DesDownunder

Thanks Graeme, that's good news for us all. Well worth reading.

Perhaps not a sequel as I wrote it first, but it does convey where my feelings are, I think: The Slaves Lament Even moderate examination of recent wars and political directions, let alone extended experience of these modern times, cannot dissuade the rational thoughts of impending doom; of some new world that is neither brave nor free. Slavery of people by the people for some of the richest people has been the objective of fascism. The rule of the tyrant to divide and conquer can be seen in nearly every business , every political party and every government. Segregation of the deprived sustains the ignorance of the enslaved, and even hides the fact that the masters are slaves themselves. The right to not only pursue happiness but help each other to find that happiness is hidden from all and sundry. Worse, under the terms of fascism, the masters are encouraged to believe that happiness is the pleasure of watching the suffering of the deprived. The Trump/Bannon/Miller regime has now brought this suffering to the United States based on the religious need to atone for sins that, in reality, no one has committed because they are fabricated in fiction. The enslaved do not know that freedom is their right, the masters know it, and the authoritarians revel in the misery they have brought to humanity. Demand Spartacus to come forward, and if he does not stand then shout back, "I am Spartacus" because we cannot wait any longer for our freedom, we must claim our own freedom and the freedom of us, all...and if we are crucified for wanting our rights, then so be it.

Jedi Lament Authoritarian, Totalitarian, Tyranny: I was assured these were no longer the main forms of government on Earth when I agreed to go to your planet as an assessor of Earth governments' suitability to be admitted on to the cosmic council. I have contacted my home planet and told them to go ahead and use the death star that we confiscated from the Evil Empire and requested its use to remove your fascist world from the solar system. We can no longer permit you to endanger and infect our universe with your primitive forms of hatred and war like behaviours. We tried to warn you but you just won't listen. Best of luck for your final days of existence...I'm out of here.

The next President is going to have a very difficult time trying to restore the integrity of the White House and the administration; respect will take even longer. The real problem will be getting the rest of the world to accept that Fascism and the Trump presidency have been defeated. It's probably a little too optimistic to hope for the defeat of ignorance as well.

Just because some of us don't want to get married doesn't mean that we are against marriage equality. My companion and I have been together for over 45 years and we have no inclination to marry, but we speak out for the right to marry at every opportunity. We do so, not because we want to marry, but because we believe that if its good enough for the gooses and ganders then its good enough for all the geese, too...if they want it. What we are adamant about is that the turkeys should not have the right to stop the geese from marrying each other regardless of their gender, or should I say, gander.

George III is well known in children's history books for being the "mad king who lost America". In recent years, though, it has become fashionable among historians to put his "madness" down to the physical, genetic blood disorder called porphyria. Its symptoms include aches and pains and blue urine. I suggest watching the movie, The Madness of King George for a more modern view of the life and times of the king.

I'm glad I didn't read that before I had my operation, but I think my Oxycontin induced hallucination was just as threatening; I thought the doctors and nurses were trying to kill me. Frighteningly well told James

My warning in 2004 that no country who accepted LGBT people didn't later recriminalise them, worries me greatly. The hate groups and the alt right, white supremacists, are on the rise, as is the fascist mindset which has invaded the White House. It does not please me to be correct in my prophecy, but it might be wise to recognise the danger that is posed by the marriage registries. The hate mongers could conceivably use the marriage registries as a list to know who they should target with their insane hatred. The answer is not to hide from them, but to become more vocal in proclaiming our human rights. Join an anti- hate group in your locale and work as hard as you can to defeat the right wing bigots, the despots, and the horrors of yet another war against tyranny.

Thanks James, and may you too have a Happy Valentines Day.

Thanks Colin, you do such a great job looking after Codey's World (and my stories.)

I see that The Dude has posted my short story Everything A Boy Could Want which was my contribution to Codey's World Valentine stories in 2007. This story is special for me as it was my first attempt at writing a story. It's probably full of flaws but I got a lot pleasure from writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. http://codeysworld.com/desdownunder/everything_a_boy_could_want/index.html

To the Dude, himself, Your response to snowblind94 seems to me to be well balanced and nicely said whilst being friendly, and stating the AwesomeDude golden rule. Well done. To Chris James, I appreciated the Kathleen Parker article which you linked. I can't begin to explain how anxious I feel over Trump, but I am trying to express my reservations on my Facebook page. Kathleen sums up the concerns many people feel. It is not often realised that we, in Australia, have some differences in our nation's cultures. It is also true to say that we share a common interest with the United States' desire for Truth, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I just hope we survive to see those interests fulfilled.

The above quote does not acknowledge the position of the non-believer in deities. Indeed, it assumes belief and I find that unfortunate. Similarly, the idea that: can be seen as a promotion of behaviour over our natural instinct. In much the same line of thinking, we might claim that religion is learned behaviour. As such, I would argue that the difference between learned behaviour, and natural instincts, is the key to understanding the fluidity of sexuality as seen in humans and other animals. However, there is little to be gained in further argument once "God the Creator" is cited as the giver of "intelligence, kindness and love". My only point here, is to clarify that in the secular world view, "intelligence, kindness and love", are attributes of life that work perfectly well without a god or a religion.

As I have followed the confirmation hearings, I can only take heart in the LA Times' rebuke of the Senate. The global position is not merely extremist right wing, it is fascist in its aims and inhuman in its direction. Here in Australia we are already, as I feared, suffering our own right wing government using Trump as an example to follow. Whilst I do not think the Australian LGBTQ community is at extreme risk from the religious bigotry, we may have to live without marriage equality for sometime, even though there is a concerted effort to have our rights recognised. The fascist mentality that pervades world governments is in fact the most worrying concern of all.

I'm still using my flashlight to signal the Mother-ship to come and rescue me.

Well said, Merkin.

I know that there are journalists in the U.S.A. who also feel the threat of a coup. There are many parallels with Nazi Germany, but this alone is not enough. What is frightening is the sociopathic symptoms lurking around the White House. I'd rather not have a coup, of any description, but the signs for even an accidental one, even without a conspiracy theory, are not without concern. At some point it becomes too real to ignore and the momentum can carry the whole planet, this time, into a global war. The same could be said for a global peace (with a lot more work, I will admit) but I doubt that such a peace can come from psychopathic origins. War can arise from ignorance, greed and ambition. Peace has to be knowingly nurtured.

On proposed repeal of the Johnson Amendment ( The Johnson Amendment is a provision in the U.S. tax code that prohibits all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. ) The American people must be made aware that repealing the Johnson Amendment prepares the path for a theocracy to gain control of the Republic. Churches, which engage in political activity, are in direct conflict of the separation of church and state and risk oligarchy; or an extension of the plutocracy by the wealthy under which, the Congress (and thus The People) already suffer in no small way. This amounts to a corruption, a coup, by the religious extremists assuming control to rule by divine commission, examples of which can be seen in many nations currently regarded as hostile to American values as written into the Constitution. Our freedom and the freedom of the human race to determine its future without divine interference is threatened by the repeal of the Johnson amendment. Moreover, every thing we have fought for is made obsolescent, and all those who died in service to the ideals of human rights and freedom have their sacrifice and their memory defiled.

I think that he checked his sanity into the cloakroom when he entered the building, but now they can't find it...and in any case he declared he has no need of it because he is very smart, or something...

Sadly, it has become commonplace to confuse our nature with our behaviour. Even if our actions are influenced by our behaviour patterns, that does not mean they are our only influence. Indeed, it should be argued that behaviour is secondary to our human instincts from which we evolve and grow our intellects, our intelligence and our psyche. When we see and succumb to evil behaviour patterns, which sidestep our instincts, hysteria may well be our response, but from that we may also salvage the inherent goodness living, and growing inside us.

We might as well have allowed the Nazis and fascists to have won WWII because, at the moment it certainly seems like they won. Evil people have mounted our hopes with threats of terror; terror that comes from madness. It's the madness of human destructiveness to destroy all that cannot be made subservient to the egos of the insane. Yet in defeat, they still may win by their retreat, which leaves only burning fields, drowning lands and dreams that no longer exist in the scattered bones of life. All that remains is our dark planet, which once crowned evolution with life and love. Resist, resist the efforts of those who would cheat the cosmos of its children and its future.

I watched it even though I knew I would feel sickened. You only have to read about insane asylum that was the Roman Empire to see that Trump and Pence share the asylum that was once the mindset of Commodus, Caligula and (amongst others) Nero. These are despotic men intent on ruling the people for their own whims and benefit even whilst they feign praise on democratic values. Here in Australia we need to keep an eye on Washington DC because our own right-wing bigots still think of themselves as Lords ruling, (rarely, governing,) over the people. If the imitation emperors of the U.S.A. run a muck you can be certain our politicians won't be that far behind them. We are of course still waiting for marriage equality, but with Trump and the GOP dictating their ignorance in Washington we may never see our own marriages being recognised here. Such is the influence we live under. So we need to know what is happening in the U.S.A. so we can try to avoid the death lurch to the right-wing which is so prevalent across the world. I agree with Cole that Pence is a real threat, but he may never become President...ask yourselves what would have happened if Nero had the nuclear codes; the fires would not have been restricted to Rome.

We are on the cusp of eruption of discontent. The brutes of thought are stalking victims in the corridors of power. By lies, they have brought their thoughts to embrace power, and violence now awaits their call.

Yes Chris, I saw the report on the Not-Mother of the Year. I am absolutely appalled.