Lawrence: McConnell Knows Evidence Against Justice Thomas Is 'Damning'

    I've known that since before the second Bush Administration. His wife was an off the hook Tea Party fan and he didn't recuse himself then either. From what I've heard from credible sources, he's a partisan fucking hack with the personality of a garden slug. I've known that he's not qualified to hold a position on the Supreme Court since his confirmation hearings. Everything he's done since has confirmed my initial assessment so the current hullabaloo is no surprise to me. Mitch waxing eloquent on his work was amusing to say the least and does imply that he knows it looks bad for his Right Wingnut Justice this time. He didn't recuse himself from a high profile case that involved his wife's political activities, not the first time he's failed the oath. Hopefully this piece of trash will eventually be removed to a place where he won't bother us anymore. As for me, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon.      

The Sign of the Thumb

    This is me removing another piece of scar tissue from my thumb a few days ago. I've been doing this for more than 3 1/2 decades now and still haven't gotten to all the wood I injected in it. I was assembling a piece of furniture with 1 3/4" staples and glue and while stapling a miter corner, one went through and into my thumb. This was over 40 years ago. The injury initially healed over and looked normal until it began swelling 4 years later. I'd already been back to the doctor's about it previously as it was still painful when used certain ways. Dr. Slater was no help at all. He didn't believe that it hit the bone despite my statement to the contrary. So I'd been putting up with it until it began swelling during a particularly busy period of guitar playing. It increased in size to the point where I needed to have it lanced. 

    The doctor's at the clinic told me that it was unlikely that there was wood still in my thumb but after putting some of what came out under the scope they were proven wrong. They removed as much of the scar tissue surrounding the wood as they could but were unable to go all the way to the bone to do so in the clinic. For a while afterward it looked like a normal thumb but soon it began swelling again. I was at work when it popped and drained some ugly looking puss all over the parts counter (my nickname there was Thumbs). One last stop afterwards at the doctors resulted in a negative bone scan and that was it for me. I was left with a ball of scar tissue the size of a small marble next to the bone after it stopped draining. The drain hole never closed. I've removed scar tissue from it every month or so since then. 35 years and my thumb is still rejecting pieces of wood/scar tissue. It's now nearly gone with a small bump left near the skins surface that hopefully will finish ejecting the foreign material and seal over soon.  

    The first time it was lanced was after I'd booted my cheating wife out of our apartment. For the next 2 days everything I'd denied while she was out and about played back in my memory, like a never ending stream of YouTube videos commemorating the high points of her infidelity. So I had known all along but could neither face nor acknowledge it before the final confrontation. I knew who. I knew when. I also observed my behavior throughout and found disliked what I saw. I beat myself up over and over with it and swore I'd never let it happen again (a promise I failed to keep). The feeling I got from the initial draining was religious in nature. I let my internal rage go and reached an understanding that I was going to survive and learn from this. I reached an understanding that If I live long enough and help remove the material it expels I'll see the day that my eternal wound finally heals. 

    This whole experience parallels my internal healing process to the bone. Buried traumas from my childhood seek the sunlight. They no longer hide exclusively in my subconscious. They ask for an accounting and incorporation into a healthier mental state. They want to be dealt with in a loving and kind way. They want to be understood and accepted before becoming part of my whole person. So that's what I continue to do. Hopefully I will continue to heal both physically and mentally as I continue forward.                         

Signs that Putin is in the Drivers Seat

     Republicans can blame Biden all they want but the truth is Trumps treatment of Putin while he was in office helped set this war in motion. Add up all the attempts at mitigating sanctions on Russia along with holding military aid hostage to Ukraine for dirt on the Bidens and this is what you get. Trump also trashed NATO during his divisive fours years in office so the bullshit Republicans spew that Biden caused this doesn't fly with me.  

    As far as what can be done to stop Putin, Republicans have no clue. Seems to me that anything more than sanctions will risk nuclear escalation by Putin as he's made it clear that he's prepared to end the world as we know it. For our world to be safe the Russian people need to remove Putin from power. That's the only solution that comes to my mind that won't risk nuclear war. If anyone has a better idea or ideas they should share as we need possible solutions, not recriminations.   

Trump Suggests Putting Chinese Flags on U.S. Fighter Jets to Bomb Russia...It's a Sign

    Republicans are blaming Biden for the invasion of Ukraine but I put the blame squarely on Trump's shoulders. As far as Biden being weak, what would Republicans do? I haven't heard a realistic plan from them that will do any more than what's being done now. Putin has nuclear weapons and has made it clear that he will use them if we get too involved. Trump set this situation into play with his fawning over big strong Putin. Putting Chinese markings on our jets is a great idea if your 5 years old. Thank God he's not still president.

Signs of End Times

    Here's one of the channels I watch to keep up on inclement events around the world. The Two Preachers are an over the top version of disasters with a religious end time theme. Lest one think that there are many more disasters, natural or otherwise, one needs to take into account that everyone has a smart phone these days. We see more now than ever before due to the internet and the videos that inhabit it. Balance is the key to deriving input from these sources.   

Signs That I Am Not Entertained

     I am not entertained when Putin decides to invade another country.

    I am not entertained when Trump praises Putin's intelligence for killing innocent people.

    I am not entertained by Republicans calling Biden's response weak when it's been the opposite. Biden helped unite the world's governments to respond to Putin's insane power grab. Republicans got shit to say about what they'd do different.

    I am not entertained by people dying in a war and the media bringing this to our attention 24/7. Nothing but hot air and bullshit as the networks compete for our attention. 

    Last of all, I am not entertained as I watch America slowly but surely tear itself apart. That's Putin's ultimate goal and he's getting closer to achieving it than he's ever been.