PEASEREADTHIS

Again, to serve up some crimetalksoup. Losing sleep FOR YEARS…how Dershowitz could POSSIBLY cuddle his kids at night with Claus’ blood on his hands? How did Kanarek live to be 100? For Cochran and Kardashian were duly chastised…right? O! The woes of defending the reprehensible. For, surely, such a legal capacity reserved for the ethically challenged attorneys? Personality-disordered proctors? Power-hungry mouth-pieces?

Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, BTK, Charles Stuart, OJ Simpson, Scott Peterson, Drew Peterson, Michael Peterson, Casey Anthony. Jodi Arias, George Zimmerman…you know them. Most importantly! I KNOW THEM. Studied them, Dreamed of them. Ruminated over them Scorned them. Damned them. The DREGS of society…sinners so guilty that their defense is indefensible. Their crimes so heinous – their lives so worthless. Why do they, really, deserve a nanosecond of deliberation. They are human garbage. They all brutally and premeditatively murdered. Let them rot. Well…can’t help how I feel. Not saying it’s fair. Not saying it’s ethical. Let’s discover what I need understand. For am I so very mistaken?

There’s no issue as entangled and subjective as morality. For centuries, it has been a controversial deliberation and it will continue to be so. What is right? What is wrong? What is meant to be a good person? What is meant to be an evil person? How do we reconcile these dichotomies? And, conceivably, the most glaringly palpable representation of this ethical dilemma of morality can be seen in the realm of law – of BEING a lawyer. And to me, this question is best elucidated in considering the role of a defense attorney.

Moral dilemmas present in different arenas. What of the trauma nurses who took care of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev? The physicians scuffling to put back together President Kennedy’s skull? For they don’t get to pick and choose their patients. The policeman having to protect Timothy McVeigh from a possible vigilante?

The three public defenders assigned to Tsarnaev would have been similarly constrained. But what about the two prominent defense lawyers who have offered their services? Why choose to represent a man accused of turning the Boston Marathon finish line into a war zone? How about the legal defense assigned to represent Cleveland’s Ariel Castro? How can they fight for this serial kidnapper and rapist? And what about the attorneys for the recently acquitted but still controversial George Zimmerman? Do they really believe he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing in shooting an unarmed teen?

For a criminal defense attorney who considers representing a probably guilty client, a “moral dilemma” would soon have a practical dilemma: that is, being unemployed. I seriously don’t understand why a person would NOT have some kind of moral problem with representing a guilty person. It’s dishonest, as your job is to undermine the prosecution’s case, not to tell the Court that your client is guilty. However, you can present legitimate evidence that could be considered exculpatory (if there is any). You can seek to exclude illegally obtained evidence. You can cross examine the prosecution’s witnesses to undermine the value of their testimony. So…None of this involves telling any lies. For EVERYONE has the right to an advocate to argue the insufficiency of the prosecution’s case, present legitimate exculpatory evidence AND make legal arguments on their behalf. Thus! Where is the moral dilemma? If a guilty person goes free, so what? Guilty people go free all the time and many are not ever captured nor prosecuted. For there may be no evidence that they committed a crime. What’s the the problem? If someone committed a crime against me, I most surely would want them to be punished. I wouldn’t EXPECT that they would definitely be HELD ACCOUNTABLE and castigate society as improper if it didn’t happen. But! Shit happens. Legitimacy is a dream. A passion. Something we can hope for but not expect. In all this I suspect my motivations and convictions are intimate, personal, exclusive. Difficult to articulate. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, there is no more compelling a figure than Atticus Finch defending a wrongly accused poor black man. So… who am I to judge the intentions of either a prosecutor OR a defense attorney… is it not, in the end, the job of the jury to decide? My conjecture, which is rather shaky, is that people may ‘select’ themselves into a category their morals (or lack of) may decree. For instance, is it more familiar to see people with more rigorous moral beliefs (including religion) as prosecutors , while defense attorneys may not think of their religious affiliation as a guiding principle? Just a thought.

Another thought… Is protecting the rule of law is the main reason why lawyers defend their clients, no matter what? If those attorneys didn’t do that, it would be up to the police to determine the guilt of a person. Yet, how can criminal defense attorneys defend “guilty people?” However, no one ever asks, “How can a prosecutor condemn an innocent person?” Or…what if that innocent person was found guilty and unfairly sentenced to death or years of imprisonment? Is this the reason it’s so important for defense attorneys to ferociously defend their clients? In the end…who can really tell if a person is guilty?

I can, especially today, also see a trend of, especially young persons and persons of color being attracted to the defense attorney position…a trend towards “activism” who may be compelled to the draw of becoming a defense attorneys. In this case, is it not a ‘moral’ goal to uphold their political agenda, sometimes by getting a known criminal acquitted, in order to effect social change? I don’t know, although It may appear, in this instance, as though “the ends justify the means,” for them. To get one or several criminals released …might it not send a message to THE SYSTEM for a positive change in social justice? I don’t know. Just thinking out loud…

The truth is whether the accused is guilty or not guilty us moot. The ‘accused’ is entitled to a fair trial. And a defense attorney is hired to ensure that fair and just procedures are followed. He has a double burden; first, to defend his client against the accusations made. And next, to commit to defend them against the system- to ensure that any sentence received is fair and without prejudice. A defense attorney must stand in front of a judge, a prosecutor and a group of jurors, who are carefully selected to present a ‘sound’ case to these jurors. For him it is to ‘assume that a defendant is guilty until proven innocent’. Do you see this? My point. Doesn’t this defy our Justice System? Is this not paradoxical? Truly! A dilemma I so entrenched in ethical, professional and moral arguments…and for some, it’s ALL about WINNING. For Jose Baez: SHAME ON YOU! For Johnnie Cochran et al: SHAME ON YOU! For Alan Dershowitz: SHAME ON YOU! And, most fundamentally, Misters Shoen, Castor and van der Veen: SHAME on you!

I have learned a lot. I am more able in recognizing the legal and judicial implications to ensure a fair trial, something EVERYONE, guilty or not, is awarded. However, some things continue to confound and rattle me. That is, to what extent do the ‘stories’ presented in defense of an accused cross that ‘moral’ boundary? How much is allowed in court before a line is drawn to protect human decency? When does one’s virtues and conscience intervene to question integrity? Well…to me, ‘getting the job done’ necessarily implies NEVER compromising principles and decency. However, there will always be those that believe WINNING is tantamount, leaving behind broken ideals and broken people. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

Ok. So never really heard of the guy until the election but he warrants a deserving RANT. He has proven himself a good reason to write. A very good reason. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

Madison’s story…🤮

David Madison Cawthorn (born August 1, 1995) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, Cawthorn is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district after winning the 2020 election.^[1] The district includes most of Western North Carolina. He is the youngest member of Congress since Jed Johnson Jr. From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Ok. That might be the only positive (?!) statement you may read in all of this disparaging chatter. Just when I ‘think’ my retching has subsided over Marge, Josh, Teddy and ‘Eddie Munster’ Gaetz, I got this BOZO to deal with. Tried to ignore him, but , like a festering boil, you gotta attend to the problem. [Not even mentioning my bias against anyone named ‘Madison’ without legitimately changing it]. And, he IS a problem. From what I can see, I sure wish someone would keep this guy away. Away from any camera, microphone or ANY podium he may choose to present his sorry self.

From what I have gathered, this first-term House member has only been a mistake to the institution, his party and to his state. Just in the last couple of months, he has aided and abetted the US Capitol Insurrection by wholly supporting his mentor, Mr. Trump, then did the good ole GOP SWITCHEROO, claiming Trump’s ‘lies’ incited the riot, while denying his own election lies.

Mr. Cawthorn, when confronted with questions about claims that he was a legit candidate for the 2020 Paralympic Games, which he has suggested, more than once, including telling this ‘story’ to a Christian podcast host, the fact is that Mr Cawthorn perhaps had an Opportunity for the Paralympics for track and field events. Mr Cawthorn failed to qualify for any events. And, he did he compete in any events which might LEAD to any legitimate standing as any kind Of Paralympian. As reported by The Nation, Mr Cawthorn’s claims are an insult to the Paralympic athletes who genuinely devote their training to compete at such an elite level.

Also, Mr Cawthorn, in an agonizing interview recently with CNN’S Pamela Brown, finally [as if] acknowledged Joe Biden’s legitimate victory and yet continued alleging that states sabotaged the U.S. Constitution in the altering of election rules. What?!?! …AND when Ms Brown noted that election rules were also changed in North Carolina (HIS STATE), he stated that ‘he wasn’t aware of those changes’. Huh! Either Cawthorn ridiculously does not know what’s going on in his home state or he is not telling the truth. {With the latter being most viable, given this man’s track record}.

Mr Cawthorn, during his campaign, generated the impression that he was a probable candidate for the U.S. Naval Academy, until a car accident left him partially paralyzed. However… the sad reality is the fact that he was clearly REJECTED from The Naval Academy, a especially noxious lie, even for someone whose nature so easily allows such behavior.

It is true. Mr Cawthorn may profit from his good-looking, yet soulless persona, i.e., profitable both in politics and in our media culture, as it is today. However, I think, and please prove me wrong, that he is playing on the SENTIMENTALITY of our national subconscious empathy towards the “inspirational” disabled person… those who, with gritty human spirit and determination replace their handicap with overachieving athleticism. With this in mind, and forgive me, I feel this king of manipulation is seedy, transparent and almost dangerous.

However, what is MOST HEINOUS about Cawthorn, and why I find him so ingenuous is his performance at the RNC when, nearing the end of his speech, he was lifted out of his wheelchair by two persons who then assisted him in standing up, while wearing special leg braces. Working this sympathy stunt into his remarks about ‘standing for the president, was disgusting to me. Downright sleazy. Not to mention the focus of this almost grotesque stunt, his idol, his partner in crime, was Mr Trump. I have worked with persons with special needs for OVER 45 years. And, I have, I believe, earned the right to judge Mr Cawthorn as a fraud. A hustler. A con-man. A liar. In a way, seeing his chicanery, from stealing paralympic aspirational valor and seeking to bring firearms onto the House floor to partaking at the MAGA rally on January 6th … this man attempts to exploit the human condition at our expense. In this way, he is degrading whatever compassion we MIGHT contain for him, as well as exploiting his narrative. I find all this tragic. Almost pathetic. And, perhaps, reminiscent of another fallen politician, also self-deluding, who ended up failing for quite these same reasons. Watch out, Mr Cawthorn! You may not be far away from YOUR exile to the pastoral golfing communities of the Outer Banks.

Of recent, multiple women are now accusing this North Carolina Representative of previous sexual harassment, another putrid attachment to his resume. Without delving into the gory minutiae, this, as well as many other allegations, led more than 150 fellow classmates from Patrick Henry College wherever that is to submit a letter denouncing his candidacy for Congress due to “his gross misconduct toward female peers’. Enough said?

In writing this it leads me to believe even more ardently that our standards be raised.We need to have enforced national standards for all things election-related on both the state and federal levels. Political figures should require higher standards than you or I and be held accountable for any misdeed. Full background checks, educational requirements and perhaps an age component be included for governmental/political positions, if it were up to me! For it is a known fact that a person’s brain (pre-frontal cortex/reasoning skills) isn’t even fully developed until the age of 25! To see ‘kids’ in their early 20’s and YOUNGER, some with virtually no higher education and life experiences, making crucial decisions is downright SCARY and could prove to be destructive and irresponsible for their constituents. I do not want persons like Cawthorn, Boebert, Green et al, making decisions or having ANYTHING TO DO with my life. And, if all those who incited this insurrection are not expelled from congress then we can expect more of these liars and instigators! The Republican party already abounds with enough promoters and con-artists – Adding Cawthorn to the mix only worsens this already infected batch. PLEASREADTHIS🗽

We cannot possibly understand what would cause a young man, Liam McAtasney, to strangle former classmate and buddy, Sarah Stern, so purposefully. So intently. So violently. He actually complained to his ‘friend’ that it was taking too long. COMPLAINED! It is unthinkable.

There have been several TV documentaries on this crime. You may be familiar with this murder. It is a well known case down ‘here’. And everywhere else, perhaps. The trial was available to view. We watched this defendant in real time. It was painful, yet I ruminate on Liam McAtasney. Ruminate on this unfathomable act. Murder. He was her friend according to all. He is described as being a ‘nice fun guy’. He graduated High School. He has a family. Friends. What would transform this ‘nice guy’ into a devil. A BEAST! Pure EVIL. What was important enough for him to willfully end her life so fiercely? It is truly beyond comprehension despite knowing that SOCIOPATHS EXIST. Why?

It happened

Psychopathy and sociopathy are considered , by many scholars in this field, to be the most serious psychological disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). I believe this to be true. The main difference between the two is that psychopathy is thought, by many, to have a genetic component, while sociopathy involves early childhood trauma and/or abuse. Perhaps you have read that, simply, the definition of psychopaths is that they are “born” while sociopaths are “made”.

Is Liam McAtasney evil

Part of what makes sociopathy so fascinating is that we understand very little about what causes it. The sociopath overall is little understood, manifested primarily in the conventional belief that the sociopath has the malicious intent to harm others. The truth, however, is more complex than a single answer allows.

Are sociopaths bad people? It’s easy to blast a ROBUST ‘YES’, for so many reasons, however, the reality is that sociopaths do not always have malevolent feelings toward others. Rather, the problem is that they have very little true inner feelings at all for others, which lets and leads them to treat others as OBJECTS. The effect of their behavior is undoubtedly malicious, even though the intention is not necessarily the same. Well, that’s the best I can deduce. And I have spent already WAY too much time on Mr McAtasney. For he is not human.

While my sense is that he is a true sociopath. Seeing him in the courtroom is to see a boy who appears incredibly lost, alone, and emotionless. He appears to be the perfect face of sociopathy-highly guarded, hollow, defeated. And, at the end of the day, Mr McAtasney is a POTENT reminder of how complex, dangerous, and, yes, incomprehensible, the sociopath remains today. And how dangerous.

Liam’s diagnosis, however, can give us some information to consider. But gives Mr Stern no comfort. He must live among the beasts that kidnapped and killed his daughter. His reality contains evil. Up close.

Everytime you drive over the Rte 35 Belmar bridge, send good thoughts to the Stern Family. Suffering from the death of a child is unending. We don’t what happened to Liam to be able to murder his ‘friend’. But I like to think that some day he may realize the extent of the agony he has caused. And, perhaps, feel truly sorry for his actions. We’ll see. PLEASREADTHIS

I often feel like I’m straddling a timetable where the past is pulling me in one direction and I am fighting for control of a steering wheel. Constantly seeing flashes of images, sights, sounds, smells, colors, feelings that burst through. Leaving me with a painful nostalgia. It happens a lot. Wierd feelings come out of nowhere. They can be pleasant, but, if so, ALWAYS with the cost of immediate evaporation. My heart may race or pound causing that semi-sick apprehension of, again, having to stop this ‘feeling’. Always An Effort. Tiring. Demanding. Repetitive. Insistent. Only surely to reappear soon

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. Not a sculpted nor well-defined illness, at least not to me. More like a symptom of the harm of trauma. A symptom of the inability to escape the past. An incapacity to expunge past distress that you cannot seem to reconcile. The worst part is that it doesn’t go away. They say it ‘can’. But, I know it can’t. I learned this. And I believe it. It’s like trying to erase a birthmark or tame a cowlick. Learneds prescribe treatments-psychotherapies, medications, exposure, imagery, hypnosis. Did that one… and that one..like I said, the impact of trauma cannot be cleaned with a ‘magic eraser’. It’s my legacy, so deeply entrenched in one’s spirit. In my character. It is part of you- connective tissue. It belongs to you, like your name. A trait, like intelligence – yet dark, like depression. You weren’t born with it, yet you can’t remember a time when you didn’t have it. You’ve tried medical, psychiatric, spiritual interventions to expunge. But it is resolute in remaining.

With PTSD, it seems that no one else is as vulnerable. Everyone else seems to function. They mustn’t have ‘it’, ALWAYS IN MY HEAD. And this truth encourages loneliness and social isolation. It harbors loneliness-repercussive reflexes. The knowledge that no one understands is true, and this is quite lucid and logical to me. They cannot and they do not because they do not ‘know’. Do they sense this private vulnerability? How could they? Do they see it? Can they permeate my disguise? Can they feel it! I doubt it. And I prefer that they do not. They should not. The exhaustive coping I must do will never tire nor fail me. For if it does … I gotta come clean. Too much to explain. Where does one begin?

It’s like my mind is betraying my body, again and again. My strength in opening a new door into my psyche does not waver anymore. It’s what I do each day to escape the demons of PTSD. Anxiety and fatigue can and do present as the price I must pay. But I HAVE acquired coping skills. I have accomplished goals in battling this war. I truly BELIEVE in my abilities to prevent the total penetration of my villains. In fact, I now can recognize and rejoice in my victories. But! It took a long time to get there.

PTSD limits my world. I don’t nor do I expect too much. I work hard for what I have, though I dare say no one would think that about me. I constantly strive to act typical, ordinary, natural …happy. But my self-image is often blurry. My sense of control often embezzled by a smell – a morsel of a memory that lurks like a Lion ready to pounce upon its prey. I remain guarded. Vigilant. Always. It’s what I do. Second nature. Sometimes I fear I have created a world of floating and fleeting relationships…in a galaxy of what I wish. A pretend universe where I am a normal person without all the rehearsing and role-playing; my demons vanished! Annihilated! But I am strong. I am a fighter. Each day is met with the positive mindset of optimal coping. For I am the story of the life of a person damaged just enough to present as seemingly normal and happy. And this is as good as it gets… for me. I feel fortunate to have evolved this far! I am lucky.

Over my lifespan with so very many and divergent disciplines and therapies..I am ‘repaired’ but not healed. And therefore must continue on faking, in some measure, a persona that only I know. That’s the truth of PTSD. It MAKES you fabricate, impersonate, pretend to be the healed person you are not. If you don’t, this ‘ illness’ can destroy you. So…Take your pick.

Of course, each person’s experience of PTSD is unique to them, depending on the trauma and in the persons’ ability or inability to heal. Some people are CONSTANTLY on guard, hyper-vigilant, non-trusting, depressed, suicidal … For me the it’s the feelings of being apart from everyone else. Feeling alone and so wishing you can be like everyone else, which of course is absurd. It’s like walking a tightrope between fight or flight…always an overwhelming sense of guilt and CONSTANT self doubt. A feeling that NO ONE can talk you out of feeling. No one can convince you otherwise. Yet! Luckily, I am able see the light…eventually. And all seems okay. Safe. Normal. Until…

People disagree. They say it CAN be fixed. They don’t know. I believe it can’t. For can you really fix a broken back? A fractured skull? Can you change the past? Well! You see…you can only do so much. You can only REPAIR the originals. It’s kind of like a depression that no medicine nor therapy can touch. Or a cancer that is inoperable. Chemotherapy can help but the tumor remains. Shrunken, but still alive and reeking havoc. It goes way too deep. A depth that’s unreachable. It’s a mark, tattooed in your soul. Some can see it, if you let them. But they don’t understand. They can’t. And again, it is Okay! It’s NOT a desperation. Not even a depression. Although depression is its side-effect. It’s something else … something unfixable. It’s something you learn to live with. And it’s your ability or inability to cope that defines its seriousness; it’s strength; it’s harm in allowing happiness, content and peace into your life. It’s a constant struggle. A constant battle. Yet in the end, most days are victorious. And, on those days, it is AMAZING…

I hope someone understands this. Can relate and not feel so alone. I don’t know. I fear sadness upon reading this, because I’ve never written about it. It’s only bearable because I allow it to be fleeting. I must insist it go away instantly or very soon when this darkness enters. And soon I feel the tentacles tickling my sanity… But I know what to do…I’m too used to it. It is infiltrated into my life like the color of my skin. Do you perceive me to be wrong, a coward, extracting a sense of self-pity from me? I hope not. I characterize the truth. And, it is okay. This is me. Take it. Or leave it. It’s my life. I don’t know anything different. Inescapable. A challenge that is mine and one that I have learned to nearly welcome…To twist into a marvelous puzzle to solve each day. I can not change it. So, make the best of it. It strengthens me. I can even say that MOST of the time I AM happy or talk myself into ‘feeling’ happy. It’s what I do and I do it well. I have no choice. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

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Is there a question? Nope. After over 10 years of Facebook, I finally confronted my fear of expansion. I tend to stagnate in many arenas. Easily intimidated by platforms quoted by people so much smarter and sophisticated than myself. But one day I peeked! GLANCED at a real TWEET! On TWITTER! Whoa! So bold! Joy Reid! The Hill! Victoria Brownworth! Politico! Barbara Malmet! Guardian News! Johnathan Capehart! David Pakman! I LOVE those people! And, what I saw and and what I read changed my life. NO kidding!

I discovered several things. Firstly, Twitter is a portal, a gateway to an expanse of info, opinions, declarations, videos, photos, rants, opinions, news, and more {much more}! All, so convenient – from millions of people and organizations around the world A data-hoarder’s delight. ENDLESS intelligence. Endless ideas. Endless reading!

Secondly, you can follow without friending. NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Thirdly, you can access a dynamic streams of ideas and resources without ever saying a word. NOTHING! Zippo! Nada! Great for when you may be too intimidated to speak or just have NOTHIN’ to say.

Next! It’s streamlined! So easy to understand. There are links and ideas, and that’s it. You can converse, monologue or just snoop, as it discourages {though not necessarily avert} pretension while encouraging a ‘natural’ transparency. But more than anything else, it simply works. And it’s fun!

Although Twitter can overwhelm with content, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming — in fact it can be quite easily absorbed. Relatively easily navigable, searching for topics, trends and people proves quite facile. Unlike blogging, subscribing and using twitter is incredibly fast, easy and takes a relatively small time investment. ‘Tweets’ can be sent and received using any mobile device, making Twitter a dynamic and potent tool. It grants groups of “friends” the ability to stay in contact with each other without their accompanying PCs.

Some Twitter fans use it solely to inform others their activities. Others to ‘chat” with each other and swap links. There’s no wrong or right way to utilize Twitter. For me, that is the useful and fun part. You can learn. You can teach. You can listen. You can speak. That’s all part of the fun! Stress Free learning. Stress free sharing. A WIN/WIN!

I also appreciate the fact that Twitter showcases the most recent and relevant situations as they happen in real-time. This allows subscribers to experience the happenings and perceptions of targeted part(ies) nearly as soon as it is develops. Twitter can take us places. Can bring us people who would normally not be available, i.e., presidential candidates, celebrities, artists… many prominent figures are active on Twitter … and….some actually are known to interact with their followers, something ONLY TWITTER can do! For example, I frequently engage with several journalists I follow…something INCREDIBLY fulfilling, especially when writing a blog or being engaged in any form of journalism. Contacting and/or interacting with mentors for consultation or encouragement is allowed. Asking for opinions, attitudes, theories, assumptions of OTHERS is all fair game. It’s part of the experience. And it’s very satisfying and rewarding.

Twitter, for me, can also open the door to new connections. Twitter is different, more ‘open’ than Facebook. This makes it easier to discover new people, ideas and trends, thus ensuring an easier pathway to build a relationship or develop one’s own theory based on Twitter presentations.

Finally, how you use TWITTER is up to you. Books have been written on the power and use of Twitter. At least half of you reading this either hate, loathe, or reluctantly tolerate Twitter. But you WILL start loving Twitter when you realize it’s not SOLELY a place to talk …but a place to listen and really communicate. You can get ready to make a serious commitment to harnessing Twitter’s power … or….like me, utilize it to build a Twitter following for personal growth, education and open-mindedness. So…TRY IT! Don’t fear it. It doesn’t bite. You might find it pleasantly quite digestible. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

Typically, hypocrisy is character flaw, like dishonesty or bigotry, but when practiced by politicians, it can be especially nefarious. In the political arena, hypocrisy can destroy doctrines and ethics– that is, the role of analysis, interpretation and rationale. It is dangerous. And, it is dishonorable.

Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe has addressed this issue of hypocrisy with regard to Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, in his defending of former President Donald Trump after he voted to acquit him in his impeachment trial. He stated “Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day’. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell directly blamed former President Donald Trump for fomenting last month’s riot but voted Saturday to acquit him anyway of inciting an insurrection. McConnell sharply criticized his former ally in a speech on the Senate floor shortly after Trump was cleared in a 57-43 vote, saying the rioters had been “fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth. Because he was angry he’d lost an election.”

But despite his pitch, and after witnessing the riot firsthand and being reminded of it again at the scene of the crime, McConnell and most Republican senators voted to acquit Trump. Many said they were concerned about the unprecedented nature of trying a former president in an impeachment trial.They argued that Trump’s words could be protected under the First Amendment, and pointed out that he also urged supporters in his January 6 speech “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” However, Mr. McConnell COULD NOT vote to convict, pointing out that the trial had come too late [due to his postponing said trial], that is, because Mr. Trump was no longer in office. Democrats were FURIOUS that it was HE who refused to call the Senate back into session to start Trump’s trial. He continued to state that a criminal trial for Mr. Trump would not be out of the picture…evidencing just how serious and accurate he believed these allegations. Mitch McConnell CLEARLY wanted it both ways. To acquit, yet condemn. His outrageous and dishonorable manipulation of democracy show his pure disregard for the constitution and his oath of office. These MONSTROUS DUPLICITOUS BEHAVIORS clearly prove Mr. McConnell to be a dishonorable person. The apparent absence of any principle but power in McConnell, and his ability to propound rank dishonesty with flagrant allegiance has lost the ability to shock us

I do not see how Democrats and Republicans will ever be able to trust each other, if , when push comes to shove AND when the stakes are high, the other side will hoodwink their own fundamentals when it’s politically advantageous. I think MAYBE the age of hypocrisy may help us in seeing how hypocrisy can LEAD US TO SEE how crucial honesty and integrity are and how honorable traits are rare. How well and clearly we see this when they are shrouded by vice. Mr. McConnell’s simultaneous actions of acquittal and rebuke display the ultimate hypocrisy. And we see it so clearly in his license to shun honesty for gain. Not a case of clever politics. A case of betrayal and the abandonment of the ideals our country was built in.

Hypocrisy, fraud, deceit, duplicity…appears these desecrating words mean less and less today in politics. Feeling shamed by the populace doesn’t seem to matter anymore. It’s everyday, as common as a child abduction… an opioid overdose. It’s sad. But in the AGE OF TRUMP many formerly ‘shameful’ deeds went unnoticed. Accepted as part of a new crassness; a new vulgarity where human decency and honorable intentions are relics. Mitch McConnell has thrived during the past years and especially so during the past era of immunity for bad behavior. Shame on him. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

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When the yeas and nays were counted, seven Senate Republicans joined Herrera Beutler in her courageous stand, voting along with all 50 Democrats to convict former President Donald Trump. The other 43 Republicans, some of whom, like McConnell, haphazardly denounced Trump’s conduct ; yet acquitted him. They all now have the cowering duty of forever cleaning up after the man who left them to die. A distinction better relegated to an insolent child who purposefully spilled their milk. For we knew that most Republican Senators, as long expected, would vote to acquit Trump; a cowardly surrender to the political obligation-NEVER TO cross the demagogue. But THIS impeachment trial was not in vain. It divulged the heinous truth….Trump knew lawmakers’ lives were in lethal peril from his savage thugs! In place of helping the people’s representatives escape harm, Trump scoffed. It is in the record. It was presented into evidence. This is, my friends, is the true testament. The PROOF of GUILT for our children and children’s children to see. To KNOW! To REMEMBER! You may have escaped punishment this time, Mr. Trump! But you will NEVER escape judgement. For we know THE TRUTH. No! You did not win!

The brilliance and doggedness of Jamie Raskin’s case was made for history—a case against Trump, and the next Trump, and the Trump after that. That is, if we are fortunate enough to withstand as a country to see those challenges. And, if we are that lucky, it will be because new generations of honorable and brave men and women like Mr. Raskin and his team will endure by challenging power-going back to our Founding Fathers. America’s history is full of ugliness and inequities, yet there is honor and beauty at its core. Mr. Trump may have been acquitted in this proceedings. Yet! What was what truly illuminated in this week’s theater is the fact that truth and honor prevail. You did not win, Mr Trump. Your Republican enablers shall feebly walk into the record as handmaids to a turncoat who sought to overturn the democracy they ‘believed’ he represented. Their spineless vote for acquittal was not for justice but rather to prove them co-conspirators in this most heinous crime against OUR COUNTRY, AMERICA! No! You did not win, Mr. Trump. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

[District of Columbia] Prohibitions on carrying licensed pistols.

(a) No person holding a license shall carry a pistol in the following locations or under the following circumstances: (1) A building or office occupied by the District of Columbia, its agencies, or instrumentalities;

I have heard, too many times for my sanity, the case that the vicious mob of 1/6/21 were ‘unarmed’. Just stating this makes my gut wrench. Granted, these thugs are literate. They were aware of the rules. But! MAKE NO MISTAKE! This insurrection was ARMED! While the count’s not in yet, at least nine persons were arrested on site for fire arms violations and pipe bombs.

What does arms mean in law?18 Black’s Law Dictionary defines the word arms as “anything that a man wears for his defense, or takes in his hands as a weapon.”

Definition of weapon:

WEAPON: Entry 1 of 2)1: something (such as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy2: a means of contending against another

Ok. Clear? This mob clearly carried WEAPONS aka ARMS. Firearms, oxbows, brass knuckles, homemade napalm, bear spray, pepper spray, bats, lacrosse sticks, spears, pipe bombshell, ‘stinger whips’, Molotov cocktails, pocket knives, ‘blackjacks’…

NOT EVEN MENTIONING, the gear some of the people wore or carried that were ‘used’ as weapons, most notably, the riot shields, helmets, Capitol fire extinguishers, police batons, glass shards from broken windows, wooden debris from building destruction, etc., utilized as weapons to injure persons and property.

As was noted by several Impeachment Managers, yesterday, the most heinous objects used as a weapon that day were the poles of our beloved United States Flag exploited as bayonets to puncture our Republic. The mob was able to carry flagpoles because their march to the Capitol was not part of a secured, permitted event where authorities can restrict people from bringing most anything they deem dangerous. Unarmed? The violence of this day can only be blamed on the raging and riotous ‘Call to Arms’ by a misfit. A desperate false prophet whose doormats lives were symbiosed to a madman. PLEASEREADTHIS🗽

[District of Columbia] Prohibitions on carrying licensed pistols.

(a) No person holding a license shall carry a pistol in the following locations or under the following circumstances: (1) A building or office occupied by the District of Columbia, its agencies, or instrumentalities;

Continue reading “Do Not Be Fooled”

PUTTING TRUMP behind us is like exiting an abusive relationship: it takes time. …The Guardian

I can’t sleep. My mind is a seesaw. Good vs Evil. Speak vs Don’t Speak. Feel vs Let it go. Anger vs Understanding. What? No way to live. I am traumatized and I need help. So I talk. I write. I read. I watch television, listen to podcasts. I meditate. It only makes me angrier. I am a MESS…. but I am trying.

“The past four years were marked by extremism, violence, and deception. Americans must find a way to live with those traumas—and with each other.”… GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE

Wisewords. And the work involved to learn to co-mingle-the answer-Exhausting! Been doing it my whole life. It’s always been ‘something’. Yet! This is different. This is not just ME. It is US. And, THIS TIME I must jump off the seesaw. I need sleep. I have lost friends. Strained relationships that haunt me. Criticisms, misunderstandings…I am drained yet this crippling empowers. My reactions are fraught with fear yet a resolve to prove my fear is derived from a truth that I need to justify; to validate; to manifest. The problem lies in myself. My self-doubt and hesitancy to go a step further. To further elucidate my beliefs without trepidation. And! To WELCOME …TO LISTEN TO….my critic’s views. Yet! NOT TO ACCEPT, without compromising my own convictions , through anger, grief and horror. That’s the problem. But I am slowly, very slowly, learning the way…

Our world seems broken. And in a way it is. We need to fix it and fix implies resources working together to heal. But not everyone feels this need. Not everyone is as traumatized by the shattering of our democracy as I do. Therein lies my problem. Is it my PTSD? My sensitivity level? My insecurities? It does not matter. It is true. It is there. It exists. Now I must reconcile this energy with life. People don’t understand this passion. Why? I do not grasp how one can ignore the background of our lives. The stage we stand on. The past four years…the events of 1/6/21…the pandemic. It is intertwined with brushing out teeth, getting dressed, cooking dinner. They are inseparable. Is this wrong????

I grieve. It pierced my open wounds to watch yesterday’s prolific video as presented by the Impeachment Committee. I cried listening to Mr Raskin speak of his lost son and traumatized daughter having been with her dad at The Capitol that day. I cried listening to the warnings yesterday of dangers of the new strains of COVID19. And, It was Ok. I didn’t hide my puffy eyes. I shared my grief with a colleague. I texted with friends. This much I do know…you need to make loss relevant. Give it meaning. It helped. Step One. So far so good.

However…Back to the seesaw. I WANT. I NEED. I DEMAND accountability. Apologies! That’s hard to get. Keep looking everywhere. No one is taking the blame. I need this. It’s hard to go on the road to ‘de-messing’ myself without someone …. ONE PERSON… in the Trump Administration saying ‘I’m sorry’. Stuck here… on to #3.

TRUTH! The truth must be told! The last four years had been one big lie. Trump’s lies infected our society in countless ways. We lost people to a pandemic because of Trump’s sabotaging of reality. The mortal events of 1/6/21 were due to his lies. Certain media supported the delusions of this man and his followers. It continues. HOWEVER! LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN! Speak up for the truth. Write to your Senators, become pro-active! Do not watch nor listen to networks which support the views so destructive to our democracy. If someone says something YOU KNOW TO BE UNTRUE…SPEAK UP! Start little… then expand as you can. IT WILL HELP. It is a coping strategy and NOT NECESSARILY A POLITICAL STATEMENT. Do NOT mistake your right to express HONESTY AND REALITY as necessarily a form of BURNING A BRIDGE!!!! It is a way to re- establish personal control in combatting anxiety, isolation and self-doubt! ….feeling empowered…

On to FIXING. HEALING. COLLABORATION. MUTUAL REBUILDING. BRIDGING DIVERGENCE. However, is it sometimes UNFIXABLE’? As I discussed earlier I will welcome and listen to differences of opinion. What I NEED TO LEARN AND DO is how to REJECT what I know and believe is fundamentally WRONG and learn how to walk away. I’m CRINGING AS I SAY THIS. I must learn that some differences are, in fact, ‘unbridgeable’. When people defend a person or a belief that so offends my deep tenets of goodness, kindness, fairness, honesty, non-violence, human decency… I must walk away with courage and tenacity. Lies are Not Differences of Opinion. And, renouncing falsehoods does NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT LISTENING . In the end…we must, I MUST, learn to build bridges when I can….and burn bridges when I must. Speaking out against dishonesty, corruption and destruction IMPERATIVE in ridding the world of a malignancy that has captivated the minds of so many. I have learned that making heavy decisions and expressing them is easy. Cathartic. However, a toll must be paid. And I must pay the full full cost. That is why … when YOU CAN…BUILD THE BRIDGE! And… when you can’t, walk away, yet, knowing that it MUST have been important enough. PLEASEREADTHIS