Walkabout Thoughts #55

My thoughts, Stream of consciousness, rough and ready, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts… July 23, 2023, Sunday

Weather for the day… 67° starting out, 72° when I got home

Podcast The Whistleblowers: Inside the Trump Administration episode three, “In Justice”
Instagram for the day

Instagram Post from the past. On set at my old house/property as pyrotech for the day.

One wonders if Ukraine shouldn't collect half of their cluster munitions and covertly safely store them in Russia and then manually scatter them around just the right places for pyrotechnic displays. They could even notify people. The point would be, "Yes, we are here, as long as you shouldn't be there."

I need to advertise suffering long Covid in Yakima to send people to their store.

The support of Donald Trump is so frustrating. Because we’re a democracy or a democratic republic if you will and he’s...just an autocrat. I said when he was elected "he is my president" although I voted for someone else and it made me want to vomit. But that changed very quickly because of his actions and  orientation supporting my at that time, recent understanding and belief in his being a criminal for decades, and I was no longer able to support with him in his being in our oval office he still believes is his. I no longer accept him as my president His position for those sad four years as POTUS I now see as his being our CAOTUS, or our "Chief Autocrat of the United States". Americans do not elect autocrats as POTUS.

Conspiracy theory types, easily go off the rails because of overthinking and over analyzing, in a standard paranoid fashion, typically without enough information (and because of that, also fearing being seen as less intelligent than they strive to present, and about as intelligent usually as they in reality are), then project and make huge leaps of (il)logic. A mainstay of their mindset is to never to be embarrassed (ibid) or be caught off guard, because they didn’t see how they were being fooled or being made a fool of. When their orientation is one of, a fool. The thought then becomes embedded, so that it’s foremost in one's mind, and one can no longer see having been fully indoctrinated into their mindset and bubble as a conspiracy theorist.

Another element of the conspiracy theorist mind is in seeking alternate realities, or as they might put it, alternate considerations. They see that as simply holding another (more "clear") orientation off of the same facts or elements, which are actually alternative facts or elements and not facts at all which quickly devolves away from reality. If you don’t like the mainstream explanation for something because it doesn’t fit your paradigm, and you instead seek anything that gives you even a semblance of reality and logic, oddly enough, you end up in a fantasy world. These types tend to fall on the right side of the political spectrum.

When I find sought more about the conservative mindset on the right, they are typically based in the considerations of fear of things they don’t understand, and therefore, of a future they apparently cannot know and demand that it is unknowable. Which would make one logically assume it would require becoming ever more proactive, esp., as so many of them are preppers (it's been estimated a few yeas ago that was 2-3% of Americans and in 2022 was closer to 10%). And yet has a political party being proactive, seems to be anathema to them. They deny human responsibility in climate change (which is clear) and deny their authoritarian orientation up until they fully embrace it, once they have a base strong enough to withstand becoming anti-American agents in destroying our democracy.

So a week ago last Thursday I caught something, or long Covid flared up, again. I tried to fight it off as a cold or flu and didn’t see progress until I used some antivirals. Which says a lot about what was going on. I assume long covid again triggered a dormant virus. I thought I was getting over this but it seems like it’s back. I know that it has a capability of hiding away in tiny pockets to be released at some point as some other dormant viruses are. I’ve wondered where? I heard that malaria hides in one's liver and reoccurs, as a report on NPR today said about about the resurgence of malaria in Florida. So I’m wondering if somehow purging the liver might help? How does one do that? Like no medical researchers have thought of that yet? But they did find some help with, I think it was Paxlovid on long Covid, but it only helps for a while then you need it again.

My son said somebody came into his health food store, talking about how Covid is less with smokers and nicotine might be a solution or a path using nicotine patches. I told him the I research I had come across over the past couple years indicated that’s not a path to pursue. I found some new research I sent him specifically saying I was correct. And while the numbers may indicate something on that order, it’s not what it appears to be. It was a French study a few years ago on nicotine and Covid, which is what got the misdirection out to the public on the Internet. One study I found said that the results they found was not statistically relevant to the point that smoking was worse for you than the benefits related to Covid. So often in these kinds of things, and it totally appears to some to be one thing, but then in practice, or via research proves out to not be what it seems. This is the same issue. We see these kinds of things in politics with conspiracy theories, in looking at things anecdotally, or evaluating things in hindsight, when you weren’t there and what happens from the outside looks like something else happened than in reality, did.

How much of a loser is RFK Junior? So sad. His family speaks out against him because he’s humiliating the Kennedy name. One way we'll know what a serious loser this guy is? If Trump were to take him on as vice president. Should that happen? Well, give me a break. Then these really are not good people.

I live in Washington state, I was born here. But before I was five I had lived in Spain under Franco fascism, and then we moved to Philadelphia with family. I do love Washington. it has about every environment you could wish for within driving distance. I’ve lived in different places around America and I keep coming back here. Although I keep avoiding Tacoma where I was born. But we’re a pretty progressive state, I’m proud to say. And I don’t say that in relation to a progressive centered political party by progressives. As far as human beings are considered, we are also a fucked up State...because we are in America. I noticed Americans have fucked up priorities since I graduated university in 1984. Not all of us, but enough of us to ruin it for everybody. Certainly, at this point in history it’s Republicans and conservatives doing most of the fucked up shit. And yet I’d rather be in Washington then say Texas, or the South...red states seem like their leadership as the worst. So are they self loathing types, in voting so often against heir best interests? Because they have the highest unemployment, the worst medical care and citizens keep voting for things that harm them. Democrats may be bad at selling good ideas but Republicans are horrible yet somehow convince their voters to consistently and constantly vote against themselves to vote for those who seem to forever refuse and abuse them.

Oh. That’s right, Disney bought Fox Studios. So I don’t have to feel bad about watching Fox entertainment media anymore, considering its toxic. anti-American, anti-democracy Fox News network.

It’s sad all this conservative and QAnon nonsense about liberals or Democratic leadership being involved in child sex ring murders when we know that more Republicans and conservatives are charged with crimes like that. We know that strict religious upbringings can warp people as adults in feelings of guilt and fear that run counter to simple human existence. We’ve seen Megachurch leaders go to prison. We’ve seen the staunchest Christians in leadership, be found out and indicted. Jim Caviezel is an actor who I liked his work. A lot. But he’s a strict conservative Catholic and said so much bullshit that while I support his "art", I don’t support his personal beliefs. About the paper from an FBI office that led to charges of the FBI profiling and targeting in the Catholic Church for white supremacists...Director Wray negated the paper that came from that FBI from a field office and dealt appropriately (maybe) with that agent. But here’s the thing, if there IS white supremacists "concerns" in a conservative Catholic church, then you DO go in and look for it. Just to prove it's nothing, if nothing else. We have GOT to be proactive anymore. But here, the FBI’s, once again, being crippled on something that may or may not be true and we won’t know until they're research of the situation is complete, and then hopefully they’ll come up with the right course of action... and execute it. Whatever that reasonable course of action should be.

I was raised Catholic, pretty strict old school Catholic. But I also had a strong sense of right and wrong as a very young child with an unusually analytical mind. I started studying the Bible in the Catholic Church up through my 20s. What I found led me into the teachings of the Buddha and his Buddha dharma. I'm not what most people, or Buddhists would know as being a Buddhist.
Buddhism is not a religion. It’s a mental discipline and an orientation in life structured more in humanism than theocracy. Theocracy is dangerous.
I don’t buy into a lot of what the Buddhas had to say after the original Buddha who seemed like a pretty reasonable guy.

Angel Studios has tried to disentangle itself from the QAnon bullshit related to their film, "Sounds of Freedom", which isn’t mentioned in their film as it was produced pre-QAnon. While many of the right wing MAGA have tried to tie it to that, because it’s about child sex rings. Sadly, the filmmaker has walked the line about that, a bit too close some claim.

Well, I only did 3 miles today but I felt like it was pushing it and it’s getting pretty warm out so after not walking for almost a week, next time hopefully… 5 miles, again.

Cheers! Sláinte!

Walkabout Thoughts #52

My thoughts, Stream of consciousness, rough and ready, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts… July 13, 2023, Thursday

Weather for the day… 58 degrees starting out,

Podcast Prosecution of Donald Trump and Pod Save the World

 

I bought some Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) Wireless Earbuds with noise cancellation to replace my wired iPhone earphones. It was unsettling the first time I popped them in. But it’s very cool not having a wire catching on things. They fit in my ears really well. So far I’m a fan of these things. I got the best ones I could find and they were a couple hundred bucks on Amazon Prime Day.

Damn this long Covid. As I’ve said before it felt like it was going away a couple months ago but now it seems to be lingering, again. I’ve had to take more Benadryl daily. Which to be honest has only been half or a whole pill all day. I’m debating taking a half a pill on my walk, but sometimes getting a mile or two down, makes me feel better so I don’t need it. I think one of the most disturbing symptoms of this is a kind of physical disassociative feeling. I can be sitting still, and yet there’s a feeling of movement within my body. Like the essence of who you are moves normally as if your body is attached and moves with it as a cohesive whole. Sometimes it feels, not like that. It’s not dizziness but I see how people could see it that way. Though I could see how it could evolve into that. Either way I have found it a sign that long Covid is a little more active than normal. And if that keeps up, I find if I take half a Benadryl, within 20 minutes it’s gone. So I assume it’s got something to do with histamine levels.

Yesterday I came in too late to watch from the beginning and so I recorded a later showing to watch today with the FBI Director Christopher Wray testifying before another ridiculous Republican Congressional committee" on  the weaponization of government (which, ironically, Trump got the GOP ever more into doing, both...weaponizing government AND blaming Dems for what they do all the time). These clowns are such a bad joke. I’ll post here are some of my social media posts from this morning about the Republican mentality, which are interesting. Well, one. I had better but had these two handy:

"RFK Jr. and Alex Jones are two of our greater Fools."

"I've noticed that for some of late stupidity truly is eminently addictive and "fun" in such a way as to indicate mental illness.
One thinks of not Donald Trump as much as those citizens who worship & follow him & worse, take what he says as gospel, or government enablers.
MAGA, you're not supportive of Donald Trump, you're actually exhibiting forms of "WORSHIP" toward Him.
Government supporters of him, you're using politics that criminal has weaponized in order to further YOUR OWN personal wealth & power.
Seek help, or attorneys."

It’s amazing how obvious what these MAGA Republican types are doing like Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz and other buffoons beholden in worship to their patron saint Donald Trump, and our "First Criminal".

The nice thing about these air pods is that they cancel external sounds pretty good, not completely, however because of that silence, I can hear every step in a lower register resonance, which is hard to describe, but kind of annoying, though I assume I’ll eventually get used to it.

For the record, Ukraine only needs one cluster bomb set to go off in the same room with Vladimir Putin.

Regarding these cluster munitions we're giving to Ukraine, who want them because we don’t have the other kind of munitions that we’ve run out of in giving them all we have though  we’re working on making more. Considering Russia is using cluster bombs, I would argue they asked for this. I agree it’s sad about children, citizens in years to come, or farmers. or whomever. Though Russia has already made that unacceptable. Though there are things Ukraine can do to in monitoring their deployments and track these down later to clean up, which some say is questionable. But considering this is an ugly situation, and Ukraine’s back is up against the wall, and Russia doesn’t play fair into the realm of war crimes, this does have the side benefit of depleting our own stock. Which I would argue under the circumstances we should make use of to get rid of them, then not use them again and sign onto not using them again, since we are not yet signed onto the international agreement now. Nor is Russia. But maybe that would help force Russia to also do so at some point. In part because they are depleting their own stockpiles.

As they point out in the podcast I’m listening to, "Pod Save the World", they're against cluster bombs, as I am essentially. But the Russian occupation is much worse than the issue about cluster bombs. In the short term, it’s bad. And we are not a signatory. In doing this, it may lead to us becoming a signatory in having gotten rid of our cluster bombs and not having anymore. So, in the long term, historically speaking, is this a greater good kind of situation? Sad is sad. Putin's war is sad. His ego is sad for humanity and Russia, and Ukraine. This driven despot in Russia, who wouldn’t be in such dire straits, if he and his oligarch friends hadn’t been robbing Russian coffers for 24 years now, going back even to before he came to power after Yeltsin.

It’s interesting to note how weak Putin is since Prigozhin is still alive, and how much Putin needs his more experienced Wagner group. It’s also interesting to note that the Russian army did not stop the Wagner groups march to Moscow. but apparently Putin‘s FSB para-military troops did. Indicating pretty obviously that Prigozhin had support from Russian military leadership, even though he’s very against some of them at the top. While one of them, Prigozhin's friend, has now disappeared.

A reminder to Russians in Moscow or wherever Putin is, #OnePutinOneWindow is not the only option. #PoloniumCocktail. Or #PutinCocktail are also available. Also, Putin accidentally bumped into near an open elevator door with the elevator one floor up, is also an option. Just be sure there’s a few others in his inner circle who go down with him because at least one or two of them are way worse than Putin. Remember how badly things went in Iraq after the demise of Saddam Hussein.

USSR and Russian Federation... fomenting instability and chaos worldwide since 1917.

PSTW: Putin doesn’t usually assassinate oppositional leaders until those have fallen from leadership. Those with a voice but no governmental powers, as with journalists, or once Prigozhin is out of power, that's when you better watch out.

Assuming rather easily that for Prigozhin bent the knee to Putin, it could be he’ll end up even more so deeper into Putin‘s inner circle.

The far right in Europe topped out at 15 or so percent (but not near 20%) back in 2015–16. It would be good to think that finally people are seeing that autocracy is a good route to abuse. Sure, democracy is ever problematic, but at least you don’t have a single point of failure. At least you do have some form of a "voice".

America has always been a little late to the game going on in Europe. So as autocracy has been weenie waning in Europe, about that time is when Trump came to power. So this downswing for them in Europe may well be the death knell for the Republican Party who leaned into autocratic rule, and a criminal megalomaniac and Donald Trump, hopefully also on the demise.

It’ll be interesting to edit this blog for today. It occurred to me if speech to text comes out better with these new air pods maybe it was my iPhone wired earphones and their microphone not picking things up as well or something.

Starting mile four…

My book “Death of Heaven" at the Lafayette Avenue Little Free Library kiosk, is still there. I’ve long wondered, although I like the title, if the cover wasn’t incorrect. Marvin Hayes did a great job on the cover. But there’s really only one angel(as seen on the cover) in one story within that book. It’s an important story. And while the split off of the “tiny colony” are or would be seen as “gods”, religious elements, they are and that is really the exact opposite of what the book is about. The title references the idea that the story contained in the book, blows the concept of religion and heaven out of the water, and everything we’ve ever known about the history of the planet. Earth and humanity is not what it seems. The book has elements of all kinds of things in it. But it’s essentially horror/sci-fi. I’ve had at least one reviewer say they thought the ending was a little cavalier. But I object to that because you should by the end of the read, understand the relationship of the two main characters since childhood. You have to understand what they’ve been through in the book and how you have to, in my own experience, have a sense of humor about danger and disaster. You have to act appropriately, but you have to act and be functional. Whenever I’ve been in terrible moments, I’ve acted appropriately, and if I fell apart over it, it was much later. I’ve always had a sense of humor about it even if it seemed at times a bit dark. Something you see in operating rooms (operating room humor) or with soldiers or first responders at time While people in the moment with me felt a bit of relief in my orientation or humor, in some cases maybe some a little shock at my taking things so lightly. Not my actions, but my comments and attitude. Stay cool, act professionally, quickly and effectively. I began my first responder military style training in the Civil Air Patrol when I was in eighth grade in 1968. So that along with martial arts starting in fifth grade and fighting tournaments (facing fear of fighting scary people at times as a kid), all played into my attitude as well as... what I think is a reasonable end to my book. As one of my professors said in the theater department at Western Washington University, sometimes a story just has to end.

Reckoning over Israel’s current government policies is coming here in America. Even the democratic old guard pro Israel contingent are having trouble as someone just said, “carrying the water” for this guy… That being, BB Netanyahu.

It seems obvious to me regarding China that somebody at top levels from both countries should at least once a week  I would say, be on a zoom call or some such technology establishing some human connection that's hard to avoid with frequent calls. And we need more of that. In the early 70s Nixon dealt with a China. No one wanted to deal with them. And look where it’s brought them today from then. Cutting off communication utterly, canceling people, just isn’t a viable paradigm. It was for a bit, when people started to realize you could "vote with your wallet" in not buying toxic products, in making them know why sales were down, until it got to be so widespread that now it's just bad in the other direction. Not talking is dangerous. We do need to hear from those we don't like. The idea was yes, Nazis can speak on campus, because better angels and intelligence will win the day. Except it's kind of not. Still, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Which does not say "keep your friends close and cut your enemies completely off". And for good reason.

That being said, when you get a clown like Donald Trump, the only way to handle him is to physically cancel him. Charge him for his crimes, hold him accountable, make him responsible, lock him up and for God's sake, seek capital punishment. If not for him now, make it clear the next insurrectionist POTUS is headed that way.

Some mad dogs? You just have to put down. Legally. OK? Legally.

How our laws are like our education, they are made for the masses. For the general. "Cookie cutter" concepts not accounting for or expecting, the exception or extreme. When you get that exception, such as a Donald Trump, even if he never breaks laws, he may just need to be removed from public access. He is the exception to the rule that needs to be eliminated in order to protect the rule and therefore, the citizens, the government, the democracy, the freedom. While that sounds autocratic, it’s actually just reality. Of course, it should be done in the most legal ways possible. 

I just said the word "possible", and my speech to text on my phone translated that has "boss of war." Nope. Just, "possible".

It’s really odd that too many Republicans cannot see their bullshit actions related to Trump, autocrats, and MAGA could lead us all to the end of democracy and into autocracy. It's right there, in my statement and in what they're doing. And destroying America if not evoking and fomenting a world war if they keep this shit up. Some of their nonsense about China, too, has got to stop.

I knew that as you get older exercise becomes more important. Not as when you’re younger, you can’t skate for long periods without it anyore. But if I have to walk 5 miles every other day for now just to keep long Covid at bay? Hopefully when that’s gone, hopefully within this next year, I'll just need that exercise to maintain my health and quality of life. But that kind of sucks. Although, I do like being in good shape, always.

I took a 10 mg aspirin this morning because getting into bed my left forearm was still hurting and I thought it might be a strain. At this point I can see it’s not a strain and must be blood clotting. Yeah, long Covid and for some people I guess, old age does this to them. So which is it for me? Might be a little of both. Good times...

My last mile to make up 5 miles for the day…

Because of China being so disingenuous and trying to grab ocean space, it’s time in the world change the name of the south "China Sea". It's not. Apparently in the new "Barbie" movie you can see a map with the “9-line” Chinese designation of where they think their ocean border goes to and Vietnam saw it and said, "Oh not you didn't!" They rejected it and banned the movie from their country. Apparently China is doing the same kind of crap in wanting to see things like that in American films they allow into their country. It's something like that shouldn’t even be on a map in a movie, certainly not "Barbie", unless it’s a documentary or a political statement movie. Maybe the filmmakers of the "Barbie" movie could’ve just put it on copies that went into China but not for the rest of the world. I'd argue, don't put it on a movie for China though. Is this all really that difficult? Yeah, I get it. China is THAT big of a profit center.

So a "Taiwan" patch was removed from a top gun flight jacket in the film? Which pissed Taiwan off? Kind of understandably so.

NATO had said Ukraine could become part of them in 2008 and then in 2014 Putin invaded and took Crimea. Putin had been talking about becoming part of NATO before all that. So I don’t buy that he’s so fearful of NATO. Unless he's a coward. Which I also don't buy. Something else entirely is going on.

I know the "Mission Impossible" movies are impossible. But Putin needs to disappear from Russia, and then suddenly re-appear at the World Court for trial and under guard.

Let’s face it. In hindsight, we can now see that before Putin invaded Ukraine last year, the year before Ukraine should’ve been brought into NATO. Now? Too late.

NATO is about to make a generational shift in their war plans to protect every member. After 9/11 NATO shifted to fighting terror around the world and now this is a coming home to them and they're finally recognizing that terrorism is now coming from Russia and in their backyard.


Cheers! Sláinte!