Monday, August 7, 2017

Saving the World From Adolescent Leaders

Men like Trump who are insecure about their masculinity are especially dangerous in positions of power because their concept of manhood is associated with show of force. They have never learned that being a man involves much more than firing a gun or measuring the size of their penis. They lack the knowledge needed to conduct diplomacy. We now have two adolescent boys--Trump and Kim Jong-un--in positions of power where they can wreak destruction on the world. Each is jerking off with weapons of mass destruction. Trump can order a nuclear attack. In April we saw how impulsively he ordered a missile strike on Syria. In July we saw Kim Jong-un test an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts said could reach the United States. Each of these adolescent boys seems to be trying to assert his manhood in the least intelligent way.

We don’t know whether North Korea has a nuclear warhead it could mount on such a missile. But we do know the U.S. has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons on the planet. We know that Trump has access to the nuclear codes. We know Trump is ignorant and incompetent, and we know he will do anything--lie, promote violence, humiliate his minions, scapegoat others, threaten anyone he feels is in his way--to embellish his self-image and safeguard his fragile masculinity.

Trump and Kim Jong-un are on a collision course. The North Korean leader has no legislative control on his impulsiveness. Here we have Congress that so far in Trump’s presidency has not shown any collective spine to curb Trump. It’s up to the American people and concerned legislators who must raise their voices more strongly than ever before to demand that Congress impeach the mad man masquerading as president before he starts a nuclear war.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Doing Harm

“Do no harm” is the core principle of medical practice and bioethics. But Congressional Republicans, with a couple of exceptions (Senators Collins and Murkowski) have no ethics. Never have I seen so much frantic effort devoted to doing as much harm as possible to as many people as possible.

Under the guise of a healthcare bill, this McConnell/Ryan gang of suck-up toadies is trying to pass a no-care bill that would take medical insurance away from millions of the most vulnerable Americans and provide a huge tax break to millionaires and corporations. This is no healthcare bill; it’s tax relief for the rich riding on the backs of the poor and middle class.

For seven years, Republicans turned their backs on the American people and worked to destroy Obama’s presidency. Proudly declaring themselves the “party of NO,” they blocked, obstructed, and propagandized everything President Obama tried to do for the American people. They have been ranting and raving for seven years about what a disaster the Affordable Care Act, which they dubbed “Obamacare,” has been, but by many measures they are wrong. Not to worry. This is a party that does not accept facts or evidence about anything. Does the Affordable Care Act have problems? Yes. But it is a working structure that is in place. As many Democrats have pointed out, the problems in the ACA can be fixed, but Congressional Republicans will not hear of it. Working behind the scenes with no debate, until forced to do so now, they have repeatedly tried to force votes on a vicious bill that would only do harm by stripping benefits that people already have under the ACA.

Rather than working for the people who elected them, this gang, made up largely of men, has had three items on their agenda: repealing and replacing “Obamacare,” depriving women of reproductive health options, and giving tax breaks to the one percent of the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

In recent months, they’ve had the opportunity to reveal the plan they presumably have been working on for these past seven years. And they've come up empty. Neither the would-be emperor in the White House nor the so-called healthcare bill has any clothes. They are bare for all to see who they really are: a bunch of liars, con-men, and immoral stooges, many of them blatantly anti-woman and racist. They are cheered on by the infantile destroyer-in-chief in the White House whose only interest is in using every tool of government to enrich himself and his family. The country be damned!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

SALE on my Ebook; HOW TO HAVE SEX IF YOU'RE NOT HUMAN Half-price throughout the month of July 2017.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

School Visit Nansemond-Suffolk Academy

I love author visits to schools. On Friday, 7 April 2017, I had a delightful time presenting to young students, K through 2nd grade, at the Suffolk, VA, campus of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. During my presentation, "Where Do Ideas Come From," I told students where the ideas for several of my books had originated. Mrs. Ann Woleben, the school's wonderful librarian, had prepared students by reading the book, What Do You Do With Ideas? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom. Student questions are my favorite part of author visits. Lots of hands and eager faces were ready. Unfortunately there is never enough time for all of the students to ask their questions. My favorite questions: "Are we animals?" "When did you become a writer?""Do Mama and Daddy dolphins take turns caring for the babies?" I spoke about the ideas for my newest books, Baby Orca, Rattler, and Aliens From Earth (revised edition). This school has wonderful programs in science and the arts. The children who attend are so fortunate to be able to come to this truly great school.