It's When the Press and Presidencies Collide Thing

Dear America,

praying for Houston this morning...as catastrophic, Revelations proportion, rains continue to pour down.  upon awakening this morning, the news has spawned my own inclinations to shelter down, to remain in place, to seek refuge in the words of our Creator, and make whatever peace I can with the circumstances thousands of my fellow Americans are facing -- and in that light, here I am.  

It's been a rough ride here in America this past summer.

We can call it past summer, as kids are already returning to school -- like, tomorrow.

And right on cue, this girl has taken down the patriotic bunting that waved handsomely over the doorway for months now; this girl has taken down the baby flags posted into the half dozen flower pots, since Memorial Day; for a new season is upon us, that it is, indeed -- while the irony hangs in the lazy gray haze outside my window, leave it to the month of August to have its light's out like a lion.

For some -- as in Houston and the surrounding areas hit by Hurricane Harvey...Corpus Cristi, Rockport -- this new season begins with unshakable faith that each and every one will rise from the apocalyptic force and unrelenting rain and unimaginable flood waters by the grace of God, while the rest of us bear witness in stunning awe.  While for those Americans who can't just sit back and do nothing, they may already be on the ground -- in spite of whatever horrendous conditions there may be -- with arms carrying bottles of water, provisions of all sorts, and rescuing people from total disaster; while others may simply be sending money to the Red Cross.

This is really and truly who we are --- right, America?  Right.  

We are Houston; we are not Charlottesville, be it scrutinized by our defining moments, by precedent, or by every good deed. (No offense to Charlottesville...it is just about the metaphor of time and place, context and circumstances, alongside the difference a couple of weeks may bring.)

Which, all being said, leads me into an even deeper thought:  no matter what happens around the nation, we, the people, are held captive to the story, to the reality, by whatever point of view that comes via the media source.  [um, duh ---  just a girl meet Captain Obvious -- oh nice to meet you, come here often?   teehee]

Anyway, while the whirlpool of context and catastrophe began to make me dizzy, I finally reached the surface, treading water upon the day after the Benghazi attack, September 12, 2012.  

There we all were -- Americans --  the day after the anniversary of 9/11 and waking up to the news of four Americans dying in a terrorist attack at the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  It was a pretty big deal.

This is the first response from President Obama; this is how the president framed it (and bear in mind, this is while HE KNEW it was an actual Islamic Extremist terror attack -- and even, all the while, after abandoning his post as Commander-in-Chief.  For during the entire, real time, terror attack --  when our military and the administration were thrust into an act of war and our response --  the president left the Situation Room to get some rest...as he had a very big day scheduled in the morning....)... so here he is now, in the Rose Garden, with Secretary of State Clinton by his side, saying:

...Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi.  Among those killed was our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith.  We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed.  And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers. 

The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack.  We're working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats.  I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world.  And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people. 

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths.  We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.  But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence.  None.  The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts...

Then, the president gets on Air Force One and flies to Las Vegas...for a campaign rally! 

And the press didn't think twice about it. 

So.

I'm thinking about how the press has exasperated all avenues of the Russian collusion story, being clearly unable to leak any evidence of any link with the Trump campaign...even with an army of investigators and insiders at their fancy ----  and then suddenly, almost as if it were orchestrated and planned, the skies opened up and Charlottesville happened.  

Let the Trump Take Down narrative begin! -- beginning with building upon a character attack, the one criminally based upon a lie, with every pail of water carried by the mainstream media, to the extent of breaking every levy, wall and dam built over a career denouncing white supremacy and the KKK and David Duke.  [How many times does he have to say it?]

NO matter.  The trajectory changed overnight....a propaganda ambush is about the only way you could describe it.   And who knew that eventually, the character assassinations would not start and stop with Trump -- as we spoke of just yesterday...within the week, all republicans, all Trump voters, were all thrown under the proverbial, racially charged, narrative bus to boot. (say that ten times straight...)  Calling everyone on the right racists...wow.

And the press didn't think twice about it.

By the time President Obama returned to the White House, a brand new narrative on Benghazi had already surfaced (it was so close to the election, and all, they had to do something to save face, especially after  the Democratic National Convention ran with this motto: GM is alive and Bin Laden is dead, right?)

So after the  "act of terror"/ "by killers" / that we will "bring to justice the killers who attacked our people" -- and after the celebratory rally in Vegas --  and another rally in Golden, CO (with a totally different vibe going...amusing) --  President Obama gets back to the front, to deal with the act of war straight away.   teehee.  And by that time a plan was in place; the new narrative blamed it all on a video (but we have not the time or energy to re-litigate that today, do we now?)

Thing is, the press didn't think twice about that either -- hook, line and sinker, they were sold.

How sad that the press didn't get stuck on something the president said in his first response...the line that went like so:   "The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack."  It's like, really?  There are not words.   Granted, a President Trump would have come out and called it what it was -- radical Islamic Terror at the hands of radical Islamic Extremists; but this "condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack."  Whoa, me thinks you need to settle it down there, Mr. President....

And of course, here on the old G Thing -- we spent months talking about it, so this girl can give it a rest, and she will -- right after I add this observation.... that the press, in no uncertain terms, cowered to their king.   Where was the hell and fury in the president's face, right?  

They just let Obama slide down the 'oh he's just so measured and articulate and measured and articulate...so presidential...so calm....so presidential ...there is not a question in my mind that this president knows what he's doing  AND look at him, being  all transparent and all to the American people....oh my, simply and always, a stunning display of diplomacy' right into the press pool and then offered him a towel.

Oh the press --  the puritanical, pontifical, pretentious place if only in their own minds; just a place somewhere between la la land and hades, where they didn't think twice about whatever President Obama and his administration said or did... or even entirely made up out of thin air. 

And this part too -- when President Obama said this:  "I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world."  AGAIN, where was the "unbiased" press doing their thing then -- for it is of record, that Ambassador Stevens, and his people,  REPEATEDLY asked for more security way before the attack!

Indeed.  The press didn't think twice about it.

And just to be sure you understand the amount of grace given under the Obama Administration -- as compared to Trump -- no one in the press questioned Obama's mental health when he went from the serious Rose Garden moment in the am to the raucous rally expressing everything wrong with republicans in the pm, then waking up to do it again in Colorado, before coming back to the Oval Office....no one questioned the Commander-in-Chief for being, for a no better term, completely AWOL on the best interests of the American people.  Our country, our four Americans killed, were in the middle of clear and present danger and what did Obama do?  He went to bed and got up the next day for a political rally, no questions asked.

The press didn't think twice about it.

In the beginning of the rally in Golden, CO, President Obama said: "To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished."  To which I  must respond, huh.  Did they?  Are we catching these bad guys and are they being punished?  Here is an UPDATE from 2014.  However, what remains to be seen is -- going back to May of this year --  will he actually be "brought to justice" or will he be let off on a some technicality?   America is so generous like that, you know.

Oh, look at me get so carried away.  [And to think, this Benghazi catastrophe is only one glaring example.]

I do love how Obama navigated from the seriousness of the Benghazi attack and into the real reason he was on stage and ready to rally; just before he went all divide and conquer in Colorado, he said this (and not leaving any of it out):

Now, I know that it's difficult sometimes seeing these disturbing images on television, because our world is filled with serious challenges. This is a tumultuous time that we're in. But we can and we will meet those challenges if we stay true to who we are, and if we would remind ourselves that we're different from other nations. We are different not only because of the incredible landscape that God has given us, we're different because we're a nation that's bound together by a creed. We're not made up of a single tribe or a single religion or a single race. We're a collection of people from all around the world who came here because of a certain set of principles: the idea that all men and women are created equal, that we are all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. That's what binds us together. That's what our flag means. 

But we also believe that these are not just American rights. We believe these are universal aspirations and they're held by people who live in tiny villages in Libya, prosperous cities in Europe. That's our light to the world. And our task as the most powerful nation on Earth is to defend and protect and advance our people, but also to defend and protect and advance those values at home and around the world. That's what our troops do. That's what our diplomats do. That's what our intelligence officers do. 

That's what our citizens do. That's what we believe. Those are the values that we hold to.
And here in America, there is no more fundamental part of our democracy than the fact that all of you get a say in the decisions that are made about our country's future. And that's why we're here today.

good one, Mr. O; allow me to give you a standing O for that right now....

The guy could charm, couldn't he?  The guy could charm.

Question:  wonder how we got from one 'creed...collection of people...[same] certain set of principles....endowed by our Creator....binds us together...that's what the flag means"  in September of 2012 to this, nearing September 2017 -----  

...to this... football players kneeling with no respect for the flag and what we stand for....statues of Christopher Columbus coming down....free speech rallies being shut down....conservative speakers at colleges being shout down and even viciously attacked....Catholic schools having to hide statues of the baby Jesus....Black Lives Matter protests escalating to riots, and killing, the assassination of,  police officers....antifa leftists rising up with billy clubs and face masks ready to fight with an equally violent gang of white supremacists, neither of which were stopped by the police, and was allowed to riot in the beautiful city of Charlottesville.   

[For more on that last topic, and an interesting take,  go to Charlottesville -- Where's the Truth, posted by Michael Giere, TBE.  PS  Never hurts to ask questions.]

Or never you mind, press -- by all means, don't think twice about it.

Context --  Catastrophe --  and the Commander-in-Chief, oh my...

what a difference a day makes;

 

what a difference when the press and presidencies collide, be it for better or worse.

Hate to be too dramatic, given what we are going through in this country right now, but the thing is, it could be said that the very rise and fall of nations have often hung in the balance of one well placed post.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Toast to the Grand Old Party...the ORIGINAL Black Lives Matter protesters THING

Dear America,

here's the thing,

and pretty sure this girl may be the first to say it out loud --

but let's get one thing straight, right here and right now...

The GOP are the original Black Lives Matter* protesters -- #civilwar [#hatehashtags] ( *The only difference, of course, is that the GOP respect our police.)

This fact is indisputable, while the GOP today should be saying this at every turn at the podium.  

It is the DEMOCRATIC party who is completely guilty, throughout history, of cultivating hate, bigotry, prejudice, against people of color, having been the party to allow this kind of hatred to continue to ravage, enrage, and enslave African-Americans in the decades that followed the Civil War, leading the country back into segregation and then promptly into the civil unrest of the 1960's. [that being put in a tattered, broken, long story short kind of way...]

AND NO WOLF BLITZER, the deplorable, unconscionable acts of James Fields was not what set off the rogue Islamic Extremists, responsible for driving a van into a crowd of tourists and townspeople in beautiful Barcelona, as in performing some kind of "copycat" crime of terrorism.  IF anyone was copying anybody, it would be the Racist/Nazi/White Supremacist who copied the umpteen Islamic Extremists who preceded him -- following a string of attacks, by vehicle, this year alone.  But go ahead and read the long list for yourself.

And who exactly was Robert Byrd, the man  -- you know, before he became one of Hillary's very own mentors, admired and revered all her political life?

Oh The Left is so forgiving when it comes to suspect -- no, racist -- alliances among their own kind, no?

How many times does this president need to say it -- that he denounces ALL forms of hatred, bigotry, racism...and even naming the groups out loud?   [White Supremacists, Neo-Nazis, KKK........]  When in fact, Robert Byrd was allowed to be a Senator after being a member of the KKK??? Really???

What about Jimmy Carter? With family roots including a cotton plantation run by slaves, a peanut farm, and being a southern democrat...was slavery withheld from the selective biography of Jimmy's past when running for office?  Where was all this nonsense then?

So perhaps, if we are to venture down this road -- upon the developing civil unrest, from both the left and the  right, fighting over which statue deserves to stay and which must go --  maybe we start in Washington D.C., per the wishes of Cory Booker and Nancy Pelosi, of course -- and take down every reminder of Jimmy Carter; then, of course, dismantle the entire Democrat Party and give them 48 hours to legitimize their party with a new name, a new mission statement, an apology to all Americans and especially to the conservatives of the republican party and most importantly to every African-American!,  and then, clearly denounce all past associations to their racist, bigoted, wrong side of history party, the one they have grown to love, and consequentially  grown to make the biggest  example of a  political hypocrisy/fraud on earth!

[I would like mine in writing.  Thank you]

And just a thought -- going out to Al Sharpton, just a guy famous for not paying his taxes  --- who takes issue in paying taxes to fund memorials of slave owners, like, for instance, the Thomas Jefferson memorial; I can relate, not in specific thought, but deed; it is the same feeling I have about my taxes supporting the death of the unborn, funding Planned Parenthood.  Millions of babies have died through the repugnant works of Planned Parenthood, supplemented by tax payers who believe in the right to life.  And to think, the founder, Margaret Sanger, who wanted to basically get rid of the "unfit" in society, has done more to reduce the African-American population then any other person, still beyond her grave.  Sanger was a racist, 

moving on dot org...

Did you click the link, 'an apology?'  What a humdinger that is, no?

Oh, how doth he, Mitt,  begin?  Like so --  "I will dispense for now from discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements..."  Seriously?

Now, first off ---   I believe Romney would have made a very fine president, very fine; he just isn't the president now, which makes his remarks somewhat, oh how do you say, advantageous; it was outrageous self-promotion and, a gutless siding with the flow of the politically correct filibustering of the narrative against the sitting president.  Not only that, it was misdirected; his anger should have been leveled against the White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis, and KKK who led the fight against the counter-protesters....that being, a paid group of leftists thugs, acting under the guise of social justice reforms, called antifa. Have you seen the ads?   Apparently, the organization pays somewhere between 25 -45.00/hour!

How did I discover this?  When googling more information on Heather Heyer -- wondering if she was an actual member of anti-fa....the ad was posted on the very bottom of the first page that came up.  Not that it's here nor there, right?  It's just fascinating.

And yet, this girl, as in me, would be remiss not to head straight back up and hang on the words of Mitt's beginning thoughts....that whole, "discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements" thing...

That, in and of itself, Mitt, leads us to believe, that you believe, on a scale of one to ten -- ten being stellar, and an atmospheric position you shamelessly believe you achieve upon every starry moment in the public eye -- that President Trump's statement is a minus eleven (oh, like you say, whether that was your intention or not).

But you don't mince words, do you Mitt?

"...He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize. State forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville. Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis--who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat--and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute. And once and for all, he must definitively repudiate the support of David Duke and his ilk and call for every American to banish racists and haters from any and every association."

Fact:

ONE racist was 100% to blame for the murder of Heather Heyer.

Fact Two:

Hundreds were to blame for the violence that escalated in Charlottesville, with the help of a police stand down.  Romney should question who gave the order for the police to stand down...just sayin.  The protesters and the counter-protesters came locked and loaded in spirit, with bats and sticks and head gear, fully intending and ready to rumble.  What about the anti-fa injuring the journalists in attendance?  Thank you, Jake Tapper.

Truth is, Mitt, things are not exactly as clear cut as you say here  --

"Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis--who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat--and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute."

Is that really what YOU came away with when the president simply said "many sides" are culpable to the violence that ensued?

The president said, in a tweet:  "We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST."  And on the day of the event, last Saturday, this is a full transcript of what he said to the American people:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. As you know, this was a small press conference, but a very important one. And it was scheduled to talk about the great things that we’re doing with the secretary on the veterans administration. And we will talk about that very much so in a little while. But I thought I should put out a comment as to what’s going on in Charlottesville. So, again, I want to thank everybody for being here, in particular I want to thank our incredible veterans. And thank you, fellas. Let me shake your hand. 

They’re great people. Great people. But we’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides. It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama, this has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America. What is vital now is a swift restoration of law and order and the protection of innocent lives. No citizen should ever fear for their safety and security in our society. And no child should ever be afraid to go outside and play or be with their parents and have a good time. 

I just got off the phone with the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, and we agree that the hate and the division must stop, and must stop right now. We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation and true affection– really, I say this so strongly, true affection for each other. Our country is doing very well in so many ways. We have record — just absolute record employment. We have unemployment the lowest it’s been in almost 17 years. We have companies pouring into our country, Foxconn and car companies and so many others. They’re coming back to our country. We’re renegotiating trade deals to make them great for our country and great for the American worker. 

We have so many incredible things happening in our country, so when I watch Charlottesville, to me it’s very, very sad. I want to salute the great work of the state and local police in Virginia. Incredible people. Law enforcement, incredible people. And also the National Guard. They’ve really been working smart and working hard. They’ve been doing a terrific job. Federal authorities are also providing tremendous support to the governor. He thanked me for that. And we are here to provide whatever other assistance is needed. We are ready, willing and able. Above all else, we must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country. We love our god. 

We love our flag. We’re proud of our country. We’re proud of who we are, so we want to get the situation straightened out in Charlottesville, and we want to study it. And we want to see what we’re doing wrong as a country where things like this can happen. My administration is restoring the sacred bonds of loyalty between this nation and its citizens, but our citizens must also restore the bonds of trust and loyalty between one another. We must love each other, respect each other and cherish our history and our future together. So important. We have to respect each other. Ideally, we have to love each other.

If I were a betting girl -- and I'm not -- my money would be on a President Obama getting away with saying the exact same thing. (Oh, except that he would probably leave out the part about the flag.)  Anyone?  [and Thank you to a place on the web called Shallow Nation for the transcript!]

Fact Three:

President Trump has continually "repudiated David Duke and his ilk"  -- how many times does he have to say it before very fine people, like yourself, believe it?  Because he has said it on more than one occasion, at more than one venue, and it seems it will never be enough.

But certainly like how you began that sentence,  "testify that there is no...." [italized and bolded and made huuuge for emphasis]; oooooooh, you might as well have placed Trump sitting next to a judge and jury right then and there while making your point.  Great imagery, Mitt, great imagery.  But I digress.

The president was measured in his first response (something all Americans should appreciate)!  He was waiting for more information to come, like any other sane, political leader, should do.   It's not like Barack Obama scores high in this regard, truth be told, jumping to asinine conclusions, while at the same time, asking for all the rest of us not to do so.  But once again, Trump will always be handicapped with the double standard, and being completely damned if he does or damned if he doesn't in widespread public opinion, all the days of his presidency will be forever influenced in the fact that it is politically expedient to hate him. #hatethehaters #allofthem #manysides

And if we go down the road of placing a moral equivalence to things anywhere and often -- perhaps now, after all is said and done in the last seven days  -- just maybe we can have the courage to correctly put the moral equivalency of the slaughter of innocents of non-Muslim decent at the hands and arms and vehicles of radical Islamic terrorists in their proper perspective, as well; for its been too many to count.   Here's a good read, from Saher Fares, Is a Tolerant Culture Being Replaced by an Intolerant One?

I could go on and on and on.
But it's Saturday in southern California; and for certain, if "this day in the life of an American girl" can't give all of this a little reprieve here and now, then she can't do it anywhere.  It's always sunny in my world, no matter what happens; and tomorrow is another day.

One final note, unrelated to anything said today:  I'm happy Steve Bannon is out -- if he really and truly was the "Chief Strategist" in the White House, then, by all means, he should be out, for his strategies sucked.  I may have to toast to his resignation later today... it will come right after I toast to the REPUBLICAN party, for having the political courage to wage a war against slavery....and win! Even on the Wikipedia page it classifies some of  it's originating members as the "anti-slavery activists" in terms of its demographics.  So there!  [And yes, I did just stick out my tongue.]

Something tells me that the battle has only just begun against The Left's heinous assault upon America and her foundations, only just begun.

In the meantime and until we meet again, cheers!  and to the sunshine I go.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's America in Dire Need of a Re-ligamenting Thing

Dear America,

forgive me father, for I have sinned; it's been 25 days since my last blog.

what up, girl...you sorry slacker; you think having your college girl home for a few winks gives you any excuse? or was it the unexpected encounter with a dentist saying, oh girl (to my girl) you have no cavities, but....all four wisdom teeth need to come out, like, now.   If all goes right -- and so far so good, now that we are on day three of the long day after -- she will have plenty of time to have an In N Out Double Double, like for four days in a row, at least, before she has to go back to school.  Cross your fingers.  (and No.  There is no comparison to any other burger joint on the planet...and that includes, Five Guys, Splunkers, and Shake Shack, and the like.  So there.)

I digress.
Perhaps it would be an understatement to say that much has happened since my last entry.

ugh.

double double ugh.

At least, as of this moment, we are not shooting the muthafucka out of North Korea yet; there is that. But what a war of strategery going on, eh?   Perhaps if good ole boy BillyBobClinton settled this once and for all, way back when, we wouldn't be in this situation....anyone?

Um something tells me North Korea doesn't really wanna join the "community of nations" in any meaningful way.  (so,  given where we've been and where we stand today,  just maybe somebody should be looking deeper into that "good deal" we  made with Iran, um not so long ago.   Just sayin'; and second, is anyone gonna get Billy to comment on this downward trajectory of late and our fate? That would be fun.   No?)

But here we go --

into the fray --

into the furor and fury --

into the terrible things that happened just today, in America.


In Charlottsville, VA to be specific.  August 12, 2017.

At one point during the afternoon, our president's twitter account said this:  "We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST."

Oh my.  America has endured so much.

Timing is such, that just this morning I was reading my monthly issue of IMPRIMIS, from Hillsdale College.  In it -- the July/August edition -- there is more than one excerpt, of more than one occasion. adapted and made available through their "readers monthly."  Dr. Michael Ward is featured, with an adaptation of his convocation address, at the ground breaking in April, of Hillsdale's  new Christ Chapel, and titled:  A Time to Scatter Stones and a Time to Gather Stones Together.  It's REALLY GOOD!  BUT sadly, for some reason, the web is not cooperating in giving me access to this latest edition, perhaps its too early.  Not to fret; here is a link to the video of his actual speech from the day itself!  [It's only 25 minutes. But I don't care; watch it or don't watch it.]

The Imprimis edition hits all the hot spots; like the part when he describes one of his life's missions,  "to reclaim the word 'religion' from this verbicide it's been suffering.  [Given it's bad rap of late.]  It doesn't mean formalism or fanaticism.  Etymologically, it means rather something like tying back together -- re-ligion:  re-ligamenting, re-ligituring, finding the unifying reality behind disparate appearances, seeking oneness, integration, wholeness, 'a theory of everything' (as Stephen Hawking might say)."

And I just love this flashpoint -- beginning with something Richard Dawkins once said, that "religion flies planes into buildings but science flies rockets to the moon."  Dr. Ward goes on to poke fun at that kind of logic like so:   "Firstly, religion and science -- being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents.  And secondly because, if we are going to play that game of ascribing agency to abstract nouns, one might as well say 'religion gives us Mother Teresa but science gives us mustard gas."


There is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones together....indeed.
And after a day like today in Charlottesville -- apparently, there is also a day to throw stones.

Oh for the joy of nation building...over and over and over again.

I'm not aiming to make light of what happened; there are so many things wrong with what seems to have happened today, not sure where to begin, really. So let's not.  Let us then get distracted one more time --

The second piece in the July/August Imprimis happens to be upon the dedication of a very special statue at Hillsdale....a distinguished American and change maker:  Frederick Douglass.  He was elevated to "statue-hood" by direct association with the township of Hillsdale, coming to meet one day with the ladies of the literary society.  As history would have it, he spoke in the College Chapel on January 21, 1863.   And as Imprimis highlights, the "title of his lecture was 'Popular Error and Unpopular Truth.'"  Douglass is quoted as saying, "There is no such thing as new truth.  Error might be old or new; but truth was as old as the universe."  So beautiful.

Going on to emphasize one of his observations, the Imprimis continues, quoting "that the Constitution knows no distinction between citizens on account of color....we utterly repudiate all invidious distinctions, whether in our favor or against us, and only ask for a fair field, and no favor."  And adding, "Douglass was no fan of 'race pride', counting it 'a positive evil' and a 'false foundation'.''   For Douglass, "the only relevant minority in America was the minority of one -- the individual.  The government of all should be partial to none."

That is all well and good, indeed.

Until today...

When a certain "race pride" rally got out of control.  What is wrong with the south? -- and so close to the Mason Dixon line, too.  What is this 1860?

Yes, the Constitution is color-blind and similar to religion and science  --  that "being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents" -- the Constitution relies on the people to uphold its full and gracious and grand scope of all things relating to liberty and freedom for all.

Make no mistake -- INDIVIDUALS made bad decisions today in Charlottesville.  INDIVIDUALS are to blame for the horror of all things executed today, things that most Americans believed we thought were long past.   long past.

Suffice it to say, though,  it wasn't the fault of the Dodge Charger; it was the person behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger.   (whether planes, trains, or automobiles...or guns...it's all the same.)

And who is he?  Someone equal to the age of my very own baby girl?  A twenty year old -- from Ohio -- who purposefully and recklessly and shamelessly and with malice in his heart, went to Charlottesville to wreak havoc, to dispel his kind of hatred towards another human being (or 20!)  God bless their souls.

So just as my twenty year old was dealing with the recovery of oral surgery, here was somebody's boy, of the exact same age, plowing down innocents -- and all I can compare this to now is the feeling of total shock.  If I put the two beside the other -- my girl and this boy --  as a mom, my heart sinks into an abyss of what his mama may be experiencing right about now.

...and I thought my last 48 hours was difficult.  

Truth is, the rally itself, never really got under way.  The warring factions took to the streets before the actual event -- even before the speeches, before the lament of times changing and the process deciding the fate of historical statues of ill repute (like that of Robert E. Lee) -- which as the courts would have it, suddenly had to come down simply based on the gut wrenching feelings of guilt, and being an open reminder of an age when many individuals aligned with the wrong side of human rights; for some, it was simply too upsetting for the faint of heart, unable to reflect upon the grace of God that brought us OUT of such dark ages to begin with.

The thing is:  wouldn't a statue such as this be almost necessary?  To remind us, with brutal honesty, of our transgressions, in order to never go back?

Couldn't these statues be looked upon in terms of being a constant re-ligamenting to the horror of the actions of other humans against other humans, and its effects upon American history of long ago?  We have to know these things, or what, pray tell, keeps us from sliding back into the way of so much of the rest of the world?  Is knowing the fault of our stars and stripes too much for us to handle these days? Really?   Are we really that weak?

I want my girl to know the damage of what's been done in all of America's 241 years -- along with every good.  And there has been lots of good.

It's all essential....the good, the bad and the ugly.

Today was really ugly.  And very bad.

I firmly believe that the people who voted for Trump, predominantly,  want good things for ALL AMERICANS.  I can say this, because I AM one of those Americans and I know what's in my heart.

I refuse to slide back into a civil war -- these "white nationalists" and "white supremacists" do not have the power over this land and do not speak for the majority.  It's of a certain false foundation, relying upon harmful civil disobedience to gain a foothold, and that I will have no part of.   The whole point of the Civil War --  the age of the sixties of both centuries, nineteenth and twentieth -- was about unification; a mountain top religious experience that made the theory of everything and nothing at square one again in equal portion (with maybe some lingering growing pains).

And with some certainty and a whole lot of travesty, there just may be a connection with the Black Lives Matter protests with what the centuries old stones turned over there in Charlottesville today...especially taking into account of what happened about a year ago in Dallas, Texas with the assassination of five police officers --  that was not a good day in America either.  Protests and rallies based upon the color of our skin is never a good idea, it's just not.

This is a time to gather stones together and rebuild.

This is a time to come together and revile all attacks that get in the way of the process of re-ligamenting America, every step of the way.

And the good news: this kind of resiliency and strength of courage is built into our very roots.  Time and time again we have dug deep, and time and time again we sprout, we heal, we make hay, we grow.  Nothing gets in our way when our intentions our good and pure and wholesome and of one, sound, loving mind in an e pluribus unum kinda way.

This is a sad day.  But here I sit, nearly exhausted of my own world of worries, and yet, fully confident that something good will come from all of this.

At this very moment, my baby girl -- of all of twenty years -- is resting peacefully...hence, the time to blog instead of a time to not blog; while also in this moment, my wish for another twenty year old is for him to rest in jail for the rest of his life, and may he never have a good night's rest.

My prayers go out to the families unexpectedly struck with grief -- so far, three people have lost their lives and many more injured.  God bless us one and all.

Make it a Good Day, G