An acquaintance of mine carries a concealed gun. Always. He's not a MAGA, he's rational and reasonable, he votes as an Independent, and I asked him why he always carried a gun. His answer was, "Just in case."

[His answer, "Just in case," reminded me of the classic film, "The Deer Hunter." One of the characters used those exact words to explain why he always carried a gun.]

There was no other reason that my acquaintance suggested. "Just in case," was his justification. I have no doubt he sees himself as "a good guy with a gun."

I asked him what he would do if he found himself in the middle of a mass shooting in a school, a church, a restaurant, or wherever. His answer was "I'd try to stop the bad guy."

Then I asked him, "What if the police arrive on the scene and see you holding a gun? How will they tell the "good guy" from the "bad guy?" The question seemed to confuse him, and I never got an answer.

Here in Florida, Gov. DeSantis has signed a bill that, as of July 1st, anyone can carry a concealed weapon with no license and no training. I've been wondering how anyone is going to tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys." And I'm also wondering how may people will die for no reason at all because of this insane law.

It seems to me that most pundits, and even most Americans, can't or won't say that Donald Trump is insane. I'm not a psychiatrist, or psychologist, but I'm fairly sure that he's insane by any rational definition of the meaning of that word.

It's not just his narcissism, his ego, his need for 100% loyalty, his demand for more love from all. It's also his hatreds, his biases, and his nature to blame all that goes wrong on someone else. He evidently believes in his own infallibility.

This mentally unstable, cruel, person is considered to be the Republican front runner in the next presidential race. Perhaps about a third of Americans still buy his snake oil, his scams, and whatever lies enter his mind a moment before he speaks them.

But why should anyone be surprised by this? After all, most in recorded history who sought to dominate the world, probably, in anger, threw wine, or puppies, or anything else that was at hand against the wall. Trump is just the latest version of this kind of would-be fanatic who happens to dominate the American scene.

The real sickness is that he has a huge following/infrastructure called the Republican Party, it's vast propaganda machine, it's incredible wealth, and it's countless voters who don't/can't/won't ever get it. Here again, not surprising. There will always be those who follow the madman of the moment.

The real question is, what are the vast majority of us to do about it? How do we stop it? How do we hit the brakes before a deluded, malicious minority destroys us?

If you have an answer, any answer, please share it.

On July 26th, 2022, Trump gave a speech in which he openly declared his intention to be America's Adolf Hitler. Somehow, the media, and everyone else, missed it.

If Trump actually gets the Republican nomination for president in the next election, this speech should be displayed on every media platform, every single minute of every single day. Here's what can be expected if this miserable piece of dung, somehow, once again, manages to win or steal the presidency.

Here's what his speech included:



https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/27/2112864/-Trump-speech-outlines-plans-for-future-America-mass-executions-internment-camps-and-martial-law

It's not about feminism. It's not about ageism. It's not about your past battles and victories.

It's about American democracy.

Trump packed the federal judicial system with as many fascists as he possibly could.

Joe Biden is trying to level the playing field.

Your reluctance to resign is understandable. But do you really want your final political act to assist that which you've fought against your entire life?

Millions remember the horrible circumstances under which you became mayor of San Francisco.

Millions remember the wonderful things you accomplished as a California Senator.

Please, please don't tarnish your magnificent career.

For the sake of your own legacy, and American democracy, it's time to step away. You've done more than enough.

Never again do I want to hear: "Equal justice under the law;" or "No one is above the law."

Who could ever again buy the bullshit we're fed and believe it?

Both of these men are a deadly threat to democracy and humanity.

Trump was born to wealth and taught to be a vicious, uncaring, narcissist and scam artist. Of late, he seems to have developed a "Jesus complex" which makes him even more of a dangerous moron than that which he's always been.

DeSantis, however, is a different kind of beast:



As the current Florida Governor, he's doing all he can to destroy the First Amendment. He's also banning books, destroying our educational system, trying to turn women into chattel, allowing anyone to carry a gun without a license, and doing everything he possibly can to turn the state into a horrible, dystopian nightmare.

Trump is an ignorant, malicious prick. DeSantis is highly educated, which makes him a more dangerous, malignant prick.

In the film, "Inglorious Bastards," the Nazi villain is turned free at the end of he war. Yet, the "good guys" burn a swastika onto his forehead using a branding iron. Perhaps, DeSantis should have "Educated Uncaring Prick" branded onto his forehead.

I mean, really. Who would have come up with the idea of fleas in order to make animals miserable? Who would have invented cockroaches? Who would have tossed STDs into the mix to have to make us occasionally pay for one of our too few pleasures?

And another thing. Would you come up with the idea of putting humans on the top of the chain? I, for one, would have picked dolphins or elephants. (I thought of putting cats in the running, but they have too much of a “Go away until I need you.” attitude.)

Then there’s the political world. Would you have numbed the minds of voters to where they’d spend their entire lives screwing themselves? For whatever reason, there must have been just a pinch of masochism thrown into that recipe. And as for political ideology in general, a sadist must have been hired to come up with most of it.

I know that there are countless things about this world that suck, and that each of us would have designed/created differently. Nonetheless, however we and our planet came to be, the flaws reek of (some intentional?/unintentional?) maliciousness.

Could any one of us have done a better job? Beats me.

P.S. Full disclosure. I’m a devout agnostic who would probably have fucked up our existence far, far worse than whoever/whatever caused us to be.

All those Tennessee lawmakers who call abortion "murder," are currently working on expanding their methods of executing prisoners sentenced to death.

The firing squad and electric chair are still on the table. Hanging someone from a tree seems to be off the table. That "Hanging" thing was suggested by some state legislator who probably found it popular at his local Klan meeting. -- "Oh for those Lynchings of the good old days." -- This is a state legislature that didn't hesitate to throw out two black men for speaking up, but does nothing to a lunatic that wants "Lynching" made legal and brought back into style.

One can't help but wonder if people of a certain race will be sentenced to face this "Hanging" penalty more than white, "Christian" men have to face it. And I also wonder if it will be done in a public place where everyone can snap pictures of "The Glorious Event."

I personally would prefer to be shot than to live under the rule of the barbarians running the state, and who are focused on "The life of the fetus, and the death of the You-Know-Who."

And I can't help but wonder whether they will be calling for the deaths of abortionists, and the women who had them.

Seems Tennessee lawmakers want to lead the country in the "purity" of their "Christianity."

By “us,” I mean humanity in every corner of this planet. There is no place in the world in which hatred of those of a different race, a different religion, a different political belief, or a different whatever, doesn’t exist.

Seems that intolerance of “THE OTHER” is the norm on this orbiting rock on which we dwell.

Perhaps those who recognize this current reality, have evolved more quickly. Perhaps we humans are in an awkward transition stage in which some wish to expand knowledge, while others long to remain in a past that grants them some kind of “superior” status.

These are thoughts that have been running through my mind for a very long time. I’ve always hesitated to share them here, but I guess Tennessee's latest outrage pissed me off enough that I’ve decided to post them today.

The current Republican Party is a deadly threat to our country and to all of humanity. The terms cruelty, hatred, greed, ignorance, lack of empathy, and of course their despicable racism, describe who they are. (And their elected officials are, of course, owned by the incredibly wealthy who bought them long ago.)

White, “Christian” Republican Tennessee legislators have dropped the mask. Their racism, their hatreds, and their sense of superiority, is out in the open for all to see. This is who and what they are. This is today’s entire Republican Party.

But who are we? Why does basic decency always seem to lag behind the baser human instincts? It’s incredible that humanity has advanced against those content to live in caves. Yet, most of our progress has been in the realm of technology. I’m not sure how far we have advanced in “growing up,” and leaving behind the adolescence of our species.

Anyhow, these are the thoughts that have been running through my mind. And I guess that, like most people, I have far more questions than I have answers.

I know this post might be controversial, but I can't understand why any person would be a member of a party that looks upon him/her as less than human.

For the most part, I simply can't grasp why any Black, Jew, Hispanic, or any other member of a minority, would identify with a racist, anti-Semitic, bigoted part of our society that believes they are the only "TRUE Americans." Republicans have shown themselves to be a party that thrives on cruelty, intolerance and pure hatred. Why would any sane, decent person identify with them?

Someone really need to explain this to me.