Don't think for a minute that Republicans will not gut and/or overturn the ACA and continue to pass laws that harm a vast majority of Americans if they flip the Senate this year.
Putting faith in a Hillary Clinton to win the White House in 2016, is a fool's errand. It implies that her veto pen will be sufficient to stop the impending spasms of overreach that will occur.
I am not a sycophant of the Democratic Party. Many of my blogs call for a strong and much needed third alternative. Who will base their campaign on making campaign finance reform a priority, prevent the repeal of the ACA, nominate reasonable people to the Supreme Court and continue to champion alternatives to fossil fuel addiction? This does not leave out the need to stop the entire jingoistic "cowboy" mentality regarding guns, military adventures against other nations and the overdue rebuilding of our infrastructure.
Presently, I'm not sure there is such a person. Our history has examples of people who did not affiliate with the two major political parties. But the power and money structure vastly favors those parties and how we would accrue equal status to a third party is clearly not in the cards.
The name of Bernie Sanders has come up recently. Buddy Roehmer had a small shot at his fifteen minutes in 2012. What is it about these two that pales before the endless line of wannabe authors, ex talk show hosts and establishment hacks running for President on the same ol' bullshit ticket.
A recent post implored you to vote your interests and those of loved ones, friends and strangers who lack the money and influence to. Today's post still calls for you to do so, because if you were not to, you deserve what you will surely get. And it won't be pretty.
Please consider a worthy alternative to the status quo, because what they're about, really isn't much about you and your life. And the stakes are too high for that to continue.
Thank you for reading this.
By the way, boycott companies and products that are made by assholes. You know who they are. Social Media is a great thing. It has the power to send messages of all kinds to millions of people. Do your part. #spreadsanity.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
If.....Then
Our system is slowly but unmistakably being hijacked by a well funded minority of people who are desperate to hold onto their status quo. This gives them privilege and isolates them from real people and their very real problems. This movement was born in the 80's during the Reagan administration and is the template that now sees many state legislatures controlled by elements that are not friendly to the poor, women, workers andpensioners and recent SCOTUS rulings have given their agenda plenty of room to run.
The only peaceful way to slow this agenda and to restore more balance in our society is to become educated as to issues that affect you and your loved ones. Your vehicle is the ballot box. If you do not vote, you cede this agenda at its present speed.
Please get educated and more connected. It is difficult and combing through policies that benefit very few of us is just as difficult. That's the price of a greater well being.
Do what you want. But please be mindful of the old saw; If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got.
Vote as if it mattered.It really does.
The only peaceful way to slow this agenda and to restore more balance in our society is to become educated as to issues that affect you and your loved ones. Your vehicle is the ballot box. If you do not vote, you cede this agenda at its present speed.
Please get educated and more connected. It is difficult and combing through policies that benefit very few of us is just as difficult. That's the price of a greater well being.
Do what you want. But please be mindful of the old saw; If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got.
Vote as if it mattered.It really does.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Broken record
Although vinyl remastered LPs are making a comeback, the title still suggests someone repeating themselves, again and again. Just like the caricatures of trying to have a conversation with someone who speaks a different language, the solution might not be to
speak louder. It just may be to be a pain the ass and speak repetitively.
Admittedly, I am not what one would call a Republican. I never was. I grew up in an era where bipartisanship was neither a dirty word or a weakness. I remember an innocuous television show on in the 60's. I watched a political show, called The Ev and Charlie Show. It was a prehistoric version of Crossfire. It featured a Republican Senator, Everett Dirksen of Illinois and a Democratic Congressman, Charles Halleck from Indiana. They would politely debate the issues of the day and the conclusion the viewer would reach, other than these were two pompous crotchety old white men, they could disagree without being disagreeable. And until POTUS 44, this sort of political divide just didn't exist. People worked things out even if they didn't agree.
I looked into the compostion of Congress during the Reagan and H.W. Bush Administrations. Contentious conservatives certainly existed. Intractable progressives did as well. But the government did not shut down, taxes were cut (Tax Reform Act of 1981) against the wishes of the Left, Taxes were raised four or five times, depending on how you interpret each one. The debt ceiling never became an issue, because whether it was Reagan or Bush, neither would allow that to happen-- to potentially default on the full faith and credit and of the United States Government. The American Disabilities act was passed and some sort of homage was paid to the environment in terms of excessive carbon footprints, passed as legislation known as the Clean Air Act, passed during the Bush Administration
Allow me to express my partisan views here. After all, why write something if it isn't how I see it. It matters if you don't agree, but can we disagree without being disagreeable?
I think the 2014 midterm elections are among the most crucial ever. I stated in paragraph two that I was not a Republican. I'm not. Like most people, the state of political and social interaction is absolutely horseshit today and because the swamp known as Washington exists in a vacuum of its very own, both parties are so immersed in the politics of reelection (accruing power and money and influence), neither can be held blameless.
Because the hierarchy is fixed to deny an independent party or parties to have a chance to compete in formation of policy, this steaming pile of horseshit grows and flourishes of its own volition, aided of course by its denizens of defense, the legislative branch and the revolving door of show business and lobbying connected to the swamp. The current woe has been exacerbated by a (my opinion) vile legislative system who incarcerate vast elements of the under society and strike down laws that once were hailed as the jewels of a less tarnished age.
I am urging people to come to their senses and throw out the current political system; Republicans AND Democrats. As soon as they are gone, perhaps we can start to build a system that addresses a forgotten, de-emphasized and ignored segment of the population-- those living at or below the poverty line. Perhaps, in this moment of clarity we won't need a Fox News or an MSNBC.
Inequality is growing. It's not shrinking. It is growing among age groups, ethnicities, people of color, returning veterans and their families and is starting to invade the perceived comfort of the middle class. One party says (all too often, I'm afraid) that it's a question of laziness and lack of ambition to lift one's self up from this yoke. The other side, not certain how to fairly spend the billions of dollars they earmark toward reducing or eliminating it, but cannot because of waste and fraud, throws money at the problem as if that will make all the difference. A certain segment of society, untouched by this mess lives in gated communities and can afford security details to protect them from the pitchforks which are starting to appear in the streets. The pitchforks only know what they're angry about and in reality don't have a clue as to how to fix it. Policy initiatives are the white noise that cannot be communicated to people because we've simply stopped listening The income tax system is a progressive one which seeks to lessen the burdens on people of social and economic inequality but that's a lie as well. One side says let markets account for all things monetary and when that happens more people gain wealth and it "trickles down" to those less fortunate.
I already wrote way more than I wanted. And I left out a whole bunch of gory details.
I am sorry to harangue- I'm re-reading this and that's what it looks like. But at the same time, it's really important and many reasonable people yearn for an end to this fetid system of privilege that catapults idiots into office and thereby creates the laws that keep making things worse-- or obstructs policy initiative that just might start to make things better.
So I apologize. But I'm posting it anyway because I think it's true. We can sort out the details later. When I was posting more, my average page visit was about 50 per day. When I had to slack off, that shrank to under 30. Let's see what happens.
I think the main thing I wanted to say, was that I heard of a recent initiative by Norman Ornstein and Andrew Young that suggested putting picture ID's on Social Security Cards. Ya think maybe that would allow more people to vote, instead of laws that are making it harder? Between these laws of exclusion and a recent Supreme Court ruling rendering Article 5 of the Voting Rights Act null and void, there rises a clarion call to voters. Figure out what you need to do to get registered and make sure you vote your interests this year. It is crucial.
And to those who hung in there and read this, without screaming at their screens or falling asleep, Thank You.
speak louder. It just may be to be a pain the ass and speak repetitively.
Admittedly, I am not what one would call a Republican. I never was. I grew up in an era where bipartisanship was neither a dirty word or a weakness. I remember an innocuous television show on in the 60's. I watched a political show, called The Ev and Charlie Show. It was a prehistoric version of Crossfire. It featured a Republican Senator, Everett Dirksen of Illinois and a Democratic Congressman, Charles Halleck from Indiana. They would politely debate the issues of the day and the conclusion the viewer would reach, other than these were two pompous crotchety old white men, they could disagree without being disagreeable. And until POTUS 44, this sort of political divide just didn't exist. People worked things out even if they didn't agree.
I looked into the compostion of Congress during the Reagan and H.W. Bush Administrations. Contentious conservatives certainly existed. Intractable progressives did as well. But the government did not shut down, taxes were cut (Tax Reform Act of 1981) against the wishes of the Left, Taxes were raised four or five times, depending on how you interpret each one. The debt ceiling never became an issue, because whether it was Reagan or Bush, neither would allow that to happen-- to potentially default on the full faith and credit and of the United States Government. The American Disabilities act was passed and some sort of homage was paid to the environment in terms of excessive carbon footprints, passed as legislation known as the Clean Air Act, passed during the Bush Administration
Allow me to express my partisan views here. After all, why write something if it isn't how I see it. It matters if you don't agree, but can we disagree without being disagreeable?
I think the 2014 midterm elections are among the most crucial ever. I stated in paragraph two that I was not a Republican. I'm not. Like most people, the state of political and social interaction is absolutely horseshit today and because the swamp known as Washington exists in a vacuum of its very own, both parties are so immersed in the politics of reelection (accruing power and money and influence), neither can be held blameless.
Because the hierarchy is fixed to deny an independent party or parties to have a chance to compete in formation of policy, this steaming pile of horseshit grows and flourishes of its own volition, aided of course by its denizens of defense, the legislative branch and the revolving door of show business and lobbying connected to the swamp. The current woe has been exacerbated by a (my opinion) vile legislative system who incarcerate vast elements of the under society and strike down laws that once were hailed as the jewels of a less tarnished age.
I am urging people to come to their senses and throw out the current political system; Republicans AND Democrats. As soon as they are gone, perhaps we can start to build a system that addresses a forgotten, de-emphasized and ignored segment of the population-- those living at or below the poverty line. Perhaps, in this moment of clarity we won't need a Fox News or an MSNBC.
Inequality is growing. It's not shrinking. It is growing among age groups, ethnicities, people of color, returning veterans and their families and is starting to invade the perceived comfort of the middle class. One party says (all too often, I'm afraid) that it's a question of laziness and lack of ambition to lift one's self up from this yoke. The other side, not certain how to fairly spend the billions of dollars they earmark toward reducing or eliminating it, but cannot because of waste and fraud, throws money at the problem as if that will make all the difference. A certain segment of society, untouched by this mess lives in gated communities and can afford security details to protect them from the pitchforks which are starting to appear in the streets. The pitchforks only know what they're angry about and in reality don't have a clue as to how to fix it. Policy initiatives are the white noise that cannot be communicated to people because we've simply stopped listening The income tax system is a progressive one which seeks to lessen the burdens on people of social and economic inequality but that's a lie as well. One side says let markets account for all things monetary and when that happens more people gain wealth and it "trickles down" to those less fortunate.
I already wrote way more than I wanted. And I left out a whole bunch of gory details.
I am sorry to harangue- I'm re-reading this and that's what it looks like. But at the same time, it's really important and many reasonable people yearn for an end to this fetid system of privilege that catapults idiots into office and thereby creates the laws that keep making things worse-- or obstructs policy initiative that just might start to make things better.
So I apologize. But I'm posting it anyway because I think it's true. We can sort out the details later. When I was posting more, my average page visit was about 50 per day. When I had to slack off, that shrank to under 30. Let's see what happens.
I think the main thing I wanted to say, was that I heard of a recent initiative by Norman Ornstein and Andrew Young that suggested putting picture ID's on Social Security Cards. Ya think maybe that would allow more people to vote, instead of laws that are making it harder? Between these laws of exclusion and a recent Supreme Court ruling rendering Article 5 of the Voting Rights Act null and void, there rises a clarion call to voters. Figure out what you need to do to get registered and make sure you vote your interests this year. It is crucial.
And to those who hung in there and read this, without screaming at their screens or falling asleep, Thank You.
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