So, according to my limited survey, when it comes to the impeachment inquiry hearings there are two groups in this once-great nation: people who understand that Donald Trump DID commit the crimes he stands accused of committing – and conservatives.  This is because when it comes to the impeachment inquiry hearings there are two groups: those who watched and/or listened to the testimony –  that is, paid attention to the actual witnesses testifying under oath – and conservatives – who preferred to wait until Fox “News” (or whichever of their surrogates) told them how to feel.

I heard the Armstrong and Getty show the other day.  I’m paraphrasing but one of them was asking, if a person truly believed that Trump and tinkle-down economics was the truth, the light, and the way, why WOULDN’T a person lie to defend it?  They even pondered whether it might be a moral obligation to lie to defend a position, assuming one truly believed Voodoo Economics might someday work and Trump is probably the guy to make it happen.  There was a bit of back and forth on the topic and NONE of those Einsteins could refute the question.  (Yes, I’m clear that defending fraudulent conservative positions is their job…)

There’s an answer.  It’s an honest answer whether conservatives like it or not.  It applies whether conservatives confess it or not.  This is a life rule:

ANY position that relies on falsehood for it’s defense doesn’t deserve to be defended…

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I served in the United States Air Force.  I’m proud of my military service but I’m not a Hoo-Ra, Gung-ho vet.  I only did four years…during peacetime.  (Although Reagan DID invade that tiny island with the rusted guns…)  I’m VERY aware many other military members contributed FAR more.  So, proud, yes, but it doesn’t define me.

From time to time, though, I find myself a bit surprised when the “military man” in me gets riled up by something.  A recent example?  Donnie Dumbass “impulsively” (read: likely on orders from Putin) decided to pull American troops back in Syria.  He CLAIMS he’s getting America out of “forever wars” but actually just redeploys them to a different theater of combat: Saudi Arabia – so Americans can die defending the King instead of Saudis.  The order was so unexpected and implemented SO quickly, American troops grabbed what they could but left the installations intact.

A couple of days pass.  ISIS fighters are escaping from jails and the Turks are killing Kurds and driving them away.  FINALLY, Trump realizes he has left oil supplies undefended in the area (the ultimate sin in this once-great nation) and sends troops back in to protect the oil.  But in the meantime?

Russian troops have captured and occupied American military installations!

I don’t care if you’re left or right.  If you’ve ever worn the uniform are you pissed off?  The Commander-in-Chief of the American military has just handed over American military installations – voluntarily – to the Russians, Syrians, and ISIS fighters we’ve been fighting this whole time.  American soldiers have died over there and Donnie Dumbass just…walks away.

The fact that he might be just a fucking idiot is the very BEST possibility to explain this perfidy.  But I have YET to see Trump defy the wishes of Putin.  Hillary was right: Trump IS Putin’s puppet.

If you think I’m wrong about the bases, I’d like to hear opinions on why but in this case, I’d like you to begin your response with your service dates.  I understand that a lifelong civilian might not “get” what the big deal is.  I do NOT understand how a person who wore the uniform could ever justify such betrayal…

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I keep hearing about which of the Democratic candidates is doing well or not doing well with the African-American community.  I suspect it’s a media-driven “issue.”  It seems like a back-handed “concern,” to me.  Could blacks in this once-great nation ever be more concerned by any of the Democratic candidates than they are by Trump?

Trump is openly racist.  He publicly and proudly calls White Supremacists “very good people.”  (Sidebar: the very BEST evidence against “White Supremacy” is White Supremacists…)  He has a guy working for him, Stephen Miller, who actively promotes white nationalist literature and racist propaganda.

My guess is that the black community knows that white people might empathize but will NEVER be able to fully understand the black experience in this country.  The idea that one of the candidates or the other might not fully “get it” is just an inevitable part of the package but I’d bet there’s no confusion about who represents the truest threat to African American advancement in the United States…

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And, finally…boobies!

It seems a woman and her husband were working in their own garage putting up drywall, which, in this case, included installing fiberglass insulation.  For anyone who has never been around the stuff, fiberglass can be VERY uncomfortable to the skin.  It itches and manages to stay around FAR longer than anyone wants.

So, the couple took off their shirts, ostensibly in an effort to remove the fiberglass from their skin.  From the article: “When her stepchildren, aged 9, 10 and 13, walked in, she “explained she considers herself a feminist and wanted to make a point that everybody should be fine with walking around their house or elsewhere with skin showing,” her lawyers wrote in court documents, The Associated Press reports.”

Not from the article: it seems possible, to me, she got caught in an embarrassing moment and put on a brave face with the only explanation she could think of at the time…

But now she faces charges.  (Apparently, the ex-wife saw an opportunity to “get” the current wife…)  The consequence is possible jail time, fines, and having to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.  HE wasn’t charged with anything…

There’s a LOT here.  On the one hand, women should not be barred from being topless under any circumstances unless men are, too.  (You know, no shoes, no shirt, no service…)  On the other hand, there’s a movement out there called ‘Free the Nipple‘ that advocates a woman’s right to be bare chested and suggests that sexualizing breasts is an inappropriate response.  And there’s the rub…if you will.  I see that as a philosophical position with no practical application.  Women’s breasts ARE sexualized in our culture by both men AND women.  The very best, I think, women can hope for is that men won’t behave like animals.  (But they will ’cause we are…)

Apparently, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals agrees, rightly in my opinion, that women should not be punished for being topless in public.  How could it possibly be worse to be topless in the privacy of one’s own home?  I can’t help but notice, though, that the 13 year old who came out into the garage is a boy.  Like it or not, step-moms breasts are going to fuel 13-year-old-boy’s…um…private imaginings for years into the future.  I feel certain he wasn’t “harmed,” though…

It’s quite the conundrum…