Then there was a very blunt and specifically illustrated lacking. A lacking of interest for anything more than this precise moment.

Not a longing for a future or any recollection or reconciliation of a past, just a longing to muster and maintain a white-knuckled grip on this immediate, this right now as it fought just as hard at slipping away.

As with literally every moment of my life from the age of 16 to this morning at 54 still looking at my emergency room wristband from late last night, there she was.

At 16, she sat next to me in a beat up car as we plotted and planned what we’d do with these lifetimes that felt merged and molded together for some reason, and now she sits inches away, holding my hand as I cling to hers for what feels like the last time.

​Nothings important, I don’t have room for it. Nothing else matters. At all. No coincidences that carry an awful outcome, no law, no financial strife, no bank account, no judgements perceived or tangible even a blip in my minds eye… nope, just her… my one thing… from our very beginning to my very end.

I love you Brenda Renee.

Just can't shake the 90 minutes of our lives that we will never get back... the Presidential Debate, so I grabbed the transcript and answered the dozen questions. This could at least be entertaining...

Debate Questions:

1. When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?

No, I do not think that anyone not born into unlimited funds would offer you any other answer. Our country is 100% upside-down under the current administration. Without a candidate that has come up like the majority of Americans, we will NEVER see “better”. The “Public Servants” that somehow rake in millions of personal dollars and spend 3/4 of their political lives on vacation simply have no idea what we, American people endure to simply survive and give our children a chance to do the same.

2. Regarding abortion, what are your plans and why should the American people trust you?

Since the battle is now at a state level courtesy of the Roe V Wade overturn, I believe that we must appeal that decision and give power to the individual woman alone. Government of any kind has NO place dictating what anyone does medically. With over 50 fostered or adopted children, I believe that my family’s stance on the value of human life is pretty clear.

3. Would you veto a national abortion ban?

Before it even hit the house floor. Again, our current government can’t handle a simple budget, what on earth gives them the authority over another human life?

4. Would you support any restrictions on a woman's right to an abortion?

Unfortunately there are dark sides to every corner of our planet. I would want to make certain (I do not have a full scope of this yet) that abortions did not become an “alternative” to protected, consensual sex between adults.

5. Why did the Biden administration wait until six months before the election to act (immigration issue) and would you have done anything differently from President Biden on this?

Mr. Biden and his crew jumped in last-minute to look good, like they were saving us from something. Simply not true. Their team allowed millions upon millions of illegal immigrants across our borders for as long as they could. They housed, fed and financially supported these people, and in some states, people that cannot even read our constitution are about to cast a vote for the person that handed them the money.

6. Were pets eaten in Springfield, Ohio?

This is ridiculous and a sideshow distraction that hasn’t been validated by anything more than Facebook! I’m not going to waste anyones time in entertaining a conversation around it.
7. How would you deport 11 million undocumented immigrants?

The same way that the current administration allowed them in… quickly. Yes, with the assistance of police and National Guard as required. This sounds terrible, this sounds harsh, but this is the cost of righting a wrong. Doing the right thing has never been easy.

8. Is there anything you regret about what you did on (Jan 6th) that day?

January 6th is the closest that our country has been in over 250 years to a government of, for and by the people. Everything in real life does not have soft bumpers and labels for our protection. Sometimes, things are hard, situations are irreconcilable and we must work our way through our differences with a propensity for peace, but an equal ability to stand our ground. Was it handled poorly? I can’t say. But the Boston Tea party, (fighting the same tired battle of injustice and blatant theft in the name of taxation), was labeled as “the will of the people” and not an “insurrection”.

9. How would you end our involvement in the Israel - Hamas war?

Until our country can accomplish the things set forth by our founding fathers, we have no business educating other countries on the topic of Democracy. I would stop funding death, stop providing money, stop providing weaponry and invite allies to step into a trade embargo against those countries that can’t seem to stop killing one another.

10. Do you want the Ukraine to win this war?

Is this a trick question? No one wins in a war. Everyone loses. No one learns from them, and the retaliation card just sits on the back burner until it’s time to strike back. No, I don’t want anyone to “win” any war. I don’t want war on our planet. War should be alien to us, a species born to share emotion and capable of love? We can do better.

11. Regarding the soldiers who died in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Do you believe you bear any responsibility in the way that withdrawal played out?

The handling of our departure from Afghanistan was disgraceful. A slap in the face to the men and women duped into believing that their cause was just and their time away from their families was justified. Billions of dollars worth of military equipment left behind, American citizens left to suffer, US Soldiers lives wasted for absolutely nothing. Had I been president during this withdrawal, there would have been an agreement to a 100% cease fire, 100% withdrawal, and if the agreement were breeched, not only do we remain in theater, but our campaign changes from humanitarian to every bit of force that we have at our disposal against each and every sitting official.

12. Do you believe it's appropriate to weigh in on the racial identity of your opponent?

I cannot believe that this is even a question in 2024. It’s just as inappropriate as our newspaper and media headlines that seem to identify everyone by their color/sex (Black man, Latino man, Native American man) we are a single species on this earth, and even having a racially based conversation in this day and age should be well beneath us.

13. On Private Insurance and the ACA, what is your plan today?

I believe that the Affordable Care Act made sense for some, but not for a vast majority of Americans. I think that subsequent administrations have reshaped it, but I don’t feel that it affords enough flexibility to be considered a solution. I think we need to couple our newfound ability to limit drug and treatment prices (like the rest of the planet), afford levels of care that fit a majority of our population and leave availability for those that prefer private insurance to take that route. Finally, if doctors want to be part of private insurance, they are welcome to. However, no Doctor can move back and forth between truly private care and government subsidized care (ACA). There should never be “cherry-picking” when it comes to the health of our citizens.

Closing statement:

Dozen questions or so, and not one of them had to be. What would our history have had to look like in order to change our present for the better? I’ll leave you with that simple understanding that what we choose to do now, as a nation, as a planet and as a species defines not only ours, but the futures of those that will take the reigns when we are gone.

Spent the 4th of July watching the fireworks light up the sky, got some time with my family and ate some amazing barbeque. It’s been a couple days now, and I find myself still thinking about the night of the 4th, 2024, and what it meant to me. The headlines have stolen my attention with the likes of vehicles driven through family hangouts, murdered children, drive by shootings, abducted teenagers and two presidential candidates highlighting their debate with insults and comparison of golf scores. 

247 years, 11 months and 30 days ago today, a handful of men and their families decided to cement their departure from tyranny, taxation, oppression, corruption and religious mandates. They opted for freedom at all costs. They knew exactly the insurmountable odds that they would face, and the dire consequence of failure.

Today, we celebrate what was given to us by the brave men and women that came before us.

Today, we celebrate what we've done with what these men and women left for us to benefit from.

Today, I wonder where the brave men and women of this generation are, and when they might come together, stand up and take back the gifts that were left for all of us. Freedom, Democracy and the wild, unrelenting pursuit of happiness that is etched into our DNA.

Today, in my opinion, we've wasted what was gifted to all of us. We've sold the freedoms, we've bartered our independence and we've trusted only the most greedy, the most incompetent, the most deceitful and the most out of touch leadership with the most precious, incredible, inclusive and beautifully dreamt republic in the history of mankind.

Today, I'll be thankful for what we were given. I'll celebrate what I believed with all of my heart growing up in and then fighting for this country. I'll remember those that have gone before me in their own fights for their own beliefs.

But never, NEVER will I comply or agree with any of the absolute ‘regression’ or “devolution” to the exact same state that we left over 247 years ago. 

Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸 - Burke

#civildisobedience #standup #stopaskingpermission #thereisnowiggleroom #nowornever #nobody2024 #donotcomply

You’ve left your mark. A stomach-turning stain upon what was a beautiful promise.

You’ve taken that promise from not only the families and community of Uvalde, but from all of us. Every single human being that has ever hoped against all odds that our world might change for the better.

You took the promise of a young person becoming the president that ends war.

You took the promise of a young person that becomes the scientist that ends aids.

You took the promise of a young person that becomes a philanthropist and ends hunger for our planet.

You took the promise of a young person that becomes a storyteller to their children and grandchildren.

You took the promise of an educator watching one of her students accept a Nobel peace prize.

And just as abruptly as you took from us, so ends your infamy.

This is where you are forgotten.
This is where evil stumbles and the power of love, empathy, human spirit and compassion reclaim their power over the likes of you.

Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo 

Jacklyn Cazares

Makenna Lee Elrod

Jose Manuel Flores Jr.

Eliahna Garcia

Irma Garcia

Uziyah Garcia

Amerie Jo Garza

Xavier Lopez

Jayce Carmelo Luevanos

Tess Mata

Maranda Mathis

Eva Mireles

Alithia Ramirez

Annabell Rodriguez

Maite Rodriguez

Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio

Layla Salazar

Jailah Nicole Silguero

Eliahana Cruz Torres

Rojelio Torres

These are the names that I will remember. These are the promises that we will seek to keep. 

Until the hurt subsides, and our promises are kept ~

DB