Guns Are American

So we can argue who exactly should be allowed to have guns in America.

But we can't argue that the 2nd Amendment generally guarantees people the right "to keep and bear arms."

Sure background checks are an important safety and security check to ensure we aren't putting guns in the hands of criminals, terrorists, abusers, or mentally incompetent individuals. 

At the same time, people should be able to responsibly own and use them for hobby or self-defense. 

Some guns are even a work of art and not just a killing machine. 

Pictured here is an American Joe with etchings of USA and wings representing freedom and of course, the painting of the American flag for strength and patriotism. 

Not quite the golden AK-47 that Saddam Hussein sported, but nevertheless a beautiful and deadly .45 caliber one. 

With over 300 million guns in the USA, there is just about one for everyone. 

In America, there is a grand tradition of the Old West, but it's also important to balance that with responsibility and safety. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Guns Are American

Congrats @POTUS

May G-d bless the United States of America and our true friends and allies!

It doesn't matter whether you are Republican or Democrat, Black or White, Jew or Christian, Male or Female--we need to unite and move this country forward and be great again!

Strength, Security, Health, Economy, Jobs, Education, Environment, Space, Jobs, Freedom, and Human Rights.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal via Fox News)

Congrats @POTUS

Lies, Injustice, and the New "(Un)American Way"

Superman and all the American heroes have been so great because they represented the fight of good over evil.

And...with the principles always of "Truth and Justice."

We were proud to be Americans because we were a free democracy and we fought for freedom and human rights everywhere. 

Truth and justice in the world meant something; it meant everything to us. 

It was part of our Judeo-Christian faith and who were were as people and as a nation. 

We defeated colonial rule, slavery, Hitler, Communism, and even put a man on the moon while heralding in suffrage and equal rights irrespective of color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and more. 

The truth was sought out no matter where it was to be found, and justice needed be done to satisfy the courts below and the Heaven above. 

But it seems that a lot has changed, hasn't it?

Right is no longer right, but rather politics makes right. 

From smear campaigns, secret dossiers, exaggerations and fairy tales to name-calling, hate speech, cyber attacks, and marketing and branding to undo the opposition. 

From secret email servers, foundation pay-to-play, and pizzagate to claims of Russian campaign ties. 

From a Snowden surveillance state to stolen questions from election debates. 

From abstention at hateful, bigoted UN resolutions to deals with terrorist Iranian mullahs.

From honors at the White House for Army deserter Bergdahl to injustices meted out against the opposition party by unscrupulous political appointees. 

From fake news to the abandonment of investigative journalism with now one-sided bias and trash talking journalists and even SNL "comedians."

From the reversal of dry-foot wet-foot immigration for Cubans (what ever happened to helping refugees in need and danger?) to watching 500,000 dead in Syria from the sidelines of violated red lines. 

From a purge of 36,000 after a Turkey coup to the rise of competing ISIS and Iranian terror caliphates across Asia and the Middle East. 

From nukes on NATO's borders to Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of Georgia and from China's buildout in the South China Sea and threatening of its neighbors and freedom of navigation of the seas to North Korea developing and tests ballistic missiles and nukes. 

From shootings of African Americans to "revenge killings" against police officers and the demise of inner-city America with skyrocketing crime and the long misery of poverty and homelessness.

From decrepit U.S. infrastructure, jobs going overseas, a widening trade deficit, and an overwhelming national debt. 

From rose-colored glasses, half-baked statistics, and selling bogus ideas to the "media echo chamber."

From abandonment of allies and friends to embracing terrorist murders and the inability to say "radical Islamist."

From campaigning from within the White House on the taxpayer dime to attacking Bernie Sanders for his faith to steer the primary to Hillary. 

From secret meetings on airplanes with the Attorney General while in the middle of an investigation to lies about videos being the cause of an attack on our Benghazi mission and the murder of an American Ambassador. 

From prosecuting some for mishandling government classified information to letting others go who were "grossly negligent" endangering national security.

From divisiveness and "resistance" to creating an inability to get anything done. 

From sit-ins and walk-outs and from disrespectful "peaceful" demonstrations to violent protests, and from loose-mouths to paid operatives to disrupt lawful campaign rallies. 

From "Not my president" to how dare anyone question the legitimacy of our elections. 

From breaking glass ceilings to creating new barriers between peoples and races across the spectrum. 

From broken healthcare to bankrupt social security, and from failing education to trailing life expectancy. 

From a decrepit nuclear triad "deterrent" to a weakening of the global order, including Brexit. 

From terrorism and war to genocide, refugees, and human rights violations. 

So as lies and corruption run rampant and we are aghast with mouths open wide at how far things can fall...we recognize when power itself becomes the end rather than the means, and wielding it becomes more important than any truth and any justice, and that is fundamentally how totally unAmerican things have become, indeed. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Lies, Injustice, and the New "(Un)American Way"

Improving The Lot and Lives Of Women

I saw this women dancing openly on top of this boat moored to the docks in Florida. 

I don't know why she was doing this (simply entertainment?) and whether this was completely out of her free choice (or at all coerced), especially while these 2 guys on board apparently leered and even recorded her.

But it made me think that we definitely need to better respect and improve the lot and lives of women in society. 

Yes, beauty is something to be appreciated, but there is also something to be said for modesty and showing proper respect.

Further, while people can be physically attractive, they are not just objects, but rather complex, thoughtful, and productive wonderful human beings.

Each person is a whole world and they bring that to the table of life.

There is much to admire, but women (and men) need to provided every opportunity to break through the glass ceiling and not just dance on it. ;-)

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Improving The Lot and Lives Of Women

Flying Sneaks

We can all fly.

Not necessarily through the air.

But through life and ultimately in death, we can fight and take flight and soar. 

It is our attitude and determination to overcome the hardest of hardships that we face. 

We feel the pain for the situations where we fell, failed, and lost control over outcomes. 

People who told us what they thought we are and where we can go...our ego busted, our shame written all over us, our regret and fear over what we did or should've done differently.

We can't go back.

We can only go forward.

We can learn, and we can grow.

We can compartmentalize the problems and hurt. 

We can pick up the pieces wiser than before and more determined to succeed.

Wings are not just for angels, but also for sneakers and for souls. 

I want to fly all around the world, and more so into the heavens to see my Heavenly father and be reunited for eternity with my family and loved ones.

Fly free and wide.

Fly high and unobstructed by poverty, illness, abuse, and loneliness. 

Fly and soar beyond anything we could ever have imagined. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Flying Sneaks

What Is Peace + Happiness?

I loved this piece of art work with the colorful Buddhas.

It got me thinking about peace and happiness--is it the same for everyone?

To one person, career, achievement, and money seems to make happy--as one of my friends told me about one of his extremely successful bosses who heads a large corporation and has not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 mansions on the water, in the mountains, and overlooking Central Park in NYC.

To another person, it's being able to do what they want to in life--doing what makes you emotionally happy instead of what you have to do; the freedom to choose and to be passionate about what you do and how you spend you time every day--whether it's a profession, an activity or sport, or even exploration and travel.

Yet others, find peace and satisfaction in spiritual and religious pursuits--joining the clergy or learning about G-d and philosophy, doing G-d's commandments or helping his creations by doing good deeds. 

Many of course, find peace and get nachas from their families, the loves of their life, their beautiful children and grandchildren, and helping the next generation to grow and prosper after us. 

That can also extend to friends, community, and even colleagues--when we surround ourselves with other good people, those who we enjoy their company and have things in common, then we can find happiness with each other.

Being here in Florida for the holidays, I'm reminded of all the sun, beauty, and body-worshippers, those people who love their physique and good health, working out, looking good, being with others that look good, and even designing and making things that are beautiful. 

And at the other end of the spectrum again are the intellectual nerdy nerds who get their energy from being brainiacs like one of my friend's nephews who is one of silicon valley's serial innovators.

Whatever you love, have, and do that makes you happy is something to be extremely grateful for.

Nothing is forever, and nothing is owed to us.

Use the gifts that G-d has given you with the wisdom to reach enlightenment by being good and generous to others and so that you truly merit these beautiful things and thank the creator who blessed you. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

What Is Peace + Happiness?

You Can Take This Niqab And...

So here is the quote of the day (compliments of the Wall Street Journal)...

From a woman fleeing the inhumane treatment in Mosul by ISIS religious terrorists:

"I want to take this niqab and stuff it down the throat of ISIS."

I've now read over and over again how one of the first things the women do, who get away from these ruthless fanatics, is to remove their confining "religious"-mandated garb that covers them so fully and put on normal clothes and be free human beings again.

While I certainly and highly respect women who freely and modestly cover up--especially in marriage--it is abhorrent to violently force women to dress a certain way or make them in any way lessor than or subservient to men. 

The women under ISIS are taught to be ashamed, when they have nothing to be ashamed about!

ISIS and these other radical Islamists that force their distorted version of religion on others goes like this when it comes to women:

"It is permitted to buy her, sell her, and give her away as a gift. They are just a possession and you can do whatever you want with them."  In their FAQS, they even ask, "Can I have sex with a slave who hasn't reached puberty?"

Yet, while they are having sex with abducted pubescent and pre-pubescent girls, they force women to stay at home, and they are not allowed to go out unless accompanied by a man (forget education, working, driving or traveling). 

Even at home, "Woman are cautioned to stay away from rooftops, balconies, and windows so they wouldn't be seen by outsiders."

And should a women be accused of sex outside of marriage--even when the women are the ones forcibly (gang) raped--they are the ones subject to death by public stoning for their being licentious. 

Are these "religious" fanatics with guns so weak that they fear sexual temptation more than they trust in the bonds of family, personal righteousness, and the ability of people to freely choose right from wrong?

Imagine...as they abduct and enslave women and children, rape them, sell them, and force them into bogus marriages, starve and torture them, these people actually think they are religious. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

You Can Take This Niqab And...

Abraham Lincoln And Election IT Scandals

This just seemed like such a fascinating photo.

Abraham Lincoln on a tie juxtaposed next to the guy using his smartphone and email.

This election cycle has been plagued with scandals from private email servers, "extremely reckless" handling of emails, Wikileaks disclosures of corruption and collusion from hacked emails, crude denigrating language online, politicians claims of they can't recall and IT professionals pleading the fifth, and an overall lack of transparency to the American people and Congress.

Yet, isn't this the diametric opposite of what our esteemed President Lincoln was all about in terms of being "a man of profound feelings, just and firm principles, and incorruptible integrity."

Is it now the technology that somehow has caused us to perform questionable deeds or is it just an enabler of what is in people's hearts and souls?

As the man holding and controlling what he does with the smartphone in the photo, it is we who control our actions with technology and what we chose to do with it.

If we use technology for good or for evil...for raising up and helping people or insulting and hurting people...for lies and deception or for truth and transparency...for communicating principles and directives that are just and upright or for selfish and corrupt ends...these are choices of integrity that we alone control.

Lincoln fought for the democracy and freedom for all Americans and the end of slavery, and to that moral end, for whoever wins the election, we should continue towards using technology as a means to extend justice and freedom for all and not for operatives and operations that can jeopardize it's meaning and integrity for America. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Abraham Lincoln And Election IT Scandals

Your Score Is Your Life

Absolutely fascinating article in the Washington Post. 

China is working on a plan to use big data to score people on their social behavior. 

Every interaction you make in life either increments or decrements your social score. 

You social score determines how trustworthy you are. 

The social score would vacuum up data from the "courts, police, banking, tax, and employment records."

People in service professions like teacher, doctors, and business could be scored for their professionalism. 

Doing positive social actions like caring for the elderly earn you added points and doing negative social actions like DUI or running a red light subtracts points from your score. 

As the score includes more and more data feeds over time, you could eventually be scored for doing your homework, chores in the home, how you treat your wife and children, the community service you do, how hard you perform at work, how you treat people socially and on dates, whether you are fair in your business dealings and treat others well, whether you do your religious duties, and so on. 

People can get rated for just about everything they do.

And these rating get aggregated into your social score. 

The score is immediately available to everyone and so they know how good or bad you are on the scale of 1 to a 1,000.

If you think people are stressed out now, can you imagine having to worry about everything you do and how you will be rated for it and how it can affect your score and your future. 

If you have a bad score, say goodbye to opportunities for education, employment, loans, friends, and marriage prospects. 

Imagine people held hostage by others threatening to give you a bad score because they don't like you, are racist, or for blackmail. 

What about society abusing this power to get you to not only follow positive social norms, but to enforce on you certain political leanings, religious followings, or policy endorsements. 

Social scores could end up meaning the ultimate in social control. 

Personal scores can manipulate your behavior by being rewarding or punitive and rehabilitative to whatever end the scoring authorities dictate. 

Moreover, hackers or the people who control the big data machinery could destroy your life in a matter of milliseconds. 

So this is what it comes down to: You are your score!

Play along and do what you are told to do...you are the Borg and you will follow. 

Conform or you are dead by number!

Transparency is everywhere. 

Pluses and minuses every day. 

What is my score today? 

Today, I am desirable and successful, and tomorrow, I am disregarded and a loser. 

Please don't kill my score.

Please don't destroy me. 

Please, I will be socially good. 

Please, I will not resist. ;-)

(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)

Your Score Is Your Life

USA Surrendering The Internet

So here we go again, we cut off the hand (and arm) despite the face.

We are recklessly giving up control of the Internet, specifically of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the Domain Names Servers (including all the DNS root zones like .com, .net, .gov, etc.) that handle all the addressing of our Internet traffic.

Despite repeated cautions from many in industry, academia, and government not to do this, we are moving ahead anyway with tomorrow being the transition date!

Why would we give away anything, let alone control over the awesome technological power of the Internet that we depend on in some way for virtually every activity we do these days?

Aside from non-explanations of "fulfilling historic promises" to cede control (i.e surrender the Internet out of fear that other countries will challenge us and set up their own alternate DNS's) and nonsensical talk of "protecting Internet freedom" by giving it away to authoritarian regimes and despots--there seems to be no REAL reason to do this drastic action that weakens our country and puts our technology, commerce, critical infrastructure, and national security at risk!

Rather than defend the Internet that the USA invented (specifically DARPA), here we go again in fear and weakness going in the wrong direction--surrendering and giving up control of the web.

If you love the Internet and recognize how important this asset is to us, then like an FCC Commissioner said this week, you should be worried about what the h*ck we are doing to the freedom (vice censorship) of the Internet and to ourselves . ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

USA Surrendering The Internet

Heads Down, Pants Down

If you put your head down in the global sand, then eventually your pants are going to get pulled down too, and you are going to get royally scr*wed (or should I say scr*w things up). 

And that's exactly what's happening to the reputation of the U.S. here and abroad.

Domestically, another 3 terror attacks just over the weekend in New York , New Jersey, and Minnesota.

While overseas, a humanitarian aid convey is attacked in Syria destroying 18 trucks and killing 20 people, and this after being coordinated with Russia, in advance.

And despite our touting our own horn of achievements at the UN yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal today, the former prime minister of Denmark and secretary-general of NATO is crying out on behalf of the world and imploring the U.S. to once again lead in the world, stating:

"We desperately need a U.S. president who is able to lead the free world and counter autocrats...right now, the [global] village is burning...we need a policeman to restore order; we need a firefighter to put out the flames."

He goes on as to the consequences of the apparent reluctance to lead:

- "Middle East is torn by war"

- "Libya has collapsed and become a breeding ground for terrorists"

- "Resurgent Russia has brutally attacked and grabbed land by force from Ukraine"

- "China is flexing its muscles against its neighbors"

- "Rogue state of North Korea is threatening nuclear attack"

Oh, and I think he forget this one, but another WSJ piece captured it:

- "One year after Iran deal, Iran's right's violations and aggression continue [unabated]"

But aside from fighting terrorism and despots in the world, even when it comes to fighting for critical civil rights, there is weakness and disillusionment (today from Jason Riley in the Journal):

"By almost any traditional metric,--home-ownership, median incomes, labor participation, poverty--blacks are worse off today than they were at the start of Mr. Obama's first term." 

This country cannot lead with it's head down and it's hands tied!

It's way past time to pick our heads up high and buckle our belts and get back in the ring to fight with belief and determination for what is right for us and the world. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Heads Down, Pants Down

Enslavement USA

I am not sure what this art was supposed to represent outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

But to me, this scene looked almost like a reenactment of enslavement. 

I remember seeing similar type photos of presumed harshly treated black slaves who were forced to build the White House and the Capitol. 

Sure, we are fortunate to have jobs for people in this country.

Yet, seeing these workers bending over and shoveling in hard labor and in 91 degree heat this week at the feet of this great statue just seemed more than a little demeaning and telling of where we unfortunately still are as a country. 

Freedom and human rights means for everyone!

Decent jobs, wages, housing, food, healthcare and education, should be for everyone!

Maybe it's a great thing that we are advancing with automation and robots that can do the jobs that people shouldn't have to do.

So people can do and be treated as human beings and not as robot slaves. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Enslavement USA

Why Trump Nailed It

(Washington, DC. Our Capital of This Great Nation, 2016)

Trump is a long-shot, but IMHO here's a top 20 why I believe he is nailing it:

1. I'm with you vs. I'm with her.

2. I will be a voice for you and will fight for you vs. I really want this so bad for me. 

3. I will re establish law and order vs. I am above the law.

4. I will appropriately name the enemy, stamp out ISIS, and do it fast vs. I won't even say the word radical Islamists, ISIS is the "JV team," and absolutely "no boots on the ground." 

4. We will secure America from terrorism vs. it's just some more "workplace violence" and "what's the difference at this point," anyway.

5. We have a ballooning $19 trillion national debt and $900 billion trade deficit vs. the economy is doing just dandy (for now). 

6. I will tell you the truth vs. I will hide the truth and lie, but profoundly claim transparency. 

7. I will hire and recognize the best and brightest vs. I will hire and promote my friends and cronies.

8. I will invest in jobs, education, and infrastructure vs. I will invest in pork-barrel politics and lobbyist-controlled agendas. 

9. Fairness and equality for everyone vs. I'll pick and choose and you know who you are (at least until after the election).

10. We're going back to space, discovery, and innovation vs. we are canceling the shuttle program and riding on Russian rockets. 

11. We will bring manufacturing and jobs back to America vs. we will continue to send them, by the millions, overseas.

12. We will get a good deal for America vs. we will get a personal sham legacy.

13. We will be true to our friends and allies vs. we will embrace bitter "Death to America" enemies.

14. Over half the executives in my company are women and get paid equally to men vs. vote for me because I'm a women.

15. I build amazing city skylines vs. I destroy entire regions around the globe.

16. I am the son of a great builder and am a successful family and business man vs. I am the former First Lady of the 2nd impeached president of the United States. 

17. I work and earn my money vs. I take donations for my foundation and oversized speaking fees for myself.  

18. I am a political outsider in a system that Bernie Sanders himself admitted is rigged vs. I am the system and adept at doing the rigging. 

19. I will lead and make America great and respected again vs. I will lead from behind, with a policy of disengagement, withdrawal, and appeasement, and dishonoring this great nation. 

20. I and our children are the future vs. I am from the past and will bring more of it to you.

In latest polls from 13 July, 73% of Americans are unhappy and dissatisfied with the direction this nation is heading in!

But there is sunshine lighting up the lies of the last years. 

I have hope again for this amazing country. 

Greatness, freedom, human rights, fairness, equality, security, and prosperity. 

Oh and BTW...Ivanka is a total star on the Trump team!

(These are strictly my personal views and do not represent those or any organization.)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Why Trump Nailed It

A New Diplomacy In Town

A wonderful colleague sent me this really impressive photo.

This was one of my favorite of 3 aircraft carrier strike groups taken together (Abraham Lincoln, Kitty Hawk, and Ronald Reagan)--the 1st and the 3rd of which are Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers. 

According to the slides, there were literally 4 four nuclear submarines standing guard in the waters beneath, as well as a B-2 stealth bomber flying overhead.  

What I really liked the most though wasn't even the photos, but rather the motto for the carriers of:

"Over 90,000 tons of diplomacy...wherever... whenever..."

Diplomacy can be listening, negotiating, and compromise, but it can also be through the projection of the ultimate national and human strength. 

With a staggering rise in global terrorism, militaristic adventurism, and the proliferation of dangerous weapons of mass destruction, perhaps it's time to harden up on some of the soft power, and demonstrate as well the very credible hard power and resolve we have for protecting American lives, freedom, and human rights. ;-)

(Source Photo: here)

A New Diplomacy In Town

Please G-d In The Workplace

So here is a true story that happened to me at work.

You know how you put on your "out of office message" in Microsoft Outlook when on leave...

Well, I was responsible and did just that. 

My message was typical informing people that I was out, when I plan to return, and who to contact about urgent matters in my (brief) absence. 

But something astonishing happened then...

I actually got a reply to my out of office message from an executive scolding me about it--imagine this being how government time is spent. 

Yes and dun da da dum...here was my big offense to this senior executive, in my out of office message, I simply used the words "Please G-d," as in:

"I am out of the office and plan to return, please G-d, on [such and such day and date]."

The message I received back in my inbox:

"I'm not sure what the 'please G+d' reference means. It's a bit confusing. You may want to delete it."

OMG, I was being admonished in the federal government for using the words "Please G-d" in my out of office message--for simply respecting and recognizing Him/Her. 

- What is confusing about "Please G-d"?

- And how can anyone ask that I delete G-d from my message or in any way from my life???

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states under religious discrimination and harassment that:

 "Harassment, can include, for example offensive remarks about a person's beliefs or religious practices."

Further, "the law requires an employer or other covered entity to reasonably accommodate an employees religious beliefs and practices," barring an undue burden. 

What burden to the government was there in me saying, "please G-d."

And why did I get back a mocking message spelling it this way, "G+d," which I read as being a cross in the middle, mocking me as someone of Jewish belief.

Understand that I write the word G-d with a hyphen, because I was taught out of respect not to spell out ( or even say) G-d's name in vain, which is the 3rd commandment in the biblical Ten Commandments.

The executive's comments to me were not only extremely rude, offensive, and discriminatory, but also illegal.

It is outrageous that this type of behavior should be allowed to go on in 21st century America, let alone in the federal government itself that writes and enforces the law of the land--the land of the free and the home of the brave--read it, it's in our national anthem and our constitution. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Please G-d In The Workplace

How's Things Looking 4 Months Before The Election

Let's see how are we doing in the last 4 days just 4 months shy of the next election for President of the United States Of America:

- Thursday night...another major terrorist attack in Nice, France left 84 dead and 204 wounded. Terrorism is now so deadly and commonplace that graphic on Facebook shows 4-step cycle of terror attack, pray for x, put up flag profile on Facebook to show unity, and return to state of stupor and await next ISIS rampage. 

- Friday night...another major Arab country in turmoil with a unforeseen coup attempt in Turkey leaving 290 dead and another 1,400 wounded and now 6,000 arrested in a "purge." Arab Spring has turned into one ongoing murderous chaos in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia with Syria and Libya still in civil war, Iraq and Afghanistan fending off ISIS in it's cities and the annual Taliban Summer offensive respectively, and a succession of coups in Egypt 2013 and Yemen 2015. 

- Sunday morning...another breakdown of law and order with 3 more murdered police officers in Baton Rouge, LA following up on 5 cops shot dead a little more than a week prior in Dallas, TX. Friday was supposed to be a Day of Rage across major cities in the U.S. with warnings for people to stay away and seek safety in what's being seen as a significantly worsening racial divide in a country that has until recent history prided itself on being a successful "melting pot" and driven to equality. 

As anyone who follows the news knows, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and despite vigorous attempts by some to put rose-colored glasses on everything and try to create a forced-air of stability and calm...the truth of the disharmony and discord is loud and getting louder. 

From Brexit to Zika to millions of refugees running for the exits, from Bill Clinton meeting with the Attorney General right before Hillary's non-indictment, from our exploding national debt and to long foretold bankruptcy of the triad of our social entitlement system, from Russian and Chinese militaristic resurgence in Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and the South China Sea, respectively, from Iranian and North Korean nuke-capable missile launches, things are getting quite out of control and just 4 months from the election...and the truth is making it to the surface despite all attempts to silence Freedom. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

How's Things Looking 4 Months Before The Election

Towel Music Washington DC

It's a hot day in Washington, DC.

But outside the White House, the music is piping. 

Even if our politics is murky at times, our songful expression is always loud and clear. 

The towel over the head keeps the perspiration from overflowing and the music fluid to the masses. 

We are a sophisticated country--full of culture, diversity, and heartfelt soul. 

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Towel Music Washington DC

What Path Are We On This July 4th?

Over and over again, I hear people say that as a country we are on the wrong path.

According to recent polls, around 70% think we're moving in the wrong direction!

Very pessimistic bunch or something more going on?  

Despite all the technology advances--from smartphones to video-on-demand, drones to 3-D printing--people are still feeling like things are a mess. 

And the upcoming election seems to have given everyone with half a brain, reason to pause. 

The world seems like a very dangerous place these days with a resurgent Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and ISIS with your guess as to where terrorism of the day will be hitting. 

Moreover, weapons of mass destruction are proliferating from nukes to chemical and biological weapons...can anyone say $350 billion in the next 10 years to modernize America's nuclear arsenal? 

Deadly diseases from Ebola in Africa to Zika in South America are striking without warning and causing horrible sudden death and frightening birth defects in infant babies. 

The economy and politics of the world are grossly unstable with many banks now offering negative interest rates and Brexit tearing at the very core of the EU.  

Hundreds of thousands are dying in the Arab Spring and Middle East wars and millions of refugees are streaming to Europe and as far away as America. 

Ballooning national debts are leading to the looming bankruptcies of not only Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Puerto Rico, but also the 3 pillars of American entitlements: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

Unemployment shows at a deceptive 4.7%, but yet anyone looking for a job knows this is far from reality, and robots, artificial intelligence, and automation loom large over any future prospects. 

Racism and hate are all too alive and well as tempers seem to be boiling over in city after city, with or without police shootings precipitating things. 

Already as a kid, I always used to ask my dad rhetorically, "What's gonna be?"

As an adult, I understand that this was a question born of the deterioration of the moral and leadership fiber of our society and a future that was far from certain in the inner city or beyond, along with the anxiety born of wanting to have some reassurance that things somehow would end up being okay. 

But things aren't okay in our f*cked up world!

Especially with political jockeying to gerrymandering, from sit-ins to sequestration, from pork-barrel projects to outright fraud, waste, and abuse...the system is getting so broken. 

Now when I think in my head, what's gonna be, my mom and dad are not here anymore to reassure me that everything will be alright, and frankly in this day and age, those reassurances would not even be able to ring true. 

We need change and hope, but perhaps we must look Heavenward for it to come, because down here, things are looking more like a creeping hell, than a heaven that awaits.  

But good people can help to change things...one good thought, word, and deed at a time. You and I can be influences for good, for a brighter tomorrow, for peace, for freedom and equality, and for prosperity for everyone that doesn't buy into the status quo and the spin and lies that sustain it any longer. 

This is our magic wand to wave and wave and make good times based on values and faith return again. ;-)

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

What Path Are We On This July 4th?

Why Can't The English Be More English

The people of the United Kingdom voted in referendum yesterday for Brexit (British exit) or independence from the European Union (EU). 

Unity is a wonderful thing when values and vision is widely shared and the burden and benefits are more or less evenly distributed. 

But in the case of the UK in the EU, the vote for independence was anchored in the unsettling issues of mass immigration from the Arab Spring, the debt crisis of many of the poorer Southern EU states (e.g. Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc.), the decision of the UK to maintain their own currency (not accepting the Euro), and culturally (and language-wise), even though they all interact with each other, the UK has more in common with the US and Australia, then they ever had with Germany, France, and the rest of Europe. 

It is really very understandable that the UK doesn't want to lose their identity and sovereignty and just be another EU state--rather than be a unique, independent, and dominant entity of it's own, charting their own course and driving their own fate. 

While it's great to a part of something bigger, sometimes being yourself is more important, and you can still interact with the rest. 

No people should be forced to become a shadow of themselves, and if the call is for independence, then that is noble call even if it is inconvenient for those who would rather call themselves the EU. 

Unity may best be by alliance rather than strict integration...one for all and all for each and every one. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Why Can't The English Be More English

Only Our History Is Colored

Last night, my daughter and I watched the premier of the new miniseries, Roots (on the History Channel). 

The story of American Slavery like all tales of racism, oppression, terrorism, and genocide is completely appalling. 

It represents the worst of human nature whether for motives of profiteering, power, or plain unadulterated hatred. 

We watched, my youngest daughter (in college), literally in tears.

And frankly, we watched until we literally couldn't watch the suffering on the screen any more (but to be continued another evening). 

What people can do to other people...beyond words, comprehension. 

Is it people doing these things or is it a vicious animal or evil within?

Either way, humankind has a lot to be sorry for...whether for slavery or the Holocaust. 

I can't imagine what G-d must think or how we can in any rational sort of way explain these things to our children. 

The stain is marked on the souls of the aggressors, and the only thing colored is our history. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Only Our History Is Colored