I am a patriot for democracy (#2526)

If you ask me my favorite day for recognizing something I would say the fourth of July. Why? Because it represents the beginning of democracy in America. Democracy is an old form of government that was used by the ancient Greeks as a template in how to create a government by the people for the people. We Americans have been refining our initial beginning of democracy for over 239 years since declaring our independence from Britain. Yet as we continue to refine our government we have those within our government who do not place democracy above all other forms of political rule. We have many of the wealthy who are trying to take our own person one vote and turn it into something radically different by wrongly hypothesizing that corporations are people and that only those who own property should be allowed to vote. By tying in economic factors to our ability to have a say in our representation, the wealthy hope to secure greater control over dismantling democratic policies. The wealthy in our nation hold that capitalism has a greater priority in our society than equality, justice, opportunity and fairness. This survival of the fittest and selfishness of the individual are considered virtues to many in the republican party, who speak politically on behalf of the wealthy. I bring up in the title of this blog post the fact that I am a patriot for democracy because it is democracy that is being subverted by the wealthy. From voter rights being taken away to women treated as lesser than men to the old, children and the poor being shoved aside to keep the profit margins large for those wealthy who benefit. I am appalled at how much the wealthy have lost their souls and their ability to appreciate the very democracy that gave them their successes. Their condescension is illogical and although real to them, it is hypocritical and harmful to most all others within our country.

The immaturity of selfishness (#2525)

Why do so many hate other people's children? Why? I am not going to delve into the possibilities but know this for sure that it is a fact. Otherwise no one would allow for poverty and hunger to exist. Regardless of the hurdles necessary to overcome, there would be no child suffering for basic human needs. Selfishness is not the reason for the hate but it is the outcome of it. With all that we do on this planet what is worth more than caring for those who need our care? Can having the greatest mansion be as fulfilling or the greatest lifestyle imaginable be as satisfying? How is it that luxury is sought after far more than being a noble person? How is that? What is worse is that luxury has an inversely proportional effect. With more luxury comes more poverty. Do we not get that? I suppose being ignorant is a handy excuse but there is no excuse that is viable when we are human beings. The greatest species to have evolved in our known universal history and for anyone to claim ignorance is to call all of us naive and ignorant. No, it is a selfishness that spawns from within that has a manifest destiny within some of us that, regardless of fact or truth, will not be allayed. When we were children we often exhibited behavior that was obvious as immaturity. Selfishness being chief among them. Yet somehow we have allowed for selfishness in adults to be regarded as sensible and smart business acumen. The hypocrisy of just that is unbelievable yet coupled with selling selfishness as a virtue is wholly unfathomable and an abomination to logic and common sense. Yet here we are in America worshipping the economic policies that herald greed over community. For the life of me I cannot nor will I accept this current paradigm and if it takes all of me I will never stop calling out the immaturity of selfishness in all it's forms.

Big tent Democrats (#2524)

Lest we become republicans, we democrats must never forget that we welcome all who espouse liberal and progressive policies. It doesn't matter what previous affiliations were attached in our pasts, our present is what will dictate if we belong as a democrat. Do we put all of us on a level playing field to start? Do we care for our old, weak and affirmed? Do we work hard to end poverty? Do we work to create work and jobs for all of our citizens? I know republicans want fewer jobs so that the competition for work will drive down wages but we democrats find that despicable. Do we want all of our citizens to have al least basic health care as a right? We democrats do but as you should have been able to see by now republicans only want us to have health care if we can individually afford it. Funny how republicans want us to work for lower wages but expect us to afford health care on our own. Seems dastardly to me. We democrats want to engage the world through diplomacy where possible and only commit to combat as a last resort. Contrarily, republicans would rather shoot first then not even bother to ask questions later. All the while republicans push to have our poorest among us do the fighting while not caring for the wounded and impaired who return. We democrats want to reform the tax code and immigration to the point where we get a fair and honest path forward. Republicans want no immigration reform and although they do want to change the tax laws, they only want to change them to help the wealthy even more. We democrats want education for all children to be no less effective than the education we expect for our own children. Unlike republicans who want to hide away in enclaves that only cater to the wealth of each community. We democrats are the big tent party that doesn't condescend or acquiesce to wealth but instead uplifts the dreams and hopes of all who would strive.

The lie of the republican trickle down economics (#2523)

I was recently in a conversation on a debt site where my opponent on economic theory told me that the Bush tax cuts that expired for the wealthy were the cause of the middle/poor class not having disposable income. In essence he told me that trickle down economics works and it was the Bush tax cuts that would have saved the economy. As I tried to show him that there were few private sector jobs created during the 10 years of the Bush tax cuts he ignored this fact I presented and instead told me that our nation was prosperous under the Bush tax cuts instead. Of course he didn't offer any proof except conservative blog sites telling me so based upon unreliable data but I could not convince him otherwise with data from a non-partisan organization like the CBO, (Congressional Budget Office). It again reinforced my belief that right wing organizations and their advocates will not debate in an ethical nor logical way if the evidence clearly debunks their talking points. So it isn't so much a debate from their end as it is a brutal attempt to force their ideology upon us. My evidence from the CBO report: "This paragraph from the report says it all-"The reduction in the top tax rates appears to be uncorrelated with saving, investment and productivity growth. The top tax rates appear to have little or no relation to the size of the economic pie. However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution.""-http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/11/02/non-partisan-congressional-tax-report-debunks-core-conservative-economic-theory-gop-suppresses-study/ Since the whole of the republican economic argument rests upon a lie it is no wonder that they have decided to continue the lie instead of admitting it. I would expect nothing less of Republicans since their whole agenda has been to increase the wealth of the 1% while destroying our American middle class by destroying unions through right to work laws, which are really right to work for less laws, and by keeping stagnant and even reducing the minimum wage wherever and however they can. If republicans will lie about their economic ideology then you must know they will lie about everything else.

Austerity and small government for the poor, tax cuts and deregulation for the wealthy (#2522)

The republican agenda for America. Make life hard for the many, you know, more of the whip and no carrot, while giving the few all the privileges and advantages they can create. How much longer will we majority of people, the poor, let the wealthy and their republican party control us? Money does not make for wisdom nor does it make for intelligence. The only thing the wealthy can do is buy things most all of us cannot. Do they deserve to some merit for their abilities, of course, but not as a means for subduing nor harming the rest of us. The few wealthy who despite their wealth work to create a better world for all of us and not just some of us have my undying gratitude and something most wealthy and no republican will ever have, my respect. Even as republicans blame democrats for failures within austerity and small government, which is ironic and wholly wrong headed, it is democrats through progressivism and liberalism that are working to benefit all. If you don't pay attention to politics and are unsure about who is actually working to help who, think of it this way. Republicans are never ending toward cutting taxes and giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Democrats are never ending to build up social programs that help all of us while working toward creating greater job opportunities. Research these points about each party and then make up your own mind about which party is helping the wealthy and which is helping the rest of us. Politics should be about making our nation stronger and more opportune for everyone. Everything else is less important and just window dressing or distractions from the main thrust of who is accumulating all the money within our society. If you can see that the current historic wide income inequality is a scourge then you are well on your way to supporting the democratic party. If however you think the wealthy need more and the rest of us need less then sadly you belong in the republican party.

The wealthy and their republican politicians do not want an egalitarian society (#2521)

Instead they want a survival of the fittest society where we are always struggling with each other for what limited resources that are left after the wealthy have taken their large share. It is a way to keep us occupied by fighting with each other while they continue to protect and acquire even greater wealth. This is why social programs are under attack by republicans. This is why education is under attack by republicans. This is why health care for all of us is under attack by republicans. This is why republicans are against creating new and better job opportunities for many of us because they do not want more of the economic resources going to us when they can have it by stifling the economy through austerity. This is why republicans would rather fight wars, with we non-wealthy doing the fighting, so that the wealthy can make hundreds of billions of dollars supplying the weapons and supplies. The wealthy and their representative party, republicans, are so ingrained with wealth accumulation, to the exclusion of everything else, that they are more than willing by their own condescending nature to destroy democracy in order to protect their greed. I really try to be blunt when I post on this economic and political reality because too many of us are not seeing the bigger picture and only a cold slap in the face will wake us from our inattention. We Americans are under attack by the wealthy in our own country and for us to continue to do nothing while the wealthy and republicans continue to erode our fundamental right to keep our society fair and equal is for us to bow down to their strategy and let them make us their tools. How much longer will we let them humiliate us so that they can keep us silent and subservient? How much longer will we let our democracy be stolen from us so that the wealthy and republicans can crush what is left of our hopes and dreams for our futures?

We should be kind every day (#2520)

We should be kind every day is not just some random good will cheer, It is what should be our foundation for living. Not just with each other but with all the species on this planet. December 25th of all days has become the example of how we should live our lives. An expectation of warmth and goodness is the prevailing sentiment and that we can't seem to expand this great notion beyond this day with the same enthusiasm is unfortunate. It is as if cynicism has won over too many and the idea of being kind year round sounds or seems ludicrous. Well I for one find that being kind is a strength that is underappreciated. Being kind as a general rule shows great wisdom and maturity. It is easy being selfish and although it pricks at our conscience being brutish is almost as easy as well. So the difficulty there is in being kind instead takes an inner fortitude steeped in conviction and resolve. One has to make the decision to be kind and try to see the bright side of every thing that comes along. I know the difficulties that being kind present. First, the kindness is often seen as a weakness by lesser mortals and they are like vultures at times and attack with a ravenous intent. Second, being kind often is a tool that others seek out in you in order to further their own agenda. We have to be able to mete out our kindness to those who are in need of it, not those waiting to abuse or use it for any other intent than to be blessed. The kindness that comes from within us is a reflection of who we are, not what may come from it. This is the forgotten component in this equation, we are living as us when we are kind and regardless of what others may say or do, it is we that are truly benefiting. Our character and emotional life need to have the framework to exist and being kind is the absolute best way let out who we truly are.

Reversing income inequality (#2519)

We are like the frogs in the pot of water that is slowly heating up. We don't recognize that the water is getting hotter and hotter until the time comes when it boils and we are all cooked. Income inequality is a lot like that. We don't recognize that we should be doing better because we can't see how income inequality is affecting everyone, instead of just ourselves. Surely we see that there is less money to be made but we chalk that up to the Republican lies of immigrants stealing our jobs or that too much regulation is hurting business. The media plays it's part since the media is mostly owned by the wealthy who would not want any of us to know that they are getting a greater and greater share of all profits earned. But when you see for yourself the data that is irrefutable showing that the wealthy have the greatest growth in income while the non-wealthy have stagnated income, you begin to see that as the many get poorer and the few get richer, a major imbalance in our economic society is about to implode:  http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/02/11/384988128/the-fall-and-rise-of-u-s-inequality-in-2-graphs. So those of us frogs who were insightful enough to have a temperature gauge with us while we are in the pot of water, we recognize that we will be boiled soon enough if we don't stop the heat from growing or just jump out of the pot of water. We are at that threshold now. So the boiling frogs metaphor teaches us that we are the ones who must stop ourselves from being cooked. I sound this alarm often enough and maybe by now you have just relegated me to being an alarmist or someone who isn't aware of all the facts. Well, I say this, if you don't care to see that you are being cooked then by all means don't pay attention to me or any other soul who sees the same event occurring.

It cost me 4 dollars to put a smile on everyone's face (#2518)

I needed some gas for my truck as I am going on a bit of a road trip, about 100 miles round trip, so this early morning I went to go get gas at the local gas station. I went inside to prepay for my gas and was waiting in line patiently as an older man was trying to buy a gallon of milk. After a few minutes of unsuccessfully being able to pay for it, the clerk, who saw that the waiting line at his only open register was growing long told the man to take the milk back to the cooler and motioned for the next person in line to come forward. At this point I, who was just behind the next person in line, spoke up forcefully but with care and told the man to put the gallon of milk back on the counter and that I would pay for it. He sheepishly did as I requested and when it was my turn I prepaid for my gas and his gallon of milk. When I looked around while leaving the store I noticed everyone who was in line looking and smiling at me. Even when I got to the counter to pay the over worked and underpaid clerk had also smiled and gave me a head nod of approval. At 6 in the morning when everyone is just trying to get to where they are going and not in any mood for weirdness, it seemed that my little kind gesture brought out the happy in everyone even if for just a moment. When I gave the man his milk he was very humbled and thanked me profusely. 4 bucks is what that moment cost me and I will tell you that I am very glad that I had an extra 4 bucks at the time to share. It doesn't take much from us to make someone else feel better about themselves or to give someone the gift of a smile. Yet often we miss the many opportunities all around us. Even just saying hello to someone out of the blue or doing something helpful that isn't required or asked of. I once learned a simple but valuable lesson from a departed good man, Always put your shopping cart back in the queue when finished with it. It is like that to set an example for others to see even when we go out of our way to do it. Just being a good person and not so cynical when that seems to be the regular order of things.

Punishing the hopeless is a Republican strategy (#2517)

Because don't you know it is your fault if you are not successful. So if you are hungry, tired, sick, homeless or any other malady our society seems willing to let exist it is your own fault, at least according to Republicans. So instead of addressing the harmful effects from capitalism with social programs aimed at creating a floor by which no human being should fall below, Republicans are insisting that no floor exist and if you fall into despair you are not worth any effort to reestablish. A policy of tough love in every way imaginable. All the while the system of our particular capitalism is rigged to only benefit those who are either born into wealth, or much less likely, are somehow able to navigate or manipulate the barriers to economic success. The idea that we all have an equal shot at the "American dream" is only an idea. The reality is that most of us are never going to realize economic success in the current system of capitalization. To capitalize on our efforts the barriers are so insurmountable that those who are already wealthy determine if we are to be successful based upon what they get out of our efforts. To say the system is rigged is equal to our needing air to breathe in order to live. So a new paradigm of how we do capitalism in the world is needed. Because the hopeless are not who are at fault. The fault lies in the idea that we all have the same opportunities because we don't. We don't! So punishing the unfortunate in a system that produces massive amounts of unfortunates is wrong headed and sociopathic/psychopathic in nature. Why the Republican party would subscribe pain as a solution to despair should speak volumes about their nature.

Beholden to those who would punish you (#2516)

We liberals often wonder why you poor and middle class conservative voters are so ingrained with voting against your own interests. It is as if you feel the need to be punished for some philosophical or imagined transgression. We all make mistakes and that is all of us, yet we move on and do better as our price within the law prescribes. So the need to be punished beyond where the law has any jurisdiction is a self-imposed one. What I will say here is that none of us is beyond redemption. That being said, when we cannot or will not allow ourselves to be redeemed we are more likely to be beholden to those who would punish us. Let me be clear, all of us are magnificent human beings in the full scope of our existence. If not for forces that push and pull us in directions often where mistakes can be made we would most likely live out purposeful lives. So thinking along that vein, it is important to rise above the ridiculousness of forced survival decisions and remember that none of us is perfect yet we are all capable of being close to it. In summary, none of us deserves to be punished by those who are willing to do so. The law may require it, but outside of that there is no other reason. So those who would punish us need to be stopped and forced to face their own inadequacies. I am beholden to those who help me, not hurt me. I feel that being a part of existence is just as much my right as it is anyone else's. I will not accept being punished just for being alive and wanting to change the world to a place where there is less harm and less suffering. This is why I rail so much against the hatred of the Republican party. They see themselves as condescenders and the judges of others. Which would make their followers beholden to them. As a reward they receive punishment and the promise of more. That is no life to live when imagining a purposeful life.

Freedom of speech and freedom from speech (#2515)

Yesterday was a rough day as far as my Facebook account goes. Like most all of you know, I am a Democrat who advocates for all of our candidates although some more than others. But what happened yesterday was a demonstrable shift in how my friends on my Facebook page look at this coming election in 2016. Instead of us debating the issues that our two front running candidates are forwarding we were showing how divided we were based on whether we will vote for our eventual democratic nominee. On the one hand there are those who say that our far left socialist democratic candidate will cause us to lose the election because they say his policies go too far left so they are not going to vote for him regardless if he is the nominee. And on the other hand is our more moderate democratic candidate who many on the left say they will not vote for because they deem her more like a Republican. Both extreme sides fail to see that neither of these candidates is too far left or too far right. They both are democrats who fall to being more or less liberal than the other. So some of these folks who have been on my Facebook friends list for many years are showing themselves and I chose not to have them around on my page any longer since they have stated they will not vote for the democratic nominee if it isn't there preferred candidate. So I had one of these folks confront me and tell me that I am a bully for unfriending them because they will not vote for the eventual nominee if it isn't their eventual nominee. I have been plain and open about my support for our democratic party and I prefer not to have people on my Facebook page who lobby against what I feel so passionate about. I was told I wasn't being fair to deny them their dissenting voice. Well, I am not taking their dissenting voice away, I am exercising my right to control the content of my page, not theirs. Just like they could have easily unfriended me for my views if they were not in alignment with their own. Freedom of speech works both ways and I choose not to hear the voice of those who will not support the eventual nominee of our democratic party. Simple.

Progressive/liberal roots are important (#2514)

About voting for the democratic nominee. I hear many from our democratic party say that they will only vote for their candidate no matter who wins the primary. I can't tell how terrible this is for progressive/liberal policies. If we all don't rally behind our party, of which our candidates have affiliated themselves with then we will be metaphorically, cutting off our head to spite our nose. All of our democratic candidates have this in common, they all want a liberal/progressive to occupy the White House and Congress. Let there be no mistake about this, all of our candidates are liberal/progressives it is just by degree that separates them. The other major party has no semblance of a liberal/progressive running as it's standard bearer. So if our democratic nominee is not elected because too many refused to vote, then the whole of liberal/progressivism will be set back if not permanently harmed. So all this quibbling about holding grudges and misinformed held positions is trivial when compared to the bigger picture. We will also see our particular democratic candidates who don't win the nomination, come out in full force and support the democratic candidate that does win our nomination. What then will those who declare allegiance to only one candidate do? Will they keep their stated pledge to not vote or will they be persuaded by their candidate to support the eventual nominee? For all of our sakes I hope it is to rally behind the democratic party nominee and not only elect the next liberal/progressive president but to fill up congress with democratic office holders. Many have a wrong headed idea about calling themselves democrats and I can understand why when some of the nonsense of a few have sullied some of our democratic party election services, yet, the idea of a Republican in our White House is cringe worthy and no amount of justification for not voting based upon some angry denial will ever be enough to wash the shame off.

We are not here just to make money! (#2513)

I know for a fact that we were not born onto this planet for the sole purpose of making money. This incredible trap we are all caught in is squeezing all purpose from our lives. Commerce and economics are not our purpose for living. No one knows exactly what our purpose for living is but it isn't just to be part of a machine that cranks out profit for so very few at the expense of the time of so many. We have an economy that should be inclusive so that we humans have some busy work in our lives. We cannot all just sit around and do nothing so we devised a social and economic order that encompasses barter for goods. Fine and well enough, however that is not the end of it. I was not born just to live a life of low expectation. I want our species to move out into the universe. The last great manifest destiny that truly represents the nature of our species. I have said this hundreds of times and again I will say it here, Our natures are two dominant ones, to care about each other and to wonder about everything else. Our curiosity needs to be fed and that feeding now is out beyond our planet. The we care about each other part is being stifled by those jack booted selfish ones who have somehow ordained themselves as above the rest of us. So we have two direct problems facing our species, first we need to focus our attention on what is available to define as our purpose, which is to explore that which we may. Second, we need to stop treating each other as resources and instead treat each other with dignity and respect. That we are caught up in the cycle of profit above people must end. It has no value to the overall direction of where our species is going. Only the fearful create distractions from our destiny to know and as such we are stuck in the middle of that fear for how long I am not sure.

The angst of negativity (#2512)

Negativity bears cynicism and living in such a paradigm is regressive. I have had enough of those who would put down anything that denies modernity or progressive values. There are some real cowards out there who are not given to cowering as a reflection of their inner failing, instead they lash out at those who would be brave and instigate any and all illogic to foment derision as a reminder of their inability to be honorable. I have seen enough of it to understand its genesis. The whole of the Universe is in angst when the best of who we are as humans is being forgotten and replaced with some of the worst that we have ever been. Modernity and progressivism would propel us into the right frame of living if only the cowards would stop their thrashing about in their insecurities. It is unfortunate that the psychopaths/sociopaths are part of this cowardly cabal and as such have made their fortunes off the backs of those many humans they care nothing about. Wealth in our nation is seen and used as economic and political power and until wealth can be broken away from the dominion they now control we will continue to be shackled and fettered by their chaotic lack of courage. Our species is being tested of its mettle and so far we are not passing the test as we should. The greater part of who we are is being stifled and ignored in the face of the cowards and their onslaught of fear. Eventually we humans will have to find it within ourselves to move beyond negativity and instead embrace optimism and it's hope for the best of who we are. The nature of our society of humans demands that we allay the fears of the past in order to courageously face the challenges of the future. The angst within the Universe will lessen as our courage continues to mature.

Science, the great equalizer (#2511)

Unlike religion, science has the ability to start anew with each person. There is no direct promise of anything with science, it is a magical adventure that begins with each person's own interest. What we get out of science is rational thought based upon logic and common sense. There is no entry fee nor some set of dogmas that must be met for us to join. There is only a curious nature needed and we all have that as part of who we are as human beings. Science does not offer us an after life based upon only our willingness to believe in the unprovable, instead it offers us tangible facts and truths for us to live with in our Earthly existence. Science is the paradigm of understanding based upon the laws of nature and physics about our Universe, not an imaginary illusion based upon myth and superstition regardless of how well those myths and superstitions appease our fears. Science is less a comfort as a safe harbor and more a stout vessel for navigating rough waves. Science gives us real information that we can build into knowledge with the help of logic and common sense. That is something I can believe in. A real fact or truth based upon the observable and provable. Science also gives us a look into our natures as humans. We see through biology that we humans are basically all the same. We also see how similar we are to all the other species on our home planet. We learn that not only are we all the same as humans but our dreams, hopes and desires are the same as well. Although our philosophies about society may diverge from being practical and helpful at times, they do not diverge enough for us to change from the ideals that each individual is their own sovereign within the overall framework of a healthy functioning society. Science let's us see that as change is constantly occurring so is our ability to adapt our scientific method to those changes.

Bleeding heart liberals or the devil, you can't have it both ways confederates! (#2510)

I am amused by the comparisons coming from the right wing confederates in the Republican party. They want to portray liberals as sensitive types who can only see the good in people while at the same time calling us the worst of people who are out to destroy mankind. While it may be popular among the confederates to say this to themselves it is nonsense to the rest of us. Trying to paint us as being at both ends of an extreme human behavior at the same time is illogical. The real place that our behavior resides is at the bleeding heart end. I know the confederates see this as a weakness among us but what they fail to understand is that we actually care about all of humanity, not just the part of humanity that they accept while discarding the rest. We don't tolerate bias, bigotry nor prejudice. These are tools of division and condescension. We don't tolerate bullying when debate is available and is not utilized, nor do we tolerate bullying when debate has been lost. We don't tolerate ignorance when it reaches it's pitiful head out to affect others who wish no part in it. We don't tolerate the confederate mindset of a survival of the fittest paradigm where just being alive is detriment to in a system that is unequal and inopportune. We don't tolerate destruction for the sake of profit when souls are used as disposable resources. The real idea of a bad entity resides in the confederate mindset of the Republican party. It is a tragedy to realize that those who think that others are not as good as themselves are actually the ones who have the low self esteem issues. We liberals realize that we all are worthy of something greater than ourselves and we are trying our hardest to bring about a society where promise and opportunity have a place with all of us. Unlike the confederates who can only see the devil in the do gooders.

Knowledge is wealth (#2509)

I know that when you need to buy a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread, money is what is needed but in order to get money the more knowledge you have the more likely you are to get money. It is that simple. Of course there are other ways of obtaining money, such as inheritance and something like a lottery/gambling but those are less likely for the majority of us who need to survive day to day. So the best course to follow is to work where you can while improving your options with continued education. However it has to happen we must never stop learning. Most of us are content with having enough money to pay our bills while upgrading our lives in moderate ways. Since money really is a finite commodity exchange unit, it behooves us not to hoard money that could otherwise be spread out into our economy for others to obtain and spend. That we have several hundred ultra wealthy hoarding money outside our consumer spending cycle is not good and is actually harmful. I can only suppose those ultra wealthy have an agenda outside of America having a healthy and growing economy for all of it's citizens. I know these ultra wealthy are not ignorant to the cause and effect of their actions so me knowing this may not put money in my wallet but it does show that my knowledge of their acts is keen and conclusive. So what to do with this knowledgeable wealth? What I can is all. I trumpet income inequality as it exists today and I call for programs and policies aimed at stopping and reversing out of control wealth accumulation. I know of no other way to bring our society back into a balance where all of us have an opportunity to succeed whereas now most of us are not having opportunities to succeed, but instead are faced with finding ways just to survive on a daily basis for ourselves and our families.

Open to discovery (#2508)

This is why I believe in the scientific method and logic. I am open to learning anything that has a proof to it that survives logic. I am not settled into a way of thinking that precludes me from an objective analysis. On the contrary, unlike those who have given over their right to think for themselves in a logical way, I am not beholden to some theology or philosophy that restricts my ability to learn and grasp new ideas and understandings. I am an existential human being living on a planet for a finite amount of time. These are the facts. From this foundation I can grow. Outside our planet is a void that has within it many sphere's and objects held in orbits and suspensions through the laws of gravity and other physical forces that we know of. The bulk of my life as I have known myself has not been to question why I am here but to actually experience the who I am here and the how I shall live my life here. I know that as time goes by and it has been flying by in my life that I will not be here for much longer based upon lifespans we humans generally have evolved toward. So the idea that I would be spending my time trying to form some kind of structure that explains not only my existence but my after existence is fruitless and more in line with science fiction and not actual science. I have the current modest laws of how our Universe operates to think about in order to continue my quest to learn. We humans have just begun the great discovery of how time and space operate in the large and small ways. We are but the tiniest of creatures in the panoramic view of our Universe but even though we are, we have an immense opportunity to understand more about our overall habitat than any other species know throughout our history. I will not be swayed from my destiny to exist here with all the natural and mental ability I can muster to make a dent in the unknown as it is today.

Republican voters don't get that their candidates don't care for them (#2507)

It is not like these Republican candidates offer these Republican voters anything. It is more that Republican candidates want to take things from others. That is the appeal for Republican voters, that even if they have to give up something, others, whom they don't like or actually hate, have to give up things also. There is also the bonus for Republican voters that others have to fight in wars that Republican candidates clamor for. it is a two-fer. Kill off some foreign others with American others. "Others" are the illusory threat Republican voters are working to eliminate and by voting for Republican candidates they are helping themselves keep their hatred and dislike flourishing. Instead of seeking mental health avenues designed to make them see that we are all human beings and none of us are "others" they refuse science and logic and cling to their belief in separate and unequal dogma. On the other end are the Republican candidates who have their own agenda in utilizing Republican voters. Republican candidates know that these low information Republican voters do not care that by segregating out those whom they despise, they are being played to help the wealthy, who are the real constituents of the Republican candidates. But for Republican voters the idea of hurting the others is greater than knowing that they are helping the wealthy. It is a trade off they are willing to ignorantly follow. Meanwhile, the wealthy, most of whom are Republican, continue to work behind the scenes of their favorite Republican candidates to nefariously foment the differences between the Republican voters and whom they see as others. Like a puppet on a string the Republican voters are ready and willing to stand proud for prejudice and bias as if it were a birthright.

False prophets of the conservative airwaves (#2506)

Conservatives have a lock on riling up the masses for causes that are dubious at best. It is a sign of our times that the masses are less educated and therefore susceptible to misinformation being given us by what we think are trusted public informers. What we masses fail to realize is is that these celebrated messengers of right wing propaganda are not here to unravel mysteries and reveal truths, on the contrary, they are more likely to be hiding the truth. Just because someone is famous for no worthwhile reason as a personality like say a Kardashian, does not make them trustworthy and ethical. There is a philosophical war going on in our country where the Democrats are trying to make life better for all Americans and the Republicans are trying to make life better for very few Americans. So how is it possible that most Americans don't see through the illusion that Republicans are presenting in their airwave attack against democracy? Simply enough by playing us off against each other. Think about it. Every time there is an election coming Republicans either work us up into a fearful state over some war or some threat of a war as a way to keep from having to explain their policies that weaken and harm the working/middle/poor class. If you listen to their rhetoric you will hear them constantly banging the drum of the lessers wanting to take from the mores. We live in a society that has the greatest income inequality between the richest and the poorest in history but Republicans continue to push for greater tax breaks for the wealthy while trying to cut what is left of the social safety net for the shrinking middle and poor class. It is always pitting some of us against each other that Republicans deploy as their cudgel to shape our society into a survival of the fittest one and with their airwave mouthpieces fanning the flames of discontent we seem to have been culpable to their message of division and condescension. I hope somehow we masses find the time and energy to open our minds to what is happening before it is too late for us to do anything about it.

My Earthling experience (#2505)

I come from an analyzing, reasoning and concluding type species. I am a human being. What has been my experience as a human being? For the first part of my life it was a struggle to understand what our society was evolving towards. As a young person I had no idea about the intricacies that were being used to either disguise the truth of things or at least misdirect from the truth of things. All I knew was that common logic and decency were being devalued for the sake of some ideal having to do with commerce and profit. I would sit back and try to think why we were so consumed with irrelevant actions when the universe was ours to explore and experience. I assuredly became frustrated and demoralized at the intense pressure put on all of us to live within certain boundaries for the length of our lives that required us to let go of the best of our curious natures and instead fit into the cog of machinery as an ideal. I get that we need to have a functioning society and that work is part of our civilized behavior. yet our greed for profit has overshadowed the basic utility of keeping us busy while we advance out and beyond our planet. It seems now that the greed has superseded our advancing out into discovery and instead has focused back in toward a survival of the fittest mentality that is willing to let us ween our society down in order to maximize profit for those few who are able to game the system most effectively. The reason we have commerce and industry is not just to survive and create profit, it is a stand by position until our technology and innovation can give us wings out into the great universal void. My earthling experience was kindled with hope when our species landed on the Moon those many decades ago, but that kindling has been tempered by those shallow, fearful, greedy souls who are content to sit on Earth and lord over any and all who would exist here.

I dream of a better world (#2504)

I suppose it is easier for those of us who have had little in life to dream of wanting something better. It isn't dreaming just for myself that I dream of something better but I dream about a better world for all of us. Yes, even those who have plenty. Because this great wall of income inequality that is our current status is keeping us from each other. The wealthy barricade themselves in communities that exclude those who are not wealthy and the poor are left with complaining about the lack of resources or the fear of racial differences. There can be a better way. We don't need the wealthy continuing on the trajectory of accumulating all the wealth for themselves. There can be a better distribution process where we all profit off of our efforts in a more logical and merit based way. I dream of a world where hungry adults and children are not the normal but if anything are the rare exception. I dream of a world where education is not something that is a social selection process but instead a paradigm where all can participate for the full extent of their life if they so desire. I dream of a world where prejudice and ignorance are shunned to humiliation. No amount of bias or condescension should be acceptable behavior. I dream of a world where advantage and privilege are never part of a consideration for who deserves opportunities in life. I dream of a world where poverty is not acceptable by all of us not just by those of us who are mired in it. I dream of a world where we celebrate creativity and innovation as a greater achievement than merely accumulating wealth. I dream of a world where The kindness of heart overrules the hate of intolerance. I dream of a world where we celebrate national and international goals that move the human species forward toward conquering the unknown, and satisfying our never ending quest to understand the why and the how of our existence through the logic and science we continue to realize. I dream of a better world...

The challenge of the idiocracy (#2503)

The idiocracy are those who continue to deny the existence of reality in order to further their own personal or economic interest. You should know them rather well as Republicans. Yes, there are a few Democrats in their but overwhelmingly they are the base of the confederate leaning Republican party. Where they deny climate change as a threat to our very existence, claiming that science and fact are junk and not real. Where they continue to deny racism or claim that racism is aimed at them. Which for me is a classic example of cognitive dissonance, or in a layman term, dissociative hypocrisy . Where they base their lives on a belief system to the point of ignoring human nature and our very real environment. At a cost to progress and modernization coupled with our unique human ability to create and innovate. Where intelligence must not be allowed to disrupt any illogical machination that has to do with the greatest profit possible, despite the harm to those lives who are the engine of that profit making scheme. Where the only form of diplomacy is surrender or a brutal attack will ensue. Where women are treated as less human than their male counterparts. The idea that a woman hasn't the same rights as a man contradicts the doctrine of democracy and the principles of liberty, freedom and equality. Where they see no value in protecting the vulnerable among us and in fact would rather the vulnerable die off as a consequence of their distorted survival of the fittest ideology. The idiocracy that is the Republican party has no moral compass other than profit and if they must lie, cheat and steal in all paradigms to protect profit then that will be the course. These idiots are about to destroy not only our country with their wanton uncontrolled greed but they are on the verge of destroy our planet for living creatures such as ourselves.

Progressive liberalism is the best path forward (#2502)

We here in America need to quit deluding ourselves to the idea that survival of the fittest is the only way to structure our society. In as large a society that we have the disappointment and unfairness associated with uneven and unequal starts in life make it starkly clear that not all have the same opportunities to succeed. The wealthy will always have the advantages and privileges that wealth bring thereby keeping a small subset of people in the most advantageous successful opportunities. Whereby those of us who are less fortunate with no money have to pave our way with nothing more than genius to hopefully succeed. Even then genius cannot many times overcome economic disparity nor social unrest caused by economic inequality and racial/gender condescension. So a foundation fro survival must be established. It isn't proper or good that spending all our time to just barely meeting the demands of renting a space on our planet is our reality. I saw something the other day that hit home quite starkly with me. We humans are the only ones who must pay to exist on our planet. No other species is given this burden, and the worst part is is that we do this to ourselves. So instead of forcing ourselves to waste time and energy that is limited in each of our lives just to survive, we should have a basic income for all human beings from which to survive on and then let us use our time and energy repaying society with an established and efficient life that focuses on what a better future we can all agree on. Outer space is our next evolutionary step in our manifest destiny to explore the unknown and satisfy our curiosities. Schooling must be available for all of us who want and need it so that our most productive minds are available to grow and nurture our greatest imaginings. Progressive liberalism gets us there to being the best humans we can be without the drudgery of disappointment and unfairness that is currently the status quo.

How many people must needlessly die before we admit we are wrong? (#2501)

I have been paying close attention to the recent debate about guns and the lack of many controls to keep them from the dangerous and mentally unstable. It seems that those who cherish having a weapon care more for their right than they do about needless and senseless death from those very same weapons. The contradiction is blaring in that these absolute gun right protectors use the logic that they need their weapons without regulation to protect themselves from those who have them illegally or are too unstable to use them responsibly. It is illogical to think that a responsible gun owner would have to worry about regulations tailored to keep weapons out of the arms of the irresponsible. Yet this is where we are in the current debate and too many responsible gun owners are now in the position of protecting the right of the irresponsible to own and carry weapons. In the meantime an epidemic of mass shootings continue on almost a weekly to daily basis. So my question continues to remain how many people will needlessly die before we admit we are wrong about protecting the rights of the irresponsible and mentally ill people having the right to obtain and carry weapons? It has been obvious for years we need to do more to protect the innocent in our nation from the bad intent of murderous souls yet because of the responsible gun owners and their lobbyists we are unable to get our politicians to address a serious debate about what we can do to protect society at large. I put the blame of this on the responsible gun owners who are not advocating enough to their politicians to enact gun regulation where we can in order to keep the irresponsible and mentally deranged from possessing weapons. Instead of making this a partisan issue that only benefits weapons manufacturers, let's make this what it really is, a people issue, and stop where we can the continued deaths of those who are the victims of weapon violence.

Twenty five hundred blog posts (#2500)

So it seems that my individual mind must have a lot of thoughts in it. Almost everyday for close to seven years now I find something to write about that takes up approximately 250 words. I sort of set myself to around that limit so as not to become redundant or too boring with the discussion I present each day. So far the amount of words seems to be working as well as the time of day, early morning for the most part. I missed 3 days of posting back on day three, day 622 and day 1042. I missed day 3 because I just hadn't gotten into the rhythm of writing everyday. Day 622 and day 1042 were bad sick days where I was just unable to write. On all three occasions I wrote two the next day, one for that particular day and one as a make-up, to keep at least the count correct if not the streak of everyday. So here I am with 2,500 posts covering 2,500 days and still with a lot to say. The one thing about this is that although I have covered many subjects a couple of times, as I continue to grow and see things with a greater perspective I am able to comprehensively add to my previous observations. So no matter what, there will never be a lack of insight for me to try to articulate. I suppose I am the type of person who needs to get things out of himself in order not to carry them around without a vent or forum to release them. This blogger site allows me that immense opportunity. I would hope more people like me would start something similar although maybe not the same but something that is more tailored to each individuals need to express. Some may want to post more than once a day or less than once a week. Whatever works to give ourselves a chance to let our inner thoughts reach publication. I hope that this form of expression will end up in the ether of the universe and in some way mark my existence within it. My form of letting all of existence know that I was here and although I am gone here is what I think and feel.

A living document (#2499)

Our mighty American constitution is just the floor from which we grow from. it was a declaration of intent based upon the time it was written. 226 years later most of our constitution has evolved with our nation's enlightenment and modernization. There is still work to do concerning the intent of some amendments as they now apply to our modernization. I will use the second amendment as an example. Back in 1789 when we first assembled our constitution the times then dictated a national defense network based upon the ability of individuals to protect home and state from outside aggression. The need was clear since no national or state standing armies were practically formed. So the need for people to bear arms was not only important for our defenses but it also allowed our people to hunt for food. Flash forward to today and you can see that although in the past arms were used to consolidate and feed our country while building armies and state militias, the need is no longer required. We have state and local policing services to uphold laws that protect life and property. We have the strongest national army on the face of the Earth and as far as needing arms for food, that is also moot since we have grocery stores everywhere in our country that fill that void in supplying all the food we can afford. So the argument today that we need the second amendment because it is necessary for national and individual defense or hunting food is not a valid argument. What has happened instead is conservatism has taken the second amendment and applied it mostly with no regulation. So we have almost anyone who wants a weapon able to secure one. With all the mass shootings we have currently, we can see that this is the wrong approach. A valid argument can be made that the intent of the second amendment has been fulfilled thus making the second amendment clause pertaining to bearing of arms by the people, moot. It is time to move beyond what was needed over two hundred years ago to a more common sense intent of what is needed today.

Knowledge is power (#2498)

For those who refuse to keep learning a dark future lies ahead. Knowledge is ever changing and for one to keep up with new advances and history repeating itself it is vital that we know how our society operates. It isn't enough just to finish school and go on to make our own way financially in the world. We must understand how society is most efficient under the governance of democracy. Without a government that equally protects it's citizens from harm, our government is not a democracy. If it is not a democracy then what is it? Would we know how to define it on our own or would we need to learn how and why different types of governments exist. Should we have easily available access to higher education? Should we value our teachers as some of our most important human resources? Our nation can be whatever we want it to be but we have to know what is possible. That is where knowledge comes in. We cannot rely upon politicians to lead us in this current paradigm of elections that are rigged to only allow certain types of people to run in an effective way. The prohibitive cost to running for public office is not democratic yet we cannot seem to get our elected officials to make the proper legal corrections. However, Democrats are trying to get public financing of elections as the process for participation and inclusion of anyone with a platform of ideas to share and possibly win an election. Republicans are not going to change the status quo of big money elections since they are the ones protecting the big money candidates. Knowledge is power and knowing that Republicans are the party of the wealthy while also knowing that Democrats are the party of everyone else is crucial to knowing how to disseminate information properly and rightly for the most efficient and beneficial effect.

Democrats are the big tent political party (#2497)

I hear some Democrats say that Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat so he doesn't deserve democratic support. But I say I don't care which party a person may be affiliated with, as long as his policies and values align with liberal progressive ones that person is welcome in the Democratic party. Because we are the big tent party. Since in the final analysis we Democrats are a varied lot not given to aligning ourselves through some expected protocol. We are much different from each other in so many ways and those differences are what rallies us to each other as a party of unique and valued individuals and groups. The core of our party is that we are simply liberal and progressive. Anyone who meets that threshold will always be welcome to join forces with us to protect our equality, justice, freedom and right to opportunity. We are not the party of privilege or advantage, we believe in merit and community, both equally. So for any member of the Democratic party to say that because someone is not an official member of our party yet is running as one of us cannot do so would be blatantly wrong. I would accept a Republican running as a Democrat as long as his/her policies and values aligned with the best interests of our Democratic party. We include folks to be members of our party, not exclude them based upon some inequality ideal. That is for the Republicans as they are the ones who exclude. So open wide your eyes Democrats and know this that if someone is a liberal and progressive and is looking for a chance to lead our party they are much more than welcome to try. Any attack on those who meet this criteria are subject to a cynical rebuttal based upon the intent of the attacker. Either we Democrats truly believe in equality or we are just playing at it.

When delusions are called truths (#2496)

The belief that many of our political leaders are actually telling the truth is a delusion in itself. Especially on the conservative Republican side there are plenty of examples of leaders trying to influence the electorate by intentionally passing off disinformation, propaganda and out and out lies as truths. These corruptible politicians are only interested in forwarding their agenda instead of solving real problems with facts, common sense and logic. They have sunk so low in their quest to obtain higher office that they are now putting segments of our society at risk. I can present this one recent example of a prominent Republican candidate for President claiming that Planned parenthood is offering up baby parts for sale. She relied on video footage to back her claim. Since her claim about Planned Parenthood has been shown to be based upon a fake video montage, she has nonetheless held firm with her claim. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence no such offering of baby parts from Planned Parenthood is occurring she refuses to deny her false claim. So in the intervening weeks since she has continued to promote her wrongfulness on the fox "news" channel a man has taken her word for it and has committed a murderous atrocity at a Planned Parenthood facility. Words have consequences so this female conservative Republican politician has taken her own strategy of arousing Republicans to her side based upon lies and now deaths. For me I know she is not clinically delusional as far as I can tell but her strategic ambition to win at any cost does have stench of delusion. There should be no reward for her and many of her Republican colleagues who also parrot lies about Planned Parenthood and other social programs designed to help our society. The hate that has to be involved in this type of behavior is beyond shameful now as this type of appeal to our baser instincts has become a Republican staple that has injury and death as it's effect.

We for the most are are products of our environment (#2495)

Unless we question those things around us that influence who we are we eventually become those very things. It is natural for that to happen in a state of status quo. Again, unless we question we won't move beyond our immediate environment. I can usually observe someone and their behaviors and generally point out some opinions. Surely just opinions but with an Occam's Razor approach my opinions are at least possible, even probable in some cases. I do not equate myself with being a psychologist/psychiatrist but on a basic level logic can get us to at least a general idea. I look at myself and the family and friends I grew up with and see how I am now. I have carried forward many of the behaviors I grew up around. However, many more I have discarded due to my questioning the behaviors lack of honor or equality. So when I see someone acting out in a behavior that is crude or brutish I can somewhat assume that they are encultured by the behavior or that they are under some force or duress from circumstances that influence the behavior. Now some are just sociopathic/psychopathic but those ones can be singled out through their reactions to other behaviors. Leaving aside the mentally ill, I find that behaviors are linked in some way to past experiences or some form of acting out. I am not saying anything specific here but just that some tendencies point us toward possible causes more than other tendencies. Cause and effect is generally considered a paradigm that explains behaviors and that is all I am saying here. Not that it is the answer everytime but only that that is where I begin. It is difficult to know why some do some things and others don't but given enough patterns we can generally propose why something is happening or at least give an informed opinion as to the observable evidence. All this to say that recognizing our behaviors for what they are in a more comprehensive way is how we conquer them when we keep our own counsel and those behaviors have us strangled and discouraged.

Why I am a liberal progressive Democrat (#2494)

I believe in social security and what it does to keep our seniors out of poverty when they get older and have physical problems, keeping them from working for a living. I believe in medicare/medicaid for our seniors and others who cannot otherwise afford health care. Why wouldn't we want our lives to be healthy while we are alive? I believe in modernization of our country to the point where we are the envy of the rest of the world for our ingenuity and creativeness in aligning our states with smart energy, communication and opportunity. I believe in equal rights for all our citizens, women/men of all persuasions. No one person should be without the guaranteed protection of rights as outlined by the intent of our national constitution. I believe in unemployment insurance that provides for us when jobs are hard or next too impossible to find. I believe in food stamps to help the families who are underpaid or out of work to feed a nutritious meal for themselves and their children/family members. I believe in government sponsored work to create jobs and opportunities for companies and industries to expand to the point of employment for anyone willing and able to work. I believe in taking care of our veterans who have gone into military service to protect and sacrifice of themselves for our liberty and freedoms. I believe that education is a high priority within our society and that all means to allow our citizenry to learn and become enlightened in order to escape ignorance should be explored. I believe in a taxation system that is progressive with fewer taxes on the poor and graduating up to higher taxes on the wealthy. I believe in campaign finance reform so that all candidates are funded the same so that the ideas of the politicians are what gets them elected, not the size of their bank accounts or the size of their influential friends' bank accounts. I have many more reasons for why I am a liberal progressive Democrat but I am out of space that I allot myself for posts.

We need to protest at fox "news". (#2493)

There is one entity that subscribes to planting hatred within our populace above all others, yes even more than Limbaugh and many church pulpits, and that is fox "news". For all the real news out there based upon facts, few of these ever show up on fox "news". Instead we get opinion pieces that align with biases and prejudices against our citizenry. It is as if fox "news" is a hate channel solely for the benefit of riling up nefarious factions of our society against anything beneficial to the working/middle/poor class that can be twisted into hate. I am past the point of giving fox "news" any benefit of the doubt. They do not align themselves with the pain and suffering of most all Americans, instead fox "news" trumpets out incomplete information that is less than subtle and devoid of hard facts. They take innuendo and opinion and present it as fact with no one on the programming who is able to challenge it. It is legal what they do but not moral or ethical. As the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court have been silent about truth in news laws in order to stop the massive campaign of misinformation, we are left with fox "news" able to frame the narrative of events in a way that riles the most extreme among us. The recent case in point being the Planned Parenthood killings and the Indiana mosque burning. The sick unraveling of news being used to foment atrocities is our current status thanks in large part from fox "news" and it's agenda of disrupting and destroying our working/middle poor class. Everything about fox "news" is aimed at helping the wealthy and large corporations to own more and more of the wealth generated here in America and abroad. If fomenting unrest and taking the focus off of the wealthy getting more wealthy and corporations gaining more control of our government and financial sectors than they are succeeding. It is time to pull the plug on fox "news" and the best way to do that is to protest them at their corporate headquarters and at their national cable broadcasting venue.

Republicans do not understand how facts work or they just don't care to use them correctly (#2492)

I have been amusing myself, since I have grown immune to the despair that I normally feel when someone is a conservative Republican and not able to understand logic, by interacting with some real uniformed right wingers. If they didn't have their hate for our President or for the merits of liberal/progressivism I don't know how they would function at all. Although on second thought, they do know greed so maybe being a survival of the fittest devotee in a free market system is how they function to survive. I say amuse myself but only in the thinnest of a veneer way. Instead of being comprehensive and cognitive of the words they use to defend the policies, or lack thereof they are promoting or disapproving, they throw bits and pieces of illogic out and call it complete. Well I am not completed by innuendo nor am I completed by fallacy. Yet they stand up for it and defend the lack of merit they are unable to grasp. To me they are the ones who took the shortcut to reasoning and instead just follow along some cliff notes that they are unwilling to verify through rigorous research. Such is the way with those who like to think they know things and then parrot off some bits and pieces of that fit their narrative. This example reminds me of the scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Matt Damon's character not only confronts the obnoxious condescending grad student in the bar but schools him on his plagiarism as his own original thought. It seems that the right wing conservative/libertarian Republican party is full of short cutters who want to sound pious and full of gravitas while actually being wholly shallow straw men. There is no nobility, nor pride in a good way, of one's actions when it is not of there own thinking nor their own understanding. Such is the Republican party of today and we are all worse off for it.

When the white race here in America refuses to acknowledge the effects of slavery from our past (#2491)

There is so much push back from the new confederates of the Republican party who are flailingly trying to blame black folks for the current racial tensions. Sure black folks are out there protesting the disproportionate killing and maiming of their race at the hands of the police and vigilantes. That is right of them to stand up to injustice especially since it is being tolerated and even accepted as reasonable by the Republican party and it's sub base of confederate apologists. I am even getting illogical arguments back to me about how the black folks are the real agitators and they are the threat. It seems to me that if someone had no idea that slavery was law here in America for over 300 years and that even after the Civil war, and the reconstruction period of about 12 years, slavery just transformed from outright ownership of black folks to them being relegated to second class citizens and still being treated as a plague. The new confederates of the Republican party do not see black folks as equal in our democratic society and the Republican party does not dissuade them. Instead the Republican party has embraced these new confederate Republicans as well within their agenda of maintaining a white majority through law and strong armed tactics. I hear these new confederate Republicans complain that the black folks are the ones who are stirring and creating racial discord. As if it isn't black protesters being shot or black folks being murdered, when that is exactly what is happening. In the view of these new confederate Republicans any protest by black folks against white folks is an attack on white folks, not a cry for justice in an often unjust reality. The ignorance or cognitive dissonance it must take for white folks to ignore history and the present to complain about themselves being victims is monumentally absurd. We white folks did and are still doing horrible things to black folks and yet we still continue to deny we are the problem.

Testing my resolve (#2490)

I have to live with who I am and if I am not being who I am then I am betraying myself. I have to find my way to doing what it is that best defines my own being. Most times the attractions and addictions of life are manageable to some degree in order to combat their control over me but there are times when it is so difficult that the only way forward is to rebuke my better instincts and give in to the guilty pleasure whatever it's form. Yet, even then I know what I am doing is wrong and the pull to stop and rationalize the bigger picture does have some positive effect. The struggle is do I allow myself a modicum amount of bliss as a benefit and then live with a guilt that not only weakens my character and resolve but also crushes my ability to be totally honest and forthright as a cost. Upon further reflection I have concluded that I must continue to sacrifice my own desires in order to preserve my own dignity and respect. I cannot judge others for something I find above being judged. Life is never just black and white, there is always some mixture of grey that moderates our thinking when confronted with choices that are strong within us. The same it is with me. A crossroads has been reached and I have a decision to make now that I thought earlier I had already made. This recent reflection has given me a much clearer perspective on a unique but harrowing situation. Although I find my decision now is against the grain of my needs and desires, I am still willing to make it based upon the greater cost not only to me but to others. The idea that I should have to sacrifice given my disdain for the myths, mores and superstitions that govern things is what grinds at me the most. But I don't get to define anything beyond my own life when my decisions positively or negatively impact others. I know this posting may seem personal or strange but it is not unique in the annals of human experiences and this time it just happened to me.

Fear of what could be instead of fear of what is (#2489)

Once again the illogical fear of the Republican/conservative movement is showing. As the racist and intolerant members of the Republican voting block go out and kill those who have philosophical differences with them, while claiming they are scared of those who have those different philosophies, expose their flawed logic. Racist and intolerant Republicans are the ones everyone should be scared of. Somehow these Republican/conservatives see themselves as a more privileged human being than other human beings. That is racism at it's core where the whites in the Republican party see themselves as better than the minorities in the Democratic party. How that cowardly nefarious type of thinking has evolved for them is disturbing while ultimately being dangerous. These Republican racists arm themselves with weapons and parade around at gatherings where Democrats hold rallies and then claim they are the ones in fear. These pitiful Republicans have so ingrained into their belief that whites are under attack by everyone else that no amount of proof or reality will change their view. What they fail to understand is that we are all human beings regardless of the pigmentation of our skin. We were all from the first humans to reproduce yet that concept doesn't fit into their encultured racism so again, nothing that isn't at least white will ever do. I am sick and tired of the ignorance that is allowed to breed, and sanctioned by the Republican party. Especially since no amount of proof or evidence is ever given to show that racism is right and good. Racism is bad yet people will defend it like it is an honorable principle for living. It isn't the perpetrators of racism that should be scared of those who are under attack by racists, it is the victims of racial targeting that are the ones who need to be afraid of Republican conservative narratives that actually lead to dead non-whites by Republican/conservative white racists.

My life was shaped at an early age (#2488)

Some monumental events happened in my youth that have served as a floor from which I have built my life. The death of my biological father when I was 6. The assassination of President Kennedy when I was 8. The landing on the moon and then quickly followed by the Woodstock festival when I was days short of being 14, which defined my generation's angst against the Vietnam war. These four significant events have been at the root of who I am and who I will always be. I am not one of those who changed his principles with age, on the contrary, I fight for the vision of my youth harder now than at any time in my life. Nothing compares to an eye opening events that fill our souls with so much enlightenment and chaos that can never be duplicated. So losing sight of significant events that make us consider our future when we hardly even know what a future really is a tremendous waste of who we are. Staying focused on the ramifications of these four major events is my equation for advocating and finding purpose for myself. The idea that we go from being liberals in the hubris of our youth to a more sedate conservatism has no logic for me. The reason I suppose is that I am still that little boy inside who experienced all those events in my youth and nothing in life since can change that. I am who I was in the past as well as who I am presently. Back then time was irrelevant to me. I had to live as me and nothing could nor should replace that. So today I am that liberal/progressive democrat I became as a youth with even more conviction now that I am wiser to how other people work hard to destroy what brings us together. My perspective was shaped by tragedy and jubilation. The two will co-exist since we are human and frail, but we also are formidable and capable of imaginings that astound and motivate our species. I can't trade my life for a do over but I can take what is best about me and my experiences and turn them into something greater than what they were separately.

The poorest among us are not the problem (#2487)

The wealthy have turned a dirty trick on most of us. They keep our wages down so that when we see those folks who are in need of public assistance, workers get angry at them for having some of the things the workers have to toil for. The problem here though isn't that folks need help it is that the wealthy keep workers in a low standard of living. It is the wealthy who are hoarding and hogging all the profits off of business instead of sharing the wealth with it's hired hands. The destruction of unions and collective bargaining have allowed the wealthy to dictate what workers wages are and with so many still out of work or working lesser paying jobs, the greater competition for a decent wage forces workers to accept even less for the same work as before unions and collective bargaining were crushed. The wealthy and their Republican political party have brought this about and that they get workers to vote for them because workers are angry at the less fortunate, (ie..greedy freeloaders off of Democrat social programs) is a bonus Republicans are giddy about. I don't know how much longer workers will remain fooled by this sleight of hand by the wealthy but for now it is working. People like me who see the dastardly duplicity Republicans have pulled on the working class are required as a duty to scream it out to the world to see. The wealthy have created the greatest income inequality our history has ever seen yet they get those who are unfairly affected by it to blame the even more less well off. It is sad to see that the deception the wealthy and Republicans have turned into a cruel success is so ingrained now with the working class. We working class are being paid less and less and the wealthy are acquiring more and more wealth yet we blame the poorest among us for it. How sad indeed and how utterly cowardly of we workers who cannot nor will not see the truth of what is going on. I suppose workers condescending to the most vulnerable in our society is better than standing up to the most despicable in our society. What the hell does that say about us workers?

We must never lose our comprehensive perspective (#2486)

Comprehensive perspective, a wide mental grasp of most or all things. This is what we are capable of as human beings. We should strive to be nothing less than a being that can take in the whole panoramic view and then analyze, reason and conclude for our present and future. The current refugee crisis that we have helped to create by through our foreign policies gives us a chance to exhibit our grasp of most or all things by doing our part to help alleviate the regional displacement of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani families. Furthermore, as Americans, who for the most part are immigrants ourselves, should welcome this new opportunity to add to our "melting pot" heritage. America is the cauldron that boils out our differences in order to give us liberty and freedom to become more enlightened. We don't have to live under the myths, mores and superstitions of the past if we so choose. Adding the mostly Syrian refugees to our open culture will allow them to add to us and inversely receive from us. We must not allow Republicans to demonize others because Republicans see an advantage in making us afraid. We need to welcome the refugees and allow them to see what it is about America that we fight so hard to protect. In time they will love our democracy as much as we do and will fight just as hard to protect it. We are undergoing an internal attack on our democracy by the Republican party and their wealthy donors but putting that aside for now, the refugees deserve to have a life like the rest of us that allows us to protect them from the worst of what is out in the world. Nothing is easy or black and white, yet we do know the difference between right and wrong and allowing the refugees to assimilate within our society is just part of who we are as Americans since the founding of our country.

The difference between Democrats and Republicans (#2485)

As I watch the presidential and congressional election process heading into 2016 one thing has become crystal clear. Democrats are talking about the positive nature of our species and Republicans are talking about the negative nature of our species. So with Democrats it is about attracting our hopes and dreams for a better world by activating policies that actually move us forward with finding solutions to shrink poverty, create more work for our workforce and establish a better quality of life we all should have as a default. Whereas with Republicans, it is them talking about how they can restrict our rights, segregate our populace through intimidation and fear, while arguing among themselves who can be the worst humanitarian. Democrats want universal voter registration throughout the country, while Republicans want to make voting harder for the poor, students, elderly and transient among us. Democrats want to create work through national work projects that tackle our crumbling infrastructure and reinvent our energy and communication systems. Republicans are against any national works programs and their failure to produce legislation for rebuilding America is the de facto evidence. Democrats want to raise the standard of living for workers given that capitalists rarely are the ones concerned with quality of life issues when their bottom line is affected. Republicans want to protect the capitalists bottom line and actually legislate to destroy worker's rights by ousting unions, eliminating collective bargaining and eliminating the "minimum wage". Democrats want to give women equality with men as a rule not a privilege. Republicans want to keep women in a "less than man" status despite the conflict with the founding principles of our constitution. After you have filtered out all the rhetoric from this coming election remember that Democrats actually represent the working/middle/poor in our country and Republicans do not. Vote accordingly.

Right wing dirty energy owners and the Republican party (#2484)

Why is it that the dirty energy owners are all in for the Republican party? Because they were invested so deeply into dirty energy that they condescended that despite their opportunities to invest in clean energy they would force their dirty energy upon us regardless. This is who the Republican party represents. Why is it that the NRA are all in for the Republican party? Because the NRA are supported by the same dirty energy suppliers that could care less about safety and common sense when it comes to gun ownership, and instead condescend to put our citizenry at risk in order to wedge an issue of discord aimed at logical Democrats. Why is it that education is not considered a priority with the Republican party? Because those same dirty energy owners like the fact that the less intelligent our citizenry is the more we are dependent on them and therefore the dirty energy owners can condescend to pay us less and less for more and more production and ultimately profit. Why is it that healthcare is being attacked by Republicans as a waste and wrongful use of government? Because the dirty energy owners can't have social programs that unite us because we being united is a direct threat to the dirty energy owners. Dirty energy owners can't condescend to us if we have some power. They are forced to treat us with less contempt since we are then able to control some of the overall narrative. This is why the Republican party is going after the other social programs that unite us like Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Food Stamps, Unemployment and Veterans Benefits. These social programs take power away from the Republican party and their dirty energy owners who control Republicans. It is all very clear if you can just try to see who is making national policy for the working/middle/poor class and who is making policy for the wealthy and powerful. It is time for all of us to decide which side we are on. There is no more time from committing to a future since all of our futures are being decided right now!

Life would be so much better for everyone if Democrats had the political power here in America (#2483)

Yes, even the 1%ers would be doing better. Surely they would be paying higher taxes but their quality of life would be one of respect, not like it currently is as one of disrespect because of their greed. The rest of us 99%ers would have a better economic environment with higher minimum wages, more work available through jobs programs and easier access to education to enlighten ourselves and improve our lot in life. Access to health care and voting would be universal, retirement benefits would be gauged upon real cost of living formulas that are directly linked to older age spending and costs. Homelessness would be addressed not only for our veterans of the military but for our overall population. Immigration reform would be achieved in a common sense way that values the effort of all who would be Americans or transitional workers between our nations. Our public schools would be funded at levels that account for modernization in order to better educate our children and adults to the ever growing technological boom that is part of all the modern industries. There would be laws that uphold the rights of all citizens to be equal in every respect of endeavor that does no harm to anyone else. Women would receive the same pay for the same work as men. Women would also have control over the functions of their bodies as they rightly should have. Elections would be made as easy as possible for all to participate without special rules for the wealthy to dominate the narrative. I could go on for a lot longer about how our society would operate better with Democrats in control but I generally limit myself to a word count on each of these posts. Suffice it to say, with Democrats in control, there would be serious folks working on our most troublesome problems to find the most effective solutions that do the greatest good. I for one remain hopeful that Democrats can get back into the leadership of all the most important political positions.

Bullies need to be confronted (#2482)

Whether these bullies are children bullying other children or Republicans trying to force the rest of us to adhere to their ideas of inequality, segregation and lessening of our inherent rights as Americans, or the world's bullies trying to scare us from stopping them on their quest to dominate the world through force, we must always stand up to them. At all levels we are faced with decisions that effect who we are as individuals and as a society of humans. It is important that we maintain our dignity and our honored principles at every turn. I have not always been this stalwart but I have learned that not standing up is a fate worse than any perceived or actual threat at the moment. Come what may is my motto now when faced with a bully. I will not tolerate being ordered around by anyone who takes my life or others' lives for granted. Bullies are just cowards who need to be shut down however possible. Our world has enough work to do just to maintain equality let alone increase it and for any bully to come along and divert us with fear from our duty to make our world better than when we found it will and shall not be tolerated for any second beyond that step to rebuff and put it down. There are many challenges our world needs to address with as many of us as possible involved in finding the solutions. Bullies are not part of that and instead they represent what is wrong with our society as a constant reminder. The quicker we quash the bullies from being at all successful the quicker we get back to facing our real problems like poverty and a broken education system. One could actually make the correlation that bullies are spawned from our inability to address our most inhumane practices. However, bullies have chosen a path forward that gets no sympathy from me unless they are willing to express and then act in a humbled remorseful way. There is redemption for any of us as long as we draw a breath but notwithstanding a turnaround, bullies must meet their end at bullying no matter how hard it is to stand up to them.

Poverty, despair and suffering are our problems (#2481)

If we are ever going to stop the perpetual paradigm of unrest and upheaval we are going to have to get serious about how we work to solve poverty, despair and suffering. The purpose of our lives is to experience what tremendous abilities we all have, not just to exist for ourselves to the exclusion of others. Do you hear me? This existence is not about survival of the fittest or chasing some bottom line. This existence is about celebrating our perfectly recognized humanness. We, each of us is the the most amazing organism that also has the ability to define it's own destiny beyond any parameter known in this Universe. Not only do we have the opportunity to excel within the boundaries of physical laws but also beyond them. There are new and exciting scientific discoveries happening all around us that defy what we knew as common sense, so much so that what we take for granted as absolute truth is being tipped on its head with respect to natural law, physical law, superstitions, myths and mores versus enlightened mechanics of logic. What I am saying is that we have not arrived at anything that explains much more than we exist. So, unfortunately, because of that we are in a never ending struggle to mold our societies to fit into old paradigms that are obsolete nor should never have been actualized in the first place. What we need to do is to recognize each human being as the most valuable and precious creation to exist in this environment. To make that a reality none of us should have anything less than what would grow us into mature human beings able to contribute to the next generations in more and more dynamic ways. We all need a solid floor from which to grow from, one that does not have the hint of poverty, despair or suffering. The solutions are out there but we must reexamine our priorities by shifting from a "dog eat dog" reality to a nurturing and benevolent reality.

Please everyone prepare to be registered and vote (#2480)

I have no doubt that most Americans know which party to vote for given the stark differences in our two parties. The time now isn't so much comparing and contrasting the differences between us but instead mobilizing our voters to actually vote. We have seen what low voter turnout can do when we see what happened in Kentucky. A rascal and scoundrel can be elected by any less informed radical electorate if they are the only ones bothering to vote. One thing is for certain, if we do not protect our democracy with our right to vote we will lose it to Republicans who have aligned themselves with the thought that discrimination is good when it can punish those who don't agree with them. If we continue to allow for Republican politicians to get elected because we can't take a moment out of our lives to cast a ballot then all of us will be punished as a default. Democracy is under attack and the fight is now to save it. We only have to vote to save it. If we don't, later we will need to actually fight and die to save it. Which seems more reasonable to you? If you doubt my conclusions here just look at the Republican agenda to disenfranchise voters wherever and whenever they can. Also look at the Republican agenda to shrink education and increase prisons. It is all happening right in front of our eyes but if we are not paying attention to what is happening to our country then we will surely pay for that inattention. The look of a surprised deer in the headlights is what we are trying to avoid here so pay heed to the obvious strategy Republicans have of lowering voter participation so that they may continue to wield the power to decrease freedom for the rest of us. We all must think of voting as our badge of honor we wear to show the world that freedom, justice, equality and opportunity for all is not only doable but necessarily vital . We get to do that with our individual votes, but only if we actually vote.

Is reality so bad that we have to live in an illusion? (#2479)

Why is this so hard to understand? Reality is true and factual. There is nothing about reality that is not real except our own insecure desire to make it less so. Our species has this idea that reality is too much so we must invent myths and superstitions that help us to cope with what we don't know. Enough! We have the scientific method and logic to help us learn and know what we don't know. Not some set of standards or dogmas that rely on a version of the fantastical that no living reaoning human being should ever consider to be logical. I am not saying that possibilities for some otherly world paradigm is not out there but we do know there isn't one given our present understandings. That is where we all should chose to live our realities, not in some concept that is unproven and designed to restrict our natural instincts to command and control our own existence. The absurdity of any argument that would placate our manifest destiny to explore and master our own reality is the first step toward what Voltaire aptly defined in his truism, "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities". We have seen the absurdity and we have seen the atrocity, may we now admit to ourselves that belief systems are not facts, they are not truths, they are not absolutes. Instead they are pacifiers designed to alleviate our own fears about why we exist and what we have as a purpose. Yet, even more belief systems are used to manipulate us against ourselves in ways that belie any rightful suggestion that belief systems are a moral imperative. Our own ethics derive from our own natural instincts to do no harm, to care and to wonder. Why would we bind and fetter ourselves with constraints designed to debilitate us. Enough of belief systems and instead more of reality. It can be a hard world but we are an amazing species able to adapt to anything this existence puts at our feet without the need to create an illusion to supplicate our fears.

The secret to life (#2478)

Always look for happiness. Never take your eye off the ball for one second. yes, things happen in our lives that distract us from our happiness, like tragedy, loss and oppression but whatever it is that takes from our happiness is not satisfying nor worthy of our time. I have had many setbacks in my life and yet none of them is greater than my search for happiness. I have had some terrible losses in my life and they hurt me emotionally and physically, yet none of them can really change the very next second of my life. I have been oppressed in many different ways but still I find that despite the oppression, my will to have a better life is greater. So despite any terrible or horrible event or circumstance, I am on a focused mission to find whatever happiness out there I can find. Sadly, nothing I do in the big picture of human life is going to stand out as an historical event worthy of notation or mention. I accept that and although it is hard on my ego, it is the fact of things. Yet I can do one thing that many fail to recognize as the real purpose in life, to enjoy and share that enjoyment. Happiness can be had at almost every situation or circumstance. It takes looking at life through a lens of possibilities and hopes. I can't always say happiness is there for the taking but I can say that the effort to achieve happiness is always there for the taking. Pessimists are those who cannot find optimism palatable for whatever reason. Those who are like that have never understood that happiness is more important than a bottom line or a never ending quest to accumulate. Happiness is soul fulfilling and when the soul is fulfilled, there is nothing left to be cynical about. Not much of a secret to living but few truly understand the perfect view of how we see the world when we are happy and just what it takes to help all others to find their happiness as well.

"Free market" is an illusion, everything has a cost (#2477)

When I hear Republicans talk about the free market taking care of things it astounds me that they don't get that having a market that costs just to visit is the first evidence that a "free market" is an illusion. Just to get to the market I need electricity, an Internet connection and some kind of device that will get me to a page where I can then potentially buy something. Or I need gas for a car, or money for a bus ride just to get to a market. Everything after that is cost prohibitive based upon factors that are due in most ways to some form of subsidy. So even the concept of bringing a product to market has a cost. Nothing is free about a market. So when few have most of the available money and many have but a little of the money we get poverty on a level that is unsustainable. What we should be doing is reducing poverty anyway we can since we see that having the illusion of a free market does nothing but exacerbate poverty. The reason I say that is because Republicans want to lower taxes for the wealthy and as a result the wealthy have less incentive to cycle their profits back into the economy in search of profit. Instead they bank their profit for various selfish reasons in order to accumulate unfathomable amounts. While this banking of profits is going on less work is available for the many and because of that the cost of wages is lowered through increased competition for work. Republicans do not want to expand our economic possibilities since increased competition would threaten their already secured profits. The Republican cold hard fact of keeping poverty as a paradigm is strategic and well worth the cost benefit they realize. Yet the illusion of a free market continues and the rest of us are left with little to no way to participate in the uneven practice. Our society needs more than an illusion, we need to effect economic policies that not only regulate how much wealth one can attain, while never letting anyone try to survive with no wealth or an opportunity to attain wealth.

Rise above the mundane (#2476)

Life is not about the automaton actions we force ourselves to live with. Our expectations of what life is should be greater than it actually is. I have no fear of losing everything I have since it is just by chance that I wasn't born into poverty like in other parts of the world where strife and oppression are the daily norms. I don't want to be part of a machination that only secures a better life for some while leaving others out in the cold. A cog in the wheel of less than is not how I want to spend what little time I have living my life. There is great potential within me and I want to rise above the ordinary and mundane to experience it. The narrative most of us live within contains only some of who we are and for all its good intentions the narrative is faulty and inconclusive. I am not one who settles for incompleteness as a rule nor am I one who settles for less, especially from myself, when so much more can and should be done. The only way I can become more of what I should be is to stop with the incessant ambivalence to not care or to act as if everything must be fought for as a survival instinct. Our human species is not at the beginning of our evolution. We are well into our evolution and the time for us to be moving into the renaissance of enlightenment is waiting for us to embrace. We know we can do better with our society and our individual lives yet we are stalled for too many reasons that are not noble. We often live in fear of what we may lose of a lifestyle value instead of preparing ourselves for a necessity based existence that relies on whatever our endeavors will supply. We are not beholden to anyone who would control how we think and feel. Yet we abdicate that and our reasoning in order to fulfill some need to have more and be liked. The essential point of our lives is to be ourselves, not some expectation that we have created in our own minds that helps us to fit in to something that in actuality is inversely proportional to our better natures.