Trump and Musk are destroying US government institutions.

Steve Bannon calls it “the deconstruction of the administrative state.” Elon Musk and Donald Trump call it an opportunity to fleece the sheeple. But, make no mistake, Trump and Musk are overseeing the destruction of the institutions and laws that make the United States who we are.

We’ll see if the judiciary holds. If not, Musk and Putin have successfully bought themselves a president, and a country. Who will stop them?

There’s still hope. Remember: Three equal parts of government.

  1. Legislative: makes the law
  2. Executive: enforces the law
  3. Judicial: interprets the law

We the people can impact it. Resist. Resist Trump and Musk’s takeover.

This isn’t hard.

It’s not your business.

You don’t understand the circumstance. It’s not your decision to make.

Mind your own business.

Yes, it’s that easy.

The next time you want to meddle, put your nose where it doesn’t belong? Remind yourself: it’s not my business.

Try this–THAT’S NOT MY CAT.

Then walk away. Because it’s NOT YOUR CAT AND NOT YOUR BUSINESS.

#WomensRights #ReproductiveFreedom #NotYourBusiness

Is it audacity? Is it perversion? Is it boredom with their own lives? What is it exactly that makes Republicans—and specifically Christian Republicans—think they can legislate what happens in our uteri? Or in our bedrooms?

It’s NUNYA: none of your friggin’ business.

Would any of our rights be threatened IF it weren’t for people sticking their noses where they don’t belong?

“There’s your business, my business, and God’s business,” writes Byron Katie in her book Loving What Is. Ironically, the book is about accepting what can’t be changed, and instead, changing your perspective to be okay with what is. Katie uses a method she calls “the work” to help people understand why they are emotionally triggered, and she talks them through the mental barriers to help them learn and grow.

Right now, the whole damned Republican party needs to do a Byron Katie workshop. I want to know WHY Republicans think what happens with my body is any of their business. It’s not!

There’s your business, my business, and God’s business.

Your rights end where my body begins. And, you do NOT know God’s business. (I don’t care how often you reference the Bible or go to church, you’re not God and you do not know.)

Of course, these people understand the concept. They are the same people who cried MY BODY MY CHOICE when it came to wearing a mask. “Freedom,” they say. “Keep the government out of it,” they whine.

Where is the logic?! Where is the reason?! How can they not equate one with the other?

Because it’s not about freedom; it’s about power and control over women’s bodies.

Roe v Wade has been settled precedent for 50 years. I’m not willing to concede its overturning by a partisan Supreme Court established by a corrupt president.

I do not accept “what is” in this situation. Instead of changing my perspective, I’m working to change the Court.

First—it’s not done yet! It’s time to don the pussy hat and take to the street. It’s time to write and call the Senators. If SCOTUS does overturn Roe v Wade, it’s time to put money and time behind pro-choice candidates, knock on doors, and help turn out voters in November.  

Republicans will not stop with regulating our uteruses. The right to use contraception and to love and marry who we want are the next on their hit list.

Why? Because they have their friggin’ noses where they don’t belong.

Republicans, focus on your own damned body—and leave mine alone!

#LoquaciousLindee

Live without pretending, love without depending, listen without defending, speak without offending.

Live without pretending.

I grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa. Staring at the back end of a Holstein and shoveling what came out was a daily occurance. That’s about as authentic as you can be. It wasn’t until my 30s that I adopted a new phrase: Fake it ‘til you make it. I first heard it when I joined Mary Kay Cosmetics. Meaning, envision who you want to be, and pretend you are that until you become that. Pretending was encouraged and a way to “visualize” a brighter future. I did that for years…until I returned to my true authentic self. Today, I’m just me, not pretending to be something I’m not.

Love without depending.

We’re taught that love is a two-way street; that’s what a relationship is—a never-ending circle of give and take, each person giving to and depending on the other. But is that really what love is? Isn’t the real challenge to love without expectation of love in return? Especially when you don’t agree?

Listen without defending.

Conflict is uncomfortable, especially with someone you love. The challenge is to fully listen to them—even when you want to defend your point of view. Most people are simply waiting for the other person to stop speaking before they add their “two cents.” It’s in these moments, most especially, that we have to keep quiet and let another person express their views. Even when there is no solution in sight, listening is the key to moving the relationship forward.

Speak without offending.

If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all. That’s Mom logic and advice I heard often growing up. That philosophy fit for a long time…like the fake-it-til-you-make-it mantra. … And, I think that’s the reason I’ve fallen back into pretending. I am NOT happy with the state of the world. I don’t trust Donald Trump or the Republicans to govern. They are absolutely trampling on human rights: brown people, black people, women, Vets, the lgbtq community–and the planet! There are atrocities being perpetrated on the American people and especially immigrants, and because I don’t want to say anything offensive, I find myself not saying anything at all. Given our current political climate and state of affairs, this is no longer an option!!

It’s time to step up and speak out—even if you can’t be kind. If you have conflicts with someone, look for common ground. There is more that unites us than divides us. But when human rights are at stake, we MUST speak up and defend the rights of others—even if that means offending someone else with our words.

Will I continue to live, love, listen, and speak with respect to others? Yes, I will. But I will not pretend what is happening in America is tolerable or acceptable. When conflict arises, I will live without pretending to agree with others when I don’t. I will love the person I’m disagreeing with without depending on their acceptance or approval. I will listen without defending my point of view but vow to do my best to help them see it my way. And I will speak without offending knowing respect and compassion are keys to healing conflict—and ultimately the world.

#LoquaciousLindee

 Read more about Political Correctness

I’m Out and Proud!  a #TrumpBuster

I, Lindee Brauer, aka Lima Bravo, as one citizen of the United States, I humbly call for the resignation of Donald J Trump, leader of the angry, fearful and hopeless.

Trump’s terrifying vision for the United States was on display at the State of the Union address, and it continues to play out daily in terms of destructive and abrasive policies. Let the media hash-out what Trump said, separate fact from fiction, what they think is worth mentioning. As for me?

Here’s what Trump DIDN’T talk about:

  • The thousands of kids he has in cages!
  • Preventing another Trump government shutdown!
  • The National Butterfly Center in Texas, the land he is fixin’ to bulldoze down to build a wall the size of his ego.
  • PEOPLE WHO WERE MURDERED and/or affected by GUN VIOLENCE, including the kids from Parkland. #ParklandStrong #WithYouFred and other folks
  • Climate change and its threat to our survival.
  • The 1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR US deficit.
  • How he was plotting to build Trump Tower Moscow through-out his entire campaign and how he’s Putin’s bitch.

Let’s talk about the things Trump didn’t mention. #RussianAsset

More to come…

#LoquaciousLima #TrumpBusters

Also, see #DouchebagWisdom douchebagwisdom.com

The word of the day is Patience.

For a cute reminder of the letter-of-the-day, watch Sesame Street’s tribute to the letter “P.”  Believe me, you’ll need patience to deal with today’s political scene. Especially Donald Trump.

The P word I want to focus on is Patience. Why? Because everyone wants it and I have it. At least in this moment I have it. It comes and goes; it’s fleeting, like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the quicker it leaves.

How is it I have it? Because “All things in God’s time.” That’s the Christian version. The Wiccan version: “As above so below.” New Agers would say: “All is well in all of creation.” The uncommitted might say “It is what it is.”

I have to believe everything is as it should be, because the alternative approach—to not believe–is living in fear.

Right now, Donald Trump is ravishing our nation. His reality-show presidential bid is getting exactly what he wants—ratings! He wants to win at all costs. But what he believes is repugnant. Disgusting, to use his favorite word. What he believes, his ideas for the nation, will cause calamity. He’ll put a target on our back.

We’ll be living in fear. A world where Trump is going to build our military and use it as a threat over other nations, leverage for when he needs to negotiate hard. He wants to go back to religious persecution. He points his fat fingers at people and says they are ISIS. He’s making this up as he goes. It’s like watching a WWF Smack-down match.

I’d say he’s a pig, but that’d be insulting to the pig. He’s a racist, a troll, a thug, and ironically exactly the opposite of what he wants to be. This man is a loser.

Trump is inciting violence. He brags that he could shoot someone and people would still love him. His rhetoric is so disturbing, calling people that don’t believe what he believes “bad.” So anyone who opposes what Trump thinks is “bad, a very bad person.” He says he’s a “unifier,” but his “us against them” mentality is empowering people to strike out. His crowd is turning ugly. As ugly as he is.

How do I know that Trump creates hate? Because his fans hate others. And because I hate him.

I don’t hate very often. I’m smarter, bigger, and better than that. I listen, I accept, and I believe we can all get along. We all come to this universal truth in our own time. Some never get to that understanding. Trump supporters obviously are not there. Neither is Trump.

That means I have to have patience, and belief, that people will come around; they’ll come to see, hear, and understand the maliciousness in his speech, his words. If they continue to watch him, hopefully they’ll see through the celebrity and see the monster.

President Obama says he’s not worried, he has faith; faith in the American people, that they won’t elect Trump. We’re smarter and better than that, Obama says. I choose to believe the same, and have patience that the American people will envision a better world than the one Trump presents. That people will act better than to follow Trump’s encouragement–to beat up those that don’t stand with him.

As I watch his nasty hate-filled face plastered on the TV, I choose to turn the channel, and watch Sesame Street, where P is the letter and Patience is the word.

And believe that “All is well in all of creation” if I just have Patience.

And that’s the word of the day. Patience.

#loquaciouslindee

Drop the F-Bomb

When most people drop the F-bomb, they add the word “f*@k” to the sentence. When I drop the f-bomb, I mean I’m dropping it from the sentence.

 

            I used to use the f-bomb all the time. It is, after all, every part of speech, pronouns to adverbs. The Peevish Penman’s blog site spells it out, adverbs to expletives, The Nine Parts of Speech and the F-Word. It’s funny, worth the read; my favorite example is prepositions. J

 

            But I read once that using the f-word was a sign of hidden anger. A quick analysis of the times I was inspired to use it confirmed that. I’m pretty passionate when I use the word, and yes anger has been part of that word selection at times.

 

            I also use the word when I’m excited—or surprised! It’s more about the intensity of the situation. It’s like the word “douche.” You only call someone a douche when they’ve done something extremely lousy and crass. F*@k is kind of the same way. It represents an extremeness; intensity; a uniting of energy released in a word that invokes a myriad of reactions.

 

            Being a speaker/trainer, I don’t use the word professionally. Too many variables and interpretations; too many people with time to be offended. My friends, however, have heard me use the word plenty. Too much, I think. So I’ve dropped it from my vocabulary. (Except for today when I had a minor relapse and used it in every sentence on a 10 minute tirade. Phewh…that felt good.) And now I’m dropping it again.

 

            There are plenty of other words to choose.  

 

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Anger Goes Down with the Sun     Gretchen Rubin, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Happiness Project, wonders “should you ever let the sun go down on an argument” and decides Yes!

     Arguments are anger expressed–think the earthquake scale, 1-10. I’ve never been much for arguing and I haven’t allowed myself to explore the hollowing and healing powers of anger. It’s been a “negative” emotion to work through quickly on the road to feeling positive and “happy.”  And I’m afraid I’ve been judging others using anger as a way to resolve their internal dialogs. I now understand. Anger etches it’s own pattern in the sands of our brains; and thoughts and beliefs we know to be true simply wash from beneath us like sand moving out with the tide. The shift in energy–and footing–makes for a powerful conviction of step. Anger makes you stop, take notice and declare an allegiance to yourself.

     Anger is good. Anger makes you strong, sharp and clear. Anger chisels away what doesn’t serve you; sculpts, molds and defines what thoughts now do. Anger is a motivator, a driver, an insistent, sometimes prickly nudge in a new direction. It turns upside down energy on end and demands you step in the opposite direction. Anger is GOOD on so many levels.

     And then, once you’ve polished and honed your beliefs and you’re rock solid again in who you are, anger is a needy emotion that can hang on too long. It’ll cling to you like cellophane so gently squeeze out or shimmy out, unroll out, or slice that wrapper open knees to nose;  but wiggle free and step aside. No need to express anger, you’ve left it, allowed it to be, walked away from it.

     Let the sun go down on it. Thank you Gretchen Rubin for the spin. Oh, and Sir Elton John as well. 

2. Do let the sun go down on anger.

I had always scrupulously aired every irritation as soon as possible, to make sure I vented all bad feelings before bedtime. Studies show, however, that the notion of anger catharsis is poppycock. Expressing anger related to minor, fleeting annoyances just amplifies bad feelings, while not expressing anger often allows it to dissipate.