LIVING THE NIGHTMARE

                                                                         

 

 

The worst nightmare is the one from which you don’t wake up.  That is the state of our country now.  I’m pretty sure that the few remaining Americans that don’t feel like this are either a) sleeping or b) living in the version of “LaLa Land” that won’t be made into a movie.

Things get said and done every single day that would have been unimaginable two years ago.  An actual President who tweets insults in the middle of the night?  Uses coarse, vulgar references constantly?  Hits on the First Lady of another country?  Talks about pardoning HIMSELF while not acknowledging any crimes and actively trying to get rid of the Special Prosecutor who is investigating him?  Fires the Director of the FBI because he knows things?  The list is much longer than this. 

It’s commonplace for people to call him everything but President: “45”, “Tweeter in Chief”, “Twitler”, “Twump” and “The Trumpster”.  We continually ask ourselves “how did this happen?”  I have read and heard this event analyzed to death and solutions offered with machine gun rapidity.  The same people who called Obama everything but a man ask us to respect the man in this office.  They say his speech may be crude, but his ideas are what we need.  They talk about his “accomplishments” since he’s been in office. 

Sadly, so many of the people who do see the light get so bogged down with infighting that they couldn’t decide on a sandwich for lunch.  Seems like they are 57 flavors of Democrats/Liberals/Progressives but Republicans remain vanilla (although they do come in ultra-white and off-white).  It’s obvious that we need to have people in elected office who legislate the hell out of the Republicans currently there, busily ruining our country’s global reputation and the lives of Americans.  The longer things go on as they are, the harder it will be to resuscitate what’s left of our country.

It’s time to get over wherever on the left you feel you are and get with the program.  Support those who are running for an office currently filled by one of them.  Make it clear at every opportunity that you DO NOT support the goals of the officials that support this administration.  In the latest newsletter from Rep. Earl(“Buddy”) Carter, he is still pushing for ACA removal and drug testing unemployment recipients.  Way to help the people not-my-Buddy! 

I’m probably tired because I’m old, but this is really getting old all by itself and I’m tired of the Neverending Nightmare.  C’mon America, WAKE-UP!!

The Battle of 17

July 4, 2017 and it might as well be 1776—we are fighting our basic battles all over again and the foe is not a monarch in another country, but right here, right now.  Basic human rights are in question; remember life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Remember a free press?  All in doubt.

Who would have believed that in the 21^st century, instead of the flying cars, robots and living to 200 we would be fighting for health care, a living wage, woman’s rights, and equal treatment under the law for all?  We were always a nation of immigrants and yet we have travel bans and laws that label immigrants as a danger to our society. 

Our environment is under attack as global heat rises, hurricanes and earthquakes and all manner of disasters increase in frequency and unpredictability.  The new normal is an emotional, erratic, angry and immoral President with a team of sycophants behind him.  Facebook is constantly SMH about the daily events.  All my life the New York Times and the Washington Post have been the journalistic standard for reporting the news, for ferreting out the facts and sharing them with the country.  Today, they have been labeled as “fake news” and not even allowed to be present at press conferences and White House meetings.  WTF?  How does that even compute?  During times of crisis I have turned to NPR, CNN and MSNBC for up to date information on what is going on; all these are now in the same fake boat.  What, pray tell, is REAL news?

What frightens me is the whole “new normal” concept.  We are swallowing this, we have allowed and continue to allow this to continue.  Why are we all not marching in the streets?  Where are the torches and pitchforks when we need them to remove the monster that inhabits the White House?  No matter what he does, there are those that continue to support and praise him.  “He has to fight back” with those tweets about Morning Joe; “He doesn’t always use the right language, but I agree with his positions and he has accomplished a lot in six months”.  What positions?  What has he accomplished? 
Trying to rid the country of immigrants?  Removing health care for millions?  Helping the wealthy get wealthier?  Incurring the wrath of the rest of the world towards America? 

I would like to believe those who say the pendulum will swing back around.  I think it depends on how far out it’s swinging now—and how much damage will be done until it does swing back.  My plan is to continue to resist, speak out and hope upon hope that others continue to join me.  Happy Fourth of July!

 

INJUSTICE SERVED

 

 

 

 

There was a travesty of justice in Waycross this past month.  A murderer is walking free among us.  That’s not what the judge and jury decided; the murderer was found not guilty.  So, who am I to say otherwise?

I was not there when the death occurred.  There is only one person alive who was there and by her own admission, she was the instrument of the death.  Her story, which ultimately freed her, and what the jury believed, was also the one played out in the press.  If you had not known Jimmie Burke, and only got to know him from what was printed in the press and what the jury heard was the following:

Jimmie Burke was a disgraced Miami attorney and former legislator who served time in federal prison for fraud.  He came back to his home town as a “do-gooder” but after 6 marriages, he preyed on Sonia, the sister of a friend, and got her to marry him.  During that marriage, he stalked, threatened and verbally abused her.  Finally, the conflict came to a head and he attacked her and she had no choice but to defend herself by shooting him several times.  A 911 call was made by the deceased with a cell phone; then Ms. Burke told EMS when they arrived that she had taken an overdose of anti-anxiety meds.  The police searched the house and found Jimmie, dead, in a locked bedroom. The only part of this story that is true are the last two sentences. 

 Sonia came into Jimmie’s life when her home was destroyed in a fire and she needed a place to stay.   Jimmie had sworn he’d never marry again; he had failed at marriage enough times to know the odds were against success. Despite this, he felt something special with her and took that chance.   It is a fact that Jimmie loved the women in his life and they loved him back.  To this day, they will only say good things about him. I knew Jimmie over the past 10 years so what I know to be the truth is not hearsay or speculation.  I knew Jimmie’s history, who he was in his past and who he was in Waycross.  Yes, he was an activist (very different meaning than “do-gooder”).  He wanted his community to change for the better.  He networked with local governments and organizations and he was the “go to” person if you wanted to get things done.  He deeply loved his siblings, family, and children, both biological and step.  There was never even a suggestion that he had been violent or abusive to anyone in his life. 

He didn’t drink or smoke, he attended and was active in his church.  He did not own a gun and was not armed on the day of his death.  They had agreed that Sonia would keep her gun in her vehicle where she felt she needed it for protection.   I spoke with Jimmie approx. 1-1/2 weeks before this happened and he told me his marriage was falling apart; he said his wife had accused him of doing things that made no sense.  Specifically, that he had been having an affair with a man and she was afraid of getting AIDS.  He added, to me, that “She has a gun; so, if you hear that something has happened to me….”.  Unknown to me at that time, Sonia had also called a mutual friend of hers and Jimmie’s and verbalized threats of killing him “if he gave me AIDS”.  When the friend asked her if she had been tested she admitted she had and it was negative.  The friend advised her to leave the marriage if she believed those things.

None of this was told at the trial.  None.  What was told was that Jimmie attacked her with “a paperweight”, which was never mentioned by the police or placed into evidence.  Further “witnesses” testified that Sonia had been in fear of her husband (although she made no move to leave).  All the witnesses said what a nice woman she was. 

Over the years, I had occasion through various organizations to spend many evenings with Jimmie, both in his house and elsewhere, at meetings and play rehearsals and performances.  Sonia was not with him at any of these events and he had an extremely active and busy life that she was not a part of.  If anything, he was probably too self-involved and concerned about his health, well-being and appearance.  But that very weekend, he had been distributing Mother’s Day cards to all his female friends and family.   If anything, he also loved women too much. 

I expect that there are those who will not believe or appreciate my saying these things.  But if I believe nothing else, I believe injustice should always be addressed.  I really can’t say why the verdict was reached or why information was withheld.  I have to believe the truth will eventually come out.  It’s only fair and just that a man like Jimmie Burke should be remembered in death as he truly was in life.