BartBlog

How come every single time that I go out of town, I somehow manage to find a place to stay that has the noisiest neighbors within the nearest ten miles?

It doesn’t seem to matter if I stay in a hotel, a motel, an AirBnB or on a friend’s fold-away couch. Somehow noisy people always manage to find me. Somebody nearby always wants to feed a crying baby at 2:00 am, have a dance party, practice the trumpet from midnight to dawn, watch late-night TV at full volume — or have fabulous sex. Why me?

So here I am, up in Reno, Nevada, in a fleabag motel, with what appears to be Prom Night going on in the room next door. How am I ever going to manage to get to sleep tonight — let alone dream.

And speaking of dreaming, acclaimed author William Kent Krueger just won an award for best murder-mystery novel of 2018 at the convention I’m attending here. His book, “Sulfer Springs,” deals with the horrors that immigrants to our southern borders have to go through just to stay alive.

“This is the first book I’ve ever written that has generated hate mail,” said Krueger. Why am I not surprised. Coming to America used to be a good thing — but now apparently it is a crime.

All the parts of America today that are wonderful have been built on the backs of immigrants — be they Native Americans, African slaves, Asians, Aztecs, Pilgrims or whoever. All of our ancestors had dreams. They all were dreamers. They all came here to follow their dreams. We Americans are all descended from dreamers.

And who is to say that Latino dreams are worse or less important or different or more inferior than the dreams of our ancestors?

Had it been possible 2000 years ago, Jesus would have immigrated to America as well. Jesus was a dreamer too. “Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus said. Who knows? He might have led us to El Paso or San Diego or Arizona if Jesus had been alive today. But Jesus never ever said anything about building a Border Wall to keep the Samaritans out. That is more like something Judas would do.

Jesus was a dreamer, our ancestors were dreamers and I am a dreamer too — that is if I can ever manage to fall asleep up here in Reno.

I’m up here in Reno Nevada right now, attending a convention of murder-mystery writers and readers — and guess what? I’m actually going to speak at an authors’ discussion panel this Friday. So exciting! It’s like unexpectedly winning the jackpot on a slot machine. Not something that happens every day. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2018/Panels.html#Friday

The subject of my talk will be my latest detective novel, “Road Trip to Damascus”. It’s awesome. And, knowing me, you can probably guess who the villain might be. Spoiler alert: It’s the CIA. https://www.amazon.com/Road-Trip-Damascus-Jane-Stillwater/dp/1548204730

But speaking of winning and losing, America is currently being run by the biggest bunch of losers on the planet. Boy, would I love to speak on a panel discussion about them — hopefully on CNN but I’d even settle for Fox News. However, nobody in my country seems to want to hear about America’s Biggest Losers. And of course I’m talking about President Donald Trump and friends. Trump’s list of BFFs reads like a murder-mystery too — or actually more like a horror story. Let’s just take a look:

First let’s consider Trump himself. The man thrives on chaos — but unfortunately the rest of us do not. And then there’s Vice President Pence, who appears to want to put every woman in America into cages and only allow us out to give birth and dust furniture. Happy Women’s History Month to us. We’ll soon be back in the Dark Ages if Pence gets his way.

And apparently Trump’s perspective National Security Advisor John Bolton has plans to make us all so secure that our coffins will fit us just right. Secretary of State nominee Pompeo has wet dreams of starting a nuclear war with (fill in the blank). Secretary of Defense Mattis thinks that the best defense for America is to get us all killed so we won’t have to worry about surviving World War 3 any more. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/16/warnings-civilization-threatening-disaster-john-bolton-tops-list-mcmaster

Trump’s nominee for the head of the CIA, Gina Haspel, is addicted to torture. Hope you haven’t had a mani-pedi lately because there goes your nails. She’s the kind of bad guy I wrote about in my murder-mystery — and she could be coming to your town soon too.
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/49039-focus-gina-haspel-should-be-in-the-dock-at-the-hague

United Nations ambassador Haley appears to have totally dedicated her life to murdering every single Syrian still left alive — and she knows how to lie, cheat and steal to get the job done too, is even far better at it than Colin Powell was regarding WMDs in Iraq. Will she be coming after us next as well? Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. http://www.newsweek.com/now-mattis-admits-there-was-no-evidence-assad-using-poison-gas-his-people-801542

But Trump’s most scary Besties of all are Israel and Saudi Arabia. Everyone knows that the Saudis cut off people’s heads and fund ISIS — and yet Trump asks them to the freaking White House for dinner and friends them on FaceBook and Twitter.

And the stuff of nightmares that Israeli neo-cons have happily perpetrated in Gaza makes my blood curl. And yet the monsters responsible for creating the worst concentration camp since Auschwitz are all Trump’s BFFs. Why is it that liberals hate, hate, hate Trump but love, love, love his BFF Israel? Can’t they see the connection? I’ll never be able to figure that one out. Still a mystery to me. https://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520295711

But right now I just want to forget about all the horror that lies ahead of us — like the rest of America surely has. Right now all I want to do is go lose a few dollars on the penny slots and then take a nap. Wake me up when America finally comes to its senses (or else in time for dinner, whichever comes first). But clearly I have far more chance of winning big bucks on the penny slots here in Reno than America has of winning ANYTHING while being led into total chaos by Washington’s biggest losers.

PS: Although Trump always touts himself as the owner of Casino America, in reality he’s not even a pit boss — more like a wannabe blackjack dealer on the graveyard shift.

Then who exactly are America’s true casino owners and high rollers? The Deep State? The military-industrial complex that eats its young? The neo-con Israel lobby? The wolves of Wall Street? The dark money behind Citizens United? We may never know. The only thing that we do know for certain is that it ain’t you or me — and it’s definitely not Donald Trump.

So. When are Americans going to finally stop wasting their money by playing at Casino America — where all the decks are stacked against us?

Author’s note:  If you haven’t already noticed by now, I truly do dislike Israeli neo-colonialists and Saudi neo-colonialists.  Hell, I don’t even like American neo-colonialists.   Why can’t everybody just stay home where they belong!  And also how come  everyone gets on my case for calling out Israelis and Saudis — but if I  were to lie through my teeth about Russia, Syria, Iran or North Korea, I’d get all kinds of applause?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziAK91AEEl8&feature=youtu.be

According to Lt. General Richard Clark, U.S. ground troops are now “prepared to die for the Jewish [sic] state”. https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-us-operation-juniper-cobra-a-harbinger-of-war-on-syria-hezbollah/238768/

Too late, General Clark! Lots of American soldiers have already died for Israel.

For instance, just ask Joe Meadors, a survivor of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty back in 1967. After nine hours of surveillance on the hapless ship, Israeli fighter jets then continuously bombed and strafed the USS Liberty while Israeli torpedo boats opened fire on it. This deadly bombardment lasted more than an hour, killing 34 American military personnel and ripping two rather large American flags into shreds. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/deadly-attack-on-uss-liberty-gets-new-attention/

And then there’s Iraq. 4,424 American soldiers died there. According to US Senator Ernest Hollings back in the day, “With Iraq no threat, why invade a sovereign country? The answer: President Bush’s policy to secure Israel.” https://theshalomcenter.org/node/621

And then there is Syria. American soldiers have been keeping Israeli neo-colonialists’ irons in the fire there since 2011. We’ll never know how many American soldiers have died there. And we’ll never be allowed to know either. https://www.thenation.com/article/bulking-up-on-special-operations-forces-in-2018-will-not-stop-terrorism/

So, yeah. American soldiers have already been dying for “the Jewish state” — or at least for Israeli neo-colonialists’ lust for power in the Middle East.

Civilian Americans have also died recently when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Miami. America seems to have no money left to repair its infrastructure — but there’s still lots of money left to get American soldiers killed in the Middle East. Israeli neo-colonialists must be totally happy that this is still a thing, still a trend.

So. What does all this “Dying for Israel” fad have to do with little old me? Am I being anti-Semitic? Nah, I’m just still pissed off that Israeli thugs threw me out of Palestine last September. “We are trying to keep Israel safe,” they said. What? Huh? Safe from ME? https://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/2017/09/grilled-my-experience-at-israeli-border.html

PS: When I toured the Senate and House chambers on Capitol Hill the other day, I forgot to ask all those war-mongering lawmakers if they too were willing to “Die for Israel”. But apparently not. Apparently it’s okay for others to “Die for Israel” — but not them. They gotta stay alive and well so they can still get their dark-money campaign contributions from the Israelis and the Saudis (not from the Russians BTW).

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Stop Wall Street and War Street from destroying our world. And while you’re at it, please buy my books. https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Stillwater/e/B00IW6O1RM

“Hello, Homeland Security? This is Jane Stillwater. I’m in Washington DC right now and just overheard someone plotting to blow up the whole freaking world. If you don’t stop them right now, America could be end up as a NUCLEAR WASTELAND!” I screamed into the phone. https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/02/18/us-is-executing-global-war-plan.html

“Calm down, lady. Just tell us what you heard.”

“Some dude who identified himself with the obvious code name of ‘Lt. General Richard Clark’ was talking about plans for a false-flag operation that involved blowing up parts of Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Gaza — murdering children, targeting civilians! It was horrible! You MUST do something to stop him!” https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-us-operation-juniper-cobra-a-harbinger-of-war-on-syria-hezbollah/238768/

“Ma’am, we have no control over what happens outside of America. Plus you could be just imagining all this.” Calling me crazy, is he? Well, I’ll show him!

“The dude actually said with his mouth that the intention of all these attacks was to vilify Russia and China, enough to get them all pissed off and into a shooting war. But it’s not NICE to piss off Mother Russia! Then some other dude talked about being in cahoots with Ukraine neo-Nazi bad guys with a plan in place to blow up Russian-speaking Donbas! You’ve got to stop these people before Russia finally loses patience with the idiots in Washington and drops nuclear bombs on us in return! Please!” https://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-warns-us-against-attacking-syrian-forces/5631930

I also tried to tell DHS how I overheard the king of Saudi Arabia plotting to send whole planeloads of gold bullion to buy off Congress (again) so that the Saudis could continue to massacre Yemeni babies at will — without any tiresome meddling by stupid American busybodies still tied down with the lead weight of conscience. And also how the evil Saudi neo-colonialists were in league with the evil Israeli neo-colonialists in their plot to steal everything in the Middle East that wasn’t tied down and then become a super-power themselves — with America in the role of the red-headed stepchild. http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21264:Gideon-Levy:-The-Zionist-Tango:-Step-Left,-Step-Right

But the Homeland Security guy hung up on me.

So much for “See something, say something.” Humph.

PS: Other than the fact that Washington DC is the home of a bunch of feral idiots who risk American lives daily in their insane quest for diabolical power, the District of Columbia itself is a wonderful place. I got to tour the Senate, the House of Representatives, the International Spy Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court — and also attended a hope-inspiring rally and march staged by Hasidic Jews in protest of Israeli corruption and war-mongering.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/03/13/instead-of-being-in-jail-haspel-is-cia-director.html

The National Portrait Gallery had an excellent and intimate exhibit of the writing of Sylvia Plath. Fascinating and tragic at the same time. And I almost got thrown out of the Gallery itself by some irate docent when I tried to cut in line to see the new portrait of Michelle Obama. But I got my revenge. I bought the postcard instead and took a selfie with it.

“150 people are standing in line to see Michelle’s portrait right now,” I said to one of the guards there. “I wonder how many people will stand in line to see a portrait of Melania.” The guard and I both laughed. But actually, it’s not Melania’s fault that Americans are more interested in Stormy Daniels than they are in her.

Hell, Americans are far more interested in Stormy Daniels than even in the fact the the power-mad idiots in Washington are trying to blow us all up. But at least some of the DC Metro stations I rode through are far enough underground to serve as bomb shelters. I wonder if I should start building a bomb shelter too when I get home. Couldn’t hurt, might help.

 

Remember back when you were growing up? That time you did something that was a no-no and your mom caught you in the act? And you blamed it on your older brother who was already in Big Trouble for something else anyway? “He did it!” you cried. And your mother actually believed you?

I just went to a conference in Washington DC (braving 60 mph winds BTW) and the speakers had some very interesting things to say. “Israeli neo-cons want a war on Iran so badly they can taste it,” one speaker told us. “But if the Israelis can get the Americans to make the first move, then that’s a good thing for them. Why? Because the world already hates America because of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, etc. So if America attacks Iran, then the Isreali neo-cons’ hands are clean.”

Good thinking there, neo-cons. Mom will never know!

Then another speaker, a military guy, talked about what a war on Iran would actually be like. Not a pretty picture. “Imagine the war on Afghanistan and then multiply that. It will be long and hard and horrendous and unwinnable [unless of course America nukes the entire Middle East]. And yet Trump’s generals appear to be planning to do just that — and within the next six months too.” http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21265:Is-the-US-Ramping-Up-Its-Military-Presence-in-Syria-and-Planning-to-Attack-Iran%3F

Boy, the world is REALLY gonna hate us for that one.

PS: And you think that America’s foreign policy is whacked? It’s domestic policy isn’t all that hot either. I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine who is a doctor. “Regarding your article on Freddie Gray? The police didn’t break his neck inside the paddy wagon. They broke it right there on the street. That’s why he was screaming in pain and had to be dragged off the scene.” Interesting. Our police departments appear to have become just one more type of urban gang. http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/2018/03/my-day-trip-to-baltimore-out-of-order.html

And after reading about America’s obsession with bringing “order” to the streets, I realized something else. They probably didn’t shoot Michael Brown to death in Ferguson for allegedly robbing a convenience store. They shot him to death because he was walking in the middle of the street — that’s out of order for sure. Do not try that at home.

Then another friend of mine e-mailed me, saying, “Chicago beats this Baltimore crap hands down. We have the Homan Avenue police station on the west side where about 10,000 people have checked in and never checked out. Take a trip there. Do a FOIA on them.

“When you go there, you hear voices screaming and your hair stands on end — yet it’s still not investigated by the FBI. It’s where they kill people off for body parts, all sorts of stuff. The ‘Chicago Reader’ has done an article unchallenged. I dare you to come to this creep house.”

Who me?

“Google it. Ask Rahm Emmanuel about it. Disgusting. Been there. I get creeped out and sick every time I go there. All the employees are mean and surly as if taken over by demons.”

And so if Israeli neo-cons are ever called on the carpet by world opinion for all the atrocities they commit in Occupied Palestine, all they have to do is say, “America did it!”

My goal for today was to go visit the Freddie Gray memorial mural in Baltimore, Maryland. Took the Greyhound from Washington DC, day-tripping, arrived on time. So far so good. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/death-of-freddie-gray-5-things-you-didnt-know-w476107

Except that nobody here in Baltimore seemed to know where the Freddie Gray mural was. So I went to the main library. Librarians know everything. “North Mount Street at Presbury.” Got it. “Take the Metro to Upton.” Check. Except that the subway was closed for renovations. So I went next door to the legendary Lexington Market, founded in 1782. Bought a crab cake. Hey, it’s Baltimore. Gotta eat crab cakes. It’s the law.

And then I met “Edward” and things went uphill from there. He stuffed me onto a yellow-line bus. We got off at Pennsylvania Avenue. I followed him around like a lost little duckling for the next half-mile. We turned a corner. There was the mural. It was lovely. I took a photo of it. I forgot to bring flowers.

Edward walked me back through Freddie’s old neighborhood, one of the most rundown in all of America. “What was Freddie like?” I asked Edward.

“He was pretty much like everyone else around here, just trying to get by as best that he could in a place with no jobs, run-down schools and shabby housing,” replied Edward. I looked around. Edward was right. “People here are always trying to get your spot.” And apparently the po-po had been trying to get Freddie’s spot too.

I just got done reading Matt Taibbi’s excellent book, “I can’t Breathe”. Taibbi talks about “community policing,” a policy wherein anything that looks “out of order” on the streets must be gotten rid of. And the cops, not the laws, get to decide what “out of order” looks like. This is a national policy, not just in Baltimore. Our whole country has a policing policy similar to what goes on in occupied Palestine.

And apparently Freddie Gray was “out of order” too.

When little kids get “out of order” they are sent to rec centers and play grounds. When senior citizens get “out of order” they are sent to rest homes. When politicians get “out of order” they are sent to Congress. But when you are a young Black male and get even the tiniest bit “out of order” then they send you off to jail. Or shoot you.

Please, America, please think of some way that young Black men can have a safe place to go when society considers you “out of order,” a safe place that doesn’t involve jail time — or a coffin.

After Black people have endured over 600 long hard years of slavery, humiliation and having every deck stacked against them, isn’t it high time for White people to stop trying to make Black people feel “out of order” just for being alive.

PS: Thank you, Edward, for being my tour guide to north Baltimore. You really did put the charm in “Charm City” and I’m grateful.

PPS: A good start at making America safe for young Black males (and for all the rest of us Americans too) would be to stop spending trillions of $$$$ on worthless weapons of mass destruction and start spending trillions of $$$$ on us Americans instead — on all of us.