count DOWN to an UPHILL battle

   Wow!  There's been so much angst and controversy over this whole election and switchover process.
I'm about ready to just give up trying to keep up with hearings and tweets!  That is afterall what the Teapublicans want.  They want smoothe sailing to steal the people's future and hand it over to their fat cat overlords.  No objections at all would be best, easiest at least.
    I know the Fox junkies are all about making out like the poor abused billionaires are so maligned.
Fine - go ahead. They are misused.  They live in abject misery from all those pesky servants and multiple bits of silver or gold flatwear on the dinner table.  How's a body supposed to enjoy a five course meal in peace anyway?  And to add insult to injury, they aren't at the beck and call of an employer or bank or city agency demanding they conform to what the masses are being required to do.  They don't get to pay their fair share of taxes and they have to spend millions of dollars (an annoying pittance) in lobbyist expenses to buy off Congress - - - all just so they can get their own way.
   No wonder they have to have the two trillion dollar Social Security fund mostly shut off from the people who have paid in to and completely funded it.  No wonder they need their Congressional stooges to arrange for 'cuts in benefits'.  They desperately need that money to go in to their coffers so they can continue the lifestyle to which they are accustomed.  And not unlike so many of their other assets, they need to have the population at large pay with their last dollar and home and health - for the wealthy's advantages.
   So we'll continue with this insanity of inversion:
A "President" who doesn't respect the Presidency,  an Attorney General who doesn't believe in upholding the laws of the land,  an Education Secretary who doesn't believe in equally available education for all children,  an Energy Department Secretary who doesn't want the job any longer than it takes to get rid of the department he has been assigned,  a Labor Secretary who doesn't believe in rights of laborers, Secretary of State who is actually in league with - an outright toady of Russia (like the soon-to-be-President  - of the U.S.A.) ...and on and on.
    I keep wondering if it is real.  I wonder if as a Russian satellite we'll at least get decent healthcare?
    The Teapublicans have had seven years to figure out a better alternative to the ACA, but they haven't bothered.  I guess they don't care because they've got their Socialized Medicine.  They are taken care of - so why bother about the rest of us?
    It turns my stomach to hear all those hypocrites spewing the phrase "American People" all the time, as if the saying of that "holy of holies" makes the rest of their crap impervious to any sort of scrutiny. We're all supposed to just back off and bow down because some politician used "the American people" in their snake oil sales pitch.
    That isn't actually the saddest part.
    There are so many gullible people who swallow that - hook, line, and sinker.

    On to January 20th,   " Inoculation Day " -  yes, you read it right...the day bugs really start their agitated crawling, trying to hang on even though they are responsible for killing the host.
We can only hope the injection illustrates to the masses that it IS the Teapublican's fault and they need to be flushed if the host ( our country ) is to survive.

Hang on. Here we go January 2017

It will be interesting to keep a running log of the Washington goings on.
Since for the Office of President, the American public has NOT elected a chronically lying self-admitted sexual predator whose announcements and edicts are often restricted to 140 characters, it will be convenient to have much of the D.C. business encapsulated in a list form.
   He will never release his foreign commitment laden tax returns.
   Mexico is going to pay for his wall.
   He knows more than U.S. generals.
   He has seen "thousands and thousands of people cheering" the Trade Center collapse.
   He has already made lots of money for his brand as President elect.
           ...and on and on...
   He acts as if he is big buddies with the Russian dictator.  Normally friendship is good. Some of the media and certain members of government are talking how awful are his attitudes regarding sanctions for the reporting of  foreign election hacking. Well, these critics might be a little overwrought in describing his response to the President's actions.  Afterall, if things work out President-elect's way, maybe we'll become a satellite and then will all be one big happy family with Russia!
    Wow!   What changes a few decades make!

After the last three U.S. Congress' being the least productive in history, with the 114th working the fewest days ever;  110 days. (Although Marco Rubio did sponsor an ACA sabotage in 2015, removing the 'risk corridors' provision - insuring that Obama would be blamed for insurance companies raising premiums a lot in 2016.)  Good job 'little Marco'. 

Excitedly anticipating the departure of the pointed object of their do-nothingness (Obama), Congress is getting ramped up to do a 180⁰.

     January 2, 2017  House GOP in secret voted to eliminate the Independent Ethics Office.   This office was installed to report ethics problems with members and staffers, but that function (or lack thereof) would be handled going forward by Congress itself.  They would police themselves. This will exclude any reporting or exposure to the American public of any Ethics problems in Congress.
What could be wrong with that?

     January 3, 2017  the new Congress is due to be sworn in.  What is known to be on tomorrow's to-do list:
- Repeal ACA
- Cut Medicaid
- Eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Repeal the Dodd-Frank effort at Wall St. corrective measures
- Privatize the V.A.
- Create more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations
Phew! busy busy busy...must be the "Change" we've heard about.

   January 5, 2017  the past few days have been busy on the hill.  Planned Parenthood is defunded.  Obamacare is at the head of the line to the chopping block. Schumer's comment is good, "they (Teapublicans) are like the dog who caught the bus".  They don't know what to do with it now since they have no idea for a replacement and don't know what to do with those 30,000,000 people who have health insurance under Obamacare.
    And gotta love that Mitch McConnell who finds it astounding that the Dems would entertain the idea that anyone would think of not filling the empty Supreme Court slot.  So you've been doing what again Mr. Senate leader for the past 10+ months since Scalia's death?  Oh yeah...nothing.
   Teapublicans have put the Cabinet nominees' hearings on the docket for next week.  There are six of them I think, all to be heard during a two day window.  This technique is like trying to get a four year college degree in one year.  Just getting to all the classes is insane, much less digesting any of the content therein.  Jeff Sessions seems to be the most alarming (worse than Exxon's Tillerson?!).  Teapublican chair in the matter, Chuck Grassley (who finds it challenging to stay awake in regular session),  has determined the Dems can have no more than four witnesses. Maybe he's afraid he'll fall asleep if there are any more than that.  Creating a well-rounded picture of an entire life of bigoted speech and action will be challenging with only four presenters.  A lifelong Southern racist, bubbling over with hate speech and actions doesn't really seem to be appropriate for the nation's chief law enforcement position.

    It could all be such a nice change. The Teapublican Congress afterall has been sworn to do nothing for the past six years.  All this flurry of activity gives one pause, wondering if their working legs remember how to walk after the atrophy of intentional sabotage of do-nothing.
    I've been working for several decades.  I can think of no occupation where I could have held my position if I'd done my job the way they have been doing theirs.  But then I never had a job where I only had to show up 110 days out of the year,  get full socialized medical coverage, AND get big bonuses from constantly orbiting corporate toadies. 

Should Christians deny Socialists?

     I keep hearing about how terrible is the concept of Socialism.  I ask "why".  Responses range from nervous laughter to disbelief that the question was asked (with no actual lucid answer).  In adherence to the principles of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid), I resorted to looking in the Webster's dictionary at my desk:
  

Social: adj 1. Living in communities or groups. 2. Of or relating to the life and interrelationships of human beings in society. 3. Marked by friendly companionship with others.

Socialism: n. A social system or theory in which the producers possess political power and the means of producing and distributing goods.   (author’s addition – the above “producers” are the people who produce, who work, who make the products – not the ones who sit in high places whose major contribution to today's society is to rake in the monetary profits made from the toils of the producers who today do not benefit from the monetary rewards of their labors.)

Humans or Humanity: n 1. Human beings as a group: humankind. 2. The quality, state, or fact of being human. 3. The quality of being humane ie. Kindness.

Christianity :n  The religion founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

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      What are those “teachings of Jesus Christ”?    What I gleaned from my Christian education was pretty straightforward:

‘Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother, you do unto me’.

‘You are your brother’s keeper’.

‘When you gave food to the hungry, you fed me.  When you clothed the naked, you clothed me,  etc.’

       In a nutshell, Christ’s teachings would have us treat others the way we would like to be treated – or a common version of the golden rule.

      As human beings, we are social creatures.  We crave companionship, friendship, and love.  We need these things as well as basic elements of physical survival, food, shelter, and clothing.  Sometimes we have difficulties.  There are obstacles that can surprise the most organized and prepared of any of us.   The hardships of these obstacles can be further compounded when the non-producers of society do all the taking of resources.  The embodiment of humanity in its kindness and the strength and support of the society, are decimated in the shadow of avarice and selfish hoarding of a few.

     And yet the so many self proclaimed Christians I hear, decry as “evil Socialist” any systems of assistance to those experiencing need.  I suspect they have succumbed to the self serving propaganda spread by the super-rich who produce nothing and often contribute nothing worthwhile to the human condition and spirit.

     I maintain that the closest to the message and intention of Christ that we have, is the human system of Socialism.   The wealthy can still maintain an elevated position in the hierarchy, but everyone willing and able to work can make enough to support their families.  And those who have found themselves in need of assistance can count on the human family to help them.

     There are plenty of resources out there in financial facilities right now to allow all of humanity to live more humanely.   But the control and ownership is all at the top of the heap. Many resources have been outright stolen from the population and earth at large with no accountability or repercussions for the theft.  It is the greedy and their perversely righteous dupes, whose gullibility promotes the skewing of the resources that once were, and could again be available to all.

    What Would Jesus Do?  (WWJD)…  In today’s environment he might avoid Christianity and the twisted self-centered agenda so many have made of it .  He might instead be a Socialist.