From the Second Decade to the Third Decade of the Second Millennium C.E.

We are ending a year and starting a year with the transfer of all unresolved problems.  I truly do hope that everyone takes time to be happy and expectant about the potential of a New Year to support personal progress.  And to that end I hope we will all continue to make time to better understand the unresolved political dilemmas at all levels of government - from on the block to international - which need our clarity of understanding.  Resolving political issues and making personal progress are not mutually exclusive.  They are far more intertwined than many seem to realize.

So I am posting these four videos to remind and encourage folks of the need to better understand and clarify opinions about the Israel-Palestine issues.  Our U.S. government policies are way off base about them, so too is main stream media content.  Very clearly both ignore the facts of history and instead choose to parrot and support what has become twisted truth propaganda, that has spiraled our nation into unending armed conflict in a region our nation has no business trying to manage for itself or at the behest of any other nation.  Is not the current impeachment dilemma about the undue influence of other nations in our own nation's political processes?  Yet one of the most long-term damaging of outside dictates from another nation remains unspoken - avoided like the elephant in the living room, the bull in the china-closet - making a caricatured clichés of our nation in the process.
 
I have chosen three videos of civilized outrage from 2011 which actual teach peaceful resistance - being outraged peaceful resistance, personified; plus one video of an interview from two years ago. 

Do not bother imagining I am not in my own lane. This interest and the knowledge I have gained from my research IS my lane - and your lane too -  precisely because of the "moral support" for immoral illegal crimes my nation provides, and the financial support it provides for the wrong reasons it states.  It should not be providing support of criminal violations of international law - all at unjust cost to we, the people, and those who are harmed because of our nation's  unholy support.  It is everyone's lane in a convey lead by an illegally occupied people.  And if you aren't driving too then it is past time to decide if you are on the bus or off the bus.

Note that the dates of the first three are 2011 and the fourth is 2016.  It is unfortunate, due to lack of needed progress, that the content of all four remains very current. 

The Content

Norman Finkelstein, as a consummate professor of history,  has perfected his method of clearly and honestly conveying the crux of every issue he touches on with his characteristic brevity, humility, and wit - though neither of the videos here provide much opportunity for wit.

Norman Finkelstein refusing to entertain nonsensical propaganda of a questioner.

"Rafeef Ziadah is a Canadian-Palestinian spoken word artist and activist. Her debut CD Hadeel is dedicated to Palestinian youth, who still fly kites in the face of F16 bombers, who still remember the names of their villages in Palestine and still hear the sound of Hadeel (cooing of doves) over Gaza."

Rafeef Ziadah - 'We teach life, sir'

Rafeef Ziadah - 'Shades of anger'

And last, from 2016, Norman Finkelstein being interviewed by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!  The “Big Lie” About Gaza is That the Palestinians Have Been the Aggressors

Still Impeachment Proceedings . . .

I am listening to the closing arguments of the last hearing before the vote on impeachment - or "roman circus"* proceedings as it has become to some of us.

Anyone putting on the news has no choice, anyway, since all other news is not being reported. I consider the "news blackout" to be threatening actually. However, the most immediate problem is that all three of the o.t.a. channels I receive - ABC, NBC, CBS - include a very high pitched squeal that could drive anyone crazy, or at least cause an insufferable headache.

So, I have had to turn off the t.v. and am watching CNN on the computer - without the high pitched squeal - at least without it being so evident. Perhaps it is at a higher frequency on the computer - and/or perhaps somewhat neutralized by other EMF interference of which there is way too much surrounding my immediate environment.

Whatever else is being discussed, I have to doubt the suitability of those serving in our legislative branch if they are not all able to be on the same sheet of music in their understanding of what actually constitutes "a point of order".  Those of us who are not familiar with the rules associated with procedure, particularly "point of order" in the House during an impeachment hearing (which likely constitutes most of the public), are being asked to "believe" one or the other when it comes to who is "correct" about point of order.  Clearly, point of order requests can be valid, and/or they can be intended to be delays and rabble rousing interference with the proceedings.  Both intentions result in the proceedings having a "roman circus" atmosphere.

As I put on the t.v. as Jerry Nadler was speaking.  I thought Nadler's statement about the "common ground" facts that all agree on, was on point.  However, part of what he said set-up what the opposition to impeachment is wanting to focus on as double standard hypocrisy of the impeachment -  trying to use it as an opportunity to try to present credible excuses for President Trumps words and actions that are considered to be violating behavior from a  president - by pointing out corruption of the Democratic party (i.e. made so public during the most recent presidential election). 

The Judiciary person who responded after what appeared to be Nadler's opening statement was true to what has become the bad habit defamation nature and tactic used by the far-left when marginalizing individuals with the intent of preventing their participation in the subject being discussed.  He immediately started attacking the impeachment committee, and leveling many of the accusations onto it that have been leveled at the President as part of the need for impeachment.  In that performance was  an example of what is known as a "Southern Republican" - which is as much of an oxymoron caricature as any I have ever witnessed.

Point is that it is not the impeachment committee which is on trial.  And undermining professional proper impeachment procedures, in an effort to "get-back" at the democratic party for its  corruption in the most recent presidential election, is the wrong time and place for such an effort.  Yes, absolutely I am in favor of putting individuals in the democratic party on trial for that corruption - but an impeachment hearing is not the time and place to discuss the need to do so.

Fact is the Republican party is no less corrupt than the democratic party publicly demonstrated it is.  It has traditionally been less rambunctious in its dishonest clever efforts to be corrupt.  And of course the corruption of the Republican party during the Nixon era was also spoken of, which still is not the time and place for the two parties to be pointing the finger of corruption at one another - corruption for which both are guilty and need to be accountable in appropriate time and place.

Do I think President Trump has done something right?  The fact is that all presidents are remembered for what they have done wrong.   And impeachment proceedings are also not the time and place for an accounting of what Trump is considered to have done correctly, because impeachment is about what he is considered to have done wrong.  Do I think President Trump did something wrong?  Yes, I think he has done a lot of things wrong, foreign and domestic, primarily targeting specific demographics in our nation to verbally attack; also targeting demographics internationally through  establishing foreign policy that put teeth into his verbal attacks.  Has he put teeth into his domestic verbal attacks on specific we, the people, demographics?  Given the legislation he has put an end to I can only say yes - especially because of those regulations and laws that are associated with protecting everyone from toxic pollutants in our environments.  Putting an end to regulation of, and protection from pollutants of our air, water, and soil (which also means weather patterns, and food are affected), compromises the quality of life of all demographics, some of which are being directly and specifically targeted more than others but which ultimately also results in pollutants in those environments eventually moving beyond those environment which are first being targeted.

I do not know all the president has followed through with, domestically, in support of his verbal abuse targeting of some demographics because given that I refused to vote for either presidential candidate in the election, I have been trying to not pay a lot of attention to the "roman circus" our government has publicly become.  And even though I am not an advocate of apathy which prevents people from being the responsible citizens we are all supposed to be, I do not feel guilty about maintaining my own sanity by ignoring the damage and potential damage that saturates the news reports which are associated  with someone I did not vote into office, given I also did not try to put the other candidate into office either. 

The most recent presidential election was another turning point into blatant in-your-face corruption in our nation's history, which we still may be able to turn around.  So, rather than become stressed out by the current reality, I have been putting my energy into hoping the next different administration will be an improvement, and into hoping that we, the people, are willing to be serious about providing good choice candidates of good character who are willing and able to actually do a good job of being president instead of succumbing to either the appearance of promoting self-interest or the promoting of self-interest, both of  which undermine our nation.  Not only my hope, but the hope of we, the people, for the next presidential election depends on the parties not indulging in corruption, again, to force their candidates into office through lying to and cheating we, the people.

The way I see it, private citizen Donald J. Trump - that is wheeler dealer, skating on the edge of ethical and going over the line too many times, Donald J. Trump - can not successfully use his "managing business" methods as president.  They are undoubtedly considered to be violating to many and offensive to many more, although they are not illegal in the way they are when President Donald J. Trump uses private citizen Donald J. Trump's methods to get what he wants as a president.  Doing so makes him a violator, as president, which becomes valid reason for impeachment proceedings.  The private citizen methods he uses to get what he wants, as president, are considered to be an abuse of the power of his office when he uses them as president.  It is easy to understand that is a serious problem for our nation.

The only other comment I want to make about what is considered cause for impeachment  is that we may never know if President Trump's intentions are good because of the obtuse, dictatorial, verbally abusive ways he publicly tries to force his intentions rather than to successfully use our system of government, respectably, as it is intended to be used to bring about desired results.  Yes, I do believe the legislative body, and we, the people, need to be convinced the choices and actions of our current president are well intended instead of being violations.  However, the opposition has not been able to credibly make that case. Instead our legislative body has collectively determined President Trump's intentions are questionable enough there is need for impeachment proceedings.

Dictatorial, wheeler dealer, verbally abusive, bull in a china shop, elephant in the living room tactics that are not civil, do not demonstrate good intentions - nor have they ever been considered the hallmarks of good intentions.  I consider the unacceptable situations which have come into existence in our government within that environment, to actually be easy to understand as being unacceptable enough to constitute intentional violations.  The American people do, indeed, deserve better as, by extension, do those nations of the world who are victim to what has become our nation's regressive government, in large part due to our government being enthralled with endless armed conflict.  We do deserve better in what have become the increasingly  painful efforts of we, the people, to collectively, evolve by living up to our nations stated values, principles, and ideals, absent government corruption which, when it exists, limits our ability to collectively do so.

Our system of government is intended to prevent dictatorship and domestic armed conflict through due process which was originally established as a democratic process for we, the people, within our constitutional democratic republic.  It is the system of government we are empowered and entitled to use as a collectively self-governing people.  It is the system which our legislative body is supposed to use properly in their work of representing we, the people.  They have collectively found cause to call for impeachment proceedings on behalf of we, the people.

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*In the third century BC the first roman circus appeared which eventually lead to it hosting gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. The events became increasingly cruel and fatal to animals and those who were enslaved to provide gladiator entertainment, because of slave status, considered  to be non-persons. The same activities were later hosted in the later notorious Colosseum, commissioned before 100AD, which became so notorious (for persecution of Christians, among others) due to enslaving people to participate in gladiator fights, and be made subject to wild animal combat.

As the 2019 Impeachment Proceeds . . .

As the impeachment proceedings continue, 21 Nov 2019,  I am grateful to Dr. Fiona Hill for articulately expressing a clear understanding of the strategies and tactics of the “Cold War” -  which never did end.  If it is not clear  because of the proceedings, at least to those who grew up during the earliest era of the Cold War, then those to whom it is not clear have not been paying attention most of their adult lives.  Fact is that our nation’s political system has been under attack by those strategies and tactics for decades - to the point that they have been embraced by corrupt people elected and appointed to government positions in our nation, and worse used by those corrupt people no differently than they were used by "the threat" during the earliest era of the Cold War.  My only question is has it reached the point of no return from the corruption that the political party machines in our nation have so willingly embraced which has resulted in increasing corruption, through the decades, at all levels of government?

The Democratic party DID get caught, as Rep. Devin Nunes stated when the proceedings opened this morning.  And it traces back, most recently, to those who took leadership control with all paths leading to the many tentacled  long established corrupt "Clinton machine" so clearly obvious in the 2016 election season; with its less than honest and legal ways of trying to cheat we, the people, as a way to win the 2016 presidential election.  Those familiar with the Clintons’  bullying and badgering and lying method of party "leadership", at the expense of expecting others to pay the cost for their wrong-doing, knew the extent to which they play dirty and deadly and would be unable to avoid the temptation to continue to do so.  That the corruption of the Democratic party DNC became clear during the 2016 election season only revealed the head of the rampant monster of corruption.  It ignored the web of deceit that gave life to it.  Fact is that monster of corruption was functional before the Clintons.

Saying this does not mean those who have taken leadership of the Republican party are without similar issues, and when I say similar I clearly mean corrupt, unconscionably, unacceptable wrong-doing.  The way our nation is being steered very clearly indicates it is past time for the Republican party to also get caught - again.

Some may remember the corrupt campaigning of the 70s and before - a matter of corruption in both parties.  Did the extent of corruption that existed then, exist previously?   I can only speak of my own experience, so my own response is of course.  Recognizing contradictions that lead to recognizing corruption for the first time, whenever that may be in each person's life, does not mean the contradictions and corruption did not exist prior to that time.  For example the smoke screen confusion that continues to exist about the assassination of JFK, alone, certainly suggested corruption at the time, especially to young people in high school as we were realizing our civic responsibility to become responsible citizens even though we would still not be able to vote until age 21.

Fact is that the era of the most corrupt political party during the campaign season, which leads to the candidate of the most corrupt party winning the election, should be long past.  We, the people, deserve presidential candidates who are not puppets of corrupt political parties which, because of corruption in both parties, creates an unconscionable corrupt political process that has long needed to be cleaned up.  For the record I must state that when adults involve innocent young children and young adults in filthy political campaigning corruption, it is one of the worst crimes that occurs in our nation.  Grown adults also deserve better than to have their lives and opportunities hijacked by corrupt electioneering and political processes.  It should be clear why this comment needs to be made.  Anyone who does not realize that the corruption and results of the corruption will continue to become worse until a thorough clean-up occurs, is still not paying attention and understanding the complexity of the corruption that exists.

And if it is not clear. . . welcome to one of the many satellites of worldwide corruption, and the end of “the noble experiment” which was the United States of America.  Even though the colonial appropriation by force of an already settled land occurred before the colonies fought for and gained independence, the fact is that our system of government, as long as it was not overpowered by the superimposition of extensive corruption, could have survived and risen above its colonial corruption.  Our government and nation of people could have worked at living up to our nation’s stated values, principles, and ideals - as improved through revision - to not only make it clear that our inalienable rights and constitutional rights apply equally to all citizens, and are extended as well to permanent residents and visitors.  Without ignoring corruption we could have demonstrated our nation's willingness to want to live up to our nation’s stated values, principles, and ideals, through ethical policy choices at all levels of government, in all departments and institutions of government, and in how we all live our lives.

Scourge of the Earth

Know a scourge of the earth someone  whose uncivilized violating troglodyte attitude and behaviors are strong - a verbal abuser who goes directly for the jugular or the head when you say no?  Someone not prevented from relentlessly seeking out every timeline they can find to violate you even though you have warned that will happen?  Someone who thinks you deserve a lifetime of suffering for saying no to them, for saying no to them harming others, for not wanting them to pollute the gene pool with their uncivilized attitudes and behavior, even though they never asked and instead assumed?  Reparation can not make up for the damage that is intended by their relentless evil retributive vengefulness.  And death is sometimes preferable for the person who will not accept or condone the narcissistic abuse  whether it actually originates with the violator or a psychopathic narcissist for whom the violator cooperates as one of the narcissist's minions of flying monkeys - whether the cooperation is out of ignorance or due to extortion and for  profit.

Evil violators are predators who did have the capacity to be good, but turned bad; for example, someone who is willing to be a flying monkey for a psychopathic narcissist because there is something in it for them when they cooperate - money, being given "ownership" of  another person, not being harmed.  It could be anything.  People turn bad for a number of "reasons" often  because their lives are threatened in some way or they have been damaged to the point of being unable to endure any more intentionally inflicted emotional pain.  Evil preditors know that one of the best ways to succeed at turning good people bad is to get them addicted. 

Destructive and addictive drugs  are one of the most effective ways used to "leverage" the behavior of folks who have already gone bad (pharmaceuticals included).  Addicting people to sex is also one of the most effective ways particularly if they are not cooperative about becoming addicted to drugs.   Of course there are also other addictions.  Obsessions are also a type of addiction, even though they often create good outcomes.  Managed properly they need not rise to the level of "addiction" unless they are controlled by someone else like damaging addictions are.

Physical violence and emotional abuse are all that remain when a targeted person will not cooperate with an effort to superimpose addiction.  Because there is more of a chance that a person who is violent will eventually be found out, emotional abuse becomes a sure bet.  It is rarely known about, including by the abused person - at least initially.  There are very few suspicions about emotional abuse occurring thus few questions about the possibility, particularly when a person is very young.  Emotional abuse is often the abuse of choice directed at the very young. However, young empaths WILL remember - bet on it.  When it is coupled with physical violence the youngest victims often end up dead - or wishing they were if they live and still do not speak of it.

Any grown empaths protecting the young empaths will also know and be deemed crazy if/when they try to warn about the abuse of a young child.  Grown empaths and young empaths, alike, can suffer their entire lives for not having been able to do anything to prevent a child from suffering - knowing at the time that something is terribly wrong but not knowing enough about the evil which is occurring to able to find a way to prevent it; sometimes because of being unable to imagine evil that does occur.  That too is a sure bet - the results of which anyone can take to the bank.

Rats That Drive and PTSD

Saw rats driving - on the news.  They weren't doing a half bad job of it either.  It was like children steering bumper cars but not so fast and furiously.  See: "Scientists taught rats to drive little rat-sized cars. It could advance human mental health treatment"  It is an excellent article, actually.  This comment is about " 'behaviorceuticals' activities that release hormones that can ward off prolonged stress brought on by corticosterone, [. . .] Anything that reduces stress can build resilience against the onset of mental illness." 

Since PTSD is considered to be a "mental illness" by the health industry the driving rats experiment sheds light on the need to control stress.  I don't know about rats, but people need to process what causes stress to be able to control stress.

I consider PTSD and CPTSD to more accurately be a fixable psychological issue that is the result of involuntary strong emotional response caused by unprocessed stress from trauma - any type of trauma.  Processing can reduce stress and build resilience against triggered automatic strong emotional reaction, since processing can eliminate some and minimize most involuntary strong emotional reactions.  I consider "behaviorceuticals activities" to be preferable to pharmaceuticals for anyone - when possible.  Maybe the driving rats are proof, for those who need it, of how that works.

CBD oil makes a good difference too, these days, as part of self-healing. This is based on what I have read about how it can help with the processing, but also from a conversation with a Viet-Nam veteran with PTSD.  He said it really makes a good difference in his PTSD so that his life is more about thriving than about only surviving.

When the connection between intellect and emotions is healthy, the psyche is strong.  Psyche=spirit (more precisely one's very life force: Greek - breath, life, soul) thus psychological issues are about spiritual health.  It really is that easy to understand.  Mental health is about physical conditions that need to be addressed which can also affect one's mind and body and of course can also compromise the healthy connection between intellect and emotions. 

Of course body chemistry is involved in all aspects of health be it physical conditions or emotional conditions.  And because of the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS)  cannabis makes a good difference in body chemistry that is holistic and contributes to good health all the way around.  (see:   https://www.ultramafic.rocks/2018/02/the-mammalian-endo-cannabinoid-system.html)

Occupied Palestinian Territory Is Not Israel - at Least Not Yet

Watching the news about Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar not being welcome to  visit Israel I'm astounded.  Who started the rumor that they were going to Israel and who believes it?  The stated purpose was a visit to oPt i.e. Occupied Palestinian Territory, i.e. oPt, i.e. Gaza and the West Bank, and Jerusalem, i.e. the remnants currently recognized as Palestine, internationally.

Maps depict Palestinian loss of land over several decades.

The third map from the left shows in green the Palestinian territories Israel took in the 1967 war.

see "The Occupation" at PalestinianPortal.org.

It's not the fault of those who want to visit oPt that they have to enter the West Bank through Israel, or Gaza through Egypt with Israel controlling the entrance/exit, like Israel also controls the Jordan entrance/exit.   It's not their fault the nations of the world did not make Jerusalem an international city, not under Israel's dictates, so that everyone would be welcome and the folks to whom it is an important site for their religions could visit, or any reason other folks want to visit too, given interest due to Jerusalem’s long history.

And who started the rumor that BDS is for the purpose of the destruction of Israel?  Who wants to believe that and why?  Wanting Israel to decide to put an end to political zionist policies that violate international law it is signatory to,  because of the way it manages the occupation, is not about destruction of Israel.  It is about stopping the destruction of the Palestinian people because of the illegal policies of the government of Israel which result in brutality, infrastructure destruction, and death of Palestinian people who live in the oPt.  

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction all together become a system that tightens the screws by peaceful economic means to persuade nations to make necessary changes.  It is not violent and does not advocate the use of weapons and violence to change political policies.  It worked to change policies of South Africa for the purpose of abolishing apartheid when the international community of nations applied BDS to South Africa.  We were discussing how the same needs to be applied to Israel in the early 90s.  It also took decades for the South Africa BDS effort to become organized enough internationally, too, to make a good difference as intended.

Fact is the Palestinian people have a legal right to resist the occupation.  Saying so is not necessarily advocating the use of violence.  It is simply stating a fact to enhance understanding of the choice BDS is.  That bears repeating.  "It is simply stating a fact to enhance understanding of the choice BDS is."  Those who use violence are wrong because it leads to 10 times and more damage being done to Palestinians.  Those who would be tempted to use violence know that, which is why when violence is reputed to be from Palestinians it is often suspected to be an undercover false flag operation of the government of Israel. 
 
Why would Palestinians want to take violent actions that would result in all Palestinians being targeted by destructive policies of the Israeli government, in vengeful retribution?  That the U.S.A. behaves as it believes Palestinians want to invite violence, is disingenuous.  As astute as folks in government can be  about other issues, they can not believably claim total ignorance about Israel/Palestine issues to the extent that the only sources they are willing to believe are those enabled by the Israeli government to spread the hasbara the American media and government want to so willingly buy into and spread as fact.

The Ants

Yesterday, I woke up to what was the start of an infestation of little teeny tiny ants.  Luckily, they were only a few feet past the door, and were not thick as thieves - yet.  When I have found them in the past, there has always been a trail of them leading to where they are entering and exiting.  Not this time.  My guess is they are traveling through a small gap between the door and casing at the top.  I used my handy dandy vinegar, with a small amount of dish detergent, and some water in which I had soaked and strained out red chile flakes.  A few dashes of hot sauce would work as well, without diluting the vinegar.  I don't know if the vinegar kills the ants, but what I read is they do not "like" vinegar, or chile.  I haven't crushed garlic, soaked it and strained it out, to add to the mix yet, but that is suggested as part of the mix to keep pests off of plants in the garden.  The dish detergent apparently clings to the critter.  I Don't know if the poor things die from it, suffer a torturous death, or what.  But the spray appears to have been effective.  Have only found less than a handful of stragglers, this morning.  I remain vigilant.

A Scouting Party

I guess yesterday’s infestation was the scouting party which was more than large enough to be noticed and invasive.  When that is successful, without having been observed, before they are detected they then make an effort bring all their immediate relatives (and they have a lot!), their extended families, shirt-tail relatives, in-laws, extended family and in-laws of past spouses and all their families and  friends too, and their neighbors!  You get the picture - a real infestation without invitation, even though  preventive security measures in place make it clear there was no entrance allowed, and certainly no invitation was extended to invade and colonize!

I mean, really!  Ants have the entire world to colonize and have done so, and they work diligently to do so with good security in place given the location of their homes.  I sometimes wonder how the folks living in the Amazon basin, for example, manage to avoid the danger of huge ant nests getting too close to where they live - huge nest like most  have seen in documentaries.  Granted, I am not part of the world of the ants.  But when I am outside of my own space (the house where they are not allowed), I don't bother them in the yard - unless they start biting me when I water, or when I sit to have morning coffee and watch the hummingbirds playing chase, feeding, flying up close to greet me, or when I am  maintaining the flora and fauna.  Once the ants start biting it is then  all out war on them in their territory! 

Those bites can be felt, but it is not until later that day or the next day that they itch like crazy - and sometimes for days at a time.  Who could imagine a tiny little critter less than the width of a millimeter and less than 2 mm long could pack such a punch?  Every time I am bitten I recall one of the other trainees in my basic training unit who jumped up and ran faster than I have ever seen anyone run, all in one motion, toward the bathroom building 90 feet away, the other trainees who had been sitting with her following hard at her heels!  We learned she had been sitting on the entrance to a fire ant colony and had been taken to the infirmary.  So from observational experience which was a learned lesson at the cost of another, I do find these little critters quite alarming, not only because one or two bite are uncomfortable for several days. 

Ant Homes

The ant homes are underground for their safety and security, and at least I do not try to dig into where they have made their homes - until they start biting.  And then, at least, I do not take a shovel and dig down closer to their living spaces.  With so many entrances and exits to their main living areas, and the depth at which nests are located, it would be a fool's errand, anyway.

However, I do dig many inches into the entrances to spray pesticide that is the least damaging to pets and people I have found.   Many inches into the dirt I spray a directed stream into the tunnel until the liquid stops going down the tunnel and leaves a patch of damp no more than an inch in diameter.  In some cases that results in a lot of pesticide going down the tunnel maybe some into a  nest - but at least it fills up the tunnel.  The pesticide is not on the surface because I then cover the place I have sprayed with many inches of dirt, and hope to God it does no damage other than to the ant nest.  I just do want it harm the lizards, cats, or beneficial insects by dousing the entire yard on the surface.  The only entrances and exits to the nests I have actually ever seen are in the pathways in the yard which are without vegetation.  I suppose that is because the ants avoid putting their tunnels in areas that are watered.  After having attacked the tunnels, and covered up the evidence, I then spray any ants that are active on the surface with the above mentioned homemade concoction that IS harmless to pets and people.  My system actually works.  The survivors move.  And they usually do not return to the same area . . . unless it rains.  So sometimes repetition is needed a day or two after rain.

When I first moved to his house, there were not huge colonies of ants in the back yard.  There was no vegetation either, except a handful of  nightshade plants which perhaps is why the ants were not there - given little or no food sources.  So when I did start making some of the space into a garden, and all of it a haven for trees, I was not disturbing their homes.  I suppose vegetation actually is what drew them to colonize the back yard, eventually.  Although, later, it was also most likely the dog poop in the surrounding yards, and the pesticides the neighbors used from which ant survivors fled.  Also, when I moved to this house the neighbors adjacent to my property, all around, did not have dogs.  Those a few houses away did have.  As time went by I realized that almost everyone had acquired at least two dogs, and in some cases the dogs equaled or outnumbered the people - like one of the neighbors who was raising puppies without a license. 

The Neighbors

The poor dogs.  Almost all of the neighbors keep them outside all the time, in all weather, and I have never once seen any of the neighbors take their dogs out of their yards like maybe to a dog park.  And I have never seen the immediate neighbors, at least two houses deep in every direction,  ever walk their dogs, although other folks on other lanes and further down the  block in the community, do.  At least the the dog owners do not let their dogs run loose.  I have to give them that, gratefully.  We all have enclosed back yards but they are actually not enough space for a dog, especially if it is medium sized or larger.  Some of the neighbors who do walk their dogs allow their dogs take a leak on the rosemary at the edge of my property.  One time when I was up in the front of the house adjusting the curtain, after checking to see if the trash had been picked up, yet,  someone walking a dog was standing there on the sidewalk, big as life, holding the leash while the dog took a leak on the rosemary bush! 

The point is that even when the neighbors do clean up their dog poop - irregularly so - there is no way to get the stench from their dog pee out of the ground.  By now it has saturation some areas of their yards.  When it is spring and autumn it stinks.  But the heat dries it out in the summer, and when it is  cool the stench does not travel as far.  When it rains the stench of dog pee is worse and when the breeze is "just right" it then wafts into the swamp cooler on top of the house in place of fresh air.  Thing is that the folks directly behind actually made a pen for their dogs along the side of the house, and the direction the breeze and wind comes from is from that direction, directly through that area!  And of course when nearby neighbors grill outside, the "jet fuel" stench they use to douse whatever fuel they use, fills the house.  By the time the first whiff is detectable, it is too late.  The entire house is filled with that the strong stench and it is necessary to put the cooler off, then open doors and windows at the hottest time of the day and year.  Once in a while, it is inevitable.  However, there have been years when it is nearly every evening.  I suspect the same thing has happened to those neighbors because they do not grill nearly as frequently as when they first arrived.

The Neighbors - Continued

The  grilling problem is secondary to the ant infestation, related only in that it demonstrates the thoughtlessness of neighbors in an area of more urban density in the suburbs, with more density than the older parts of town with business districts nearby i.e. walking neighborhoods. The  residential properties in those areas are larger.  But clearly,  as time went by, the size of a normal lots highly degraded by becoming much smaller as the city spread outwards.  So while all the homes in this community have features that invite outdoor living, in reality they are primarily for show, because the lots are so small, and the density of people and dogs so thick for any given block, that anything other than quietly sitting in one's yard is likely to be disruptive to the neighbors, not only the immediate neighbors but nearly an  entire block - at least several houses deep on all four sides 

Thing is, and what I will NEVER understand, is that the neighbors mostly  keep their kids inside almost all the time to avoid "disturbing" the neighbors.  I just do not understand that children are not allowed to play outside.  In one case the folks next door, who have since moved, kept their kids out of their own yard because the neighbor’s dog would jump into their yard, frequently, and they didn’t trust it.  The neighbor adjacent to that house on the other side had to raise the wall to prevent the same dog from jumping into their yard.   Barring that problem, since when has the joyful “noise", of children having fun playing outside, ever disturbed anyone?   It is adult noise that is disruptive.  More than one adult in a yard and it becomes a problem of loud talking, and raucous laughter that often is extremely loud and sounds maniacal.  Ordinarily there is not loud music.  I give them that, gratefully. 

But the loudness of obtrusive adults, without any warning, to say the least, raises unexpected havoc with scheduling.  Ordinarily, that is not as frequent as it used to be.  The renters next door used to talk loud on their cell phones outside, but seem to have finally stopped doing so. However, there is still one woman across the lane and four houses down whose cell phone conversations are audible when she is outside talking.  The closeness of the homes to one another creates echo chambers in the small spaces between.  Either building code was violated, or it states that the house can be no closer than about 5 - 6 feet from the property line which leaves 10 - 12 feet between the entrances of some adjacent homes and creates echo chambers which increases the decibel level of any noise.  Most of the neighbors are thoughtful, actually, because they have experienced the same problems so do not ordinarily create them for other.

Government Policies

Fact is the dog litter problem and pesticide spraying problems are  primary to my ant infestation, in that the liter attracts insect pests, then when the neighbors douse their yards on the surface with spray, supposedly "harmless" to pets and people (which it isn't), the pests migrate to yards not doused with pesticide, and without the same "food" source.  I guarantee those neighbors are responsible for any damage their spraying does.  And if the neighbors make the companies who sell the spray responsible for the damage other than to insects - good - whether the neighbors buy and spray, or hire pest companies to do so.  To sue the socks off of those companies who sell poison but who could, instead, stir up organic concoctions to sell to people who are too inconvenienced or too lazy to do it themselves, might start to eradicate two problems, 1) the insect pests, and 2) the cumulative damage to health that should not exist.  It is not as if plenty of research, and personal experiences of many people, have not made it clear that pesticides using poison actually do create health conditions decades down the road, and sometimes much more immediately.  Knowing that should be common sense, but does not seem to be, to short-sighted people.  Of course by now most folks know it has decimated the pollinator populations.

Manufacturers know, and hope that health problems will not be connected to the  poison concoctions they sell.  Thing is that when anyone reads the labels, that include the warnings required by law, it is quite clear the pesticides are not safe.  Presumably, government agencies responsible for allowing the use know that too, but are more interested in what they believed to be their  clandestine "population control" efforts which they think are cleverly disguised, as a way to insure people will become ill with serious medical conditions midway into life.  That cascades into a way of increasing profits for the illness industry which is for-profit and  differs from the health industry in that it exists because of the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry, the entire combination not putting patients first i.e. the illness industry.  It insures death for many before they can retire, or shortly thereafter for many.  Like I said, the intended "clandestine population control" is extremely obvious to increasingly more folks like most similar efforts eventually become, rather than remaining clandestine.  Even when the efforts are discoverd without huge efforts from we, the people that result in prosecution, it does not put an end to the pograms ( oops "programs" misspelled,  or is it - really).

Thus, ants have colonized my yard, but they can not bring their entire colonies into my home and make it into what they want it to be which essentially means without my presence, which is an inconvenience to the way they live their ant lives.  I have no reason to believe the same level of colonization will not diminish as summer wears on - being directly proportional to how much poison with which the neighbors douse their yards.  I smelled it a few days ago, wafting into my house and of course was angry about it, which from then only took two days before the next infestation effort.  Apparently dousing with poison pesticides is a choice people make to damage themselves.  But what they apparently do not know is that they pay the cost too for the damage it does to others, and the environment. 

Nature

The ants probably find plenty of food in my yard as a result of compost, vegetation, and because I feed the birds.  The ants  probably dine on roots too, unfortunately.  I don't know if they go after beneficial insects.  I suppose so if there is opportunity.  Thing is - the bottom line - I am not going to invite or allow them and their overpopulated entire colonies of several generations to invade my home. I do not invade their underground homes unless necessary, and then only the entrances when their large populations result in droves being busy above ground so that it is impossible not to step on them which is when they start biting to protect one another.

Good thing this morning is there were only a few stragglers.  I actually only saw four and doused them with the vinegar spray.   So currently, there is a lull . . . we'll see if the effort to invade starts up again.  Given there are many weeks of pleasant weather ahead, after another week or two of the hottest days of summer, it will be necessary to be constantly vigilant.

No. The Sacred Boundary

No.  No, means my consent is not given, because it never was given, and I say no now, as I would have said no, then, about a sacred boundary in my life that was violated without my knowledge.  And I continue to say no about the right to consent having been violated the times  when I have said no.  And I say no, now, to past violations unknown to me at the time to which I could not say no then because I did not know about the violation.  It is my right, as it is everyone's right to insist, in retrospect, that the sacred boundary of no be respected as the sacred boundary it was then and still is. Some may not understand this, but it actually is not a cryptic statement.

No.  It is easy to say and easy to understand.  But what if you do not have the opportunity to say no?  Then it is a crime, actually.  Anything done for or to someone else without their knowledge means there was no consent.  It is simply criminal to do something to or for someone without their consent particularly when it results in damage to that person.  The absence of knowing something was  done to or for oneself never did confer consent - the absence of consent, can only and always be understood as no having been said. 

Yet every day in every way people use and abuse children without their knowledge which also means it was and is without their consent.  The same people who get away with doing so, do the same to adults by honing the skills  on young children they know they need to be able to abuse teens and adults without being apprehended by those they abuse.  And the first skill required is successfully being able to denigrate, lie about, misrepresent, and twist truth about a child.  That is how abusers hone their skills which are later applied to adults, especially adults who have been abused in that same way by the parents or guardians in their lives who considered themselves to be “owners” of their children instead of knowing they were divinely entrusted to be sacred guardians of their children.

I am here to say, to tell wounded souls that after the fact, even long after the fact, every one has a right to say no to what happened without their knowledge and consent.  Can they consent later once they do know?  Sure, if they have concluded it was for the best and want to consent.  But no one can ever be deprived of his or her right to say no,  after the fact.  The boundless nature of time allows that, actually. 

Even when an adult is required to make a decision for an infant, an infant needs to be spoken to and informed as the fully souled human being the infant is, whether or not an adult realizes that and whether or not it is believed the infant understands.  That is what it is part of raising a child as a divine guardian rather than an “owner”. 

 It may be, in the youngest years, that a child does not always have a choice.  That does not mean a child should not be informed of decisions made on his or her behalf.  Maybe the child is even able and willing to agree or disagree.  Point is that in later years, and in retrospect, we become spiritually aware enough to take personal responsibility for processing our lives and knowingly taking full responsibility for our entire lives.  We become the parent to self who was needed then, and as such we have the right and ability to say no about anything done to or for us without our knowledge, and without our consent, even if it was with our consent at the time when we might not have known what we said yes to, were coerced into saying yes, or did not object to avoid being punished. 

Taking our rightful place as the trustworthy loving parent to self, we now know enough to ask for consent from our younger selves, all along the way, child and adult, about individual choices made for us.  We discuss  to the extent necessary with our younger self to be able to arrive at a  decision which may or may not be consent from our younger self.  Remember, our younger self is fully souled, however the main job of a young child is needing to master every aspect of physicality which is daunting and overwhelming hard work as much as it is an adventure.  It is our job as the parent to self, in retrospect, to know that and to be able to offer our guidance in discussion with the younger self at all ages, in ways we know the self is able to understand. 

However, once the younger self understands what was not previously known, even when a child, that younger self has the absolute right to provide consent, or not.  And because we are that child and that child is us, all of our own wisdom and knowledge, all of our ability and need to live in love, is within that younger self, also.  It is our job to make it right, especially vital to the damaged child, so that damage can be undone.  The process is similar to needing to make it right with that child for choices we ourselves made.  However this is about the sacred boundary everyone starts life with which is about consent that can only be given when it is with one's knowledge of what is being consented to; without one's knowledge consent can not be assumed to be granted - which is the sacred boundary.

The beauty of “processing” one’s life is in being able to understand, comfort, console, guide, love, and in some cases make it right for that younger self, particularly the child who was self, so that the harm is undone, or at least highly minimized. When possible restitution can and must be made, not simply required “payment” as punishment to the damager because it is not about punishment and it is not about payment as restitution. Real restitution requires restoration of all the good that was damaged, taken, destroyed by the individual souls who were misguided “owners” of their children and/or spouses, or in some cases restitution made for damage caused by souls given permission by those who “owned” or were a sacred guardians to a child, some of whom may have believed they were making a good choice for the child, or in some cases may not have been able to make any other choice. 

All that we need to know is actually revealed to us, when we have  spiritually prepared ourselves to be able to receive what we need to know.  First what we need to know about self is revealed to us.  Then depending on the work we do in life because of our purpose, sometimes what we need to know about ourselves and others is revealed to us for the purpose of healing self.  Sometimes that puts us in a position to do what is possible to assist those others to spiritually prepare to receive what they need to know, so that it is also revealed and entrusted to them to apply properly in their lives and the lives of those they are in a position to help in that same way. 

We often find the people who damaged others because of considering themselves to be “owners” rather than sacred guardians, were “owned” themselves in childhood.  Unfortunately for some, that ownership extends into adult life and becomes increasingly difficult from which to extricate oneself.  It requires determined consistent work to do so.  Often in such cases that problem extends back into many previous generations.  When we seek what we need to know we will be granted the insight and wisdom that accompanies it, to be able to know when and how a specific aspect of the problem entered into an ancestry line, and we will be able to see how it developed into a far more complex problem in subsequent generations, also how it was eradicated in some of the ancestry lines. 

In some cases what we need to know will take us far back into the unrecorded history of our ancestors, even into prehistoric times, as needed, so that we can be informed, and know what it is possible to more fully understand and either consent to, or put an effective end to a choice that was never consented to because someone made a choice for us without our consent.  We are there, in the ancestry line, no doubt about it, so connecting with self does happen.  Given the needed information, we can put an end to a problem that has been  revealed to us in our ancestral lines at whatever point it became a problem that violated our sacred boundary. 

In my personal experience that is what is know as a way of  healing our ancestors by healing ourselves, as well healing ourselves by healing our ancestors.  There is potential for healing to be activated in many ancestral lines, not only our own. Sure it is a rabbit hole much longer and deeper for some than others.  But it is ours to enter into in total and complete faith in our own divine guidance.  We do not even need to know any of our ancestors for this process to activate in our lives.  When we are spiritually prepared, it will.  It can be easier to understand if one has at least a vague memory of having happened upon information that was imparted at some point which then becomes pertinent.

To repeat, to have knowledge of and give consent about everything done for or to us is a right of all.  That means everyone has a boundary that is inviolable which must be respected - that being nothing can or should be done to or for anyone without their knowledge.  Anything that is without one’s knowledge is automatically understood to be a violation, because it is impossible to provide consent when one has no knowledge of what one does have a right to say no to.  It is supposed to be understood by all as a boundary, a sacred boundary as part of everyone's life that IS  inviolable which does not allow someone else doing to or for us without our consent.  

It is a boundary that is everyone’s and everyone should know that from day one and be able to expect and trust the boundary will be respected.  And when old enough to speak a person needs to know they can and should insist that inviolable boundary be recognized and respected in their own life as they recognize it is to be respected by them and everyone else, in the lives of others. 

A soul not willing to make amends is required to make whatever restitution is required to undo the damage that was done because of no consent, when there was no knowledge of something that was done to or for another. Without one's knowledge an understood yes does not exist, ever.  It never means yes simply because someone imagines they can get way with violating and it will not be known.  The damaged soul always knows, and in time with enough spiritual evolution the details of what happened and the identity of the souls responsible will be revealed, no matter how complex the collusion might be throughout time.  The damaged individual needs that knowledge and retains the right throughout time to still say no in the here and now, the right which  did not exist in the past because it was violated without the damaged soul's knowledge.  It is necessary for that to be revealed for a soul in life to be able to become whole again, in body, heart, mind, soul, and spiritual universal consciousness.  And a certain amount of spiritual evolution must occur naturally before it is divinely revealed.  If it is not possible for amends to be made then an additional lifetime may be required of the offender though the soul to whom the amends need to be made may not necessarily also be in the subsequent lifetime as the soul to whom the amends need to be made. 

If it sounds like karma, yes, it is. However karma is not punishment.  It is opportunity to work at perfecting the soul when we step up to take the spiritual responsibility of perfecting our souls.  Spiritually evolved Christians might understand that to be taking personal responsibility to become more Christ-like.  Even though many believers in the monotheistic religions are not aware reincarnation and karma are part of the religions, they are. Working off karma is a process.  It is known more simply by some as forgiveness.  However, the details of the process are not provided, only the concept of forgiveness being granted is taught.  Reincarnating for a few or many reasons a soul chooses to incarnate, when the soul is again prepared  to do so, is an opportunity  provided to learn lessons which need to be learned and to prove the lessons have been learned.  There are  shorter processes that occur very quickly by comparison in the "present".  It can be crazy making, or it can be a blessing - though often it starts out crazy making and ends up a blessing. The shorter processes in the present are almost always demanding and strenuous processes.

Sacred boundaries are important in life.  And our right to say no is one of the most important that should not be violated which often has a high and unexpected price for those who do violate anyone's right to say no. That "price" can depend on the extent to which violated souls have evolved.  When we are compassionate, merciful, say and do all with our life energy in love with divine guidance, then violating souls do not always pay as high a price, once our own souls naturally expand more fully into aspects of Christ Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness as it is known by some. 

No.  No, means my consent is not given, because it never was given, and I say no now, as I would have said no, then, about a sacred boundary in my life that was violated without my knowledge.  And I continue to say no about the right to consent having been violated the times  when I have said no.  And I say no, now, to past violation unknown to me at the time to which I could not say no then because I did not know about the violation.  It is my right, as it is everyone's right to insist, in retrospect, that the sacred boundary of no be respected as the sacred boundary it was then and still is.  Some may fully understand this is not a cryptic comment.

The USA PATRIOT Act

The USA PATRIOT Act:  Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001

Why is it that people truly do not understand that we, the people, lost many freedoms when the PATRIOT Act became a law? The Act actually violates some of our constitutional rights by allowing for widespread corruption to legally permeate our system of government, although that was not its stated purpose.

Allow me to make it very clear, that while I support well-written laws which do not violate our rights as a way to strengthen our defense against terrorism, I, for one, do not condone the ways in which the PATRIOT Act violates our constitutional rights, because it can be, and has been used corruptly to abusively and prejudicially target people.

The original PATRIOT Act of 2001 allowed for citizens to be accused without their knowledge and without the knowledge of their lawyers.  Comment about that is missing in the ACLU article I highly recommend reading, as are any comments about changes (if any) that have been made each time the Act is reauthorized.  Additionally, the Act also resulted in numerous government departments being restructured and put under the umbrella of the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

Briefly, from the ACLU website, the PATRIOT Act was " an overnight revision of the nation's surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court. . . . Most of the changes to surveillance law made by the Patriot Act were part of a longstanding law enforcement wish list that had been previously rejected by Congress, in some cases repeatedly."

Because the original PATRIOT Act  allowed for citizens to be accused without their knowledge and without the knowledge of their lawyers, that means it legalized abuse by conjecture based on flawed assumptions about guilt by association, without the accused having the legal right to be told of being accused - thus having no right to defense.  That is NOT the way in which our nation's government is to supposed to function on behalf of and for we, the people.  If that sentence is not understandable then read it again and translate it to family life.  Then, perhaps the actuality may be more familiar.  I was raised that way, many of my generation, and previous generations, were.  For that reason alone, at least the WWII generation and the first post-WWII generation should have known from harsh experience when the Act was being authorized, to do everything necessary to prevent violation of our nation's "innocent until proven guilty" constitutional right.

Although it is the same problem based on the same mind-set, unless the problems created as a child compromise one's opportunities as an adult, getting "the treatment" as a child is far different than false accusations as an adult which damage the ability of adults to move forward in life earning a good honest living.   False accusations and false imprisonment, especially when prejudicially intended, so easily compromise, limit, and obstruct one's opportunities and direction in life.  And they did so. legally, the Patriot Act making easy and increasingly more common after becoming law - even though the Patriot Act does so unconstitutionally (and even though it happened before the Act, but illegally).  How's that reality for creating cognitive dissonance regarding the security vs. rights issue - probably being intended to do so.  Unless one has experienced being on the unjustly punishing end of that seeming paradox, it may have little meaning, unfortunately.

I recommend reading the ACLU page.  It is one page long primarily about surveillance and covers a number of the abuses associated with how surveillance can be, has been, and is used to violate our constitutional rights.  From the ACLU website, Surveillance Under the USA/PATRIOT Act, one of the things the PATRIOT Act does - it “Puts CIA back in business of spying on Americans. The PATRIOT Act gives the Director of Central Intelligence the power to identify domestic intelligence requirements.  That opens the door to the same abuses that took place in the 1970s and before, when the CIA engaged in widespread spying on protest groups and other Americans.”

I guarantee that folks who had Palestinian friends, acquaintances, and colleagues during the 70s (referenced as "other Americans") were under extremely punishing invasive surveillance.  Undoubtedly, so were "other Americans" for other supposed "reasons".  Even though surveillance was invasive and felt punishing - the fact is that the response of many was “I have nothing to hide”. Providing evidence and having it taken seriously was extremely difficult, anyway.  I had friends who found "bugs" (listening devices) in their apartment - actual evidence.  But there was no cooperation that lead to who was responsible for placing them.  However, having nothing to hide does not matter when corruption is at work and one's name is on a  list provided by a foreign government that is extremely and fatally prejudicially anti-Palestinian. 

There very clearly was corruption at work in the 70s.  The fact is that in 2001 the PATRIOT Act made that corruption legal, long after the fact, given that government had been getting away with some of the corruption since the 70s (and before according to the article).  Those who were already engaged in perpetrating the corruption viewed the act as legally enabling them, which it did, and further expanding corrupt use and abuse of the law, which it did.  Those not subject to those abuses would not have known they were occurring which means probably most of our legislative body was unaware.

Again, I strongly encourage reading what the ACLU says about the ways the PATRIOT Act violates our constitutional rights.  And I remind, also, that the Act was responsible for legalizing indefinite detention of non-citizens which is the last non-surveillance provision on which the ACLU article comments. 

Anyone still wondering why some in law enforcement so boldly take unwarranted, and too often deadly actions that are clearly prejudicial, without being prosecuted - for example high profile widely reported cases, like  most of the  “death by cop” incidents; Ferguson Missouri; the Pipeline; and at the border?  Then look to the PATRIOT Act.  Reporting about the incidents and the perpetrators not being prosecuted, is never connected to the PATRIOT Act.  However, with the PATRIOT Act being in effect, we know publicized incidents about which we are all aware, are abuses that are justified because of the Act - indicating that the corruption of “anything goes” is rampant in our nation.  Perhaps the PATRIOT Act is not even cited in court even though it is the “justification“ which results in a determination to not prosecute perpetrators.  After all reminding folks that the PATRIOT Act is responsible for not prosecuting institutionalized prejudicial crime might motivate we, the people, to raise hell about it next time it is up for a reauthorization vote in our legislative bodies. 

Once again, allow me to make it very clear.  While I support well-written laws that do not violate our rights as a way to strengthen our defense against terrorism, I, for one, do not condone the ways in which the PATRIOT Act violates our constitutional rights, because it can be, and has been used corruptly to abusively and prejudicially target people.

Some links and a few informative excerpts:

Patriot Act - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act
"The title of the Act is a contrived three letter initialism (USA) preceding a seven letter acronym (PATRIOT), which in combination stand for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001."
"The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001." 

USA PATRIOT Act Summary
http://www.olcu.org/PDFs/USPatriotAct_Summary.pdf
"The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by Congress as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act allows federal officials greater authority in tracking and intercepting communications, both for purposes of law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering."

This may have been the stated purpose but the fact is that the real problems with any laws is the lack of rigorous debate which often shines a light on the weaknesses of a proposed law - more specifically in the case of the PATRIOT Act, debate could have made evident 1) the ways in which the proposed Act could be abused and used unjustly against people unless it was reworded 2) changes that should have been required, to be able to use the Act as it was said to be intended without abuse that is in violation of the constitution. The article makes clear how the Act was threateningly rushed through the Senate and the House with little or no opportunity for familiarization and debate.

From the start the law appeared to be meant as a smoke screen for the purpose of using it unjustly against citizens by legalizing prosecution based on assumption without people or their lawyers being informing of accusations.

Surveillance Under the USA/PATRIOT Act
https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act
“215 of the PATRIOT Act violates the Constitution in several ways. It: Violates the Fourth Amendment, which says the government cannot conduct a search without obtaining a warrant and showing probable cause to believe that the person has committed or will commit a crime.”

The Patriot Act Is a Vital Weapon in Fighting Terrorism
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/09/07/do-we-still-need-the-patriot-act/the-patriot-act-is-a-vital-weapon-in-fighting-terrorism
"America needs the PATRIOT Act because it helps prevent terrorism while posing little risk to civil liberties. The law simply lets counterterrorism agents use tools that police officers have used for decades. And it contains elaborate safeguards against abuse."

Whatever the supposed “safeguards” referred to, they did not prevent abuse - especially the abuse of  “guilt by association” assumptions that should never be allowed as justification to initiate punishment of anyone without their knowledge.   That is one of many "loopholes" without supposed safeguard which allows abuse of and by the PATRIOT Act. 

Frequently Asked Questions about the USA PATRIOT Act
https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.cal-webs.org/resource/resmgr/ifc/faq_usa_patriot_act.pdf
This is primarily about library related provisions in the Act.  But it does have a section of links for more information about the Act at the end of the article, including links to reauthorization of the Act, which may include revisions, if any.

Homeland Security Act, Patriot Act, Freedom of Information Act, and HIM - Retired
https://bok.ahima.org/doc?oid=106172

Chapter 13: Crimes against the Government - 13.2 Crimes Involving Terrorism
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-fmcc-criminallaw/chapter/13-2-crimes-involving-terrorism/
Examples of how the Act has been applied in crimes involving terrorism.

Does The Patriot Act Violate Free Speech?
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123993822
"Does The PATRIOT Act Violate Free Speech? The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case that pits an individual's right of free speech and association against a federal law aimed at combating terrorism. ... "My speech is particularly nonviolent," says Ralph Fertig, president of the organization. Feb 23, 2010"

It violates free speech if for no other reason than legalizing prosecution based on false assumptions and false accusations against which one has no defense because of making it illegal to tell the accused and/or a lawyer of the accused. 

From the ACLU page again
https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act
"A person or organization forced to turn over records is prohibited from disclosing the search to anyone.  As a result of this gag order, the subjects of surveillance never even find out that their personal records have been examined by the government.  That undercuts an important check and balance on this power: the ability of individuals to challenge illegitimate searches. "

A person can be prosecuted without being informed or their attorney being informed, so there is no opportunity for defense.  That is total abuse which allows total corruption.  Unless we make needed changes to the PATRIOT Act it is only a matter of time until complete and total corruption is common place.  Yet many folks still have no idea it is occurring and the extent to which it has become a reality in our nation.

Once more I ask for we, the people, to choose to become more informed.  Everyone may not be up for researching the Act - so please, at least, read the information at the ACLU website https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act about how the Act can and is used to violate our rights.   And if you can spare another moment, than at least take a quick look at this online PDF which is the entirety of the act as passed in 2001 (without updates or revisions), if only for a brief glance at the table of contents which shows how extensive the law actually is:  PUBLIC LAW 107–56—OCT. 26, 2001 which is the act as passed in 2001. 

The Military Industrial Complex and Iran

"Trump says the military industrial complex is pressuring him into a war with Iran."  This was a headline on an article a friend shared, today.  My comment, with a few edits here for clarity, was:

I can buy that, actually. In fact that is the good and bad of President Trump's fickle opinions and what he supports and does not support. He seems to listen to input, which is good, then bases opinions on who gets the most access time and puts the most pressure on him.

That results in a whole lot more bad than good - too much turning around of past legislation and too much conflict of interest in people he appoints, then boots out of those positions, apparently  so he can reappoint others to government positions. It looks like the appointments are intended to reward his cronies rather than to benefit we, the people.

And if Trump wants to be honest he needs to state that the political zionist machine is also pressuring him to attack another of Israel's neighbors, indirectly, through our military industrial complex, and the illegal Israel lobbies representing the wishes of a foreign nation, and more directly when possible - his son-in-law comes to mind.

But there is more than that brief comment which also  needs to be said.

Our President also needs to know and acknowledge that Israel is exacerbating the problem of Iran, primarily for Israel's benefit, simply because Iran is a powerful nearby Muslim nation as a neighbor of Israel. It is also apparent that Israel is taking opportunistic advantage of the fact that Iran, as a Shiite nation, wants to take Saudi Arabia's place in controlling Mecca (at least controlling Haj and Mecca during Haj); and opportunistic advantage of Iran's desire to be recognized as head of the real Caliphate which is the position of the Saudi king.  Iran's past attacks on Mecca have clearly demonstrated its intent.  As clearly, that Saudi Arabia considers the stakes to be too high for Iran to be a nuclear nation, is understandable, particularly when considering Israel is a nuclear nation, and also nearby. 

A regional Saudi/Israel "friendship" benefits SA's regional interests far more than it benefits U.S.A.'s  Thus Saudi Arabia gets what it wants when Israel manipulates U.S.A. policies.   Israel could do worse than having Saudi Arabia for a "protector", in some ways, especially  when some of Israel's and SAs political interests are the same.  Too bad U.S.A. can not be objective enough to truly understand the lay of the land - which seems to primarily be "speak softly and carry a big stick".  U.S.A. is the "big stick" because it is foolish enough to dedicate funds to "policing the world", based on the prolific false flattery of being "the most powerful free nation" in the world since the end of WWII.  Saudi Arabia speaks softly to the U.S.A., and Israel rattles U.S.A.s cage. 

To some extent during economic recovery after WWII when it was recognized U.S.S.R was intending to be a threat, at the start of the Cold War, the flattery regarding  power of the U.S.A.  at the time may not have been as much of a total exaggeration.  But after the U.S. declared the Cold War to be over and done because of the Berlin wall coming down and Russia feeling confident enough about the U.S.S.R satellite nations being allies to disband the U.S.S.R., then  the false flattery continued greasing the wheels that  encouraged the resulting vacuous attitude and "policing" behavior of U.S.A.  It has become become a serious problem for we, the people, which results in U.S.A. dedicating over half of the annual budget to active conflict elsewhere in the world at the bidding of those who ask - in the guise of "policing the world".  No doubt there are perks of some type offered when being asked.  But the false flattery, alone, is likely still a powerful motivator, unfortunately.

Saudi Arabia is well aware the U.S. is far more apt to consider Israel's problems to be an issue it is willing to fight for, than it is apt to be concerned about Saudi Arabia's issues which U.S. relegates to Islamic religious issues - given news reports that Saudi Arabia is considered to be terrorist inclined.  However,  the Saudi King is concerned about and responsible for the Ummah, especially during Haj, and in the case of Iran concerned for the security of his nation, as well.  And Saudi Arabia is not foolish enough to ignore the opportunity of U.S.A.s  willingness to do Israel's bidding.

Understanding that should solve what is a mystery to some about the "friendship" between Israel and Saudi Arabia.  And it must be noted that it is at cost to continuing death of and violence targeting Palestinians in oPT, and destruction of their livelihoods and homes.  Though many would like to consider Palestine and Palestinians irrelevant to these issues, the fact is the negotiations about the partition of Palestine which the political zionists tried to put an end to when declaring Israel a nation, is very much at the center of almost all of the political issues in the Middle East since that time.  Palestinians will continue to be targeted for death and destruction by the political zionist government of Israel as long as no other nations are preventing the government of Israel's long, slow, drawn-out over 70 year genocide of Palestinians who live on the land Israel wants without them on it.  Nothing could be simpler to understand, yet nothing has consistently created more political turmoil during my life, up to the point of here and now.

That "mystery" is only part of Israel's motivation because its intent has been to harass all the nearby Muslim nations, which grew into attacking Islam and Muslims in general.  That effort increased by taking opportunistic advantage of 9/11 to put pressure on U.S.A. when it was ready and  eager to comply, because of understandably  being in retributive mode.  However  our government should be more self-disciplined about not taking action when in retributive mode, instead of being driven by emotions in the same way that any "crime of passion" is driven, especially when being encouraged to take ill-advised action in the heat of the moment.

It was not understandable that the U.S.A. did not have the foresight to refrain from depending on faulty "intelligence" (originating from Israel) which was used as justification to start engaging in active conflict against Iraq after the announced "War on Terror".  The only reason Israel has been able to push the anti-Muslim anti-Islam  agenda so far for so long is because U.S.A. enables Israel's agenda, including unconditionally enabling Israel's agendas long before 9/11.  And the anti-Muslim agenda feeds into the government of Israel's deadly determination to claim all of Palestine for Israel.  The political zionist machine never actually wanted to be a state in the nation of Palestine, even partitioned into a Jewish only state.  The intent always was to claim all of Palestine as Israel.

Am I blaming everything on Israel and its political ideology of zionism? Of course not.  But is is a much larger part of all the Middle East conflicts than most are willing to realize, or as the case may be, to admit because it serves their purposes not to. With Israel is where a lot of the ignored actual blame, safely (unfortunately), resides.  However I am blaming many  of our most damaging (domestic and foreign) U.S.A. policies, especially middle east policies and active conflict, on the foreign manipulation of our government which is not only Israel's doing.  Because that is the truth of the matters. However, understand Israel strategies and tactics and it becomes clear the origin of it's first and strongest supporter at the end of WWII, even as far back as the pogroms, actually.  That a huge number of people know this, and have advised our elected and appointed officials about it, is a euphemistic "mystery". 

I happen to have been paying attention for a long time, so I speak up because I know more about these Israel/Palestine issues and their history than many other issues because of it being a focus of my research from college and university days which started with a question that arose about controlled news (by government)  at the start of the 1967 Six Days War.  The media response was so incredulous, as if there was no knowledge any problem existed which could have precipitate the war, that it was impossible to not consider the hypothesis of news being controlled.  And that has something to do with the fact that I had been informed the war was pending and soon to start by a Palestinian woman I never did meet whose family had escaped as refugees to Jordan in 1948.  As a 19 year old college freshman and journalism student at the time, the incongruity of me knowing this - and the media being unaware - simply did not compute correctly.

The point is that it is a huge mistake for Congress, and we, the people, to not recognize any other foreign nation's agenda, particularly Israel's middle east agenda regarding neighboring Muslim nations, which overly influences Congress; especially the nature of that "influence" through heavily funded "Israel first" lobbies which have been actively interfering with U.S. elections and political policies, increasingly so since 1948, along with extortion and skillful hasbara/propaganda designed for public consumption very actively since 1967.  Lobbies representing foreign nations are illegal.  And, yes, court cases have been won that focus on lobbies and lobbyists who represent foreign nations but did not register, as required, as foreign agents or lobbyists who were acting on behalf of a foreign principal.  Even so,  the violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) continues to occur.  Anyone interested in consulting with and advising elected and appointed government officials about the problem might want to refresh their knowledge of FARA.  The Foreign Lobby Watch about FARA at the Center for Responsive Politics is a good place to start.

Americans who are informed and know the deal are tired of wondering and asking if appointed and elected American government officials are as totally ignorant and lacking in knowledge as it seems, or, if they truly are, collectively, so ill-intended and corrupt that they allow their opinions to be swayed by foreign agents lining their pockets with perks and/or threats to prevent their reelection.  I do not want to think it is wide spread corruption as much as it is conveniently wearing blinders when it comes to anything that Israel demands of the U.S.A., directly and through it's lobbies.  But there comes a point when ignoring issues that can not be ignored, because of the extensive damage they do, becomes a matter of being corrupt. And that was reached, decades ago. 

Sometimes something obviously connected to the political zionist influence issue arises which might lead to questions that get too close to the comfort zone of elected and appointed government officials.  Then, strangely enough, there are efforts to redirect the attention of we, the people, to what are sometimes unnecessary bizarre manufactured problems.  We can be assured that the intent is to draw our attention away from more pressing issues which often are associated with what our nation is pressured to do.  This question of incompetence or ill-intent becomes more pertinent when there is an ambitious effort to redirect and refocus our attention.

Case in point, currently, the abortion issue which never should have been an issue - ever.  And of course it is an attack on Roe v. Wade, and of course it never should have been an issue which even required Roe v. Wade way back when.  The actual issue, originally, was about federal funds being used for abortions.  And look at what it morphed into.  We should all realize by this time that abortion is always a hot button issue that is dragged out to be used to redirect the attention of we, the people, at opportunistic times, particularly women - oft the kinder, gentler demographic of we, the people, who like to put the skids on war-mongering.

We can be confident that each time abortion comes up, especially in bizarre extreme ways, it is primarily intended to redirect the attention of we, the people, away from more pressing issues; as if trying to make it illegal for women to make their own decisions - especially about their own bodies - is not pressing enough.  How can the well orchestrated domestic extremism, this time around,  not appear to be redirecting us from the real issue which is about U.S. being pressured to engage in armed conflict with Iran  by the military industrial complex.   More precisely the U.S.A's  military industrial complex is being used as a weapon by the unregistered foreign agents of numerous nations.  Are the Joint Chiefs really too naive to not know, or do they truly relish the needless death and destruction that is taking our nation to hell in a hand basket.