Holes In The Eyes

IDK who this bust is, and I don’t care. 

What I do know is that there are some people (not all) in this world who are very bad people that are blind to truth and good. 

They see themselves not only first and foremost but only themselves–they are truly selfish pr*cks!

Next, they see their buddies from the “old boy’s network” where one dirty hand washes the other even dirtier hand. 

They see everyone else as pawns to get what they want–power, money, prestige–and in turn others are for their abuse and as a punching bag.

People born and bred on immediate and self-gratification at the expense of doing what’s right. 

Power used to intimidate, to harass, to bully, to step on, to shame, and to kick to the gutter. 

To them it’s just what it takes “to make it” in this world. And for them they don’t consider what they are giving up in the world to come.

It’s an ancient war of good over evil where bad people seem very strong indeed. 

But where we can’t cower from a fight for what we know in the end is right.

 

Where did their eyes go?  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Harassholes Y’all

Someone brought me a copy of this photo from their office. 

It says:

Stop Harassholes Y’all

Not bad. 

Harassment plus as*holes = Harassholes. 

Thank G-d, there are some very good people and managers out there.

But unfortunately not everyone is, and so there are also some real stinkin’ abusers too. 

These types of people should never be in power, since they misuse it!

They do not use the power they have been entrusted with to advance progress, and do good for the organization and its people, but rather they clumsily wield power for their own selfish, personal pleasures and vendettas–bullying and harassing others–and simply because they can.

Belittling others, making them feel stupid and worthless, and then going after them for whatever they want. 

Through intimidation, they keep others from talking…shhh! hush!

Emotional, verbal, and even physical abuse can be common. 

I remember one colleague telling me how their boss would literally throw things at them in their office while they had to sit there “taking it.”

Another has a boss that makes them do the stupidest, most trivial tasks–completely worthless stuff–just to prove a point…that they’re in charge. 

Marginalization, threats, bullying, abuse, harassment…it goes on and it shouldn’t!

In some cases, the harassholes are even protected from someone above.

Money, power, honor…more, more, more!

But G-d sees these people too and eventually cuts the bad ones down to size. 

My father used to say:

G-d does not let any tree grow into the heavens!

Eventually, I am pretty sure that harassholes end up getting some very BIG hemorrhoids or something from above that teaches them to use G-d’s gifts for the good, and to properly love, care, and empathize for other human beings–G-d’s children!

I never knew why hemorrhoids existed in this world, but there is a purpose to everything under the heavens. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Look Who’s Talking About Obstruction Of Justice

One of those are you kidding me moments…

Hillary is talking about other people’s obstruction of justice…

Wasn’t it her husband, Bill, who had a little talk with then U.S. Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, on the tarmac–with cameras and mics turned off–when the FBI was investigating her!

During the election, the crowds chanted “Lock her up!”

This isn’t about Democrat or Republican. 

Wherever you look, the politics seems so dirty and the corruption so deep. 

What happened to the soul of America and what we really stood for as a people and a nation? 

(Source Photo: Fox News)

Fighting Domestic Abuse

I came across these excellent graphics used to educate and prevent against domestic dominance and abuse.

The first wheel shows how “power and control” are used to instill fear and dominate domestic partners as well as in an overall pattern of relationships with physical and sexual violence:

– Intimidation

– Emotional Abuse

– Isolation

– Minimizing, Denying, and Blaming

– Using Children

– Male Privilege

– Economic Abuse

– Coercion and Threats

In contrast, the second wheel displays positive patterns of “equality” in relationships and nonviolence and are marked by the following attributes:

– Non-threatening behavior

– Respect

– Trust and Support

– Honesty and Accountability

– Responsible Parenting

– Shared Responsibility

– Economic Partnership

– Negotiation and Fairness

Have you ever noticed a pattern of domestic abuse behaviors that include the following?

– Constantly lecturing on political views the other person should hold.

– Keeping them away from their family and friends.

– Controlling the major life decisions.

– Hiding money and accounts.

– Demanding the partner stay home with the kids indefinitely.

– Using emotional withdrawal and/or passive aggressiveness to control.

– Requiring the other person to be available whenever they want.

Spouses and partners should be your best friend and not your servant or dog to kick when you get home.

Watch out for those who exhibit the bad behaviors and patterns of abuse and violence…and stay safe in good and healthy relationships! 😉

(Source Photo: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – Duluth Model)

Returning Our US Drone

So I love and respect China, and think they are one of the greatest nations of the world.

However, it is wrong that their military stole a US drone in international waters. 

Bullying and theft is a violation of the rule of law and a challenge to America on the international stage. 

So far, our leadership from behind approach has again done virtually nothing, except like a child, ask for it back (after they have already taken whatever they wanted from it). 

Moreover, this is not the first time China has captured our assets and people–less than 6 years ago, they collided into one of our EP-3E surveillance aircraft and captured, interrogated , and held the crew for 11 days!

And hence our planes and ships keep getting buzzed, our citizens captured and humiliated, our assets confiscated illegally, and our secret intellectual property unabashedly hacked and copied.

Moreover, we are seeing a resurgent Russia in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria; a militarized China expanding and weaponizing the South China Sea, a belligerent North Korea with ever further reaching ballistic nukes, and an Iran that violates their nuclear deal at will and now runs amuck with military operations from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and more. 

Oh, and surely let’s not forget ISIS and the global wave of Islamic terrorism that is unabated from Paris to Orlando. 

Despite our outspending the next leading 8 nations combined on the military, we continue to be the laughing stock internationally with world leaders calling our Presidents everything from the devil to an SOB. 

No one would dare do this with Putin’s Russia!

Why? Because they know the ridiculous price they would pay. 

We have long since passed the time when we should’ve stopped the whining, begging, and acting the victim, and instead start to do something real to defend ourselves and once again establish a no-nonsense deterrent, rather than a joke of red lines and hollow threats.

Our Commander-in-chief, instead of laying blame at the doorstep of Congress or world leaders doing the wrongdoing, should start to act his position. 

Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s a single phone call to whoever has our drone that says something like, “You have exactly 2 hours to return the drone unharmed or the ship that was responsible for stealing it will pay the consequences–and the clock starts ticking now!”

The funny-sad thing is that bullies don’t stop bullying until you stand up to them once and for all. 

A real Commander In Chief protects his nation and his people and doesn’t let them be victimized in a endless cycle of violence and shame…and he does it before something really bad can happen. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Did You Know You’re A Sinner

So walking down the street here yesterday, I ran into a sign and was handed a postcard, declaring:

“Sin Awareness Day”

Then I was confronted by a gentleman (or not so gentle) who proceeded to explain to me that I–and everyone else–are sinners!

Innocently, I ask, “Well, what have I done?”

The missionary answers with a stern face, “I’m sure you have lied!”

I said, “I don’t think so,” but then to play alone, I smirked and said, “Well what if I did?”

He answers and says, “You’ll need to repent!”

Thinking that Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) is right around the corner in a couple of weeks, I thought to myself, hey that’s right in line with where I’m going anyway…

The guy continues–of course–to try to enlist me to his “savior” that he believes can save us from all our sins. 

I challenged and said, “Well, how about Moses?”

He roars back, “Moses?!!!” and starts railing on about “convert, convert, convert.” 

Uh no, thank you, I am fine with the faith of my father, and grandfathers, and great grandfathers, etc. 

And I appreciate if we can avoid the forcible conversion parts of yesteryear from various empires, caliphates, crusades, and inquisitions, with no shortage of associated torture, executions, and expulsions. 

Then breaking this historical context and glancing at the back of the postcard that he handed out, I did like this one thing that it said:

“Sin is not primarily a measure of how bad you are, but a measure of how good you are not.”

Heck, why be negative about ourselves (we are not inherently bad); instead see that we not living up to our potential and try, always, to do better. 

In that I am definitely a believer!  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Mean WORDS Over Crooked DEEDS

Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New York Times Sunday Review that “Donald Trump is Making America Meaner.”

And yes, anything that a Presidential candidate does that is bigoted or racist is wrong and should be utterly condemned. 

But what is concerning about Kristof and the liberal media’s coverage of the election has been it’s wholly one-sided nature and what that means in terms of election rigging. 

In fact, CNN recently admitted on the air that “We [CNN] could not help her [Hillary] any more than we have…we’re the biggest ones promoting her campaign”

Similarly, in this case, Kristof hammers Trump’s “harsh rhetoric” for things like wanting to build a border wall for Homeland Security, having a big loose mouth (too often), and not distancing himself from toxic advisers or followers. 

But interestingly enough, Kristof is silent about Clinton’s numerous acts of (alleged) debauchery, corruption, and scandal and what that means in terms of that candidate’s meanness! 

Some examples:

– Getting child rapists off the hook and laughing about it is not mean. 

– Protecting husband Bill in the face of 17 allegations of rape and affairs is not mean. 

– Endangering national security with secret email servers and the habitual lies to cover it up with a rating of “Four Pinocchios” is not mean.

– (Soft) Intimidation of the Attorney General and telling the Director of the FBI that he is full of “bull” is not mean. 

– DNC Collusion to rig the election against Bernie Sanders is not mean. 

– Money laundering, “pay to play” and cronyism through the Clinton Foundation is not mean. 

– Enabling racial divisiveness in America and the killing of civilians and police officers is not mean. 

– Not protecting those Americans murdered in Benghazi and making up a phony story about it being because of a video that is not mean. 

– 47 people associated with the Clintons involved in murder-suicides that is not mean. 

– Allowing Chemical Weapons use against civilians in Syria and not enforcing the “red line” is not mean.

– Making dangerous nuke deals with Axis of Evil, Iran, the #1 state sponsor of terrorism and human rights abuses is not mean. 

– Sowing terrorism, war, refugees, and crises around the globe that is not mean. 

I suppose what is most amazing is that while Trump has sharp words with and for people, Hillary stands accused of actually doing many absolutely horrible (“mean”) deeds affecting all of America and much of the world. 

Interestingly, someone posted on Facebook yesterday the following:

“I’m voting for the candidate who got people killed, covered sexual assaults, and threatened national security, because the other one said mean things.”

Yes the liberal media are themselves so biased and mean by not holding wrongdoers like the Clintons accountable and not treating the candidates equally and the election in a fair and balanced manner…we should all be very concerned by this mind-numbing brainwashing and absolute treachery by those that are supposed to be looking out for us. 

Maybe Kristof and others in the liberal media need to look at themselves in the mirror at what meanness and corruption they are creating and how dangerous that is to America. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Deserving To Be President

I took this photo this morning of this guy in a shirt that says, “Good deeds eventually are rewarded.”

My question is whether the corollary is true, and are bad deeds eventually punished?

Watching this horrible election play out, this shirt helped me to figure out what was bothering me about the alleged crookedness of one or more candidates. 

And it’s not just that they seem to have done corrupt things, because there are a lot of bad people out there that have done really terrible things.

Rather no matter what horrible things the candidates do, they don’t seem to get punished for it, but rather they bask in more money, more fame, more honor, and now potentially the highest office of the land, the very President of the United States itself. 

Do people like this who are allegedly involved in the following types of activities deserve to win the election (and rule over almost 320 million Americans)?

• Rigs the election and commits voter fraud against Bernie Sanders

• Colludes and conspires with the DNC 

• Money launders millions, if not billions, of dollars through a “charitable” foundation

• Uses political office for personal benefit and conducts ethical violations with “pay to play” donors and cronyism between the public and private sectors

• Manipulates the media “echo chamber” 

• Gets off child rapists and laughs about it

• Keeps secret servers and destroys email

• Lies and commits perjury

• Recklessly handles and endangers national security

• Doesn’t enforce “red lines” against regimes using weapons of mass destruction

• Embraces and makes bogus deals with our sworn enemy, Iran (the #1 state sponsor of terrorism and human rights abuses worldwide)

• Leads from behind in world events in the face of dangerous regimes

• Wastes our nations blood and treasure in the premature retreat from Iraq

• Sows rapid violence, refugees, and crises worldwide

• Oversees the weakest U.S. economic recovery in history and a doubling our national debt to $20 trillion

• Takes this nation in the wrong direction with an 80% dissatisfaction rate

• Enables racial divisiveness and the shooting of police officers in the U.S. 

• Has dozens of opposition members show up in murder-suicides? 

If G-d ultimately rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, then should such candidates be promoted to the be the leader of the free world?

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Boardroom B.S.

So I had the opportunity to attend a board meeting recently and to see firsthand why most decisions are so flawed. 

– No Diversity–The board members were all from a single age group and color, and this clearly impacted their thought processes and decisions. For example, when others attending the meeting asked about updating some technology, the board members blankly felt that was not important even after almost a decade of the same thing. 

– Self-Interest–The board only entertained issues that they were interested in for themselves. For example, when someone stood up to talk about issues they didn’t feel were important to them, the board members tuned out, interrupted the speakers, actually scrowled at them, or just shut them down altogether. 

– Getting Personal–Board members frequently changed the discussion from substantive discussion to personal attacks. When one person questioned a recent decision, a board member started yelling about being called names (which never happened that I saw) or telling the speakers that they didn’t know what they were talking about. 

– Information Poor–Board members made decisions or committees recommended decisions first, and then put it up for discussion later (like at a subsequent meeting). Moreover, the board members referred to decisions being made over and over based on anecdotes of people telling them this, that, or the other thing (none of which could be verified) and not on facts or surveys of those impacted by the decisions. 

– Transparency Lacking–Board members made decisions without explanation for the reason or justification, and even without necessarily evaluating all the alternatives. When questioned, the board wasn’t able to identify costs of alternatives or even fully explore the other viable options. 

– Intimidating The Opposition–The board members actually seemed to challenge and turn to intimidation to stem alternate views from their own. Some people that had supported other voices in the room where turned or told that they hadn’t understood the issues properly to begin with. 

Despite some nice people personally and one or two that didn’t seem to go along with the shinanigans, overall it was a very disppointing show of decision-making, governance, communication, and leadership. 

No wonder people get turned off by the process, don’t participate, and lose confidence in those at the top. Maybe time for people to be leaders with heart and not megalomaniacs with gavels. 

(Source Photo: here with attribution to CJ Sorg)

Why Yell And Intimidate The Child?

So at the table next to us this morning at breakfast was a mean looking lady and a fidgety young child. 

The lady as we found out over the course of their dialogue was the child’s grandmother. 

And she wouldn’t stop berating this kid, maybe 5-years old. 

Grandmother: “Don’t you dare get up from the table until I’m done with my coffee, [and then this weird chilling] thank you.”

Child: Obviously looking to run around and have some fun, “But I just want to go.”

Grandmother:  Who has finished her breakfast and coffee and is just making a continuing point, “You’ll wait until I’m done, and I say we’re ready, [and again, the long controlling pause and then] thank you.”

Child: “I’m tired.”

Grandmother: “Then you’ll go upstairs, get back into bed and go to sleep, and no tv, just sleep–you will not move!”

Child: Looks up helplessly sad.

Grandmother: Now the truth starts to come out, “You know I don’t like the way you treat you mother. Your disrespectful! And that won’t go with me.”

Child: Appears to not really understand what she is saying and legs dangle anxiously off the chair, but clearly very afraid to get up.

Grandmother: “You’ll learn to be respectful to your mother. You will learn!”

Child: Head leaning sideways on table, says nothing. 

Grandmother: Makes child wait some more and more, and finally, “Now we can go.”

Child: Child picks head up and runs to take her hand. 

Grandmother: Sneers and smirks with her power over the child–she looks like a freakin’ witch. 

Whole scene was sort of heartbreaking. 

My wife and I look at each other, and shake our heads.

This was not teaching or loving, but something else and it wasn’t normal or nice. 

I say, “Perhaps, when a child is abused this way–day after day, year after year–this is why they grow up and then do horrible and hateful things.”

It’s amazing how adults take out their issues on children–and they think it’s legit–but deep down you can see it really isn’t–and the children and society pays for the sins of the adults. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)