Putin's Puppet.

Donald Trump is a liar.

A war is coming; and soon.

Even all the way down here in Texas I can hear Trump and his generals rattling their sabers. Their pockets are full of big shiny toys burning holes in their trousers. Abrams, Apaches, and Spectres. Oh my.

Iran will be the target. It's a country we've had our eyes on it for quite a while. Tensions have been rising in the Persian Gulf and particularly in and around the strait of Hormuz. Last year Iran even threatened it's closure. That's 20% of the world's oil. 85% of which goes to Asia. It'll give Trump control over a large amount of oil, among other seaborne commerce passing through the strait, and a way to hurt China. Sound like something The Orange might be interested in?

He's already surrounded himself with people that would be amenable to this course of action. Flynn has had a hard-on for Iran for a while and already believes that there is a war coming between them and Saudi Arabia. Mattis said two days ago, after Trump announced fresh sanctions against Iran, that they were the "single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.". Bannon has been propagandizing about Iran getting nukes via Breitbart for sometime now, too. Tillerson has his eyes on their oil. Priebus has been screaming bloody murder about the same nukes. The echo chamber is complete and it is calling for an invasion.

Boots on the ground in Iran will be a messy affair. It will be a bloodier occupation that Iraq or Afghanistan. Insurgents will pour in from all sides, seeing it as a last stand of sorts. It'll be a dirty war that will claim many an American life. I don't think it will require a draft... but what bitter irony it would be to have one instituted by a draft dodger.

The Muslim ban was deliberately designed to agitate and isolate Muslims. The Trump administration wants a terrorist attack right now. One is probably coming, real or manufactured, that will somehow lead straight back to Iran. This will be the justification for their war. Hell, even if it doesn't lead back to Iran that won't stop them. Remember Iraq's role in 9/11? There will be a bombing or a shooting. The bomber or shooter will be Iranian. Or know an Iranian. Or have been to Iran. Or seen Iran on TV. Or have an A Flock Of Seagulls CD in his apartment. Something. Anything. That'll be all they need to get the meat grinder going.

As much as I'd like to paint Trump as a deplorable devil of Nixonian proportions with a head full of evil plans I can't. He's a buffoon with a head full of air and hair growth chemicals. This was exposed as the truth when he unwittingly signed an order that placed Bannon on the NSC without even realizing it. He's their patsy. W II. Here to start WWIII. Personally, I think the man has Alzheimer's, as his father before him, and that everyone around him knows it. He's their useful idiot and with him they will rule the world. Or attempt to.

So we're going to war again, America. And, whether they succeed or they fail, we, the people, will suffer.

Donald Trump is a gift to ISIS.

Hearts and minds.

It's something I used to hear a lot while I was deployed to Iraq. Hearts and minds. We put a lot of effort into this concept. We spent American money at the markets and at falafel stands to keep the merchants friendly. We handed out soccer balls and candy to Iraqi children to combat the image of the evil American occupier. We set up points where Iraqis could come to receive medical treatment from our medics. We also helped repair schools and hospitals destroyed during the conflict; to give those children a place to congregate and learn; and to give people access to healthcare that was otherwise nonexistent. We provided security for people as they performed daily tasks; refilling benzene tanks, pumping sewage from the streets, or doing road work. We also paid the sewage truck operators and the road workers, using locals always to boost our status within the community. We spoke with local sheikhs and imams. We interacted with the people, learned their customs, and showed them the respect that they deserved. We drank tea with them. We broke bread with them.

The goal, always, was to make one thing very clear: We are not your enemy and you are not ours.

This approach had very positive effects in my area of operations. We, once the evil American occupiers, became the peace officers. People came to us with problems and, more importantly, with information. When we were attacked by terrorists the civilian populace became very annoyed with the agitators. And why not? We didn't even shoot our guns unless we were attacked. Sure, we shouldn't be there but they knew that we didn't want to be. We humanized ourselves. They saw us not as the faceless manifestation of American aggression but as guys from another country that were trying to do a job. That job? To help their community recover and grow after the horrible war that they had endured.

Before long, Iraqis began to take up arms against Al Qaeda in our area. When insurgents would show up in their town to plant improvised explosive devices on their newly repaired roads they would meet severe resistance. At a minimum, our neighborhood birdies would tell us who did what and where said what was. Occasionally, we would arrive to find that our new Iraqi friends had killed the potential terrorists and all we needed to do was clean up.

Hearts and minds.

These lessons have been learned by the American military over years and years of warfare. You fight an idea with an idea. Terrorists recruit by demonizing those that they fight. How do you convince a kid to blow himself up to kill a guy that gave him candy and soccer balls, that built his school, that rendered medical aid, or fed his family? How do you convince a man to blow up a guy's truck when the day before he was drinking tea with him and laughing? Sure, not everyone is changed by a simple gesture. There are true believers. These tactics aren't for them. We show Muslims that we are not the enemy by not being the enemy. By being the friend. By healing the wounds that we have inflicted. Muslims, like Christians, are a peaceful and forgiving people. They don't live for war or yearn for it. Jihad is the last resort of an oppressed and distraught person with no options left.

Donald Trump threatens our country with his anti-Muslim agenda. Banning Muslims from coming to the United States? This is a victory for ISIS. They just gained recruits all over the world.

I read a story today about a man who's mother, after living in this country since 1995, was denied re-entry to undergo medical care. She's dead now. How do you radicalize a moderate Muslim? Killing his mother is probably a good start.

- An edit. Apparently, the man that reported this is being accused of lying about it. Regardless of whether or not he did the anecdote has meaning. This disruption of travel, deliberately targeting Muslims, can and will cost people their lives. It's unfortunate that this man would lie as it hurts the cause but it doesn't change the fact that the Muslim ban serves more to radicalize and increase terrorism than to solve it.

A kid from Houston is currently being detained in Chicago because he went to Jordan to renew his visa. Jordan, a country that is not on the list of banned countries. They revoked his visa and locked him up. They took his phone. His brother says that the kid can only use the phone once a week for thirty minutes and that he is unable to see him. The official word is that he will be at a refugee center for up to two months. Sixteen years old. This is how you create a radical.

There are two possibilities in my mind.

1 - The Trump administration is clueless and incompetent. They have no idea what they're doing. They don't know how to fight terrorism. They're scared and they are lashing out.

I don't really believe this, though it sounds comforting when compared to the other possibility.

2 - The Trump administration knows exactly what it's doing. They know that this will create more radicals. They are deliberately antagonizing terrorists. They want terrorism to increase so that they can push for more control, more restrictions, and more terror. They want to use the hate and fear that they are creating to initiate mass deportations, mass incarcerations, and war. This was their plan. This is their agenda.

I don't want to believe this. I want America to be great, I want our country to prosper, but America doesn't prosper by victimizing the people that live here. When we attack our own people we all lose. We're supposed to be better. What happened to "One nation, indivisible"? That doesn't just mean the white Christians. That means all of us; immigrants and visitors included. We've gone from complaining about illegal immigration to attacking legal immigrants based solely on their religion.

Refugees and immigrants are not our enemies. A refugee could be the most patriotic American you've ever seen if you would just give them the chance to be. To be welcomed by us with open arms after fleeing war, chaos, and death? Is there a better way to win someone's heart and mind?

The protests are heartening. To see Americans come together as a unit to resist this obvious tyranny fills me with pride even as Trump's actions overwhelm me with shame. Huge, spontaneous protests to support people being unlawfully detained, unfairly treated, and un-Americanly singled out? This is the country that I love. Is it enough? I don't know. It's a start, though.

Let's keep the heat on, America.

FAKE NEWS!

Trump today denied charges of corruption and Russian collusion by shouting down reporters he didn't like as "FAKE NEWS!" while paid spectators clapped and cheered. His supporters ate up that slop like pigs at the trough; Happily and without question.

The rise of fascism in the United States is real and imminent. Ominous. Trump discredits honest, but biased, press while he refuses to divest in his many businesses. He is clearly compromised by Russia but his followers don't care. Anyone but "Killary" they cry, still. The election is long over but any criticism of their God-King is immediately and fervently met with criticism of Hillary Clinton. The only way that they can justify electing a man like Donald J. Trump is to highlight the flaws of his opponent. "Look what could have happened!", they cry. Trump himself has no actual merits. There was no reason to elect Trump other than that he was not Obama or Clinton. That's it.

His campaign promises are disintegrating as we speak. Lock her up? Nope. Drain the swamp? Absolutely not. The swamp is now being populated with some of the most dangerous and dastardly characters that the right can find. The far right. So far right that they're warming up the trains and dusting off the gas chambers. Build the wall? Maybe. Mexico isn't paying for it, though. You are. Suckers.

America chose a salesman over a politician because the average American thinks that one is better than the other. Now, Trump's supporters are driving off of the lot at 19% interest with a six year loan and a big ol' smile on their big dumb faces. "My payments are super low!", they gloat stupidly. Meanwhile, the used car salesman is at the bar buying drinks for his friends with their commission check; laughing at the idiocy of these uninformed consumers. "Not to worry!", He says as he roars with laughter, "When it breaks down they'll blame the Mexicans!".

If you cannot see that calling his first press conference, screaming at the press, denying vehemently, and tweeting frantically is an admission of guilt then I don't think there is any hope for you.

If you cannot see that Kellyanne Conway being dispatched to spread misinformation to major media outlets as damage control is not Trump basically pleading guilty then the wool is thick over your eyes.

If you cannot see that Russia addressing these allegations so immediately and directly is a complete acknowledgement of their collusion then you are a fool.

This is fascism rising. This is how our democracy dies. Our president is quelling free speech and twisting the truth to fit a lie. Watch the Kellyanne interview for example.

Repeatedly, Anderson Cooper says that the story that CNN reported WAS NOT the same story that Buzzfeed ran. He says it over and over and over again. She continues to say that they are the same story. THEY ARE NOT. She deliberately says "CNN and Buzzfeed" together in the same sentences over and over again. This is an attempt to link the two in your brain and make the two stories inseparable. By doing this they only have to discredit ONE of the stories. 

She also says that they don't discuss intelligence briefings. While she's arguing about what happened IN AN INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING. While she says that it DIDN'T HAPPEN IN AN INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING.

What?

This is an absolute attempt by an authoritarian administration to discredit the press and control the media. 

He's not even president yet.

Can you imagine how bad things are going to get when he actually has the power of the office? 

We're fucked. 

Find a Trump voter and thank them. 

/Drunk blog over.

A short rant.

If Everything Is Racist Then Nothing Is.

You'll see and hear a lot of the same things from people right now. One of the biggest phrases I see a lot is "You think everything is racist.". This is usually said right after you call someone out for being racist. They do this to marginalize you and destroy the credibility of your statement. It's complete bullshit and should not be tolerated. Racism exists. We all know this. It exists in many forms and in many people. Race relations in Amerikkka have always been shaky, at best. We live in a country that committed genocide against it's native people, enslaved it's black and Chinese people, locked it's Japanese people in internment camps, that continues to suppress it's minority community's votes, and is now talking about deporting 11 million Hispanic immigrants and forcing Muslims to register. We need to talk about racism.


Call it what it is.

If you're a white person that is spouting this "You think everything is racist" bullshit then, guess what? You're supporting racism and further damaging race relations at a time when we do so at our peril. Look around and realize that your apathy is allowing for the rise of fascist rhetoric and the loss of basic human rights for your friends and neighbors.

If you're a POC and you aren't calling out racism WHENEVER you hear it then, guess what? You are supporting racism and further damaging race relations. This shit cannot and should not be tolerated in our society. We've come to goddamn far to be taking these huge steps backwards. I refuse to go back to a time when a white man thought it acceptable to call me a nigger in the street. You should, too.

Making America great again means stepping back to the 1960s and undoing the entire civil rights movement? It means leaping back to the 1940s and one of the most shameful things we've ever done as a nation? It means deporting millions of people that DO contribute to our economy, both in tax revenue and in purchasing power? It means undoing LGBT rights? It means ignoring the RIGHT of Natives to defend water they depend on to live? It means allowing fascist hate groups to march around spewing disgusting rhetoric about white supremacy?

I don't think so.

America IS great because it's a melting pot. Because we are supposed to unite as Americans in times of need. This is a time of need. Do not let a small group divide us.

I don't hate white people, and I know that most white people don't hate me, but some of them do. Acknowledging that is not the cause of racism but the cure for it. Be my brother, respect my opinion, understand my point of view, and I will do the same. Don't dismiss me because my opinion makes you uncomfortable.

I have not yet begun to fight.

I never pictured myself here.

Blogs are pathetic, really. Just an exercise in impotent rage. People screaming into the void. A vain attempt to gain attention by people who think they have a unique and interesting perspective. My blog isn't going to change the world.

So why bother?

The answer came at me like a ton of bricks. It fell on me and pinned me to the spot in which I now lay. It anchors me here, in this place, where there is but one course of action.

Because it's something. Because if I can even change one mind, educate one person, reach one kindred spirit, then this is all completely worth it.

Because it soothes me in a way that few things do.

Because they have blogs, too.

By they, I mean these Alt-Right nutjobs that are constantly hounding me and others on all forms of social media. When they aren't sending me death threats, calling me "Afrocentric", or a "black nationalist", or just a nigger, they're attempting to create false narratives about me and my intentions. If someone attacks me and I retaliate they call me violent. If I threaten those that threaten me they say that I'm making threats about nothing. They knowingly spread lies about me and people that look like me to further their agenda and their agenda, make no mistake, is our destruction.

I will never sit quietly and passively while people attempt to destroy me. Be it with words or with weapons. I will always fight back. I will always stand tall against tyranny. I haven't come this far to be silenced by a bunch of angry white men with inferiority complexes. I didn't risk my life in combat to surrender to threats. I didn't watch my friends die for rights that I am willing to relinquish. The more I am told to shut up the louder I will shout.

If you're reading this and you feel the way that I feel then you are my brother. I don't care about your color. I don't care about your religion. I don't care about your geographical location, your sexual orientation, your political affiliation, or your gender identification.

Some people think that I hate Trump voters. I don't. If you are a Trump voter, though, then you should understand a few things. Donald Trump ran on a platform of racism, prejudice, misogyny, xenophobia, and lies. By voting for this you have proven that you do not care about your president saying and doing the things that he says and does. You're telling me that it doesn't matter if he lies to you about any and everything. Otherwise, you wouldn't have voted for him. You have accepted all that he is and decided that those things are ok. I don't know how to reconcile that. I don't know how to be a friend to someone that accepts those things from anyone, let alone from the leader of their country. If you're white and you voted for him that tells me that you care more about Hillary Clinton's emails than you do about my welfare in this country as a brown person.

When he comes for the undocumented and the Muslims all brown people will be under a microscope. You may not see this as a real fear but I cannot afford to dismiss it when it is a clear possibility. Ask the Jews how that works out. Or the Armenians. Or the Japanese. Ask the Cambodians that watched the rise of the Khmer Rouge or the Russians that witnessed the rise of Lenin and then Stalin. You may think I'm being paranoid. The reason you think that is simple; You don't have to worry about it so you don't care. If you're white and an American citizen they may never come for you. You won't listen to me NOW. Will you listen when they come for me? How can I trust you to? Why would I?

I understand that you're scared of Muslims and Mexicans. You disregard the fact that you're more likely to be killed by a white terrorist than a brown one, more likely to be killed by a cop than a Jihadi, more likely to kill a cop as a white man. You ignore the good in each group and exaggerate the bad while simultaneously dismissing the hate groups growing in strength within your own communities and among your own race. Black people are responsible for all other black people while white people take no responsibility for other whites. If a white man screams nigger and hits me in my face on the street "moderate" whites will tell me that he doesn't represent all other white people. If a black man does the same to a white man it will trend on twitter and/or be reported on Breitbart as an example of the violent savagery of the black man. You do this with a complete lack of self awareness. Then you will want to be my friend. Then you will call yourself my ally.

If you do not stand up for me against the people that attack me you are not my friend. If you do not speak up for me when people put me down then you are not my ally. If you do not respect me enough to acknowledge and understand the things in the world that I worry about then you are not my brother.

Right now I can't afford to figure out people's intentions. You're either with me or against me.

I'm not threatening you with violence. Please understand that. This is America, after all, and Americans do not physically attack those with opposing views. Well, not other Americans with opposing views, anyway. The very essence of my fear is that this seems to be changing right before my eyes. I never received death threats for arguing about Obama and Romney. I've never been called a stupid nigger just for admitting to being a liberal. Before this election I was working on poems and short stories. I was thinking about writing a book for my children. Now, I'm blogging anonymously about hate crimes and racism. Anonymously because I fear for the safety of my children.

An American should not have to worry about retaliation against his family for his political views. Yet, I do. I was told not long ago that I should stop arguing and blogging "for the sake of my children and old people.". When I refused I was then told that I "must have a death wish like they do, then.".

What the actual fuck, America?

So, here I am. I will keep writing. I will keep disagreeing. I will continue to be a dissident. I will continue to work towards achieving my political goals and making America SAFE again for myself, my children, and all other people of color. I will not bow to threats nor yield to pressure. I will not sit down. I will not be quiet.

If I should die in the service of this goal then so be it.

Drape a flag on my coffin and bury me a patriot.

A message for the fascists.

I have a message for those that would threaten us.

For those that mean us harm.

For those that think us weak.