There was little, if any, Constitutional validity to the lawsuit.  It really reflects a bleak existential reality that conservatives and republicans are facing.  The Democrat candidate has won the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 presidential elections.  The Democrat candidate has now won the popular vote in 4 straight presidential elections.  Biden and Obama (twice) got more than 51% of the vote.  Hillary Clinton only got 48% of the vote.  None of the Republican candidates reached 48% in the last 4 presidential elections.  Mitt Romney was the only Republican candidate to get over 47% of the popular vote.

(Ironically, the 45.9% trump got in 2016 was the lowest percentage of any of the presidential candidates in the last 4 presidential elections.)

This is where the sense of desperation comes into play.  Most polls also show that Republicans have a higher average age than Democrats and Independents.  This means that they are not being replenished as quickly as the years go passing by.

2008 did mark a substantial moment in American history.  It was the first presidential election to include voters that weren’t alive before the Berlin Wall fell.  2020 marked the first presidential election to include voters that weren’t alive for the 9-11 attack.  This will reflect changing priorities.  That isn’t necessarily bad.  The world is always going to change.  It is always going to progress and evolve.

This is where a sense of desperation is coming in.  People clinging to the past are scared of the future.  A lot of people are scared of the present.  Desperate measures are being taken or proposed in order to stop the world from changing.  It, in some ways, is a last ditch effort.  I don’t think these are necessarily evil people.  There were Americans that sided with the British in the War of 1812.  They weren’t necessarily horrible people.  They were on the wrong side of history.  There were people that refused to use electricity or refused to use a telephone or automobile when these inventions were introduced.  People are afraid of change.  They will resist it and sadly, some may never come around.

We need to stay vigilant and do what we can to make the world a better place.  Many afraid of change will come around.  We should be doing what we can to encourage and educate people.  You can’t reach a klansman or a proud boy but a lot of other people are simply clinging to a nostalgia for something that, if it ever did exist, is now long gone.  Many will just go back to their lives and realize that not much has really changed.  They’re going to get by—and maybe get by with a little less vitriol.  They will change at a snail’s pace but eventually they just may get it.

51% | PostPoems

Many Philly bars have a drink special that is simply known as the “Special”. This special is a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of whiskey. Often time this special can be had for as little as two or three dollars. It is a cheap way to get oneself hammered without drilling a hole in one’s wallet.

Now, those who know me are familiar with my penchant for exotic and extreme beers. I am one of those snobbish individuals who feel beer should provide actual taste along with the alcohol buzz. That is one of the reasons that I rarely drink mainstream beers. When I do, it is usually due to some social type situation where it would be rude to do otherwise.

So now that I wrote the two preceding paragraphs I have to link them together. Millions of people around the world will be shocked to learn that I recently indulged in the “special” at a concert. They will, no doubt, be disturbed to learn that I was not held at gunpoint nor was I doing it to impress a nubile, young female. I did it completely of my own volition.

I ordered “the Special” to the shock and horror of my tablemates. One of these companions became a beer snob because of my corrosive influence. He watched in horror as I consumed this special. Due to my twisted sense of humor, I took great joy in shattering his illusions. I took a couple swigs from the can and then drained the whiskey shot. I am unsure what whiskey was used for this special and perhaps its best that I don’t find out. It surely did nothing beneficial for my internal organs. Having recently read Sacher-Masoch, I found the strength to order two more specials before the night was over.

 Now after all this fun, I have to try to evaluate the beer. It’s hard to critique a beer that is very thin in body and extremely light in flavor. It also becomes hard to really criticize because this lack of character and inoffensiveness is exactly what the brewers are gunning for. They want 5% abv water and that is close to what this beer is. It should be served ice cold and drank very quickly. There really is not much to savor.

I actually did pour some of the beer into a glass just so I could examine the hue and aroma of the brew. The very pretty waitress was quite amused at my act. The beer is what you would expect. It has that fizzy, yellowish hue with very minimal malt aroma. I think the aluminum can might provide more actual flavor or aroma than the hops so we won’t need to go there.

 As for taste, this is actually not the worst thing in the world. The SAB people are serious in their efforts to bring this beer back. It has enjoyed a bit of trendiness as an alternative to Budweiser or Coors Light. There are many people who don’t really like intense beer flavors but like drinking beer. Since standing around holding a bottle or can of Bud or Coors is about as cool as standing around eating a McDonald’s burger, they need a lightweight alternative. Enter Pabst Blue Ribbon.

 There is really not a lot of flavor in this beer. It mostly has a light malt flavor. They may have used a hop or two in brewing this beer. Lab results are not back yet. It is a fairly smooth drinking beer though. It didn’t have any off flavors or any foul type tastes. I’m sure many geeks will jump in and note that a beer must have flavor before it can have off flavors. I’m not that cynical.

 This would be a good lawnmower beer. It is wet. But I have to note that the brewers were gunning for exactly what this beer is. They weren’t trying to create fruity esters or have an intense floral hop bouquet. This is a beer equivalent to fast food burgers. It will please many people as long as they are not expecting anything gourmet or exotic. I don’t expect very many beer geeks to enjoy this beer as a drinking experience. It would be a beer to drink if you were planning on inhaling beer and catching a mighty swift buzz. It will appeal to drinkers of mainstream beers if they are willing to put aside their prejudices and give it a fair chance.

 As for the generous rating, I’m going to give the beer, I want to offer this explanation. The beer does achieve the results the brewers intended. Therefore, I am rating it upon that basis. It was not as horrible as I expected it to be. It was not a great beer either. I’m not going to recommend it because it is now part of a brewing conglomerate and no longer an independent regional beer. I don’t have to play the save the regional brewery card for this one. Drink it if you must. Drink it if you wish. Just let me close by saying that I didn’t feel all that hunky dory when I woke up the next morning.

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/poem/1092748

I remember riding the train from Munich to the town of Dachau.  The purpose for this train ride was to visit the Dachau concentration camp that stood there during the Hitler regime.  It has been converted into a museum.  The belief is that we must never forgot it to prevent it from happening again.  It is good to try to tweak the consciences of humans but many remain unwilling to learn the lessons of history.

You can tour the barracks where the prisoners were held.  They slept on hard wooden bunks and the sanitary conditions were horrid.  The prison was originally designed to hold communists, Reichsbanner and social democrats.  These were considered to pose a threat to the regime.  It would later hold citizens from Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland among other countries.  The ovens used to cremate dead prisoners is also standing.

The factory has been converted into a museum.  This provides a lot of photographic evidence of the horror that took place.  There was one black and white photograph that leaped out at me and haunted me for months.  An American soldier is walking toward a mass grave.  The photograph is so clear, you can see the look of horror on his face as he approaches these decrepit corpses.  You could almost feel him trembling; feel his hands sweating as he tightens the grip on his gun.

I was overwhelmed by this photo.  Eyes welling up, I needed to rush out of the building to recompose myself.  I was in a daze riding the train back to Munich.  And, of course, once back in Munich, I was hanging out and drinking with Germans at the Hofbrauhaus.  Everyone was drinking and laughing.  The oompah band did a ripping cover of “Hotel California.”  I was still shaken up.  I was looking around at friendly, accommodating folk and wondering “How?”

The reality is that we all have dark impulses and we all have frailty that can be exploited by morally bankrupt leaders.  After victory over evil, there is still the need for reconciliation.  Redemption is possible.  The Germans have worked for decades to ensure that this horror not be repeated.

This is something that we should always keep in mind when we confronted political and partisan divisions.  Eventually, you do need to negotiate and find ways to come to peace.  Most people have both good and bad impulses.  We are all capable of great acts of kindness or great acts of evil.  John Lennon once stated that we all have a little Hitler and a little Jesus inside of us.  We really want Jesus to win out.  The Germans were not and are not all evil.  However, great evil was perpetuated in the name of nationalism and patriotism.

We may view our political opponents as evil—and it may be that the dark impulses are prominent for them.  But there is still humanity within them.  We need to reach for that compassion and decency.  If we are ever to achieve lasting peace and justice and fairness to everyone, we have to find common ground and we have to find that decency within ourselves.

We do need to reach out to adversaries.  What’s interesting is when I went to Germany in 2011, I learned that Germany is the only country in Europe with a growing Jewish population.  The German people did have to confront and own that horror.  Steps needed to be taken for reconciliation. To their credit, they made that effort.  Now Germany is arguably one of the greatest proponents for democracy and human rights on the planet.

We need to start viewing our political adversaries as flawed human beings and not as monstrous demons.  It is a long shot but the human race does still have a chance.  We don’t have to be the perpetual fuck-ups that we are now.  It requires tenacity, courage and vision.  A small does of forgiveness might go a long way as well.  Why not keep striving to become something better?  We do have a lot of choices.  That is one that should be easy enough to make.

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1092629

#dachau #munich #politicaladversaries #concentrationcamp

It would seem that absinthe is becoming more prevalent in spite its prohibited status. It is appearing on television shows from time to time and virtually every European country has removed the ban on this product. I love the common sense ruling by the Dutch two years ago that there was no proof that absinthe is more dangerous than other liquors so it should be legal. Common sense in American politics? Thomas Paine, where art thou?

 In my travels in Europe I have indulged in absinthe on numerous occasions. I have also brought home absinthe for home use. I have found it to be an enjoyable drink and have yet to experience any delirium or even a viscous hangover. My absinthe experience at home includes proper perigord glasses, perforated spoons and a water fountain with four taps for proper preparation. I make certain to keep a stock of sugar cubes to entertain guests with properly served absinthe. I will not pour absinthe in a shot glass like an animal.

 There are many brands of absinthe now available. The French, Czech and Spanish seem to be most prevalent in making absinthe. The Swiss and Germans are also making significant waves in the absinthe subculture. I have had experiences with absinthe from all of these countries. I have bottles of absinthe from all of these countries sitting on my shelf. The traditional absinthes will generally be green although the Swiss have a penchant for clear absinthe. The Spanish and Germans tend to be more creative. We are seeing red and blue absinthes. There are also several black absinthes which often attain the level of 160 proof. The Spanish even have a violet absinthe which I have yet to try.

My initial experience with absinthe goes back a decade to my first visit to Prague. I was wondering through the Stare Mesto drinking in pubs. I happened upon a general store which had bottles of absinthe displayed in the windows. Did anyone really think I was getting out of Prague without indulging a green fairy? I bought a small double shot bottle which I drank straight from the bottle. Little did I know my sins.

 I was curious enough to try more. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stumbled across the Charles Bridge at 3 AM on an absinthe and beer buzz with fog rolling off the Vtlala River and the statues of the saints breathing relentlessly down upon you. Other night dwellers appeared as silhouette figures as the moon shot down beams of mystical light. The Astrology Clock in the Old Town Square actually told time that night. It told me it was time to get back to the apartment and watch reruns of Baywatch dubbed into Czech.

 That was the early initiation. I have learned quite a bit about proper preparation. The traditional French method is to sit a sugar cube on a perforated spoon and drip water on the sugar. As the sugar drips into the absinthe, it will make the absinthe turn cloudy. Some of the better brands will turn a yellow-ish color. The sugar gives the absinthe a nice minty, licorice type flavor. Straight absinthe can be bitter at times.

 In Prague this past Spring I found a place called Absinthe Time. This establishment on Kremoncova is practically right across the street from U. Fleku,  the oldest brewpub in the world. Here I learned a bit about preparing absinthe. A beautiful Vietnamese girl dressed in all green taught me both the French and Czech preparations for absinthe. The Czech preparation involves fire so I am hesitant to try it at home. She also learned me a few mixed drinks. The Three Musketeers is a concoction of absinthe, tequila and Sambuca. Surprisingly smooth, actually.

 Having the water fountain is a great item. It worked well at my recent party. Some people tried the absinthe. Many merely wanted to witness the spectacle of proper preparation. The host graciously prepared absinthe for friends and crashers. The host also indulged in La Fee Parisian and Zelena Absinth Muza. The first was a French absinthe, the latter a Czech. The first was the better of the two.

 My favorite absinthe so far is the King of Spirits which is made in the Czech Republic. This absinthe features a picture of Van Gogh on the label. This absinthe is very flavorful. It costs a little more but it is well worth the extra bucks. Buy it overseas rather than ordering through the internet to save some money. It is well worth it for the experienced absintheur and the apt pupil of La Fee Verte.

 It will be interesting to see how the actual legal status of absinthe changes in America. It is already semi legal to possess as long as you don’t sell it or distill your own. I have actually shown bottles of absinthe to customs agents at airports who merely shrugged and sent me on my merry way. This is an interesting drink with an interesting history. More absinthe adventures and tales will be forthcoming to be sure.

 Stay tuned. . .https://www.postpoems.org/authors/fuche_bu/prose/1063255

There were a lot of people that voted for Obama that weren’t liberal or Democrat.  They were people who were looking for a messiah.  They wanted someone that could come in and miraculously fix all the problems overnight.  They don’t want to roll up their sleeves and work hard to make things better.  They wanted an easy fix.

Of course, being human, Obama wasn’t able to fix everything overnight.  This was the origin of what many now refer to as the Obama-trump voter.  There were people that voted for Obama twice and then switched to trump.  There was no ideological reasoning.  There is no political consistency.  These were the weak minded people that believe in this fantasy that a president can come in and fix everything.  They don’t understand the difference between a president and a savior.  If you want a savoir, go to church or a synagogue or mosque.  You aren’t going to find a savior in the voting booth.

Of course, a lot of republican strategists saw this mentality and figured, we need a candidate that can fit this bill.  A lot of people don’t realize that republican strategists were talking with trump about running for president as far back as 2011.  They wanted him to run against Obama in 2012.  They figured that he can go out and attract these people that are looking for a savior.  Since there is little political or ideological conviction among these folks, it’s easy to get them to switch from one party to another.

Of course, the person getting conned is generally not in on the joke.  They are being played.  They are being told that they’re really smarter than other people.  They’re being told that they are better than the other people.  They are being relieved of responsibility for the inadequacies in their own lives.  It is appealing to have somebody else to blame for what is wrong with your life.

Obama is a very rational individual who didn’t have much interest in abusing this false faith that many of these early supporters had.  The problem now is that you have a pre-eminent con artist with no conscience in a position to abuse the blind faith of the naïve.  You have a person who realizes he can abuse the power for his own purposes.  I don’t think you necessarily have bad or evil people.  I think you have desperate people who are too weak to look up and see the truth.  They can’t admit to themselves that they’ve been hoodwinked.

The really sad thing is that we don’t need a savior in the White House.  We just need a president that can go in and do the job.  We don’t need a celebrity or a star.  For politics, boring is better.  If you are doing the job well, nobody will be talking about you.  If you’re being discussed every hour of every day, it really indicates that you failed.

We can make our lives better on our own.  We need to look within ourselves and we need to be willing to figure things out for ourselves.  We can make smart investments and smart choices in our lives.  We can make the world better for ourselves simply by living better lives.  We don’t need a conald to make our lives better.  In the long run, the conald will only make things worse for everyone.  Let’s hope America figures that out before it’s too late.

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1092145

So now we have Scott Baio whining that he can’t get roles because he’s a conservative.  This is funny considering that Vince Vaughan and Clint Eastwood have little difficulty in getting work in spite their conservative views.

Let’s analyze things in a more realistic manner.  Scott Baio has always been a good looking guy.  He’s never been a particularly gifted actor.  He benefited from the looks.  Hollywood producers making movies and TV shows will very often need eye candy in the film.  We usually think of this for women but it also applies to men.  There are times that they want eye candy for the ladies so they look for a male bimbo.

So when they needed a good looking guy for the ladies, they would seek out an actor like Scott Baio to fill the role.  Now, we’re several decades past his prime.  He’s still a good looking guy—for his age.  So when producers need the male bimbo, they aren’t going to call him.  There are younger and prettier boys available.  They’re going to go for the newest 22 year old flavor of the month.  It’s their turn now. 

Nobody cries political bias for the actresses that got by on their looks as young ladies.  We just accept that they filled a purpose as eye candy in films and now they’ve been usurped by younger prettier models.  Why should it be any different for men?  If all you are is a bimbo—male or female—you will stop getting offers. That is simply the shallow culture in which we live. 

The younger ladies the filmmakers are trying to woo don’t want Grandpa Scott.  For fantasy purposes, I don’t even think the women his own age want him anymore.  We alL go for the young Adonis or Aphrodite in our fantasies.  There is very little prejudice at work here.  It’s simply a matter of a one trick pony going past his expiration date.  Take a few acting lessons and you might get some roles on Hallmark movie specials.  There might be room for him in the fantasy lives of the elderly women watching those movies.

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1092094

the mini skirt

has a name

I’ve been told

but I was

too shy to ask

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/fuche_bu/poem/1082371

also published in Failed Haiku an online journal of senryu

http://www.haikuhut.com/FailedHaikuIssue49.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0X9GlTs4AjMedU…

INSANITY PERSONIFIED | PostPoems

It seems to me that every 4 years you have a presidential election and all of a sudden, they come out of the woodworks:  The people whining that we need more than two choices; that we have to have more than two parties. They extol the virtue of voting for a candidate that will be lucky to get half of one percent of the vote.

Now, I agree that we need more options.  I agree that we need more ideas on the table.  We should have more than two viable parties.  My problem is that elections don’t only get held every 4 years.  Elections get held every single year.  You have all levels of government be it federal, state or local.  I vote every year and yet when I vote on odd number years, I never see any third party candidates running for school board, city council, sheriff, constable, comptroller etc.

If you want to build successful third parties, you need to start on a grassroots level.  These are the elections that are winnable and can form a foundation.  You could get a libertarian as the town constable or get a Green party candidate on the city council.  You could get an independent candidate on the school board.  These are small elections with a small base of voters.  It would be easy to capture the imagination of enough voters to win some of these elections.  That would make it easier to start getting into state senates and houses or even the federal House of Representatives.

This is where it’s time to call out bullshit.  School boards and city councils aren’t really sexy.  Who cares about the comptroller?  Or the constable?  The presidential election is nationwide and it gets a lot of election.  For a lot of people, it’s really more about wanting to complain or wanting to be contrarian.  I don’t even see many people propping up third party candidates for congress or the Senate during the Presidential election year. 

Now if you actually are out there trying to get independent and third party candidates elected to school boards and city councils, this diatribe is not directed at you.  I respect what you are trying to do and support that cause.  This is directed at the people that only turn out every 4 years with their holier than thou self righteousness.

Now I’m not going to tell anyone how to vote.  People should vote for whomever they feel is the best candidate.  I also won’t tell you that you are wasting your vote if you want to vote for a third party or independent candidate.  Since only one candidate wins, you could argue that 54.1% of the people wasted their vote in 2016.  Vote however you please.  I won’t tell you that you’re wasting your vote.  I am asking you to stop wasting my time.

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1091949

Train stations provide the cliché observation of people running to and fro trying to catch that train.  It’s a microcosm for our crazy society. 

I’ll be meekly showing the Amtrak cop my train ticket lest I be banished from the station.  Good that I have a train ticket and also purchased a burrito at the food court.  Wouldn’t want a homeless person crashing out on the floor, now would we?

Think of the children:  we can’t allow them to be scarred and marred by the sight and scent of these trod upon bums.  Let’s just sweep the problem under the rug and pretend that it doesn’t exist.  It’s the Reagan deal all over again.  We’ll push it out of sight and out of mind.  If we pretend hard enough, it might just go away. 

But for the moment I am safe from being jettisoned from the station since I am a paying customer.  Lah Dee Dah, aren’t I something special?

I sit there chomping away on my burrito. I see self-important people with their cellphones.  They make unimportant phone calls to unimportant people.  Their smugness reeks worse than any of the homeless.  I’m not too impressed by any of it.

Now I’ve heard on numerous occasions that Penn Station is a microcosm for America and that scares me—especially when I am threatened with arrest for buying food for a starving person while so-called good Christians, many of whom laud Mother Teresa, look on approvingly at the cop’s efforts.

So this is America in a nutshell and it ain’t a very pretty sight anymore.  It sure as Hell isn’t even what those dead white guys envisioned a couple centuries ago.

Someone fucked it up and this is what is left:  a rebuilt train station populated by heartless, soulless people who bought a latté which will donate an entire nickel to charity.  They can walk about holding their noses high and marvel at their good deed.

And it really sucks regardless upon whom we finally decide to pin the blame.  Guys that couldn’t make the grade at the Academy are all self-important in their little station.  I’m just left feeling a bit nauseous and I no longer have an appetite to finish my food.  Maybe I will just give the rest of my burrito to a homeless woman who needs it more than me.

I just watch the people scurrying for trains.  I’ve much been an admirer of rats—and less so the human kind.  I’ll be delighted when it’s my turn to leave.

5-25-98

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1091889

There are still times that I get carded in bars or venues.  It’s usually an indication that the establishment sits in an uptight municipality or they recently got tagged for selling booze to (too) young’uns.  I won’t give them too much trouble since they’re really just doing their jobs.  And also, a lot of venues have guys at the door with necks thicker than a redwood tree.  I just show them the card and move on with my life.  People say that I should take it as a compliment.  Hardly, they aren’t looking at me and thinking that I might be under 21.  They’re doing it because some asshole council member wants to make a statement.  It would be great if it was a compliment but I’m not that naïve.  I’m not standing there thinking “Gee that new moisturizing cream is really reaping dividends.”  I’m usually just anxious to get in the door and get settled. 

Largely not nessa

a delay in the next beer

thirst waits to be quenched

https://www.postpoems.org/authors/georgeschaefer/prose/1086114