A Federal Budget That Hurts

Here's my main question. What kind of people develop and present such a mean spirited and hateful budget to Congress and the American people? While Donald Trump holds meetings abroad, he has Mick Mulvaney present a federal budget that slashes programs for not just the poor, people with disabilities, and the elderly but also for rural communities, farmers and children.

I just can't comprehend the meanness, the lack of caring that is represented. This is from a campaign that presented themselves as Christian and pro-life. How can it be that people who are so pro-life don't care about children losing health insurance or people with disabilities dying from lack of supports? But there's more to it - small rural airports will lose out on aid they depend on in the transportation budget. Small towns and cities will lose community development block grants.  Students will lose needed educational support grants.

The military and wealthy Americans are the winners. The military-industrial complex never really left us but now it's certainly back in full swing. The biggest and the best Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, etc. if we need it or not. Military contracts loom on the horizon for industrial moguls as other aspects of the budget are slashed and cut. Tax cuts for the wealthy rule vs spreading the responsibility of cost to those who can certainly afford it.

Mulvaney, Trump's Budget Director, states that there won't be any of Obama's crazy climate money in this budget as ice caps melt at record speed. The harm to the environment as well as to fragile lives is breathtaking. It's all done with a half smile or a smirk.

This is the art of the deal being played out in front of us. Present the worst and negotiate from there and do it with a straight face. Do it while putting people down or presenting them as losers. Senators can talk about a budget that's dead on arrival but the reality is that some of these proposals are going to stick. There's so much to chose from. Why do we need the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or cancer research or NASA for that matter?

This is a budget that's based on 3% growth annually for the next ten years at a time when people are beginning to realize that we are near or at full employment. The numbers just don't add up. But once cuts or reductions are set in motion turning them around will be difficult. The worst of it is that many people won't react until they are directly impacted by this budget. That includes elected officials in state, county, town and village governments. By the time they react it will be too late. People themselves need to react. People need to get on the phone, email, Tweet, march, vote and resist all of this over and over.

Thoughts And Sympathy To The People Of Manchester England

Perhaps it's all that we can offer to the people of Manchester and all of Britain - sympathy, thoughts of hope, peace and comfort. Terror and the murder of innocents, especially children is a terrible thing to live with especially when people were sharing good times at a concert. Families and friends separated as an explosion takes place. Panic, fear and terror as youngsters run and parents search and wait for loved ones. In these instances all we can do is stand in solidarity with each other.

But terror and young people are universal to every nationality and every geographic region. We can't fail to realize that terror comes in many colors, in many names and is perpetrated by many who see themselves as righteous and holders of true beliefs. Terror doesn't discriminate against people in Britain, France, Ireland, the US, African Nations, Japan, Yemen, Afghanistan, China and so on. Terror doesn't discriminate relative to age, race or religion. Terror's methods include suicide bombers, drones, fighter planes, beheadings and prisons. Innocent children at a concert in Manchester or at a wedding in Yemen, or on a boat fleeing war are all innocent children. We have to begin to understand the causes of terrorism and take action against them.

We can't continue to let leaders of any group or country preach hate and build stereotypes against the evil west or the religions of the east. We all share in that responsibility. We can't fix terror by duplicating it. It just doesn't work.

But we have to offer whatever support we can to the victims and their families in Manchester today. People are suffering in their loss and are struggling to understand why they are today's targets of hate and misunderstanding. We offer what we can. We support you and send thoughts and love as well as hope for peace and understanding.

They're Committed To Killing Us

Before you decide that I should either be medicated or locked up, give me a minute to explain. I'm old enough to have actually hidden under a desk in school in the 50's to escape a nuclear attack. I'm old enough to remember people like Dorothy Day, Ammon Hennacy and others picketing and being arrested for refusing to go to public shelters in NYC during Civil Defense Drills. The whole point of their arrests was to let people know how useless and ineffective it would be to try and hide underground in subway stations during a nuclear attack. They were correct by the way. Just do a quick search of the internet on the results of a nuclear blast in your own geographic area and then contemplate your survival. Pax Christi also has an important piece on The Reality of Nuclear War. Take a minute to read it.

So here we are, years later, with foreign leaders and our generals and president talking about the actual use of nuclear weapons. Crazy, yes. Stupid, yes. Irresponsible, yes. All of those things and probably more. People have spent years educating the general pubic about the reality and the dangers of nuclear war. Some of us thought humanity had actually gotten it and understood how futile it was for people to even conceive of the use of nuclear weapons. But corporations, generals and politicians have really never changed. They are committed to killing us, and not enough of us realize it. Not enough of us are willing to call fools fools and stand up to the forces that would easily kill us.

No one should miss or downplay the most recent news that the government of South Korea is more interested in discussions with North Korea as opposed to joining the threats of war. There certainly are no easy answers relative to North Korea or other states who currently have or who are developing nuclear weapons, but threats of preemptive attacks aren't going to help. Worse yet, such talk and  actions could lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and eventually lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. Pointing out whose arsenal is bigger and which leader is crazier than the other does little in this nuclear age. Building more real weapons of mass destruction helps no one but the profiteers. You only need a finite number of nuclear warheads to destroy the world as we know it.

So speaking up and taking action is critical. We can't let despots at home or abroad lead us into catastrophic war. Remember, these people really are committed to killing us.

Where Oh Where Has The Gadfly Been?

Someone asked me the other day if the Gadfly was on a Sabbatical. Someone else inquired about the Gadfly's health. So I figure I owe my loyal readers and explanation of sorts. I'd like to say I'm half way through the great American novel but alas, no luck there. A Sabbatical probably isn't a bad description. Like many others, I'm a victim of Trump fatigue, Trump disgust, Trump shock, etc. I spend a good part of my day shaking my head, talking to myself and wondering how we got to where we are. Some days, after another stupid or shocking development, I find myself in a fetal position with a blanket over my head, just wanting the bad dream to end.

So that's part of it. There's also a frustration that there's so much to write about that I just can't keep up any more. The topics come and go. They repeat themselves and sadly, some tend to be pretty depressing. So, there's no lack of material. It's more a matter of time and thought and weariness.

In addition, I find myself mesmerized by the performance art of our current president, his administration, the controversies and the media coverage. Its a Ying and Yang type thing. I want to pull away but can't. Then eventually I get totally sick of both the topic and the non stop analysis and talk.

But life does go on. Friends and family are faced with challenges, illness and celebrations. My little acre of paradise on Seneca Lake requires upkeep and maintenance. My ukulele, my guitar and various percussion instruments stare at me waiting to be plucked or tapped to some rhythm in my head. My dog, Buddy, is facing some serious health challenges that have me going to the vet for counseling more then anything else. Buddy's got a paralysis of his larynx that only happens sporadically for now, but as I've been told it will get worse over time. If he gets overly excited, easy for a Brittany, he gets himself into a state where he can't breathe and gasps for air through a smaller passageway. Lacking an incident, he's in perfect health and fitness so it's hard to think about putting him down. Anyway that's another story.

I've also had my own health challenges since about February. Nothing too serious just the reality of years of smoking taking hold and having an impact. I got an awful cold during a mid winter trip and it seems to have exasperated my COPD. So there are times when Buddy and I kind of compete for breathing challenges. I've gone through a couple of medication changes that I never deal with very well. On top of that, like any good consumer, I read the warnings on all of these medications. There's a thrill for you. By the time your through reading, you think you might better just lie down and call the ambulance.

So, I've probably given you much more information then you need or want at this point. Suffice it to say that I will not let Trumpitis or Trumpolio keep me down forever. No promises on frequency though. You just never know how much effort it's going to take to keep up with the latest shock of the day or how much head shaking will be necessary before I can get a thought out.