South Africa’s claim of genocide is Israel’s claim of defending itself and taking revenge for what happened on October 7.

The high court at the U.N. is hearing a case positing that what the world is seeing in Gaza is genocide at the hands of Israel. Israel, of course, begs to differ, and its reasoning is not all unreasonable. No one has ever been able to crawl inside Israel’s head when it comes to how they behave. They live with deep scars and unimaginable hurt. A switch was long ago flipped when it came to how it reacted to animosity and aggression directed at them. They take no prisoners because they have been prisoners way too frequently.

The disconnect with all of that, the dissonance with regard to what’s currently happening in Gaza, is that, from what the world is seeing and hearing about the humanitarian crisis, the opinion could be formed that Israel needs to back off, needs to reevaluate its strategy and pay more attention to a distinction between civilians and Hamas fighters. It is currently easy for the rest of the world to believe that Israel is making little effort to honor that distinction.

What muddies the water is that Hamas makes it their vile practice to use civilians as human shields, to scurry around and plot strategy in tunnels underneath hospitals and other structures where non-combatants are liable to be present.

What is Israel to do? Sometimes, the claim is made, they just say, “Oh well… not much we can do except take them all out.” Israel claims otherwise, but the world is growing more skeptical that such care is being taken to minimize harm to innocents (there must be innocents, right?) who are just trying to stay alive and get through the day in one piece.

The U.S. is walking a steadily fraying tightrope. Without knowing what percentage of Israel’s military hardware is domestically produced, and without our (currently) unwavering support both politically and militarily, maybe Israel would be singing a different tune. Then again, maybe not.

Things are heating up in the Red Sea, like most everyone with a pulse expected they would.

I truly believe people are rooting for war to break out. People love a good war from the comfort of their living room. They love to see the U.S. kicking ass and having no pity on the Houthis, in this case, even though the subtext—the fear—is that this will all lead to a larger confrontation with, who knows, Iran, Russia, or China? Or all of the above?

Why do we need to be good at warmaking? It’s the saddest of commentaries on humanity.

DeSantis and Haley had a debate last night, and it’s looking like the best they could do was engage in a 5^th grade fight. In other words, the same old mishmash of unenlightening blather.

Anything of substance was overshadowed by the usual pushing and shoving and sniping and digs and quest for the memorable one-liner. They ignored or skated over the moderator’s questions because they came loaded for bear with their own talking points.

They were afraid to really go after Donald Trump, because they dared not offend the almighty Base. Imagine candidates for POTUS measuring their words in deference to another (disgraced) candidate’s supporters.

What does the Base actually believe, what do they really want, and who are these people? Because they control the narrative, apparently. They wield the levers, have some power. And they still think Donald Trump is the cat’s meow, some sort of savior.

Maybe that’s all we need to know.

And now for some cathartic rambling, with an apology for the f-bombs…

Looking for an excuse to shoot something, to flex military muscle and make trouble and inflict pain and suffering? You know– because pain and suffering are in such short supply around the world.

Fuck you, Xi. Fuck you, Vladimir. Fuck you, House Republicans and always Trumpers, and hawks everywhere, with dollar signs for eyes. Power-hungry, always burning hot. Paranoid Bible-thumpers preparing for the worst.

No wonder it’s easy for many to feel hopeless and helpless, and angry.

Many of us don’t want war. We don’t want proponents of limitless executive power. We don’t want whatever it is you’re selling. We’re smart enough to know that you don’t care about much beyond what works for you and your desire to preserve… something. We’ve had enough of your moldy, decrepit agendas.

Maybe we’d love to declare war on you, tear you down and wear you down and destroy everything that makes life bearable for you (is life bearable for you?), but then we’d be as depraved and cold-hearted as you.

What the hell are we doing here? You want to talk about destiny, and ownership? Whose destiny? What ownership? Leave Taiwan alone. Leave Ukraine alone. Leave women and gay people and immigrants alone, and come to terms with the reality that the world is a big place and there’s room for everybody. People hate being “owned,” and discounted.

And please keep your religious faith, or lack thereof, to yourself.

Most people don’t like being told what to do or how to think any more than you do, so deep-six your seemingly insatiable craving to force yourselves on people who really resent the fact that you think you know what’s best for them.

Shut the fuck up, basically. Leave the world alone, tend to your own houses, and learn how to cooperate, how to lead, though it’s probably too late for that. Cooperation is a dirty word for the Dynamic Duo from Hell. Right, Vlad? Right, Donald?

We can’t seem to win on the going green front.

PBS interviewed a scientist just last night who offered up unsettling opinions on where we stand with regard to the 1.5C threshold and his view that our environment may not be as forgiving or robust when it comes to handling the amount of greenhouse gases we continue to spew into the atmosphere.

With regularity, we read conflicting opinions on the benefits of electric vehicles—various voices proclaim that they are aren’t the solution but now the problem. One report claims wind and solar account for a significantly growing percentage of energy output in this country, while another badmouths and minimizes these efforts.

On closer inspection, one might discover that the badmouthing is being done by people working for or benefiting from their association with the fossil fuel industry, an industry which might claim it’s taking the hint and trying to diversify but in reality is still dragging its feet and reaping the benefits in a world reluctant to curb its thirst for oil and gas. It all depends on who’s authoring and funding a study.

Many can probably concede as legitimate the alarms a majority of scientists have been sounding for a very long time now, and that they aren’t out to lunch or playing Chicken Little. They’re looking at data and trends and trying to tell us that we need to act now, up our game, if we want to keep living on a planet that won’t drive its highest achieving life form—the one with the best brain– to extinction.

As I finally get around to reading Drift, I’m getting a much different picture of Ronald Reagan, among others. It reinforces the notion that voting for a former entertainer doesn’t necessarily get you much in the way of substance. I’ve never understood the hero worship and reverence when it comes to Reagan, who, in some ways, was just an actor who landed the biggest role of his life.

Trump’s lawyers are grasping at straws. They’re parading out the traditional, yet bogus arguments defending all that happened leading up to, and in the midst of the January 6 insurrection, and afterwards– that it was all within the purview of Presidential duties.

So, indifference is within this purview, as is affective instability, as is animosity toward his V.P. and anyone who doesn’t kiss the ring, as are laziness and immaturity and pre-meditation, as is giving aid and comfort to the insurrectionists he “loved,” as is a long record of wildly incendiary invective, i.e. he could stand in the middle of 5^th Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters, as is…

I know, some of the above list is probably not relevant to current arguments in the appellate hearing going on in D.C., but the smarmy reputation of the man precedes him, envelopes and emanates from him like the dirt cloud around Pig-Pen.

The “impending chaos” argument being trotted out by the Trump legal team doesn’t hold water either, since anyone with a semblance of ability to process information knows that such indiscretion and awful behavior as manifested in Trump is the rare exception, not the rule, when it comes to the character of people who have occupied the office of POTUS. If the childish tit-for-tat unfolds, then facts will have to hold the line, win the day, whenever time is wasted in such pursuits.

Trump’s argument has been sniffed out from miles away, anticipated, and hopefully awaits the heave-ho from the panel of judges.

Another case coming for the Supreme Court, though, with an exhausted nation wringing its hands.    

So Trump is under fire for claiming the Civil War could have been negotiated…

He really shouldn’t open his mouth at all. Nothing good ever comes out of it. He either pulls what he claims directly out of his ass, or simply gives voice to the sludge Stephen Miller and others keep feeding him, serving it up to his adoring minions or a waiting press who still hangs on his every word, even if they’re knowingly waiting for the next dumb thing he says.

Trump reminds me of an out-of-control air hose, flailing erratically, kicking up dust and debris and making life difficult for anyone trying to stop it.   

Most people know that whatever quest he’s conjured is way less than honorable, but we seem powerless to stop him. The Supreme Court could do us a favor and find in favor of the Colorado decision, even if that would/might lead to unrest and violence and feelings of disenfranchisement. It’s time to rip the Band-Aid off and stanch the constant flow of sewage, force the Republican Party to do some soul searching, find a sensible, rational voice. Or self-immolate.

Imagine what’s going on behind the scenes right now, in all three branches of government. There should be some interesting reads being published down the line.

The language leaves little room for interpretation, according to Rep. Raskin and other experts on MSNBC. Of course, they interview different experts on Fox and similar networks, people who predictably find different meaning in Article 3 of the 14^th Amendment or just throw spaghetti at the wall.

The Supreme Court is going to be called upon to make a ruling, beginning February 8, so until then and however long it takes for them to reach a decision, we will have to endure the back and forth, the round and round, the hyperbole, the points and counterpoints, along with breathless predictions of how the SCOTUS will actually vote.

It seems to me that the high court will decide in deference to Trump, mindful of the potential for violence and feelings of disenfranchisement among the hair-triggered and frazzled Trump faithful, and it will be left in the hands of voters in November.

Of course, they could also interpret things in a way that calls for removal of Trump from the ballot immediately—for the same reason he would be ineligible if he was 30 years old or born in Germany. He was an officer—the highest officer in the land—from 2017-2021, and decided he didn’t want to step down after he got demolished by 7 million votes in the 2020 election, not to mention a significant margin in the Electoral College.

There was no rigged election, no consideration for the sacrosanct nature of a peaceful transfer of power. Trump simply hates to lose. All the ensuing lawsuits and Mike Johnson’s amicus brief didn’t change a thing, and Trump doggedly clings to the narrative that he thinks best serves his ends.

The argument for letting the voters decide may sound good on the surface, but is really immaterial here, weak and distasteful, because Article 3 states a qualification, or disqualification, that’s clear enough for most any strict constructionist to see. Trump still would get to vote, but would be unable to run for office. Sounds like a win to me, regardless of what ends up happening with the four indictments and 91 felony counts– litigation that could linger in the court system for years, if Trump can keep getting away with his delay tactics.

Computers baffle me. I use one every day, but I have next to no understanding of why and how it does what it does. So when the Word screen all of a sudden goes white in the middle of a writing project, I react as if it’s the worst possible thing that could ever happen.

It’s an over-the-top and unwarranted reaction, but it happens because I am at a total loss for why the freaking laptop is behaving this way all of a sudden. It happens without warning, and it is rage-inducing. I have no idea how to fix it. I wait for the circle to stop spinning. I hit Control-Alt-Delete, I hit the on-off button until it executes a forced shut-down. I call 911 (no, I don’t), I reboot, I sit and stew and curse.

It’s the not knowing that frustrates me beyond words, except four-letter words.

There’s a wall that exists, though. So much of what we have at our disposal is stuff we take for granted without having a concept of the often complex inner workings. We consume things, we buy things only to use them, trusting that we’ll never have to troubleshoot. I want my laptop to work every time, to handle the tasks I demand of it, without worrying about breakdowns and glitches and sudden white screens and error messages and warnings that make no sense.

It’s the sudden onset and randomness that does me in. Did I hit the wrong key somehow? Did I inadvertently give it a command to stop functioning normally and go into hair-pulling mode? I guess I need to step back and learn to go into my own evaluation and assessment mode—to treat this as my own riddle to solve, as a “fun” challenge, as a journey of discovery…

Computers are logical, after all, so there must be a straightforward explanation. But in the moment, that’s not necessarily what I’m thinking.