New beginnings in November (#2008)

We here in America are having a significant national election that could very well reshape the course of our current political dysfunction. With the defeat of 17 or more overall Republican seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats would gain control of both Houses of Congress and then finally start to implement our President's agenda for the next 2 years and far into the future. It seems that the two party system of governance has ended with the tactics employed by the minority party of conservative Republicans who only want their agenda passed despite them losing out on their agenda in the last national election. That is a childish position for them to take considering that the majority of Americans rejected their policies. So instead of reshaping their policies to fit the desire of our populace, Republicans have employed dirty tactics of undermining voter rights in order to eliminate as many Democratic voters as possible and also by misinforming through the media as to their true intent and the true intent of Democrats. The conservative majority Supreme Court has upheld many of the Republicans illogical policies due strictly to partisanship. As the final word on the constitutionality of laws is their domain, we must not also allow Republicans the further control of our political body to manifest their survival of the fittest agenda, while supplementing the wealthy through further unnecessary tax cuts and harm preventing regulation removal. This coming November can be a special election in the history of our country if the enlightened among us mobilize to get our Democrat vote out and vote for Democrats. Suddenly the dysfunction in our capital in Washington will end and new beginnings will start as the obstruction and disinterest in policies affecting the American working/middle/poor will stop. It is an exciting moment we are living in and now is the time for doing our all for the best of our country going forward. 

Superman complex (#2007)

I admit it! I have the superman complex. What is that generally you may ask? It is a sense that whenever or wherever harm is being done I want to stop the harm and have good replace it. If I had the power to do that very thing I would but I don't have the power to do that everywhere and any time but that doesn't stop me from wanting to try if possible. It is a rather frustrating complex, but when the times come when I can do something to stop harm and replace it with some good, the sensation of both physical and mental is positively incomparable. Now many may want to diagnose the superman complex as being wholly fantasy and not worthy of empowerment. I would disagree. It speaks to my inner self and the person I have always wanted to be. Someone who can rise above the problems of process and rationalize answers that reflect the best of our natures. It is empathetic to humanity while establishing my own moral purpose. I don't regard selfishness with the same allure as I do with selflessness. They are mostly polar opposites to me and that is how I boundary my principles. Bookmarked between being selfish and being selfless. The living of my life is on the part of that spectrum that is closest to selflessness. The reason being is that in being selfless I can spot and identify how to better serve my humble superman complex. When I am not full of my ego centered self, I can see how life is treating others as clear as a bright shining day. In that seeing I am able to adjust my thoughts and actions to best fit some method of being a positive influence where possible. Again, I spend more time being frustrated in attempting to solve problems as I see them since we are all individuals with a vision for our own lives and what is not right to me in my eyes is not the same in someone else's. Yet I do continue to present myself where I can and be the kind of superman in any small way applicable. Such is me. 

Health care for all (#2006)

I recently had a conversation/argument with an acquaintance of mine who was defending the Republican attempts to stop the subsidies to the Obamacare insurance subscribers from the national website where states had not set up their own exchanges. He argued that the letter of the law should prevail, despite me defending that the error that excluded explicit language was more a typo than an intent to eventually leave tens of millions without the important subsidies. The rationale my acquaintance used was a strict constructionist viewpoint that has been promulgated by the far right when it is convenient to the agenda of destroying social programs aimed at the lesser successful in our American economic system. What bothers me most is that if he didn't have his federal government job he would be directly negatively affected by what Republicans are doing. Despite the irony of his working for the federal government and arguing against federal government health care, he cares less about the millions of folks who previously had no health care and now can afford it only with the federal subsidies, than he does denying them this coverage. It is a not so subtle disdain for those who are not worthy for some reason that I will not try to understand. The reason I will not try to understand the unworthiness attributed to so many is that there can be no moral nor any logical reason that isn't based in negativity. I try to stay positive and reasoning out illogical negativity is not something I will bother my mind with. I get to the point where having discussions/arguments with this particular acquaintance is pointless and not worthy of my time and mental health. I am very consistent with who I share my life with in space and time and it has been customary for me to disappear out of those lives that have more harm intent within their thinking and doing than not. This is no exception and if only to stay true to my convictions, another family acquaintance will lose a day to day interactive privilege with me. There are times when tragedy and unforeseen circumstances bring us back together but in those cases toleration and civility will be observed but only for the moment of its necessity.

Journalists who are more interested in money and fame than reporting facts. (#2005)

It seems that there are too many journalists, fox "news" and more spread out among the other cable news networks who find that the profession of journalism is only a stepping stone to their own personal sense of accomplishment. There are still many journalists and even photographers who hold to telling and showing the truth regardless the outcome, yet too many do not. There is a calculation within the journalistic profession that the truth is not their end game. For them, journalism is only a means to another end. What this does to the news viewing populace however is quantifiable. When a society is not given objective descriptions of the facts, then as a society, we all suffer from a lack of clarity in purpose. We have too much confusion these days from propaganda passed off as news and news passed off as propaganda. I have talked of this before about how our first amendment right to free speech has been misguidedly adjudicated to include a right to lie. The absurdity of the decisions that uphold lying as free speech undermines all that is logical about civilized society. The future of our democracy is in jeopardy from decisions like this and those currently being established like corporations, a legal contract construct are people, and that money is speech. It is if our world of logical progression has been turned on it's head and we are now in Alice's wonderland. Journalists play a mighty role in reporting facts for all of us to inculcate and there should be a sense of pride inherent within that special duty. We need to reverse those previous erroneous judicial decisions and then hold our 4th estate accountable to truth telling. We must make them pay harshly for intentional lies. Everyone makes mistakes so some forgiveness is applied when the intent was not of an ulterior motive but nonetheless, the truth of things and facts need to be correctly expressed to keep our society healthy, creative and bountiful.

When people see other people as lesser (#2004)

Are some of us afflicted with so much ego that we cannot distinguish the fact that none of us is lesser than another? Is it hatred? Is it ignorance? Hard telling not knowing what is actually going on in some folks minds. The intolerance by many of others goes against what it is to be human. We are not diverse in color and creed by accident. We are because nature has allowed us to be. Who are we to argue with nature? Just because we can think and sense does not give us any right to exclude based upon race, sex, creed, religion or even economic standard. That some of us have been inculcated within our regional and social societies to do so does not make it right. We are a civilized people from who we were in the past. Our reckoning from such ill mannered behavior should be swift and precise. I take pride in the fact that I started out in life as a blank canvas and have over the years learned what thinking and behavior was to be admired and cultivated. I aspire to be the renaissance man who is not only learned but who can physically compete with the best of my hopes. I want to be the best man I can be and I can only hope that for all others as well. That is how I see others, as a work in progress much like myself. Nothing less than equal and even admiring them that have already accomplished what I still hope to do of a similar nature. Many in our societies all over the world are not allowed to or are unwilling to change from the familiar paradigms that managed our lives in the past. How unfortunate that we are not all raised with the expectation of searching out the truth and adding to the progressive knowledge base that someday our children will assuredly require. We are the shining example of a civilized society here in America but that is under attack by those political conservatives who think that being civilized is not the highest priority of the future they envision.

What makes a good leader? (#2003)

A good leader will not sacrifice what is right for what is wrong. A good leader will not put him/herself before the principle that motivates the progress. A good leader is willing and desires to have the opportunity to make a positive difference in how we live and learn. A good leader has the internal fortitude of will that cannot be crushed by the often winding process of change. A good leader is all of us who care about having the better and best in life for all of us and not just some of us. If you can't look any soul in the eye and want all the good in the world for them then you are not going to be able to be a good leader. Yes, even those who have harmed and done horrible things, didn't start out being bad. There is still a flicker of decency in all of us no matter what terrible acts we may have committed. A good leader cannot control the outcome of consequences for those who act bad, only the judge has that power which is why judges should never try to be leaders. A good leader leads by example. When a person who is destined to lead actually follows the path he/she is advocating, then the leaders truth can be viewed for it's honorable intent. Some leaders who are not good, have the impression that they should be admired for their leading and receive accolades as a duty in the form of prizes and wealth. It is easy enough to spot them, they paint themselves with the same brush they paint their cause, elevating themselves with the overall purpose. A good leader has none of that. The good leader will only highlight the cause and give far more of his/herself than receive. A good leader is humble as a rule, for in that humility the good leader stays focused on the vision that is inspiring them. A good leader is possible with all of us. We need to put behind us how we got to this point in our lives and then start living for today and tomorrow with a vision that uplifts this whole existence of too much chaotic harm.

Courage is not your enemy, fear is! (#2002)

How much longer must we tolerate ideologies that suppress and demean us? What will it take for us to finally say enough is enough? I know what is holding us back, fear. We are afraid of being recognized for standing up for honor. yes, afraid to stand up for honor! Not only is it cowardice, it is stupidity. The rationales are endless when it comes to shirking our duty to democratic principles of governance. But not one of those rationales is honorable. The act of shirking dispels any honor involved. I wonder sometimes if my own sense of our destiny as Americans is delusional, but then I think of others far more courageous than myself who have given far more for our way of life and I am thus reinvigorated to stand as close to them as possible. When Nathan Hale stated as he was about to be hanged, "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country", inspires me to think that our democratic American experiment is the most worthy of political systems ever imagined. It allows for all of the citizens of our great country to participate in it's governmental function. Our democracy is based upon that idea that the least of us is our weakest link in the chain and must be strengthened. It is a system that sees the bottom of our society as the place to raise the foundation of opportunity. Anyone who would disparage the least of us is not in keeping with the principles of democracy. Yet we have a whole political party of conservative Republicans doing that very democracy undermining thing. This is where we must all recognize that the struggle for our democracy is not over. It is a constant battle for the will of our country even before it's founding from patriots like Nathan Hale. He regretted that he only had but one life to sacrifice, when will we be willing to sacrifice anything less worthy for the same ideal?

Live a life you are proud to share! (#2001)

I cannot define your courage for you, that is for you. What I can do is define my own courage within me. How do I do that? I do that by how I live. I take the position that every thing I do is visible to the world by some magical way. I know, it does sound like I am using somewhat of a false premise to establish a truth, but in this instance, telling myself that I am being recorded by history for what I do isn't that far from the truth is it? I am responsible for what I do and in  my own consciousness, I, at minimum, am a witness. Regardless of how I get to the point of being responsible for me, I am nonetheless. So there it is. I get to act or react according to my choice. Now, what kind of person I am is up to me. No one is made one way or another as to how they live. We all get to choose what we do to define who we are. People throughout my life have been telling me to be more like this or that but if they knew me at all they would tell themselves what to be like and let me see it within them. That is how we share our lives, by actually being a silent example of what we want to tell others. So the line in the song "Home by the Sea" by Genesis, "We relive our lives in what we tell you." is a nugget of wisdom once unwrapped within this context. There is no pride in hurting people, there is only pride in helping them. There is no pride in destroying things of value, there is only pride in restoring and creating things of value. Our thoughts and acts represent how we see ourselves and the pride we reflect in that. That is where courage comes in. We must find the will that exists in all of us to defend and even promote the best of who we are through the living of our lives. I can't tell you who to be, that is for you to show the rest of the world.

Politics now more than ever! (#2000)

This blog post is another milestone marker in my life although the subjects lately being of a political bent will not change. I started out with the idea of talking about our natures, the positive examples of how we humans are above the lesser base natures that we evolved from due to ignorance and fear. We are not the same species that we that originally begat us. That is why I turned from explaining how we are compassionate and curious with a will to survive above all other instincts we progenerated from. Instead I have turned to our political policies here in America to highlight the difference between the human experience of old, conservative republicanism and it's agenda of individualistic survival of the fittest, and the humans we have become, the liberal/progressive democratic vision of community and shared goals. When the republican party says it wants to go back to the way it was, they are referring to caveman days when the strong or devious would decide who lived or died based upon their own whim. When democrats say that we want to progress forward, we are referring to making democracy work above all other paradigms and instilling democratic principles everywhere they can effectively offer justice and opportunity without discrimination to strength or privilege. So in essence, the differences between the two desired visions is this, republicans refuse to accept change as a given while democrats accept that change is real and life around us needs to be improved. This is why I am now devoted, with some exceptions, in my blog postings to noting the differences in the visions by each party. The ramifications of who wins in our coming elections is magnified by the fact that our very natures of compassion and curiosity are being suppressed by republican policies while being defended and given room for growth by democratic policies. Our natures are going to be voted upon this November and highlighting this is my purpose going forward.

What our broken hearts teach us (#1999)

Yes, that soul crushing, kick in the gut sensation we get when we have our hearts broken does serve a purpose. The old make lemonade out of lemons analogy. The first thing I learned was just how fragile my big strong self was. I had no idea I could be folded up into a miserable ball of despair just by someone else not feeling about me like I felt about her. I look back on that now and I smile a bit although believe you me, the wound is still there but not as intense. After some time has passed we move on from our broken hearts but they never quite disappear altogether, at least that is my experience. The next thing I learned was that life, being now more fragile than ever to me, is a sacred gift, not to be taken for granted. I learned to appreciate all of life whether human or not because if I could be so wrong about my own weaknesses, I realized that I could also be wrong about my own strengths. I used to think of myself as being more than I actually was. An immortal mindset given to a too massive ego. Have your heart crushed and then try to tell yourself you are some sort of demigod. So my perspective changed. I began to understand that I am just one of many here in existence with the will to have a special life. I am part of this existence, not the reason for it. So I am now much more sensitive to others and how they are living as much as I am about myself. That old saying of we are stronger together than we are apart is much more often true, than not. So I live my life now with no expectations and although my heart was shattered awhile back, it is mending nicely but slowly. I still do fear having it wrenched and twisted again but I am not given to quitting on finding someone who finds as much love with me as I hope to find with her. My broken heart has amplified compassion within me. I knew what physical pain felt like and now I know how terrible emotional pain feels as well. I am truly changed by that and for the most part, I am a better person for it.

Republican policies of separate and unequal (#1998)

This is not a mistaken assumption by me. Just look at the normal day to day politics of the Republican party as my evidence. Survival of the fittest is behind every policy Republicans promote. They have already garnered a majority of the wealthy with this agenda and Republicans hope to parlay that support into election victories this coming November. Because as we all have seen recently, those who have the money and power can confuse and thwart those who don't so the democratic voting electorate advantage can be offset by misinformation and restrictions in who can vote. Think about this a moment, Republicans are restricting the rights of American citizens to vote by implementing laws that require too many hurdles to be overcome for too many poorer constituents. They use the guise of voter fraud in elections to justify their actions but any one who is paying attention can see that the statistics say there is little to no voter fraud. Yet these laws they pass are keeping hundreds and hundreds of thousands of citizens from voting. If you have enough money you can overcome these financial obstacles to have the proper identification in order to purchase the proper voting ID's, so those who have not the money to navigate the system in order to change their current ID into an acceptable form required by Republican passed laws, are left with no right to vote. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court have been about protecting these new laws that deny American citizens the right to vote so there it is. Conservative Republicans dwindling the democratic voting base in order for Republicans to win in elections where they would normally be unable. Why you ask do Republicans need to restrict voting? Because they cannot run and win on their platform of tax breaks for the wealthy and austerity for every one else.

Republicans, you can run but you can't hide! (#1997)

The Republican agenda of doing nothing for the working/middle/poor class here in America is being exposed for what it is, an all out effort by conservatives to wipe out the social safety net and make everyone have to live without governmental help. Well, everyone except the wealthy who have gotten filthy rich off of government, no bid, contracts and too favorable tax breaks. As this is becoming much clearer to the electorate the Republicans have been employing a strategy of subterfuge and obstruction. They have decided that filling the airwaves with disinformation, right out of cold war propaganda tactics, is much more advantageous to them than to defend their vision of a survival of the fittest society. They know they cannot defend lying, stealing and cheating with an effective argument so they instead cause disruptions in the processing of our government and then blatantly blame the Democratic party for it's ineffectiveness. It has worked for them these past few years at a minimal political cost to them. Some of us caught on to them years ago and have been sounding the alarm over the Republican party's attempt to whittle democracy down to being subservient to corporatocracy. But the cost of this strategy, which made no sense with the enlightened among us and is starting to become an eye opener and losing validity with more and more folks, is mounting. When the Speaker of the House John Boehner admits that he isn't about making laws, but instead about repealing them, the truth had been told. Now all the Republican politicians can do is thrash about blaming Democrats for whatever comes down the pike while offering nothing but tax breaks for the wealthy. Republicans have run the full gamut of their deception and with 4 months still left before elections, have come up short in being able to hide from their inaction. The truth of them will have plenty of time to be exposed and show the full electorate that they have no intent of helping the working/middle/poor class here in America.

We don't have to live like this! (#1996)

Here in America we are a democracy. What can truly decide how we want to live by voting our common interests. We don't have to rely on tradition or folklore for our examples to follow. We can just find candidates that have the same kind of vision we do and vote for them. I am  not beholden to some wealthy person and need to ask them for a "by your leave". I can leave as I choose when I choose. The same thing with voting. I can find a candidate or political party that wants for the majority of us positive things like improved education, environment and a variety of opportunities to work and play. I can choose to vote for candidates that want all of us to have healthy options. I can choose to vote for candidates that want our country to have the best that the world has to offer. All these things are doable. We all just need to vote when the voting times comes. I am sick of poverty, I am sick of disease and I am sick and tired of politicians and a Republican party that wants nothing for everyone while giving it all to a few. I am sick of it and I will be voting this coming November, 2014 for a Democratic political party that has the best of what I want for me, instead of the Republican party that wants nothing for me. I live in this great country and luckily for me have been given much in the past. Nowadays our children are hindered from that great society we used to have by having to grow up in a society that has been whittled down by austerity on the masses while the wealthy have gotten filthy rich. We don't have to live like this and our children deserve more than what we have gotten don't you think? If so, vote with me and elect Democrat candidates that stand for the working/middle/poor class. The choice is up to each of us.

Those who refuse to apologize (#1995)

I have encountered certain folks who have a strategy of "no apologies". I find it difficult to comprehend why some would not employ a normal act of contrition when they are wrong or have wronged others. What I find they have in common is a sense of weakness implied within the act of apologizing. I think differently about that. Surely there are times when apologies are used to garner sympathy as a strategy or when it is used too often as a default response whether the apology was legitimate or not. My take on apologies is that they are significant responses to inappropriate acts or inaccurate assumptions or thoughts. I find that apologies serve to unite us when we have moved apart for whatever reason. What I find with some that do not apologize at all for anything is that they want to build an illusion around themselves that they are never wrong or that apologizing is a weakness never to be experienced. Either way it is fallacious to think that we are never wrong and that apologizing as a legitimate response to a harm is weakness. For me, it takes courage to admit when I am wrong if I have gone to the point of not seeing the wrong until after it has caused a harm or has disseminated false information. Confident people who have respect for themselves and for others do not mind admitting a factual error or act. Arrogant people who find it impossible to apologize for being wrong can appear to be superior at first glance by using confusing false arguments to hide their errors while never admitting they are wrong, yet in the final analysis they are wrong and are instead denying or refusing to accept reality as it is. The ego it takes to hold to a no apology strategy while castigating others who do apologize in legitimate ways is one hell of a false construct. What it exhibits to me is a person who deals with being wrong with an illogical sociopathic fervor. Perhaps a defense response to one's own inadequacies? Perhaps.

You validate yourself (#1994)

You don't need anyone to tell you that you are worthy. Everyone is worthy, even those who continue to make a mess of their lives still have the option to choose to stop making a mess. We validate our own lives by doing the next right thing, whatever that next right thing is. We are the masters of our reality. We each have the ability to keep our noses out of others' lives and firmly planted in what we are doing with our own. It is how it works. We take care of ourselves and make sure that we are right and then let the world see us for who we are. I used to think that I needed others to tell me I was okay. I had such low esteem in myself that it was hard for me to even function as a real human being. I was always trying to be someone else for someone else. The cycle ended for me when I hit rock bottom and then saw that trying to validate myself with others was an illusion. I needed me to be the one who validated my own life. I had to impress myself with who I was and that was the turning point for me. No one is as omnipresent in my life like I am. I gave up the smoking, drinking and other chemicals of recreation and have since then been with me in a clear and present state. I know who I am now without a doubt and without the need to justify myself to anyone. I am a whole man who is proud of how far I have come from those days of being confused and of little self-worth. I have taken over me one hundred percent and nothing less will ever be acceptable. Surely I am still a work in progress but progress is the direction I am heading. It feels good to be able to explain myself to others when the need or question arises without hesitation as to my intent. I am free now of the bonds of self-doubt and henceforth I will validate whether I am worthy based upon my acts and deeds, not anyone else's opinion of me.

Accomplishment is change (#1993)

I am well satisfied at times when I get something done to completion and I stand back and look at it to see that what was there before is now gone and something new is in it's place. Hence, change. Life is all about change, nothing but change and forever will be about change. Nothing in this existence will ever be able to stop change. The concept of even stopping change is a change in itself. The sooner our mass citizenry understands this simple formula the better we will all be for it. Those who cling to the past or the present in ways that don't allow for change are not living in the same dimension where reality exists. Nothing was the same as it is right now in comparison. Everything in life is in motion and that simple law of physics should be enough to make everyone realize that even at rest motion is still occurring. Although an object may be perfectly still for a moment, the rest of our environment and Universe is still moving, which moves us right along with it. The same goes for our society. It is in constant motion with daily births and deaths, with struggles to survive the harsh realities we have yet to ameliorate. Change is as inevitable as the time and space we reside within. It is an absolute law of the Universe unto itself. So instead of doing nothing and letting change happen around us in a chaotic formula, we need to be part of the change and use our ability to effect change to our most advantageous benefit. Embracing change is the first step toward having some control over what change does in our lives. Whether the change is easy or whether the change is hard, we need to move into the change with our eyes open and our minds clear so that when the change occurs it will not catch us unaware. I prefer to accomplish change over being subject to it, controlling the destiny of our lives requires us to use our magnificent abilities to being the object of change instead of being the subject that change will demand from us. You?

No gravitas from conservatives on the Supreme Court (#1992)

Being one with dignity and wisdom used to be something many people aspired toward. Not so much anymore as our capitalistic system has more or less bought off our standards of principle. Too many people would do too many utterly undignified acts for the price of little monetary reward. Our American society has been infiltrated with a dis-ease of greed. It is not difficult to see how deep the real infection of it has rooted. Take for example our current US Supreme Court. Not only are the majority conservative members allowing corporate interests to wine and dine them but they have as yet to rule once against those same corporate interests. It is not a coincidence that family members of the Justices and even the Justices themselves financially benefit from this wining and dining. What has also happened is that the decisions that favor these corporate interests have been in conjunction with opinions that leave most of us flabbergasted. Even lay people like myself who have some experience with constitutional law are ashamed and embarrassed by the opinions of our highest deliberative body. There is little precedent being followed nor rule of law that protects democracy as being exclusive to only biological people. For the life of me I am less impressed by our highest court and it's inability to protect the sanctity of all our citizenry instead of just a few wealthy ones. It is incredible to me that these 5 conservative men who are now more infamous than famous would allow themselves to be bought and paid. An aspiration of mine had always been to achieve complex comprehensive wisdom so that I may be of service to our great democracy, yet when I see a conservative majority on our highest court disregard objective wisdom for the favor of illogical democracy punishing political ideology I am somewhat negatively taken aback about what it is to be a United States Supreme Court Justice.

A vision with optimism and a process with cautious skepticism (#1991)

Once we can see a better future for ourselves and all others we need to keep an enduring optimism about it. Nothing defeats our own initiative like self doubt. Staying optimistic about something better is a purpose of a higher order that can withstand the test of time. Nonetheless, we need to keep our vision grounded with some forms of skepticism. I say that because being cautious about our process for attaining our ultimate vision for society must not be rushed but carefully thought out with some reservation. The importance of not losing sight of our ultimate goal cannot be sidetracked by the process we employ to achieve it. This is where compromise can be useful in our world of divergent ambitions. Take the Affordable Care Act. It was not the perfect for either political party yet it does one thing very very well, it gets us closer to insuring more people and offering health care to millions more. An act of compromise in order to move forward, very well done but not the end. Eventually a Universal health care act will be passed due in large part by the major step forward the Affordable Care Act provided. One absolute certain fact of our existence is change. So although I have a vision of a better life for all, I am also aware that as our society continues to evolve so must my idea of a process for helping my vision and many more like me's vision along. There is not one static right way to get things done. This is where skepticism, not about our vision, but about the process necessary to further it, comes in. Many people think that they must have some great purpose for being born, much like I did when I was less mature, and have a hard time thinking that the Universe created them for so little a purpose as moving society along step by step. But that is exactly where the logic of my life has landed me and in that knowing I am fully behind my optimistic vision for our future, regardless of how long or of what cautious process makes it happens.

An enduring spirit (#1990)

I cannot see how anything can change unless we believe it can. Surely change can come about through catastrophe and through other inexplicable means, but normally change can only happen with us putting our shoulder to the wheel and make the wheel turn. To make the wheel turn we must all be pushing in the same general direction, not against or sideways. So in essence, we all must be helping otherwise some of us are not allowing for change to happen. It is as simple as that. I have heard good honest people give up on change when they and I both know it is frustration at change not happening that is the genesis of their giving up. That is falling short of a goal that may not be easily attained. Quitting even before the time for change to have it's chance. I understand that, I have quit on many things in my life that I am not proud to admit. But I also realize that living in a state of not being proud of myself or my lack of endurance is not to be experienced again, by me, in my lifetime. I will never stop putting my shoulder to the wheel despite how impossible the change may appear. I know only one way for the impossible to become the possible is for me to never, ever give up. So despite good people having the desire to give up before the change has had a chance to come about is much like going against our nature to survive, it is not natural. I suppose the difference in life for many is for those who can lead with an enduring spirit need to show those who haven't recognized their own enduring spirit, to find it. Being led by example is the best way so for those who cannot see a better future for our world and our species, go ahead and borrow mine, it is as clear and honest an all inclusive vision that can be found with the better and best of what we humans reflect out to each other.

Why Democrats must hold the Senate and retake the House (#1989)

President Obama will have two years left in his last term after the elections in November. To get his agenda through Congress President Obama will need to have Democrats control the majority in both Houses. The US Senate and the US House of Representatives combined are called Congress. What we have had the last four years is split government, the Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House. In this time practically nothing has gotten done since the right wing Tea Party of the Republican party has been effective in moving Republicans away from any type of compromise necessary to get legislation passed into law when there is split government. Over the last four years we have seen what divisive uncompromising attitudes have had on our ability to ameliorate problems that have both been long term and short term. The path forward this coming November is clear. With 17 or more House seats changing from Republican to Democrat, of the 435 seats up for election, Democrats will recapture the House and hold a majority. In the Senate, with the two Independents voting with Democrats, holding onto to their current 55 seat majority is very doable despite many of the 33 seats up for election that are held by Democrats in Republican controlled states notwithstanding. Even if Republicans gain a few seats in the Senate this cycle, if they don't gain 6 or more Democrats will control the majority in the Senate. The Senate is especially crucial as it is the body that will determine the next Supreme Court Justice should one be needed. With a majority in the House and Senate, along with our President being a Democrat, many of the bills now languishing in the Republican controlled House can be revisited and then passed into law. How about a rosy future of jobs, equality and the reversal of income inequality?

Shall we continue to allow Republican ineptitude to guide our politics? (#1988)

Enough is enough! I have had it well past my ears with republican politicians and their disingenuous efforts to thwart working/middle poor class policies. Using one example, we now have over 3 million long term unemployed Americans with no extended jobless benefits and Republicans refuse to help them. That figure of over 3 million does not include their families, especially the children who have to go without during their formative years. For that reason alone I would metaphorically kick every Republican politician in the ass to get them out of office. Yet, we have so many media outlets that do not report the truth of things, instead they report what their corporate owners guide them to report. That we have had a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill passed from the senate, sitting in the Republican controlled House of Representatives for more than a year while we have a huge refugee problem down at our border speaks to the ineptitude at policy the House Republicans have as a strategy. Using a metaphor, while Rome burns, Republicans are playing with their fiddles. The idea that Republicans could actually pass legislation to solve many of our national problems is verifiable, yet they don't and instead are playing a waiting game in order to malign our President for not getting things done. Funny how that works, that Democrats can pass bills that help but Republicans in the House stop them from becoming law, and then go out and lie to the American public that Democrats aren't getting things done. Again, I will ask, shall we continue to allow Republican ineptitude to guide our politics? This coming November will reveal the answer to that question.

Democrats unite and vote! (#1987)

We Democrats should have no problem with uniting since the Republicans are hell bent to destroy our American working middle/poor class. Nothing the Republicans have for a party platform improves the quality of life for 90% of us so we Democrats overwhelmingly outnumber the Republicans with sheer volume of voters. That brings me to the second part of my above blog title, "...and vote". Now I know Republicans in many states are passing laws that are aimed at restricting Democratic voters but despite despicable Republican attempts to disenfranchise our vote, we can still overcome their efforts. We need to update our information in order to comply with the new restrictive laws wherever they have been implemented. We need to make sure our friends and neighbors have the help they need to do the same for themselves if they need our help. We also need to advocate for our American working middle/poor class without reservation. Now I know, especially for younger voters, that admitting you are in the middle or poor class is a downer, yet admitting the truth is not a downer but a show of courage that is admired by those principled souls who have the same traits. I have been saying for years that I have little more than a pot to piss in but that is not because I am lazy or not creative, it is because the wealthy have so rigged our economy that unless I am willing to lie, cheat and steal the chances of me being economically successful is minuscule. Now we have a Republican party that not only doesn't advocate on the behalf of most Americans but they are now turning to destroying what little advantage the majority of us Americans still have. Never in the history of our nation has the choice between the two major political parties been so clear. It boils down to Republicans being for expanding the immense success the wealthy already enjoy at the expense of the American working/middle/poor class; or doing the right thing and voting for Democrats who want a better life for the American working/middle/poor class while bringing the wealthy to account for their out of control insatiable lust for further income inequality.

Why are we so curious? (#1986)

I have tried to come up with the logic necessary to correlate our curiosity to a genesis. The only link I can reason is the one with survival. We as a species, like all species, try mightily to survive from our first breath to our last breath. That nature to survive is reflected in how we think of ourselves. Eventually we perceive our senses and then ask the great question of all time; Why? No doubt all of us get to that question sooner than later but in that realization of asking ourselves why, we experience our curiosity. A natural trait that allows us to separate from the other species on this planet in that we have other abilities that give our curiosity means for action. We give our forming brains the foundation for knowledge retrieval through our senses and then with an amazing twist we can remember what has happened to us from our first awareness. Not all of us can remember every detail from our memories, but generally we maintain a library of sorts in our minds from which we can access information. It is a complex fascinating ability we humans have. We have also learned to communicate with each other and with several of our more advanced lesser species. In this ability to communicate we have further fostered a higher order of questioning. It seems that the more we learn from new knowledge the less we are able to be absolutely certain. Of course there are some things like facts that are consistent but only within limited context. The more information we add to our knowledge the less we are able to blanket all of existence in the same way. Our species has moved beyond the confines of our planet and we now can think in terms of our Universe to some little degree. More will be revealed but the paradigms we knew from the past will not fit nicely into the paradigms of the future.

Republicans and hate (#1985)

I can't think of another word that exemplifies the Republican party and it's conservative members. Hate is all I can come up with when trying to define them in one word. They think that their one vision about life should be everyone's only vision for life and if not then to hell with those who do not hold the vision they hold. It is a hatred of free thought. I don't get how an otherwise enlightened society can be so filled with haters. I know that life has been doubly hard for many lately but that is due to out of control capitalism and the income inequality that it creates. But that is fixable with tax reform. We all get to have a hand in the change so why should there be so much hate instead of simple action to create a society that serves all of us better? I can only surmise that the Republican party has been hard at work trying to divide our society on whatever wedge issues they can muster in order to confuse people as to their intent, which is to maintain out of control capitalism and even greater income inequality. That is greed that if finding ways to fuel hate. Do you sense a pattern here? Taking what is most vile and despicable about our baser traits and amplifying them to an advantage for the wealthy. In doing so many non-wealthy and less knowledgeable souls are now given a platform that supports their own inner hatred for the different than them. They still exist in the mindset of survival of the fittest where people are still considered property more than they are considered equal citizens. The Republican party has removed any semblance of reasoned logic from it's platform and instead has replaced it with divisive policies that are aimed to enhance the wealthy and blame everything else on the Democrats. A simply absurd idea when given in context but not so clear when delivered with their strategic ability to lie about facts. Let it be known however that the Republican party is about hatred and those who still follow them are either ignorant or haters themselves.

"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart"-Chief Tecumseh (#1984)

How is it that possible? When I had gotten to the point of respecting myself and reflecting that respect out to others is how. When there is a well deserved sense of humbled pride in one's thoughts and actions, there is no room for fear. Now not all fear is bad. It is good to fear that which is imminently dangerous so as to realize that quick action is required. In that case fear serves as a recognition factor and a motivator to defend against that which is causing the fear. But in the final tally there is no defense against eventual death. Though we battle throughout our lives to live we, in the back of our minds, know that our struggle will finally come to an end at death. So in knowing eventually that death will welcome us, it is wise to make peace with that eventuality and the coming of it, and instead focus on the life we still have and what we should be doing with it. I am not afraid of death, I am saddened that life will end is all. I want to live and most all of us are of that mindset. But not most of us have already made peace with death. When I was younger I was in denial about death and instead ignored it despite the logic of it's truth. As I have gotten older I am not so ready to be willfully ignorant to death, instead I have made peace with it and in that maturity of thought was given my reward. I no longer let that fear or any other quake me to my boots or freeze me to inaction. I move forward with this promise, I have a life now that I can still try to do magical things with and when the time comes for me to go I will have lived a good part of my life understanding that the good that is within me has my full attention and my actions can reflect that without the grip of fear that death used to hinder me with.

The force of your will! (#1983)

How is it I can continuously advocate on behalf of progressive ideals? It is because I am certain that progressive ideals reflect who I am inside me. I want us all to be able to do great things in this life while we are alive as well as leave great things for others when we are no longer alive. It is amazing to me how much force of will I have within me and if I have that kind of force of will within me then it is equal to assume the rest of us have that same powerful force of will as well. That is what equality and justice represents, that we all have the makings of something great just waiting to be given a chance to be expressed. The only way that happens is if we are all starting out in life with the equal opportunities. The case now is that some are given advantage and privilege from birth and most are not even given the equal opportunity chance to begin with. We still allow ourselves to settle for less than even because we don't want to jeopardize what little we do have. Well I for one am not of the nature to settle for less for myself or for anyone else. I will sacrifice what I could have if I would only compromise my integrity, but I will not do that. I have in the past and have always regretted not standing up for what is right and good to settle for what is less and safe. I have no one to blame for my choices than me so many years back I changed how I was going to live in order to become the man I truly am now. I can withstand the threats of disownment by family and friends. I can withstand the loss of whatever treasure I could greedily know I could have. I can withstand the view that though others want to change the world like I do, they are unable for whatever reasons. I can withstand all those things because I am doing and being me for the first time in my life and nothing less or as equally strong than my force of will can ever dissuade me from continuing.

The American working/middle/poor class deserves better (#1982)

I know how hard it is to see what little good we have now and not want to jeopardize losing even that, but we deserve much more than what we are getting. How do we go about making secure what we have and also allow for more to become an opportunity for us? We do it by recognizing that we have a choice in our elections and then by making the choice to vote for the party that wants us to have more. Simple enough, yet so very effective. Why is it if it is so simple hasn't it happened in the past? Because too many folks don't vote is why. We don't think our vote will make much of a difference and/or we are just too busy in our lives to want to make a difference. I get all the reasons for not voting. I have had to really kick myself in the past to actually take the time to vote, but I did and it made me become more aware of the politics that affect our daily lives. This is how I became such a fierce advocate for progressive liberal policies. I know that they are the policies that make the working/middle/poor class worthy of existence. We are not here to be the pawns of the wealthy, we are here to be an integral part of all that happens here in America, not just what we can afford. The wealthy have their own agenda and for nearly 35 years that agenda has been the dominant one. It is time for the inequality of low taxes for the wealthy and more burdensome taxes and fees on the working/middle/poor class to be reversed. We are all American citizens, wealthy and not wealthy, and for our national policies to have the effect of making us, the overwhelmingly majority non-wealthy, feel desperately hopeless on a daily basis is regressive and hateful. We need to exercise our national right and duty as citizens and vote this coming November and beyond for the political party that best represents our proud sturdy American working/middle/poor class.

The separation of church and state (#1981)

On this fourth of July here in America we all pause for the day and celebrate the formation of our country. What we don't do a lot of is discuss the reason why we needed to form a new country from the empire that previously ruled us. We were subjected to rules that benefited the Kingdom and not so much our new land of America. We were also persecuted by the church to either accept religion in the established way or suffer injustice and cruelty. When we had finally had enough we fought and won our independence from our masters and then established a Constitution with a Bill of Rights. The beauty of the first amendment to our Constitution is that not only did we acknowledge the prohibition of any religious centered law, but we also protected the right to worship any religion. Clearly a separation between the two. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..." It still mystifies me that the current 5 majority conservatives justices on our high court are unwilling to follow the clear distinction they were sworn to protect. Surely there are unclear areas of our Constitution that need refinement and over the years that has been the accepted practice, however in the area of separation of church and state, there is no misunderstanding. Yet the conservative majority on the Supreme Court would have us believe that to be the case. I am no constitutional scholar, however, even a layperson is able to distinguish the intent of our Constitution as it relates to the separation of church and state. We are witnessing the intentional dismantling of our Constitution by a force of conservatives who have but one ultimate goal, to remove the part of our first amendment that states; "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion,...".

We are caretakers of this planet, not creators of it! (#1980)

Why we all are not taught as children that we owe a duty of care to each other and to our planet and all the living things on it is very disturbingly anti-progressive and unenlightened. I tell everyone whenever I can about the nature of humanity and the humble responsibility we have to prove our intellectual and emotional harmony with our surroundings. We are not the craven filthy unwashed of our origin, we have matured and morphed into a species that realizes it has a conscious but also a destiny to achieve. We are the great miracle of life that is given the sensical mental acuity and the ability to understand emotional empathy. We are here in time with these awesome human traits at our disposal yet we act as if we are less than that for some reason. We don't all gird within us the foundation of our potential. Instead we get caught up in the minutiae of every day life. Our existence in the every day life cycle is only for providing what is necessary for decent living, not as an end all. Instead it is only for the beginning. We strive to have the means for some security only because we have greater purpose to understand and to be a part. As we live the continuum of our lives we must not lose sight of the fact that living as a means just to live is not worthy of our potential. We must and require more than just to survive. We must quench our curiosity, we must interact with each other to express our care, we must plan for the best we can be and should become. Why we are here in existence is still a mystery yet to be solved but if I had to bet on whether our species can accomplish the why of our existence, I wouldn't bet against us but in the meantime we must learn ourselves and teach our children that being alive is not enough for our mighty species.

Don't be afraid to have a better conscious (#1979)

We are our own masters of our destinies. At least that is what we may think, however the truth is we are not. We can be the masters of our destinies if we had equality of opportunity, and equal justice. We have the makings of those things but we are unable to put them to efficient utility. Why aren't we there yet? Because we are still led to believe that what we have is good enough and changing anything would make things worse. Those who tell us that, are the ones protecting their advantages. I am saying that they are wrong and even more so they are being wrong, intentionally. The effect of their saying not to change things or things will get worse is that they have put fear into those who would most benefit. The ones who have advantage don't want to give it up. I can understand that. It is a survival of the fittest mentality that has been given much glorification. Yet when you look at the state of our lives, especially those too many who have little to nothing with much less than a small chance of creating a better life for themselves, as things currently are, then you see that the selfishness of the survival of the fittest crowd really is an ignorance to reality with no heart or compassion for others. A sociopathic tendency to fulfill one's own desires at the exclusion of the effect that has on others. A void of empathy for our human community. I figured out long ago that life isn't worth living if we are it's subject, instead of being it's partner. What I have in terms of treasure is small but what I have in spirit is great and that is where my wealth lies. I don't have to be scared into believing life will be worse if I want things to change for the better. I already know that life will be better if we can have the courage to stand up to those who don't want better for all of us. On that I will always stake my life!

I am not represented by the 5 majority conservative Justices on the US Supreme Court! (#1978)

Yesterday's rulings by the high court were just another example of how wrong these 5 majority conservative justices are who control the 9 person US Supreme Court. Whenever this majority is faced with drawing a conclusion, instead of being objective in their search for an answer, they instead turn to subjective conservative principles to guide their decisions. By subjective conservative principles, I mean they want to erase the line that exists from our nation's founding governing the separation of church and state. Not only that, they have a preferred religion they advocate for above all other religions, a distorted version of Christianity. They also want to give corporations the same personal rights we humans have. Consider this, they have authorized for an artificial entity, a legal construct, to have the rights a living breathing human being has, even more so, even greater rights than what a living breathing human being has. As well these 5 majority conservative justices also want to diminish and dismantle the rights earned by labor unions to collectively represent workers in the workers struggle to improve employer/employee contracting. By chipping away at the rights of workers to deal effectively with employers, these 5 majority conservative justices have given even greater power to the wealthy to keep and grow their already unbalanced, to their benefit, profits. It is clear that I am not the only one who is not represented at all by these 5 majority conservative justices and until comes the time to begin replacing them due to retirement or expiration, the majority of we Americans will continue to be devastated by their rulings. The most effective tool we have as the majority of the citizenry is simply this, vote for the liberals running for office so as to deplete and or eliminate the legislative obstruction coming from conservative politicians and wait for the time to immediately replace one or more of these subjective, intellectually lacking 5 majority conservative US Supreme Court justices.