2017
at 6:57 PM
IMO the Republicans will not impeach trump until he has signed all the items on their wish list then they will throw him under the bus. bannon is another story. He needs a stake driven through his heart if he has one.

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 31, 2017
at 7:57 AM
Damn! It was back to the future this AM when I read the AG had been canned because she stood on principle. I thought Nixon was dead! Apparently his ghost roams the White House and has the ear of the CIC. When Nixon did the firing that night three people went down. This time I think only 2 or am I missing another one? I also recall that it wasn’t long after this firing that the articles of impeachment went into play. Anyone remember that?

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on January 31, 2017
at 6:54 AM
[…] Goodness I love Margaret and Helen Trump has skin thinner than his wife and an ego bigger than my ass. […]

LikeLike
By: Good things 2017: Week 3-4 | baking in my bathing suit on January 30, 2017
at 12:05 PM
Do you know what “gaslighting” means?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/gaslighting-know-it-and-identify-it-protect-yourself

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on January 28, 2017
at 7:04 PM
UAW, I am an elitist. I was trained for many years (at my expense) to attain a required level of ability. I did that hard work. I use that ability to do my job to the point where others rate my work very highly. Your doctor, dentist, attorney et al. are elitists. Ten to one you would not go out into the street if you needed such services and just randomly hire anyone without first reviewing them for their ability to save your life. Also, firefighters, for one example, are also elitists. Thank them the next time you see them for being so good at what they do.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on January 27, 2017
at 6:51 AM
Yes, UAW, the Trump inauguration was a treat to watch. I enjoyed the degenerate pathological liar waving his tiny hand to his tiny crowd. Good times!

LikeLike
By: Anonymous on January 27, 2017
at 6:27 AM
God I love you Margaret and Helen!!!

LikeLike
By: Anonymous on January 26, 2017
at 7:24 PM
Merry Belated Christmas everyone

elitist—“Contrary to people who think that there are actually people that are elitist, most people who are elitist are arrogant pricks who place themselves as higher than others without actual evidence of their higher standing. Elitists also come in many different shades and colors, from the college student-use big words-smarter than everyone, to the gym rat who thinks that because they spend 1/2 their life lifting weights, that their life is in some way worth more than a piece of toilet paper. Most often, when one is confronted with an elitist, the first thing that anyone feels for them, upon learning that this person regards themselves as an elitist, is utter repulsion at the fact that this animal scum believes themselves to be in any way above their fellow primates.” urban dictionary

and wasn’t that a great inauguration Trump/2020

LikeLike
By: uawtradesman on January 26, 2017
at 5:34 PM
If we have to pay for this monument (wall) to trump can we declare it as an a “unreimbursed” expense on our federal taxes?

You know he is only building it is because it will be a big wall. He told me:

A yuuuge wall. It will be beautiful. Everyone will think it is the best wall ever. They have told me this. My wall will be much better than that wall in China. It will be great. I will paint it gold. It will have big beautiful lights. My good friend Putin will be able to see from our bedroom…er porch. He really likes me. He told everyone that. They stood up and cheered.

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on January 26, 2017
at 1:53 PM
We need an update from you. A week later things look much worse!!

LikeLike
By: Lorena Palm on January 26, 2017
at 12:14 PM
WTF!

“See what Fox said. They said it was one of the great speeches. [At the CIA] They showed the people applauding and screaming. … I got a standing ovation. In fact, they said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl, and they said it was equal. I got a standing ovation. It lasted for a long period of time. You probably ran it live. I know when I do good speeches. I know when I do bad speeches. That speech was a total home run. They loved it. … People loved it. They loved it. They gave me a standing ovation for a long period of time. They never even sat down, most of them, during the speech. There was love in the room. You and other networks covered it very inaccurately. … That speech was a good speech. And you and a couple of other networks tried to downplay that speech. And it was very, very unfortunate that you did.”

trump

OMG we are in for an interesting time…unless he gets his hands on the button. I have a gold lame jacket with extra long sleeves in just his size.

Peace.

LikeLike
By: Cynthia on January 26, 2017
at 11:47 AM
Mageen – I don’t know the answer to your question. What I DO know is that pipeline construction is brutally hard, all-weather work, and therefore the pay is high. The union leaders are backing it, and they seemed extremely satisfied with their meeting with the President. First time they had, (I think) EVER been invited to the White House.

I like this stuff: everybody working together and working their asses off, bringing home Real Money, and not Wal-Mart wages. The Dow just hit 20,000 today. The market always anticipates the economy by about a year, and it looks like we are finally in for a recovery. I live in a poor section of Virginia, and these people are really hurting – especially the black folks. A lot of them are my friends and neighbors, and they’re stoked!

LikeLike
By: PFesser on January 25, 2017
at 9:38 PM
“50 jobs in 4 states.” Hohooh-hoohhheoooeeeehaaahhhhh… That’s a good one.

Not been around much construction, eh? It’s a little different from generating sheets of paper or Word files.

This is a Massive undertaking. This project will take three to five hundred tractors/lowboys to just move the earthmovers into place. Thousands of tons of diesel fuel, tens of millions of pounds of high-grade, hi tensile-strength alloy steel. Tens of thousands of man-hours of engineering alone. Safety-checks, X-raying every foot of pipe for flaws, and then pressure-testing it. Just massive.

We have seen what a fireball is running the country now. The ambitious, hardworking grownups are back in charge. Don’t look for too many golf games in this President – he’s up at 5 a.m. and not down until 1 a.m. A real inspiration for the worker-bees who follow him. He was right about Hillary – she’s a sick woman and doesn’t have the stamina for this job – not if it’s done right. No nappy times for the Prez.

Honestly, I feel like a huge cloud has been lifted from the land, and WE’RE BACK! The greatest country on the planet is back, and it’s got its priorities straight.

… 50 jobs in 4 states. Hohohohoho….honestly. Some folks would complain if you hung them with a brand-new rope…

LikeLike
By: PFesser on January 25, 2017
at 9:31 PM
Pfesser, still would like to know how many full time permanent bodies are going to be hired to finish the pipeline and if that job will furnish them with a pension and maybe even healthcare. I do realize that when some other countries buy into another country’s natural resources, they rarely if ever hire local help. They import their own people and establish an enclave.

As for Shakespeare, he wrote quite enough really, really depressing bloody stuff. “Julius Caesar” tried to convince us that JC was killed because he got to big for his toga.

I do like a quote from (I think) “Much Ado”. It was about a blustery February look.

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on January 25, 2017
at 1:04 PM
Most of the pipeline is already built, so unless we’re going to have a do-over then we can’t get too excited about the impressive demand for US steel. I suppose it’s awesome that the project will yield about 50 jobs in 4 states, after we are done putting a key water supply at tremendous risk. Feels like Flint, where stupid short-sighted decisions poisoned an entire population needlessly. Penny wise, pound foolish. Unfortunately, the consequences were permanent human health damage for multiple generations, and not just the staggering financial and economic cost.

LikeLike
By: delurkergurl on January 25, 2017
at 10:51 AM
Julius Ceasar…et tu pence. I meant Brute. Really.

LikeLike
By: sharon on January 25, 2017
at 10:50 AM
mageen – how about, “Much Ado About Nothing?” It’s going to be fine. I have a lot of lower-middle-class relatives (like myself) who have been really chomping at the bit to get back to work. Think how much steel it will take to make a pipeline from Canada to Texas! All made in America. Ditto workers. Ditto diesel fuel burned and Caterpillar earth-movers manufactured.

re: p*ssy-grabbing – No offense to anyone, but I really DO NOT care about his bluster in an unguarded moment; I care about his business experience, and from what I’ve seen in the past five days or so, it’s going to be more than just fine. (My wife is a member of a “romance-writers” group. You should be in the room when they get to talking about “romance.” It makes what men say in locker rooms look like second-grader talk. LOL.) All best to you.

LikeLike
By: PFesser on January 25, 2017
at 9:09 AM
P;fesser and all the porch dwellers – I just think a thought. Which play written by Shakespeare most closely resembles the Trump experience? Have a feeling that an answer to all of this might lie in old Will’s cold, dead hands!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on January 25, 2017
at 7:58 AM
Pfesser, don’t know why but we seem to be getting hit more often with transient stuff. Once upon a time it used to be a 24 hour thing. Now it is 72! Nearly everyone I know has had it, even some people I don’t know. My car was in for repairs and was 79th in line because nearly everyone at that site was sick! I can legitimately blame it on the screwy weather – or even politics! thanks for your kind thoughts!

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on January 25, 2017
at 7:45 AM
Mageen – the last time I dropped by, you had some sickness in your family. Here’s hoping that turned out well for everybody. rgds, PF – also in Virginny.

LikeLike
By: PFesser on January 25, 2017
at 6:15 AM
It’s good to see that the “p*ssy-rioters” (apologies to the Real Pussy Riot) have their priorities straight.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9824/yazidi-sex-slave-women-march

Like my old college roommate, Bill Shakespeare, used to say about born-again virgins, “The lad(ies) doth protest too much, methinks.”

LikeLike
By: PFesser on January 25, 2017
at 6:13 AM
A thousand pardons porch dwellers! I posted the wrong name of the nominee for SCOTUS. Its something like Gusbach. His mother Anne was the EPA Administrator for Reagan and she tried mightily to completely destroy the agency. Her son is in no way flashy and tends to be a listener.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on January 24, 2017
at 6:04 PM
Trump just announced his pick for SCOTUS. Some judge named Musgrave (?). He clerked for Whizzer White and Kennedy. That is a breeding ground for swing voting justices! Does the justice you clerk for as a young lawyer make a difference? Well, look at Cruz. Guess who he clerked for! Three guesses and the first two are automatically wrong!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on January 24, 2017
at 1:20 PM
“A post is making rounds on social media, in response to the Women’s March on Saturday, January 21, 2017. It starts with “I am not a “disgrace to women” because I don’t support the women’s march. I do not feel I am a “second class citizen” because I am a woman….”

A response:

“Say thank you. Say thank you to the women who gave you a voice. Say thank you to the women who were arrested and imprisoned and beaten and gassed for you to have a voice. Say thank you to the women who refused to back down, to the women who fought tirelessly to give you a voice. Say thank you to the women who put their lives on hold, who”…

View at Medium.com

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 23, 2017
at 6:19 PM
Where is Gato these days?

LikeLike
By: Terri in NY on January 23, 2017
at 4:31 PM
James,have you ever worked for someone like Trump?

LikeLike
By: mageen in old virginny on January 23, 2017
at 3:20 PM
Trump is “untested”??? I think six bankruptcies is enough of a test. Hillary lost because Russia and James Comey meddled in the election. Case closed.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Anonymous on January 23, 2017
at 12:47 PM
james –

“Hillary won the popular vote only because of majorities in a few California and New York counties. The rest of the country rejected her because they thought she was a greater evil than the awful but untested Trump.”

wtf – why does it matter where those +/-3 million anti-trump voters lived? All the voter suppression games that were played in red states and still more people voted against trump. OMG greater evil??

Alternative facts – taking bullshit to a new level!

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 23, 2017
at 11:59 AM
love you, Helen. I mean it.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Robin Andrews on January 23, 2017
at 11:59 AM
We need to keep marching. Please inform/share –

“Remember this date November 6, 2018. That’s the date on which 33 senate seats, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 14 governorship’s will be up for re-election. Put it on your calendar now and be prepared to be an informed voter.”

Peace.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Cynthia on January 23, 2017
at 11:25 AM
Of course misogeny played a role, but it was countermanded by people who voted for Hillary because of her gender. Hillary lost because a majority of the country was disgusted by Obama’s and by extension, Hillary’s policies.

Trump is a jerk, and Democrats helped put him in the White House with bad candidates. Hillary’s campaign was not even able to manage itself. Even Bill said it misallocated resources, but no one listened. Hillary’s campaign should have put more effort into Michigan etc. They failed to notice what Trump’s campaign saw.

Hillary won the popular vote only because of majorities in a few California and New York counties. The rest of the country rejected her because they thought she was a greater evil than the awful but untested Trump.

The women’s protest was nice, but it meant nothing in the general scheme. It was little more than a catharsis on a trip to footnoteville. I was not gloating. I was writing “I told you so.” and telling you how you can, like the Tea Party turn the walk into a movement.

Anon, in your case, (Not Mageen’s. I like her) I am gloating. I wish I had been in your living room so I could watch you react when it fell apart. You are where I was in 2008. People like you supported the Democratic party as it traveled to disaster, and thanks to you, we have this.I repeat, in case your mind is too simple to understand. I could describe in detail, but the explanation would probably be too complex for you to accept. Democrats gave us Trump.

I can’t change the outcome, but I can gloat over your sadness and impotence. It will be a long two years at least.

Bye for now.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: James on January 23, 2017
at 10:12 AM
James, Mary the Mother of Jesus would have also been a bad fit. See, both she and Hillary are female. it doesn’t matter if one was without sin and the other had the vast resume. Someone spoke to the mysogeny laying so quiet and close to the surface and intimated that it is OK to radically misbehave join his favor.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: mageen in old virginny on January 23, 2017
at 7:33 AM
James go back to where you normally post. No one here is interested in listening to you gloat.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Anonymous on January 22, 2017
at 9:34 PM
Cynthia, Look back in time.

My record is better than yours, and your candidate lost because as I wrote, Hillary was a bad fit. Imagine how awful she was to lose against someone like Trump. I read this correctly, and you didn’t. The trend has worked against your side since 2010, and much of the fault lies with Obama and his supporters.
. I gave you some good advice. Follow it or prepare to lose again.

Peace to you also,

LikeLike
By: James on January 22, 2017
at 4:22 PM
james – blah blah, blah, blah…

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 22, 2017
at 2:54 PM
Terri in NY – that’s known as “alternative facts”…not lies!!

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 22, 2017
at 2:52 PM
We are in an ideological civil war, and Obama’s side has lost this battle. democrats are politically in the weakest position they have been in years. And
the march will do little to change the situation as long as vulgar celebrities.
It doesn’t matter that most demonstrators were polite and firm. The worst of the demonstrators will become the face of the movement. They will not win converts.

Liberals and this site mocked the Tea Party as ignorant hicks, and the press lied about them. People here told me I was crazy when I predicted they were a danger to the Democrats and the country club Republicans. I was right and they were wrong.

For these people to become an effective movement, they must discard the more extreme factions and operate politely as they pick up their trash as Tea Partiers did. This should not be a one time event. Protesters should gather regularly and present one or two simple issues which other observers might embrace. They should also contact their representatives, news papers and the internet.

I am happy Hillary lost and I wish Trump had not been the instrument to kill her presidential hopes. I predicted what happened with Obama, but I have no idea of what will happen with Trump. No one else, including Trump knows the answer. He will either lead us into a golden age or he will be impeached. I do know that he has a short time to prove he can keep his promises. He has a Republican Congress and that gives the party few excuses if they fail this time.

Whatever happens in the future, the song I posted describes the Democrats’ departure from the White House.

LikeLike
By: James on January 22, 2017
at 12:19 PM
Day One of the Trump Administration: flat out LYING by President Pussy Grabber and Sean Spicer. Disgraceful and dangerous.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Terri in NY on January 22, 2017
at 10:01 AM
I agree with everything you said and if I had said it I would have used a lot of F words..

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: JACKIE SUE DENNEY on January 22, 2017
at 9:47 AM
Oy God but it’s going to be a tough road ahead. This man is a moron. We as a country will simply have to form a protective circle around him, a human air bag if you will, so that he can’t harm himself or worse harm others. It will be like having a two year old around. It’s never easy.

Stay strong America.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Group Hug on January 22, 2017
at 7:04 AM
We had hundreds in my part of Alaska in well below zero wind chills. Our march ended at a hall where we could talk to and connect with groups for action.
All over Alaska we had people turn out. Even tiny Unalakleet and Adak 🙂
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017/01/21/large-crowd-attends-womens-march-on-anchorage-in-solidarity-with-national-events/
It has started.
We will work hard
We will prevail.

whatzizname has no mandate- none.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: alaskapi on January 21, 2017
at 9:31 PM
Proud of my sisters here at home and worlwide! We matter and we count an I am so glad we let it be known.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: Easier on January 21, 2017
at 7:50 PM
“I am not drunk yet… No problem. You will have plenty of reasons in the future I am sure.

A 90 year old and I marched (well 1 block or so) in Seneca Falls today. Beautiful spring like day! There were about 8000 they said. The home make signs were interesting and creative. Way to go WOMEN! I have daughters in DC today!

This march/rally can not be a one day deal. No more Sit Down and Shut Up – STAND UP and SHOUT with a reason.

Peace.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Cynthia on January 21, 2017
at 6:21 PM
Way to go, Helen! Maya Angelou was right: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: That Other Jean on January 21, 2017
at 4:03 PM
Kudos and cheers to the marchers (women, men, children) today in our country and world wide. Now go out and voted your tea party representatives and Senators out in 2018 and 2020. YES WE CAN There are more registered Democrats in this country than Republicans. If we vote, we win. If we sit on our butts , we lose. Begin cleaning house in your own states in 2018 and keep it up in 2020.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: COBlu on January 21, 2017
at 1:21 PM
I heard that Eric Trump was surprised when he went into the White House today and it wasn’t all white.

Bless his heart…

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: C. Leachman on January 20, 2017
at 10:11 PM
Wore black to work today. I was surprised to see many people, of all races, also wearing black today in my red state. Just a coincidence? Maybe. I am not drunk yet Cynthia, but I am thinking about it.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Easier on January 20, 2017
at 7:49 PM
The turd is in the punch bowl. We need to get it out and flush it. Can’t think of anything nicer to say.
Remember this ass takes office with a 32% approval rating, down from 40% two days ago. Only 37% of the voting public voted for him so way less than half and most of those are ignorant and many of those are now against him. He is already under investigation for his connections to Russia, Impeachment has already been spoken out loud, there are Republican congress people pushing back, not many, but it’s a start.
Call your republican Congressional people and tell them what you think.

Margaret, you are a national treasure. Please keep us laughing with your gift of spin on a terrible situation.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: COBlu on January 20, 2017
at 6:42 PM
Is anyone still sober?

Peace.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cynthia on January 20, 2017
at 6:29 PM
Sadly so true and I know we’re meant to acknowledge that there are people out there who voted for Trump who are not being stupid but honest to God I don’t see how anyone could vote for something,that’s right, some thing like this and be using an intelligent brain. We are in danger of losing our whole democratic system under this man. I kept waiting and hoping that he would not keep opening his mouth and proving me wrong.Butt the people he’s appointing for offices of crucial importance are terrifying and he continues to behave like a child run amok in the White House and I’m frightened.

LikeLike
By: Marches on January 20, 2017
at 10:11 AM
Arghh! I am indeed convinced that this day is cursed! A bleeping moronic traitor is about to be sworn into a job that someone else is already doing! My car broke down and would you believe that there is a dire shortage of cabs in the D.C. area? Got to the office by a miracle. Some angel somewhere is going to be exhausted by the end of our day just looking out for me. More to the point, this country needs legions of angels of all rank watching over this country as they never have heretofore!

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: mageen in old virginny on January 20, 2017
at 7:33 AM
[…] Margaret and Helen. I admit it — I love […]

LikeLike
By: Political Irony › Helen Philpot is an Elitist on January 20, 2017
at 12:15 AM
I’ll be thinking about you tomorrow, Margaret. I am sorry for your loss. Tomorrow is a bad day for decent people everywhere. Those that are happy clearly have no problem with making fun of disabled people and raping women. Shame.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Susan on January 19, 2017
at 10:21 PM
America’s first Russian President.
Now, I’ve seen it all.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Thelma Gilsdorf on January 19, 2017
at 7:35 PM
Dear Helen,
I am outraged that Rick, “Dancer With The Stars”, Perry is actually going to be the Energy Secretary when he didn’t know until just a couple of weeks ago that there is no oil and gas in the energy department, that he will be in charge of our nuclear arsenal. If that doesn’t scare the very life out of us what will? It scares me to think about a solid C- Aggie in charge of nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. Do you think he knows how to pronounce the word “nuclear”?

Here’s the big difference in President Obama and DT. Obama appointed Steven Chu who has a PhD in physics from Berkley and has won the Nobel Prize in Physics!! When Chu left to go back to teaching at Stanford, Obama appointed Ernest Moniz who graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a BS in physics and a PhD in theoretical physics from Stanford. You will definitely recognize him because he worked with John Kerry on the Iran deal.

When you look at all of the Energy Secretaries there’s a variety of professionals in the bunch, a lot of lawyers, but Rick Perry will be the VERY FIRST with a BS (for bullshit?) in Animal Science!!!!!

We are all elitist, standing together until sanity comes back to DC.

Love,
Dorothy Crabapple

P.S. I’m not watching a single minute of TV news until after the, shudder the thought, inauguration.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: Dorothy Crabapple on January 19, 2017
at 5:00 PM
We are having a march in Palm Springs for the Women’s March in DC. I will wear black tomorrow.. good idea!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: dhsdaddy on January 19, 2017
at 4:23 PM
Exactly.love your elite mind

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: dan on January 18, 2017
at 10:52 PM
I’ve scheduled a colonoscopy on Friday and I don’t even need one

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Stan Derman on January 18, 2017
at 10:20 PM
I am taking care of my health so I can live to be a thorn in this man’s butt. You ladies take care of yourselves too. I’m 79 and going from Hawaii to DC to march against this moron. Love you both, be safe, and be healthy.

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: konarider on January 18, 2017
at 8:01 PM
I’ve worn black every day since he was elected and intend to wear black every day he serves as president. On Friday, this idiot will put his hand on a book he has never read and cares nothing about and will promise to protect and defend a document he has never read and cares nothing about.

LikeLiked by 5 people
By: unexpectedincommonhours on January 18, 2017
at 7:36 PM
Margaret, I am so sorry that you and Howard have to attend a funeral. We have lots of them at our age. It can be hard but I know you will get through it. I will be thinking of you instead of that horrible inauguration.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Delia on January 18, 2017
at 7:02 PM
I hear you, I am with you, and I thoroughly enjoy your articles. Keep em coming. Signed, an old Texas broad

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Christie L Brown on January 18, 2017
at 6:41 PM
I love Helen & Margaret xxxx

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Kate McClelland on January 18, 2017
at 5:09 PM
Reblogged this on Kate McClelland and commented:
I love Helen and Margaret!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Kate McClelland on January 18, 2017
at 4:18 PM
“I listened as they called my President a Muslim.
I listened as they called him and his family a pack of monkeys.
I listened as they said he wasn’t born here.
I watched as they blocked every single path to progress that they could.
I saw the pictures of him as Hitler.
I watched them shut down the government and hurt the entire nation twice.
I watched them turn their backs on every opportunity to open worthwhile dialog.
I watched them say that they would not even listen to any choice for Supreme Court no matter who the nominee was.
I listened as they openly said that they will oppose him at every turn.
I watched as they did just that.
I listened.
I watched.
I paid attention.
Now, I’m being called on to be tolerant.
To move forward.
To denounce protesters.
To “Get over it.”
To accept this…
I will not.
I will do my part to make sure this great American mistake becomes the embarrassing footnote of our history that it deserves to be.
I will do this as quickly as possible every chance I get.
I will do my part to limit the damage that this man can do to my country.
I will watch his every move and point out every single mistake and misdeed in a loud and proud voice.
I will let you know in a loud voice every time this man backs away from a promise he made to them.
Them. The people who voted for him.
The ones who sold their souls and prayed for him to win.
I will do this so that they never forget.
And they will hear me.
They will see it in my eyes when I look at them.
They will hear it in my voice when I talk to them.
They will know that I know who they are.
They will know that I know what they are.
Do not call for my tolerance. I’ve tolerated all I can.
Now it’s their turn to tolerate ridicule.
Be aware, make no mistake about it, every single thing that goes wrong in our country from this day forward is now Trump’s fault just as much as they thought it was Obama’s.
I find it unreasonable for them to expect from me what they were entirely unwilling to give.”

Author unknown.

Peace.

LikeLiked by 7 people
By: Cynthia on January 18, 2017
at 10:12 AM
JSRI, I heard you were dead! Rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated, LOL! Good to see you.

Great post, Margaret and Helen. It’s going to be a very long 4 years. Only 2 til presidential campaigning starts up again!

LikeLike
By: delurkergurl on January 18, 2017
at 9:41 AM
I plan to wear my black Tshirt on Friday…It is the one I got 8 years ago that says OBAMA on it.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: carol bechtel on January 18, 2017
at 9:17 AM
Ah, Jeri and all the porch dwellers. Just saw this AM a special segment on a national tv show about a group of small town Ohio Trump voters who are supposed to be very, very religious and ever so tolerant and neighborly. Their little town has a highly diversified population and no social explosions, so there! They all mostly said that their religious background played a huge part in how they voted. As for Trump’s “behavior”, they all said that they could over look it inasmuch as they knew they were not voting for an archangel and that it was their responsibility to teach their children morals, not Trump. As for his post-election performance, they all wished he would watch his mouth and make good on all his promises. My mamma had an old saying, “Salt of the earth but not at all deep.” Fits this bunch to a T! My own religious background also guided my vote for Hillary. My religious upbringing involved another old saying “The near occasion of sin.” Well, Trump really bought it on two rather outstanding occasions: his insistence that we, the tv audience of that debate, see a porn tape and later the conversation with Billy Bush on the bus. That said it all. If I had ever had a total mental meltdown and dated someone like Trump when I was young and even brought him home to meet the folks, he would have first and only met dad with a shotgun aimed straight at him. Dad was big on the belief of first impressions and what you see is what you get. And by the way, dad immigrated to this country. He was a naturalized citizen and loved it deeply, as he once said “warts and all.” Well, so much for small town thinking, at least with that one!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mageen in old virginny on January 18, 2017
at 8:45 AM
My 6 year old just informed me that his baby brother needed a diaper change by saying, “Mom, Travis trumped in his diaper again!”

Thought Helen might appreciate that.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Leslie R. on January 18, 2017
at 8:09 AM
Hear! Hear! I not take exception to the derogatory use of the term “mouth breather”. I broke my nose as a child and have been a mouth breather ever since. Even after having it repaired as an adult. 🙂

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: kathylquiltz on January 18, 2017
at 7:50 AM
You nailed it… aND sadly, trumplethinskin will never apologize as he has no comprehension of his bad behavior. Don’t expect that to change.😞
Textbook Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Ellen Green on January 18, 2017
at 7:25 AM
I’m an all-out elitist, meaning that I realize that an elite polician (doctor, athlete, engineer, etc.) won’t necessarily be the most decent person nor they need to be, as long as they can perform at the elite level whatever their personal feelings may be: trust me, if you’re sick, you’d want Dr. House and not the Dalai Lama to be your doctor. So I did not vote for Trump precisely because he’s doesn’t qualify as an elite politician: he’s a liar, a conman, unable to set priorities, has no skills, no principles, and no experience.
The fact that he doesn’t qualify as a decent human being either was just the cherry on top.

LikeLike
By: List of X on January 18, 2017
at 7:22 AM
Thanks Helen and Margaret. Thanks for keeping the fires burning. Friday will be a sad day for me.

LikeLike
By: Easier on January 17, 2017
at 10:02 PM
I love, love, love, love, LOVE Margaret & Helen

LikeLike
By: Ursula Bornstein on January 17, 2017
at 9:52 PM
Helen
Still knocking it out of the park, I see..
Three quarters of a century ago I learned that you always want the brightest person in the room making decisions on your behalf
Unfortunately, we have the dumbest idiot in the world in the position we most trust. I can hardly wait for the explosion that will occur when all his duped supporters find out they’ve been conned. It shouldn’t take all four years to figure that out.
it’s been so long since I last commented on this site that I can’t remember how I got on in the first place. But rest assured that you are a champion of the males on the site as well as the usual women who support your position.
Keep up the good work. We need your voice more than ever.
jsri

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: jsri on January 17, 2017
at 9:12 PM
Helen you make me a happy human! I so look forward to your wit! My Grandfather & Grandmother Philpot raised me and i think we have to be kinfolks hahahahaha

LikeLike
By: Curtis McFadin on January 17, 2017
at 9:09 PM
This is a brilliant beautiful well spoken piece and I love every word of it!

LikeLike
By: ravenhawks magazine on January 17, 2017
at 8:59 PM
eimile9@gmail.com, widelski@aol.com

On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 10:37 AM, Margaret and Helen wrote:

> Helen Philpot posted: ” HELEN: Margaret, somebody called me an elitist > because I think Trump and his supporters are morons. I wasn’t’ quite sure > what being an elitist means these days and I am pretty sure most people > using that as an insult probably don’t either so I looked ” >

LikeLike
By: Diane Muldoon on January 17, 2017
at 8:09 PM
Reblogged this on Adventures and Musings of an Arch Druidess.

LikeLike
By: elfkat on January 17, 2017
at 6:45 PM
Damn….I’m an elitist, too! Proud to stand with all my fellow elitists!

LikeLike
By: Vivian on January 17, 2017
at 6:27 PM
Helen, If I haven’t told you lately, I love you. We are going to need your voice far more often than you have posted more recently. It seems that Dat Guy is planning on banning the press from the White House. We will need every voice to comment on the goings-on in the new Administration and there is no more direct, nay pungent, voice than yours.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: BarbinDC on January 17, 2017
at 6:24 PM
In total agreement with you, Helen. Thank you.

LikeLike
By: Another Georgia gal on January 17, 2017
at 5:42 PM
You are more pissed off than usual. Rightfully so……….

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: nancy larsen on January 17, 2017
at 5:37 PM
From one elitist to another – THANK YOU Helen!!

LikeLike
By: Terry on January 17, 2017
at 5:34 PM
Helen, your writing is spot on. I love the flow, the syntax, I can hear a voice as I read it. I would love to hear you do a podcast or something similar, have you done any? Perhaps a youtube video channel?? You could lead a revolution with words like yours, they are so well put together. ❤

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: KittyChiwawa on January 17, 2017
at 5:29 PM
You have a way with words that I admire and agree with. Three cheers to you both!

LikeLike
By: Jean R on January 17, 2017
at 5:25 PM
Totally agree, the man is pure evil!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cathy on January 17, 2017
at 5:15 PM
OMG I love them!!!!!!!!!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Cable, Kathy on January 17, 2017
at 4:01 PM
Thank you for sharing your words. You are correct. I keep hoping and praying that he will rise to the occasion and respect the office and handle the responsibilities he has been given. I feel very doubtful though. Well stated, Helen.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Anonymous on January 17, 2017
at 3:40 PM
He is not my president and never will be. I may have to wear black for 4 years unless we can impeach this despicable orange turd.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Annie in Maine on January 17, 2017
at 3:26 PM
My sympathies to
Margaret and Howard. Stay strong

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Sil on January 17, 2017
at 3:07 PM
the news showed a group of people with one waving a sign :Trump Nation – whites only. I don’t know if they were his supporters or protesters.
I will be wearing black too – with a gold thunderbird design that says “Make America Native Again !”‘

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: Mary McNeil on January 17, 2017
at 3:02 PM
I am a proud elitist too. I agree that mocking a disabled person should have been enough to stop any decent person from ever considering him a viable choice.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: kathylcsw on January 17, 2017
at 2:41 PM
Well said, thank you.

And my sympathies to Margaret and Howard.

LikeLike
By: VCarlson on January 17, 2017
at 2:36 PM
Great words, Helen. Am reading it twice.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Phyllis on January 17, 2017
at 2:09 PM
One of your best, and sadly so true. Margaret and Helen Blog reminds me that there is still sanity here.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: dmcrane1 on January 17, 2017
at 1:56 PM
“I love elitism, and those are the people I want in charge of things, people who know stuff.” -Sarah Vowell
Now it’s up to us to uphold any standard of human decency we want to see in our country, because Donald Trump and the Republicans in his cabinet and congress sure aren’t going to do it.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Doug in Oakland on January 17, 2017
at 1:41 PM
I’m still trying to believe this isn’t all just a bad dream!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: fishducky on January 17, 2017
at 1:18 PM
Just stumbled upon you both. You’re hilarious! Keep writing, please.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Laurie Stone on January 17, 2017
at 1:13 PM
WOW, that was your best yet, tell it sister! Thank you honey child!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: suz on January 17, 2017
at 1:12 PM
This is one of your BEST!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Katherine Goodwin on January 17, 2017
at 1:07 PM
Love it.So true!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Mary on January 17, 2017
at 1:06 PM
I love you, Helen and please stay elitist!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Hanjo on January 17, 2017
at 12:55 PM
You go girl! Tell it like it is.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mercyn620 on January 17, 2017
at 12:49 PM
I am now proud to be an elitist!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: jono51 on January 17, 2017
at 12:34 PM
Sad, scary and so true!! You hit the nail on the head!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: lucy on January 17, 2017
at 12:30 PM
I absolutely love you ladies. You put voice to my thoughts. Thank you for the voices of right.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Kay Crichton on January 17, 2017
at 12:25 PM
Reblogged this on Pyromomma's Blog and commented:
I guess that I am elite, as well.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: pyromomma on January 17, 2017
at 12:24 PM
Spot on, as usual. I’d laugh even harder if it weren’t so dang disappointing to have to call him President Moron.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: grannypress14 on January 17, 2017
at 12:16 PM
There are so many of us “elitists” it upsets me that we could not keep him from being elected and now we don’t seem to be able to stop his cabinet appointments! I do love you though, Helen and I too will continue to hold him and the GOP accountable!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Kathy Sinkovitz on January 17, 2017
at 11:58 AM
Hope you are going to put on your pink pussy hat on Saturday and march wherever you live to protest all this stupidly heading toward the White House. Just finishing up knitting our hats for my friend and I to show our support in Oregon!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: mrsmole on January 17, 2017
at 11:34 AM
Reblogged this on FiftyFourandAHalf and commented:
If you haven’t read this, you should. It’s what we’re all thinking and feeling.

Elitists UNITE!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Elyse on January 17, 2017
at 11:29 AM
Elitists Unite!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Elyse on January 17, 2017
at 11:28 AM
You are on the mark, every time!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Marian H Kurz on January 17, 2017
at 11:27 AM
Perfect. You nailed Trump. Thanks for continuing to speak out.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: cobracruising on January 17, 2017
at 11:24 AM
Rock on, Helen! I will be in black on Friday, and will be marching locally on Saturday! I am scared to death of what is coming.

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: Kathleen Linn on January 17, 2017
at 11:20 AM
Oh Helen, Sing another verse to me — Please. You speak my language and the language I THOUGHT was the language of our nation. ATTA girl.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Judy King on January 17, 2017
at 11:18 AM
Great. Wish everyone had the same kind of backbone you show every time you post.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Terri in NY on January 17, 2017
at 11:16 AM
Very well said Helen. I had not heard of the wearing of black on Friday but I will do that as well. Trump will never be my president. He doesn’t know how to be decent. Thank you for a great column.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Paula Slack on January 17, 2017
at 11:09 AM
Give em hell Helen. You are a national treasure and 100% right on. Trump voters need to totally understand the stupidity of their decision. Keep it up Helen. We need you!!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: John Domino on January 17, 2017
at 11:00 AM
A very reassuring blog for those of us who are across the pond, and wondering how the hell nobody has shot him yet….ye have the guns! Kidding…but only just!

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: charlieeasterfield on January 17, 2017
at 10:46 AM
Dead on !! I love you !

Sent from my iPad

>

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Rena on January 17, 2017
at 10:44 AM
Thank you, Helen. You speak for all of us who want a president we can respect.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: Sandeebar on January 17, 2017
at 10:38 AM
I can’t quit wanting to throw up. I appreciate your words and wish I had said them. I also wish they could make me feel better, but they don’t. I’m still stunned that people are okay with this. That almost half of America is okay with this. Who the hell have we become? Margaret, my condolences.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: tinacaldwell on January 17, 2017
at 10:26 AM
This is one of your best commentaries ever❣️ THANK YOU, HELEN.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Sharon Bomio on January 17, 2017
at 10:23 AM
He is the electoral college president only

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: George Wainwright on January 17, 2017
at 10:14 AM
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Pamela Efferson on January 17, 2017
at 10:14 AM
Once again, you have nailed it in the category of speaking the truth to total idiocy. A friend sent me the following quote…

“As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron.” H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920

To think, Mr. Mencken predicted the Donald almost 100 years in advance.

LikeLiked by 4 people
By: Jim on January 17, 2017
at 10:07 AM
Occasionally I can’t find the words to express my horror over this election. Now when that happens, all I have to do is aim the person I’m speaking with at your column and say, “THIS!” Thanks for telling it like it is.

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Connie Grover on January 17, 2017
at 10:07 AM
Thank you, Helen.

Margaret, you have my condolences.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: megan hicks on January 17, 2017
at 10:07 AM
Helen, it was so good to read this. I guess for the first time in my life I’m an elitist too. I don’t care what color I wear on Friday but you can bet I’ll be nowhere near a TV or radio and have a cocktail or two.

LikeLiked by 3 people
By: Anonymous on January 17, 2017
at 10:01 AM
Love it 😍

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone >

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lorraine Livingston on January 17, 2017
at 9:58 AM
Bravo, again, Helen. I deeply admire your principles (and Margaret’s too). You are a splendid role model, so I share your blogs with many like-minded friends. I only regret that you are past the age where you’d consider running for public office because it is your spirit and passion for the good of the nation that we need more of.

LikeLiked by 5 people
By: B.W. on January 17, 2017
at 9:57 AM
Honestly, Helen! That was so rousing that I began to hear faint strains of the French national anthem! Ever hear a translation of that piece? In comparison, ours is elegiac. The Marseilles is kick ass. I think that is what we need right now.

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: mageen in old virginny on January 17, 2017
at 9:57 AM
Reblogged this on Central Oregon Coast NOW and commented:
Thank you Margaret and Helen. You always tell it like it is (or should be) with “sass”!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Central Oregon Coast NOW on January 17, 2017
at 9:56 AM
Outstanding!!!!!!!
You are a National Tresaure!!!!

LikeLiked by 2 people
By: Thomas Berry on January 17, 2017
at 9:54 AM
Would it be going too far to draw a political cartoon depicting a tombstone with the words…”United States of America…July 4, 1776-January 20, 2017. R.I.P.” That stands for Republicans in Charge.

LikeLiked by 5 people
By: Adele Graham on January 17, 2017
at 9:50 AM
Well said!!

LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Anonymous on January 17, 2017
at 9:49 AM
Amen!

LikeLike
By: Eunice M Link on January 17, 2017
at 9:49 AM

	Anonymous on Thanksgiving Letter to the…
	marilynwimmergren ma… on Trump is a Hemorrhoid
	Anonymous on Thanksgiving Letter to the…
	Monday Blog Choices:… on Thanksgiving Letter to the…
	Anonymous on IF A GOP DEBATE FALLS IN THE F…

Margaret and Helen