LOGIC for the win?

I don't pretend to like trump...I'm not sure I even could if someone asked me to. I can't lie that well and my acting days were all in high school with prewritten scripts. There are just some people I come across in life that I have no desire to ever deal with again- not even by what was said or done, but more instinctual based on the intent of the other person.

trump may be a good guy in general; good family guy, good to the kids & wife. I don't know him personally and those who do say he is, but closeness usually leads to some bias. I've only seen the slimy used car salesman persona and the doomsday evangelistic narcissist that he's portrayed on the campaign trail and now in the office

However..like or hate..its needed to remove all feelings from the equation and look at what's going on logically.

We pissed off China almost immediately. Even though the drone was only a scientific, unmanned glider we were right on the boarder of China's territory. What would our navy do if the Chinese fleet came near us and began dropping things in the water? trump's immediate accusation of theft, then claiming the glider was armed only made the bad situation worse.

Leaving aside the fact that trump refuses to distance himself from his name brand companies-he convinced the DOJ that hiring his son-in-law was not an act of nepotism. he also won't give up the information allowing the American people to see just how much those name brand companies are bringing to his family (especially with the free publicity) and to verify things said during the campaigns about charities and donations.

Its not a lie to look and see that cabinet picks in the past were subjected to being vetted to ethics reviews and background checks at the insistence of all involved to ensure we were not getting someone unacceptable. That we are getting someone knowledgeable and won't crumble under the 24/7 strain of the public eye, that won't flinch at every single disagreement or lose focus because a plan was derailed. Recently, tho, the new house made all sorts of arguments (look it up..these are all verifiable facts..both past & present about ethics/background checks) for just passing people thru quickly without waiting for these checks. It is not the 'fault' of the prior administration or the democrats that these checks are being done or requested.

The Mexico border has been patrolled since early 1920's (look it  up). Granted..nothing fancy.  President after president has dealt with Mexico since then without feeling the panic that obviously is being felt now. But now trump is obviously seeing an enemy so formidable, yet malleable to his bullying.  Mexico is not part of America. An American President has no right to say what Mexico does or doesn't do. Therefore, trump can not say they will pay for an unwanted wall. That leaves the cost with the American people. It also can possibly lead to souring any diplomatic feelings w/ Mexico (if we care as a nation..I personally think that's important, but.. to each their own)

Now, there's an obvious war on Muslims. The 9/11 attackers came mostly from the territories that are not included in the foreign ban, so I question whether this was done with American safety in mind. Those exempt countries are also the countries containing trump companies. I can't see that as a coincidence. I'd hate to think its a coincidence that the terrorists came from the same countries as trump companies-but I'm not really sure how long the companies have been there.. but, but still.

I know he tried to claim this wasn't again Muslims, but he's always been calling out for a Muslim registry. Its obvious he's obsessed with separating out that group from any other and I believe he even went so far as to tweet that the acting AG must obviously be a Muslim just because she felt his ban was unlawful. (I don't know if she Muslim or not..but a judge doing her duty should not be accused of letting religion or politics sway her reading of the law or be punished if disagreeing with another branch of government).

I tried to set out facts as straight forward as possible but its always difficult to record anything without atleast some personal bias leaking thru. With the MS, I know once these stories are out of the headlines, I'll have trouble remembering some of them and I want to be able to.



update 2/1
on reflection--I might not have stayed quite as uncaring as I should have while recording simple facts. I tried to preface statements that were my thoughts as such and note that they weren't necessarily the beliefs of everyone or what was actually occurring or what was said. But it obvious I would never be able to write something like an encyclopedic entry; unless it was ancient history or something (which I find completely boring =D )

Waiting for the punchline

The US has been brought low by inner strife and dissent at the highest levels of government. Like any group, or family those at the top are meant to be the stable guiding light for those they lead. A moral compass and a strong example. Without the strong leadership, everything begins to crumbles. Its the fall of every good society to not have strong leaders making important decisions and being the example for all those who follow

Today, we watched a man take charge of America who is not a strong ethical example for our children. Instead of abiding by laws set forth by our constitution, he would rather say they don't apply to the President, because he's the President.

The President should be the epitome of America! NOT the exception! 

Like a thin skinned bully, he attacks at any sign of contention. He'll even continue to harangue others as if holding a grudge. People who are so easily wounded do not make for great congressmen--especially not Presidents. The world is not fair, and continually attacking people on Twitter is not the best use of a President time.

The President should be someone who the American people can look at and say is ethical, has the well-being of all in mind regardless of race/age/sex/preferences/religion/etc. One who is willing to work with the people--not lash out against one party or another. One who will put the people above him/her-self. One who is willing to lead by example, not make excuses and find reasons for indifference.

There is already enough corruption in congress--trump got in by promising to deal with it..We've only introduced another element to the cloudy muck that is our capitol by handing over the keys to someone who feels is above the law.

lost causes

Our country has been duped into electing a pathological liar. Every situation that comes up, suddenly trump knows more about (insert specialty here) than a trained professional. Any basic Psych 101 student should recognize the presence of at least narcissism, if not also a breach from reality and probably more (its been awhile since school). He also denies comments and situations he's said or done in the past; even if there is physical proof.

I'm not sure if its worse that he's doing this purposefully and people are too stupid to see it. Or if he is so damaged and deranged that he believes the words that he utters regardless of reality. Money will also insulate people from the worst reality has to offer-- the hunger, sickness, cold, etc. It will also put a layer between the person and those filthy streets the  BMWs and Porches drive down, & the sidewalks the common person uses, & the streets or benches a homeless person call 'bed' for the night. Filling his Washington with the richest America has will do nothing to help those they have nothing in common with.

Who needs sleep? (well you're never gonna get it) ..BNL

...so I'm not really as bad as the guy who's been awake since the second World War, but some days I certainly feel like it. The worst part is that I actually DO sleep. Hell, sometimes I even take naps and I end up waking feeling the same or little better than when I first closed my eyes.

IDK--I suppose I shouldn't be this surprised or upset about it. When I was first diagnosed in early 2000's, the dr told me he saw the MS clearly, he was pretty positive on the chronic fatigue, and he wouldn't be surprised if I had a third or more neuro/musculature type problem but he wasn't able to say what. In the past few yrs the cognition has become a greater and greater problem for me, along with the fatigue. Cognition and memory issues have always been where the MS have hit me the worst the few times my course of DMDs needed to be switched or various illnesses caused more problems than anticipated.

The recent year, I've had a few episodes where simply lifting my hand/arm off the bed in the morning is a draining effort.  I may be like that in the morning and a few hours later I'll have a little more energy. or I'll be the same all day. My GP ran some tests and discovered my Epstein-Barr levels were incredibly high and all pointed to chronic since it had been going on for almost 2 months.

I vaguely remember the few days I stayed home sick w/ mono in the 8th grade. I was kinda tired, had a sore throat, and felt blah. Now, as an adult, it just down right sucks! I'll have a day, or even only a partial day when I feel alright and can play with the dog or something. Then I'll be back to staring off at the distance from the couch or at the back of my eyelids.

Joys & frustrations of smart animals =)

I'm sure every pet parent will talk about how their's is the smartest of the breed, a quick learner, etc. And I've boasted the same thing many times. But I have to admit that sometimes having a smart dog can be a pain in the @$$.

Don't get me wrong, I'd never change the fact I chose to adopt her and we were warned she was a 'difficult' breed to raise. I just didn't realize 'difficult' meant basically dealing with a 2 yr old in a dog's body. If Ebony is upset, she'll rip tissues or cardboard into little piles. Usually its when we leave her alone so she'll greet us at the door with ears down and tail tucked, knowing she'd done something wrong. When she's waiting for food or a treat, she'll thump the ground like a kid thumping the highchair table.

She has a bunch of rawhide bones that we keep in a basket for her to pick thru. She'll grab one, decide no, drop it, grab another, drop it, etc. If I try to help, she'll either ignore me or lightly grab a hold and drop it somewhere else or even throw her head and toss it. She's very picky sometimes (usually). Its great that she's able to get the rawhides herself because we use to keep them all in the pantry and switch them out when she got tired of one bone or the other. Now we just occasionally have to pick up after her. I've tried teaching her to put them away, but her preference is out..so its difficult to make her understand the need. =/

Matt accuses me of spoiling her. And I'm guilty, I know..a little. We're together nearly all the time so I've learned most of her habits and she's learned a lot of mine..even to the point where she knows that I can't hear her scratching at the door most times (w/out my hearing aides), so she'll get my attention before going to the door.

Ebony is independent and curious. We've encouraged that her whole life. If she puts her nose up to investigate something, as long as its not directly food, we hold it down for her to sniff..boxes, plastic, etc, she usually just sniffs and walks away. Whenever we bring something into the house we'll let her get a good look and a sniff at it. She might not know what things are, but we haven't had problems with her randomly chewing on everything around her whether its edible or not. She also 'build' little nests and forts for herself with blankets and pillows. As long as the items are loose enough and not restrained, she will dig, nose, pull until she has them just right.

However (like recently) especially when I'm feeling off, upset, or sick she will often cuddle or lay with her paws touching my leg if my lap isn't available..basically staying in touch. She's atleast empathetic enough to know when I need a canine friend to sit with me.

Unfortunately when I try to wrap up in a blanket, she usually decides that's the blanket she wants next and begins a tug-o-war game with me.

Limitations?

This past weekend was the Chupacabracon convention..a game con here in Austin only a few minutes from the house-similar to Origins or Gencon but on a much smaller scale. Of course, I scheduled to attend a few of the games & seminars, each lasting a few hours. The convention was much smaller than others I've attended (I've been to Origins a time or two several years ago) but this venue was incredibly smaller than the space that holds all those who travel for other conventions.

Even tho there were fewer people there this weekend, the noise level sounded several times louder. Its possible it may have been the hearing aides that I had this year, but even Matt said the lower ceiling and closer walls kept a lot of the sound in so I wasn't imagining things. However, the press of noise added to the stress of so many bodies (I'm definitely an introvert on the personality scale) and I'm not use to being out so late any more and getting up super early anymore. Plus I haven't been sleeping well lately.

Come today, the third day, I had scheduled even more games. But I realized my enthusiasm had been a little bigger (again) than my actual endurance. I've done it several times in the past. Usually I'll start into something and end up forcing myself thru and causing more problems for myself in the long run. This time I decided to cancel before the fact and not cause myself undo stress. Instead, get needed sleep, relaxation, etc.

I get that I can't stay up til all hours of the night any more and get up at 'un-godly early' hours of the morning to socialize or do whatever. Not only do I have a disease, I'm also getting older (not "old" =D), but learning to accept the things that I have difficulties with..is difficult..




I kinda like pushing those limitations.....

Its the little things

Tonight, hubby & I went out to the movies (Capt. Am., Civil War..very good!) since socks/tennis shoes don't really go w/ skirts & 90+ temps,it was too hot for jeans (I'm lacking shorts at the moment..shopping trip =D ) I had to reach for some old sandals. This was a spur of the moment idea..usually I just suck it up and go w/ the jeans. Don't get me wrong..I loved these sandals..I wore them everywhere. That's why I kept them after I started having balance issues and had to drop to strict flats. They have about an inch rise..not quite a heel, more like a wedge. I was never good at wearing actual heels or flip-flops and this strappy sandal was enough of a dress casual that I could wear them w/ anything. Maybe 5 yrs ago my balance became so bad that even standing up in the sandals became almost impossible, and trying to take a step would turn an ankle. Tennis shoes were a little better..barefoot was the best. but of course, I can't go everywhere barefoot so barefoot shoes really helped. Yoga classes. & the sight of the sandals sitting in my closet. Tonight, when I tried on the sandals..I knew it might not work, I was risking injury (I had my hand right above something to grip..not totally stupid) and I might be disappointed. I also tried them on well before we had to leave. That way any problems would happen at home. Needless to say..the night went off w/out a hitch and I felt as good in the sandals as I ever did.