The Unclad Soul

Someone on Facebook recently suggested, in a post comment, that I was not voting for Hillary Clinton because I may be afraid of strong women. The person does not know me and I have never met her. She made her comment to a friend of mine on his post in response to something I had said about Clinton. Anyone who actually knows me knows how wrong that comment is. And it’s irritating that many people seem to think if you don’t vote for Hillary you either hate her or you are afraid of women. Even if you denounce Trump, as I have done again and again, and say you aren’t voting for him, as I have said, you’re still suspect. The notion that if you’re not voting for Hillary something must be wrong with you and you have some kind of issue with women, is simply shortsighted and wrong. I have long supported the rights of women, blacks, gays, immigrants, veterans, and others who are often left out of any real discussion about equal rights, justice, and respect for them from the government a...

There is no question that Donald Trump is outmatched by Hillary Clinton. And why not? She’s been at this her entire adult life. She knows every political trick in the book and she masterfully applies them against him. He blunders along, in his street fighting mode, and he ends up being crude and bullying. Just what Hillary wants. She baits him and eggs him on and when he unloads his amateurish remarks she retaliates with polished, clever, adroit come backs. She has teams of writers and advisers, and of course Bill, who love this whole thing. They salivate over this stuff. It’s a game, a fun, exhilarating game to them. It’s a challenge for them to see just how ingenious they can be in turning Trump into a complete fool. And so far, it has worked perfectly. He of course plays along, having apparently no idea just how stupid they make him look, and how stupid he actually may be. He has no self-awareness. No understanding of what is actually going on. No game plan. No insight. No bigg...

I went down to the memory lane And walked alone along the hazy trail I saw my boyhood and the dogs I owned And the field down the street where I played ball On hot summer days with my friends I walked into my grandparent’s house The little place a few blocks away Where love reigned and the hugs would never end And I felt a worth I’ve not since known I saw the art class in junior high Where I built a sculpture out of tiles A cathedral with a golden steeple That my mom kept for years in our home I waved at the girl I kissed under the bleachers At the football game in the high school stadium And she smiled at me like she did long ago And I remembered how sweet life was How easy the days all seemed to flow I drove my first car to the Dairy Queen And sat and watched the kids all come and go Their laughter was real and their faces beamed With innocence that now has disappeared From the faces of so many kids I know I sat in church and h...

American voters have to decide who can best lead our country out of its failed political system. Who can govern the nation wisely, with intelligence and confidence, with fairness and compassion? Who can unify our people instead of further dividing them? Who can help heal our racial wounds; end our class warfare; and empower all of our citizens to add to, not take away from, the deeper meaning of our human existence? Who can guide Congress, and the military, and all of us to make decisions in life based on informed awareness and truth and not on ignorance and fear? In Tana French’s absorbing novel, “Broken Harbor,” one of the main characters, detective Scorcher Kennedy, is worn down by the crime, the political corruption, the moral decay, and cynicism in his city. He reflects back on a time when life seemed to have meaning and there was a rational balance in people. He says to his partner, “ I remember this country back when I was growing up. We went to church, we ate family supper...

I am a prisoner of Richard Martinez’s haunting words at the brief press conference last Saturday where he poured out his heart about the senseless death of his son Chris who was murdered last Friday in Santa Barbara, California. I cannot escape his emotional words. Choking with grief, consumed with rage, he passionately asked why his son had to die for nothing. Christopher Martinez and five others killed by a gun obsessed, volatile and deranged classmate, were all students at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Chris was 20 years old. At the press conference his father said, “Chris was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken. Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, ‘Stop this madness!’ Too many have died. We should say to ourselves, ‘Not one more!’” ...

"If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on election day.  By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting.  In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some diehard's vote." ~ David Foster Wallace, Novelist

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. ~ From J.R.R. Tolkien’s, “The Lord of the Rings” That is a great line, “Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” It speaks of allegiance, courage, self-determination. The people who really love this country will not be defeated by the cynicism of our current politics. Love of country can survive those who seek to belittle our Constitution with their obsessive greed and ruthless corruption. The Citizens United legislation that our right wing Supreme Court allowed, a Court completely sold out to their corporate cronies, is destroying our political system and the entire premise of the right to vote. By making it legal for corporations to dump billions of dollars into specific political campaigns with little or no accountability, we are then left with political outcomes that serve only the wealthy. They are the ones who ca...

The Republican debate in New Hampshire last night was proof again that the GOP is in a mess. Their party leaders apparently realize that Mitt Romney is the only one of their candidates who might have a chance at defeating President Obama. The problem is Romney is just so undesirable to most Republicans. They see him as a moderate and not a true conservative. They know he is someone who has changed his stance on so many important issues and so they consider him no longer trustworthy. And this leaves them in the mess they are in. I find Mitt Romney a puzzling man. He seems polished and poised and certainly has the intellectual capacity to lead and be president. But there is something strikingly disingenuous about him. He often appears to try too hard. He’s wealthy and has lived a privileged life and seems to strain at relating to the ordinary common person. He has jokingly called himself “unemployed” which is basically true. The man has been running for president forever. ...

Newt Gingrich has come out with a public pledge stating he will defend marriage, oppose gay unions, and push for a constitutional amendment that will define marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.” A constitutional amendment! He also pledges his own “personal fidelity” to his current wife and promises to “respect…the marital bonds of others.” Let there be no misunderstanding about the purpose of this statement. It was made only to win the votes of very conservative Republicans and fundamentalist Christians. It has no other relevance. Why didn’t Gingrich make this pledge before now, like when he married his third wife? There is only one reason. He has decided he wants to be the president so he puts out this self-righteous pledge that he will now take marriage seriously. This is the worst kind of political pandering. It’s manipulative and disingenuous. Why not say instead, “I know voters are troubled by my past mistakes and worry if I can be trusted to live by th...

Are you as tired as I am of this political bullshit that is destroying our sense of what America is supposed to mean and how we as a society are supposed to live? I was trying to watch Meet the Press this morning on TV. The host, David Gregory, a bought and paid for political hack if there ever was one, was interviewing David Axelrod, one of President Obama's senior political advisors. In spite of the news that the economy is making some feeble but honest signs of recovery, Gregory had nothing but criticism and hand wringing and just blathering on and on about how bad things are and how Obama has failed. I finally just turned it off and wanted to drain a bottle of vodka at 9:30 in the morning. I mean, what in the world has happened to this country? How did we get to the place where our, OUR, elected officials RUN and CONTROL and DECIDE how much money we will make, where it will be spent, and who gets to get all the rewards and who doesn't? What happened to freedom? W...