I'm sorry. No I'm not.

I'm sorry. Anyone who still supports Trump has to have been blind or just don't care. I do. I care about this country and the damage he and his cronies have done. I care that the election was corrupted and interfered with by an outside source, RUSSIA for God's sakes! I care that the Republicans are in a position to completely destroy social security, medicare and medicaid. I care that the representatives in Washington are not working in the best interests of our country and our people but are whores for corporate money. 

I am not ashamed to say that I used to believe Nixon was our worst president until George W. Bush took us into two endless wars that helped destabilize the Middle East and created more enemies than allies. I really thought they had scraped the bottom of the barrel when John McCain picked Sarah Palin for a VP running mate. I won't even go into my feelings about HRH Ronald Reagan. But when the ELECTORAL COLLEGE defied their purpose and chose Donald Trump for president I saw a whole new level of ignorance and it all isn't on the Donald's shoulders. 

I see it in his followers who don't care about women and children and elderly who will be affected by the changes his administration makes. I see it when his followers say nothing when people want to steal national lands and use them and leave them in ruins like our national parks and public lands. 

I am sick of what Trump is allowed to do and I am on pins-and-needles waiting on Mueller to gather enough evidence to present to the courts to prove that Donald Trump colluded with the Russians in a money laundering scheme that spans nations across the world. 

I care when a man who is too stupid to try to understand his duties as the leader of the greatest country in the world, attacks our government and our laws and denigrates judges, lawmakers, news organizations, and constitutional scholars in an attempt to break the law and benefit from his office. 

TRUMP IS A CONMAN AND I AM NOT FOOLED.

Now, do what you will but I was really hoping you were beginning to see the light and realize Trump and the Republicans don't give two shits about you or me or anybody else unless they can steal from you.

One more thing: Remember how people treated President Obama?

I'm Not a Republican

Let me preface this with "I have never been mistaken for a Republican" 

Okay. This is getting better and better. The other day I had an experience at the hospital with one of my FB friends when she innocently whispered to me that she thought we were the only two Trump supporters in the waiting room, I was speechless. Well, not really. (You know me, right?) I looked around the waiting room and saw a bunch of elderly people and a family of Hispanic people. Hmm ... Believe me, not many people in Georgia are Democrats. We both had a good exchange and a few laughs with a stranger in the lobby. It wasn't contentious, just lively, if you know what I mean.

Later on, my mamma reminded me that her husband had written several letters to the editor in the local rag complaining about "takers" or whatever it is conservative, tight ass, privileged, white, males complain about. I don't take the Dalton paper, so I'd forgotten. It was enlightening but I still didn't regret complaining loudly about Republicans trying to take social security and medicare and medicaid from us.

She asked me if I wanted the government to support us from the cradle to the grave and I said, "Hell, yeah. If they can afford to take us into two wars they sure as hell can afford to feed people and give them healthcare!" ((I was a little loud.))

Anyway, I stand by my stance and believe that a country as prosperous as America should be ashamed to have homeless people and allow poor people, and children and elderly people to go hungry and be denied healthcare.

I told her that if she followed me on FB she should know I'm not a Trump supporter. I came back today and checked to find out she had unfriended me. I'm sure she hasn't been on my friends list for a long time because I don't have any less friends than I've had for months. Anywho ...

After I was with Mamma and came back to the waiting room I asked her how her husband had done. She said they had to put a stint in. I told her I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

I'm not trying to shame her but I want to know why Republicans think they deserve healthcare but people who don't have lots of money don't.

Despite the fact I embarrass my Christian friends sometimes I have a big heart and I bought into all that "Jesus says" stuff and believe his greatest virtue was his giving and loving heart and his compassion for others.

I also believed that this country was great because everybody was entitled to justice and equality for all.

Maybe I'm a dreamer (flower child), but I'm not the only one. I want healthcare for everyone, even the assholes who would deny it to others.

******

Later I got this message:

Pam. There are no words for what you wrote on your public face book page. I was in shock that you could lower yourself for such stupidity. There are no words for you..... and by the way I never de-friended you. YOU have defriended me. I feel sorry for you and never in a million years would have believed you were that evil and downright mean. I am sorry that when security was called they did not haul you out of the hospital for the vulgar cursing you used in front of the young adults and the folks that were there and worried and concerned about their loved ones. They did not want to hear your CRAZY political views. Every one was looking at you. I am so hurt and mad that you could have wrote such a stupid story.

*****

I responded:
I did not unfriend you. Really. I am surprised you bothered to read my FB page and I am sorry you got so upset. I didn't give you a hard time and I didn't KNOW SECURITY WAS CALLED, if they ever were. I was not trying to offend anybody and I was telling the truth. You DID say that we were probably the only Trump supporters in the hospital. I did not use your name and I did not try to embarrass you. I think your husband's politics speaks volumes about your crazy political views, not mine. Get over yourself. I was trying to point out that people deserve healthcare no matter who they are or who they vote for. If you can't see that it is your business.

I was in the hospital waiting on my 88 year old mother's procedure. I've been in the hospital about a dozen times since 2013 with Daddy and Momma and Donny and my son and myself. I do understand the pressure people are under while waiting on their sick relatives to get HEALTHCARE. I was not writing a stupid story but while I'm at it I'd like to ask WHY DON'T PEOPLE BELIEVE EVERYBODY DESERVES HEALTHCARE?

*****

I'd like an answer from someone. Why don't people in America believe everybody deserves healtcare?

Was I really too mean, for God's sake . . .

AS ALWAYS

PIO

I'm Crushed

I looked out the laundry room window and got a shock today. We had wind damage and I must have slept through it.

Our yellow shovel is laying on the ground underneath the tree trunk.

The top broke out of a sweet gum tree and squashed my apple tree. This is the first year we've had a lot of apples on it. 

Bummer!

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Springtime in Resaca

I have two great boys, well, men who are hard workers and who love to grow things. Colt is a price estimator in the landscaping company he works for so he's taken a great interest in plants. 

Last year, Colt rid the lawn of a fungus or something that burned my eyes like pepper every time I mowed the yard. This year he has turned his attention to gardening in our favorite spot in the backyard and planting flowers for me in all my window boxes and two new clay pots flanking the front door. I love having flower boxes. It makes the house look like a cottage.

Without further ado, I give you the proof of the pudding . . . . . 

AS Always

PIO

Walkabout

Chilling Out

There's nothing like a good walk to get your juices pumping. I have a great place to walk near my house. I go walking down Chitwood Road where they always have the Battle of Resaca each May. 

There are a few houses out there but it has rolling hills with broom sage sweeping the fields and I feel like I step back in time as I traipse about. When I was young, we always explored the woods.

The gates in the pictures are reserved spaces for campers who participate in the Battle of Resaca. 

Donny and I checked the mileage and it's almost a mile long. I think that counts for a pretty good workout. Don't you?

Stay healthy, my friends. 

As Always

PIO

It Had To Be Said

To anyone who "suffered for the last 8 years under President Obama," please read this response from SCOTT MEDNICK when a Facebook friend told him, "We suffered for 8 years. Now it’s your turn.”

Here is Scott's reply:

"I am surprised you would wish suffering upon me. That of course is your right, I suppose. I do not wish harm on anyone. Your statement seems to continue an ‘US v THEM’ mentality.

The election is over. It is important to get past campaigning and campaign rhetoric and get down to what is uniting not dividing and what is best for ALL Americans.

There will never be a President who does everything to everyone’s liking. There are things President Obama (and President Clinton) did that I do not like and conversely there are things I can point to that the Presidents Bush did that I agree with.

So I am not 100% in lock step with the outgoing President but have supported him and the overall job he did.

And, if you recall, during the Presidential Campaign back in 2008 the campaign was halted because of the "historic crisis in our financial system."

Wall Street bailout negotiations intervened in the election process. The very sobering reality was that there likely could be a Depression and the world financial markets could collapse.

The United States was losing 800,000 jobs a month and was poised to lose at least 10 million jobs the first year once the new President took office. We were in an economic freefall.

So let us recall that ALL of America was suffering terribly at the beginning of Obama’s Presidency.

But I wanted to look back over the last 8 years and ask you a few questions.

Since much of the rhetoric before Obama was elected was that he would impose Sharia Law, Take Away Your Guns, Create Death Panels, Destroy the Economy, Impose Socialism and, since you will agree that NONE of this came to pass, I was wondering: Why have you suffered so?

So let me ask:

Gays and Lesbians can now marry and enjoy the benefits they had been deprived of. Has this caused your suffering?

When Obama took office, the Dow was 6,626. Now it is 19,875. Has this caused your suffering?

We had 82 straight months of private sector job growth - the longest streak in the history of the United States. Has this caused your suffering?

Especially considering where the economy was when he took over, an amazing 11.3 million new jobs were created under President Obama (far more than President Bush). Has this caused your suffering?

Obama has taken Unemployment from 10% down to 4.7%. Has this caused your suffering?

Homelessness among US VETERANS has dropped by half. Has this caused your suffering?

Obama shut down the US secret overseas prisons. Has this caused your suffering?

President Obama has created a policy for the families of fallen soldiers to have their travel paid for to be there when remains are flown home. Has this caused your suffering?

We landed a rover on Mars. Has this caused your suffering?

He passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Has this caused your suffering?

Uninsured adults has decreased to below 10%: 90% of adults are insured - an increase of 20 Million Adults. Has this caused your suffering?

People are now covered for pre-existing conditions. Has this caused your suffering?

Insurance Premiums increased an average of $4,677 from 2002-2008, an increase of 58% under Bush. The growth of these insurance premiums has gone up $4,145 – a slower rate of increase. Has this caused your suffering?

Obama added Billions of dollars to mental health care for our Veterans. Has this caused your suffering?

Consumer confidence has gone from 37.7 to 98.1 during Obama’s tenure. Has this caused your suffering?

He passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Has this caused your suffering?

His biannual Nuclear Summit convinced 16 countries to give up and destroy all their loose nuclear material so it could not be stolen. Has this caused your suffering?

He saved the US Auto industry. American cars sold at the beginning of his term were 10.4M and upon his exit 17.5M. Has this caused your suffering?

The deficit as a percentage of the GDP has gone from 9.8% to 3.2%. Has this caused your suffering?

The deficit itself was cut by $800 Billion Dollars. Has this caused your suffering?

Obama preserved the middle class tax cuts. Has this caused your suffering?

Obama banned solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons. Has this caused your suffering?

He signed Credit Card Reform so that rates could not be raised without you being notified. Has this caused your suffering?

He outlawed Government contractors from discriminating against LGBT persons. Has this caused your suffering?

He doubled Pell Grants. Has this caused your suffering?

Abortion is down. Has this caused your suffering?

Violent crime is down. Has this caused your suffering?

He overturned the scientific ban on stem cell research. Has this caused your suffering?

He protected Net Neutrality. Has this caused your suffering?

Obamacare has extended the life of the Medicare insurance trust fund (will be solvent until 2030). Has this caused your suffering?

President Obama repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. Has this caused your suffering?

He banned torture. Has this caused your suffering?

He negotiated with Syria to give up its chemical weapons and they were destroyed. Has this caused your suffering?

Solar and Wind Power are at an all time high. Has this caused your suffering?

High School Graduation rates hit 83% - an all time high. Has this caused your suffering?

Corporate profits are up by 144%. Has this caused your suffering?

He normalized relations with Cuba. Has this caused your suffering?

Reliance on foreign oil is at a 40 year low. Has this caused your suffering?

US Exports are up 28%. Has this caused your suffering?

He appointed the most diverse cabinet ever. Has this caused your suffering?

He reduced the number of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Has this caused your suffering?

Yes, he killed Osama Bin Laden and retrieved all the documents in his possession for analysis. Perhaps THIS caused your suffering?

From an objective standpoint it would appear that the last 8 years have seen some great progress and we were saved from a financial collapse.

Things are not perfect. Things can always be better. We are on much better footing now than we were in 2008.

I look forward to understanding what caused you to suffer so much under Obama these last 8 years.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Trump Watch

Michael Sutter shared this: 
That's just one issue to affront us all: Look---Those who study authoritarian regimes suggest keeping a list of abnormal events after a demagogue is elected, as a way to remind yourself that this isn't normal and to keep from being overwhelmed into acceptance by the onslaught of attacks on our rights.
Here is a list below. We are 4 days in.
As the author says, "when you see all of this in one list, it is easy to get overwhelmed, at first-- it is also easy to see a pattern and to finally, finally recognize that none of this is normal, nor is it ok."

* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy.
* On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen.
* On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations.
* On January 20th, 2017, roughly 230 protestors were arrested in DC and face unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers, journalists, and medics.
* On January 20th, 2017, a member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical condition.
* On January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press.
* On January 21st, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest audience of any in history, “period.”
* On January 22nd, 2017, White House advisor Kellyann Conway defended Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts” on national television news.
* On January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back.
* On January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a medical option.
* On January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China.
* On January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote.
* On January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in.
* On January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote.
* On January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and will hang in the White House press room. The photo is of the 2009 inauguration of 44th President Barack Obama, and is curiously dated January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history.
* On January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants and contracts.
* On January 24th, 2017, the USDA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted by the White House.
* On January 24th, 2017, HR7, a bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote.
* On January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human Service nominee Tom Price characterized federal guidelines on transgender equality as “absurd.”
* On January 24th, 2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that would legalize hitting and killing protestors with cars if they are on roadways.
* On January 24th, 2017, it was discovered that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of clients and sources. (from a friend)
* On January 24th, 2017, James Comey, who released unsubstantiated allegations concerning Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, asked to stay on as FBI Director.
* On January 25, 2017, The Trump administrated mandated that EPA scientific studies, data undergo review by political staff before public release.
* On January 25th, 2017, Trump orders a crackdown on immigration and that a wall be built across the Mexico border.
* On January 25, 2017, Trump orders an investigation into alleged voter fraud in only the states he lost with a concentration on "urban areas." He also tells Republicans to move forward with more voter suppression measures.

Please share... If you want more people to actually read it, copy and paste. I still can't believe what is on this list. Thank you for reading... It is long, but important..

The Destruction of America

God, I hope this is a good year. I seriously have my doubts though. We shall see.

It's not even the middle of the month and our nation is already in free fall. We have learned, barely a week before the inauguration of president Trump, that the Russians were in contact with the Trump team before the election and they worked diligently, leaking information to discredit Clinton. 

Our government and the electoral process have been compromised. America has never had so direct an attack from a foreign government before. How we respond to this attack on our democracy, and their successful elevation of a buffoon to the highest office in the land, who  is Putin's puppet, will test the very fabric of democracy. I don't hold high hopes now that the Republicans have control of the house and the senate. 

One quarter of the voting public support this traitor and his swamp of deplorables who will dismantle our government and squeeze every dime out of us. They don't even understand the damage they have wrought. They don't care.

Obamacare is not the real name for the health bill. It is called the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. Republicans labeled it "Obamacare" to undermine the President and the policy. The ACA, short for PPACA, strengthened patient's coverage and expanded their healthcare. People didn't face lifetime caps on coverage for catastrophic illnesses or denial of coverage for preexisting conditions, two of the most important benefits of the ACA.

The ACA was based on "Romneycare" which Mitt Romney created for his state when he was governor of Massachusetts. If you do a little research you will find that his plan was based on the Heritage Foundation's plan. Believe it or not, the Republicans did draft a similar health plan previously.

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative research think tank organization that evolved from the John Birch Society. JBS was an extremist group that nearly died out until the Tea Party arose during the economic recession. They are anti-government radicals.

Presidents have tried to introduce universal health care since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office in 1933. Republicans have always opposed it.

Republicans have already passed a bill in the senate on Thursday (1-12-17) blocking six parts of Obamacare. When Republicans stayed in session until 02:00 Friday morning, they blocked coverage for preexisting conditions, contraceptive coverage, child health care program (CHIP), allowing children under 26 to stay on their parent's insurance, medicaid expansion for lower income, and veteran's coverage. All of these things have been a godsent for millions of people who didn't have insurance before. Now, it is being stripped away from us.

This is only the beginning. They're going to work on social security and medicare next. God help us all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Rhonda, Amanda, Evelyn, Ann, Frankie, Lisa, Angie, Sue, Norma, Joey, Donna, Valerie, Angela, Jacob, Bennett, Mika, Brenda, and Teresa

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Donny and Pam

RIP
Roy Burchfield, Jimmy Hutson, Sam Burchfield, Vivian Shoates, 

Lela Smith, Beulah Burchfield, and Roger Rowland

HAPPY NEW YEAR

AS ALWAYS,

PIO