Maddie's Musings

14/02/2025

A teacher once said, “When in doubt, go back to the classics.” Nothing is more classic, or more relevant to this time, than the Gettysburg Address. In school I memorized it in its entirety.

If you want to feel inspired, read every word now…

FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

— Abraham Lincoln, 1863

14/02/2025

Why aren't more people questioning things such as these?
idk...

14/02/2025

— written by Eilene Workman

I know a little something that so many do not appreciate about Donald, but that those of us who worked with him in the financial services game have known for many decades—LONG before he ever made a run at politics.

His stated motives rarely reveal his true agenda. His showmanship and charisma bedazzles the uninformed, which is exactly how he likes it. He never signed a contract or met an agreement he wouldn’t violate or wriggle out of if it suited his hidden agenda. He never met an investor whose purse he didn’t consider his own in some strategic way. And he never met a human being he wouldn’t screw in order to advance or satisfy himself.

If you want to understand his beef with Panama, don’t look at the canal to which he now points. Look at Trump enterprises and their fraught financial and criminal relationship with Panama, and look to the Russian oligarchs who bought condos in his Panama Tower. If you want to understand his fixation with Gaza, don’t look at the Palestinian or Israeli people; look at the real estate value he now perceives that Gaza holds, and he’d like to unlock. If you want to understand his insane, obsessive beef with energy renewable windmills, don’t look at the wind energy aspect; look at his beef with Scotland over his golf course and the nearby windmills that damaged his idea of its aesthetics.

If you want to understand his irrational hatred of Obama, don’t look at the policies of the Obama administration; look to the annual press corp dinner where Obama poked fun at him and bruised his ego. If you want to understand his demonization of Democrats, look not to Democratic social policy, but to the fact they didn’t want him to run under color of their party. If you want to understand his hatred of “immigrants” don’t look to the actual contributions and challenges related to immigration, but to his own germophobia and personal disgust for all things “dirty and brown.”

What he does SO masterfully, as many sociopaths do, is figure out how to align, however temporarily, his own personal agenda with the drives of those he can then USE to help him execute it.

And the GOP fell right in line with that abusive strategy. The GOP now looks much like a battered wife who would LOVE to quit Trump, but who also knows their financial security, personal comfort, and social status would collapse if they ran away. And they fear they won’t get much sympathy or support from the people who tried to warn them not to marry the dude—a serial, liar, cheater, thief, sadist, and a generally Bad Person.

Many of the GOP politicians today are busily masking their own abuse from the general public; at some point, however, as they watch their power continue to erode, their reputations get smashed, and themselves get blamed for the extensive abuse they now suffer, something’s gonna give.

I don’t know what it is, but every bone in my body FEELS an energetic convergence heading toward a massive, MASSIVE explosion—coming soon.

- Eilene Workman

14/02/2025

not sitting in fear or anger..but feeling very sad witnessing all the chaos our leaders are creating

12/02/2025

hugs...

MISSION STATEMENT Empower others to leave MAGA and tell their stories. Foster reconciliation with their friends and family. Develop movement leaders to help others leave. Dear MAGA Americans, I was a devoted member of MAGA nation for seven years; it made me feel I was part of something important: a....

11/02/2025

"Your little girls are watching you….they see you hating on Taylor for simply cheering on her boyfriend. They hear you grumble, whine, and complain over her mere 20 seconds of screen time. Do you not realize the message that you’re sending to your daughters? You’re telling them “Shrink yourself, be smaller, be weaker, and be less noticeable.” DO better. BE better.

Seriously….what was she supposed to do, not fall in love with him because she's Taylor Swift? She draws attention anywhere she goes because she is absolutely phenomenal as an artist and as a human being. Taylor is simply just out there, living her life. She’s not doing anything wrong by being in love.

It's kind of fascinating how much Taylor Swift's mere existence seems to irk some people. It says a lot about where we are as a society when a woman can't even support her boyfriend at his job without criticism. Good on HER for being supportive of HIM. And let's remember, SHE isn't the one putting the camera on herself. It's hard to fathom why anyone would hate on someone, famous or not, just for simply LIVING THEIR LIFE. If you are honestly upset over this, maybe take a deep breath, look around, and focus your passion on the real issues.

How anyone can hate her is beyond me. She generously and consistently donates to causes she believes in, pays her tour crew HUGE bonuses, oh and she’s brought in substantial revenue (331.5 M) to the NFL. Her contributions are making a significant positive impact on the world. Not to mention how much she’s also boosted the US economy with her tour by 9 BILLION DOLLARS!!!! Oh AND she’s getting little girls hyped up about football. And they’re bonding with their dads. And that’s so wholesome to me."

Your little girls are watching you….they see you hating on Taylor for simply cheering on her boyfriend.
They hear you grumble, whine, and complain over her mere 20 seconds of screen time.
Do you not realize the message that you’re sending to your daughters? You’re telling them “Shrink yourself, be smaller, be weaker, and be less noticeable.”
DO better. BE better.
Seriously….what was she supposed to do, not fall in love with him because she's Taylor Swift? She draws attention anywhere she goes because she is absolutely phenomenal as an artist and as a human being. Taylor is simply just out there, living her life. She’s not doing anything wrong by being in love.
It's kind of fascinating how much Taylor Swift's mere existence seems to irk some people. It says a lot about where we are as a society when a woman can't even support her boyfriend at his job without criticism. Good on HER for being supportive of HIM. And let's remember, SHE isn't the one putting the camera on herself. It's hard to fathom why anyone would hate on someone, famous or not, just for simply LIVING THEIR LIFE. If you are honestly upset over this, maybe take a deep breath, look around, and focus your passion on the real issues.
How anyone can hate her is beyond me. She generously and consistently donates to causes she believes in, pays her tour crew HUGE bonuses, oh and she’s brought in substantial revenue (331.5 M) to the NFL. Her contributions are making a significant positive impact on the world. Not to mention how much she’s also boosted the US economy with her tour by 9 BILLION DOLLARS!!!!
Oh AND she’s getting little girls hyped up about football. And they’re bonding with their dads. And that’s so wholesome to me.

30/01/2025

LORD HELP US ALL...
and this is from the gadzillionaire who won't allow cell phones if you play on his private golf course so you can't take pictures??? How do you spell hypocrisy?

"George Orwell’s 1984 warned of a future where Big Brother watches every move. Today, modern technology is making that vision a reality, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison—the world’s second-richest person—sees a growing opportunity for his company to help authorities analyze real-time data from millions of surveillance cameras..."

Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.

29/01/2025

This whole White Christian Nationalist thing and implementing their Project 2025 is getting eerily similar to the plot line of Handmaids Tale!! We must stand up / speak up before another Hi**er type regime takes over our country!!

27/01/2025

ya, drain the swamp by filling it full of sewer rats :-(

26/01/2025

"Even though the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 explicitly states that all American citizens have a right to vote, Republicans on the Supreme Court have both ignored and blocked that assertion by Congress to claim, instead, that voting in America is a mere privilege that can be given or taken on a whim.

If a state wants to take away your gun — which 5 Republicans on the Supreme Court say you have a right to own — they’d have to go to court and get a court order or warrant. But if they want to take away your vote, they don’t even need to tell you.

America is the only developed country in the world where either of these two insanities are law, and it’s 100% because Republicans love guns (and gun manufacturers’ money) and hate the vote when its exercised by people likely to be Democrats (college students, racial and religious minorities, urban dwellers, and Social Security age people)." - the Hartmann Report

25/01/2025

teetering on the
edge of hope...

25/01/2025

"As Americans, we cannot allow this kind of gaslighting to succeed. We cannot let political cowardice and propaganda bury the truth. The events of January 6th were a direct assault on the foundation of our democracy. We came perilously close to losing it all, not just because of the mob that stormed the Capitol, but because of those in power who enabled them.

This is not a partisan issue; it’s an American one. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Independent, the stakes are the same. If we allow the truth to be distorted, if we allow accountability to be avoided, and if we allow fear to silence us, then we have already surrendered to the very forces that sought to overturn our democracy." - Rep. Adam Kinzinger, member of the Jan 6th Committee

Uncovering the Lies, Confronting the Violence, and Standing Firm for Democracy