"One if by land, two if by sea..." Seriously.


 

 Sunday, 16 February 2025

The ME has been on duty as always, and circumstances of the past few days resulted in a five-day PENE response. I was barely functional for a bit. However, I’m used to it. I’ve been dealing with it, to varying intensities, for over 50 years. It’s just getting worse in terms of the fatigue and just getting things done.

Moreover, I’ve become aware of two other persons with ME who went “end of watch” this past year, their symptoms reflecting extreme fatigue-related neural decline.

Bottom line, I’ve been advised by more than one medical professional (and ones whom I trust, actually) that, given the condition, I probably don’t have a lot of years left. One even said it was time to “kick back and just enjoy life!” and let it all go.

Yeah, right. I thought they knew me better than that (LOL).

I’ve decided that (1) it’s better to die fighting for a just cause than from COVID, and (2) the one thing I can still do (according to others) is write in an “uncomfortably direct” manner.

So, today I’m sitting at the keyboard trying to figure out what to say, soaking up magic bean juice, talking to the dog...and you folks are blessed with the result. The situation is, in my view, beyond critical. If I had to put a single word to it, I’d say, “phukt!”; I’ll try to be nice, though. Do keep in mind I was once a part of the old AP Newsfinders Service, and had to read and understand the libel and style manual. If I say something, I mean it as fact; I’ll wait to comment on it until that point.

I suppose that’s been my mistake lately...being too nice. That’s not hard to do, living in the Hawai’ian culture. I, and a handful of others, saw all this coming thirty years ago. It was one of the main reasons I moved to the most remote land mass in the country. However, it’s not just the past few years of politics that is the issue here, because we need to realize that it’s been in planning for decades. I’ve been quite aware of that, but it’s struck me as to how amazingly quickly it’s coming about. There’s not time to spare.

It’s no longer the point that one is Republican, or Democrat, or whatever. The point now is whether you are willing to accept a fascist criminal, and a cabinet of like-minded (or, I should perhaps say, nuckingfutz) sycophants.

I think the best I can do is relate some of my own experiences in a given regard, and how that worked out; or simply what happened somewhere else in 1933, and how a duplicate playbook is being used now.

I’ll not change anyone’s mind. I know that. I’ll likely see a lot of flak. I also know that. What I would hope is that the simple act of reading can get one thinking, even if it’s to the point of yelling at the keyboard...so that folks will do all they can individually to not just resist this insanity, but turn it around, returning us to the democratic republic we’re supposed to be.

I think that’s it for today. It’s been taking me 4-5 hrs in the morning to get “functional.” The ME “drives” (as in direction) my life these days, and I’ve been lamenting not having an “objective” I can achieve in order to feel functional and a positive resource for my community.

The next rant (uh, episode) is intended to publish Sunday, 23 February.

I also think (a couple of you who really know me will agree) it takes me actually getting angry about something in order to get moving.

Well...I’m officially pissed.

-30-


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