DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: The winds of change are blowing – are you blowing with or against the gale?

Before I sat down to write my column tonight, I scrolled the latest headlines.

Fear, fear, hate, more hate… into ad nauseam.

When will it be time to break the cycle that is feeding the propaganda machine fueling the matrix?

Ask yourself why you believe what you believe.

Is it because the media said it, someone told you, or because it is the essence of what you stand for as a human.

Hate and ego are a result of fear and programming – it’s not a part of anyone’s true essence.

That programming was alive and well last week as I looked at the energy surrounding the people fueling hate at the State of the Union.

Pardon me if I get a little esoteric, but that hate and ego is causing many wrong moves from the blue people – and it’s not a good look for the US overall. Blind turns and choices based on emotions, likely based on money drying up with the inception of DOGE and the winds of change blowing off the masks.

Personally, I’m all for anyone finding wasted money (no, I’m not talking about veteran’s affairs, Medicaid, social security). Money wasted on causes, reasons and wars that many American people did not sign on for and voted for Pres. Trump to correct.

If you hate Trump so much, ask yourself why?

The United States was not going in a good direction with the last administration.

How do I know? How do you know? Anyone today can find a mainstream media news outlet that gives their ideas credence.

Over the last few years while writing this column, I’ve found that for every piece of propaganda being parroted by one side, there is equal propaganda being parroted in opposition on the other side and it all sounds “true.”

That’s why I tell everyone, do your own research. Come to your own conclusions because what you decide to believe is a direct reflection of your programming.

Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Pagan, etc.… a person attracts the energy they exude. 

You want love, give it. You want hate, give it. You want to wake up every morning unhappy and make those around you miserable, I can promise you your body will get sick and die long before it should if that’s your vibe.

I have a strong dislike for the behavior of several members of congress from Texas. I wish them no harm. And, unless I run against them and win or lose, the only thing I can do is dislike their views and respect their position (hoping the lobbyists are not paying for their vote).

Come to think of it, I wonder who paid for the blue people’s paddles at the State of the Union. They certainly made a statement, but in doing so lost democratic voters who will be voting red in the next election.

Those paddles were laughable. I think I used a paddle like that once when I was in 2nd grade for a spelling bee. Seriously, did someone break into a table tennis wholesale shop for the occasion?

And, yes, if you want to sit on your hands (or your paddle) during Trump’s speech, do it with respect. 

But they could not even remove their ego long enough to respect Americans who have nothing to do with the game they are playing on the DC stage – bad move.

Let’s talk about Texas Congressman Al Green. I don’t agree with much of his ideology. 

I do, however, respect him for standing up for what he believes. It got him booted out, but at least he didn’t have to sit there and hold a table tennis paddle with that look on his face like the others wore (save for a few snoozing or on their phone).

Green is a liberal Texan. While researching him I discovered I agree with him on a few things (maybe that’s why I worked for a democrat four years). Either way, he was thrown out of the State of the Union and I saw it as a nod to the US political system in action.  He stood up for what he believed versus saying “FU” to Trump or not even showing up, and he made his point. America saw the process. 

Do you know in some countries (some I have visited) he would have been thrown in jail by the opposing party (i.e. in Ukraine or Russia) or killed for what he did that night.

The song “We Shall Overcome” okay, it begins with overcoming hate.

Read www.politico.com/news/2025/03/06/poll-democrats-trump-disarray-00215291 outlining a liberal pollster’s findings that just 10 percent of voters think Democrats have a good plan for opposing the president.

Like it or not (and I don’t like all of it) Trump and his supporters agree on what he is doing to reshape the United States. There are no surprises.

Like I said last week, Trump is the only one who said the word “peace” regarding Ukraine/Russia likely because the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) runs on war as do many of our lawmakers. Research MIC and its financial impact of well over a trillion dollars annually, globally and see beyond the sheep-eyed view of the art of WAR (that includes Ukraine and Europe): thegunzone.com/how-much-is-the-military-industrial-complex.

I am waiting on Elon to dig into the MIC budget and black budget, the latter calculated to be over $50 billion a year.

Peace is not the current “battle cry” by the blues or a few of the reds.

Instead, it is Ukraine good/Russia bad, PEACE not an option as it would hurt military spending and the billions being made around the world.

Either way, let’s stroll down memory lane to 1990 when then Secretary of State James Baker made a promise to Mikhail Gorbachev regarding NATO that was not honored. This directly affected what Putin is doing now (I’m not in agreement, I’m pointing out a fact).

Since I’m limited on word count, read “Timeline Of NATO Expansionism That Led To Russia-Ukraine War” (www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/03/03/will_cain_timeline_of_nato_expansionism_that_led_to_russian_aggression.html#google_vignette and “Did NATO Expansion Really Cause Putin’s Invasion? https://afsa.org/did-nato-expansion-really-cause-putins-invasion).

You can hate who you want but Trump did not start this war, no one else has tried to end it and for that matter Mr. Z was only 12 years old when the NATO shuffling and hustling began.

War is not played out on the battlefield where death lingers daily. It is played out behind closed doors where there are those negotiating and making decisions perhaps deciding what casualty count can be approved to affect the financial end game and the political maneuvering.

A reader of my column who often disagrees with me wrote something in private to me that stuck: “The whole world is an oligarchy now. Little else matters.”

To that, I agree.

Now what?

Trump plays by his own rules. If he fails, the US fails, and we all fail too.

He is digging into the deep state rot thick on both sides of the aisle. 

So many layers, and so many people who have been enjoying their cushy jobs and lobbyist dollars are now seeing the imminent collapse of their kingdom as they slowly fall like Humpty Dumpty and will be unable to put their pieces back together again.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.