Category Archives: Politics

Disillusioned Trumpite Blues

Woody Logan, who wrote this poem/song, reached out to me last Saturday.

I’m not bragging when I say that I get a ton of emails, story ideas, songs, poems—a whole gamut of emotional material.

But I have to say that when I read Woody’s lyrics, they got to me on so many levels.

And the guy is so humble and wants you to know that “Admittedly I sing horribly. Perhaps somebody can do it better.”

His singing ability was of no relevance to me.

His words, his plight, his poetic verse showed me a side of the “other side” I have never understood, or dare I say, embraced before.

Woody has laid his poem down as a blues song in two versions. The Short Sampler (3 minutes) and the Full Epic (21 minutes), both of which I have included at the end of this blog post.

I’ll let Woody’s poem/song speak for itself, except I can’t help but highlight the lyrics that hit me the hardest.

Like:

“Throughout the ages, when the gap between haves and have-nots. Gets intolerable, and the blue collars don’t have a lot. There is a revolution, that puts the privileged on the trot.”

Or:

“I’ve also realized, I was becoming a person of hate. But hate’s not a human condition, it springs from a fearful state. So facing our challenges with courage, can make our Nation great.”

And:

“Our man promised he would even out the quid, yes we knew he’s evil, but that’s how desperate we had slid.”

And this:

“T’was on a Fox news program, that I saw something on his wall. It was a gilded frame, there to see for all. “Kill The Messenger” in big letters, for me it was a wake-up call.”

I ask you to please take the time to read the poem in its entirety by the talented Woody Logan.

Disillusioned Trumpite Blues

When it comes to voting, I really don’t have a plan.
There’s nothing to consider, just go vote Republican.
That’s my obligation, and so I just do what I can.

But now I’m having trouble, thinkin’ ‘bout who I did choose.
I was all for him, didn’t want the man to lose.
What have I done, got the disillusioned Trumpite blues.

First it was funny, not one journalist figured it out.
Why he was elected, what was it all about.
If they had studied history, there was no need for them to pout.

Throughout the ages, when the gap between haves and have-nots.
Gets intolerable, and the blue collars don’t have a lot.
There is a revolution, that puts the privileged on the trot.

This is the main reason, we voted just like we did.
Because our man promised, that he would even out the quid.
Yes we knew he’s evil, but that’s how desperate we had slid.

Like a good Republican, he was the master of the FUD factor.
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, he deployed like a skilled transactor.
Journalists and politicians, spent every day trying to decipher.

Even though psychiatrists, predicted it in a big book.
That his narcissism without empathy, was very much like a crook.
He kept them running in circles, just by spouting gobbledygook.

While government in America, was like a three-legged stool.
Executive, Congressional, Judicial, that’s how we did rule.
He made it one leg, two-braces, that’s how he did retool.

He’d disagree with what you said, and your right to say it.
Refitting facts to his words, was something he did quite a bit.
This pleased the Trumpites, who said he had a lot of grit.

Manipulating the media, was keeping his base entertained.
Even though his credibility, was getting very stained.
That’s why we loved him, and why our loyalty remained.

Slowly but surely, the wool has been pulled from my eyes.
I started to see a glimmer, that Trump was not all blue skies.
His promises aren’t being delivered, no matter how hard he tries.

T’was on a Fox news program, that I saw something on his wall.
It was a gilded frame, there to see for all.
“Kill The Messenger” in big letters, for me it was a wake-up call.

As a born-again Christian, conflict crept into my mind.
“What would Jesus do?” was absent, I started to see, where once I was blind.
We Trumpites are good hearted, but our leader he is unkind.

I started paying attention, to what the “others” did say.
Things like the following, filled me with great dismay.
I started to question, had I been led astray?

We Trumpites need to ask ourselves these questions, as time is running out:
+ Is he a national health crisis? Psychotherapy is up 400%.
+ Is he smarter than any general?
+ Did he never mature beyond 14?
+ Does he use circular logic or irrational logic?
+ Will it take decades for America to recover?
+ Are decades of social and civil advances being reversed?
+ Have hate crimes quadrupled since he took office?
+ How is he doing on promised deliverables?
+ Did Mexico pay for a wall?
+ Is the way to defeat the virus to stop testing for it, as he said?
+ How many of his efforts have been reversed, cancelled, or overturned?
+ Is he all talk and no action?
+ Does he belittle everybody who has a different opinion?
+ Why does he claim no responsibility for anything that happens?
+ Is he showing symptoms of mental deterioration?
+ Are we being led by a lunatic?
+ Are all of his problems self-induced?
+ Why do his enablers do it?
+ Does he believe exercise is bad for you?
+ Are we Trumpites just jingoistic flag-waving sheep?
+ Does America really not have room for refugees?
+ Is restricting voter rights a good Republican strategy? Must we cheat to win?
+ Has he earned the right to another four years?
+ Can America move forward while looking backward?
+ Did he make America great?

Then I heard the report, from his wives all three.
Their marriages were never consummated, on wedding nights you see.
He’d just sit on the edge of the bed, and tell them how good it would be.

“He’s a blithering idiot”, said my friend who is no chump.
What does that mean I thought, I really was in a stump.
When I looked it up in a dictionary, all it said was “See Trump”.

Then did I finally notice, reoccurring before our eyes.
With each and every issue, regarding Trump that did arise.
A 3D plan of action: Deny then Distract then Decriminalize.

What’s wrong with me I wondered, with conflict in my mind.
Look up “Cognitive Dissonance”, said a caring friend of mine.
And that human condition, pretty much explains it fine.

It’s said he never reads a book, nor listens to anybody around.
So when he marched to a church, and held the bible upside down.
I had to wonder, is he the biggest hypocrite in town.

We Republicans for years, have claimed the moral high ground.
But Trump preaches intolerance, not the love we consider sound.
What are the consequences, are we no longer heaven bound?

I’ve also realized, I was becoming a person of hate.
But hate’s not a human condition, it springs from a fearful state.
So facing our challenges with courage, can make our Nation great.

I’m not saying that I’m well now. Mixed emotions carry on.
But I’ve switched to Independent, and to you I call upon.
Be a free thinking person. Be smarter from now on.

Stop being narrow minded. Pull your head out from the sand.
Deploy your Christian values. History helps you understand.
Apply the golden rule, like Jesus did command.

If you are having trouble, thinkin’ ‘bout who you did choose.
We’re all in this together, what more can we really lose?
We can rise above the fray and stop those disillusioned Trumpite blues.

Short Sampler (3 mins) …… https://youtu.be/7g78vibyEe8

Full Epic (21 mins) …………… https://youtu.be/knYBFEENG4c

Turkish Soldiers Drove My Grandparents out of Syria in 1920

Turkey recently launched a ground and air assault against a Syrian militia that has been a crucial American ally in the fight against ISIS, days after President Trump agreed to let the operation proceed.

My maternal French grandmother would often say:

“Plus ca change, plus c’est la même chose.”

Translation: The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing.

I heard heartbreaking stories about my Syrian grandparents from my paternal aunts and uncle.

All three spoke chillingly of ethnic cleansing.

From approximately 1914 to 1923, terrified Syrian Christians, Syrian Jews, and Armenians were forced by the Turks into hard labor, murdered, raped, robbed, starved, and if they were lucky, deported.

They were called Ottoman soldiers from the Republic of Turkey back then.

My uncle once described the horrific experiences his parents went through as the “Turkification” of Syrian border towns and villages.

Turkification gave the bad guys the license to expel, kill, and destroy anything or anyone non-Turkish.

Christians and Jews were seen as a danger to the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

An inconvenience.

The Ottoman soldiers were systematic, and the killings were well organized and state-sponsored.

They needed to clear out their border, and so they did. The Turkish government denies that they slaughtered innocent men, women, and children, but they lie.

Hearing Trump’s words: “They had terrorists, they had a lot of people in there they couldn’t have …. and they had to have it cleaned out” gave me the chills.

The president of the United States called for northern Kurdish Syria to be “cleaned out.”

They’re at it again, I thought to myself, but this time with the assistance and blessing of my president.

When is enough enough? Have we as a country no shame? Where is the outrage? Why are we not taking to the streets?        

These were my thoughts as Trump spewed his hateful words.

According to my uncle, my Syrian grandmother was either Christian or Jewish.  She had sisters who were raped and slaughtered, although he doesn’t know how many sisters she had. She hid and somehow escaped to France as did one brother.

I still have so many questions.

Did my grandmother have more than one brother? How many sisters did she have? What happened to her parents?

My grandfather was a Syrian Christian who saw the writing on the wall.

The Turks wanted to clear Turkish soil of Christians, including the Syrian border, and he was on the run.

My grandparents were from an area called Suedeyeh in the Hatay Province, although I’m not sure of the spelling.

But what I am sure of is that Turkey eventually annexed the Hatay province and after the area was cleaned out, Suedeyeh was no longer part of Syria and renamed Samandag.

Were it not for my grandmother and grandfather’s escape to France and then to the United States; I wouldn’t exist.

I recently read that there were a lot of German officers in Turkey during the massacres of the Syrian Jews, Syrian Christians, and the Armenians, who in WWI went back to Germany.

What happened in Turkey left an indelible impression on the German officers and many of them ended up in the Nazi party.

And we all know how that ended.

White Nationalists Are Winning

Below is a recent white supremacist attack you’ll probably never hear about.

Early Wednesday morning, on August 7, a house exploded and burned to the ground in Sterling Ohio.

Officials investigating the incident found a swastika and an anti-black slur painted on the garage.

The homeowners who were thankfully not in the house at the time, are an interracial couple who lived there for 23 years.

The wife was quoted as saying: We decided that whatever happens, we’re not rebuilding here.”

To quote Trump: “We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning.”

To Joe Biden: Don’t Touch and Don’t Joke

I decided to write this blog post for two reasons:

#1: My Republican friends are angry, and rightly so.

#2: As a MeToo I can’t tolerate stupid.

Plus, does Joe Biden think his inappropriate touching is funny?

I don’t know about any of you, but the above photo that I chose for this blog post is especially creepy. It makes my skin crawl.

First off, these two biker guys from Ohio don’t know what the heck to do.

The guy on the left is rolling his eyes at the guy on the right.

And the guy on the right, is side-eyeing the whole seedy scene, like WTF?

And secondly, is this woman married to one of these guys????

I don’t know about you, but if I were her significant other, I’d be extremely annoyed.

Extremely annoyed is putting it mildly.

I mean, back off Joe.

So, in answer to my friend Ken’s VERY valid question:

“And by the way America this picture is OK because the creepy old white guy is a Democrat where is #MeToo?”

I can’t answer for every #MeToo, but I’m here Ken, and Joe needs to back off.

But I am still going to vote for Biden because…

…well Biden vs Trump?

That’s a no brainer for me.

I would first like to say this about that:

ARE THERE NO PEEPS UNDER 70 THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DEEM QUALIFIED?

And another thing.

I wish Trump would quit.

Oh, wait. Trump can’t quit.

Because if he does, he’ll probably get indicted.

Sad.

Anyway, let’s get back to Biden.

Seriously Joe?

You see the photos.

Don’t you think they look creepy?

Do yourself a favor.

I know you’re a good guy.

And I know you mean well.

But puleeze, exercise some self-control.

AND STOP TOUCHING PEOPLE.

And don’t try to make a joke out of it.

Because inappropriate touching is not funny.

Oh, and as far as asking if it’s okay to touch someone.

You think asking and having someone say yes makes it okay?

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It doesn’t make it okay.

Because if you ask, they will probably say yes, even though they don’t mean yes and even though they really mean no.

YES IN MANY CASES MEANS NO.

To Joe:

YOU’RE POWERFUL, SO PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO SAY NO TO JOE.

Stop asking, and stop touching.

And above all, stop joking about it.

Joe,

PLEASE.

I have a lot of respect for you.

For a lot of reasons.

You’ve been a stand-up guy.

So do the right thing.

Don’t touch, and don’t joke.