Rev Jeremiah Wright Was Right- but now what do we do?

Why are the Republicans calling for Liz Cheney to be removed, while Marjorie Taylor Green is calling for the death of Democrats she does not agree with. At this writing, I’m told she’s scrubbing both her Twitter and Facebook feeds. I wonder why? 

Increased security is the rule of the day. Jeffries, AOC, et. al are having to be assigned security details due to the constant harassment from the far right loons.  Speaker Pelosi, I’ve read has a small army. These people are probably guarded as much as the POTUS. And poor Pence. I’ve read from various publications that he and his wife are couch hopping. He’s stated his wish to move back to Indiana, and is here presently, but he’s moving around. This is his new reality, because he didn’t pull a stunt he wasn’t able pull off anyway. 

The level of hate is rampant. The lies that have been ingested and then regurgitated in the form of violence and promises of more on the horizon. But it’s what Amerikkka knows best. She majored in it,

has matriculated from Viet Nam to present day Middle East. VIOLENCE. America has perpetrated violence all over the world, in ways we witnessed, low key ways, and I’m sure things we know nothing about. We have low key installed who we wanted to lead numerous countries. Behind coup after coup after coup. And NOW, as the Rev. Dr.  Jeremiah A Wright Jr has been lambasted for saying, the chickens have come home to roost. What goes around does indeed come back around. Some call it Karma and others of us call it reaping what’s been sowed. So here we are. He so, so prophetic in his messages.  Clairvoyant like. But because his congregation was Black, in a Black community he had to be just some racist old clergyman. Didn’t help that his most prominent parishioners, the  Obama’s threw him under the bus in their quest to get the oval. Another story for another day. But he tried to tell us America could not act like she does and expect no retribution. The only difference I can see is unlike the maneuvers America pulled, our enemies are from within. And it’s not the republicans. True republicans don’t act in this manner. It’s the cult of Trumplicans that are causing all this havoc. And here we are. I don’t think America was this divided in the 50-60s. 

There are crazies in high public offices advocating for the hanging of Pence and a bullet to the head of

Pelosi, and their fellow republicans refuse to weed out these shameful people. Apparently not even pulling them aside for a chat. And instead of calling for the discharge from government for these nutcases, they’d rather call for Cheney to be removed from her chair of a committee, and if that’s not enough, demanding that she resign her seat altogether. Somebody better tell me something. 

But it all boils down to not offending “their” wounded leader. No cojones at all! It’s not like they can get a nasty tweet, a disgusting post on Facebook or a calling out through mainstream media. They so badly want that base of deplorables that he commands to line up behind them. But they cannot if he runs again. Rubio, Hawley and Cruz all have delusions of ascension to the highest office in the land. Holler at me if I’m wrong, but how do they expect to get in if he’s free to run again? Is there another reason for this sickening fealty? I guess it truly is a cult. They cannot break free. My God. In the word of the late great Marvin Gaye, it makes me wanna holler.

I subscribe to a vlog called “Beau of the Fifth Column” on YouTube. I highly recommend his YouTube

page. He’s a good old boy, but highly intelligent and well read. On his vlog today, he said and I quote "an attempt like that which happened on the 6th, if no one is held accountable, it is not a failure, it’s  training, it’s practice.” I said pretty much the same thing on a Facebook post a few days ago. I called it a dress rehearsal.

So what do we do when you have a group that accepts no responsibility or culpability for their actions? How do we handle a large swath of government perfectly fine with taking no action against the one who riled his gang of terrorists into a frenzy, unleashed them on the capitol and watched from closed circuit cameras and lifted not a finger? Unless a miracle happens, he won’t suffer any consequences of his actions and will be free to run again in four years. He has already mentioned Grover Cleveland, the only POTUS to serve twice, but not consecutively.  Meanwhile we’re swimming through a sewer. Also, at this writing states are fast and furiously changing voting laws, to further disenfranchise millions of voters. What do we do? 

Don’t you wanna holler too? 

I’ve called my senators. I’m sure to no avail, since this is a red state and they’re both republicans. I’m at a loss.

So let’s pray like we did leading up to the election. 

That’s all I got. 

Ninakupenda 

Kupendana 

That "Socialistic" Phrase Most Hated Most Needed

 It is my fervent hope with the current administration, we can get something that will help the masses.

How many of us know people who are totally uninsured? No type of insurance in the least. Personally, I've known one person who went without insurance for ten years. They finally obtained insurance under the Affordable Care Act about seven years ago. I was always in prayer that no illness nor harm befell this individual. I also know someone, right now, whom by her own admittance hasn't been able to see a doctor in fifteen years. And she has Asthma and Diverticulosis. She eats next to nothing in order to not have flare ups. The Asthma meds she manages to keep at the ready and pays for through her meager income, which now has been reduced to unemployment insurance, due to the pandemic. Know of anyone who shares these situations? There's millions of uninsured Americans. In the midst of a pandemic, no less.

I, too, have availed myself of the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obama care, and let me tell you, nothing about it is affordable, if you've no income, a small one, self employed, or in my case, cannot afford to keep the insurance you had on your job. Once I retired,  I'd have to pay the full amount of insurance through my former job. So while I was working and had top shelf insurance, and only paid one tenth of the premium, it would have increased to over six hundred dollars per month! That's a lot. There is nothing affordable about it. Oh you can do what I did at first and take some janky insurance, and wind up getting nothing in return, no doctors in your area, and a gigantic deductible.

And why? Greed. Insurance Companies have lobbyist who shell out huge amounts to our elected officials to keep it off the table. President Obama had the right idea, but even though at the time, he, too, have all three branches, it was scaled back, watered down, because our elected officials couldn't stand the thought of losing those campaign dollars... ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE. Google it. More than a couple Democrats didn't want it. At All.

Advocates for Medicare for All have won the policy debate, a recent study from the Congressional Budget Office, shows again, that single payer saves money, controls costs, and covers everyone, including long term care. But again, it lacks the support and backing from those who would need to do so, including the 46th president. But this, right now, is prime time.    

Then also, the lies they spin in order to justify not enacting are on a plane with Trump lies. One is, you'll wait months to see a doctor. Not true, and I had two Canadians I met at a union conference tell me that is a lie. Another lie is that the doctors and facilities are second rate. Our neighbors to the north have universities in the country, and many doctors are trained abroad as well, and many were trained right here in the U.S.. But like what we just experienced in this country and still are, if you tell a lie long enough, you can gaslight a bunch of gullible people into believing it. 

But what galls me most is the compensation the CEO's receive. In 2017 Aetna's CEO earned $225,744 PER DAY! Anthem's $101,605 P
ER DAY! Cigna's $168,677 PER DAY, Humana's $131,493 PER DAY! AbbVie's $131,588 PER DAY! WHY???? WHY????

In Canada, and most countries, doctors bill to provincial health authorities, who set prices from the doctor costs down through the procedures. Canadians and other countries patients are left with NO BILLS ZERO COSTS. In Canada, for instance a hip replacement is around $650.00. In America, the average cost is $1634.00. According to my research,

by Kristen Campbell, for the publication, DR. BILL Canadian general practitioners earn pretty much what their American counterparts do. Specialists on the other hand, depending on the specialty, in honesty, can earn far more in America. However, she states that there is a lot of misrepresentation is salaries on this side of the border.

In conclusion, when is American going to do right by its citizenry. Health care should be an absolute right here, as it is in every developed country on the planet. Germany, France, UK, Italy all have it. We just can't seem to stop sucking from the teets of the insurance industry. During a pandemic, there is no better time than to allow all Americans the security of guaranteed healthcare. Families go bankrupt due to medical bills. Lose homes. It's outrageous. America has always been a trailblazer, except in this one area. People are forced to use the emergency room as their primary care physician, which pushes up the costs for everyone, because we all share in that.

Contact your Senators and Congresspersons and tell them to get on Medicare for All. Think of your fellow Americans. Tell them to do likewise.

Ninakupenda

Kupendana

      

The Real America On Full Display. Or We Ain’t Surprised.

After a failed attempted coup, I’m more than a little concerned about what lies ahead. While it’s true that he’s the only POTUS to be impeached not once, but twice, what does it really mean? His team is still firmly behind  him, which causes me more than a little angst. If the impeachment is not successful,

because the last really was not, he’ll be free to run again for the highest office in the land. He may not win  depending who he runs against , but there’s always that possibility. Which makes me, if I’m honest, again, more than a little concerned. Even after his Vice President was in mortal danger because of his boss, his veep met with him and will still NOT begin 25th amendment proceedings. How punk is that? Your boss did not even phone to see if you were safe. Because he did not care! We already know he didn’t give a whit about Pelosi. But his own veep? All because he wouldn’t go outside of his jobs parameters to keep his boss in office. Senators and Congressmen refused to vote to oust this seditionist. All they wanted to do was compare this insurrection  to last summer’s protests for Black Lives Matter. These two things could more different . You had people protesting for equal treatment under the law. To not arrest, judge and execute a sentence that many times included the death penalty. The other, more recent, were just to assuage a man baby who cannot accept the fact that he lost to someone he thought he was so much better than. It’s a bad look for America on the national stage and here at home has divided the nation not unlike the civil war. It’s so disgusting and disturbing the sycophants that keep going along to get along. I cannot understand why? He no longer can send out a snarky tweet. He’s lost his bullhorn. All he has left is Fox News and a few second rate sites(which should tread carefully lest the fate of Parler befall them). 

These are terrifying times in American history. It’s bad enough we’re still struggling with COVID-19, but now we have to contend with half the nation buying into the tales spun by the liar-in-chief. Q-Anon, 8chan and other sites are fueling this even as 45 has been silenced. Living in an alternative reality, their following is hell  bent on destroying the nation because their boy lost. 

Fear is insidious. Many times it comes from nowhere and suck the air out of the atmosphere. It’s crippling. Tiring. And extremely hard to shake. Especially when the airwaves are bombarding us 24/7. And the other side has their own fears, being indoctrinated by you know who. Personally I’m concerned unless they make this impeachment really take, in four years he’ll be back again, if he’s still breathing and we’ll have to go through this once again. I’m also concerned that his following will grow and outnumber sane people. He will not relent. Pence has accepted his loss. A few other Congressmen and Senators same. But until America is rid of him I fear there will never be any peace. 

I don’t wish him ill, believe it or not. The same God that made and loves me loves this degenerate as well. And his misguided minions. But where you at Paula, Franklin, et.al? But I want him out of the White House NEVER TO RETURN.  He is a sick man. And his followers who deny his sickness, to me, are even more ill. We all know his mental state. Narcissism.. Racism. On and on and on. But what is up with them except their desire to remain in charge, these white supremacists who cannot bear the thought of one day soon becoming the minority. They have more than a 400 head start on everyone, but they’re worried? 

The roughest cut of all is that members of Congress may have aided and abetted the insurgents. There’s two names that are constantly being floated as having given tours the day prior! Or disconnecting the panic buttons of some Representatives? Can you imagine? Setting up your fellow lawmakers? You hate them so much, and the constitution but love trump so much that you give aid to

enemies of the state. Doesn’t that make the Congressmen enemies of the state as well?  Somebody better tell me something! One more thing about messing with the members of Congress. One bears the name Cheney. Her dad is gangster from way back. He was a terror as veep under Bush 2, and is not someone to trifle with. Dude shot someone, IN THE FACE, and had absolutely no consequences or repercussions. It was said it was an accident, but the guy allegedly had on loud hunting gear. Remember that y’all? Gangster! Better leave his baby girl alone. 

Let me say this about all that. I and neither should you lose one minute of sleep because of this madness. God still sits high and looks low, and ultimately is still in control. Pray about it and leave it. You cannot do anything about it. I don’t even know what Joe and Kamala can do. It’s beyond us now. My advice? Take God with you everywhere. If you have a pistol and you live in areas that have these crazies, proud boys, militias, etc, like the cops say, better to be judge by 12 than carried by 6. And yes, it’s come to that.

And now all we hear if calls for unity. Arguments something like, 1)we have to put this behind us. (Can the families of the two dead policemen just put this behind them?)  2)This will only stoke his base further, and risk more insurgents attacking the inauguration and state capitals in all 50 states.  3) Joe Biden wants to bring unity to our country, here’s the place to start. Why does the onus for unity fall on the opposite side that had nothing to do with this? The are really trying to push this whole episode off on the Democrats. Even stating emphatically that is was not 45 supporters, but the ever elusive Antifa. Forget about unity. How about consequences for the mobs actions? How about some trials and sentencing? How about some, dare I say it accountability? Remember elections have consequences. 

During  in his inaugural, he spoke of American carnage.  Little did we know he’d be the one leading the charge. And now four years later  we’ve seen carnage we’ve not seen since 9/11. But this is home grown and all the more more chilling. It’s one thing to have foreign enemies that hate you and your very existence, when it’s your country men, it’s gut wrenching and infuriating. That a lie from a small man could have such enormous consequences. And we still have several days until 46 is sworn in. And although I am certain none or his followers are my readers or listeners, it still begs the question. Was your getting super conservatives on the court, lower taxes for businesses and the 1%, padding that 401K, ignoring the pandemic(the worst this country has seen in a hundred years), truly worth suffering all this turmoil, because he’s more concerned with an election and staying out of jail, and dividing the nation further really worth all this? Apparently, since his numbers remain high in his party. Trumplicans. Because they’re not true republicans. Guess we have that three party  system after all. Democrats, Republicans and Trumplicans. 

I never prayed about elections until this last one. I always felt whatever, just vote and hope for the best. Sometimes my guy won and sometimes he lost. But now I cannot stop praying. You cannot stop either. Because it’s going to take God on high to fix this mess.

May God bless the America we long for, both 45 and COVID-19 free and bring it to fruition soon. Before it’s destroyed beyond all recognition.

And the world is watching.

Ninakupenda

Kupendana 

Sedition, insurrection and a coup d’etat

It’s been wild ride the previous week. I had to gather my thoughts before I could deal with the reality that is Amerikkka today.

The soon to be former president whipped his loyal devotees in a hot frothy mess that spilled all over the capitol. The underlying seething hatred burst like a pinprick to a balloon. Hatred for norms and the establishment, his cult gulped down their recent dosage of his evil Kool-aid and took to the capitol and unleashed something the nation has not seen in two hundred years. It’s widely reported he watched the entire demonic episode remotely. And not just he, but family and supporters. Something akin to Nero. Fiddling while the capitol was under siege. According to reports, one law enforcement officer died from his injuries and four others succumbed as well. 

The numerous lies he told, the constant rallies re-enforcing his mendacious fantasies, the playing to his base, with government officials constantly kissing his ass has brought us to the juncture in history.

But the biggest lie he uttered was that he told them after giving them their marching orders, that he, himself would be walking to the capitol with his cult following. HE DID NOT!

I believe this was a coordinated attack. Very few law enforcement officers were on the premises. Surely

the officials there heard the call to arms from that lousy sack of shit known as Trump. He gave them ample time to prepare. They chose not to. And here we are. The decorated Lieutenant General Russel Honore holds this view as well. 

The sight we saw, men scaling the wall like dozens of Spidermen was indeed a troubling sight to witness. All in the name of stopping the electoral college from being officially counted by the federal government. Some cops retreating, and others still snapping selfies with the insurrectionists. One of the most ugly visions, and there are far too many to enumerate, was when the confederate flag was carried through the capitol, brazenly. One final frame that offended me tremendously was the capitol police flushing an insurgents eyes out after pepper spray.  You NEVER saw such images last summer when Black Lives Matter was protesting the deaths of Breonna, George and Ahmaud. Very few cops were  present during this mayhem although there was thousands of crazies there. But over the summer, the capitol police were out in great numbers for peaceful demonstrators. Even white talking heads noticed the stark difference between how the almost totally white insurrectionists received very little pushback but during the summer, they were cracking heads like ninety going west.  The stats for arrests for Wednesday’s debacle boggles the mind. Way less than 100, while BLM protesters were locked up by the hundreds. White privilege in Amerikkka never takes a day off. If  by virtue of your skin color, you’re Black, you did it and you’re guilty and if you’re unfortunate enough, you’ll meet your judge, jury and in many cases, your executioner right on the street. Or you’ll be left paralyzed with no recompense from the one who shot you. This is America, circa ‘20-‘21. But this latest turn. It’s shocking, appalling and disgusting beyond words. 

Really in retrospect, it’s only by grace of God that more people didn’t meet untimely demise, heeding the call to go”wild.” Men were spotted with zip ties, guns and Molotov cocktails. In this nations capitol no less.

The man is so enthralled by staying in power that he has cost of lives of several people. I watched an officers head being crushed in a door while a gang seemed to get off on it. Oh and Mike Pence better sleep with one eye open. There was a hangman’s noise right side the capitol! All this because he could not bear the thought of not winning an election against someone he derided so gleefully. And that someone having a woman of Black and Indian ancestry on the ticket to boot? But I truly believe the deepest cut of all was the fact that the nation’s first Black president secured a second term and he did not. His bruised ego  coupled with his narcissism could not handle it. So he’d rather Amerikkka be pitied by some and mocked by others, because his gravy train was coming close to the station. His whole attitude was burn baby burn. 

The only good to come of this is 45 being stripped of his preferred mode of communication, Twitter. Furthermore, the other big two, Facebook and Instagram have disconnected him until he is out of office, Twitter forever. That made me smile. 

Now what will he do to fill his days? You just know he’s not going to start working on behalf of you and the nation. Since he’s gone thumbs down on participating in the inaugural, perhaps he’ll head in back down to Florida with his carpetbagger heart. He’s not welcome in New York, and Leticia James has him firmly within her sights. 

I predict he’ll spend his last few days pardoning an excessive amount of criminals, not least of all his family and himself. At least I hope he is. Nancy and the left side want him gone or he’ll face yet another impeachment. But if that transpired, how will his cult handle this?. I’ve read that if he’s impeached again, he cannot run for office again.  The cult will again try another insurrection and if he enlists the military for martial law.....we’ll never be rid of him. The coup come to fruition.

All of this is worst case scenario. Maybe he’ll just tuck his tail and leave. Slink out in dark of night. Spare us the watching of  him boarding a plane, a final rant and be gone. It’s my prayer. Join me.

God bless America. The America that we long for, not the one we’ve got.

Ninakupenda 

Kupendana 

Seniors Finding Love In The Internet Age

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but right after Christmas there are tons of advertisements for dating sites. E-Harmony, Match and something called Hinge are really revving up to bring to singles something that many were lacking in the months prior. Companionship. Glossy ads with people of every ethnicity and lately sexual preference are bombarding the airwaves. All of this to aid in the quest to bring two lonely souls together. Sites are also shown for people who want a certain type, i.e., someone who shares their socio-economic standing, level of education, farm people, religious preference, age and specific ethnicities. All in the name of love. 

In many cases the journey to love comes with a price tag. Apparently, very few are free. If by chance you run across a free one, it’s said, they are, quite frankly strictly dedicated to “hook-ups.” Meeting for one specific end. And yes, that is what I am saying. 

Even Facebook has entered the fray. Its entry, “Dating,” is appealing to apparently a larger group as far as I can determine. First and foremost, it’s FREE. Secondly, it works just like the other ones, but allows you to incorporate your Facebook and Instagram page. And finally, this seems to be the preferred way of entering the dating scene digitally for the over 50 -60 crowd. 

Now there’s some people who feel that they shouldn’t take the bull  by the horn and allow nature to take its course, to meet someone more organically. For others still, their view is to wait on the Lord. I understand fully both rails of thought, however, when some are in  late 50s to mid 60s, waiting, to them becomes the enemy. And, might I add, it’s said “just because there’s snow on the roof, doesn’t mean there’s not fire in the furnace.” We are all human and relationship is natural. Who among singles doesn’t tire of the single life, at one time or another? A dinner/movie/ concert companion. A somebody’s shoulder to cry on companion. A let’s just kick it companion. Or let’s just do nothing together companion. Who doesn’t want that? It doesn’t matter the age. It’s the one thing we all have in common, whether you admit it or not. I might even venture to say that if you feel you don’t, you may be deluding yourself. People need people for roles that people of your crew cannot fulfill. Truthfully speaking, no one, absolutely NO ONE wants to grow old alone. Remember the old song, “ it takes two to make a thing go right, it takes two to make it outta sight?” That’s very true. Especially for single empty nesters. There’s conversation you want to have your grandchildren cannot be participant in. Even your boys. Or your girlfriends. Some one you wish to share a commonality with someone that you can't with your loved ones. Most of you know what I’m talking about.

Sadly, I have no answers. Who does? Every pot has a lid, one of my former coworkers used to say. The trouble is locating yours. I wish you great luck in your quest. Or better yet, may your lid be fast approaching. And mine as well, after chatting with Pearlie. Here's to lids!

To further explore this, on my podcast I will be discussing finding companionship &/or love via the internet. My guest is my old friend Pearlie Baker Sturdivant. Listen in. Jan 8th @Tonight at 6

Ninakupenda

Kupendana